I was super excited to start the year with my new class. My room is pretty much finished, the only things I need to add are my tote tray labels. Once I have that set up, I can post some pictures of the different areas in my room :)
There is one particular item that I am quite proud of; my class letters. This was a project that I worked on with my mum over the school holidays. She bought me some plain, white letters and we jazzed them up with some paint, paper, rhinestones and stamps.
They sit on the shelf behind my desk. They have been getting a lot of attention from both the students and colleagues :D
The first day flew by. I started off by introducing them to our morning routine (greeting, song and calendar). I made sure to teach them the quick "Good Morning", not that slow "Gooooooood Moooooorning Miss.....".
Once that was done, I introduced them to the activity rotation. Eventually these will be literacy activities/centers, but for now they are fine motor activities. Each table had a different activitiy;
1. Name and Number tracing with dry erase markers
2. Peg Boards
3. Threading Animals
4. Puzzles
I let them roam around to each table. I wanted to see how they would go with the option of free choice. It went smoothly. Each student completed each activity, there weren't any fights over materials and if an activity was full the students would just move to another free spot. This allowed me to spend time with each student and take their photo for the First Day Certificate.
After that, I read them a story; I Am Too Absolutely Small for School by Lauren Child.
I love Charlie and Lola books. They are always a big hit with the students. I think this book fit in perfectly with the first day of school.
By the time I finished the story, it was time to go for a toilet break and start eating lunch. I couldn't believe how quick the morning session went!
After lunch, we did some singing as a whole grade. I am a little rusty with the hand actions that go along with some of the songs! I'm sure I will get better with them as this will be a regular thing :)
Our "first day take home craft" were these super cool First Day of School Crowns made by My Heart Belongs in Kindergarten. Click here to check them out!
It looked awesome seeing all of Kindergarten walk out of the building to greet their parents with these crowns on. I'm sure the parents loved it too! :D
Before home time, we had developmental play. This was a good opportunity for me to see whether the students were interacting with each other or just playing by themselves. It was nice to see that they were all interacting with each other.
I had a great first day, though I was pretty tired by the time I got home. I need to get back in the swing of things!
Day #2 was just as good.
We started off with the morning routine. Then we had a discussion about classroom rules. I introduced one of the most important rules "We listen to each other". We talked about how we listen (Give Me 5) and then I read my Listening book (I like teaching things through stories).
That became our goal for the day, to work on our listening.
Then we moved onto the activity rotations. I wanted to see how they would go by spending 10 minutes at each activity and then moving on. I had put out their name plates before school, so this also served as a test to see if they could recognise their own name.
I just love how awesome these look!
The activities were the same as the day before. I explained the routine of having a timer; when the buzzer rings, it is time to stop and listen. Then we had a go at tucking chairs in and moving to the next activity in a calm manner. The timer I used can be found here. Once again, that took up the whole morning session and it was then time to have a toilet break and start eating.
After lunch it was singing, and then we learnt about the colour red. During the activity rotation, I did a quick assessment of colour knowledge. Most students knew all their colours, but there were a few who only knew a few.
We started off by singing two songs; I can Sing a Rainbow and the Colour Song. Then we made a list of things that are red. After that, I made a drag and drop activity on the IWB where students had to sort the red items from the rest. We then did a "Red Apples" paper piecing activity. They came out pretty good and I cannot wait to hang them up on Monday! That took up the time until recess.
We finished off the day with play. I joined in with the cooking corner :)
I had a fantastic first week with Kindy! Am looking forward to the year ahead!
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