Well, we (parents, teacher, and students) all survived the first week of Kindergarten! Things went REALLY well! The first week is hard, but sometimes the second week is harder! So don't be surprised if there are some tears or worries as Monday approaches. Eventually we all settle into the routine and flourish. This week we heard a lot about our class rules. In Kindergarten we have modified Power Teaching to work for us. Our 5 rules are.... Listen when the teacher is talking, raise your hand to talk, keep your hands and feet to yourself, follow directions quickly and be safe and be honest. The children can recite these rules with motions. We try and follow these rules everywhere we go at May Watts. We talk a lot about respecting ourselves, others, and the environment too. At May Watts we are continually striving to be good citizens.
During the week we began our jolly phonics program. Your child learned the motions/sounds for s and a. Please have your child show you the motions and review the sounds at home. The motions are pictured on the side of the jolly phonics worksheet your child brought home. We also read lots of books about kindergarten. We compared the classes in these books to our own classroom and discovered that they are very similar. Students also explored unfix cubes and pattern blocks as we began to be introduced to our math tools. In addition, this week we spent a lot of time learning routines. The Kindergarten classroom runs very smoothly when routines are in place. We practice everything together, slowly, and then gradually release control. We aim to produce independent thinkers and learners. My goal is to help your child feel confident with their own abilities and comfortable enough to express themselves and explore their interests. I look forward to talking with you this week at Curriculum Night on Wednesday about my teaching experience, my goals for the year and our May Watts curriculum.
Next week we will be getting to know our friends better, meet more teachers at May Watts, and tour the school. We will also talk about mice and read both fiction and nonfiction books. Students will begin to explore the structure of a story as we study the writing craft of Laura Neumeroff.. On Tuesday or Wednesday we would like to have a SURPRISE treat of cookies and milk. If your child can not have golden oreos or skim milk, please contact me ASAP.
I look forward to getting to know your child better next week as we tackle our first FULL week of school. Have a great weekend!
