Exciting Things to Come

There have been a lot of exciting first experiences here in Kindergarten.  One of my favorite parts of my job is watching children discover and experience something for the first time.  The joy and wonder they display makes me want to approach moments in my life the same way.

Here are some of our highlights from the past two weeks:

• We met our fourth grade buddies for the first time!  Our fourth grade buddies are in Mrs. Pierce's class and we have had two opportunities to spend time with them so far.  The big buddies put a lot of thought into setting up activities to do with their little buddies.  They might read or draw together, some of our buddies have been teaching us how to make paper airplanes!  This is a favorite part of our Fridays!
• We had our first costume day celebration.  It was so much fun to see students dress up for this day. We had a variety of characters in our class including superheroes, vampires, a mermaid, a princess, and two little red riding hoods!
• We have been busy with many projects.  There have been projects about the butterfly life cycle and projects featuring favorite books characters.  We can't wait to show off our work at this Thursday's Open House!  (September 24th from 6:15-7:15)
• We continue to share at our closing meeting time.  Everyday we end by having a closing meeting.  During this time we share our rose, bud, and thorn.  A rose is something great that has happened that day, a bud is something we are looking forward to, and a thorn is something not so great that happened.  Our creative class has added a few more items to the list including a seed (something we are worried about), a question bud (something we are wondering about), and a sunflower seed (something we wish would happen RIGHT NOW!).  It is always a highlight of my day to hear from the kids about how their day went.
• We are VERY excited for two upcoming events.  Our first ECO class this Friday (September 25) and our first field trip to Adam's Apple Orchard (Monday, September 28).  Everyday we count down to these exciting days and talk about how much fun we are going to have learning on these days.

Time With Buddies

 

 

 

 Costume Day

Superheroes and storm troopers work up a appetite!

Batman's serious even at snack time.

Swinging with a flower and a mermaid.

Little Red Riding Hood #1 enjoys a good book.

Little Red Riding Hood #2 goes to the hoop!

Elsa and a fairy princess.

Superheroes, stormtroopers, and little red riding hoods unite!

Outside Discovery

We found a grasshopper and followed him as he hopped around the playground.

First Week of Kindergarten...Check!

We've finished our first week of Kindergarten and I am both exhilarated and exhausted!  I love to watch how much we grow in our first few days of school.  On day one we are all a little unsure and wary of one another, but by day five I look around and it feels like we've been a class for months.  There are friendships forming, our confidence is building, and our enthusiasm is reaching limitless heights.  

We've experienced a lot in this first week.  Here are some highlights:

• We went to all of our specials for the first time and met our interactive arts teachers.  (Mrs. Frey, Mr. Williams, Ms. Funk, Mrs. Kane, and M.J.)
• We played together at choice time.  Some of our most popular choices have been housekeeping (this is our kitchen area), Magna Tiles, art, and Legos!
• We learned some fun new songs, including a really silly one called Arooshtasha.
• We learned about our kinespheres.  Our kinesphere is an invisible sphere that surrounds each individual.  We all have a kinesphere and our kinespheres can grow and shrink depending on our environment.  When we're running on the playground our kinesphere is large, but when we're standing in line our kinesphere shrinks to make room for the other kinespheres around us.
• We spent a lot of time outside exploring our new playground.  The sandbox, the monkey bars, and the new wooden sculptures have been a lot of fun for the Kindergarten kiddos.
• We filled our classroom gem jar!  When a teacher or a student notices someone doing something that is kind, responsible, or cooperative we get to put a gem in our classroom jar.  When the jar is full, we earn a celebration.  In our first week we've already earned our way to our first classroom celebration.  We will choose our celebration on Tuesday and celebrate later next week.
• Our first whole school assembly was on Friday morning.  The whole school gathered inside our big gym for a welcome assembly that included celebrating new faces to Union and a great song led by our new music teacher, Ms. Funk.

Thank you to the families for the support you've given us this first week of Kindergarten.  Your children and I are appreciate all that you do to help us be successful!

Have a restful and rejuvenating long weekend!

Making beautiful music on our new outdoor xylophone!

Building incredible structures with our Magna Tiles.

Everybody in the sandbox!

Our first whole school assembly.  What an awesome way to celebrate our first week!