We began our Name Unit today. One of the most important parts of starting Kindergarten is getting to know classroom friends and - even more important - learning their names. I introduced our unit with the book A My Name is Alice.
This book is such a great choice because not only does it focus on names (and the beginning letter), but it also demonstrates alliteration by describing each character with words that begin with the same first letter as their name.
I came up with a sentence frame that looked like this:
M my name is Mrs. Stinnett. I like muffins.
I asked that they think of a word to tell the class something they like. Their word must begin with the same letter as their name. Animal words seemed to be the trend...
After brainstorming our words, we created cute little "mini-mes" to show off our sentences.
I was so impressed with the quality of each child's work! Aren't these fabulous? They all worked very hard on them. Check out these game faces...
We also began Writer's Workshop today. The first few weeks of Kindergarten writing time is about establishing trust, confidence, routines, and expectations. Our first unit is intended as a framework for the writing work we will do with the main goal of introducing the kids to the world of writing.
The lesson today taught the kids that writing is just telling on paper. I modeled how to think about what to write and how to provide the most information as possible. No child is expected to be able to write just yet, but I do expect that every child does his/her very best. If they know their sounds and know some words, I encourage them to try to write what they know. If they don't have this knowledge yet, I encourage that they provide as much detail as possible in their drawings.
Here is the modeled drawing I did...
Labeling, stretching words and using realistic colors are all skills we talked about today. We will work on applying those skills over the next few weeks. I thought the kids did a great job for their first day!
Last week we made a very special magnet so that all of your child's Kindergarten work can be on display in your home. I hope they all made it home safe and sound. I feared that there might be a few crumpled up at the bottom of a book bag or two - so just in case - this is what they look like if you haven't seen it yet...
Our class is slowly, but surely starting to pick up on classroom rules and procedures. The behavior chart is in full effect now, so if your child came home with a -1 or a -2, don't freak out. I am being very strict on my expectations so that we can start off the year with a clear understanding. It will definitely take some time for the kids to get acquainted with it all, but the more serious I am, the quicker I will see results! :) Please encourage your child to try hard to follow each rule and procedure we have at school.
Binders and agendas went home today and will continue to go home from now on. Please be sure to check your child's binder/agenda every night. I ask that you initial the behavior that I document in the agenda each night.
Also, I will begin sending homework home on Friday. The homework packet is expected to be returned on Thursday of the following week. You will find a "Homework Club" card in the ziplock bag inside your child's agenda on Friday. Every time they turn in their weekly homework completed, they will get a punch on their card. After five punches, they get to pick out of the treasure drawer. This card needs to stay in the ziplock bag so it doesn't get misplaced.
I hope everyone has a great week. Stay tuned for more weekly updates!
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