The First Week of School!!!

The first week of school is done and WOW did we learn a lot about being in school!!! 

Tuesday, September 2nd:

• We had our first Irish Pride Celebration in the gym and learned about how to use our Irish Pride at school.  Be Respectful, Responsible and Ready.   
• We read the story, "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn.  It's about a raccoon who is nervous about starting school.  We talked about all the feelings we felt.

• Math:
• Calendar- we got to see what our calendar time will look like on the smart board
• We explored some of our math manipulatives
• We drew a picture of ourselves on the first day of school.
• We read many stories including: The Night Before Kindergarten and Froggy Goes to School.

Wednesday, September 3rd:

• Today we practiced our morning routine-we are really starting to "get it!"  Way to go Kindergartners!
• We read a story called A Quiet Place today that talks about how everyone needs a place to go to be alone and that it is ok to have to "take a break" sometimes.  We also all practiced "taking a break" at our quiet place in the classroom.  Ask your child about how it works. :)

• We practiced working with glue sticks, markers, scissors, etc and how to make sure that they are put away correctly. Ex "listen for the click."
• We read the story How Full is Your Bucket.  It is about how everyone carries around an invisible bucket that gets filled when others say and do nice things for us but also can be dipped into when others are mean and say mean things about us.  We brainstormed ideas on how to fill others' buckets.  I think we will have a classroom filled with BUCKET FILLERS!:) Each child will have a turn to take this book home and share with their family.

• We took a "classroom tour" and learned about the choices for free time.

Thursday, September 4th:

• This morning we learned about the playground expectations.
• The paraprofessionals who work outside at recess talked to the kids about how to stay safe on the playground.  They talked about expected and unexpected behaviors.  
• We learned about how to be a "good listener," we use many parts of our party when we are listening.  We can listen with our eyes, ears, mouth, head, hands, feet, heart and bottom.  Ask your child how this helps us be a good listener! :)
• This afternoon we read the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear What do You See.  Many kiddos knew this story already and read a long with me.  Next we put on our "spy glasses" and walked around the school looking for the animals.  Each animal was placed next to an important area in our school.  We met Nurse Sarah and where her office is if we feel sick and need to go to the nurse this year.  We also found the gym, library, office, cafeteria, computer lab and our recess doors.  We LOVED being spies!!!

Friday, September 5th:

• This morning we went to the cafeteria and learned what is expected and unexpected in the lunchroom.  We practiced making good choices and used out Irish Pride while listening!  We also made our own "lunch box" where we reviewed good and bad choices.  

• We also had our FIRST day of Technology class.  We took a tour of the lab and talked about how to use a mouse.  We practiced "one click" and "click and drag." We got to practice our skills by playing the game This is sand.  You can find this game at http://thisissand.com
• We learned about the STAR OF THE WEEK today.  Each week, a new student will be given an "All About Me" poster to fill out and bring back on the following Monday.  This student will come to the smart board and tell us about themselves and what they like.  Today we learned about Mrs. Jost's "favorites." 

• We also learned about one of our backpack buddies "Curious George."  Each child will have a turn taking home the backpack.  Inside is a Curious George stuffed animal and many books.  You may keep this backpack for a few days but return to school when you are finished so others can have a turn.  We are very excited about this.  
• This afternoon we learned about the hallway expectations.  We practiced hands behind our backs, voices quiet, eyes forward and the proper distance in between friends.  We are getting VERY good at this.  Mr. Whoo, our hallway helper, has been very impressed with the irish pride he is seeing! :)

A PEEK AT NEXT WEEK....

I am looking forward to a great next week.  We will start working on learning our letters.  We will be doing 4 letters a week so next week we will be focusing on Aa, Bb, Cc, and Dd.  We will also start learning 2 new snap words a week.  Next week we will be learning the words a and the.  Also next Thursday is Parent Night...hope to see you there.  You will learn all the ins and outs of our classroom and how things run.  Please come with any questions or concerns.