Planning

I took Friday and Saturday off from most things teacher related. I worked out, had lunch with Jill, did some outlet shopping, and caught up on some shows that I didn't watch during the week. I also read a little bit, but not nearly as much as I hoped to. Maybe I will have a marathon reading session later and finish The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest!!!

This morning I finally started to flush out my morning and afternoon schedules (they are so different!) and plug in my activities for the first few days of school. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about getting bored by teaching the same things during both sessions because due to differences in when we have ELD and specials, the daily schedules are nothing alike! In the morning, I really like the schedule because the activities that the kids do with me are broken up by specials and ELD pullouts. I think there is a great balance between seated activities, carpet activities, and movement. During the afternoon, I have a larger block of time with my kiddos when they first come, but I also think that is good because they will get tired and worn out in the afternoon, so I would rather get all my important stuff accomplished and let them be tired for ELD and Specials (mwuahaha!).

Both schedules are very jam packed with activities and some time slots are only 10 minutes long. I am required to do 60 minutes of reading instruction which includes 30 minutes of Fast Track Phonics and 30 minutes of Treasures. Fortunately, we don't do all of the Treasures curriculum and mostly focus on a letter and word of the week, so I can incorporate those thirty minutes as my schedule allows. I just received my Heidi's Songs Sight Word Cd's which Kelly recommended (thanks Kelly!) so I am hoping to do a lot of active, fun activities that incorporate movement in order to get in some sight word practice. We have 10 minutes of push in Specials on 5 out of 6 days in our rotation, so I am going to talk with both the PE teacher and the Music teacher about incorporating content into their activities. That way we can learn and have fun (and not waste precious minutes!).

I feel like I am still going in somewhat blind, but it will take everyone a few weeks to get used to being in Kindergarten, so I am not the only one who will be experiencing some adjustments. I think that a lot of singing, an upbeat attitude, and a lot of patience (with both the kids and myself) will take me far this year.

I am organizing stories for the first week and figuring out what routines/procedures I want to embed within other activities so I can teach important stuff while still having the kids engaged in exciting, fun learning activities. My team shared a few activities that they always do during the first week, so I am working on making sure I fit them in while also structuring my sessions in a way that fits with how I want the classroom to operate. So far, I have managed to figure out schedules that include 10 minutes both at the very beginning and the very end of each session to allow time for a "morning greeting" and an afternoon wrap-up/story. I have been working my way through a few books that I purchased and definitely want to try out a morning meeting style gathering, but I have changed the name a little to morning greeting. I do not have time for all of the aspects of a traditional morning meeting, but the one part I feel strongly about including is a daily greeting. This contributes to all children being recognized and greeted each day and helps them learn each others' names.  We also do a Star of the Week program which requires a time each day during which that child can share certain items with the group. I am hoping to also fit that in during that first 10 minutes each day. If kids are still trickling in, it's okay and hopefully everyone will be ready to go by the time I start Phonics. I really want to take the time to build a strong classroom community even though we are very short on time. Learning how to get along, share, cooperate, talk to one another, and be part of a team that cares for one another are all very important skills that should be developed in Kindergarten. We have become very academically focuses and there is little time left for play and "whole child" development, so I need to make sure to keep a balance and fight to keep that designated time in tact.

For anyone who is teaching Kinder and hasn't already started....these are some of the stories I am going to use during the first week. Special thanks to Roxanne from Books That Heal Kids for some great suggestions! If you haven't checked out her site, GO THERE NOW! She is stupendous!




I may also try to work in a story or two about difference or kids with special needs since I will have two students with special needs this year. I am very supportive of teaching kids to respect differences and educating kids about differences they may come across.

Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!!