Week 2

I was slightly concerned that last week was a fluke and that the kids would come today without any recollection of the routines and procedures we learned and practiced last week. The day went very well though and the kiddos remembered and improved. I really heart my afternoon class. They are just so sweet! There are a few challenging kiddos in the morning, but the afternoon just goes really smoothly and it's SO nice having only 18 kids!

I started Fast Track Phonics today with a lesson on /m/ and I could tell the kids liked it. Of course they loved the video part (which only lasts about 30 seconds) but they also enjoyed me acting out the video after we watched it. I also introduced them to the song called "Where Do You Start Your Letters?" from the CD I got when I did the Handwriting Without Tears training. I LOVE that song and the kids thought it was funny.

Where do you start your letters?

At the top!

Where do you start your letters?

At the top!

If you want to start a letter then you better better better remember to start it at the top!

The song starts out really slow but then it gets funky and I sang along even though I am not the world's best singer. I love using music because then I was able to repeat those lines when it was time for the kiddos to write their letters and a fun song like that definitely sticks in your head! It is so interesting to go around and look at how each kid is writing. Some of them hold the pencil very well and others need some major fixing. Some of them have never even held a pencil and that is evident when I asked them to write letters. This is the part of Kindergarten that I have to get used to! In First Grade most students start the year being able to hold a pencil correctly and write letters (even if they still aren't all that legible). I wish I could incorporate more of the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, but there is just no time for that.

We started specials today, but were were 1 for 2 because the teacher who was supposed to join us in the morning did not come. The second group got to enjoy a few cute stories with our Librarian, so that was a lot of fun. Even though we only have 10 minutes for specials and they are in our classroom, it's a great break for the kids and I know they will love the other teachers that will be joining us. Tomorrow we have Music and I am excited. I am especially excited to work with our Music teacher to incorporate some of the sight word songs on the CD's I got.

Well, it's time for the Bachelor Pad, so all other Kinder stories must wait! Hope everyone had a great day :0)