Details

I heard back from my new teaching team yesterday and got some fantastic information about the year to come. From their email I can tell they are SUPER organized and I am really happy to have an idea of how the schedule works now!

This is what the day looks like....

 

     8:10-8:20        Table work as the students come in
     8:25-9:00        FastTrack Phonics
     9:00-9:30        Literacy Activity (Word of the week, Letter of the Week, writing)
     9:30-10:00      ELD students leave for ELD; other students have playtime and a  
                            supplemental activity.
     10:00-10:30    Math
     10:30-10:40    Story, Star of the Week

**Where is the time alotted for packing and cleaning up? That can take a long time with 5 year olds!
**The kiddos will also have specials, but I guess not everyday and they change throughout the year. One of the teachers said they go to library then computer but not PE or Music....

They also sent me a cop of their YEAR LONG plan and said they will create the plan for next year in August (which hopefully I will be present for). They have an Excel document that lists what topics will be covered in every subject/category for every week of the school year including special events, holidays, and field trips. WOW! It is great to know the different topics/themes that will be covered since I feel like Kindergarten does more with holidays than I ever did with my first grade classes. I was really happy to find out that they work very closely as a team because that is important to me. I find it really helpful to work alongside one another when planning to maintain consistency between classrooms. I don't think it's necessary to always do the exact same activities in the exact same way, but it's good to have a master plan that everyone agrees to. 

I will also admit that I am happy the reading program is based mostly on Fast Track Phonics and less on Treasures because I think Kindergartners need a strong phonics program and Treasures does not offer it (at least we found it to be weak at the first grade level). I have tons of games and activities that quickly became too easy for first graders, so it will fun to use them for stations and small group activities. 

I am not too sure I like how ELD (English Language Development) is set up because personally I feel like all children in Kindergarten would benefit from language development, but in our district only students categorized as ELL receive this instruction. At my old school it was taught by some classroom teachers and ELL teachers, but I guess at my new school it is just taught by the ELL teachers. ELL students leave the classroom and the district policy is that ELL students cannot miss content instruction while they are having an ELD lesson. In a day that is already short, I feel like that creates a period of time that cannot be used as effectively. Because ELD is supposed to be specific language instruction taught to students according to their acquisition levels, you can't just have everyone in the class participate in the lessons since they would be different levels of English speakers including both ELL and native English speakers in the mix, which is why ELL students are pulled out and grouped according to level. I just wish that somehow all students could be involved...it's complicated, but the 30 minutes of ELD time was always a source of frustration because the other children could not be working on content areas or receive new instruction during that time. Since we always felt short on time (and I am sure it will be intensified with SUCH a short day) it is frustrating to feel like you have to spin your wheels waiting for 1/3 to 1/2 of the class to return. I guess that is a good time for additional  literacy/math activities, however I want my ELL students to have those opportunities too. Regardless of what we do when they are gone, they are missing something because I am not just going to provide a recess time for other kids during that time (and even if I did...don't they deserve time to play too?). 

I am still trying to brainstorm good ways to stay organized this year. In addition to creating a binder of songs and rhymes, I of course, need to put together an assessment binder and files for each child. File maintenance will be a bit larger of a task with about 50 kiddos...

***

It is so hot here today, I can't even believe it. We are having this pattern of extreme heat during the day and then wicked thunder storms at night with heavy rain and lots of lightning. This has happened for the past two or three nights! I was so afraid the power would go out! No hubby and no power would not be a great combo.

In reading news, I have read a few Ramona books this week in addition to The Penderwicks, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and Love That Dog. I am currently on The Borrowers, which I am hoping to finish today. I am not really sure why three different Ramona books are on the top 100 list. I think she is a great character (the trouble finding silly girl character before Junie B. Jones without the incorrect grammar!), but I honestly don't think the stories are that worthy of having three spots on the list of must reads. Some of the others in my stack are Dear Mr. Henshaw (actually not on the list but when I saw it in the library I wanted to read it), The Island of the Blue Dolphins, Ramona and her Father, and The Hobbit (still avoiding that one...)