Happy New Year

I can't believe it has taken me this long to post after starting back up this week! The week has gone by fast so far! We have been going back to the basics this week and reviewing some of our classroom rules and routines since it's tough to be away from the classroom for two whole weeks. I hope everyone had a wonderful break and I would like to wish everyone a very happy new year.

On Monday we started out by reviewing the expectations for our morning work routine and what that looks like in the classroom. The children practiced the different steps they take in the morning when they arrive and practiced cleaning up their tables, pushing in their chairs, and putting away their morning work when it's time to come to the carpet. We also practiced lining up and walking in line since we now will be traveling to the gym for PE once a week. Mr Gaffney decided that it was tough to have great PE lessons in the classrooms since the space is very limited for gross motor activities, so we are now changing our PE schedule. We will have a 20 minute PE lesson in the gym once a week and then the other day we are scheduled for PE we will not have a special, which gives us additional time for the math lesson we miss as a result of having additional PE time another day. The morning session had their first PE class in the gym and they loved it! It was really great for them to have such a large space to move around in. It's also really beneficial for them to get out of the classroom and see different parts of the school and to practice walking quietly in the hallway! If possible, please make sure to send your child to school with sneakers on PE days. I will indicate on the monthly calendar when those days are.

This week we are also focusing on the letter o and the sight word "is" and the students are experiencing their first week without daily choice time. Instead of having choice time everyday, the kids will now have it once a week and we will be doing other activities during the 30 minutes when some children leave for ELD.  Both classes have been working on math tile games which are really great for reinforcing the math concepts we are learning. Those games are leveled to meet the needs of different learners and children are able to work through them at their own pace. 

I always found in teaching first grade that the students really started to make huge leaps and bounds after winter break. It was always so great to see them really become more independent and proficient in their work and skills. I have already seen a great amount of progress with both of my Kinder classes and I am really looking forward to seeing even more growth and change and we make our way through this very cold winter! (I spent my break in Arizona, so it was a bit tough to leave the warm sun and return to the cold and now rain!)


Coming Up: Next week I will be out on Wednesday for my monthly PASS training and Jill Solheim will be subbing in the classroom.