Mrs. Atkin's Kindergarten: WELCOME TO KINDERGARTEN!!!

The first two "first days" of school were GREAT! We focused these two days on procedures and getting to know our school. After we all met in the gym, we practiced finding our classroom while looking for "stop" signs in the hallway.

When we made it to our classroom students used the "Promethean" interactive white board to make their lunch choice. It blows me away at how fast they catch on to new technology!

Allen making his lunch choice.

Breakfast was served and then read the book "First Day Jitters" by Julie Dannebeberg, and sang a couple songs. By that point it was time for lunch (10:50). Although it seemed like we had just finished eating breakfast, the students were all excited to eat lunch in the cafeteria.

The afternoon was just as amazing as the morning. We explored and toured the playground. We saw a caterpillar, grasshoppers, stink bugs, butterflies, bumble bees, and a cicada all in our "Here We Grow Discovery Garden". We were thrilled to see all the beautiful creatures!

Later we explored some manipulatives in our exploration work areas. The students surprised me by already sorting, counting, making patterns and making elaborate pictures with pattern blocks.

Atticus sorted marbles by color!

Maggie was beginning to sort hair clips by color. Stephanie was also sorting by color!

Kingston made an AB pattern with unifix cubes.

Ian made a pretty cool face out of the pattern blocks!

Later, we read another wonderful book called "The Kissing Hand" by Audry Penn. Ask your child to share the story of the kissing hand with you. This can become a tradition between you and your child before he/she goes to school everyday.

We took a tour of our school finding our "specials" (art, music, p.e., computer lab, library) classrooms while practicing our new hallway behavior. As you can see below, we practiced walking up and down the stairs safely.

We ended our day reading "Have You Filled A Bucket Today?" by Carol McCloud. Also ask your child what it means to be a "Bucket Filler". Bucket fillers can fill their buckets as well as others by being kind to others. "Bucket Dippers" are those that tease, push, or hurt others feelings. We demonstrated and recalled moments of those friends that were "Bucket Fillers!" Check the public library to see if they have a copy of this book. You will LOVE it!

The students learned several signs these first couple of days. Ask your child the sign for the word "stop", the sign for being excited "silent applause", and the phrase "I love you". We will continue working on the letters of the alphabet.

We practiced what bus we ride to and from school before getting on the bus.

Specials Schedule
Monday- Music 2:15-2:45 Physical Education 2:45-3:15
Tuesday- Physical Education 2:15-2:45, Music 2:45-3:15
Wednesday- Art- 2:15-3:15
Thursday- Computer Lab 2:15-3:15, Library 2:45-3:15
Friday- No specials

Quotes from the first two days!

"When are you going to turn on the AC? It's really hot in here." -Nathan
* We made sure that Nathan knew that our school gets very warm and that unfortunately we don't have AC. Please be sure to send your child in cool clothing and if you layer their clothing, please label everything!

"You sound like Ms. Fleming (my madden name. I got married last December). Are you sure you're Mrs. Atkin?" -A
-Of course it is difficult for those students that have known me in the past to switch from Ms. Fleming to Mrs. Atkin. They are all doing a wonderful job remembering our names!

As you can see we have had a great start to our kindergarten year. Mrs. Garrabrant and I are truly excited for the year and can't wait to see how our students grow this year. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments. We look forward to next week with your children.

Enjoy some more of our pictures!!!