This second week in kindergarten was very busy as kids practiced center rotations and learned more about what it means to be in school. They all seem to be adjusting well to their time in school and are learning fast our classroom routines and rules. Many kids earned Pride Bucks this week, as they showed positive behavior on the carpet and in the hallway. I see many making new friends and I hope that even with a large class, kids will see this as an opportunity to make new friends, learn, and grow from each other!

In Fundations, kids met Echo the Owl and made him proud when they echoed our first letter sound /t/. Then we practiced writing it together. We will continue to practice writing T and exploring new letters. In reading, I read many fun stories to the children and I'm interested to see which was their favorite by the handy poll on this page. Next week, we will start guided reading for our literacy block. In math, we explored pattern blocks and some new shape words. I introduced octagon, trapezoid, and rhombus, and we will continue to practice these shapes. When you see these shapes in the world around them outside of school, be sure to point them out and have them practice. A good example are stop signs! We also worked on pairing strips of paper cut to different lengths. As children found their pair (from another student), they learned something interesting about the other person and hopefully made a new friend or two. In writing, we began to fill out our Year in Kindergarten books. Each month, children will illustrate a page and fill in the blank about something special that month. At the end of the year, these books will go home and show all the incredible progress they made! Next week, we will begin their guided writing groups and start descriptive writing together.

I want to send out a big thank you to all the parents who have signed up to volunteer, help with parties/party supplies, and/or were able to find the time to make Back-to-School Night tonight. I feel very fortunate as a first time teacher to have such giving and kind parents! If ever your volunteer time needs to change for the following month, or if suddenly you can/want to volunteer, please let me know. Also, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns- Your child's success and happiness in the classroom is a priority to me!