The first four days of kindergarten can be summed up by using the following words: exhilarating, adventurous, exhausting, unpredictable, and rewarding. Even though I say I forget how tough it is at the beginning of kindergarten every year (this year being no different), I am proud to say that this has been the smoothest start I've ever had to a school year. This just goes to show how well prepared many of my students were for kindergarten. I couldn't be prouder!
Though I will give you a more detailed description next week of what we are learning in our classroom, I wanted to show you a few videos from the first few days. For reading and writing, I will eventually meet with individuals and/or small groups, but first, students must learn to work independently. To do this, we slowly build stamina by working in these two areas. Through modeling and explicit instruction, students learn pretty quickly what is expected of them during this time. Each and every year, my students have practiced these expectations with success on the first day of school, but NEVER BEFORE have my students been able to read and write quietly for 5 minutes!! I was blown away by their ability to work for this amount of time the very first few days. Please believe me when I say, this is NOT normal! See for yourself. Although the writing time was a lot quieter than the reading time, I was still incredibly impressed by both.
Though I will give you a more detailed description next week of what we are learning in our classroom, I wanted to show you a few videos from the first few days. For reading and writing, I will eventually meet with individuals and/or small groups, but first, students must learn to work independently. To do this, we slowly build stamina by working in these two areas. Through modeling and explicit instruction, students learn pretty quickly what is expected of them during this time. Each and every year, my students have practiced these expectations with success on the first day of school, but NEVER BEFORE have my students been able to read and write quietly for 5 minutes!! I was blown away by their ability to work for this amount of time the very first few days. Please believe me when I say, this is NOT normal! See for yourself. Although the writing time was a lot quieter than the reading time, I was still incredibly impressed by both.
If these videos are any indication of what's to come from these students, it's going to be one successful year! I cannot wait to see where they take me.
Amidst new learning, play, friends, and procedures, we have had so much fun these past four days. Here are some pictures of our adventures. I will share many more with you at the end of next week. I know there are so many things yet to learn about the students in my class, but of these things I am certain: my students are smart, kind, and special. I am beyond blessed to be their teacher!
On that note, I am going to end with a sweet story. After teaching my students how to read a simple book called Mom, a sweet girl in my room shouts out, "I can read now!" From the mouths of babes! This is my hope for all of my students. They should see themselves as readers whether they can read the words or not. There is power in reading the pictures and retelling familiar stories. With this belief and motivation, I truly believe my students will be able to read the words by the end of the year, and I look forward to having a front row seat to their amazing journey.