Stepping Up Expectations

Today w listened to Owl Babies and Owl Moon. We created an owl puppet to act out the stories. The students were given owl facts as reading homework to buddy read with a family member. Higher level vocabulary and word choice I will be more frequent now that they are decoding more readily. 

Creepy Crawly Spiders

Fun day learning about spiders. We went on a web hunt and photographed webs with iPads. We heard the story of Charlottes Web and reviewed Spiders by Gail Gibbons. We created our own spider with 8 legs, 8 eyes and 2 body parts. 😜

Fun at Bennett Farms!

Great Monday!

We began the day with iPads and journals. We read Animal Babies and discussed why the book is nonfiction. We talked about how you identify the main idea of a story. We worked in centers practicing letter identification, reading for pleasure, exploring reading games on the iPad and participating in a guided reading group with a phonics reader. We choral read sentences with our new sight words in them on the hovercam. We played outside for recess. We met in kindergarten big group to practice some new songs we have learned. Our days are so busy!  We have several projects this week - make a spider, make a sequence story about our field trip experience and continue to read more independently. These kids are SMART!!  I really enjoy listening to their point of view. 😊

Brown day! Thank you Jessica Chambless for the chocolate chip snack!

Smooth fun day!

Mondays are usually a bit rocky for several reasons in kindergarten. Oh, how I love days that run like a well-oiled clock! Today was one of those days!  Everyone was in a good mood. They asked great questions about Christopher Columbus and enjoyed participating in big group. So proud of these kids. They have already made lots of progress in many areas. I am a blessed teacher!

Stop, drop and roll!

The Jacksonville Fire Department did an excellent job talking to our kids about fire safety today. They showed them all around the truck, explaining how each tool is used. They put on full gear and uniform, including air tank and helmet

. The kids also asked some great questions. In kindergarten, much of our task is to teach kids "how to learn", meaning listening, thinking, looking and making connections between new information and what they already know. Paying attention for longer periods of time is a requirement. I was VERY proud of the kids today. They are growing up!

Black Day!!

Check out our "Black Day" pic!  So thankful to have finished report card testing, Unit 1 benchmark test and computer-based literacy testing today. Now we get back to business!

Expectations

As a teacher of young children, you are trained to recognize developmental patterns and anticipate lots of different milestones. Spending years in the classroom also helps you recognize levels of learning more easily.  However, there is great power in high expectations. A teachers stamina is critical in "getting their best".  Day in and day out, when you insist on their best work, behavior, treatment of others, etc., kids will respond!  It's true!  I have always seen kids rise to my expectations. It helps to be a little stubborn sometimes, too. I love my job!

Families As Partners

Through the years, I have learned a thing or two about the importance of "timing" when helping young children learn. A few weeks ago, I did a snapshot assessment on several basic skills and asked parents to help them review at home. Today, I formally tested several kids and saw great results!  Each child has his or her own unique number of repetitions needed to solidly learn a new skill. Enlisting the help of parents at a critical time targeting specific skills works!  I love it when a plan comes together😜

PINK day💁

The pink frosted cupcakes were delicious!!