We did it! We made it to the 100th day of school! And we celebrated big! On our 99th day of school we dressed up as if we were 99 years old. We played bingo and even had a birthday party for ourselves. Then, one day later, we celebrated all things 100. We wore our Froot Loop necklaces that had 100 pieces of cereal on them (sorted into groups of 10 by colors of course). We wore our special 100 Days of School shirts and did 100 exercises with Jack Hartmann. We counted how far 100 steps would take us- almost to the cafeteria if you were wondering. That afternoon we broke into groups for our 100 Day stations. The class had so much fun working together to show off their knowledge of the number 100!
My class has worked so hard to get to the point of being able to write down their ideas. We are finally getting the hang of it! This week the students wrote their first “essay” about plants. We gathered our ideas using an idea web on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday the class created their rough drafts and on Thursday they got together with a partner to do peer editing. I loved hearing them share their ideas with their partners. After hearing some constructive criticism the students went back to their tables to make changes to their papers. On Friday they presented their papers to the rest of the class. We will keep working through this same process for the rest of the year. Eventually the students will be writing two to three sentences instead of filling out a sentence frame. It is so fulfilling to see their progress and pride!
Every year the St. James classes choose a community service project. This year the kindergarten classes chose to serve the Children’s Advocacy Center of Texarkana. We bought bags and hygiene items so that every child that comes through the center can have something that belongs to them. Once all of the items were gathered the students worked hard to fill each bag with a toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb, a towel, washcloth and deodorant, and a small fidget toy. It was so rewarding to see the care that each student put in to make sure the bags were complete. Altogether we filled 100 hygiene bags!
We’ve been busy learning about nouns! The parts of speech can be an abstract concept for young children so I like to give them fun, concrete ways to reinforce those concepts. The students have learned that nouns, or naming words, as we sometimes call them are divided into three groups: people, places, and things. Sometimes we add a separate category for animals. I do not introduce the concept of nouns also being ideas yet. Last Friday we made binoculars and went on a “hunt” for nouns around our campus. Every student had a clipboard so they could document their noun sightings. It was wonderful to see them grasp the idea that everything they could see on our walk was a noun! What a fun way to end our noun study.
Once a month the kindergarten classes have a Flashlight Friday. They bring books, flashlights, and a stuffed animal or blanket from home. The lights go off and the flashlights get turned on. They love that they are getting out of “school work” for part of the afternoon. I love that for 30-45 minutes they are snuggled up with a good book and a friend to share the joys of reading. Sometimes I hear the words, “but I can’t read”. Although now that they have quite a few sight words under their belt and are beginning to sound out some words those comments are happening less often. I try to remind them that not all “reading” is done with words. The illustrations tell an important story as well!
