Miss K's Kindergarten: Kindergarten Rocks!

That was one of the first picture books that our BCS Kindergarten class read together - Kindergarten Rocks! By the end of day two, even our most nervous Kindergarteners were cheering with us - kindergarten rocks! In fact, GR told me that "this is the 'rock'n'est' school ever!"

This week has been all about getting to know the school. For those who were here last year, it has been rediscovering routines and finding changes in the classroom and each other since we are now one year older, and being good leaders and helpers for the Junior K's to follow. For the students brand new to BCS, it has been learning about all of these things, especially the names of our new friends and teacher.

As a special centre, students came to work one on one with me to trace or print their name.

An especially fun activity this week was learning that everyone in our class can read some words! Environmental print is a term you will become familiar with - it is like the word 'stop' on a stop sign or Macdonalds with the big M. Students know these already and these words are a great confidence builder as our young learners work on their letters and sounds.

GR practices his letters with magnets during our morning table centre time.

KI practices reading by finding words he knows and looking for clues in the pictures. Right after this, he got up on a bench and was the "teacher," reading to MA and another student.

CA reads in the library.

We learn letters and numbers every day, many times a day, in focused times all together and in our play centres. Each student has something to contribute to our book talks and story times, and we love to connect what is in our books or number examples to things we know from home (ie. That's the number four! Who is four? Show me four fingers. How many have four in their family?)

Socially, our class is getting along well. I have seen our most shy students ask someone else if they can join their play and I've seen those students say yes. I've seen students use Habit 4 Think Win-Win and Habit 6 Synergize to resolve differences and work together to problem solve.

KI, GR, LE, HO and others not pictured make backgrounds with watercolour for our environmental word wall that we will make together.
Ministry of Education Learning Outcomes - "Students have an innate openness to artistic activities."

LA and JA use oral communication skills, Habit 6 Synergize, and build their knowledge of structures as they make a city.

KA and HA use oral communication skills and connect their knowledge of their world as they work together to do the laundry in our dramatic play centre.

GR, ET, and KA explore God's world in this centre, as they build and examine products of the natural world. These students and others also went hunting for God's fingerprints. Some of the things they found - the plants on Miss K's desk (the leaves felt smooth), the fish in our aquarium, and the kind acts of our classmates.

We are learning that we are leaders already; God created us and loves us. We use the habits to be good leaders for Him. I can already see the unique gifts in these kindergarteners, and I'm so excited for us to learn and grow together.

These were some of the 'favourite things' of this week as told by your children...