For the last two weeks we have been knee deep in everything pumpkin! First we showed them the pumpkins we brought in and recorded our schema. I copied this pumpkin chart from The First Grade Parade. Here are some of the pumpkin books we read… (Pumpkin, Pumpkin is a great one for the life cycle…
*If you would like to see what I did for patterning in 2015 click here* This week was all about patterning! The FDK expectation for patterning is… P4.1 identify, create, reproduce and extend repeating patterns through investigation, using a variety of materials and actions. First I introduced them to our patterning anchor chart that we…
Inquiry is a huge focus in FDK and it aligns well with my view that we should learn the student’s interests and differentiate instruction to engage the students using their interests. My teaching partner (ECE) is fantastic at picking up on these interests and she noticed that a lot of students were asking questions about…
*If you want to see what I did for 2D Shapes in 2015 click here!* Week 3 and 4 was all about 2D shapes in math! I like starting with 2D shapes because it is something that most of the kids already know and feel successful about. Here is the plan I made to keep…
Just wanted to quickly stop in and share a classroom management strategy that has been working well in my class this year! This year my kids have to get ready in the hall. My ECE and I both decided right from the start that we were going to aim for a calm, quiet space when…
This was our first full week of Kindergarten and our focus was names! I want all of the students to know each other (and their own!) names well so I decided to start the year by focusing on names. We started our “special helper” routine. Each day I announce the special helper and this person…
Phew! Although there is no tired like beginning of the year teacher tired, I have to say that I have a really lovely class. We started the week off by reading “Chu’s First day of School”. In the book Chu’s teacher asks each student to say their name and something they love doing. So after…
Here is another thing checked off my blogging bucket list! My first “currently”! I’m linking up with Farly from Oh’Boy 4th Grade 🙂 Listening: To nothing… and loving it! I’m going to have enough noise when my kids start tomorrow and my boyfriend comes back from Vegas tonight so I’m enjoying the silence for just a little…
2 weeks ago I walked in to my new classroom for the first time.. and man was it BARE! There was very little on the walls and in the cabinets and I knew that I had a lot of work to do before the first day of school! Here are some BEFORE shots: I took a…
Today is the last day of the Blog Hoppin’ Back to School Linky and the topic is: What do you love to teach? I love to teach writing but it can be super tricky in the beginning of the year. Most of my JK’s come in without being able to write their name and the…
I love sharing lessons and activities that have worked well in my Kindergarten classroom to provide you with engaging ideas and to help you cut down your planning time!
Check out my story below to learn more about the why behind A Pinch of Kinder.
