All I can say is WOW! This week seriously flew by, and it was amazing! I am linking up with Doodlebugs Teaching to share my first week of school fun with you!
This Tuesday was my first day of school, and OMGoodness! I have the sweetest class EVER! They are all such good listeners and so polite! I mean… I might just be a little biased! But really, they are a PERFECT group!
On a side note, remind me to never wear white on the first day! I was dirty before school even started! What was I thinking?!?!
We made these fun headbands from Live Laugh Love Kindergarten to celebrate our first day of Kindergarten!
The first day went so smoothly that I even had time to sit down and eat lunch… SERIOUSLY… on the first day!
My kiddos just loved listening to David Goes to School and How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? as we learned all about our classroom rules and making good choices! I have been reading these books for years, eleven years to be exact, and the kids giggle just as much each year!
A couple years ago, I stumbled across this good choices / poor choices behavior sort from the talented Mrs. Ricca’s Kindergarten, and have been using it ever since! Thank you, Nicole!
The kindergarten cheer, “Here I Come,” was also a huge hit with my new kinders! I say the red words, and I teach my kiddos the black words. We practiced it a little each day, and by Thursday, we were ready to add our first word to our word wall!
We will continue practicing this cheer next week, locating exclamation points, learning a little chant for the word “can,” as well as a chant for the word “I.” Plus, the kiddos will practice all of these skills for homework in their “I Can Read” poetry binder!
I prepped these earlier in the week, so they are ready to send home on Monday. My kiddos have already been asking when homework day is! I think they are super excited to “read” this cheer to their parents!
If you like this cheer and would like to check out more poems I use in my class during shared reading time and as homework in our poetry binders, check out my I Can Read August/September Poetry Binder pack!
This pack includes poems about school, the alphabet, shapes, apples, and fall. The poems are perfect for September, and even October! Read more about how I set up and use poetry binders {here}!
Of course, I also read the beloved Kissing Hand during the first week of school and completed a first day feelings graph on our IWB (thanks to my mentee)!
I apologize for the quality of this picture and for the fact that the letter in each word bumped down to the last line (seriously driving me bunkers)! This file came from Smart Exchange, which has a variety of Smart Notebook files.
After the story, we made Chester, completed a story retelling, and worked on labeling a picture with this fun FREEBIE!
Normally, I like to place labeling activities in our Work on Writing area, but since this was our first week, first time labeling a picture, and first time working on beginning sounds, we used the first sheet and completed this activity as a whole group. The kiddos sat on the carpet with their clipboards, and I modeled the lesson on the IWB. I would say the beginning sound in each word, and the class would tell me the letter. Then, I wrote it on the board and they wrote it inside the appropriate box on their paper.
Last, but certainly not least, I am super excited to be collaborating with some fabulous bloggers! We have been working behind the scenes for the last couple months!
I cannot wait for our new collaborative blog to go live! Stay tuned for more details!
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my Five for Friday – First Week Fun Edition! What activities do you like to complete during your first couple weeks of school?
Thank you for the freebie. Your poetry pack looks great! We also do the same good choice/poor choice sort. 🙂
Lots of great stuff! And thank for the freebies! Have a great year!
Thank you for the freebie about teaching good/bad choices. I am going to use it in my preschool classroom.