A Day in the Life of a Kindergartner

Hi, friends!  I know it’s been awhile since I’ve blogged over here on my own blog, and I feel terribly bad about that!  March was a killer… and to be honest, April isn’t looking any better.  Anywho, I’ll spare you all of my rambling on about the details of my busy schedule.  Ain’t no tired like teacher tired!

I had every intention of linking up with my bloggy buddies Ashley and Angie early, but spring break happened, and then report cards happened, and then the craziness after break happened.  And since I promised my name twin that I would link up, here I am!  A promise is a promise!

Let’s dive right into the day in the life of a kindergartner….

As you can see, our schedule is jam packed!  Here’s a break down of each area of our day…

8:55  Morning Work

Our day begins at 8:55, but technically I still have my breakfast eaters straggling in until about 9:10.  As the students enter the classroom, they will drop their take home folders in the tray, make their lunch choice, and begin working on their morning work.  When morning work is finished, the students use words from the word wall and write three sentences on the back of their paper.  Then, they get their book box to read.  This simple routine gives me enough time to take lunch count and attendance.

Grab the free lunch count labels below!

9:20  Mystery Message

Each morning, we begin our morning meeting gathered on the carpet.  Here’s a little peek at our meeting area:

The morning meeting begins with a mystery message that I write on the board.  The students help me crack the code.  In the beginning of the year, I will leave off some initial sounds.  As the year progresses, we move on to filling in ending sounds, middle sounds, vowel pairs, and even chunks.  After we’ve solved the mystery, we read the message, making sure to practice our voice as we encounter different types of punctuation.  I do realize the below message is missing the word “a”… it was a teachable moment for us all!

9:30  Calendar Math Binder

After the mystery message, the students open their calendar math binders.  I project each page on my IWB, and the students work in their binders.

I LOVE our calendar binder!  It really helps keep the kiddos engaged during calendar time.  No more monotonous calendar routine with the same students answering the related calendar questions!  Since this was one of my very first creations that I ever made, I am still in the process of updating the pages (and believe me, it needs updating), but here’s a sneak peek at one of the weather graph pages:

We still have a wall calendar, as well as clip collection and tally mark display, that we update each day.  The clip collection hooks on that wooden strip to the right.  It actually has 18 mini hooks screwed into it.  After we have a chain of 10 paperclips we move it to the tens side. You can’t see the paperclips in this picture, because it was taken before school began.  The tally mark sheet is just below the clip collection.

9:45  Brain Break (Math Songs)

I like to use songs from Greg & Steve and Jack Hartmann, as well as Dr. Jean.  Our favorites from the beginning of the year are the “Number Rock,” “Months of the Year,” and “Chicken Count.”  Right now, we are all about “Count to 100” and “Kangaroo Learns Left and Right.”

9:50  Math Block

Did I mention I love math?!?  I do!  I really do!  Our math block follows somewhat of a workshop model and consists of many elements, including a fluency component, mini lesson, guided practice (often with a partner), independent practice, math talk or share, as well as math tubs and guided math groups.  Each lesson begins with a quick fluency activity.  One of our favorites is using the rekenreks to build numbers.

Click on the picture below to read more about our letter box and grab this FREEBIE!