Keeping Up with the Kindergartners: The First 3 Days

It was 4:00 on Friday afternoon as I sat at my desk and reflected on the first 3 days of kindergarten. The quiet of the classroom that seemed so normal during the summer months now seems almost eerie. After hearing the sounds of voices and laughter from 19 new friends fill the four walls, I just can't wait for Monday to come back around.

I feel so blessed that our district allows us to begin school on a Wednesday. This may seem strange to most, but getting back into the groove of school is a big transition! Teachers use the first 3 days to get to know the children and teach procedures for the classroom, hallway and cafeteria.

We learned so many things about school during our first 3 days together and had some fun along the way!

As we talked about working together and being friends in our classroom, I shared two books: I Call My Hand Gentle and Hands Are Not For Hitting. After reading, we talked about all the nice ways we could use our hands and what we could "call" them. Each child gave me a word that I wrote underneath their hand print. We created a class book with these.

We shared in a reading of the "Weekly Reader" Back to School edition. The children then drew a picture of what supply they needed to come to school.

On Friday, we had a "working" snack! The children had to match their cheez-it to the appropriate letter before they could eat! I found this idea on Pinterest and the children loved it!