We have had a wonderful first week in Kindergarten:)  Aside from setting up a community of learners in our classroom using the fabulous teachings of The Morning Meeting and Lucy Calkins' Reading and Writing Workshop; we have also been creating some really cute crafts.  We have really had a blast getting to know one another and sharing new experiences together.  Below are some pictures of a few activities we have worked on so far.

First Day Treat

I made these cute little lady bug cupcakes for my K friends on the first day of school and wrapped them up in a clear cup and bag with a tag stating "I am so glad we are in the same spot."  these were SUPER easy- 1) Dye icing green and spread on as the "leaf" 2) Dye icing pink and put in a plastic baggie with the tip clipped off so you can quickly pipe on ovals for the ladybug body 3)Stick on Junior Mints for the heads and mini chocolate chips for the spots.  They were a huge hit.



 The Kissing Hand

Who doesn't love reading this book to little ones during the first week of school?  I read this book to my students at Meet the Teacher and gave them a little heart sticker to put in the palm of their hands just like Chester.  On the first day of school, we shared our "first day feeling" and recorded them on the big hand.  Afterwards, we made these cute Chester's out of hearts.  (It was the first day, so of course, I cut  all of the hearts out except for the gray one the night before.)  I love having at least one piece of my K friend's artwork up already- it really gives them ownership of their classroom.

Meet the Cates' Crew

We made these to display in the hallway outside of our classroom to introduce ourselves to visitors.  Each child wrote their name and something that they liked starting with the same letter (Example:  Mrs. Cates like cookies). Then, they used scrap paper to make a self-portrait.  They turned out really well and were both cute and purposeful:)



A New Kindergarten Crew

Today was our Kindergarten Open House and I had the pleasure of meeting my 18 new K friends!  Of course they are all adorable- it is going to be a great school year.  We are making so many changes in my classroom this year!  Not only have I completely revamped my classroom decorations (pictures below), but we have also revamped the way that we will be teaching reading this year.  My K team was given the amazing opportunity to go to NYC and attend a course at Columbia University's Teacher's College and hear from fabulous minds like Lucy Calkins and Kathy Collins (I am still in awe).  I truly feel as if my outlook on teaching literacy to K students has been changed forever.  More to come about Reading Workshop in future posts- once we have gotten further into it :)

Sign In

(Thank you Pinterest for the pencil idea)



Community Circle/ Promethean Board

Word Wall/ Computers/ Small Group Table

Art/ Sink/ Cubbies

Pink, Yellow, Green and Blue Tables

(Marked with tissue paper flowers and polka dot labels)

Puppet Theater/ Book Boxes/ Couch/ Writing Center

Math Centers

Morning/ Afternoon Jobs

Table Baskets/ Some of our class library

(Cute polka dot labels that are on everything- available at my TPT store)

"Bee"havior Management

Accomplishment Door

(All individual strategies worked on in workshops will be put in their pockets to be celebrated at every nine weeks.  I really want to emphasis successes- no matter how small)

I also have to share this super cute note that we sent home to all of our sweet K friends to read the night before the first day of Kindergarten.  I found it on the Sunny Days in Second Grade blog and it brought a tear to my eye (and I don't even have kids yet).   Go check it out for a the PDF link :)

Beginning of the Year Activities

These two activities are done at the beginning of the school year.  I know it is close to the end of the year, but they were too cute not to share:)

ABC Fashion Show

Every year, Kindergarten hosts an ABC Fashion Show.  Each Kindergartner takes home a letter vest (aka- a brown paper bag cut into a vest) with an assigned letter or number 1-20.  They decorate their vest with pictures/items to go along with their letter or number.  All of the Kindergartners gather together to walk the runway to show off their vests.  It is a blast:)

Buzzing Bee (special student of the day) Posters

Each day, one of my sweet friends becomes the Buzzing Bee for the day.  At the beginning of the year, we are very focused on building our classroom community.  One way that we do this is by having a Buzzing Bee interview where we ask getting to know you type questions and create a poster that will hang in our classroom for the remainder of the school year.  As part of the first Buzzing Bee experience, each sweet friend goes home with the portrait that each of their classmates drew of them that day.  It is a sweet keepsake and strengthens our sense of community.







New Beginnings

We are about to start a brand new school year and we will be making lots of exciting changes in kindergarten.  Our room has a new look to accommodate our shift to facilitating a more independent learning environment.  Yes-I will be actively working toward making 5 year olds independent in THEIR classroom.  While this is not a HUGE shift for our kindergarten team, given that we are very child-focused in the first place; we are placing much more emphasis on it through two new programs- Investigations and The Daily 5.  I am really looking forward to seeing my students take ownership of their learning and learn as much from the thinking of their classmates as they learn from me :)

In order for my students to be independent, my room has to be organized and labeled.  We also have to practice our routines to establish muscle memory, so everything has to be opened up to create lots of space for learning.  Below are some pictures of my classroom this year.  It looks so bare- I can't wait to fill it up with lots of great student work :)

Math Center

Community Circle

Book Boxes and Reading Area

Loft and Home Living



Behavior Management

 Classroom Shots