2nd Week of Kindergarten!

So far I would say that school is going great for our students! After school one day, my mentor teacher read an email out loud to me which was from a parent simply saying thank you for making her daughter's first week of Kindergarten so wonderful! She expressed how she comes home so excited for school everyday. To me that means we are doing something right!
So the second week of school was a lot better now that the kids are beginning to understand the routine a little more of what is expected of them in the classroom and around the school. We are now introducing a little bit more of academics. We have done a lot of science so far and we started zoo phonics with the kids during week one. This week will be more focused on introducing separate lessons to individual students. I have been working with a couple students when I get a chance on letter sounds. I am already seeing progress and that is really exciting.
Last week I also began a art project with the kids. We have this old shelf that goes in the art area and when setting up the classroom my mentor teacher was thinking of getting rid of it, but I thought it might be nice and fun for the kids if we let them paint it. So the past couple of days I've taken groups of 3 outside where they were given the freedom to paint the shelf. That was a big hit in the class! The kids loved painting the shelf.
I have also done several read alouds in the class. The first book I read was, "King Bidgood's in the Bathtub" by Audrey Wood. We have also read and are continuing to do a drama during circle time with the kids of the book, "The Piggy in the Puddle."
Some literacy experiences that are in the classroom so far are:
-Songs with motions
-Drama
-Zoo phonics
-Alphabet puzzles
-Sand letters
-Hand writing without tears booklets
-Rhyming with objects
-Letters, sounds, and object matching