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

First day of Kindergarten!

So I made it through the first day of Kindergarten!
With 3 times as many boys than girls, it was surprisingly better then I anticipated.
The morning started out a little rough, but by the afternoon it was just wonderful in our classroom!
I think we have a really great class of kids. For the most part, everyone is listening to us and following our expectations. And for the first day of their school years, I thought they all did great! And as the weeks go by, they will get accustomed to school and they should be excelling in their academics and chaos shouldn't be a problem.
I noticed about myself today that I can be firm with kids when needed. That was one thing that I was a little nervous about, but I was able to make myself be an authority figure in the classroom but still someone who can talk with them about whatever is on their mind, and just enjoy their company.
What made the day so great was when pullouts were over for a large chunk of time and we were able to have a lesson on taking work out, using it, and putting it away. We then had an open work session which was exactly what they needed! This was the best part of the day! All of the kids found things to work on and were very respectful of the materials and each others space. They loved it all! When asking the kids before they left if they had a good day, they all responded by saying, "yes," or "I loved today!" and even "This is the best school I've ever been to!" That made me feel really good about this class and what we are striving to accomplish as teachers. :)

And here is my bulletin board:
Pictures of each student and underneath their picture it answers the question, "when you grow up what do you want to be?"

(The hall way is narrow so it was hard to get a full picture of the whole board, but this shows pretty much what it is.)

Kindergarten profiles

I know we only need one post a week, but I will probably be posting a lot more! (That is until I become overly busy). ;)
Anyways we started the kindergarten profiles yesterday. I observed how my mentor teacher would greet the child and family, then take the tour around the classroom. Next was the assessment. I made sure to watch closely as I am making a point to learn as much as I possibly can without leaving anything out which would be required for a teacher! It is always great to meet with the children one on one. Viewing the assessments are also great to see each child's different levels.
Last night was also our parent meeting. Needless to say I had a 12 hour day at my school yesterday, but I am well aware that teaching does and will continue to require long hours!
But I thought the parent night was very good! About 7 or 8 parents came and my mentor teacher went through anything a parent of a kindergartner at a Montessori school might want to know.
I definitely see how important parent nights are! They encourage families to stay active in their child's education, give all kinds of information on the classroom and curriculum as well as offer many resources to the parents.

So then today I was able to do the assessments myself. After the first child, it became a lot more easy. It was exciting to have that opportunity. I am still learning all about assessments, but I am feeling more confident in doing them. It is definitely good to have feedback and help from my mentor teacher. I am looking forward to meeting more children tomorrow!

Week 2!

So I have been so busy this week and it's only Tuesday!
Every time I walk down the hall or when I am in the work room, a teacher asks me, "'Did you think it would be this much work just setting up a classroom" or "You thought it was all about teaching, didn't you?"
I knew it would be a lot of work, but actually spending the whole day at school setting up class, going to meetings, trainings, and working on everything else really is a lot! But I have to say it is still very exciting.
Tomorrow starts our Kindergarten assessments. I am looking forward to seeing the kids! We had our back to school picnic yesterday and I briefly got to meet about half of our class. What is going to be really interesting to say the least is that right now our class is made up of only 5 girls...but 13 boys! So this will be an adventure I am sure!
Right now I am still in the process of setting up our bulletin board. I won't be finished with that until the last student comes in for their assessment next week. But I have had compliments so far and not that much is up.
Tomorrow night is our parent night. I am looking forward to that, but that means tomorrow is going to be another long day! So I should probably get some rest. :)

First day in the classroom

School hasn't started yet, but I did have a chance to go into my classroom early and begin setting up. I thought it was really great to have the opportunity to be in the classroom at the very start putting the room together. It was fun thinking about where shelves and tables should go. Thinking about student's needs and what a functional classroom should look like took several times of rearranging, but we pretty much have the classroom set up in a way we are happy with. I am looking forward to the next couple of days of unpacking and learning all about what to expect when the students first arrive. Already I am learning a lot about Kindergarten profiling and specific Montessori strategies.
I think this will be a really great year!