BLS Express: Junior Explorers 8/25/2023

Check out the new things we did to change the routine this week!

Clips: I introduced the idea of using a clothespin clip to help us navigate the room. This helps the children stay organized with their materials and be responsible for cleaning them up before they move on. This also sets the groundwork for later on when I put the children in to their small learning groups. I ring the chime, they can clean up their space, and get in line to make a new choice. Sometimes their first choice is already taken, so this is a chance to practice patience and coming up with a plan B.

Specials: We've been to gym class, art class, and started the process for technology class!

Testing/assessments: Ms. Amy and I have completed the classroom assessments, but on Thursday we started the standardized testing. It sounds intimidating, but it is just answering math or language questions on a computer. It's hard to imagine kindergartners completing a test like that, but we get through it! It's an adaptive test so it will generate questions based off of the answers the students give. I am right there to help a few children at a time. Manipulating the mouse or trackpad is hard enough so you will often see me clicking and dragging because those little hands just can't do it! Thursday we started Math and we'll do reading next week. Then we are done until winter.

Nursery Rhyme unit: Our nursery rhymes unit has officially started! During this unit we look at familiar (or not so familiar) nursery rhymes and dissect them. Why does Johnny tell the rain to go away? Who is the main character in the nursery rhyme? When we say sugar is sweet, what does it mean to say 'and so are you'? Could this rhyme happen in real life? In this unit we are practicing appropriate meeting time expectations, thinking of rhyming, comprehension, and real-life connections.

Here are a few other little things form the week you can talk about with your child and see what they have to say. See what they remember about:

Blacktop recess
A greedy bee
Discussions on being safe (one of our 3 rules!)
An older student coming in to read a book and talk
Learning some of our classmate's favorite signs like "sorry," "pizza," "ice cream," and "stop."
Keeping the rain away with a nursery rhyme!

And as always, we can thank Amy for the pictures she takes because I always forget to pull out my camera. See you next week!