Welcome to Kindergarten!

First of all I'd like to welcome all of our new Kindergarten families to school.  I can already tell that it's going to be a fantastic year.  The kids have all adjusted so well to these first few days.  It's also been great to sit down and chat with many of you parents.  Thank you for coming in.  I know this time of year is busy and our schedule is a bit crazy.  I appreciate the time you've taken to come in and share information about your children.  We are going to be partners for the next ten months….I thank you for all of your input.

For this first blog post, I thought I would post some pictures of some important parts of our classroom.  Right outside our door, I post a calendar that tells of the month's events.  I usually take a photo of it and put it here on the blog too, so you can check it for classroom events and reminders.  Please also check our school website for the Brooksbank calendar.

this is where you can find the calendar

On the window of the door, you will find our "morning routines".  Please help your child prepare for the day by reviewing the routine and then encouraging him/her to carry out the routine as independently as possible.  We are not quite starting the "print your name" part of the morning routine yet.  And I have already explained to the kids that they only need to change their shoes when they are wet/muddy or when they are wearing boots.

Inside our classroom, we have a board that shows the "shape of the day".  I encourage the kids to take a look at this when they arrive at school.  It shows them what we are going to do that day.  

Finally, I thought I would share our Centre Time choosing board.  This is where the kids choose what they would like to play with during Centre Time.  For some kids, it is difficult to understand that there is a limit to the number of children who can play at a given Centre (the yellow numbers indicate how many children can play at each Centre at a time).  I let them know that sometimes we have to wait to have a turn where we really want to play.  Maybe over the weekend, share this picture with your child and ask them what the numbers mean.  Have a conversation about what to do if the Centre they want to play at is already full.  

Thanks for checking out the blog.  I'd love to start adding pictures of the kids in action.  Please let me know if you do not want your child's picture to be posted here.  I will try to blog most days.  

Please have a look at the package of forms that came home this week and return them to me as soon as possible. 

The ziplock bag that was sent home with the forms inside (it has a label with your child's name on it) is to be returned with comfort kit items inside.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Have a great weekend.  On Monday, all of the Kindergarten students will come from 9-11.