The Kissing Hand

We have had a great, first week of school.  We have gone over expectations for the classroom, learned how to play on outside equipment, learned the lunchroom routine, and much, much more.  Most importantly, we have had fun while doing everything.  The students had the opportunity to try centers at their table.  They did a great job sharing and cleaning up.  We did some reading and math centers.  Here are some of the centers we have done at our table:
Bristle blocks

Puzzles


Reading Center

Making letters of alphabet with pattern blocks:

Making pattern with uni-fix cubes:


We also did centers with playdough numbers and letters, but I did not get a picture of anybody doing these two centers.
We have also read many books including the book:  "The Kissing Hand."  It's about a little raccoon named Chester.  Chester is scared to start school.  His mom teaches him about the kissing hand.  She places a kiss in his palm that stays with him all day.  Whenever he is scared or sad, he can look at his hand and remember her love.  After we read the story, we talked about how Chester felt before he received the kissing hand and after he received it.  Then, they each got their own kissing hands.  They put a heart sticker on their kissing hands to show love.  I think they enjoyed this story and related to it very well.
Here are a few friends holding up their kissing hand:

Welcome Kindergarten Class of 2013

I am very excited to start my fifth year teaching kindergarten at McCarter Elementary School.  This will be my fourth year using a blog.  The blog is an excellent place to keep families up to date with the fun things happening in the classroom.  It is a great opportunity for families near and far to get a peek into the classroom.
I always like to share a few things about myself.  I graduated from Washburn University in May 2008.  I do not have any children, but I have a wonderful dog named Sadie.

I have a 7 year old nephew and a 12 year old niece.  I spent a lot of time with them this summer. Our favorite activity was going to Worlds of Fun.

Here I am riding a water ride with my family:

Also, I love snoopy, and I was so excited to meet him this summer.  :-)
 
Lastly, I like to share my first day of kindergarten.