My husband joined the class to help us build a planter box for the St. James Gala and Auction. This is always a fun day for everyone. My husband likes meeting all the kids that he’s heard funny stories about, the class loves getting to do something new and different, and I get a chance to see everyone work on new skills. Sometimes that is something as simple as communicating with a new adult. Each student had a chance to work with a power drill or a manual screwdriver and put together a few pieces of the planter. Everyone was proud of their work. We can’t wait for our planter to go home with someone!
We recently celebrated 100 days of school! 100 days of learning, growing, and encouraging each other. After a week of no school due to icy weather we were ready to have some fun. What better way to celebrate than by dressing up like we were 100 years old! Many giggles ensued after seeing everyone’s canes, walkers, and granny and gramps wigs! The students were excited to finally be able to wear (and eat) their Froot Loop necklaces that they had worked so hard on. I was excited that there was almost no complaining while making the necklaces. Counting and threading 100 small pieces of cereal is no easy task for little fingers! In the afternoon we started our 100 Day centers. Students stacked 100 cups, built 100 Legos, put numbers in order from 1 to 100, made trail mix with 100 pieces, and our personal favorite, tried to finish a sucker in 100 licks. It was such a fun day filled with even more learning and growing!
December is a time of fun, chaos, and sweet surprises in kindergarten. We’ve spent a lot of time this month collecting items for our community service project benefiting Hands On Texarkana. Our St. James families brought in all kinds of nourishing foods and hygiene supplies and the kindergartners packed the supplies into bags to be passed out to local senior citizens in need. They loved seeing how full we were able to get the bags and got so excited every time we were able to add a new item to the bags.
We also had a fun visitor show up! Bumpo the elf came back to kindergarten for his 13th year and is spreading his Christmas magic. Let’s hope he can hang in there until next Thursday!
Kindergarten went on a hunt for nouns before Thanksgiving break. We learned that nouns are people, places, and things (animals too). We read the book Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt and got all dressed up for our Noun Hunt. We walked around campus looking for nouns. It was a great way to burn off some of their holiday energy while still learning!
It was show and tell Friday in kindergarten. Show and tell happens once a month but the kids always look forward to it. I don’t mind it either because I know how many early literacy skills are being developed. Cognitive development skills are practiced when choosing an item to share and planning what to say. While it may seem like just a chance to bring a toy to school show and tell is actually building rich descriptive vocabulary, strengthening storytelling skills, and fostering connection and inclusivity! Children that love to share get a chance to do so and more reserved children get a chance to practice public speaking skills in a safe environment. The audience is building listening skills and empathy. Show and Tell is a win for everyone!
