One Week Down...

It was a great first week of Kindergarten! All four students are extremely excited about coming to Kindergarten, and everything we do is fun and adventurous to them.

Yesterday morning, we practiced our Bible verse song that we had been reviewing all week, and I decided to videotape them with my camera because they were doing so well with the song. Enjoy listening to Psalm 56:3!

The best part of the school day (at least to me!) is when they come back from afternoon recess. We gather together to read a story, and then they settle down for rest time for about 30 minutes. On Mondays and Wednesdays, they listen to Patch the Pirate adventures, but on Fridays they get to watch a short movie. Yesterday, they watched the first movie in a series called "Storykeepers". It's a series about Christians in Rome,who have to be secretive about their faith because of persecution. They go around secretly spreading stories about Jesus during His earthly ministry. The stories are filled with adventure, so they are always a favorite amongst my kiddos! As you can see, they are pretty wrapped up in the story! Laying so quietly and peaceful....I love movie rest time!! :-)

Yesterday afternoon, we did a crayon melting project. Remember those crayons I mentioned before??? Even though Elizabeth and I worked on melting crayons during vacation week, there still was a whole bunch left! So I brought the crayons in, and the kiddos got to pick what crayons were going to go in their cupcake tins. They each had a row to themselves...the benefits of being part of a small class! The crayons were still cooling when school was done, so we won't get to see the finished results until Monday. I am sure they will have fun coloring with them though!

The first week of Kindergarten is over. Like I said in the beginning, it was a great week, mostly because my kiddos made it so easy with their enthusiasm! However, I think it was also a great week because I did a "teacher check" each day. For my first 2 years teaching Kindergarten, the first week of school was always so rough for me. My first year teaching, I was so clueless as to what to expect. I knew I had to get them to read, and I got really overwhelmed the first week because I saw how much I would have to teach them to get them to the point of being able to read. *Panic strikes!* My second year teaching, I knew how the previous year had turned out - my students had learned how to read. *Phew* I can do this!! However, the first week was rough because I realized I had to start all. over. again. *Ugh!!* This year I was determined to have the right attitude. Mr. Anger taught a class 2 years ago about setting goals and objectives. My first 2 years, I saw the BIG goal of teaching my students how to read. However, that wasn't an attainable goal for the first week of school, so it got me discouraged. This year I am trying not to focus too much on the "big goal". I realize that it is the end goal, but there are a bunch of little goals and objectives to reach BEFORE I even think about that end goal! It's a process...and I am determining to make it a fun, flexible process - and not to panic when they don't get everything the first week of Kindergarten!! Oh yes, teaching is a learning process!

I saw this quote the other day, and knew that I just had to post it. It's a perfect quote for any teacher, especially a Kindergarten teacher, to grasp and understand!

I can't wait to see my students turn into butterflies!! However, I am going to enjoy each and every moment they are caterpillars, discovering the wonder of learning new things!