Kindergarten: one month in
One month into Kindergarten and Emily is doing really well and, more importantly, she loves going to school every morning!
She picks out what to pack in her lunch the night before (nuts and fruit for snack, ham and cheese sandwich for lunch most days) and helps lay out her clothes; carries her own backpack to and from school, hangs it up on the hook of her choice each morning, and has yet to forget to bring home her lunchbox and jacket in it; and reminds us to clean out her pink folder on Wednesday nights so she can return it to Mrs. S Thursday morning.
She's always been a social butterfly, making friends everywhere we go so, it was no surprise to us when the emails began rolling in, requesting play dates with Emily. She has really bonded with three little girls that we try to see every week at either swim lessons or each others' homes.
A few special days at school each week include:
Library books are due back on Mondays (but can be brought to class through Thursday) and the class visits the Library on Thursdays. Emily loves to check-out books about Whales and Pokemon (of all things!). They have also gone to the computer lab to work with a drawing and painting program, Emily said she loves to compute!
Wednesday is Motor Fitness and probably Emily's favorite day because her dad leads it every single week. I know David loves it because he gets to be a "fly on the wall" of sorts and see Emily in action with Mrs. S and her classmates. According to him, Emily can do all of the activities (things like bouncing a ball in a hoop, walking across a balance beam, tossing bean bags into holes, bunny hopping, bear-crawling across a ladder, etc.) and is eager to get back in line for a second turn. She's doing really well at being patient, observing the demonstrator, and executing the activity when it's her turn. Wednesday is also the day that the previous week's work comes home in their folders as well as the Express, the school newsletter, and other paperwork like the picture day order form and a reminder about the next PTA meeting.
Starting in October, a homework folder will be sent home the first day of the month. 10 minutes per night should be devoted to homework and that's all as to not burn-out the kids. The completed folder is due back the last day of the month.
A music teacher has recently been hired and will come visit Emily's class once a week to do a music lesson.
There is an Art Docent and Garden Docent that come in once per month to do a lesson with the kids and we are all looking forward to these opportunities. Each are volunteer positions filled by parents.
Speaking of volunteering, I'm not doing as much as I would love to because I'm limited in my availability since Nolan is still so small and I don't have anyone who can watch him for me during the day. I did sign up to read Emily's favorite books a few times throughout the year (first part of the day for 15 minutes, I can totally do that with David) and I have helped put together workbooks and packets for Mrs. S here at home.
My favorite part of Kindergarten is pick-up. I have shown up early for pick-up on numerous occasions, which is neat because I get to see Emily at lunch recess on the playground. She has a group of friends she seems to gravitate towards and they like to do a lot of pretend play; acting like Angry Birds and flapping around the chip yard is a favorite.
David's favorite part is seeing all the work Emily has been doing. Her cutting skills have drastically improved (she can cut an Octagon now!) and she is getting better at recalling what she did at school and sharing it with us. She shared The Pledge of Allegiance with us today.
According to Mrs. S Emily is doing well. She is right in line with her 4-5 year old peers (they have several 6 year olds in her class as well) but could use some more practice with scissor-safety. Like a lot of other kids, Emily is still adjusting to just how much work they are required to do every single day for 4-5 hours (she can get tired and has even refused to do a project once) and remembering all the various school rules (like not running in the chip yard playground) but with each week that passes she is showing tremendous progress and already seems so much more mature.
We are so proud!
She picks out what to pack in her lunch the night before (nuts and fruit for snack, ham and cheese sandwich for lunch most days) and helps lay out her clothes; carries her own backpack to and from school, hangs it up on the hook of her choice each morning, and has yet to forget to bring home her lunchbox and jacket in it; and reminds us to clean out her pink folder on Wednesday nights so she can return it to Mrs. S Thursday morning.
She's always been a social butterfly, making friends everywhere we go so, it was no surprise to us when the emails began rolling in, requesting play dates with Emily. She has really bonded with three little girls that we try to see every week at either swim lessons or each others' homes.
A few special days at school each week include:
Library books are due back on Mondays (but can be brought to class through Thursday) and the class visits the Library on Thursdays. Emily loves to check-out books about Whales and Pokemon (of all things!). They have also gone to the computer lab to work with a drawing and painting program, Emily said she loves to compute!
Wednesday is Motor Fitness and probably Emily's favorite day because her dad leads it every single week. I know David loves it because he gets to be a "fly on the wall" of sorts and see Emily in action with Mrs. S and her classmates. According to him, Emily can do all of the activities (things like bouncing a ball in a hoop, walking across a balance beam, tossing bean bags into holes, bunny hopping, bear-crawling across a ladder, etc.) and is eager to get back in line for a second turn. She's doing really well at being patient, observing the demonstrator, and executing the activity when it's her turn. Wednesday is also the day that the previous week's work comes home in their folders as well as the Express, the school newsletter, and other paperwork like the picture day order form and a reminder about the next PTA meeting.
Starting in October, a homework folder will be sent home the first day of the month. 10 minutes per night should be devoted to homework and that's all as to not burn-out the kids. The completed folder is due back the last day of the month.
A music teacher has recently been hired and will come visit Emily's class once a week to do a music lesson.
There is an Art Docent and Garden Docent that come in once per month to do a lesson with the kids and we are all looking forward to these opportunities. Each are volunteer positions filled by parents.
Speaking of volunteering, I'm not doing as much as I would love to because I'm limited in my availability since Nolan is still so small and I don't have anyone who can watch him for me during the day. I did sign up to read Emily's favorite books a few times throughout the year (first part of the day for 15 minutes, I can totally do that with David) and I have helped put together workbooks and packets for Mrs. S here at home.
My favorite part of Kindergarten is pick-up. I have shown up early for pick-up on numerous occasions, which is neat because I get to see Emily at lunch recess on the playground. She has a group of friends she seems to gravitate towards and they like to do a lot of pretend play; acting like Angry Birds and flapping around the chip yard is a favorite.
David's favorite part is seeing all the work Emily has been doing. Her cutting skills have drastically improved (she can cut an Octagon now!) and she is getting better at recalling what she did at school and sharing it with us. She shared The Pledge of Allegiance with us today.
According to Mrs. S Emily is doing well. She is right in line with her 4-5 year old peers (they have several 6 year olds in her class as well) but could use some more practice with scissor-safety. Like a lot of other kids, Emily is still adjusting to just how much work they are required to do every single day for 4-5 hours (she can get tired and has even refused to do a project once) and remembering all the various school rules (like not running in the chip yard playground) but with each week that passes she is showing tremendous progress and already seems so much more mature.
We are so proud!
Glad to catch up on here and find out that Emily is thriving in Kindergarten! That is so wonderful! I am so happy for her and you guys. Sounds like a busy but lovely routine. Hope to see you guys soon!
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