Begin with the End in Mind

We've started our learning about Habit 2:  Begin with the End in Mind.  We learned that if you want something or have a goal, you need a plan to make it happen.

First we read The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle.  We learned that Spider wanted a web, and she didn't stop (even though she may have wanted to) until the web was made.

We then thought of things we want:

I was pleasantly surprised when some students didn't really have anything that they wanted!

As a class, we decided we wanted our best work.  Together we came up with a plan on how to achieve that goal:

We're getting better with achieving our best work!  Stay tuned. . .  we'll be working more on habit 2 as the year progresses.

Inspired by Piet Mondrian

We've been learning about shapes:  squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, etc.  One of our favorite activities was working with rectangles.  We looked at paintings by Piet Mondrian and recognized that he used a lot of rectangles in his works.

We got inspired and wondered what we could do with rectangles.  Take a look at what we did:

What can you do with rectangles?

How to Get Along

We've been learning how to get along.

First we thought of what we already knew about getting along and recorded our thoughts in a thinking map:

Then we learned that we can talk,

and we can listen.

We drew what listening looked like.

We learned we can share.

We made a chart to remember what we can share and what we cannot share.

We learned we can get along.

We made a promise to each other to get along.

It's going to be a great year because we can get along!

I Can

I can learn . . .

  . . . how to do brain breaks

 . . . how to write some capital letters (F,E, D, P)

. . . how to raise my hand when I have something to say.

 . . . about the front cover, back cover, title page, title, author, and illustrator.

I can share:

  . . .  when it's time to take turns.

 . . . the materials.

. . . my thoughts with my classmates.

I can make friends:

Learn, share, and friend were three of our vocabulary words this week.  

Be Proactive

We're learning to be proactive!  We've been discussing how to be responsible for our actions, how to help others, and how we can choose our attitudes, moods, and actions.

First we read The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.  We talked about how the clown in the story keep his attitude positive when it seemed like no train would help the toys and he kept asking for help.  Additionally we noticed how the little engine tried something new and didn't give up until he accomplished the task.  That's what being proactive is all about!

We made a chart to list some of the things we can do.  I bet each child can make his own chart longer than the one we made in class.  We can do so many things!  Additionally, we learned what the word independently means.

We have been reading other books to show how to behave at school, too.  We learned that "no" means "no" with Don't Let Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems, even when you ask nicely.  We learned that begging, pouting, and throwing a fit when we hear the word "no" doesn't work either. We learned that there can be consequences when making poor choices with No, David! by David Shannon.  And we learned that we're going to like ourselves with the book I'm Gonna Like Me by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell.

Yesterday and today we've worked to show being proactive in the classroom.  I'm so pleased to see so many students taking responsibility for their own work and offering to help others.  Way to go!

We'll learn more about being proactive throughout the year.  Next week I'll introduce another good habit:  begin with the end in mind.

Here's a small peek into what we are learning to do each day:

Do you see what I see?  Everyone is enjoying kindergarten!

Welcome to Kindergarten!

It's time to start thinking about back to school . . .  if you haven't already started!  I'm looking forward to a great year!

Please come to school on Thursday, August 6th at 6:00 p.m. for our kindergarten round-up.  We'll get to meet each other and you'll get to see the classroom and meet your classmates.  How fun!

Don't forget to come to our Ice Cream Social on Monday, August 10th starting at 4 p.m.  You can see me and the classroom again, explore the school more, and enjoy some yummy ice cream!

Be ready for school to officially start on Tuesday, August 11th.  What a great year we'll have!