Counting on the 100 Board
Part of our Opening Routines is for the Weather Helper to lead us in counting on the 100 Board.  They pull a number card out of a sock that we will count to and then they can choose from a collection of pointers and finger puppets to lead us in the counting.  They look forward to this each day!

Block Building
The children never get tired of building with blocks!  Lots of workers can make a big creation!

 

 

 

 

White Board Fun
Here we are trying out the new white boards and markers.  These are fun to practice our writing and drawing skills on!

The children learn a lot from working next to others - I've seen great ideas for drawing and writing names of students as they practice. 

Coloring
Coloring and drawing is a free choice activity or an option when they have finished their work.  A lot of children - both boys and girls - love this activity.

This year I've been buying coloring books and the children can ask me to tear out a page of their choosing - they love to do this!

 

Let's read our Letter Reader together:
We are learning reading behaviors when we practice pointing and tracking the words in our Letter Reader books.

Leggo Fun!
The boys really like building their cars and things with the Leggos!  Sometimes it's hard to find the tub!

Attendance & Lunch Count
One of the first jobs for the children to do is to turn over their "Pencil" to show they are here, and then to put a marker in their pocket to show if they are buying hot lunch (a popsicle stick with an shinny apple sticker on top) .

Our Computers
We have four computers in our classroom for the children (3 iMacs and another apple computer).  They enjoy a variety of computer programs that work on letters, sounds, words, and a variety of math skills.  A few programs work on problem solving, creative drawing and coloring and other kinds of thinking activities.

Geoboards
The children enjoy making all kinds of shapes and designs using rubber bands on boards with nails in them.  Safety with the "geobands" is stressed!
 

Treasure Boxes
These are our "junk" boxes (collections of all kinds of things brought from home in the last several years), that include such things as old keys, buttons, wood shapes, foam shapes, pasta, bread ties, small seashells, jewels, charms, and much more.  The collections are great for sorting, patterning, counting, weighing, and just looking at details and comparing.

Lincoln Logs
Does this toy ever go out of style?!  It's interesting to see what they come up with.
 

Go Fish!
Playing card games like Go Fish! is fun ~ even if we make up our own rules!.  Some of the children are using plastic card holders which seems to help them keep their cards in order in their hands . . . sort of!

Train Building
In our Block Area area have lots to choose from, including the train sets.  The track designs can be quite interesting~

Playdough
Homemade playdough is fun and it smells good, too!  A wide variety of cutters and tools adds to the ideas.  Great for fine motor skills!

Watercolors
Painting is always fun and the bright colors of the watercolors make for some interesting pictures.

Checkers & Other Games
We have a wide variety of games - card games and board games.  Checkers is very popular!

Pocket Pals
Children "check out" a book on a daily basis to be read to them at home each night.  They turn them back in the next day by putting the "library card" back into the book and adding it back to the check out bin.  This routine is to encourage parents to read to your children each night (such a valuable routine!), and to teach the children independence and responsibility.  It's one of their "First Jobs" that is to be done each day.

Blue Tubs
Many of our math manipulatives are kept in our "blue tubs."  This activity works on fine motor skills, sizes, shapes, and functions of the different pieces used to make some very cute bugs and creatures.

Housekeeping Center
Dress-up clothes, baby dolls, phones, kitchen things - lots of fun to play in this Center.
Social skills, responsibilities, roles in the family, pretend.  We can work on many skills here!

File Folder Games
We have a wide variety of games made on file folders that help us with the alphabet, numbers, shapes, and colors.

Jewels
Playing with any of the Treasurer Boxes is fun, but the Jewels are very interesting!  They are great for sorting by colors using the sorting trays or the bowls.

Pledge to the Flag
We begin each day with the Pledge.  During the year we learn what the words mean and talk about what being an American means.  There are so many good patriotic books out now and we enjoy them throughout the year as well.

Working Together & Puzzles
We have a lot of puzzles from a few pieces to 100 pieces.  Some are cardboard, while others are foam or wooden.  A friend is always a good thing to have when doing a puzzle!

Sorting Buttons
For Math Time one day we sorted a bag of buttons any way we wanted, and then had to tell how we sorted them.

They sorted by color, size, number of holes in the buttons, and even a few had sorted by shapes.

Lunch
Lunch is a big change for Kindergarten. The children are doing a good job with all that goes into ordering, getting, eating, and cleaning up lunch!

Art Center
They children LOVE it when the Art Center comes out!  There are lots of scrap paper, yearn, string, masking tape, staplers, paper punches, crafty edged-scissors, TP tubes and empty kleenex boxes.  They can make anything they want - the best part of this experience is the PROCESS, not the product.

It can get messy, but it is worth it.  This is a time where they learn how things can go together and different ways of using the materials - they teach each other most of the time!

Our Classroom Library
This is always a great spot, and what's better than sharing a good book with a friend?!

We have books all around our room in different boxes - Bears, Colors, Alphabet Books, Math Books, and more.  Lots to choose from!

Snacks
We have Snacks right after our morning recess.  The children enjoy this time very much!