A Great Beginning

Our first day of kindergarten was filled with fun. We read the folktale The Gingerbread Man, decorated cookies, and after spending Art class with our tummies grumbling and mouths watering with the thought of eating them, we returned to the classroom to discover they had run away just like in the story! Of course we immediately went on a hunt to track them down, which provided a nice opportunity to tour the places we will be visiting on a regular basis throughout the year. Many teachers and students assisted in directing us down the right path until we finally found them hiding in Mrs. Kitto-Switzer's fifth grade classroom! We realized they must have run there to meet our reading buddies. After capturing them we sat down and enjoyed our snack.

We spent time on our first day discussing what we can do to ensure we establish a calm, fun, safe and productive classroom. We practiced many of the daily routines and procedures and by the second day had already mastered many of them! Very few reminders were needed today, demonstrating what a great group of listeners we have on our 'team'. This idea of teamwork was extended as we created our "essential agreements" today and created a mural of our class. We agreed to such things as being safe, listening to and respecting others, trying our best, and using helpful -- not hurtful -- words.

After pledging to follow our agreements, Nora put these agreements into practice by sharing her ideas. She thought we should take a picture of our team in the shape of a heart. After realizing this was somewhat difficult we concluded a circle may be better.

We look forward to a year full of fun and learning and can't wait to share our adventures with you!