Getting into the Swing of Things in the Bananas

 

September Study: The First Six Weeks

We have officially wrapped up our first month of school! It has been a whirlwind of fun, laughter, a few tears, and lots of joy. The majority of our focus has been on learning the rules, expectations, and procedures within our classroom. We have practiced washing our hands a countless number of times, how to wait in a line, how we sit on the carpet for large group instruction, how to clean up, how we clean up after meals, and so much more! While some of these things feel instinctual to us now, we have to remember that kids don't come into school knowing all of these concepts so it is up to us to teach them each step so that they can master the skill. It feels tedious in the beginning, but it definitely pays off later and gives us much more time to learn and play later1 We've also been practicing how to use our school tools. We talked about how scissors are for paper and NEVER hair or our bodies, we practiced putting caps on markers so they don't dry out, and that Play-Doh is for our hands, not our mouths. This is some of our kiddos first experiences with these materials so it's important that we teach them how to use them very clearly. 

Each week we have been focusing on a different concept of our life here at school. We have talked about our rules and the kids helped come up with our own Banana contract; this is broken into being kind, being safe, and being responsible. We can be kind by sharing our toys, we can be safe by using walking feet and listening to our teachers, and we can be responsible by cleaning up after ourselves. We are continually reminding our students of these three standards and asking them if they were making choices according to them. We also try to frame all of our rules in a positive way; instead of 'no running', we use 'walking feet' as it tells the child what you want them to do. 

Next, we moved on to when things happen at school. Not knowing what happens next can create a lot of anxiety in little people, so we make sure we use a daily classroom schedule to help us know what happens when. This helps us when we want to know when it's time for lunch or when we can go home; we simply redirect the kids to the schedule and have them count how many activities until the time they are asking about. A consistent schedule is key to helping our kids feel grounded and established in any environment. 

This week, we are focusing on friendship; how we make friends and how we keep friends (as adults, you know those are two VERY different skills). We are practicing concepts such as sharing, taking turns, trading, and how to treat a friend across situations. For example, you don't have to do what your friends always wants; you can suggest another activity to do together. And if your friend is doing something you don't like, it's okay to tell them you don't like it and ask them to stop. The hope is when we teach these skills now, our kids are better suited to handle interpersonal relationships in the future. 

We also started learning letters with our Letterland curriculum. Based on training I've had, I teach letters based on the occurrence of the letters in the names of our students. So I wrote all the students names out and tallied how many of each letter we had. We started with A, took a break due to a 3-day week, and now are learning the Letter E. The kids have LOVED learning the letters and have shown amazing participation in our daily activities. You can help your child learn letters at home in so many ways! As you're cooking or getting out food, such as a cereal box, try to find the letter of the week on labels. Find the letter of the week while you are reading books before bed or on signage on the way to and from school. You can also help by pointing out the letter sound as you are talking. If you say a specific word that starts with the letter of the week, you can say "I have this envelope in the mail...envelope starts with the 'e' sound and the letter E!". At the bottom of the post are the Letterland videos we've been watching for both letters. 

Looking ahead to October, we will start learning about all things fall! We will investigate apples, pumpkins, and leaves. We have lots of fun activities planned and can't wait to share them with you! Thank you for all you do and please reach out if you have any questions! 

🍌Miss Susan . Miss Tia . Miss Carolina 🍌













Letterland Videos






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