Self-regulation and the full day kindergarten program

A major component of the full day kindergarten program is teaching children to self-regulate. Self-regulation is the ability to control one's impulses; to stay calm and focused during any situation. Studies have shown that the better a child can self-regulate, the better he/she can master complex skills and concepts and develop academic readiness.

In the first few months of school, we spent a lot of time talking about the importance of feelings. We read The Feelings Book written by Todd Parr. We discussed how it is ok to have different feelings; if we are sad or upset it is important to talk to someone about those feelings. We conducted some "feelings circles" as a class. At the end of the day, students had the opportunity to share how they were feeling and why.

 

 

 

We have also been discussing strategies we could use to help ourselves feel better if we are sad or upset such as talk to a teacher, talk to a friend, read a quiet book, practice various breathing techniques, visit a safe place, etc..

 

We have a "safe place" in our classroom. It is a spot in our room where students can go to sit quietly to rest if they are feeling anxious, tired, sad, upset, etc. Please refer to the conscious discipline program for more information. 

Our new classroom pets

This week we were so excited to welcome three new fish and one new snail to our classroom! We are in the process of naming our new pets, stay tuned!

We had many questions and look forward to learning more about fish, snails, their habitats, what they eat, etc.

The votes are in. After a long list, we named our fish: sparkles, Mr. Peabody and Sherman. We named our snail marshmallow.  We have enjoyed observing our new pets and taking turns feeding them. We even got to help Mrs. K clean the tank! 

Math word problems

This week we were given some math addition word problems to solve. We discussed how to solve these problems and showed our thinking using pictures and numbers.

Snowflake counting

We practiced our counting and number recognition using the Smart Board this week.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, a Happy New Year and a restful holiday filled with family and friends.

We are looking forward to returning to school and starting off a brand new year full of laughter, learning and growth.

Please send all washed blankets and stuffies back to school with your child for quiet time.

Writing letters to Santa

Some of us practiced our printing and wrote letters to Santa. We were sounding out words and printed complete sentences. We also learned about the different parts of a letter.

Art-O-Rama

Thank you to all of our amazing parent volunteers who made Art-O-Rama such a huge success! The kids had a fantastic time.