The first day of the 2022-2023 school year is in the books! It was a great time getting to know each other :)
This week we are spending time getting to know school routines, school expectations and each other! We had fun exploring some different activities and areas in our room as well as outside! Each day there will be a blog for you to look at with your child. You can facilitate the discussion of what they did at school by looking at the pictures. On Monday I will give a description of what the week will hold and daily may post special notes. We will also send home some other visuals that may help your child talk about their day with you!
Our Flow of the Day (schedule) is:
Arrival: take care of personal items (such as hanging backpack and putting water bottle in the tub) & wash hands; later we will start a check in system/task
Table Time: activities students can choose at the tables or read a book in the library while we all settle in to class
Group Time/Carpet Time/Circle Time: During this time we focus on a wide range of skills while we gather together as a large group at the carpet. We being by singing a Hello song that helps make sure our listening ears are working by so we can follow directions in the song (also works on imitation skills). We work on greetings which helps us to learn names and practice appropriate social manners. We also get to jump up and down when our name or picture (depends on skill level) is chosen which helps us to work on recognizing our name in print, spelling of our name, etc. while also getting some gross motor movement. We make sure to acknowledge which friends are not at school and sing a song, We Wish You Well, which is from Conscious Discipline. At this time we may do various other activities such working on getting to know our school, the expectations at school, emotions, social skills, and academics. At this time lots of opportunities for music and movement and other forms of participation are provided. Each student is met at their level within components of the group time to foster engagement and success. Our friend Ms. Kari (speech/language therapist) will be an active leader in this group time on Monday & Wednesday.
Centers: This is time where the students spread out into 3 different centers with a teacher in each area. We encourage participation in all activities to promote exploration of different kinds of experiences. The teacher places themselves around the room to foster social interactions amongst the students, take pictures of students having fun and learning together, and absorb students interests and wonderings and provide them with feedback and creative extensions. Some activities you may see throughout the year will be with construction using different materials, dramatic play to encourage imagination and social skills, sensory and science discovery, art, etc. Our friend Ms. Kari will join us for this time as well on M & W and on Tues our friend Ms. Julie (occupational therapist) will join us and always makes sure to bring a fun activity!
Group Time @ Carpet: This group time is utilized to reunite the class and discuss centers, allowing students to use the bathroom before going outside for Gross Motor Time. We may also take this time to do some Music & Movement which helps our bodies explore how we move and being mindful of personal space, using control in our movements, following directions, imitation, etc.
Gross Motor Time: We have different areas of our outdoor playscape that will take turns visiting. Each area provides different interesting ways to play, such as cooking in the mud kitchen, hanging out inside the snail, climbing, sliding, running, digging in the rock pit, crawling in the cave, and burying our toes in the sand. Tuesday is our Forest day where we adventure around the corner to the park and allow the kiddos to get up close and personal with nature! On days when the weather just doesn't cooperate we have wonderful indoor spaces to play such as the Collaboratory and the Gym.
Snack Time: This is a time where we sit as a Pine Room family and eat. There are always 2 choices for food and students can say "Yes Please!" or "No Thank You" to one or both. (examples: applesauce and scooby snacks, chips and hummus, etc.). We try to encourage table manners (asking for help, waiting patiently, etc.) at this time and some conversation between friends. As kids finish eating they clean up their area and can choose puzzles or books. This is also a time we use the restroom.
Group Time @ Carpet: This time is a great time to gather round and read a book and focus on a school skill. Typically a teacher will read a story but at times we may watch a read aloud. Students then get a chance to talk about the book that we read/watched, keeping a focus on specific skills (colors, sequencing, rhyming, matching, etc.)
Dismissal: We are working hard on being responsible for our own personal items so please feel free to follow that lead and let your child carry their own water bottle & backpack to the car!
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