Building Independence: Following Directions..Carefully!

We are really going to be working hard on building independence by following directions carefully the first time! I'll be using a "direction board" like below when we have more than three steps. I encourage you to practice at home also to build responsibility and independence by giving them a set of directions to follow. Have them repeat them to you and then complete them. They did great today! 

A Learner Is...

We had a great discussion about what a learner is/is not. We've hung up our thoughts so we can frequently revisit. We talked about how when we aren't learners in the afternoons, we miss out on things and waste learning time. Our chart helped us have a STELLAR day today! 

Brag Tags!

I introduced brag tags today. Any day I find someone showing one of these rad attitudes, they'll get to wear a brag tag for the day! We are excited to start this next week!

Be a Bucket Filler!

Today we revisited what it "looks/sounds/feels" like to be a bucket filler. Lots of silly arguments, testing each other's patience, tattle taling etc.this week and end of last. If it's something like "Ms. Gegg so-and-so is talking to so-and-so..." I expect them to walk through our problem solving strategies, if that didn't work then they should come to me and of course if it's something more serious. Please discuss ways to be a bucket filler at home also. Thanks for your support with this! 

Proud to be the Kinder Crew!

This week we have added the Pledge of Allegiance to our morning meeting.  We will say the pledge everyday and on Fridays and at Dragon Rally's, we'll recite the Mallinckrodt pledge.  We read this fabulous book today and could make a lot of connections to being "citizens" in our school/classroom community. The teacher explained the "indivisible" as 50 states, but one country. We connected this to our classroom: 21 students, 1 teacher, which makes one big team working together. We had a great discussion! 

Monday we talked about Labor Day and what we want to be when we grow up. Our reading story for the week is a nonfiction story about neighborhoods, so this tied in communities and different jobs.  Friday, 9/11, we will read September 12th and talk about "heros" and what they do/are. We will celebrate a day of kindness to find a way to be bucket fillers any way we can all throughout the day.  We will not touch on the negatives of this horrific tragedy, but focus on the positive! 

Mallinckrodt Pledge:

At Mallinckrodt Academy I will respect myself and others.

Here all people have rights.

For every right, there is a responsibility.

I will strive to be responsible and have regular attendance. 

Monday Motivation! #gossipfromgegg

I am frequently saying "If you know it, show it," or "Show what you know and be your best."  This Maya Angelou quote has always been a favorite of mine.  I spend the first few weeks of school practicing rules and routines, role playing, and revisiting these as needed.  I do this so my students know what is expected and this sets them up for success because we've practiced and become "experts."  When they do have an off day/moment of the day, we can talk about it and they know what changes they can make.  As I stated at the beginning of the year, I am big on responsibility and accountability and I work hard to instill that in my kinders.  We also talk about how any task they are assigned throughout the day should be done with their best effort, which means they can be proud of themselves.  

Best Effort!

We talked about not rushing through our work. I always tell them anything that they turn in should be their best effort and something that they're proud of because they worked hard. Responsibility and accountability is two big things I will focus on all throughout the year! 

Group Work

G-Get along

R-Respect others

O-stay On task

U-Use quiet voices

P-Participate 

S-Stay in your group

Scavenger Hunt!

Pete the Cat must have heard how great we are at walking in a 4S line in the hallway! He left us a clue and sent us on a tour of the school.  When we got back to our classroom, that sneaky cat was sitting in my rocking chair with treats for us!