One of the first things that Kindergartners learn at the start of the school year is that they are already readers, writers, scientists, and storytellers. Now that we are a month into our year, we are really truly becoming writers! The Kindergartners have been learning 2-3 new sight words a week, making certain that we can not only read/recognize them but also that we can spell them correctly. In order to do this, we've been practicing them and also learning rhymes and songs for each one! Make sure to ask your Kindergartner to share our "see" song or our "the" rhyme  with you!

It is hard to believe that we are already an entire month into the school year! One thing that we have been practicing is our literacy centers. We've been working hard in small groups learning several different activities, games, and other ways to practice our reading skills. Over the past week, the Kindergartners have found their groove and are SO proud of all the hard work they have been doing. Take a peek at some of the Kinders favorite activities from practicing their letter formation to building sight words!

A classic elementary book is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and it is always a favorite at the start of the year in Kindergarten! Since it was our book of the week, we ended the week with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom celebration! When the Kinders entered the room, they found coconut trees, and letters galore. They were just a little excited! Over the course of the day, we acted out the story, practiced our math unit by sorting letters by color, letter, and uppercase/lowercase, along with a letter scavenger hunt around the room. To top the day off, we ended the day with a Chicka Chicka STEM challenge. The Kindergartners were challenged to build their own coconut tree that could balance and hold all the letters in their name. The persistence, inventiveness, and excitement that was in the room was simply amazing! 
  It was such a great end to our first official full week of Kindergarten!

One of the best parts about Kindergarten (and 8th grade!) at NDA are our buddies! Every Wednesday, the 8th graders make their way to our room and go to Mass with us. The excitement buzzes throughout the room as the 8th graders enter and spend some time with their Kinders prior to Mass. It is just about one of the sweetest things you can witness! Over the course of the school year, there are several different activities that we do with our buddies from reading books together to shopping at the Christmas Boutique. They are such a special part of our Kindergarten year!

Wow! What a great first week of Kindergarten we had. Words cannot express how excited I am for this school year! This week, we spent a majority of our days learning about each other, learning how to be a Kindergartner, and ended our week with our first STEM challenge!
  On Thursday, we talked about an important word..."YET"
We talked about how there are many things that we cannot do, but instead of getting frustrated and giving up when we can't do something, we change our mindset and say we cannot do it YET. 
To practice this, the Kinders were given a crayon STEM challenge. They were each given 10 crayons and asked to stack them as high as they can. Many quickly discovered that their table was too slick, and put a carpet square at their spot. The problem solving skills, giggles, and determination was fantastic!
   To see a few of the STEM challenge creations along with our first day of Kindergarten pictures, look below!

Welcome Kindergarten 20189-2020 families!
    With our new school year up and starting, welcome to our class website!
     This website is a place that you where you can check in on what we are doing in school, see what important things are coming up at NDA and in Kindergarten, and it is a place to see many photos of Kindergarten in action. I usually update our website once a week, with a highlight of something we did. 
​      I look forward to an amazing year of Kindergarten!