The Jelly Donut Difference

In the beginning of the year (well, really throughout the whole year), we talk about friendships and showing kindness.  This is such a huge part of year!  I emphasize that we are a school family on day 1 to day 180.  We do lots of activities and read many books learning how to accept, respect, and show love to each other.  Our school motto is Love One Another, so they hear this a lot.

They begin to become more aware that they are not the only ones in the class.  They have to be patient, wait their turn, show compassion, and learn how to be kind to each other.  We are family.

Maria Dismondy writes so many amazing books that are perfect for character education.  This week we read The Jelly Donut Difference.  This book was such a heartfelt story about showing kindness to a lonely neighbor.  It was such a sweet book!  The students loved it, and it really made them think.

We did some interactive writing on a chart of how we can be kind at school and at home.  They each thought of their own ways and wrote them on the chart.

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Our First Couple of Weeks

Long time no post!!!  As a teacher, the beginning of the year is crazy busy!  As a parent and a teacher, double or triple that!  We went back August 6, and the students started on August 15.  I'm finally feeling like I am getting back into my routine with a little bit of time to spare.

Meet the Teacher was very successful!  I set my classroom up in stations for each family to visit, and it was a hit.  I have a previous post about how I run my stations.  I kept it the same but changed up the signs and gifts this year.  I also recorded myself reading The Night Before Kindergarten attached it to a QR code.  It was such a fun way to kick off the year.

The 1st few weeks we do not do many activities.  It is ALL about introducing and practicing routines and procedures.  This is a MUST for me.  If we don't go through all of those procedures, we are setting ourselves up for a really tough year.

We did a few 1st day book activities!  That is my absolute favorite!  The first day we read The Kissing Hand, and we talked about how we feel coming to school.  Many were nervous and happy.  I will admit that I felt the same!



We also read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  I love this book!  There are so many fun activities to do with names.  We looked at beginning letters and counted the letters in our names.  They made this craft, and it turned out so cute!  This template is on my TPT.  I printed it on white and pink cardstock, and they drew the eyes and whiskers.  They also wrote their name and how many letters were in their name.


 We also talked about the other characters in the book were being unkind and saying things that hurt her feelings.  As we read the story, we crinkled up a little of the heart each time someone said something hurtful.  At first, the kids were shocked that I was wrinkling up the heart.  They began to understand and understood more of how she felt in the story.  I gave the kids bandaids to color and decorate which is like saying "I'm sorry".

 The beginning of the year is such an important time of year in not only establishing routines but in developing friendships and building relationships.  This is HUGE as we work on becoming a school family.  We read lots of books about kindness, friendship, and ways to be a good friend.  The book "We Don't Eat Our Classmates" is a hilarious book!  If you haven't read it, please do!!  The kids LOVE it!  I loved it!  It is so funny, and again another book on how to be a good friend.  We did a shared writing on what each can do to be a good friend.  Then, I gave the students a dinosaur to color, cut out, and then glue on to construction paper.  On the speech bubble, each wrote a way to be a friend.  It was a fun, simple activity- great for the beginning of the year!  Extra bonus- all the coloring and cutting practice!

Sooooo... we had a GREAT 1st couple of weeks!!!  

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