My last few weeks

Well apparently I have forgotten to blog for the last few weeks so I will just write one giant blog to make up for it.... :) Kindergarten is basically everything that I expected it to be and I love it, even though it really is so much work. After the first few weeks of school, I felt like going to sleep at about 8:30 every night and I felt quite disorganized and overwhelmed. I feel like I slowly getting into my stride because I know the routines, writing out lesson plans is becoming more simple and like second nature, and the children are becoming more independent as the weeks roll on.
The concepts that I have been focusing on are:
- the alphabet and letter sounds
-numbers,counting, and how to write numbers
- colors and how to mix colors to create new ones
- rhyming words and how to produce rhymes
- student writing their names in different forms ( using environmental print, cut up pieces of paper, etc)

Maddy's name mosaic 

I feel that so far my lessons have gone pretty darn well and the fact that we use station rotations really helps with tweaking my lessons throughout the morning. I usually always start with the RED group of students and they are excellent listeners and a higher group of children, so I know if something does not work for them that I definitely need to adjust the material for the other children. I still do find it challenging to provide the extra one-on-one attention for the ELL children throughout my lessons because the other students need my assistance as well. I think I need to grow a few more pairs of arms to meet this balancing challenge. From what I expected, the students seem to absolutely love any activity that involves moving around the room, competition games, or using crafting materials. Who know that musical chairs and paint would delight the students so much!!

Becoming color mixing scientists!

Another interesting thing that I am noticing is that your attitude as a teacher has a major affect on the students' interest and enthusiasm for the lesson. I usually try to use silly voices, different inflections, and excitement when explaining the lessons and I can definitely see that if I am excited about the lessons then the students become very pumped up! Acting like a crazy clown when you are reading a story sky rockets their engagement. Lucky for me that acting like a crazy clown comes naturally for me :) 

Carlos' perfectly painted chameleon from " A Color of his Own"


For my action research, I have decided to focus on the effects of interactive read alouds on students' acquisition and comprehension of vocabulary words. Starting in October, I will be choosing approximately four "sophisticated" story books which will be used in my study. I am curious to see how many extra words that students will learn if they are more actively involved in the read aloud process. I am also hoping that this action research project will not eat me alive like the one that I struggled through last year in fourth grade.