First Days of Kindergarten

Oh my. I just finished my first week at school. I only had 2 days with kids and only had 5 kids each day but I'm exhausted.  We have staggered enrollment for the first 3 days of school. I just caught up on all my blog stalking this morning and I was several days behind. Luckily other teachers out there are busy with school and not blogging too much. So far my little ones seem like they are going to be a great group of kids. I only have 5 girls out of my 16 kids and there are also 5 ELL students in the class. So movement is going to be essential. I meant to take some pictures of my room and the activities we did but it slipped my mind. I ended the year last year with first graders ready for second grade, so it is an adjustment to start the year with 4 and 5 year old kindergartners. The first day felt like it went awful to me and my critical self. But day 2, I started to get my kindergarten bearings.
We did some Chicka Chicka Boom Boom activities. We read the story and then went on a hunt for the letters throughout the school to meet the special area teachers and office staff. My kids loved this especially the ELL boys. They were so excited to find the letters and enjoyed helping with the story and saying "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." We came back and they painted the first letter of their names. I know. What was I thinking painting the first day. They did pretty well and of course a couple of kids went home with paint on them including me.
I was most impressed with how well my kids did with my promethean board. We did some calendar activities on the board and they picked it up so quickly. They were able to move things and use the wand with just a little instruction from me. We played a little starfall (If you haven't checked that site out, it's the best. www.starfall.com) and they were old pros at the board by the time they left. If you have some kind of interactive whiteboard, I suggest getting on Starfall and letting your kids explore. It was a great way to teach them some skills on using the wand and pens that go with the board.
I have one more day of staggered enrollment and then Tuesday I'll have the whole class. Our system is still on a half day kindergarten so the kids have the option to leave at 12:30. The first 4 days of school they all have to leave at 12:30. Wednesday will be the true test. I will have all the kids and those that will stay til 3 will stay. I think most of mine will stay which is fine with me. I wish we had a full day kindergarten. I could get so much more accomplished with them.
I worked on my lesson plans today. I know it's an exciting way to spend a Saturday but my boyfriend was at a Boy Scout training. With our new evaluation system and common core standards, there are a few changes in how our lesson plans are suppose to be. They need to have the I can statements, standards, and differentiation plans. They took me a little longer to do than before and I didn't even include the differentiation plans this week. I'm not sure where they are yet to be able to differentiate. But I'm attaching my plans so you can check them out. I plan to use some Fran's sight words that rock activities this week to introduce our first sight word. I'm excited but a little nervous to dive into this year and all the curriculum and standards that I need to teach while ensuring that the kiddos love school and learning. So how's your start of the year going?
Lesson Plans