Welcome to Kindergarten / First Grade!
In the kindergarten/first grade classroom, children’s days are brimming with peer interactions, time for quieter independent and interdependent work and play, meaning-making, dialogue, choice, and social-emotional experiences. Children are supported by nurturing, kind teachers who believe children have a right to be co-creators of their own projects and curriculum (within and beyond the school day), and that children have a right to childhood. Teachers integrate and prepare a robust classroom environment for stories and literacies, numeracy, and social action, honoring the deep need for young children to be in relationship with their teachers, friends, objects, and learning.
A developmental approach is taken to assure children’s’ conceptual growth in literacy, mathematics, the arts, science, and social studies as informed by Illinois Learning Standards. Children work in whole class, small groups, partners, and as individuals to differentiate learning opportunities. The K-1st grade class has a master head teacher, co-teachers, and student teachers from The College of Education.
In K/1 we celebrate the time and seasons. Here are our Fall goodbyes and Winter hellos:
Goodbye…coloring leaves and animals, squirrels, colorful leaves, and hummingbirds, birds, and squirrels, my birthday, leaves piles, fall leaves, leaves, beautiful trees, and colorful leaves, pumpkins, melting, snow, leaves, jumping in the piles, flies, colorful, red orange leaves, leaves, sticks…
Hello…sledding, snow, hot chocolate, presents, my birthday, sledding, Santa, hot chocolate, Winter break, snow piles, Santa, Christmas tree, presents, hot chocolate, rolling down a snowy hill, everything except coldness, hot chocolate, marshmallows, sledding, ice, snowmen, sledding, hot chocolate, Christmas, sliding on ice, snow, hot chocolate, marshmallows and Santa, snow, playing in big, big snowpiles, mining in the snow, making snowmans, sledding, presents, sledding down a hill with snow and ice on it, rolling down a hill and seeing if I can make a snowman four ball size instead of three…
Light tomorrow with today...Elizabeth Barrett Browning