*Be Responsible *Be Respectful *Be Safe

In Kindergarten we have three simple rules...be respectful, be responsible, and be safe.  We will talk a lot this year about what those words actually look like in our classroom.  Now that we are getting into the swing of Kindergarten, I have made some changes and updated our Classroom Behavior Policy.  We are still using stoplight colors; however, I have made some additions.  Instead of students only being able to move down for behaviors that interrupt their learning, they can also move UP!!  Below is a photograph of our clip chart that we use.

Here is how it works.  All students begin the day on Ready to Learn.  Like before,  if a behavior gets in the way of their learning or safety, then students will move their clip down.  If they are hard workers and good citizens, they may have the opportunity to move up to "Good Work" or "Outstanding"!!  This is exciting for them and I enjoy watching them work hard.  I want students to know that I recognize them doing the right thing and working hard to learn.  I always point out that good feeling they have inside.  (We all know the 'real world' doesn't have a clip chart, but we have have the feeling of doing the right thing and working hard.)  Students can move freely on the chart.  If they move down and behavior improves and they make better choices, they may move back up and vice versa.  Students will still color the behavior chart that goes home at the end of the day.  When students move up they will also receive a sticker on their chart.  Anyone who has moved up earns a Bee Buck for our Bee Hive (photo below).  We are working to earn a class reward!

If you have any questions about our behavior chart, please let me know!  I have tried to make students aware that when they move down on the chart, it is simply a reminder to be a safe learner.  It is not the END OF THE WORLD!  (If I have a serious concern about your child's behavior and attitude, I will contact you.)  We all make mistakes and hopefully, we learn from them!

Happy Learning!!

Welcome!

Welcome to our Kindergarten Blog!  I recently found this and thought I would share...

 

Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned: Share everything.

Play fair.

Don't hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don't take things that aren't yours.

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life.

Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together.

Be aware of wonder.

Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that. Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup -- they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: look.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living.
Think what a better world it would be if we all -- the whole world -- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

~ Robert Fulghum ~

I am excited to be your child's Kindergarten teacher this year.  I should admit, this is my second round in Kindergarten! The first time I was a much shorter five year old at Fenton Elementary! This time around I look forward to working with you and your children to help them grow and have fun learning in these early years! I encourage you to visit our blog often to see what is happening in our clasroom!