A Morning of Literacy

At Chets Creek, our primary school devotes their morning to a 2 1/2 hour literacy block. This includes a Skills Block, Reader's Workshop, and a Writer's Workshop. Our Skills Block is usually around 30 minutes but at the beginning of Kindergarten it is closer to 45 minutes. During this time we work on phonemic awareness, phonics, and vocabulary. This year a group of teachers worked collaboratively to write our own vocabulary unit based on the research of Beck and McKeown (Bringing Words to Life) that deepens the “Star” books (which are narrative books read to every kindergartner). In order to help deepen our understanding we love to act the words out such as "frightened".


In Reader's Workshop we have a 7 - 10 minute mini-lesson which focuses on a reading strategy. During this time of the year, we are working on learning new literacy stations and retellings of our favorite "Star" books that we are reading for our vocabulary unit. This is where children learn the elements of retelling and enjoy acting them out. "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" is one of our favorite stories to retell.


After we are done with our mini-lesson, we have about 10 minutes of silent reading from our individual book bins. During this time, students practice what has been taught in the mini-lesson.


For the last 30 minutes of work time, we work with a group in Literacy Stations. We end our Reader's Workshop with a closing where the students are able to share what strategies he/she used during our work time. The last hour of our morning is spend in Writer's workshop. Once again we have a 7-10 minute mini-lesson followed by independent writing time. At this time of the year, students are learning how to write their own "small moments" from the Lucy Caulkins Writing Series.


When we are finished, we close with our "share chair" which provides an opportunity for students to showcase work that included the writing strategy that was discussed in the mini-lesson. What a great time for the others to learn.

To learn more about our morning of literacy, check out our class blog at http://hkidshighlights.blogspot.com

The Day in the Life of a Kindergartener

Each day in our small world we have a very structured routine. We begin with a 2 1/2 hour Literacy Block. This includes a 30 minute Skills Block, a 1 hour Reader's Workshop, and a 1 hour Writer's Workshop. It is the morning where reading and writing become part of eachother. After lunch we have a 1 hour Math Workshop which includes our new Math Counts and Math Investigations. Here at Chets Creek we are fortunate to have a resource 4 out of 5 days during the week (every day except Wed). This includes Art, Music, PE, Media, Character Education, and Science. After resource we have a 15 minutes Science Workshop. Every other Wednesday we have an extra 40 minutes where we are able to complete hands-on activities for Science. At the end of the day, our little ones are tired and are ready for some play. They love our 30 minutes of recess. Before we know it, it is time to pack up and go home. For us as teachers, another day is done and we begin thinking about tomorrow.

This week I will be discussing each part of our day on our class blog. Check it out to learn more about each part of our day.

The Chets Creek Way

If you have never experienced a Kindergarten class at Chets Creek Elementary then you have never experienced teaching at its best. I love to be in an environment where the teachers are excited and truly love working with children. Yes, it is only the second week of school but this group of teachers are this way all year. Each day we take our kids out for car rider dismissal and get an opportunity to chat while we are there. Each day we get to share the great things we did in our class with each other. Each day we get new ideas from one another. Each day we get to share the funniest things our kids did in class. In Kindergarten something funny happens every day. It is here that we close our day on a positive note no matter what type of chaotic day is was with the children (as it is with all Kindergarteners in the second week).We too live by the thought that each day you start as a new day. Sometimes we forget how important support amongst our colleagues is. I am blessed to be a part of this community of teachers and live THE CHETS CREEK WAY!

Our Magical Week

It was first week of Kindergarten and what a busy week it was. Twenty-six little prince and princess begin their life long journey as learners as they walk into our castle every day. How fortunate are we as educators to help determine the fate of these little ones. This week we began to set the rituals and routines of our class. By the third day of school they were already working on phonemic awareness with our Star Students, learning during Reader's and Writer's Workshop, completing our new Math Counts in our Math Workshop, and hearing lots of great new stories. Check out our class blog under favorite links to see what each child thought about the first week of school. I can tell that the magic is just beginning!

It's A Small World After All....

The first day of school has come and gone with 25 new little smiling faces. How exciting it must be to come to your first day of school where everything is decorated as a magic kingdom.



Our students were enchanted as they watched a magic show, had pictures taken around the school, and wore themselves out on the bounce house. In the morning we read A Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. It is one of my favorite stories. During lunch, Chester Raccoon snuck into our room and left us a note with a list of clues. We used these clues to find important places around the school such as the office, the music room, and art. At the end of the hunt, we found a box of popsicles left for us by Chester. The kids had a wonderful time as they learned about all the great things at our school and had fun at the same time. For 25 little prince and princesses of Chets Creek - dreams really do come true.

A Trip To Hawaii

Hawaii...a vacation in paradise. After two weeks we have come back exhausted and loaded with memories (just in time to prepare for school). The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful, and the people were welcoming. We were able to visit the whole island of Ohau and almost all of The Big Island. What fun we had getting to see famous places such as The North Shore, Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head, and Volcano National Park. Here is a glimpse into trip...

Hawaii