8:00 – 8:15 Arrival
The children enter the classroom and hang up their coats. At this time, paper folders are checked, backpacks are put away and attendance is taken.
8:15 – 8:30 Morning Meeting
We always begin our day with a Morning Meeting. The children gather in a circle on the rug, we select the Today’s Helper; we salute the flag, sing a patriotic song and say our prayers. At morning meeting the today’s helper will choose a greeting and we read our daily letter together. We read about the day’s happenings and special events. We close with an activity or song related to a concept we are working on in class.
8:30 – 9:00 Literacy Stations
During literacy centers we work in small groups on the computer, listening center, ABC games center, poetry center and writing center. I use this time to work with small groups of children. We also work on class books; introduce sight words and activities with word families. During this time volunteers read with individual children two times a week.
9:00 –9:15 Handwriting
9:15 – 9:30 Music
9:35 – 9:50 Snack
9:55 – 10:15 Recess
10:20 – 10:30: Calendar Activities
We gather on the rug for calendar activities. We reinforce the month, day and year.
We count the days of the month and we discuss happenings of yesterday, today and tomorrow. We read the days of the week, and as the year progresses we talk about months, holidays, seasons and weather. We keep track of how many days we have been in school.
10:30 – 11:25 Large Group Instruction
Phonics
The Sadlier Phonics program is designed to help every child learn to read. The instruction is based on teaching phonemic awareness, letter recognition, phonics, oral language, vocabulary and writing.
Math
This year we will introduce the children to the following concepts: shapes, patterns, number recognition and writing from 0 – 30, graphs, measurement, addition and subtraction, money, and time. During this time we engage in activities to learn our math concepts. We will use manipulatives, games, art activities and worksheets to teach the concepts.
Religion
We begin the week reading and reviewing the previous Sunday’s Gospel. During this class we will also learn our prayers, read and discuss Bible stories. We also role play and illustrate understanding of the weekly theme in our Religion Journal.
Weekly Specials such as Gym, Art, music and Library are held during this time
11:25 – 11:30 Story
We gather on the rug for a story and get ready for lunch.
11:45 – 12:10 Recess
12:10– 12:30 Lunch
12:30 – 12:45 Quiet Books
We also use this time to read books independently.
12:45 – 1:15 Social Studies and Science Theme Activities
Each month we will have a theme and our afternoon activities will be centered on this theme. Examples of monthly themes are: How Apples Grow, Fire Prevention, Halloween, Pilgrims and Indians, Christmas Around the World, Winter fun, Our Bodies, Dental health, Weather and Seasons, The Rain Forest and Community Helpers.
1:15 – 2:00 Centers
Children rotate daily in the following areas: housekeeping, school, free art, sand and water table, blocks, painting and table toys.
2:00 – 2:10 Closing Meeting and Dismissal
We end our day by gathering on the rug and sharing something that happened during the day.
