A Structured Schedule

I keep a structured schedule.  I think it 's important for kids to know what to expect.  I can be flexible when necessary but for the most part, we keep to our routine.  We say the Pledge every morning. I think it's really important for kids to know the Pledge of Allegiance and learn respect for our flag early on.  I was truly surprised by how quickly these guys caught on.  They went from not knowing it, to reciting it by themselves within a week.   Every morning we also talk about the weather and season and sing fun songs to help them learn the months of the year and days of the week.  We learn how to tell time on an analog clock.  We also work on rhyming and writing skills everyday.

We have three classroom friends who help us remember our manners.  I remind the kids of these phrases often:  "Quiet as a mouse" is for times when the kids need to be listening.  "Curious as a cat" means if they have a question or comment they need to raise their hand.  "Playful as a puppy" reminds us there are certain times we can chat and be playful like when a puppy wags his tail, but not like a crazy puppy jumping and running all over the place!

We do one of these rhyming mats each day.  The kids have to match 4 cards to each picture

Rhyming Robots

We also do a writing activity each day using worksheets.  The kids practice writing their name along with whatever letters, numbers or shapes we're learning about.  We also practice cutting and pasting during this time.