Welcome to Kindergarten! Mrs. Coffee’s Kindergarten Class So… what do we do all day anyway? A typical day in our classroom is very busy. We are moving from one activity to the next, and we LOVE our dancing songs that we do during transitions! We have to get our WIGGLES out! We begin our mornings with Prayer and Calendar! Calendar is an important part of our day. We go over many of our math standards first thing in the morning. It is important for your child to be on time and ready to learn. We practice our weekly memory verse, months of the year, days of the week, coins, counting, and so much more!
Transcript
Welcome to Kindergarten!Mrs. Coffee’s Kindergarten Class
So… what do we do all day anyway? A typical day in our classroom is very busy. We are moving from one activity to the next, and we LOVE our dancing
songs that we do during transitions! We have to get our WIGGLES out!
We begin our mornings with Prayer and Calendar!Calendar is an important part of our day. We go over many of our
math standards first thing in the morning. It is important for your child to be on time and ready to learn. We practice our weekly memory verse, months
of the year, days of the week, coins, counting, and so much more!
MathBesides Calendar, we also have Math Journals to help us review skills. We
complete word problems to help us practice problem solving and teach us to show our thinking and use our math vocabulary words.
During our Math time, we will have a time of Number Talks. This is a skill that helps students build fluency in number recognition and it helps them make
connections. I may show a card that has an array of 3 dots. I quickly flash it and a student may say “I saw 3 dots”. Another student may say “I saw 2 dots and
another one.” We would talk about how 2 and 1 make 3.
We have a mini-lesson during this time as well. Then students participate in small group rotations. One group is teacher led and the other 2 are hands on
independent groups. Students may be working by themselves or playing a math game to reinforce skills that have been taught. The independent and group stations are differentiated to meet student needs. Students will have the
opportunity to explore and use manipulatives.
ReadingWe begin our reading time with a story. We will refer to the same story throughout the week, but focus on different skills each day such as visualizing, retelling, inferring, stating opinions, and making connections. Students are also asked higher order thinkingquestions to help them begin to think outside the box. This is also a time where we will begin doing Book Talks or having our “Reading Club”. Students enjoy doing this because we sit in a big circle and discuss our stories. A mini-lesson will be taught daily, focusing on the standards we are working on. Students will have opportunities to practice what they learn during Guided Reading and Literacy Stations.
Guided Reading time is another aspect of our Reading time. Students will work with me in a small group or individually to focus on reading strategies and specific skills needed. The other students will work in Literacy Stations where they will practice phonics, word study, sight words, and other essential reading skills! Students will also have opportunities to work on reading quietly and with a buddy. Each student will have an opportunity to read with me each day!
ReadingStudents also participate in many other
reading activities. We will have poetry journals and reading response journals. We review letters and sounds daily. Ball Words are also an important part of developing readers and an exciting part of our classroom. Students love earning balls for the Wall of Champions!! When they pass a set of words, I raise their hand high in the air and say “We have a (baseball) champion!” and the crowd goes wild! Students support and encourage one another!
WritingWe are so excited to be AUTHORS!
We work hard to build our Writing Stamina at the beginning of the year– growing our writing muscles! We usually start out with a goal of 5 minutes and by the end
of the year can write for 20 minutes or more!
We begin with a mini-lesson, and then go back to our seats to write. We listen to classical music while we write and we have our very own Writing Folders! During this time, I conference with the students and we discuss adding details. At the end of our writing time, a few students share what they have done. We practice
listening to others and giving compliments.
We first learn that we can tell a story by using pictures. Not too long after, we will begin labeling our writings and eventually writing several sentences!! My main goal at the beginning of the school year is to build confident authors!!
Bible LessonsWe will read special Bible
stories each week, and learn important lessons from them. Students will be challenged to memorize Bible verses. We will also do crafts, learn new songs andplay fun games that relate to the stories! Students will be able to practice retelling and other important reading and writing skills with the stories as well! Parents will receive information about each story we study that will include points to discuss at home. There is even a study for adults if you wanted to study along with us throughout the school year!
Science & Social Studies
Science and Social Studies will be taught through weekly themes, and incorporated into reading and writing activities. Students will enjoy exploring with their five senses as they conduct science experiments and explore sensory bins. Students will also enjoy studying and researching social studies topics, creating projects, and sharing what they discover with their classmates!
DifferentiationThis is an essential part of all of my classroom instruction. Differentiation
takes place during all activities. I believe that all students need to be challenged and feel successful!
Students are included in the process by creating personal goals. Students create goals for math, reading, and writing. Students are able to monitor their progress, and they love knowing what they are working on. I love
watching them get excited and gain confidence as they reach a new goal!
For Math rotations and Literacy Stations, students are able to function independently through the use of color coded materials. The students are
able to take ownership over the learning process.
FamilyI work hard on promoting independence, so many of these things are a
work in progress over the first few months of school. We practice transitioning quietly and staying on task. Our Classroom Pledge helps us
remember to do our best. We have a TEAMWORK jar with beads that helps promote our class family, and we can earn special fun when it is filled, such
as a sidewalk chalk party. Students can also earn brag tags to wear on a special necklace!
It is so important for students to feel loved, safe, and happy at school! Our classroom is our school family!! I am so excited to incorporate JESUS into our classroom throughout all of our learning. I strongly believe that when
we have Jesus as our foundation, we will be successful in all we do! Character Education is also a vital part of my teaching. Students are
challenged to show the character trait we work on at school at home… and sometimes we do it in a sneaky way! I love hearing the stories from parents
about the character traits they see in their children at home!
So, what CURRICULUM do we use? • Georgia Standards of Excellence for Math, ELA, Science, and Social
Studies
We remain consistent with the state expectations, so you can know that your child will be ready to shine and be a leader in first grade – academically and socially!
• Writer’s Workshop - Lucy Caulkins
• Reader’s Workshop – Lucy Caulkins
• Math – Georgia Dept. of Education; Number Talks
• Bible Curriculum – The Story for Children: A Storybook Bible
• There are many supplemental resources used to teach the standards that are research based. This helps incorporate differentiation for learning styles and academic levels. Some Supplemental Resources –Deanna Jump: Math Units, Guiding Readers, Writing Units
• For more information, to view the curriculum, or to see a sample lesson plan, please feel free to contact me.
A little about Me…
I love to teach Kindergarten! The growth that my sweet Kinder babies make throughout the year and the joy and excitement of learning that they express each day is so fulfilling to me as a teacher. I feel blessed to be able to instill Bible truths into the lives of my students, and am passionate about character education.
I have been married to my husband, Kesh, for almost 17 years. We have two daughters, Ava (9) and Chloe (8). I grew up in Flowery Branch, but moved away for many years while my husband served in the United States Coast Guard. We returned to the area in 2010 to serve as houseparents at Eagle Ranch for a couple of years. We have attended Blackshear Place Baptist Church since we moved back to the area in 2010. Jesus Christ is the foundation of our marriage and family. When I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior 16 years ago, He radically changed my life! I have not been the same since, and am grateful that He never stops working on me! It is my highest priority to instill a love of Christ in my personal children, and the children that I teach! I look forward to partnering with you in the most important journey we could endeavor!
Teaching Experience:2012-2017 Kindergarten - Spout Springs School of EnrichmentEducation:Gifted Endorsement, Pioneer RESAMaster of Education in Reading, Language & Literacy, Georgia State UniversityReading Specialist/ESOL Endorsement, Georgia State UniversityEarly Childhood Education, B.S., Armstrong State University
