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October 2011 Classroom of the Month:
Kindergarten!
SPV School would like to congratulate October's Classroom of the Month: Kindergarten! Students in Ms. Liz Lucarelli and Mrs. Socorro Davila's classroom are on their way to being great writers, practicing letters and writing more words every day. Students also spend plenty of time reading. “I love to read books!” says Leah, pointing to the classroom library. With such impressive collection of books, it is no wonder our Kindergarten students are such enthusiastic readers!
A few years ago, a book was published called Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten. Based on what goes on in this classroom, that title is probably true! Students here were excited to show off the different parts of their classroom. “We have a choice of what we want to do during the day,” said Isabelle, pointing out some of the learning stations in the classroom.
“That’s where we play with blocks,” said Viviana, “and we get to build with LEGO, too!” Along with the building station (which Ms. Lucarelli points out is used to help students with spatial orientation), there are also stations for reading, writing, colors, math and science.
“And the kitchen!” adds Mia.
Today, the classroom is a hive of activity as students take on a number of projects. On one end of the room, Gianni is matching upper-case letters to their lower-case counterparts. Cecilia is working on shapes and colors in one corner while Miguel and Leah play with blocks on the floor behind her. On the other end of the room, Mrs. Davila works with a group of students to create pictures using their favorite colors. Students must also add a sentence to describe their drawing. “I like orange,” Angel writes at the bottom of his sheet.
Through it all, Ms. Lucarelli is stationed at the center of the room, checking math problems with this student, correcting sentences with that one. Even though these students are young, expectations are high. “You won’t recognize them by the end of the year,” says Ms. Lucarelli, “By May, they will be reading words and blending sounds, writing sentences and paragraphs and behaving much more maturely.”
The Kindergarteners have already gotten used to a structured classroom. Each one has their own square on the carpet, their own chair at their table and their own set of responsibilities. Students have time to play, but they must also clean up afterward. It turns out Kindergarten is hard work!
In addition to their regular work, these students also participate in the Super Kids program, just like our first- and second-graders. This program does an excellent job of taking them steadily through important literacy skills, connecting them with characters that will be part of their lives for the next three years. It is definitely a fact that these students are Super Kids, which is one of the many reasons that Kindergarten is the Classroom of the Month! Congratulations!