A Day in the Life of a Kindergartener

“What did you do at school today?”  

This is a tough question for many kids to answer because we do so much!  Instead, try asking questions like these… 

Which center did you work in during Readers Workshop time today?  Which special class did you go to?  Who did you play with at recess?  What book did Mrs. Droege read to you today?  Did you get a chance to work with Mrs. Droege at her table today?  These more specific questions are much easier for your child to answer and you’ll have a better idea of what he/she did at school each day.  I wanted to give you a little insight into what our day looks like in kindergarten.  We work hard and we play hard!

Morning Work

While I work on the morning necessities like attendance and lunch count, the students have a morning work assignment to practice and review skills that we have already learned such as letters, sight words, numbers, etc.  Soon, the students will be sometimes writing in their journals at this time.  

Morning Meeting

This is one of my favorite times of the day!  We have a chance to just talk and share with one another for a few minutes and bond as a classroom family.  This is also when we do calendar (counting, number recognition, patterns, days of the week, etc.), read our morning message and hunt for letters and sight words, do math warm-ups, as well as discuss our day and talk about the things we will be learning and working on throughout the day. 

Math- 

Whole Group

We start our math time with the whole class reviewing something we’ve practiced already and work on our new lesson all together.  We practice fluency activities and learn in a hands on approach with a lot of discussion using our math vocabulary.

Math- 

Small Groups & Baskets

After we complete our main lesson, the kids then go to an assigned math basket to practice a previously taught skill.  They are strengthening their math skills and confidence with numbers by completing a fun activity independently or in a small group.  Many of these activities involve games, toys, playdoh, etc.  Whoever said learning is boring clearly hasn’t been to kindergarten with us!  While they are learning and having fun with their math baskets, I pull a few kids at a time to reinforce or reteach any skills that students might still be struggling with.

Special Class

Every day we get to go to a special class.  This is always one of the kids’ favorite parts of the day!  We rotate through PE with Coach Coons, STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) with Mr. Poggas, music with Mrs. Biser, art with Mrs. Placht, and computers with Ms. Schell.

Soon we will get to have library time in the morning once a week as well.

Read Aloud

I read to the students every day, usually multiple times a day.  Not only do they (and I) just enjoy it, but this is how I model many reading strategies for them.  We discuss character, setting, plot, sequencing, problem/solution, etc.  They also develop many ideas for their own writing during this read aloud time.  This helps them develop a love for books and reading.  I encourage you to read at least one book to your child every day!  A daily story with mom or dad makes a big difference in children’s attitudes about reading and their development as a new reader!

Readers Workshop

*Students are directed to a center (reading, writing, listening, ABCs & word work, or science & math).  This is when the students independently practice the skills that are taught to them.  I always tell them that the harder they work during this time, the better readers and writers they will become!  While the students are working independently or in small groups during this time, I work with groups at my table. *see below*  

Literacy Centers and Small Groups

This is our most important time of the day!  I get the chance to work with the kiddos in small groups (no more than 5 at a time) to practice skills on their developmental level.  We are practicing letter recognition and letter sounds, as well as sight words at this time.  We are also reading books together that they love to bring home to show off to their grown ups!  

Phonics and Word Work

At this time, we are singing many different ABC songs, practicing letter recognition and sounds, and practicing high frequency words.  We stretch, blend, segment, write, and read words during this time.  It's amazing what we can do with words!

Lunch

All that work and exploration will make you hungry! 

Recess

It’s kindergarten...of course we play!  Did you see how hard we were just working?!?  It’s time for a break!  Of course it’s fun, but this exercise and gross motor time is also important for our health and our concentration in the classroom!  We’re 5, we have wiggles, and we need to get them out!

Quiet Time

There is no nap time, but some kindergarteners still fall asleep for a few minutes during this time.  I turn the lights off, turn on relaxing music and we all just take a break.  I also turn on read aloud videos often which the kids love!  This is a long day for 5 year olds and sometimes you just need a break!  If the kiddos didn’t finish their morning work in the time that was given, this is their chance to finish it.  They can also read from their book boxes or work on something of their own.  Many like to bring in a favorite book from home to look at during this time as well.  This, however, is the only time of the day that the students are allowed to do “nothing” if they choose to.  Laying down and resting during this time is great, too, because we’re not done working hard yet!

Writers Workshop

This time of the day always amazes me!  The kids have the chance to tell any story they want.  At this time we are still telling our stories through illustrations, labeling our pictures, and even writing our own sentences about our stories!  I love to see how their attitude changes from frustration or fear (simply because they don’t believe that they will be able to write) to pure excitement and joy when they realize that they can tell a story and that others are thrilled to listen to it!  They LOVE to write and share their stories! ...almost as much as I love to hear them!  They can be so creative! 

Center Time- Investigations

This center time is when the students choose what they would like to do and really decide which direction to go with their learning.  It might often look like “just play” but it is really so much more than that!   We have many different centers throughout the room and the activities and themes change throughout the year.  Here are some of their favorites and a few of the activities that they engage in with them:

-Blocks: exploring with different sizes and shapes- they love planning their structures and making their creations match their illustrations

-Art: Various art supplies are changed throughout the year and we also have a painting easel that they love. This center is great for developing creatively, using fine motor skills, and applying math concepts into their work.

-Science and Math: observations of various nature items, a sensory table in which materials are switched out frequently, math baskets to practice and reinforce our math skills

-Computers: listening to read aloud stories, Starfall reading, ABCya, Happy numbers, the academic opportunities are endless on iPads

-Pretend Play: We have a kitchen set so it is a “house center” currently, but we change it to other things throughout the year such as a weather center, pumpkin patch, bakery, Santa’s workshop, space station, veterinarian office, etc.

-Games, Puzzles, and Playdoh: This is a great center to practice our social skills, cooperative play, taking turns, conversational skills, and the fine motor exercise helps us with so many different skills in kindergarten!

*All of these centers are in addition to our literacy centers and are linked back to an academic focus.  It might look like we’re just playing, but we’re learning, too!

*During this time, I also pull individual students or small groups to work on any skills that the kiddos need extra practice with.  

Recess

Time to release some energy again!

Afternoon Meeting and Dismissal

After a busy day, we love to meet together on the carpet and talk about it!  We discuss things we've learned, things that have happened, things we want to learn next, and even make plans for our future learning.  We often sing and dance to educational songs and then we get ready to go home!  We are BUSY, BUSY, BUSY in kindergarten and we have so much fun!