Week Two with Pete the Cat

What a great second week!  These Kindergarteners are really starting to get the hang of things.  We are still learning about our classroom and school/playground rules, where places are located on our campus, and who our other teachers are.  We met Mrs. Haas, our wonderful music teacher.  She came in and taught us a little bit about music and our voices, and we had fun singing some songs with her!  Here is a photo from our first music class:

 We also met Mrs. Doyle, our school librarian, while we went on a little tour of our school.  Pete the Cat somehow "disappeared" from his usual spot in our classroom, but he left us some notes with clues telling us where he went.  First stop, the library!  

 Mrs. Doyle told us that he had just left the library, after reading many books.  But, he did leave another clue, which directed us to the front office, where we met Ms. Charlotte, our school secretary, and Mrs. Schulte, our principal!  

They also spotted Pete the Cat, but they said he ran into the Health Room just behind Ms. Charlotte's desk...

So, all 24 of us piled into the teeny little Health Room.  Some of us had already visited the Health Room, but the rest of us got to see where we should go if we need a band aid, ice pack, or a rest when we aren't feeling too good.  I spotted another note from Pete the Cat in the Health Room, which told us that we would find him on a rainbow rug... The kids reminded me that our classroom has a rainbow rug, so back we went to find him!  

And, wouldn't you know it, Pete surprised us by showing up on a blue square on the rainbow rug!  The kids had so much fun trying to find Pete around the school, they asked if Pete would go hide again some time! Who knows, maybe he will someday!  If you haven't had a chance to read the Pete the Cat books, here is a link to the publisher's website, which also has great Pete the Cat activities and, best of all, the Pete the Cat songs that accompany each book! I think these Kindergarteners really enjoyed the song from Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons -Pete the Cat Link

This week the kiddos also got to meet Mr. Colvin, our computer teacher.  Little known fact about Mr. Colvin- his daughter-in-law used to be the Kindergarten teacher about 7 years ago here at St. Jude!  Mr. Colvin was so impressed by the wonderful behavior of our Kindergarten class!  Here are a few snapshots of the little computer wiz's at work:

Right after computer class, the kiddos were introduced to their PE teacher,

Mrs. Z!  The Kindergarteners are the only class at St. Jude the Apostle lucky enough to have four half-hour PE sessions a week.  Their PE classes are at 8:30am, so not to worry about them getting too hot!  Here they are learning to follow Mrs. Z in a line:

 

 We also went and had our first school pictures taken!  I'm so glad these kids enjoyed having their pictures taken... as for myself... no comment = )  Here are some photos of these great kiddos waiting so very patiently for their turn:

 

Here are the kiddos working hard on their Pete the Cat cut-and-paste art project.  There was a LOT of cutting involved, but cutting is a great skill to practice right from the start!  The cats will be hanging up in our room for Back to School Night, this Tuesday!  Please plan on showing up, and don't forget, this is a kid-free evening.  And yes, I only have those itty bitty little kindergarten chairs for you to sit in = ) Or, you could sit on the rainbow rug...

Here the kiddos are participating in some puzzle time!  This was a great chance for the students to work together on accomplishing a goal.  Boy, were they excited when they finished!
 

Next week will still be half-days.  You still have one more week of no homework, a topic that I will cover at Back to School Night.  The kids are super excited to meet their Study Buddies this Tuesday, too!  This week will actually be their first week of five half-days in a row of school, so don't be surprised if you have some extra tired kiddos by Friday!  By then, we'll be extra ready for our full days of school, starting on the 16th! Don't worry parents... our first couple of full days will be, how shall I put this, not-so-jam-packed- we will be taking breaks as needed, and we will definitely be participating in lots of out-of-our-seats activities! As always, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please drop me an email!  

Thank you, enjoy the hot weekend, and we'll see everyone on Monday morning!