now i know my abcs

Kindergarten has become a place where students are no longer free to spend their days engaging in constructive play, nap time, and social development. With the introduction of Common Core State Standards last year, students are now expected to leave kindergarten reading, writing, and doing basic arithmetic. Last year I was not sure how to approach this intense set of standards, but this year I feel that I am ready for them.

At the completion of last school year I invested in The Daily Five and have just been loving everything that I have read in the books and online. I feel like I am ready to dive into literacy development with my kinders, starting on day one, this year. In order to best prepare myself for this journey through the world of teaching students how to read, I also used donorschoose.org and my friends and family helped me to successfully fund over $500 worth of books. I am so excited to introduce my class to these materials and to the world of reading.

One way in which I plan on facilitating a comfortable transition into this aforementioned world is through the creation of a book nook. This nook (pictured above) has our class rainbow rug, a [currently] small classroom library (books from donorschoose should ship next week once our school year officially begins), a bookshelf that has read to self boxes (a donorschoose project from last year) for each of the students to collect books that are just right for them, a word wall, and an interactive phonics chart. All of these tools will give my kinders what they need to become successful readers. This is a space where we will all gather on the rug to read together, to develop skills, and to enjoy reading. My kiddos will be free to lay on the rug and listen to stories. We'll all sit together with pretzel legs on the floor and talk about our books. We'll read because it is fun, not because of the standards that I am being forced to teach to. 

My students may enter the classroom not knowing their letters, how to write their names, or having listened to a story being read aloud to them before, but they will learn. And they will learn because they want to, not because they are being told to. 

I will make my kinders want to read, because it is fun. It is a way to escape. It is a way to test the limits of your imagination. I love to read. So will they (right?).