Monday, September 14, 2026
Meeting:
It was wonderful to welcome the children back after the weekend! They came into the classroom excited to see their friends and get started with the day. Their enthusiasm helped set a positive tone for our Monday morning.
We began our morning meeting with our message and Question of the Day:
“Put your name above the amount that is more.”
The children were shown five hearts and two hearts and asked to decide which group had more. They then placed their names above the group with the greater amount.
This activity supports an important early math skill: comparing quantities. At the JK level, we want children to develop an understanding of concepts such as more, fewer, and the same. By visually comparing two groups, children are beginning to recognize that numbers represent quantities and that one group can contain more objects than another. Having the children place their names above their choice also gives them an opportunity to independently demonstrate their thinking.
We also explored the letters P and Q using the Lively Letters program. Lively Letters is a multi-sensory approach to early literacy that connects letters and their sounds with stories, characters, movements, and visual cues. This helps children build strong connections between what a letter looks like, what sound it makes, and how that sound is produced.
As we practiced P and Q, the children worked on recognizing the letters and connecting them to their sounds. These playful, multi-sensory experiences help make letter-sound learning more meaningful while building an important foundation for later reading and writing.
Math:
Today the children continued working on their counting and numeral recognition skills. These skills are foundational for all math skills. They did this through three different fun activities.
The first activity was working with finger cards. These cards show a hand holding up 0-5 fingers. The children saw each card three times. The first two times the children saw each card they silently held up that number of fingers. They were able to hold up their fingers in any configuration as long as it properly represented the number. For example if the number was four the children could hold up four fingers on one hand, two fingers on each hand, or three fingers on one hand and one on the other. This not only helps the children to understand quantities but also the flexibility of numbers. The final time the children saw the cards they held up their fingers and whispered the number.
The second activity was a number walk. Each child had the opportunity to walk around the classroom and find a number card. These cards presented the numbers 0-10. Then each child came to the front of the class to tell their peers their number. Teachers were right by your students' side in case of nerves or a need for assistance. We will discuss more throughout the year about all the ways the children are encouraged to participate in public speaking. After the child identified the number they held up that many fingers and their peers copied them.
The third activity had the children bringing these concepts onto paper. At this age working on paper is the beginning of bringing the very concrete way math is taught into just the beginning of abstract thinking. As this was the first time the children were asked to engage in this type of activity the expectation was just for them to participate. All of the children did an excellent job working on the paper. The children were asked to look at a number card and to draw or write a representation of that number on their paper. They could draw that number of objects or write the number. Parts of this activity will be repeated in small groups. Repetition builds skills and can be a critical part of building the children' s confidence with this type of work.
Choice Time:
On Friday in small groups most of the children had the opportunity to meet with a teacher and play with the wooden pieces that they will use when learning to build and write letters. Today the children who were absent on Friday and a few who just didn’t get a turn had a turn today. They learned how to get their kit out and put it away. They also learned the names of the four different wooden pieces and the blue mat. The children will learn more about these pieces and how to use them later this week.
This week in the sensory table the children enjoyed exploring with sand, construction vehicles, rocks, scoopers, and more.
Playdoh was available again with imprint stones and small apple manipulatives. Both of these activities help children with regulation and fine motor skills.
They practiced pre-writing skills by connecting big lines, little lines, big curves, and little curves to create letters of the alphabet. This activity helps develop fine-motor control, visual-motor coordination, and an understanding of the shapes and movements needed for letter formation.
The children also explored building with blocks by creating a ramp for an airport landing. Block building is an important part of Junior Kindergarten because it encourages creativity, problem-solving, spatial awareness, planning, and cooperation. As children design and build, they experiment with balance, structure, and different ways to make their ideas work.
Fun on the front yard:
Closing Meeting:
At the end of the day the teachers read: Rosie The Truffle Hound
Reminders:
On Fridays, your children will come home with their rest sheet to be cleaned. Please make sure to send it back on Monday.
Our class potluck is Thursday September 17th at 7:00pm
No School - September 21st
Curriculum Night - September 29th at 6:45pm
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