School Days: PK4 Third Nine Weeks {Riley}

I’m back with another ridiculously long update on what Riley has been doing at school the last few months. Settle in, people; it’s gonna be a long one.

First, here are a few pics leftover from last semester. Gumball math activity, celebrating St. Nicholas Day and getting surprises in their shoes, decorating elves with their big buddies, and a VERY glittery ornament. (Look away, Uncle Jeff.)

 

Since they returned to school after their Christmas break, the PK4 has been non-stop. They talked about the letters “Ll” though “Tt” and completed many worksheets and activities associated with those letters.

They made M’s out of marshmallows and toothpicks. They had two tasting days, one during “Oo” week (black and green olives and Oreos) and one during “Pp” week (pretzels, pizza rolls, popcorn, and pickles). They had a remote control toy day for “R,” wore sunglasses to school for “S,” and had tea with their moms for “T.”

Riley’s handwriting is getting SO much better. He writes his own name on almost all of his papers, and he did a great job signing his name to his teachers’ Valentine’s Day cards.

In reading, they talked about a few different stories (The Nightingale, The City Mouse and the Country Mouse, and The Tug of War) and did lots of worksheets and activities associated with each.

 

In math, they learned about the numbers 11 through 17. They also discussed patterns and did many counting and handwriting activities. They did a whole chapter on measurement, discussing short vs. long, heavy vs. light, capacity, area, and ordering things by size.

In religion they talked about the new year and how to be more like Jesus, Epiphany, baptism, Noah’s ark, forgiveness and love, and Lent (make sure to check out what Riley’s Lenten sacrifice will be this year…..). They also marked the Feast of Saint Blasé on February 3 (their class saint) by attending morning assembly and hearing a short presentation on the saint.

They read lots of books in Library (including having a mystery reader and reading with their big buddies) and learned a lot in Spanish. Riley is also absorbing so much in his music class. He knows what a lot of the notes are, as well as many instruments. I know they have talked about woodwinds and percussion.

 

They learned all about Louisiana history and culture one week, tasting jambalaya, having live crawfish races, listening and dancing to Cajun music, and painting a picture of a big gumbo pot. They also did activities about Groundhog Day and Lincoln’s birthday.

In the mornings when they first arrive, they sit at their tables and color. Riley’s drawings have gotten noticeably better as the year has gone on…..he’s actually starting to draw shapes instead of just scribble scratching.

They had a dress down day to raise money for the Co-Op. Riley loved picking out what to wear that morning, but I’m glad he doesn’t have to do that every day!

Catholic Schools Week was at the end of January. One day Riley wore his Brother Martin shirt to school; he donated two bags of red beans for the St. Joseph’s Rebuild Center service project another day; all of the students enjoyed an ice cream bar after lunch one day; and the 100th day of school was celebrated.

 

They exchanged valentines with their friends and had a special visitor that day as well.

Global Awareness Week occurred the week before Mardi Gras in February. They learned all about Brazil’s history and culture; PK4 presented the Brazilian flag at morning assembly one day; they had a Brazil party during which they tasted Brazilian treats (cookies and guana juice); and the week culminated with the PK4 parade.

 

They had visits from both the Aqua Van (tarantula, turtle, and snake)  and the Zoomobile (tortoise, snake, guinea pig, hedgehog, and chinchilla). Riley enjoyed both and touched all of the animals he was allowed to. He said the tortoise was his favorite.

 

At the end of February, all PK4 students underwent Developing Skills Checklist testing with one of the Kindergarten teachers. DSC is an individually administered assessment that measure pre-reading and mathematics skills, social and emotional skills, fine and gross motor development, and print and writing concepts. I suppose the test helps determine which class to put them in next year.

As far as behavior, Riley had one really bad week with lots of timeouts (because of not following directions and name calling) and a biting incident (he bit a girl on her finger because she wouldn’t do what he wanted her to do). We took advantage of parent-teacher conferences (which occurred shortly thereafter) and spoke with Ms. Amelie. Academically, she said he’s made huge progress with his weaknesses. She said he’s doing great. As for the bad behavior, Amelie said that she thinks he thinks he’s being funny when he says certain things to other students, even though it sometimes upsets them. He simply smiles even if the other kid is visibly upset. He needs to learn that being funny is okay in certain instances but that in others there’s a line he should not cross. And also that it’s NEVER okay to bite someone. However, Amelie said he is ultimately a good kid. He got this note sent home a couple of weeks after the bad week.

I instituted a new rule at the start of this semester, and it has been working pretty well. When Riley gets in the car in the afternoons, he has to tell me two things about his day. Snack, lunch, recess, nap, and center time don’t count.

He doesn’t have to tell me his two things right away, but he doesn’t get a snack at home until he does. Most days he complains and says he doesn’t know/remember what he did, but he eventually spits out something and usually before we even get back home. Sometimes it’s very small and mundane; other times it’s something a bit more involved. But at least it gives me an inkling of what he does at school every day.

Whew. That’s it. Everybody still with me? The final 9 weeks of his PK4 year have begun. I can only imagine how quickly May will come.