Wonderscape AcademyKindergarten

September · Week 1 · Day 1 · School day 1

Day 1: Hello, School!

Week 1 planDay 2 →

Play with your child: Rules at School

Today’s goals

  • Phonics: Letters A, B RF.K.1d, RF.K.3a, RF.K.2
  • Reading: listen to a story and answer questions RL.K.1, SL.K.1a
  • Math: Matching, sorting and counting 1 to 3 K.MD.B.3
  • Social studies: Classroom rules and places in our school C3 D2.Civ.3.K-2

Materials

  • The Kissing Hand (or another first-day book)
  • Buttons or small toys to sort [pasta shapes, bottle caps]
  • Chart paper and markers [the back of a cereal box]
  • Crayons and paper

Swaps in [brackets] use things most homes have.

The day, step by step

  1. 10 min Morning meeting

    1. Greeting: sing a hello song or choose a greeting (wave, high five, elbow bump).
    2. Calendar: "Today is ___. Yesterday was ___." Point to the date.
    3. Count the days of school: add one straw to the ones cup. Today is day 1.
    4. Weather: look outside together and mark the weather chart (sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy or snowy).
    5. Question of the day: "What do you like to play?" Everyone answers in a full sentence.

  2. 15 min Phonics and letters RF.K.1d, RF.K.3a, RF.K.2

    1. Show capital A and lowercase a. Say: "This is A. A says /a/." Your child repeats the name and the sound.
    2. Mouth: Open wide and drop your jaw: /a/ as in apple.
    3. Keyword pictures: apple 🍎, ant 🐜, alligator 🐊. Say each word and stretch or bounce the first sound.
    4. Sky-write capital A with a straight arm: Slant down left, slant down right, cross in the middle. Then lowercase a: Curve around like a c, then straight up and back down.
    5. Listening game: Sound walk: close your eyes, listen for 30 seconds, then name every sound you heard (a car, a bird, the fridge). Then play "Same or different?" with two claps or two taps.

    A is a vowel. This month we use its short sound, /a/.

  3. 15–20 min Read-aloud RL.K.1, SL.K.1a

    The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn (or any first-day-of-school story)

    1. Before: show the front cover. Point to the title and say: "The title is the name of the book."
    2. During: stop once and ask: "How does Chester feel? How do you know?"
    3. After: "What did Chester’s mom give him to feel brave?"

  4. 20–30 min Math K.MD.B.3

    1. Pour a small pile of buttons or toys on the table.
    2. Model: "I will put all the red ones here." Sort a few out loud.
    3. Your child finishes the sort and says the rule: "These are all red."

    Math center: Sorting tray: sort the same pile by size.

  5. 15–20 min Social studies C3 D2.Civ.3.K-2

    1. Ask: "Why do we need rules?" (to keep us safe and help us learn).
    2. Make three picture rules together: safe body, kind words, listening ears.
    3. Act each rule out, then hang the poster where you learn.

  6. 15 min Writing W.K.2, L.K.1a

    Draw yourself at school. Your child tells you about the picture and you write their words under it.

    Drawings, scribbles, letter-like marks and invented spellings are all real writing at this age.

  7. 30 min Centers and play

    • Blocks: build our school
    • Play dough: roll the letter of the day
    • Book nook: look at books and find the front cover
    • Sorting tray: buttons, beads or toy cars

    Device time (5 to 10 minutes, together): Rules at School.

  8. 5 min Closing circle SL.K.1a

    Ask: "What was your favorite part of today?" Each child shares one thing.

Make it easier: Sort just two colors.
Make it harder: Sort the same pile a second way, by size or shape.
Look for: Can your child sort by one rule and say the rule?

Half day? Do the morning meeting, phonics, read-aloud and math. Fold science or social studies into the read-aloud talk.