My Daily Schedule - with a little FREEBIE!

There's no typical day in kindergarten....I bet most of you can agree!  But I do have my routines set out from day one and try to stick with them as much as possible!

We have so much fun learning every day!

All of my students have routines down pat by the second month or so and that's when things really get rolling!

Here's what my daily schedule looks like...

 

 

Mrs. Albanese’s Daily Schedule

8:30-8:45 -> arrival, O’Canada, announcements, hand

in Communication Folders, etc.

8:45-9:00 -> Morning Meeting - Chit Chat message (modelled after Deanna Jump), alphabet song, sight word identification 

9:00-9:20 -> Writers' Workshop - I always start this time with a story pertaining to what we are doing.  We do either printing practice or journal writing.  My students will either complete a printing page (alphabetically, one letter per week) or write a journal entry about a particular theme/unit of study.

9:20-10:00 -> (Mon/Tue) Morning ABC Baskets (I got this idea this last year from Julie Lee and it works great!) - students must complete their Morning ABC Basket.  They rotate through these each day so by the end of the week they will have completed them all.  These activities are those that you can find in my TpT units.  Some activities the students must turn in at the Finished Work Basket.  Other activities are games revolving around sight word identification, letter/sound recognition, building CVC words, creating simple sentences, etc.  I explain each basket to the whole class at the beginning of the week before I let them complete the activities with their groups.  I use this time to work with my students who need more help reviewing a specific concept, who are unable to complete a journal on their own, or who just need reinforcement when it comes to letters and sounds!

*Wed/Thur – the students go to Phys. Ed. and Friday we use this time for a Religion Journal, theme-based craft or things we have not finished during the week.

10:00-10:20 -> snack

 

 

10:20-11:20 -> Literacy Centers and Guided Reading - My students will complete the activities set out for them at the Center board.  All students must first make sure their Morning ABC Basket work is complete.  On Wed/Thur the students are almost always working on their Morning Baskets first at this time.  They don't have to complete all of the activities from the Center board when they are done their basket work; they can choose which ones to do from their options during that time.  I pull a small group of students to sit with me for Guided Reading.  Then they return to their centers.

 

 

11:20-1:20 -> This is my lunch and planning time.  The students have Italian class at this time and are also supervised by a Lunch Time Monitor.  They have outdoor play during this block.

1:20-2:00 -> Math Baskets.  I introduce a concept that I want the students to be familiar with (like reviewing how we tell the time) and explain each activity before students complete their basket.  Again, most of these activities come from my units on TpT.  While the students are working on their Math Baskets, I call those students that require more one on one time to review different math skills.  In one of the baskets, there is always a specific activity pertaining to our focus (i.e. time -> telling time to the hour/half hour matching game and worksheet).  By the end of the week, all of the students will have completed that worksheet and turned it in.  In my other Math Baskets, there might be activities related to patterning, counting, sorting, etc. all skills we have already touched upon.  Once finished, students can see which activities they can go to on the Center board.

2:00-2:20 -> Library Mon.&Tue. only - the other days we keep working on math during this time

2:20-2:40 -> snack (we also hand out the Communication Folders that have notes, reading books, etc.)

2:40-3:00 -> DPA (Daily Physical Activity) on Mon.&Tue.  DPA is mandatory each day (when students don't get Phys. Ed.).  I usually play different CDs that allow students to get up and move or we play games outdoors (like Duck Duck Goose).  On the days when students have Phys. Ed we will play Bingo, a sight word game, read a story, etc.  There is always something fun to do as a closing activity at the end of the day!

3:00-3:20 -> get ready for dismissal (yes, it takes this long, more so in the winter time!) 

3:20 -> dismissal

*Fun Fridays -> I keep this day open each week for "catching-up" and Choice (where students can choose any center that's on the Center board, not just what their group is supposed to do) and they can sit anywhere for snack time instead of assigned seating.  So much fun!  We also use Fridays to write in our Religion Journal, create a craft based on our theme, and learn about our Child of the Day!

So there you have it!  Phew!  A very full day but we manage to get it all done (well, most of the time!).

Here's a picture of the planner I use.  It helps me lay out my month and plan ahead.
I just updated it for the 2012-2013 school year.

Click on the picture to view it in my TpT store.

This is a picture of a page that a students completed in the Alphabet book.  You can find this activity in my Alphabet Printing Book on TpT.

This is what my Alphabet Song chart looks like.  I use the chart to review letters and sounds.  I have uppercase on one side and lower case on the other. 

You can find this in my Alphabet Printing Book also!

I like to sing a song with my kiddies...I actually got this song from the Leapfrog DVDs.  Have you ever seen the Leapfrog Letters and Sounds DVD?  It's incredible!  My daughter loved it and learned her letters and sounds by watching it (yes, really, she focused so much better on the DVD than when I worked with her!).  Anyways, the characters in the movie sing a really catchy song - "A says /a/, A says /a/, every letter makes a sound, A says /a/".  Well, we've been singing that song in my classroom each day and it works!  I made large flashcards that I turned into a booklet.  You can find these in my Alphabet Printing Book too! 
(Yes, I put A LOT of stuff into that packet!)

Here is a little freebie for you!

I created the alphabet chart I spoke about for each student.  That way, they can use the chart when they are writing in their journal and I even have it posted at my Writing Center.

Click on the picture to download.

Enjoy the weekend! (What am I talking about....it's summer....every day is the weekend!)