What's a Kindergarten Day Like?

Hi! I go to GIS and am in the Chinese Track Kindergarten program. Come with me as we explore what a day at my school looks like! 

Arrival/Play

We start the day by saying goodbye to our parents or whoever drops us off at the door and come inside to get our temperature checked. Then, we put our bookbag and water bottle in our cubby, go to the sink to wash and dry our hands, and choose an activity to start our day. Today, I’m choosing to read a Chinese book quietly in the book nook. I like looking at the pictures and figuring out the story! 

Morning Meeting

For our morning meeting, we greet each other, sing songs, and go over the calendar and weather. Our teacher also reminds us of what we have been learning in our Second Step classes. This week, we learned about following directions and then practiced the steps for washing our hands! 

Work Stations

Our teacher will then set up stations for us to work at. Today, we’re practicing writing characters using the correct stroke order. “Heng zhe gou, heng, heng, pie.” I say the words for each stroke as I make the character for “moon.” Using self-talk while I’m practicing writing characters helps me remember what to write! 

Outside Time

After snack time, we go outside to play and enjoy the outdoors. Today our teacher brought bubbles and we chased them around the play area.  

GIS focuses a lot on outdoor play and exploration and we love making castles in the dirt, climbing the jungle gyms, playing with balls, and in the play kitchen. There are so many choices!

Specials

Every day we have a specials class: art, outdoor exploration, sport, Second Step (where I learn how to be a good learner and friend), and music. Today, we are running through an obstacle course set up by our sport class teacher! 

Free Play/Inquiry

We come back inside and our teacher allows us to work on activities that allow us to explore how things work and figure out answers to our own questions. Today, my friend is using a building set to explore how tall and strong he can make this building! 

Quiet Time

After lunch we have quiet time to read, play quietly on our own, or even lie down if we are tired. 

Outside

We go outside for a second time to exercise our bodies and get some fresh air. Today, we have a special adventure: a walking field trip to the Tualatin Hills Nature Park, located down the road from school. We will return several more times this year and explore different parts of the park. I had fun filling up a nature bag with things I had found along the path: a leaf, a pine cone, and an oak apple, which I learned isn’t an apple at all! 

Unit Focus

At the end of the day, we work on the theme for our IB unit (GIS is an International Baccalaureate World School). Our first theme has been family and we have been learning about each other's families and sharing about our own. We also have been learning about the Chinese Mid-autumn Festival, which is a time for families to get together, enjoy and learn about the moon and eat mooncakes. We made our own book of all we had learned about the Moon Festival, including the Moon Goddess. I love making projects, we do that a lot here. Next, we are going to bring in items and pictures that have meaning to our family and create our own “Family Museum.” I can’t wait for my classmates and teachers to see what I bring in! 

Pick up

Then it’s time to go home! I play with my friends until my mom, dad, or grandparents come to pick me up. Sometimes, it’s hard to say goodbye, but I know that tomorrow, I’ll get to come back and have new adventures!