Half to full day

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Half to full day
By L.P.

I teach full day kindergarten with a four day week so we have very long days. We also have a very academic kindergarten in my district so please keep that in mind. Here are some of the things that I do.
Morning work:
coloring, cutting, letter recognition, and now phonics pages. While the kids work on those, I do attendance, book bags, and listen to kids read. The students that finish their work go to math manipulative tubs, writing center, or do a puzzle.
Circle: which includes calendar, stories, songs, etc. Sometimes we act out a story with puppets.
Journal and handwriting pages: Our journal

is interactive and I sound out the words and the children supply the letters. One day a week we have weekend news. They draw something they did at home and write about it on their own. Many are sounding out words on their own or using invented spelling. After journal they do a handwriting page. (I don't expect perfect letter formation.) On Thursdays we have 5th grade book buddies come in so we don't have circle or journal.
Recess and Snack: Children are each assigned a snack day and they bring in a snack.
Reading: I have an hour long reading block. We do Reading Mastery (Ugh!) in our district. I supplement with guided reading. I have an aide during reading block and we have the children split into four leveled groups. We direct instruct one group while the other groups work on literacy activities. At the end of reading block, we each put both of our groups together and do guided reading or letter/word card games.
Lunch/recess.
Rest: Thirty minutes. We watch Little Bill and a few minutes of Blues Clues. At the start of the year, some children actually did sleep.
Thematic centers: Each group does a planned activity and goes to a new one each day. I have an aide for thirty minutes during this time.
Free time: Thirty minutes. The children pick their own activities.
Sharing: Ten minutes.
Recess
Math: I alternate math sheets with hands on activities. Most of my kids are doing addition now. Another aide comes in during this time.
Specials: I still get Library and music but have to teach my own P.E. and Art due to budget cuts.
End of the day circle: Usually just a story and song.

I hope some of this will help you. I found that doing a quiet activity alternating with a more hands on approach worked best. At the start of the year, I tried to be more developmental but the children got too wound up and the workload from all those projects was staggering. The schedule I have now works good for me and my kids are doing great! Good luck!