Delightful "D" Week

I know that this week is quickly coming to a close but I wanted to take a moment to share about last week. Last week's kindergarten classes were sponsored by the letter Dd! I think you'll enjoy pretending that you are 4 or 5 yrs old again and joining me on a trip back through this delightful "D" week.

Monday: Decorating Dd with Dots!
On Monday I introduced the letter Dd by giving each child a picture of something that started with D and the word. With the 5 yr old class I wrote the word up on the board and the child who matched up the word on their paper with what was on the board got a sticker. They also got to come up, circle the vowels in their word on the board and stick their piece of paper in the "D box." After introducing all the D words, we decorated the letter Dd with marker dots and pasted them on construction paper.

As I was sitting up there by the whiteboard introducing D words, I realized something: I really was enjoying myself! I was enjoying seeing the kids learn something new. I was enjoying teaching! Okay, that may not seem like anything big but since teaching was not my passion in life before Peru and since I was just choosing to serve by teaching it really was big. My prayer has been to not just do my best at my job but to have joy in the midst of serving. Thank you Jesus for the way you are answering my prayer! It's not like my kids are perfect angels and I guess that's what makes the joy so much more important. It's not a joy that's based on my kids but on the giver of joy!

Tuesday: Who let the Dogs out?
Tuesday was Dd is for Dog day! We searched for dogs in our books and colored and created dog headbands. The four yr olds didn't want to wear their dog headbands too long! Most of them just put them in their bookbags. The five year old class on the other hand really got into wearing their headbands (I had one on of course). At one point all of them were howling and I couldn't help but think about a song that was popular a couple of years ago! I just wish I had my camera to capture the moment.

Wednesday: Little Drummer Boy
On Wednesday our theme was D is for Drum! We listened to a drum song and created our own drums from the bottom half of huge water bottles. Dawn and I have been buying bottled water because even though we have a filter on our sink, it doesn't take out the floaties and the funny taste in the water. The kids decorated a paper that had a design and the word DRUM on it. Then we glued those on the bottle bottoms and added wax paper and a rubber band. Give the child two popsicle sticks and they will drum the poor sad drum to death. Well, I think my project turned out well despite the fact that I had to repair countless wax papers and rubber bands. Maybe something a little more secure than a rubber band next time. :0)

Thursday: I know what to say when the Ducks come!
On Thursday we learned about the word DUCK! We didn't play duck, duck, goose but we'll do that in "G" week when we learn goose. We colored and created a duck paper craft that had a moveable mouth. Quack!!

Friday: Dancing Kings/Queens
Friday was one of my favorite themes. We talked about the word Dance!!! Each child had a picture of different types of Dance from around the world which we all stuck on the board. Then we played Freeze Dance! I had created a cd with all different types of songs that had the word Dance in them. It's amazing how many I found! The kids had tons of fun and we also got to learn to say: "I'm Tired!" During our recess I also got a work out when some of the kids decided that I needed to play the game. So as they yelled out "Freeze!" and "Dance!" I danced like a maniac. Hey, just yet another way for them to learn a new word. hee hee..