Introducing Reader's Workshop

I found this incredible idea on Pre-K Pages of having a reader's workshop in preschool. I really want to try this in my classroom, so I've written some plans for next that are much different that the past. While my version isn't necessarily like a true reader's workshop, the instruction I have planned will be much more focused than in the past. I'm also going to start a morning message, which I'm getting excited about. I'm hoping this will be a better way to get my students to pick up on letters and sight words. Plus, it helps them understand how writing works and why we do it.

Here's an skeleton of what my day is (hopefully) going to look like:

Morning Message (This will be combined with calendar work - I'll (hopefully) pack a punch full of math and reading skills)
Reader's Workshop (While students play in centers, I'll be working with small groups on emergent reading skills - letter recognition and sounds, sequencing, comprehension, etc.)
Snack
Math Workshop (Again, students will be playing in centers, and I'll be working with small groups on emergent math skills - counting, number recognition, patterning, etc.)
Closing Meeting (I'll read stories. We'll play games or do an activity based around various math and reading skills)

I'm excited about this new plan. I've kind of started already, and I'm really excited to see that it opens up the possibilities to individualize and differentiate my instruction.

In other good news: one of my four year-olds can now recognize about eight sight words and knows most of the letter sounds. She can totally read a couple of books on her own. She's really taking off, and it's exciting! I'm looking forward to seeing how far I can take her before the end of the year.

Before I sign off for the night, I'll leave you with this bizarre event that happened when I was working with my first grader at the elementary school. One of the girls in his class came up to me during some quiet time and said, "I think my heart stopped beating. It was beating, and now I can't feel it anymore." Uh.....I think it's beating sweetie. Otherwise you wouldn't be standing there telling me about it. I taught her how to feel her pulse, and that seemed to soothe her. When I got the chance, I checked with her teacher to make sure she didn't have some kind of heart problem in the past - just to be safe. She didn't, and her teacher didn't think we needed to be worried about it. They say the strangest things.