I…am…*SO*…Excited!
The first day of school is Monday, and I’ve already met all but two of my students, thanks to a short Open-House-type visit yesterday afternoon!
I’ll wrap up some details for you today, and then unveil the classroom in all its glory tomorrow, okie dokie?
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I made center tags:
Many teachers list their centers on a single chart, somehow rotating names of students to cycle them through activities each day. Some teachers leave all centers as “free choices” for the year. I make center tags that are located at EACH activity, and I myself rotate students’ names/photos (not shown for confidentiality’s sake) that are affixed to each tag with hook-and-loop tape or dots. This may seem labor intensive, but for the first few weeks of school, I like to move through the classroom, helping and monitoring each student in all of the center locations. I signal it’s time to clean up and move to the next center with a special clap or by ringing a bell. Rotating the tags myself gives me the chance to see if the students are cleaning up appropriately, or are just leaving their mess for the next student to deal with as everyone else moves on. Catching students cleaning up gives me the opportunity to provide positive feedback, and I’m able to redirect mess-makers back to their last center before they become too engrossed in the next activity. After the first month of school, I can become a center that students will visit, and I can trust the kindergartners working elsewhere to clean up before moving on without too much intervention on my part.
Changing the photos to rotate students through centers assures that I won’t be stuck sitting all morning as well!
Each center lasts anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes, and no, none of my centers are “optional.” Every student cycles through every center, visiting their favorites, and knowing that, should they encounter an activity they’re not very fond of, it WILL end, and they WILL make it away from there to work elsewhere!
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Here’s a close up of my “Welcome” card (it’s a postcard by Mary Englebreit, available at many teacher stores) and the button my kindergarten colleagues made for each student:
I put a poem about the first day of school in the card for parents to read, and let my students know they can wear their pin for the first week of school, and then transfer it to a lunch bag or backpack. I’m guessing there are a few parents out there that save the button for their childrens’ scrapbooks or photo albums!
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While new kindergarten students need quiet and calm guidance paired with nurturing on their first day of school, many parents are just as tender-hearted and emotionally fragile as their children. I give each family a little gift bag that has a cotton ball, some kleenex, and a tea bag before they leave us on the first day. The cotton ball is to remind parents of their child’s soft spirit, the kleenex is to help them dry their tears, and I encourage parents to go home, heat up some water, make a cup of tea, and relax.
Frankly, it’s the most gentle way I’ve found to…cut the apron strings.
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We’ll be learning about colors for the first two weeks of school, so I’ve prepped some die cuts and art activities in advance:
I’m not sure if we’ll make necklaces out of the die cut shapes or use the shapes for some other activity, but the large white apples with green stems are ready for students to cut or tear red construction paper out to glue onto them on “Red Day.” On Red Day we’ll wear something red or bring a red item from home to share. Same thing for Blue Day, Yellow Day, Green Day, etc., and of course we’ll read books like Green Eggs and Ham, Blueberries for Sal, Green Wilma, Who Said Red, Harold’s Purple Crayon, etc. Dressing in similar colors and making group projects helps to bring us together as a class, giving us ownership of our surroundings, making us feel like we belong, and forging bonds with classmates and teachers.
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Tomorrow I’ll be baking “Kissing Hand” cookies, but will post classroom photos for you to see too!
Show and Share Thursday: It’s Gettin’ There…
With the help of Dear Daughter, the classroom is *almost* finished. We had to do some rearranging of furniture today since I have fewer than twenty students presently (yay!), so I now have a larger table ready for math manipulatives (you can see the students’ desks in the background):
The listening center is set up at the front of the room for now, though the desk will probably house our laptop computers once they’re delivered:
My students’ desks have their nameplates ready for them, along with yellow “Welcome” cards for their first visit tomorrow. My colleagues made some very cute cards of their own, and made buttons that say “I’m in Kindergarten” for the students to wear the first week of school- I incorporated the extra buttons they made for me into my own cards (I’ll try to remember to photograph the inside of one tomorrow):
By the way, the nameplates are NOT stuck to the desks yet. I can’t always be certain what name a student will choose to be called, and spelling errors sometimes occur, so parents will have the chance to help me correct the labels and tags tomorrow. I don’t usually adhere the nameplates to desks until I know my seating arrangement will work- some students will work well together, while others create an unsafe, unfriendly, or just plain rowdy scene when seated next to each other. Cooperation and appropriate social interactions are key!
In case you were wondering, I do NOT ask parents to write their child’s name on every box of crayons, glue bottle, pencil, or Kleenex box. Too much time is lost when students start the “Teacher, she took MY pink crayon,” or “Mrs. Sommerville, he touched MY green scissors” routine. No, no, and NO. Putting items without labels into group tubs (I purposely empty crayon boxes into a larger tub before distributing colors amongst tables) and modeling how students should share and help is another important experience children should have. I will routinely ask students questions such as “May I please borrow a red crayon? I would like to help J. color this apple red. Thank you for sharing! I will give the crayon back when I am done.” It doesn’t take long for the students to adopt the polite tone and vocabulary in our classroom.
Our writing center (full of cards, envelopes, paper, pencils, crayons, and stencils):
One view of our reading center (do you like my apple quilt?), with a display about colors:
Calendar, months, days of the week, and weather at “circle”:
Pretend/Dramatic Play Center (have you noticed the little peeks of tan curtains in each photo? I sewed those last weekend, and hung them on tension rods to cut down on the visual noise):
My reading table and teacher station (that’s a Happy Birthday display on the wall) that should be clean and presentable tomorrow:
When I’m new to a school, I post a bulletin board display in the hallway about Me, Myself, and I. I post photos of me, my family, and blurbs that my students might find of interest (”I have a cat named Anni. Anni likes to watch dinosaur shows on television.” or “I like glitter, jewelry, motorcycles, and trucks…”) and always post drawings previous students have given me of…ME! (I’ll photograph some tomorrow, today’s turned out blurry for some reason). Since my favorite story is Where the Wild Things Are, I include a poster of a wild rumpus too!
While the display isn’t “all Vegas” or schoolish, its simplicity draws students and their families in to read, share, and look at photos, helping them to get to know me a bit better, quietly, peacefully transitioning them into their time spent with me.
My “welcome” display with students’ names on stars, and quotes about early childhood and developmentally appropriate practice for parents to read and think about:
Should family members come by to visit at a time we’re elsewhere, they can find us after checking our “locater” display:
“Mrs. Sommerville’s Super Stars are at:” and then tags with hook-and-loop dots on the back read “Music,” “Recess,” “the library,” “an assembly,” and “P.E.” I still need to add a few more as we’ll also visit the dome theater, computer lab, and 21st Century Classroom (Science).
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I’m off to bake cookies!
…and Now for Some Fine Tuning and Tweaking…
In photos my blue bulletin boards really do dominate, don’t they? Take a closer look though and you might be able to see signs of fine tuning in this corner, that corner, and some tweaking of the furniture arrangement (and oh look! The chairs have found their appropriate places too!):
To the rear, our reading “circle,” literacy/story time/calendar area (I know, I still need a chair):
Students’ desks and areas for computers, legos, and all of our math manipulatives (on shelves):
Dramatic Play to the left, puppets in the apple baskets, and painting/clay to the right (yes, I put up Kadinsky, Picasso, and Van Gogh prints):
The view from the rear classroom doors, next to the bathroom area:
I’m still sorting materials and supplies on the art cart:
Hmm, it looks like our kitchen (dramatic play) is in need of repair:
Here’s a closer look at our storytime corner. In addition to our books and listening center, I place three tubs of math manipulatives, and three tubs of literacy/language games in this area so my students can have some additional practice with problem solving, patterning, and phonics whenever we get a free moment. I also use this area to introduce and explain worksheets or model small paper activities that tie into stories we’ve just read before sending students to work at their tables. Having their attention away from the noise of the hallway is a *good thing!*
And finally, a view from the storytime corner looking toward the front of the room. I have our wooden blocks and other large building manipulatives housed in the bookcase that is almost center photograph- the floor area is open enough that students can spread out, building cities, kingdoms, neighborhoods, and on carpet which will hopefully cushion/soften the noise created by the solid wooden blocks!
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I’m going to try to finish up my classroom arrangements and decor this week. I’ll make center tags, hang some more decor from the ceiling over the students’ desks (it’s a wonderful place for patterns and art display), get the table baskets filled with crayons, pencils, glue and scissors, and start putting together journals. I’ll get the curriculum kits reassembled, take a look at the kindergarten standards for Oz, and figure out a template for my lesson plans. Next week all teachers will meet for professional development at our school and throughout other district locations- I’ll keep you posted!
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~ Head over to The Chancellor’s New Clothes for this week’s Carnival of Education (you might find someone familiar linked there!)…
~ No, I haven’t forgotten that you enjoy trying out new recipes as much as I do! Once I see some pretty blueberries in the grocery store, I’m going to try Smitten Kitchen’s Blueberry Crumb Bars and Blueberry Pancakes… I must have BLUE on the brain this week!
~ Ever cooked Eggs in a Basket? I’ve wanted to ever since Moonstruck came out (Olympia Dukakis makes it for breakfast in one scene). Thanks to The Pioneer Woman Cooks for sharing the method!
Classroom *Before*…and Furniture Tips
Here’s a peek at what I’ll be working with as I set up my kindergarten classroom this week… call it a “before” slideshow (yes, I’ll post some “after” shots soon!):
I’ll try to wrap up the sorting and organizing on Monday so that I can start preparing my staple boards for displays (calendar, posters, curriculum materials, etc.) as I won’t be able to situate my furniture until the carpets have been shampooed and are dry.
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If *you’re* ready to arrange your furniture, here are a few things to remember:
~ Kindergarten students use space, lots and lots of it. They will not be sitting in chairs at desks very often, but will lay across the floor assembling puzzles or building with blocks…they will stand at the art easel to paint, they will play dress up in an area designated for dramatic play…they will make a unifix cube “snake” the length of the room either across the floor or across desks, and they’ll interact with one another by walking from center to center (activity areas) to talk with friends, make suggestions, or satisfy their curiosity. A balance between the amount of furniture and the amount of wide open “free” space needs to occur. Too much furniture, and the children can’t move. Too little furniture, and the kids will RUN.
~ There are safety issues that will affect where you place furniture in your room.
- * In Alaska, earthquakes were a threat, so student’s desks couldn’t be placed near the windows, and had to be situated closely enough that students could climb under them to avoid items falling from above. Tornadoes, neighborhood violence, gusting winds, etc. are all elements that can make windows in your classroom dangerous.
- * Fire exits cannot be blocked. Alternate fire exits could be windows or doors. No furniture or decor should prevent your students’ safe and timely exit from the room.
- * Your room might have movable cabinetry or free standing file cabinets and bookshelves. Sit at your desk and examine the height of the furniture. If you can’t see over it, it should not be placed as a divider between centers blocking your view. You need to be able to see the students from any and all vantage points in the classroom. I place too-tall bookshelves and file cabinets against walls for stability and so I can see them clearly- after all, they are climbing and tipping hazards.
- * Shelving and cabinetry should be neat and organized, utilizing tubs or baskets when necessary. With practice, cleaning up after activities will become intuitive and natural for your students. Remember to store items that students should use ONLY with your supervision up and away.
- * Area rugs are helpful in visually marking areas (reading time, the math manipulative area, etc.), compliment the decor and provide comfort, and can even be used as a learning aids (ABC carpets, a number theme…) but need to meet fire safety codes. Find out from your principal or grade level partner what types of carpets can be used before purchasing.
~ Kindergarten furniture is short. Make sure you leave enough area around furniture and into centers that you, visiting parents or volunteers, and other teachers or aides can move easily without repeatedly bruising your knees and shins. If you have height-adjustable tables, make sure they aren’t too tall or too short. Using the students’ chairs as a guide should help.
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I hope you’re enjoying the remainder of your summer break!
~Green Maintenance Monday~
We’ve stalled a bit indoors as I won’t be able to set up the toddler’s playroom or my craft area until my kindergarten materials, books, and decor are delivered to my new classroom later this week. Dear Husband checked the trees in our yard today instead, looking for branches that needed to be trimmed while the kids and I checked on the seeds that we planted for “filler-type” greenery and flowers for the remaining summer months.
The nasturtiums and pumpkins have sprouted, though I’m not sure if we’ll actually get any pumpkins grown in time for Halloween with such a late planting. The kids were inspired by the pumpkin photos at Chance Family Happenings:
Dear Husband trimmed back some branches that were obscuring traffic/street signs:
…and he discovered a few branches that the electric company will have to come out to cut and remove (see where the power line is?):
Later this afternoon I’ll re-pot some of my indoor plants into larger containers, anticipating what new greenery I can find to put into the newly emptied pots!
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Thanks for being green, Kermit:
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~SmittenKitchen shares a recipe for Sauteed Radishes (yes, radishes!), Sugar Snap Peas and Dill
~Paper-and-String is working on Christmas in July (check out her trees, reindeer, and puddings)
~Doug has “heavier” reading on his summer book list than I do, but I’m intrigued after reading his thoughts on Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine. NCLB is an issue that has ties that stretch much further than our classrooms, school district offices, states, even country.
~Dear Daughter enjoyed her birthday, but wanted a plain ol’ vanilla cake (with purple streaks swirled in) with strawberry icing. Guess I’ll have to wait for another celebration to try The Pioneer-Woman-Cooks’ Yogurt and Orange Marmalade Cake.
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Happy Monday!
Gutter and Balloon Animal Services
I hope you enjoyed greeting the surprises in our rental yesterday! To continue on with our housing adventure…
On Day Three of being back in Oz, Mother Nature gave us a rainstorm, followed by a hailstorm. I didn’t mind either as we were inside and the show was a change from the usual tumbleweed/dirt storms experienced in Texas. And look at all of that *green!*
Do you remember me mentioning the duct taped gutters yesterday? Apparently the duct tape was merely a cosmetic issue, the real problem easily obscured by the fact that I couldn’t see INTO the gutters themselves from the ground. From out of our bedroom windows, we could hear what sounded like a flood, coming off of our roof, more intense than the rain and hail itself that was falling. When we looked out the windows, we saw two rivers of water being shot up and out away from the house four or five feet before hitting the ground. With special lighting and Liberace playing piano, we would have had our own Vegas Water Show!
Sigh. Maybe not. I don’t have the epaulets for that kind of production.
Anywhoo…the gutters were clogged, plugged, full of who-knows-how-many-years’-worth of debris.
And the in-my-opinion hazardous exposed fiberglass insulation garage? Flooded.
Another call was made to the property manager, and after this pearl, “Oh, it’s normal for the garages around here to flood,” he actually produced a ray of hope: he called a Gutter Service/Repairman to come out and clean the gutters.
While Dear Husband made plans to seal the walls of the garage himself (and wowzer, can I just tell you how SMELLY, horribly NOXIOUS the fumes from sealant are?), Walt arrived. Walt got on top of the roof, and cleaned out what he called our “compost pile” that had accumulated in the gutters. Walt removed the duct tape that was holding the gutters’ joints together and made sure the assembly wasn’t dumping water along the garage walls. Walt ran some scary tubey-chompy-snakey looking thing through the drain pipe to clear out any clogs that were hiding.
And once Walt was done, he made balloon sculptures/animals for us. No lie.
Here’s a pink kitty, but if he had had an orange balloon, Walt said it would make a cute tiger:
My husband’s favorite, a motorcycle:
A sweet faced bumblebee (MUCH nicer than the wasps!):
And if you can imagine this one made out of a green balloon with a red tongue, it’s a FROG!
I’m thinking Walt the Gutter Service Repairman just might need to come in for Show and Share sometime this year!
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Want to learn more about balloons and balloon art? Check out the “Pop” Culture at Balloon HQ!
Here are ideas for balloon games and decor for childrens’ birthday parties…
…and check out balloon fashion at Secondose!
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Congratulations to Daisie and Andy! They got married in Hawaii yesterday!
(bears found here)
Everyone, Say “Hello!”
Hello House!
Hello beer bottle in the backyard:
Hello, duct taped gutters:
Hello, er…walkway(?):
Hello lawn decor:
Hello wasps!
Hello, “freshly painted walls:” (**cough, hack**)
Hello, garage door opener track that has been jerry-rigged so it’s cutting/gouging into the drywall each time the door is opened or closed:
And hello to you, exposed-fiberglass-insulation-in-the-garage-ceiling-that-covers-the-entire-area:
Hello water heater, propped up and tilted on cinder blocks:
Hello light boxes falling away from the ceiling, hanging on by only a few screws:
… a few things I’ve learned this past week…
*Renting over the internet might not be such a great thing, especially when the property manager posts photos online from THREE TENANTS PAST. Oh my, those photos were downright flattering. Flattering enough to make us want to rent. Surprise, surprise, surprise (go Gomer!) once we arrived.
*While it’s wonderful having household goods delivered the day after arriving at one’s new home, it’s not so great when a painting crew is hired the evening before to peel the paint from the walls (oh yes, they PEELED IT OFF IN SHEETS), patch, mud, sand, and prime, with painting occuring as the moving truck pulls up in the driveway.
*When speaking with the property manager pre-rental, don’t just ask “is the garage finished?” Ask things like “Is there exposed fiberglass insulation (rotted in places) hanging from the ceiling?” “Is the garage TALLER THAN MY HUSBAND?” or “DEFINE ‘finished.’”
*Make sure to keep receipts (okay, so I already knew this one, but it’s worth bringing up for other renters out there) for any and all improvements you have to do to the property, and by gum, make sure you negotiate an agreement that you can write them off of your rent each month.
*My definition of “house in MOVE-IN condition” is obviously different from other peoples’. My definition is better.
*And finally, it’s awesome having a great big tattooed Harley Tech/Soldier husband, because when the retired military property manager tells you “Well, you’ve lived in military housing before, this shouldn’t be bad for you at all,” SGM Grumpy can growl and assert his impression of what is and isn’t acceptable for his family…and oh my, what an impressive scene that is!
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Never fear, dear Readers! While we’ve had to deal with the not-so-fun elements of moving this past week, we’ve also met some pretty terrific people too: the painters on the paint crew, our gutter service guy (more on him tomorrow), the DISH installer (he stayed for dinner), and we’re looking forward to meeting the air conditioner repairperson sometime today. Oh yes, we’re really looking forward to that visit!
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It’s a few weeks before school starts, so check back in periodically as I’ll be posting some helpful tips and ideas about setting up your classroom, making lunch time easier for kindergartners who bring “home” lunch, and any other news from the world of public education!
Busy Busy Busy = Blog Lapse!
You know how it goes!
Several happy events took place this week: our daughter’s last band concert, our toddler’s third birthday, my husband’s graduation from the SGM Academy, time spent with friends, and my teaching contract arrived in the mail! Whoo hoo! Happiness all around, but at times it’s felt like we have been going bananas. Thank goodness for Martha Stewart Crafts and Target!
The toddler’s party was MONKEY themed!
Gummy bears, trail mix, and pretzels are some of his favorites, along with carrot cake cupcakes:
The tumblers and plastic plates/bowls are from Target (the tumblers, packed with gummies, were our gift favors):
The cupcake picks were part of the Monkey Birthday Kit from Martha:
Num num num!
Happy Birthday, my rowdy three year old!
Wordless Wednesday: Multiple Projects
Go Ahead and Giggle…LAUGH Even!
…and then *admit* you too, have some prom photos that have come back to haunt you!
In honor of my eldest son, who will be attending his first prom this weekend, here are some blasts from the past (and yet more proof that I have always loved playing “dress-up”) along with a challenge:
I *dare* my readers to dig through your photo boxes, albums and shoeboxes to find evidence of your own formal fashion “foo-paws” from yesteryear- and POST THEM, linking back here so that I can see!
In fact, I *double-dog-dare you!*
My first prom (I was thirteen) was in an Eskimo village!
Another blue gown that I also wore the year before (nope, not sharing THOSE photos!), this time shortened, for Prom #3.
Prom #4, still in Alaska, only this time outside of Squarebanks, with my dear friend Jodi. She wore lilac, I wore white…
Only to follow it up with a black lace dress for my Senior Prom. The photo doesn’t show it, but boy did I have 1987 BIG HAIR!
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Have fun Boy- I can’t wait to see your photos!
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