Kindergarten Kindergarten

Blog Hoppin' Teacher Week: Classroom Pictures

I'm not ready!!

 I cannot post pictures of my classroom yet, because...

1. Today was the first day of school and it looks like a small tornado hit.
2. Most of my shelves are completely empty. Seriously, this is how I start school. I don't put out anything until we have gone over the expectations for it.

Exhibit A: Art Center

 
Exhibit B: Writing Center

We learned about crayons. gluesticks and scissors today, so they are now in the table buckets. But we don't even have pencils, yet! (We have to learn about the sharp/not sharp bucket--tomorrow!) We will also do the whole dried out marker lesson, and then we will add those to the shelves, as well.

In a few weeks, the shelves will be full of paper, stamps, drippy glue, fun foam, watercolors, even glitter and a stapler! And the kids will be able to use them as they need/want. But the key is laying a strong foundation and going over expectations explicitly. That takes time--but it's worth it. The kids become extremely independent.

So, I promise I will get some good pictures of my room soon. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of my new Expedit shelves in the library:

 
And here's a link to last years pictures:

2010-2011 Classroom

I am exhausted and am off to bed now!

Sweet Dreams!

 PS...

I'm sure there are lots of finshed rooms over on the Blog Hoppin' Blog. Check it out! 

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Teaching Rules and Routines: More glue and markers...

I'm diabolical. Truly.

I got the brilliant idea to purposely leave the lids off a few markers and gluesticks and let them dry out.

 

Today, when we were making our No David! puppets, I innocently handed out the dried up gluesticks for the kids to use. They tried and tried, but those noses just kept falling off. A few kids caught on pretty quickly..."Ms. Warner--someone must have left the caps off these gluesticks and now they won't work anymore!" (Me, in response) Really? Well what should we do?

 

We agreed that I would give the tables all new gluesticks and they promised they would always put the caps back on so they would never dry out! Then I taught them the song--which, by the way, I wrote wrong on here a few weeks ago. It actually goes like this (to the tune of London Bridge):

 

Put the lid back on the glue, on the glue, on the glue...

Put the lid back on the glue, so it won't dry out! SNAP!

Tomorrow...same lesson with the markers! (I think the kids really get it now.)

By the way, another helpful hint...

 
Keep a collection of spare lids. Because no matter how great your lesson is, lids are still gonna get lost! 

Teaching Rules and Routines: Taking Care of Books

I'm really excited about my latest project. I worked on it all day Sunday, even though I had loads of laundry and lesson planning to do! But it was worth it. I made a book to teach kids the right and wrong ways to handle books.

This is not my idea. There is a famous book out there called Mr. Wiggle. Several teachers at my school have copies made from laminated construction paper with a cute little bear. I even think there is an actual published book out there, but it seems that it's out of print, and used copies are running $80 and up (yikes!). Anyway, making this book has been on my to-do list for years. So when I finally got around to doing it, I decided to update it a bit.

So here it is:

 
Just like in Mr. Wiggle, someone has been very naughty with this book and the forest friends are very sad! (Cheesy, huh?!)

Here someone scribbled with markers and crayons... 

Here somebody drew a picture with a pencil... 

Here somebody got mud on the page... 

Here someone got juice and chocolate on the page... 

Here someone glued on paper and stuck on stickers. And yes, that says snail when it's actually a caterpillar. I fixed it. (Thanks, Anh!)

And here somebody ripped a page... 

But now all of the forest friends are happy again, because they know the kids are going to take good care of the books in their class (awww....) 

When I'm done reading this book, we will make a T-chart of good/bad choices when it comes to handling books. Here it is, all ready for tomorrow. 

I'm also going to make a bookmark that the kids can take home to remind them of how to properly care for books (I'll post it when I'm done). 

You can download Forest Friends here:

Download Forest Friends

I printed mine on cardstock and had it bound at Office Max for just a few dollars. You will have to do the scribbling and ripping yourself (it's kind of cathartic, although my friends inform me that I am not a very realistic scribbler). I used red watercolor for the juice and let it drip. I used brown tempera paint for the mud and chocolate.

I'm sure we will still have a few torn pages here and there, but I think the kids will be more invested in taking care of our library. 

Have fun scribbling! 

Setting up my classroom...

I'm in my classroom today. I'm trying some new things--we'll see how it goes. I got some new Expedit shelves from Ikea--they make me happy. Here's my progress so far (pics from my iPhone...sorry). I'll post some good pictures when I'm all done.

 

 
Here's my big project. See that mess--those are my paper files. I'm going through them, purging most of it, and making electronic versions of what I can. My goal is to get down to a quarter or less of what you see.  So I'd better get busy. Have fun in your own classrooms!

Calendar Birthday Cupcakes

 

I need to get a better picture of them, but if you look closely, they are cupcakes. It's where I write down my kids' birthdays. Here they are if you want them...just click the link below the picture. I print them once, laminate them and then write on them with a Vis-a-Vis marker. I put them in 2 files, because they are big pictures. Enjoy!

 
Download Calendar Cupcakes

Download Calendar Cupcakes July-December

My Kindergarten Classroom

I'm finally back!

I had to take a little blog vacation. I wish I could say that I've been relaxing on some tropical beach, drinking margaritas and reading trashy romance novels. But I know you know what I've been doing, because you've been doing exactly the same thing!I've been teaching 5 year-olds how to walk in line...how to get their lunch tray to the table without dropping it...how to find the next black page in their journal...how to sit on the rug without being a "wiggle-bottom." And I'm exhausted!

But, as promised, I'm back with pictures of my classroom. As I was taking pictures today (with my horrible, grainy school camera), I realized that 12 days of school really takes its toll on a classroom! Things aren't nearly as crisp and clean...there are already so many smudges and stains and messes. Oh well..all in the name of learning, right?

So...Welcome to my room!

 

 

I'm very lucky to have lots of windows!

 

Here are the cubbies as you enter the room.

 
Here is my calendar wall. I've really simplified it this year. I'll go over my calendar wall and routine in detail in the coming weeks.

 
Here is Baxter--our class mascot!

We keep our Legos and other building toys in the green bins. 

Here are my shelves with many of my books and other supplies. The tubs on top are full of thematic theme stuff. The kids hang their backpacks underneath.

 

I've been collecting stuffed animal characters for a few years now...

 

 

Here's our sink. Sadly, there's no water fountain.

 

Here's my teaching table.

Here are the tubs I keep my materials for each day in. I bought them with my PTA money last year. Thank-you PTA!

 

I keep my guided reading materials in these drawers, sorted by reading group. (Although this year, I hope to do more individual reading conferences with books the kids choose themselves).

 

This is my "Ready to Read and Write" center. At the beginning of the year, it's a lot of fine motor activities and puzzles. As the year progresses, I add rhyming and other phonemic awareness activities. Then, I add lots and lots of onset/rhyme word work. It's kind of a hodge-podge, hence the name!

You may notice that my centers are color-coded. This helps the kids figure out what center they're at and which activities they can do. This is our green center!

 

Our ABC center is red! It has lots of letter/sound activities and ABC puzzles. I will go over each center and the activities in them in the coming weeks.

 
This is our classroom library. The tree is my favorite thing in the room! It's a cat scratch thingy I bought at IKEA two summers ago. (I haven't seen them there, lately. Maybe they've been discontinued?) I added the green circles made from scrapbook paper. They're attached with magnets, so I can change them with the seasons.

 

My books are sorted by theme and authors. I'm going to add more author boxes as the year progresses.

 

I also have leveled books and a shelf with seasonal or theme books.

 

Here is the stand I keep my poem charts on.

 

Here are our book boxes. So cute!

 

Here is my writing center and word wall. We will add our names and start adding words this week. I like for my kids to be as independent as possible, so I put out almost all my supplies for them to use (slowly, as we learn the expectations for using them!)

 

Everything is clearly labeled. (I'll make my labels available to download. Give me a few days!)

 

Ahhh...the most popular center in the room: The Art Center! Again--I eventually put out all the supplies for the kids to use independently (although I introduce them slowly. It will be a few weeks before we get the watercolors or glitter out!)

 
Here is my math center and my soon-to-be-filled Math Word Wall.

 

Here are tubs of manipulatives--easy access for the kids.

 
Here are the tubs we use for our problem-solving tools.

 

Little birdies hold student work.

 

My teacher desk...which I got rid of last year only to have it forced back on me this year! 

So, now that I'm settled in, look for regular blog posts again! I will post more problem-solving this weekend. And if you haven't posted a link to pictures of your classroom yet, be sure to do so. We would all love to peek!

I hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful, first few weeks of school!

Happy Teaching!

It's Party-Time!

(Scroll down below for new posts!)

My back is killing me. I broke a nail. I'm out of money. Yep--it's that time of year. Time to set up my classroom! Even though its seems like I just packed it all up, and sometimes I get so frustrated having to do it all over again--I do love a fresh start. It's an opportunity to reflect, try new things and fix broken ones. And I'm almost done. I will post my finished room on Monday, September 9!

To celebrate--I'm having a blog party and I hope you'll come!

 

I want to see pictures of your room! So when you're done setting up, get your camera out. Post the pictures on your blog, classroom website or a free photo-sharing website like Flickr or Picassa. Then simply link it up by using Mr. Linky below!

Any primary (PK-2) classroom is welcome!

 

On September 24, I will randomly choose one classroom to receive a $25 Lakeshore Learning Giftcard!

 

A few notes: Please link directly to your photos page and not your whole blog or website. Please make sure your photos are public. Please do not link to Facebook, as many people do not have Facebook accounts. I want it to be easy for people to browse through the pictures, so I will delete any links that do not follow these rules.

Also--be sure to explore the links once people start posting them. You might get some great ideas for your own classroom! And it's always nice if you leave a comment for them!

 

I can't wait to see your rooms!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Shopping Spree!

Despite the fact that I blew my annual back-to-school budget a month ago, I went on a little shopping spree for my classroom today. I absolutely needed every single thing I bought. Well, most of it anyway.

This year, I am moving away from traditional literacy centers and into a Daily 5/Reading Workshop model. So I needed book boxes for each of my students. I went to Ikea and got the cardboard magazine files that are 5/$1.99. A bargain!

And while I was there, I picked up...

Ikea

Plastic stools for my kidney table (I've been eying these since last year).

5 @ $4.99

Pillows so the kids can be "comfy" while reading. 4 @ $3.99 

Little bathmats the kids can move around the room to create reading spots.

5 @ $4.99

A stuffed dog ($7.99), a carrier ($5.99) and a bowl of fake water ($1.99) for our class take-home pet.

Plus 5 packages of the magazine files I originally went in to get--

Ikea Grand Total = $95.03

Target

I also wanted to get some bins for the expedit shelves I bought last year, but couldn't find any that I liked. So, I went to Target and bought these:

Fabric bins 5 @ $9.29

I needed a lampshade for an old floor lamp I have, but the lampshades were $10 and up. This whole floor lamp was on sale for $7.99. The little blue lamp was just cute and I needed it. It was $19.99! (Ouch!)

 

More coziness--blue bed-rests. 2 @ $14.99

 

 A basket for notebooks...$5.49.

A basket for pillows...$5.49.

Target grand total = $124.91 (Yikes!)

 

Michaels

 
I got this cute little caddy for my desk. @29.99, with a 50% coupon. I used a $10 gift card, so I only paid $5.41! (That's all I bought there!)

OK...so maybe I don't need most of it. But you know how when you buy something new, it makes all of your old stuff look kind of dingy, so you feel the need to buy all new stuff...

I guess my new iPhone will have to wait!

Back to School: Hurtful vs. Helpful Words

Here's another quick back-to-school activity I do to build community the first week of school--a lesson on hurtful vs. helpful words. Despite what our parents told us (and despite what we tell our students), words do have the power to hurt! We have all felt the sting of cruel words at one time or another. They have an even bigger impact on a 5-year old!

(I've been doing this for several years now, and I don't remember where I got the original idea--but it's a great one, so thanks to whoever I got it from!)

I start by asking the kids if anyone has ever said anything to them that hurt their hearts. I write these down on a big red construction paper heart.

Then I ask them how it feels when someone says these hurtful words to or about them. I tell them that for me, it feels just like my heart is being crumpled. I crumple up the big heart. Then I explain that sometimes, the person who said the words may not have meant it. They might say they're sorry, you might forgive them, and that will make your heart feel better. I then un-crumple my heart and smooth it out as much as possible.

 
 

Then I ask the kids what they notice about the heart. It looks much better, but it is still crumpled a little. No matter how hard you try, it is never going to be the same as it was before it got crumpled. It's just the same with our own hearts. Although it definitely makes someone feel better when you apologize after saying hurtful words, it is much better to never say them at all!

Then I read Words Are Not for Hurting by Elizabeth Verdick. I've talked about this book before--it's a great book and (I believe) a must-read in all kindergarten classrooms.

After reading the book, I ask the kids to tell me some helpful words, words that make their hearts feel good. I write these words down on another, un-crumpled construction paper heart. We leave this heart up all year long, and add to it when people say nice things. When the heart  gets full, we attach a paper chain that has nice things the kids say to each other on the links (the kids write them down themselves). By the end of the year, the chain can get very long! 

 
 
  
I then give the kids 2 small hearts of their own and have them decorate them--one with a happy face and one with a sad face. I have them crumple the heart with the sad face. 

I tell them these hearts can always serve as a reminder of what kinds of words they should be using with their friends.

 

And so it begins...

I ventured back into my room, yesterday. It's always such an odd sight...furniture stacked, shelves empty, everything so clean. I feel just like Miss Bindergarten (minus the parrot).

I didn't get a lot accomplished...I mostly just sat there and stared. I like the way I did my room last year, but I'm changing the way I do reading workshop, and think I need to change my layout accordingly. Maybe a wave of inspiration will hit me today.

I do know this--

I love the shiny, waxed floors. And I love the possibilities.