I actually made it to spin class this morning before school at 5:30 am! It felt great, but it was a long day that didn't end until 9:30 at night when my doctoral classes were over. Wednesday I join this year's cohort for year 1 core classes and then Thursdays I join up with my cohort that I worked with last year via Skype from Germany for the year 2 core courses. I kind of sensed the nervous energy from the group tonight and I felt a lot more relaxed and informed about the process that they seemed. Everyone seemed nice, but it's tough to have 5 hours of class after 9 hours of work! Whew! I am enjoying some TV to relax now because I won't be in the classroom tomorrow so I feel like I can stay up a bit later. I am attending a training on positive behavior support and classroom management tomorrow. I already took the training during my first year of teaching, but my principal wanted me to do it again since I am teaching a new grade level this year. I told my PM Kinder class that I would not see them tomorrow but I will see them on Friday. One little boy said, "That's a long time." So sweet. The other times I was out for training, I greeted my class and did the morning greeting circle before leaving because the time of the training allowed me to do that. Tomorrow will be the first time my AM class has a sub and the first time the PM class has a sub for the entire session. I am sure it will go great because Jill will be there, but I always worry a bit about what will happen when I am not there! I hope the kiddos are good for Jilly!
I already have a lot of work for one of the classes that started today, but so far from what I can see on the syllabus, the amount of work seems manageable. Hopefully tomorrow's class will stick with that trend. I feel like I haven't posted a ton about what I am doing in the classroom lately. I think that is because I am posting more of that for the parents on my other blog. I kind of like to keep this one separate from that one, but I will try harder to include some info and pics about what we have been up to!
Stations
Today kicked off our first official day of stations where I actually limited the number of children per station and it worked out pretty well. I need to make sure I figure out a rotation so that there is more of a system dictating who chooses their stations first. Since it's choice time, I don't want to assign stations, but I do want to allow children access to stations they are interested in and I also want kiddos to try out different stations in the room. If I just call names randomly, I feel like I am not giving all children equal access to pick their first choice. The most popular station by far was the kitchen area, which I opened today for the first time. It was so cute hearing the scenarios they were thinking up as they played. I had the kids stay in their station the entire time, but once they get used to it, I will ring the bell after fifteen minutes and have them cleanup then switch to another spot.
While the kiddos are in their stations my plan is to pull small groups, but since today was the first day, I didn't do that. I worked 1:1 with some kiddos doing a part of an assessment with them in the morning and then supervised 2 kiddos painting at a time in the afternoon (I had a parent helper do that in the AM!). Tomorrow I need to do some more assessing, but since the classes are smaller during the pullout time, I am hoping it will be a great time to be productive and get in some extra practice with the remaining kids. It's really hard though because I feel badly that the kids that leave do not get playtime and if I try to do assessments or certain projects when they are gone, they are behind once they return. Having those kiddos leave today just made the day go by even faster! Goodbye flexibility in the schedule! I really need to be on point with timing and I hate when we run out of time and have to move onto something else when the kids have not finished something.
Tomorrow after school I start my fall doctoral classes....I always get really excited to start classes and I am definitely excited to meet this year's cohort because I am doing some of my first year core courses with them in addition to second year core courses with the cohort that I already know. I already know one of the teachers who I will take class with this term, so I am excited for her class. I know once I get going I won't be super excited about all of the assignments, but I do enjoy the back to school feeling! Tomorrow my roomie and I are going to spinning class at 5:30 am so it is going to be a LONG day!
While the kiddos are in their stations my plan is to pull small groups, but since today was the first day, I didn't do that. I worked 1:1 with some kiddos doing a part of an assessment with them in the morning and then supervised 2 kiddos painting at a time in the afternoon (I had a parent helper do that in the AM!). Tomorrow I need to do some more assessing, but since the classes are smaller during the pullout time, I am hoping it will be a great time to be productive and get in some extra practice with the remaining kids. It's really hard though because I feel badly that the kids that leave do not get playtime and if I try to do assessments or certain projects when they are gone, they are behind once they return. Having those kiddos leave today just made the day go by even faster! Goodbye flexibility in the schedule! I really need to be on point with timing and I hate when we run out of time and have to move onto something else when the kids have not finished something.
Tomorrow after school I start my fall doctoral classes....I always get really excited to start classes and I am definitely excited to meet this year's cohort because I am doing some of my first year core courses with them in addition to second year core courses with the cohort that I already know. I already know one of the teachers who I will take class with this term, so I am excited for her class. I know once I get going I won't be super excited about all of the assignments, but I do enjoy the back to school feeling! Tomorrow my roomie and I are going to spinning class at 5:30 am so it is going to be a LONG day!
Time is Flying!
I can't believe I didn't post all weekend! I had class on Saturday and then I went to a party with my roommate to celebrate her friend's birthday. The weather on Saturday was GORGEOUS...too bad I was inside most of the day. Sunday it rained a LOT which was also unfortunate because I participated in the Buddy Walk with one of my former students. It was still great to see her, but I wish we could have been outside in the sun instead of hovering under umbrellas and hoods. The Buddy Walk celebrates people with Down syndrome and the announcer mentioned that there were over 1300 people in attendance despite the rain. It was awesome!
I feel like life feels even busier since good TV is coming back this week and I start my weekly classes on Wednesday. I am going to have class both Wednesday and Thursdays which I think will make the weeks go by even faster than they already are! I can't believe I have been back in the U.S. for almost a month and a half already! Almost halfway through the first chunk of time without Mr. Sneaker.
In class this weekend, I found about some great speakers that are presenting at local workshops! Howard Gardner (Mr. Multiple Intelligences) is speaking locally on October 8th and we happen to have that day off from school so I signed up to attend. Sonja Nieto (the author of one of my textbooks on Multicultural Education) is also giving the Keynote Speech this coming weekend at a small conference. I am supposed to have a class to learn about all of the library resources, but her workshop is only $5 for students, so I may sign up anyway and try to attend some of the afternoon sessions. I also just found out that Mo Willems is going to be reading his new book at a somewhat local bookstore! I love his books, so I am thinking about going to see him next Monday too!
The kiddos have been doing okay, but boy are they chatty! My afternoon class is now down to 17 children, which is great, but the morning class feels really busy and less productive in comparison. I feel like it is such a struggle to get everything done! Tomorrow our ELD pullout begins which takes away any flexibility that I have had in my schedule since school started. It will be interesting to see what it's like to have fewer kids in each class and to see if I can get some small groups going while those kiddos are gone. I am not allowed to teach anything new, so my plan is to make that "play time" (with educational activities, of course) while I pull groups of 4 to reinforce literacy concepts, phonics etc. Tomorrow I am going to try and train the remaining kiddos who don't leave to work in stations. I hope that goes well!
Tomorrow I am hopefully going to meet up with a friend of mine who recently moved to Seattle because she will be in town on a business trip...I haven't seen her since my wedding three years ago, so I am looking forward to catching up. She recently got engaged and started working for Starbucks and it's been TOO long since we have chatted!
Life feels really busy right now!
I feel like life feels even busier since good TV is coming back this week and I start my weekly classes on Wednesday. I am going to have class both Wednesday and Thursdays which I think will make the weeks go by even faster than they already are! I can't believe I have been back in the U.S. for almost a month and a half already! Almost halfway through the first chunk of time without Mr. Sneaker.
In class this weekend, I found about some great speakers that are presenting at local workshops! Howard Gardner (Mr. Multiple Intelligences) is speaking locally on October 8th and we happen to have that day off from school so I signed up to attend. Sonja Nieto (the author of one of my textbooks on Multicultural Education) is also giving the Keynote Speech this coming weekend at a small conference. I am supposed to have a class to learn about all of the library resources, but her workshop is only $5 for students, so I may sign up anyway and try to attend some of the afternoon sessions. I also just found out that Mo Willems is going to be reading his new book at a somewhat local bookstore! I love his books, so I am thinking about going to see him next Monday too!
The kiddos have been doing okay, but boy are they chatty! My afternoon class is now down to 17 children, which is great, but the morning class feels really busy and less productive in comparison. I feel like it is such a struggle to get everything done! Tomorrow our ELD pullout begins which takes away any flexibility that I have had in my schedule since school started. It will be interesting to see what it's like to have fewer kids in each class and to see if I can get some small groups going while those kiddos are gone. I am not allowed to teach anything new, so my plan is to make that "play time" (with educational activities, of course) while I pull groups of 4 to reinforce literacy concepts, phonics etc. Tomorrow I am going to try and train the remaining kiddos who don't leave to work in stations. I hope that goes well!
Tomorrow I am hopefully going to meet up with a friend of mine who recently moved to Seattle because she will be in town on a business trip...I haven't seen her since my wedding three years ago, so I am looking forward to catching up. She recently got engaged and started working for Starbucks and it's been TOO long since we have chatted!
Life feels really busy right now!
Back in the Game
I had my first class of fall term tonight with some of my doctoral peeps. I felt somewhat like part of the group last year through my skyping from Germany, but I cannot even express how nice it was to actually be in the same room with them tonight. We met from 4:30-9, which seems like a long time to be sitting in class on Friday night, but the time went by fast and we did so many great activities. We had a potluck dinner to celebrate the completion of our first year. This particular class is a Leadership Seminar that is geared towards helping us manage the workload and stay afloat in the program. There are two professors that are piloting this course and I cannot imagine doing the rest of the work without it. One of the teachers did so many great activities tonight, I already feel like I was never gone from the group.
She spent some time in France this summer and while she was there she chose a postcard for each person in our group and wrote us each a special message. She brought red clown noses (ala Patch Adams) and pins that say "I Did It!" to remind us of all we have accomplished and the importance of maintaining creativity and play as part of work. With all of the hard work and stress that comes along with getting a doctorate, I really appreciate her efforts to relieve the stress and infuse some fun into our classes. Another member of the group brought along some unique cards that he purchased through UNICEF. He suggested that we each select a card that we like and then we passed them around so each person in the group could write a short message to everyone else. I am so pumped about how supportive this group is. Since I am basically trying to squeeze both year 1 and year 2 core courses into one year, I know it will be a very challenging and difficult endeavor to get it all done. The two teachers leading this seminar are so supportive and are doing everything they can to help me complete all that I need to.
We have class from 9-3:30 tomorrow and even though that is a long day to spend in class on the weekend, I am looking forward to spending more time with this group and getting to know them even better.
She spent some time in France this summer and while she was there she chose a postcard for each person in our group and wrote us each a special message. She brought red clown noses (ala Patch Adams) and pins that say "I Did It!" to remind us of all we have accomplished and the importance of maintaining creativity and play as part of work. With all of the hard work and stress that comes along with getting a doctorate, I really appreciate her efforts to relieve the stress and infuse some fun into our classes. Another member of the group brought along some unique cards that he purchased through UNICEF. He suggested that we each select a card that we like and then we passed them around so each person in the group could write a short message to everyone else. I am so pumped about how supportive this group is. Since I am basically trying to squeeze both year 1 and year 2 core courses into one year, I know it will be a very challenging and difficult endeavor to get it all done. The two teachers leading this seminar are so supportive and are doing everything they can to help me complete all that I need to.
We have class from 9-3:30 tomorrow and even though that is a long day to spend in class on the weekend, I am looking forward to spending more time with this group and getting to know them even better.
Fab-u-lous
It's almost Friday, Friday is payday, and I am rolling in Scholastic bonus points! I was recently introduced to the wonderful opportunity of having parents place their Scholastic Book Club orders online. I had several families take advantage of this and they bought a lot of books! Our September order was for $133 and I now have about 1,600 bonus points in my bank. Not to mention, when the books arrive, I will get a $3 coupon for each online order. I love purchasing books from Scholastic because the prices are great and the books are geared towards particular age groups. I have no idea if the orders will continue throughout the year, but 1600 bonus points will buy our classroom a lot of books!
I have class this weekend both on Friday night from 5-9 and Saturday from 9-3:30, but Friday is always a happy day and if I get my buns to bed soon enough I just might get up early and try to squeeze in a workout before school tomorrow morning. Not too sure what the chances of that happening are, but the thought is there!
I have class this weekend both on Friday night from 5-9 and Saturday from 9-3:30, but Friday is always a happy day and if I get my buns to bed soon enough I just might get up early and try to squeeze in a workout before school tomorrow morning. Not too sure what the chances of that happening are, but the thought is there!
Anyone else really excited that Grey's is back? Happy Weekend!
Good for the ego
Teaching Kindergarten requires a lot of energy, a LOT of patience, and it's a lot of hard work, but boy it is good for the ego! My little kiddos are throwing compliments at me left and right and it makes me smile so much. One girl who is the teeniest, cutest little thing was raising her hand for awhile today during my lesson. I didn't call on her right away and finally when the kids were asked to go back to their seats she approached me so she could say what she had been raising her hand to say. She pointed to my shoes and said "this is beauuuty." HOW CUTE! This group is seriously all about my shoes, it's too funny!
Then when my afternoon kiddos arrived, one girl noticed that I had gotten my hair cut and told me I looked pretty. What observant students I have! We haven't even talked about compliments but they are pretty good! I hope I make them feel just as special as they make me feel. :0)
Then when my afternoon kiddos arrived, one girl noticed that I had gotten my hair cut and told me I looked pretty. What observant students I have! We haven't even talked about compliments but they are pretty good! I hope I make them feel just as special as they make me feel. :0)
Tuesday
I had my first sub today and she said it went very well with the kiddos. I hated to leave them but I couldn't have left them with a better sub! (Thanks Jilly!) I participated in a training about working with parents of color and I was there along with the principal, school counselor, and one of our secretaries. It was so great to get to know them a bit better since I am new to the staff and I am really excited about the work that we will be doing with parents! We have another session tomorrow afternoon, so I will have Jill coming again to cover the afternoon class. It was one student's birthday today (according to my class info) yet he was adamant that it wasn't. He said that his mom sang happy birthday to him, yet he still insisted that it was not his birthday. He wanted a birthday sticker, but when Jill tried to give him the birthday bag he once again said it was not his big day. It will be interesting to see what he writes in the birthday journal about his un-birthday!
I got two new books in the mail today that I ordered from the International Reading Association. They were having a great sale so I took advantage. I got:
I got two new books in the mail today that I ordered from the International Reading Association. They were having a great sale so I took advantage. I got:
I haven't had a ton of time for reading lately and that will get even worse once my classes start this weekend, but I am going to try and incorporate these into my planning time at school because I really want to maximize every minute during my days! Pretty soon, some of my students will start getting pulled out for 30 minutes of English Language Development each day and I really want to use that time productively with the rest of the kiddos despite the fact that I cannot do any new instruction during that time. Some of the kids who really need additional support in reading and math skills will be taken out so I won't be able to work with them individually, but I really want to use this time to review and work with kids in small groups. I am realizing how important it will be to get parent help during that time because it is hard to manage kids who are doing other activities and teach small groups at the same time. In theory good classroom management makes it possible, but at the same time, self management is tough for Kindergartners so having extra hands will be great. I still haven't really organized my volunteer list so I need to get on that!
Very excited to watch The Biggest Loser and Glee tonight!
Emergecy Staff Meetings, DIBELS, and Subs
Over the weekend, there was a shooting at one of the apartment complexes that is in my school's attendance area. The shooting involved the family of some of the students that attend my school. Many of the families that also live in those apartments were evacuated on Friday night between midnight and 5 am while a SWAT team attempted to remove an armed man from the apartment where the incident took place. The incident concluded with the shooter dead and two others injured. Horrible! This morning we had a staff meeting before school to make sure that our staff was on the same page regarding helping students through this scary incident. We had a traveling team of school counselors at our school today who were available to talk to students who needed support. We were told how to handle it if students brought up the incident and what we should/shouldn't say. I have several students who live in the apartment buildings where this incident took place so I was nervous that they would come to school upset/worried/talking about it. I was happy to see the counselor from my former school and others there to support students who might be affected because I can only imagine how scary that would be to young children. None of my students mentioned anything about what happened and our day went on completely normally, but it is very unsettling to have something like this happen so close to home. Sometimes I feel like I live in such a bubble and I get really freaked out by some of the crazy/horrible things that go on in our world.
The meeting ran a little long so by the time we were released, there were already a few kids in my classroom. I was so happy to see 5 or 6 students doing exactly what they should have been doing even though I was not in the room when they first arrived. Backpacks were hung, students were checking in at the attendance board, and then sitting down at their tables to being their morning work. Nice job Kindergartners! Do I get a pat on the back for that? A high five maybe? I think teaching routines is such an important part of school and especially Kindergarten so it is great to see that they have really taken ownership over what they need to do!
We also had DIBELS testing today which seems a bit crazy considering we started the day by talking about how we are responding to a crisis and how kids may need a lot of support today, but we followed our regular schedule. I am not sure how the day went for other teachers and how upset other students were, but judging from my two classes, the kids were pretty okay. My kiddos did such a great job waiting quietly until it was their turn for DIBELS. We got our scores back already which I am so impressed with. My school is so on the ball with everything--it's amazing! While we were waiting in line one boy said to me, "I've never been in there before (pointing to the room with all the ladies doing 1:1 tests with students) and I don't really know what to say." I told him that the ladies would help him and he just needed to try his best. Then in the afternoon, one little girl emerged from the testing room, sat down, and said to me, "You have no idea what I've been through." haha. They are so cute. I was very proud of my little ones for being so good and well behaved when they had to wait. That can be really hard and boring and it was great to not feel like I had to really try hard to keep them quiet.
Tomorrow and Wednesday I am attending a training that has to do with involving and communicating with parents of color. I volunteered to do this and I am looking forward to getting to know the principal and some other staff members better by going through the training together. My friend Jill is going to sub for me so she came in this afternoon to watch me teach and get to know the kids a bit better. I explained to them that she would be taking over tomorrow when I have to leave and one boy told me he would miss me. Since they are new to being at school and my training does not start until 1, I want to be there when the PM group first arrives and do the first part of my lessons with them and then hand them over. I am so overprotective! In no way do I think Jill can't totally handle it, I just worry that they won't understand why a new person is there, so I want to be there at first and explain again to remind them what is going on. Even though I don't like being away from my kiddos, I do enjoy doing trainings and taking advantage of professional development opportunities. After school I worked on finishing up my sub binder. I will always try to get Jill to sub for me in which case a lot of the info in the binder won't really be necessary, but I want to have it prepared in case she gets scooped up by someone else when I need to be out.
I have gotten some more parent comments and great feedback regarding my classroom blog. I hope it continues to be a source of information for parents so they feel really involved in what we are doing!
The meeting ran a little long so by the time we were released, there were already a few kids in my classroom. I was so happy to see 5 or 6 students doing exactly what they should have been doing even though I was not in the room when they first arrived. Backpacks were hung, students were checking in at the attendance board, and then sitting down at their tables to being their morning work. Nice job Kindergartners! Do I get a pat on the back for that? A high five maybe? I think teaching routines is such an important part of school and especially Kindergarten so it is great to see that they have really taken ownership over what they need to do!
We also had DIBELS testing today which seems a bit crazy considering we started the day by talking about how we are responding to a crisis and how kids may need a lot of support today, but we followed our regular schedule. I am not sure how the day went for other teachers and how upset other students were, but judging from my two classes, the kids were pretty okay. My kiddos did such a great job waiting quietly until it was their turn for DIBELS. We got our scores back already which I am so impressed with. My school is so on the ball with everything--it's amazing! While we were waiting in line one boy said to me, "I've never been in there before (pointing to the room with all the ladies doing 1:1 tests with students) and I don't really know what to say." I told him that the ladies would help him and he just needed to try his best. Then in the afternoon, one little girl emerged from the testing room, sat down, and said to me, "You have no idea what I've been through." haha. They are so cute. I was very proud of my little ones for being so good and well behaved when they had to wait. That can be really hard and boring and it was great to not feel like I had to really try hard to keep them quiet.
Tomorrow and Wednesday I am attending a training that has to do with involving and communicating with parents of color. I volunteered to do this and I am looking forward to getting to know the principal and some other staff members better by going through the training together. My friend Jill is going to sub for me so she came in this afternoon to watch me teach and get to know the kids a bit better. I explained to them that she would be taking over tomorrow when I have to leave and one boy told me he would miss me. Since they are new to being at school and my training does not start until 1, I want to be there when the PM group first arrives and do the first part of my lessons with them and then hand them over. I am so overprotective! In no way do I think Jill can't totally handle it, I just worry that they won't understand why a new person is there, so I want to be there at first and explain again to remind them what is going on. Even though I don't like being away from my kiddos, I do enjoy doing trainings and taking advantage of professional development opportunities. After school I worked on finishing up my sub binder. I will always try to get Jill to sub for me in which case a lot of the info in the binder won't really be necessary, but I want to have it prepared in case she gets scooped up by someone else when I need to be out.
I have gotten some more parent comments and great feedback regarding my classroom blog. I hope it continues to be a source of information for parents so they feel really involved in what we are doing!
Already?
Is it possible that my kiddos have gotten me sick already?! I have had two students out this week and then one went home sick yesterday after complaining of a stomach ache. Guess what I woke up with? I was exhausted after work yesterday and fell asleep during my viewing of Project Runway. I ended the night around 9 after watching the season finale of Top Chef in bed with my doggie (my roomie's pooch who I affectionately call my own!). I slept a good 10+ hours but still woke up feeling not so great.
I had plans to meet up with some friends to walk, but since the Oregon rain has started, we decided to have lunch together instead. I was supposed to go to a birthday party this afternoon, but I canceled because I really cannot afford to get sick right now! I am already going to be out two afternoons this week for a training I am doing, so I would prefer to be there the rest of the time. It's amazing how quickly things spread around once we are back in the classroom!
Here's hoping that a good night's sleep with get rid of whatever I might be coming down with!
I had plans to meet up with some friends to walk, but since the Oregon rain has started, we decided to have lunch together instead. I was supposed to go to a birthday party this afternoon, but I canceled because I really cannot afford to get sick right now! I am already going to be out two afternoons this week for a training I am doing, so I would prefer to be there the rest of the time. It's amazing how quickly things spread around once we are back in the classroom!
Here's hoping that a good night's sleep with get rid of whatever I might be coming down with!
Special Delivery
I was So excited today to get an email from our school secretary letting me know that a package had arrived for me! My Donors Choose order came and once again it was like Christmas digging into everything that I got! I am so excited to put together these literacy bags for the kids to take home. The games I got are super cute and I am going to divide the book libraries and materials in each game so that I can make two bags with each theme (one for each class). I will have 11 different themes, so I figure each child will be able to take home a bag every other weekend! So fun!
I am planning on inviting parents to come after school one day and help me decorate the bags according to the theme. I am hoping that will make them feel invested in the idea of taking home the literacy bags and reading the books/playing the games with their children. I need to do some work to get everything prepped and ready because each bag should come with a note indicating what materials are inside so they can make sure to put everything back before returning the bag to school. I also want to make sure that each bag has some sort of game or activity in it, so I may need to make some journals or games for each topic. It would be great to get parent help in putting together some of the activities too because the more they are involved with, the better. I have a few parents who want to volunteer but asked that I send projects home. This could be a great way to get them involved too!
Today was a better day in the classroom. It really is amazing how a few absences can completely change the dynamics of the group! My morning class was great and the afternoon class was super giggly and silly. We do a greeting every morning and one cutie decided to greet me with a really deep, possessed sounding voice. The other kids thought it was so funny and it started a trend. My favorite quote of the day was from one little boy who announced to me that he plans to marry the girl who sits across from him and he has a plan all worked out. Adorable!
I went with my roomie to her Back to School Night at my former school. I got to see a few of my former students and I can't believe how big they have gotten! My first group of first graders are now in fifth grade! A few of her students that were in my first grade class didn't come, so I left them little notes on their desks. I saw their pictures on her wall from a writing assignment they did and a few look just the same but a few look so much more grown up! What a difference a year makes! I saw them around school up until last year and all of a sudden they just got so grown up.
I am really happy that tomorrow is Friday. I have a busy weekend ahead with some pilates, a walking date with friends, a birthday party, a hair appointment, and hanging out with Jill. I am so excited to sleep in, read, and relax!!
I am planning on inviting parents to come after school one day and help me decorate the bags according to the theme. I am hoping that will make them feel invested in the idea of taking home the literacy bags and reading the books/playing the games with their children. I need to do some work to get everything prepped and ready because each bag should come with a note indicating what materials are inside so they can make sure to put everything back before returning the bag to school. I also want to make sure that each bag has some sort of game or activity in it, so I may need to make some journals or games for each topic. It would be great to get parent help in putting together some of the activities too because the more they are involved with, the better. I have a few parents who want to volunteer but asked that I send projects home. This could be a great way to get them involved too!
Today was a better day in the classroom. It really is amazing how a few absences can completely change the dynamics of the group! My morning class was great and the afternoon class was super giggly and silly. We do a greeting every morning and one cutie decided to greet me with a really deep, possessed sounding voice. The other kids thought it was so funny and it started a trend. My favorite quote of the day was from one little boy who announced to me that he plans to marry the girl who sits across from him and he has a plan all worked out. Adorable!
I went with my roomie to her Back to School Night at my former school. I got to see a few of my former students and I can't believe how big they have gotten! My first group of first graders are now in fifth grade! A few of her students that were in my first grade class didn't come, so I left them little notes on their desks. I saw their pictures on her wall from a writing assignment they did and a few look just the same but a few look so much more grown up! What a difference a year makes! I saw them around school up until last year and all of a sudden they just got so grown up.
I am really happy that tomorrow is Friday. I have a busy weekend ahead with some pilates, a walking date with friends, a birthday party, a hair appointment, and hanging out with Jill. I am so excited to sleep in, read, and relax!!
One of those days...
Today was one of those days that made me very happy I was able to say goodbye to one class and start fresh with another at the midday mark. We have had some awesome days so far, but today was a challenge for me. Despite our short days, so far I am having success with getting everything done that is on my schedule. I created my own daily lesson plan pages and color coded them to match my class colors so I won't get them mixed up. I put them inside a page protector and so far I am referring to these pages constantly throughout the day to make sure that I am staying on track with time. Since our day is broken into so many small time segments, it's hard to remember when I need to transition to the next activity. We were a little bit more productive this afternoon, but that can definitely be attributed to the fact that I can make changes and fix problems that occurred the first time around.
I started a blog for my classroom as a way to communicate with parents and so far I have gotten really good feedback from two parents. I am not really sure how many parents will read it frequently, but I would love to read a classroom blog if I were a parent. Eventually I will start posting pictures of the children, but I am waiting to get a confirmation of which families have asked that their children not be photographed. I am using the blog as a platform to share more detailed information with the parents and I am trying to post once or twice each week. I am really hoping that this can substitute for weekly or monthly newsletters, but I have not decided yet. I sent home a paper letter last Friday just to talk about the first week, but I feel like it's so much easier to post on the blog and more exciting because I can add photos and more details. Not to mention I installed the Google translator on the blog so I don't have to translate the text for my families that speak languages other than English.
My roomie and I woke up at 5 am this morning and did a spinning class at the gym. I was not really awake until about 15 minutes and I did take it easy since I am not used to spinning, but by the time it was over I felt great. I love getting my workout over and done with first thing, but it takes a lot to drag myself out of bed that early to get it done, so it usually doesn't happen too often. I love the gym I joined (24 Hour Fitness) and they have great classes there. The pilates fusion is awesome! Since I start my doctoral courses in two weeks, I want to try and make an early morning workout on Wednesdays part of my routine since I have class on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Hopefully that will become a habit and it won't seem as torturous to get up early as it did today! I feel like spinning and I are not a match made in heaven, but I do enjoy it if the music is good. The music today was not really that awesome, but like I said, I still felt great at the end of the day. It was so nice to leave work knowing that I had already worked out!
I decided to hit up the library since I am living in a new county than I did before Germany and I needed to get a new library card. While I was there I picked out some cute books to read in the next few days. I guess it has been awhile since I visited the library because they had a self checkout system. It was fun checking the books out ( I kind of felt like a kid playing store) and I am glad that I finally got that checked off my list. Now I need to get in the habit of borrowing books instead of buying so much from amazon!
I am happy tomorrow is Thursday because after Thursday comes Friday :0)
I started a blog for my classroom as a way to communicate with parents and so far I have gotten really good feedback from two parents. I am not really sure how many parents will read it frequently, but I would love to read a classroom blog if I were a parent. Eventually I will start posting pictures of the children, but I am waiting to get a confirmation of which families have asked that their children not be photographed. I am using the blog as a platform to share more detailed information with the parents and I am trying to post once or twice each week. I am really hoping that this can substitute for weekly or monthly newsletters, but I have not decided yet. I sent home a paper letter last Friday just to talk about the first week, but I feel like it's so much easier to post on the blog and more exciting because I can add photos and more details. Not to mention I installed the Google translator on the blog so I don't have to translate the text for my families that speak languages other than English.
My roomie and I woke up at 5 am this morning and did a spinning class at the gym. I was not really awake until about 15 minutes and I did take it easy since I am not used to spinning, but by the time it was over I felt great. I love getting my workout over and done with first thing, but it takes a lot to drag myself out of bed that early to get it done, so it usually doesn't happen too often. I love the gym I joined (24 Hour Fitness) and they have great classes there. The pilates fusion is awesome! Since I start my doctoral courses in two weeks, I want to try and make an early morning workout on Wednesdays part of my routine since I have class on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Hopefully that will become a habit and it won't seem as torturous to get up early as it did today! I feel like spinning and I are not a match made in heaven, but I do enjoy it if the music is good. The music today was not really that awesome, but like I said, I still felt great at the end of the day. It was so nice to leave work knowing that I had already worked out!
I decided to hit up the library since I am living in a new county than I did before Germany and I needed to get a new library card. While I was there I picked out some cute books to read in the next few days. I guess it has been awhile since I visited the library because they had a self checkout system. It was fun checking the books out ( I kind of felt like a kid playing store) and I am glad that I finally got that checked off my list. Now I need to get in the habit of borrowing books instead of buying so much from amazon!
I am happy tomorrow is Thursday because after Thursday comes Friday :0)
Watercooler Chitchat
It's really entertaining to listen to the conversations that Kindergartners have with each other while they are working. Today, as I approached one of my table groups I heard:
Child 1: Why is your dad in jail?
Child 2: Because he drinked a lot of beer.
Child 1: My mom and dad drink a lot of beer and they don't go to jail.
It's kind of refreshing that these children had this conversation without any awareness that maybe it should be kept private. They are honest and curious and the conversation was so matter of fact. Sometime I feel like I shouldn't be hearing some of the stories that my kiddos tell, but there have been some entertaining comments already.
One of my classes had Music today for the first time. They played a follow the leader type game as they sang and snaked around the room in between the tables. At one point, the Music teacher was having them hop like bunnies and there was just an eruption of giggles. I had to stop and just appreciate the joy in all that laughter. What a great sound!
We also had our first fire drill today which only terrified one kiddo. I feel like discussing it before hand actually makes it seem scarier than it really is because the kids just don't know what to expect and what it will be like. The one child who was scared was afraid to go outside and I tried to explain that once we were outside, we would be away from the noise and all we had to do was wait until the principal said we could go inside again. I made sure to hold his hand and stay near him but once we were outside he continued to cry. I crouched down next to him and said, buddy, you did it. That was it. It's over now. He thought it would still be noisy once we went back inside, but once I made him feel like a champ for conquering the dreaded fire drill, he stopped crying and was okay. Fortunately, the drill was in the afternoon, so I had my smaller group with me. As much as it seems relatively easy to walk outside quietly in a line, that is a feat for a lot of kids--even ones that have practiced this routine for years and years. My dad is a fireman, so I always took fire drills very seriously and never made a peep. Telling children not to talk at all and then wait in a line and do nothing for 5-7 minutes creates a pretty challenging situation for 5-year-olds, but overall they did really well.
I am heading to pilates class in a little bit and I can't wait to get my sweat on. This is a different teacher than I had on Saturday, but I had sore buns for days! Hopefully today will be tough as well!
Child 1: Why is your dad in jail?
Child 2: Because he drinked a lot of beer.
Child 1: My mom and dad drink a lot of beer and they don't go to jail.
It's kind of refreshing that these children had this conversation without any awareness that maybe it should be kept private. They are honest and curious and the conversation was so matter of fact. Sometime I feel like I shouldn't be hearing some of the stories that my kiddos tell, but there have been some entertaining comments already.
One of my classes had Music today for the first time. They played a follow the leader type game as they sang and snaked around the room in between the tables. At one point, the Music teacher was having them hop like bunnies and there was just an eruption of giggles. I had to stop and just appreciate the joy in all that laughter. What a great sound!
We also had our first fire drill today which only terrified one kiddo. I feel like discussing it before hand actually makes it seem scarier than it really is because the kids just don't know what to expect and what it will be like. The one child who was scared was afraid to go outside and I tried to explain that once we were outside, we would be away from the noise and all we had to do was wait until the principal said we could go inside again. I made sure to hold his hand and stay near him but once we were outside he continued to cry. I crouched down next to him and said, buddy, you did it. That was it. It's over now. He thought it would still be noisy once we went back inside, but once I made him feel like a champ for conquering the dreaded fire drill, he stopped crying and was okay. Fortunately, the drill was in the afternoon, so I had my smaller group with me. As much as it seems relatively easy to walk outside quietly in a line, that is a feat for a lot of kids--even ones that have practiced this routine for years and years. My dad is a fireman, so I always took fire drills very seriously and never made a peep. Telling children not to talk at all and then wait in a line and do nothing for 5-7 minutes creates a pretty challenging situation for 5-year-olds, but overall they did really well.
I am heading to pilates class in a little bit and I can't wait to get my sweat on. This is a different teacher than I had on Saturday, but I had sore buns for days! Hopefully today will be tough as well!
Week 2
I was slightly concerned that last week was a fluke and that the kids would come today without any recollection of the routines and procedures we learned and practiced last week. The day went very well though and the kiddos remembered and improved. I really heart my afternoon class. They are just so sweet! There are a few challenging kiddos in the morning, but the afternoon just goes really smoothly and it's SO nice having only 18 kids!
I started Fast Track Phonics today with a lesson on /m/ and I could tell the kids liked it. Of course they loved the video part (which only lasts about 30 seconds) but they also enjoyed me acting out the video after we watched it. I also introduced them to the song called "Where Do You Start Your Letters?" from the CD I got when I did the Handwriting Without Tears training. I LOVE that song and the kids thought it was funny.
Where do you start your letters?
At the top!
Where do you start your letters?
At the top!
If you want to start a letter then you better better better remember to start it at the top!
The song starts out really slow but then it gets funky and I sang along even though I am not the world's best singer. I love using music because then I was able to repeat those lines when it was time for the kiddos to write their letters and a fun song like that definitely sticks in your head! It is so interesting to go around and look at how each kid is writing. Some of them hold the pencil very well and others need some major fixing. Some of them have never even held a pencil and that is evident when I asked them to write letters. This is the part of Kindergarten that I have to get used to! In First Grade most students start the year being able to hold a pencil correctly and write letters (even if they still aren't all that legible). I wish I could incorporate more of the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, but there is just no time for that.
We started specials today, but were were 1 for 2 because the teacher who was supposed to join us in the morning did not come. The second group got to enjoy a few cute stories with our Librarian, so that was a lot of fun. Even though we only have 10 minutes for specials and they are in our classroom, it's a great break for the kids and I know they will love the other teachers that will be joining us. Tomorrow we have Music and I am excited. I am especially excited to work with our Music teacher to incorporate some of the sight word songs on the CD's I got.
Well, it's time for the Bachelor Pad, so all other Kinder stories must wait! Hope everyone had a great day :0)
I started Fast Track Phonics today with a lesson on /m/ and I could tell the kids liked it. Of course they loved the video part (which only lasts about 30 seconds) but they also enjoyed me acting out the video after we watched it. I also introduced them to the song called "Where Do You Start Your Letters?" from the CD I got when I did the Handwriting Without Tears training. I LOVE that song and the kids thought it was funny.
Where do you start your letters?
At the top!
Where do you start your letters?
At the top!
If you want to start a letter then you better better better remember to start it at the top!
The song starts out really slow but then it gets funky and I sang along even though I am not the world's best singer. I love using music because then I was able to repeat those lines when it was time for the kiddos to write their letters and a fun song like that definitely sticks in your head! It is so interesting to go around and look at how each kid is writing. Some of them hold the pencil very well and others need some major fixing. Some of them have never even held a pencil and that is evident when I asked them to write letters. This is the part of Kindergarten that I have to get used to! In First Grade most students start the year being able to hold a pencil correctly and write letters (even if they still aren't all that legible). I wish I could incorporate more of the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, but there is just no time for that.
We started specials today, but were were 1 for 2 because the teacher who was supposed to join us in the morning did not come. The second group got to enjoy a few cute stories with our Librarian, so that was a lot of fun. Even though we only have 10 minutes for specials and they are in our classroom, it's a great break for the kids and I know they will love the other teachers that will be joining us. Tomorrow we have Music and I am excited. I am especially excited to work with our Music teacher to incorporate some of the sight word songs on the CD's I got.
Well, it's time for the Bachelor Pad, so all other Kinder stories must wait! Hope everyone had a great day :0)
500th Post!
I cannot believe this is my 500th post on Sneaker Teacher! I have really reconnected with my love of writing through blogging and I just can't get enough. I have also connected with lots of readers that I can't wait to share stories about teaching with! It's funny how I feel like I have relationships and friendships with people I have never met, yet blogging creates that sense of community and familiarity. We talk about all the details of our lives, jobs, families etc. and because of that, I feel like I know many of you through what you write on your own blogs and what you say in your comments here! Fun stuff!
When I first created this blog, I decided to call it Sneaker Teacher because two important parts of my life are teaching and staying fit. The sneaker part also has to do with the fact that Mr. Sneaker works for adidas and I have lots of cool sneakers. When I taught first grade we dedicated a day to each color and had a special song to sing about each color as well. I would always make sure to wear sneakers that matched our color of the day--and yes, I really have sneakers in almost every color (almost!). I left a lot of my fun sneakers in Germany, but I did bring my very favorite pair with me because they are special. Mr. Sneaker gave them to me last Christmas and he said the BWE stands for best wife ever. I love my husband!
Yesterday, I happened to be wearing these because we were asked to wear our new school T-shirts and since I was going casual, I wanted to wear my fun shoes. We also happened to do an activity where the kids were asked to draw a picture of their teacher. Check out these super cute pictures two kiddos drew of me, right down to the BWE kicks!
When I first created this blog, I decided to call it Sneaker Teacher because two important parts of my life are teaching and staying fit. The sneaker part also has to do with the fact that Mr. Sneaker works for adidas and I have lots of cool sneakers. When I taught first grade we dedicated a day to each color and had a special song to sing about each color as well. I would always make sure to wear sneakers that matched our color of the day--and yes, I really have sneakers in almost every color (almost!). I left a lot of my fun sneakers in Germany, but I did bring my very favorite pair with me because they are special. Mr. Sneaker gave them to me last Christmas and he said the BWE stands for best wife ever. I love my husband!
Yesterday, I happened to be wearing these because we were asked to wear our new school T-shirts and since I was going casual, I wanted to wear my fun shoes. We also happened to do an activity where the kids were asked to draw a picture of their teacher. Check out these super cute pictures two kiddos drew of me, right down to the BWE kicks!
Cute, right?
Although I was totally exhausted after the first week (really only 3 days) of school, I am loving Kindergarten. I honestly thought that I was totally in for it when I got assigned to teach Kinder at a different school than I was at prior to Germany. I did not think that Kindergarten and me were a match at all. I recalled how little my first graders seemed when they first started and how much I loved the end of first grade because of all the independence they had gained and how much they had blossomed academically. I felt like Kindergarten was just not going to be the right fit.
After three days, I know that those initial reactions were wrong. I love it! Yes, it's hard and there is a lot of repetition with asking for the little wigglers to sit still and to listen, but so far it is going really well and I am super happy with how everything worked out. I know that the year will be full of challenges, but it will also be filled with hugs, smiles, and lots of success.
I love how my PM class asked if they could hug Chester the stuffed Raccoon again at the end of the day yesterday. I love how one of my students who got picked up came and found me as I was putting the other kids on the bus just to give me a hug before he went home. I even love how one student was so excited about the book Marley goes to School that he Literally interrupted after each sentence to ask a question. ( I may have to fix that behavior, but I love that he was interested and asking questions to understand what he was not sure of). I love how even after just 3 days, most of my kiddos know exactly what to do when they arrive at school. I love how they hear the morning song and join me on the carpet. I love how one little girl points out every mistake that I make (she is one sharp cookie!). Even though I feel pressure to be actively teaching each precious moment of the day, I realize that it is so much fun and so rewarding just to watch and listen to the kids as they work and interact with each other.
And my favorite moment of the week...I asked one little guy what he wanted to learn in Kindergarten this year. He replied, I want to be a superhero. I want to be a Kindergarten Kid! I sure hope that learning to read and count and do all of the things that they will learn this year truly will feel like having super powers to them!
Here's to 500 posts and 500 more!
Running Man
Today was a great day, but I did have one little guy who was NOT having anything to do with being in my classroom. He showed up yesterday at the wrong time, so today was his first day and he was really wishing that he was in the same class as a friend/cousin of his. He refused to come over to the carpet with the rest of the class and as I was doing activities he kept creeping closer and closer to the door.
Then, he was off...heading down the hall...towards the other AM Kinder room. I got my cardio in trying to get him back, but thankfully, the rest of the kiddos were super well behaved when I was trying to get this kiddo to calm down and join us. Eventually he participated and made a traffic light with the rest of the kids, but he did not want to leave his chair at the table and would not come over to the carpet. Hopefully tomorrow he will feel more comfortable. Since we read The Kissing Hand yesterday, I brought in my little Racoon stuffed animal and all the kids had the chance to give him a hug. Anytime there was a moment of upset throughout the day today, one of my boys would go and get Chester the Raccoon and bring him to whichever kid was upset so they could hug him. So sweet! At the end of my day the kiddos in the PM class asked if they could hug Chester again.
Our major project for the day was making a traffic light out of construction paper, which gave me a chance to work on hand raising, not calling out, the "give me five" rule, and how to use the glue bottles. We have these awesome special lids that only require the kids to press down in order for the glue to come out. There is no mess and no twisting of the orange caps which then get left open. Awesome and so easy for Kindergartners! I passed out baskets that had all of the materials (glue, red circles, yellow circles, green circles, and a traffic light poem) and both groups did a great job of waiting until I assigned certain kids with the job of taking a certain item out of the bucket and passing it out to the rest of the kids in their group. They stopped each time I asked them to stop so that we could do the project just one step at a time and it went really smoothly. It took much less time the second time around because the afternoon group is smaller.
They also rocked out the morning greeting circle. I taught them that when the good morning song comes on, they should put their crayons and pencils away and come to the alphabet carpet and sit in a circle. Right before I played the song, I mentioned how I hoped they would remember to come to the carpet when I played the morning song so they would recall my expectations for the procedure that we had practiced yesterday. As soon as the song came on, they immediately came to the carpet and it literally took less than 15 seconds for them to be seated in a beautiful oval. By the time whichever Beatle that was singing got to his lyrics after a few good mornings, they were all ready to go. That same routine often took the entire length of the song in with some of my first graders. We did have to review that all crayons should be put away and chairs should be pushed in, but they were so enthusiastic about fixing their tables up and then came to the carpet right away when I replayed the song. So cute! We played the name game again and this time they had to introduce their partner instead of saying their own name. We talked about how they could ask the person their name if they weren't sure and they were so cute getting close and whispering "what's your name?" so they could share. Even some kids who I thought didn't speak a whole lot of English spoke up and raised their hands to answer today.
Tomorrow I am going to try introducing some of the materials that will be available during work station time with 5 minutes of modeling followed by 10 minutes of "exploration time." The kids have been asking about lots of the materials they have seen on the shelves and are curious about when they will get to play, so I think they are in need of some unstructured time (well, not entirely unstructured, but not stop and go with continuous directions). I would like to have them try out the Unifix Cubes and the letter beads. We are going to try out some patterns too so I can attempt to plug activities into my real schedule in preparation for next week!
So happy that it's almost Friday!
Then, he was off...heading down the hall...towards the other AM Kinder room. I got my cardio in trying to get him back, but thankfully, the rest of the kiddos were super well behaved when I was trying to get this kiddo to calm down and join us. Eventually he participated and made a traffic light with the rest of the kids, but he did not want to leave his chair at the table and would not come over to the carpet. Hopefully tomorrow he will feel more comfortable. Since we read The Kissing Hand yesterday, I brought in my little Racoon stuffed animal and all the kids had the chance to give him a hug. Anytime there was a moment of upset throughout the day today, one of my boys would go and get Chester the Raccoon and bring him to whichever kid was upset so they could hug him. So sweet! At the end of my day the kiddos in the PM class asked if they could hug Chester again.
Our major project for the day was making a traffic light out of construction paper, which gave me a chance to work on hand raising, not calling out, the "give me five" rule, and how to use the glue bottles. We have these awesome special lids that only require the kids to press down in order for the glue to come out. There is no mess and no twisting of the orange caps which then get left open. Awesome and so easy for Kindergartners! I passed out baskets that had all of the materials (glue, red circles, yellow circles, green circles, and a traffic light poem) and both groups did a great job of waiting until I assigned certain kids with the job of taking a certain item out of the bucket and passing it out to the rest of the kids in their group. They stopped each time I asked them to stop so that we could do the project just one step at a time and it went really smoothly. It took much less time the second time around because the afternoon group is smaller.
They also rocked out the morning greeting circle. I taught them that when the good morning song comes on, they should put their crayons and pencils away and come to the alphabet carpet and sit in a circle. Right before I played the song, I mentioned how I hoped they would remember to come to the carpet when I played the morning song so they would recall my expectations for the procedure that we had practiced yesterday. As soon as the song came on, they immediately came to the carpet and it literally took less than 15 seconds for them to be seated in a beautiful oval. By the time whichever Beatle that was singing got to his lyrics after a few good mornings, they were all ready to go. That same routine often took the entire length of the song in with some of my first graders. We did have to review that all crayons should be put away and chairs should be pushed in, but they were so enthusiastic about fixing their tables up and then came to the carpet right away when I replayed the song. So cute! We played the name game again and this time they had to introduce their partner instead of saying their own name. We talked about how they could ask the person their name if they weren't sure and they were so cute getting close and whispering "what's your name?" so they could share. Even some kids who I thought didn't speak a whole lot of English spoke up and raised their hands to answer today.
Tomorrow I am going to try introducing some of the materials that will be available during work station time with 5 minutes of modeling followed by 10 minutes of "exploration time." The kids have been asking about lots of the materials they have seen on the shelves and are curious about when they will get to play, so I think they are in need of some unstructured time (well, not entirely unstructured, but not stop and go with continuous directions). I would like to have them try out the Unifix Cubes and the letter beads. We are going to try out some patterns too so I can attempt to plug activities into my real schedule in preparation for next week!
So happy that it's almost Friday!
...and we're off!
Wow--time sure does fly when you're having fun! Or when you only have a little more than two hours to teach Kindergartners. Both classes were super cute and I am amazed at the difference in climate between the two. The afternoon class is smaller ( I am now at 23 in the morning and 18 in the afternoon), but there is also a huge difference in personalities. Don't get me wrong--I have some very funny/interesting/quirky/sassy/sharp kiddos in both sessions, but the mood was just different in the afternoon than it was in the morning. There were a few that just cracked me up!
For the most part the kids did great. Yes, there was a lot of calling out and interrupting and a lot of kids asked me when we were going to have snack (we don't) and when we were going to the playground (we don't), but both groups did a great job of learning to come to the carpet and sit on the letters when they hear the good morning song (by the Beatles) and how to "Give me Five." They followed directions, were excellent volunteers during our daily math routine (which was pretty fun) and the day was a success. There were some bus issues with the AM group, but I am happy that none of them were my fault (except the one kid who I didn't send on the bus after his mom and I specifically talked about how he was going to try it even though he was down as a parent pickup). The others were not my fault and that is a good feeling because I hate mix-ups that result in frantic parents wondering where their children are! Note to new teachers, especially Kindergarten teachers, or anyone dealing with lots of little kids---WRITE IT DOWN! Luckily the mom that got called to come get her child because I thought he was a pickup was very nice and wasn't upset.
It would seem like the bus routine after the AM session would be easier since there are only 3 buses, but surprisingly things went more smoothly in the afternoon when the Kinders go on the same buses as the big kids and there are about 8 or 9 different buses. My little PM friends were rocking a straight line and nobody wandered away. Sweet!
When the morning session was over, I was thinking to myself, Icannotimagingdoingthisagain! The afternoon was 20 minutes shorter because school lets out earlier all this week, so it really went by fast. It was a little more relaxed with fewer kiddos and I really enjoyed that group. They are adorable. Both groups are adorable, but the afternoon group has a few kiddos that I know will make an impression on my heart this year. It's just easier with fewer kids! Not that 23 is that many compared to classrooms that have 30 or more these days, but each Kindergartner is kind of equivalent to 2 students who already understand how school works.
During the math routine we talked about the number 1. A major goal of Expression is for kids to gain number sense so we discussed what we had one of on our face. We mentioned that we have one nose and one mouth and one cutie said we also have one head and one brain. (He got a high five for that!). When I used the number cards to have them point to the number 1, I tried to trick them by holding up a 2 and a 3 and they were not fooled! Smarties already!
I only had a few criers, but they both ended up doing just fine as the time went on. I thought a few parents were going to stay the whole time, but I only had to breakdown and ask one to leave since over 30 minutes passed and she was still there. She was okay with it and I made sure to call her after school to let her know that her kid did just fine! It's so important for parents to just leave, even if it makes them sad, because staying just drags out the crying. Most often, as soon as the parent leaves, the kid adapts and does just fine!
Lots of rambling in this post, but it was a jumble of busyness today and I had lots to post about! Looking forward to another day with my new friends and to getting to know them better. I can already tell there are several kiddos who are very smart and who will be advancing quite quickly! I will have to start writing down their quotes....and I wish I could recall the direct quotes (plural) about Jesus during circle time.
For the most part the kids did great. Yes, there was a lot of calling out and interrupting and a lot of kids asked me when we were going to have snack (we don't) and when we were going to the playground (we don't), but both groups did a great job of learning to come to the carpet and sit on the letters when they hear the good morning song (by the Beatles) and how to "Give me Five." They followed directions, were excellent volunteers during our daily math routine (which was pretty fun) and the day was a success. There were some bus issues with the AM group, but I am happy that none of them were my fault (except the one kid who I didn't send on the bus after his mom and I specifically talked about how he was going to try it even though he was down as a parent pickup). The others were not my fault and that is a good feeling because I hate mix-ups that result in frantic parents wondering where their children are! Note to new teachers, especially Kindergarten teachers, or anyone dealing with lots of little kids---WRITE IT DOWN! Luckily the mom that got called to come get her child because I thought he was a pickup was very nice and wasn't upset.
It would seem like the bus routine after the AM session would be easier since there are only 3 buses, but surprisingly things went more smoothly in the afternoon when the Kinders go on the same buses as the big kids and there are about 8 or 9 different buses. My little PM friends were rocking a straight line and nobody wandered away. Sweet!
When the morning session was over, I was thinking to myself, Icannotimagingdoingthisagain! The afternoon was 20 minutes shorter because school lets out earlier all this week, so it really went by fast. It was a little more relaxed with fewer kiddos and I really enjoyed that group. They are adorable. Both groups are adorable, but the afternoon group has a few kiddos that I know will make an impression on my heart this year. It's just easier with fewer kids! Not that 23 is that many compared to classrooms that have 30 or more these days, but each Kindergartner is kind of equivalent to 2 students who already understand how school works.
During the math routine we talked about the number 1. A major goal of Expression is for kids to gain number sense so we discussed what we had one of on our face. We mentioned that we have one nose and one mouth and one cutie said we also have one head and one brain. (He got a high five for that!). When I used the number cards to have them point to the number 1, I tried to trick them by holding up a 2 and a 3 and they were not fooled! Smarties already!
I only had a few criers, but they both ended up doing just fine as the time went on. I thought a few parents were going to stay the whole time, but I only had to breakdown and ask one to leave since over 30 minutes passed and she was still there. She was okay with it and I made sure to call her after school to let her know that her kid did just fine! It's so important for parents to just leave, even if it makes them sad, because staying just drags out the crying. Most often, as soon as the parent leaves, the kid adapts and does just fine!
Lots of rambling in this post, but it was a jumble of busyness today and I had lots to post about! Looking forward to another day with my new friends and to getting to know them better. I can already tell there are several kiddos who are very smart and who will be advancing quite quickly! I will have to start writing down their quotes....and I wish I could recall the direct quotes (plural) about Jesus during circle time.
Final Touches
One last day of prepping before the kiddos come tomorrow. Everything is in its place and just waiting for the chaos of the first day of Kindergarten. My school had a meet and greet for grades 1-5 from 4:00-6:00 so there were lots of families going in and out of classrooms, dropping off supplies, and meeting teachers. Both of the other K teachers went home, but I am glad I happened to still be there working because several of my kiddos stopped in with their families and I was really happy to get a little more individual time. Since we don't have doors, they could have gone in the room even if I wasn't there, so I am glad I was there!
The kids that came enjoyed finding their seats, cubbies and mailboxes. I got to practice a little bit of Spanish and got a little taste of how some kids have no concept of what it means to be in school. A couple of the kids that came headed right for the little kitchen area and started playing so I made sure to empty it out until I actually introduce the materials and open it up for free choice time. I'm so mean!
Jill came and helped me again and I am so happy to have her help! I know I have said it before, but she rocks!
I am sure tomorrow will be a total flurry of chaos, excitement, and energy. Hopefully, no tears! I have my plans all set, but I am sure I will still wake up really early so I can have some time in the room before the kids start arriving. We are letting kids in whenever they arrive instead of holding them in the cafeteria until 8:10, so I am fairly certain that there will be some early birds who are excited to get their Kindergarten on!
The kids that came enjoyed finding their seats, cubbies and mailboxes. I got to practice a little bit of Spanish and got a little taste of how some kids have no concept of what it means to be in school. A couple of the kids that came headed right for the little kitchen area and started playing so I made sure to empty it out until I actually introduce the materials and open it up for free choice time. I'm so mean!
Jill came and helped me again and I am so happy to have her help! I know I have said it before, but she rocks!
I am sure tomorrow will be a total flurry of chaos, excitement, and energy. Hopefully, no tears! I have my plans all set, but I am sure I will still wake up really early so I can have some time in the room before the kids start arriving. We are letting kids in whenever they arrive instead of holding them in the cafeteria until 8:10, so I am fairly certain that there will be some early birds who are excited to get their Kindergarten on!
Anyone else starting tomorrow? I feel like our first day is the latest!
Planning
I took Friday and Saturday off from most things teacher related. I worked out, had lunch with Jill, did some outlet shopping, and caught up on some shows that I didn't watch during the week. I also read a little bit, but not nearly as much as I hoped to. Maybe I will have a marathon reading session later and finish The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest!!!
This morning I finally started to flush out my morning and afternoon schedules (they are so different!) and plug in my activities for the first few days of school. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about getting bored by teaching the same things during both sessions because due to differences in when we have ELD and specials, the daily schedules are nothing alike! In the morning, I really like the schedule because the activities that the kids do with me are broken up by specials and ELD pullouts. I think there is a great balance between seated activities, carpet activities, and movement. During the afternoon, I have a larger block of time with my kiddos when they first come, but I also think that is good because they will get tired and worn out in the afternoon, so I would rather get all my important stuff accomplished and let them be tired for ELD and Specials (mwuahaha!).
Both schedules are very jam packed with activities and some time slots are only 10 minutes long. I am required to do 60 minutes of reading instruction which includes 30 minutes of Fast Track Phonics and 30 minutes of Treasures. Fortunately, we don't do all of the Treasures curriculum and mostly focus on a letter and word of the week, so I can incorporate those thirty minutes as my schedule allows. I just received my Heidi's Songs Sight Word Cd's which Kelly recommended (thanks Kelly!) so I am hoping to do a lot of active, fun activities that incorporate movement in order to get in some sight word practice. We have 10 minutes of push in Specials on 5 out of 6 days in our rotation, so I am going to talk with both the PE teacher and the Music teacher about incorporating content into their activities. That way we can learn and have fun (and not waste precious minutes!).
I feel like I am still going in somewhat blind, but it will take everyone a few weeks to get used to being in Kindergarten, so I am not the only one who will be experiencing some adjustments. I think that a lot of singing, an upbeat attitude, and a lot of patience (with both the kids and myself) will take me far this year.
I am organizing stories for the first week and figuring out what routines/procedures I want to embed within other activities so I can teach important stuff while still having the kids engaged in exciting, fun learning activities. My team shared a few activities that they always do during the first week, so I am working on making sure I fit them in while also structuring my sessions in a way that fits with how I want the classroom to operate. So far, I have managed to figure out schedules that include 10 minutes both at the very beginning and the very end of each session to allow time for a "morning greeting" and an afternoon wrap-up/story. I have been working my way through a few books that I purchased and definitely want to try out a morning meeting style gathering, but I have changed the name a little to morning greeting. I do not have time for all of the aspects of a traditional morning meeting, but the one part I feel strongly about including is a daily greeting. This contributes to all children being recognized and greeted each day and helps them learn each others' names. We also do a Star of the Week program which requires a time each day during which that child can share certain items with the group. I am hoping to also fit that in during that first 10 minutes each day. If kids are still trickling in, it's okay and hopefully everyone will be ready to go by the time I start Phonics. I really want to take the time to build a strong classroom community even though we are very short on time. Learning how to get along, share, cooperate, talk to one another, and be part of a team that cares for one another are all very important skills that should be developed in Kindergarten. We have become very academically focuses and there is little time left for play and "whole child" development, so I need to make sure to keep a balance and fight to keep that designated time in tact.
For anyone who is teaching Kinder and hasn't already started....these are some of the stories I am going to use during the first week. Special thanks to Roxanne from Books That Heal Kids for some great suggestions! If you haven't checked out her site, GO THERE NOW! She is stupendous!
I may also try to work in a story or two about difference or kids with special needs since I will have two students with special needs this year. I am very supportive of teaching kids to respect differences and educating kids about differences they may come across.
Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!!
This morning I finally started to flush out my morning and afternoon schedules (they are so different!) and plug in my activities for the first few days of school. I guess I shouldn't be too worried about getting bored by teaching the same things during both sessions because due to differences in when we have ELD and specials, the daily schedules are nothing alike! In the morning, I really like the schedule because the activities that the kids do with me are broken up by specials and ELD pullouts. I think there is a great balance between seated activities, carpet activities, and movement. During the afternoon, I have a larger block of time with my kiddos when they first come, but I also think that is good because they will get tired and worn out in the afternoon, so I would rather get all my important stuff accomplished and let them be tired for ELD and Specials (mwuahaha!).
Both schedules are very jam packed with activities and some time slots are only 10 minutes long. I am required to do 60 minutes of reading instruction which includes 30 minutes of Fast Track Phonics and 30 minutes of Treasures. Fortunately, we don't do all of the Treasures curriculum and mostly focus on a letter and word of the week, so I can incorporate those thirty minutes as my schedule allows. I just received my Heidi's Songs Sight Word Cd's which Kelly recommended (thanks Kelly!) so I am hoping to do a lot of active, fun activities that incorporate movement in order to get in some sight word practice. We have 10 minutes of push in Specials on 5 out of 6 days in our rotation, so I am going to talk with both the PE teacher and the Music teacher about incorporating content into their activities. That way we can learn and have fun (and not waste precious minutes!).
I feel like I am still going in somewhat blind, but it will take everyone a few weeks to get used to being in Kindergarten, so I am not the only one who will be experiencing some adjustments. I think that a lot of singing, an upbeat attitude, and a lot of patience (with both the kids and myself) will take me far this year.
I am organizing stories for the first week and figuring out what routines/procedures I want to embed within other activities so I can teach important stuff while still having the kids engaged in exciting, fun learning activities. My team shared a few activities that they always do during the first week, so I am working on making sure I fit them in while also structuring my sessions in a way that fits with how I want the classroom to operate. So far, I have managed to figure out schedules that include 10 minutes both at the very beginning and the very end of each session to allow time for a "morning greeting" and an afternoon wrap-up/story. I have been working my way through a few books that I purchased and definitely want to try out a morning meeting style gathering, but I have changed the name a little to morning greeting. I do not have time for all of the aspects of a traditional morning meeting, but the one part I feel strongly about including is a daily greeting. This contributes to all children being recognized and greeted each day and helps them learn each others' names. We also do a Star of the Week program which requires a time each day during which that child can share certain items with the group. I am hoping to also fit that in during that first 10 minutes each day. If kids are still trickling in, it's okay and hopefully everyone will be ready to go by the time I start Phonics. I really want to take the time to build a strong classroom community even though we are very short on time. Learning how to get along, share, cooperate, talk to one another, and be part of a team that cares for one another are all very important skills that should be developed in Kindergarten. We have become very academically focuses and there is little time left for play and "whole child" development, so I need to make sure to keep a balance and fight to keep that designated time in tact.
For anyone who is teaching Kinder and hasn't already started....these are some of the stories I am going to use during the first week. Special thanks to Roxanne from Books That Heal Kids for some great suggestions! If you haven't checked out her site, GO THERE NOW! She is stupendous!
I may also try to work in a story or two about difference or kids with special needs since I will have two students with special needs this year. I am very supportive of teaching kids to respect differences and educating kids about differences they may come across.
Hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend!!
Tired
Today we had some more math training and at this point I am feeling like I just need to spend some time on my own digging into the lessons and figuring it out. I attended the two-day training last week and we have had an additional two sessions for staff members who did not opt to participate in that training since then. Most of what we have heard has been a repetition of what was already shared, so at this point it feels like a less than productive use of our time. I brought my manual home so I can read through the first few lessons this weekend. We also got brand new laptops today which feels extravagant considering all the budget deficits. I guess the money comes from a different budget and the district adopted a technology plan years ago that they are continuing to implement. Of course it's nice to be handed a brand new MacBook, yet I would have been fine using the other computer that was just 4 years old.
I spent most of the afternoon in my room just running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I feel like I am trying to keep track of 100 things all at once and I just hope I am doing the necessary things to be prepared on Wednesday. We did get together for some team planning, yet we just went over a few of the typical back to school activities that our kiddos will work on. I still need to flush out all of the different routines I want to teach, the stories I want to read, and what will happen when. I have a lot of work ahead of me to get all that thought out, prepared, and organized. I don't want to go in to work this weekend, but I will probably end up having to. I would much rather spend time working my way through some of the back to school books that I purchased in order to get ready that have been sitting around in my room collecting dust. Each day just seems to fly by and before I know it, it's time for bed and I haven't gotten everything done. I am so exhausted and I know that will only intensify once the kids come! Yikes!
I took a few more pictures in the room today, but nothing is looking majorly different. I am just finishing up little projects here and there and trying to make everything just right.
I spent most of the afternoon in my room just running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I feel like I am trying to keep track of 100 things all at once and I just hope I am doing the necessary things to be prepared on Wednesday. We did get together for some team planning, yet we just went over a few of the typical back to school activities that our kiddos will work on. I still need to flush out all of the different routines I want to teach, the stories I want to read, and what will happen when. I have a lot of work ahead of me to get all that thought out, prepared, and organized. I don't want to go in to work this weekend, but I will probably end up having to. I would much rather spend time working my way through some of the back to school books that I purchased in order to get ready that have been sitting around in my room collecting dust. Each day just seems to fly by and before I know it, it's time for bed and I haven't gotten everything done. I am so exhausted and I know that will only intensify once the kids come! Yikes!
I took a few more pictures in the room today, but nothing is looking majorly different. I am just finishing up little projects here and there and trying to make everything just right.
name tags and supplies are all set
a few more touches added to the wall (days of week & calendar)
view of our carpet area
I hung the beach ball lights above the writing table for some extra inspiration!
love them!
In other news...my niece was born this morning at 3:31 am weighing in at 8 pounds 9 ounces. She is beautiful and both she and her mama are doing well!
Meet and Greet
Whew! Our Kindergarten Back to School Night, or "Meet and Greet" was tonight and it was a blur of cute kiddos and parents. It is so hard to actually remember everyone since I have 42 students and I was trying to move them all through my line so people at the end didn't have to wait too long. The kiddos were all super adorable and I can't wait to get to know them better. I thought I would be shocked by how little they are, but they are just too cute! There are a few in particular that are just to die for! Hopefully they are all perfect angels, right?
We checked to make sure that our information on how each child will get home is correct and then we sent each family to the classroom to drop off their supplies, get a photo of the child, and pick up their information packet. Fortunately I color coded everything so I could keep my two sessions straight! After we checked everybody in, we did a presentation in the cafeteria to give the parents some more information about Kindergarten while the kids took a ride on the bus. It was a busy night and I am excited for school to start!
That wasn't the most exciting part of the day though...I got a call from my mom and my sister-in-law's water broke a few hours ago, so she is on her way to the hospital to deliver baby #2! They already have a daughter and I can't wait to see pictures of my second niece! Yay!
I know I should be tired, but I am a bit wired from all the excitement of today. I will probably stay up until I hear that the baby has been born. So exciting!
We checked to make sure that our information on how each child will get home is correct and then we sent each family to the classroom to drop off their supplies, get a photo of the child, and pick up their information packet. Fortunately I color coded everything so I could keep my two sessions straight! After we checked everybody in, we did a presentation in the cafeteria to give the parents some more information about Kindergarten while the kids took a ride on the bus. It was a busy night and I am excited for school to start!
That wasn't the most exciting part of the day though...I got a call from my mom and my sister-in-law's water broke a few hours ago, so she is on her way to the hospital to deliver baby #2! They already have a daughter and I can't wait to see pictures of my second niece! Yay!
I know I should be tired, but I am a bit wired from all the excitement of today. I will probably stay up until I hear that the baby has been born. So exciting!
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