Little by Little

Today was my girls' first day at their new daycare and I am happy to report that it went well for both of them. Of course I was concerned that Little Sneaker would cry or look at me and say "Mama, don't leave" like she often does at bedtime when I am making my way toward the door. She happily joined the group and began coloring, so Mr. Sneaker and I just snuck away quietly. When I picked her up, the other kiddies were laying down to begin nap time and she was playing with moon dough or something like that at one of the tables. Her teacher took to her wash her hands and then she sat back down at the table. I told her it was time to go and she said "I don't want to go.  I am doing dis" and pointed to her moon dough. Baby Sneaker was asleep when I went to the infant room and she was being held in the rocking chair. She stayed asleep when I put her in her carseat and stayed asleep when I took her out of the carseat and put her in her crib once we got home. Right now they are both asleep upstairs. I would say that was a successful first day. 

While the girls were at daycare, I headed over to my school to commence child free working. On the one hand, I feel like I got a lot done. On the other hand, I feel like there is an infinite amount of work to do and I will never be done. 

::sigh::

Here is what I worked on today...

Before

In progress

Complete

This math wall will be switched out for each new topic I cover. At the beginning of the year I do a unit on counting and cardinality and cover the numbers 1-10. Then I do geometry (2D & 3D shapes), followed by numbers and operations in base ten (teen numbers), then data & measurement, then finally operations & algebraic thinking (addition & subtraction). I have various TPT visuals that I have purchased for the purpose of displaying our current topic on this very math wall. 

Now let's zoom in on what's here...

Number Strategy Posters

Common Core Standards with Content & Language Objectives. Last year I just posted the CO & LO for that particular day, but I thought I might switch it up a bit this year and post all of the standards that relate to the current topic. Then each day, I will post the specific standard we are addressing in the lesson on the white pages. I like the idea of posting all of them because often we are working on several standards at once (i.e. counting, determining the total, writing the number to represent the total etc). I used push pins on everything so I can easily move the cards around. 

Math Expressions 120 chart. 

Math Expressions Number Parade 

with Math Posters 1-10 {ways to show numbers}

I actually decided that I want to swap out the 1-10 posters for something different. I think they have a bit too much going on and I'd like something simpler. That's the beauty of using push pins. Changing my mind is really easy. 

 After I finished my math wall, I tackled my classroom library. 

This photo gives me heart palpitations. What a mess!

I decided that I really prefer the Target plastic magazine bins to the Dollar Tree baskets. The Dollar Tree baskets, although $2 cheaper each, are too wide. In some categories I don't have that many books and those baskets take up a lot of shelf space. The problem with the Target bins is that Target is not carrying that many. I came across only a few this summer, but I didn't get them because I didn't think I would need any more. { #sneakerteacherfail}. Many of my Target bins got broken last year or in the moving process, so I used the broken ones to house books that won't be part of the classroom library that the kiddos access or book categories that I won't put out right away like holidays and some of my non-fiction topics. Since the bins already had velcro on them from last year because I use those bins for my students' work buckets, I just put the reverse side of the velcro on the back of the laminated book bin labels and voila! I think they look great. Now, I can easily access books on whatever topic I need. Ideally I want about 10 more of the Target bins because I have several more categories of books that are still out on tables and on the floor. Hopefully I will be able to track some down! The books pictured below are on a high shelf so my plan is that I will be the only one who can access those unless I take a bin down to allow the kiddos to pull from it. I was part getting my library organized and part just getting my books reorganized because they got all mixed up in the move. 

I ran out of Dollar Tree bins, but I got baskets done for many favorite characters. I am still trying to figure out exactly how I want to roll out my Read to Self routine. I know I don't want my kiddos having access to all my books because I like to reserve some just for read alouds. The books that I put in the baskets are ones that are already pretty worn and aren't as special to me. I don't want this library to turn into a huge mess that I have to clean up everyday, so the rollout will be slow. I also need to print the sticker labels that match the basket labels to help the kiddos know where to return books too. That will take a lot of printer ink and a lot of time, so that's a project for another day!

Up close with our favorite book characters...

Overall, I feel good about my progress, but the room still looks like a mess! I've got 1.5 more kid free days because we are taking a trip to CA from Thursday-Sunday to visit Mr. Sneaker's parents. Tomorrow morning my teammate and I are presenting about iPads to my friends group of students at PSU. She is teaching a course about technology in the classroom so we are going to share a bit about how we manage iPads in the classroom and how we use them for language development. We are presenting from 9-10, so I will only have 2 hours max in my room after that before I have to go pick up the girls from daycare. 

Now, it's time for a little RHONJ. 

How many hours do you put in over the summer to get your classroom ready?

Do you enjoy prepping for the new year?