Can I just start by saying that I heart Jill!! I know I helped her out a lot last year getting her classroom and materials ready, but technically it was my job and I was getting paid (although not very much). She has been the most wonderful help to me these past few weeks. Good friends are hard to find and she is a gem! Thanks Jill!
Today was all about getting ready for Back to School Night, cleaning up the room, organizing, getting the bus lists ready, copying letters and calendars, laminating, figuring out scheduling, trying to read the specials schedule and getting to know some of my new staffers. I had a very long conversation with the music teacher and he is so nice! Overall it was quite a productive day and I think the room is ready for kids (ready for them to come for a brief visit with their parents at least...ready for me to actually teach is another story!)
I thought I would take a chance and send out an email asking if anyone had a big book stand they weren't using and one of the third grade teachers replied saying that yes, she does have one and that I can use it this year. SCORE! I was going to use my funds from the PSO to get one, but they are not cheap, so I am really thrilled at her generosity. Now, I won't have to struggle when I do read alouds with the big books and I can have a big book work station during rotation time.
Tomorrow we an all district meeting and we get to hear about the insurance options and all that good stuff and then there is a meeting with our union and contract negotiation team. It is a lot of hard work to get that done and I don't envy anyone who is on that team. Lots of long nights and head butting over wording and any/all proposed changes. We also get some more time for training with our new math curriculum and then it's time to meet my kiddos. I now have 21 in each session and I got two IEP's today for kiddos who will both be in my AM session. I am excited to have them as part of the group and eager to speak with the Learning Specialist about meeting their needs. Hopefully those numbers will stay where they are! 21 is a good number even if the boy/girl ratios are off.
My computer battery is about to die, so I am going to head upstairs to plug in and hit the sack! I deserve a good night sleep. Hubby is heading back to Germany after a week in New York for the US Open and I am crossing my fingers that maybe his boss has decided to send him here to visit the US office (and me!)
The New Kid
For the second year in a row, I joined the ranks of the newbies on a teaching staff. I don't consider myself super shy or anything and often I actually really like attention :0), yet being the new kid on the block is always weird. I was actually not the only new person joining the staff, but I am the only new classroom teacher. The PE teacher is new and there is a new ELL teacher in addition to some other non-teacher staff members. We did a few ice breaker activities so that the newbies could "get to know" the staff, but remembering more than 30 new names after playing a simple game is hard! I have the second grade team down, so I will consider that a victory.
The principal is nice and all business. Well, not all business, but the woman knows how to stick to an agenda which I can appreciate. She mentioned that one of her professional goals this year is to do more observations, but very brief visits followed by brief conversations about instruction so that she can visit each classroom more frequently. I am all for having the principal drop in because I am happy to share what I am doing and I am never afraid to get feedback on my teaching/lessons.
After we did the in-service/get reacquainted thing, we met with our teams to review reading data and then we had the rest of the day to work in our rooms. My room is looking pretty ready. I started to label a few things, but I want to at least wait until after our Back to School night this Wednesday to really put the finishing touches on because my classes may change and I may find out that certain kids have nicknames. Speaking of my classes, I now have 21 in my AM session and 22 in my PM session. The boy/girl ratios are really funky. There are 13 boys/8 girls in one group and then 14 girls/8 boys in the other group (or something close to that). I am not too sure how that is going to work out, but I know that many families request to have either the AM or PM session (whichever works best with their schedule) so they are having a tough time honoring those requests and keeping the classes even. I realize that I need to view my classes as separate entities and I may need to be more active in the afternoon versus the morning or I may need to structure activities differently when I have more boys versus more girls. It will be interesting to meet them on Wednesday and see what they are like! My teaching partner said I have some cuties and she mentioned a few "pistols."
Now, for some pictures!!
The principal is nice and all business. Well, not all business, but the woman knows how to stick to an agenda which I can appreciate. She mentioned that one of her professional goals this year is to do more observations, but very brief visits followed by brief conversations about instruction so that she can visit each classroom more frequently. I am all for having the principal drop in because I am happy to share what I am doing and I am never afraid to get feedback on my teaching/lessons.
After we did the in-service/get reacquainted thing, we met with our teams to review reading data and then we had the rest of the day to work in our rooms. My room is looking pretty ready. I started to label a few things, but I want to at least wait until after our Back to School night this Wednesday to really put the finishing touches on because my classes may change and I may find out that certain kids have nicknames. Speaking of my classes, I now have 21 in my AM session and 22 in my PM session. The boy/girl ratios are really funky. There are 13 boys/8 girls in one group and then 14 girls/8 boys in the other group (or something close to that). I am not too sure how that is going to work out, but I know that many families request to have either the AM or PM session (whichever works best with their schedule) so they are having a tough time honoring those requests and keeping the classes even. I realize that I need to view my classes as separate entities and I may need to be more active in the afternoon versus the morning or I may need to structure activities differently when I have more boys versus more girls. It will be interesting to meet them on Wednesday and see what they are like! My teaching partner said I have some cuties and she mentioned a few "pistols."
Now, for some pictures!!
I added the color words to my rainbow train
I changed up my instructional wall a bit to include the stuff from the new math adoption. I had fish number cards 1-30 along the bottom before, but we are supposed to have the 120 chart and the "number parade" for our daily math routine. I actually really liked the daily practice routine we were taught during training and I think it will be great! The flip chart on the little table is also for the new math adoption.
The 120 chart uses a different approach than most number charts because 1) it goes to 120 so kids know how to transition beyond 100 (the trainer said kids tend to go from 100 to 200) and 2) the numbers go vertically instead of horizontally. Even though we are using this in Kinder to practice counting, it is building the foundation for place value because we make vertical tens.
I found some good things in my storage unit, like these plastic drawers, that add some extra storage. I am not using all of my teaching materials from first grade so I am trying not to unpack everything since it will just take up space. I am trying to keep my stuff really organized so I have some extra math supplies, stuffed animals, and stickers in these drawers.
I doubt my desk will ever be this clean once school starts! I set up the computer that was already in the room, but apparently we are all getting new laptops this week. Exciting, yet I wish those funds could be spent on teachers or full day Kindergarten...I know they come from different budgets, but still....
Tomorrow I am going to work on my attendance chart and my station labels. I decided to change my idea about having the kids put shells and starfish in buckets for attendance so it will look a bit different than I originally planned. Stay tuned for more pics!
Where Did The Summer Go?
I feel like the summer has been a whirlwind of fun and I can't believe that I am officially going back to work tomorrow. Monday starts our week of in-service and then the kiddos return to school on Wednesday September 8th. This coming Wednesday I will get to meet my students at Back to School Night and I am kinda freaking out that Wednesday is coming so soon! I know my room is almost ready, yet there are still little things to be done like arranging, cleaning, and labeling, so I am 100% ready for kids.
I visited my storage unit again today and found my calendar and math items after some digging. I also found some stuff that was from our house that I think will be great for my classroom like a small fan, small portable heater, and a paper shredded. Since they are not currently in use at home, why not take them to school?! I didn't drop that stuff off yet since I set the alarm off the last time I tried to gain access to school on a weekend. We have plenty of time tomorrow for working in our rooms, so I can get it all situated mañana. My roomie wants to start the day bright and early with a spin class and I agreed to it. Crazy? Definitely. We did a 26 mile bike ride on Saturday which was awesome, so I am honing my biking skills for sure.
Now that I have had some training for our new math curriculum, I am excited to get my main wall all set up with the calendar and elements for math. With a little more work everything should be in order! I am just about ready to curl up with some of my new teaching texts because I have not done as much reading as I would have liked to get ready for the start of the new year. I still have not even started The First Six Weeks and I am happily reading my way through Debbie Diller's book about Literacy Work Stations. I made signs for each station I want to have and tomorrow I need to laminate them. I also need to make labels for the coat hangers and the desks, but I want to check in and see how close my classes are to being full. I think families are still registering and those kiddos are being placed in my class.
Also, I was so excited to find out today that my donor's choose project was eligible for a match offer from Nickelodeon. There is a special Dora The Explorer Beyond The Backpack program that supports projects that will benefit kids who are starting Kindergarten. Awesome! I am now only 128 dollars away from being funded! It will be awesome if I can actually get a hold of all those great books for Literacy Bags closer to the beginning of the school year. Wahoo!
I visited my storage unit again today and found my calendar and math items after some digging. I also found some stuff that was from our house that I think will be great for my classroom like a small fan, small portable heater, and a paper shredded. Since they are not currently in use at home, why not take them to school?! I didn't drop that stuff off yet since I set the alarm off the last time I tried to gain access to school on a weekend. We have plenty of time tomorrow for working in our rooms, so I can get it all situated mañana. My roomie wants to start the day bright and early with a spin class and I agreed to it. Crazy? Definitely. We did a 26 mile bike ride on Saturday which was awesome, so I am honing my biking skills for sure.
Now that I have had some training for our new math curriculum, I am excited to get my main wall all set up with the calendar and elements for math. With a little more work everything should be in order! I am just about ready to curl up with some of my new teaching texts because I have not done as much reading as I would have liked to get ready for the start of the new year. I still have not even started The First Six Weeks and I am happily reading my way through Debbie Diller's book about Literacy Work Stations. I made signs for each station I want to have and tomorrow I need to laminate them. I also need to make labels for the coat hangers and the desks, but I want to check in and see how close my classes are to being full. I think families are still registering and those kiddos are being placed in my class.
Also, I was so excited to find out today that my donor's choose project was eligible for a match offer from Nickelodeon. There is a special Dora The Explorer Beyond The Backpack program that supports projects that will benefit kids who are starting Kindergarten. Awesome! I am now only 128 dollars away from being funded! It will be awesome if I can actually get a hold of all those great books for Literacy Bags closer to the beginning of the school year. Wahoo!
Standards, Curriculum and Icebreakers...oh my!
Today was the first day of training for our new math adoption. Cool surprise of the day is that we get paid for attending the two-day training. Nice! That helps with some of the spending I have done putting my classroom together. :0)
Certain parts of the training were fantastic. When we broke out into grade level teams to go over the first edition of the teacher's manual, I really got a lot out of it. It was great to meet some of the other Kinder teachers in the district and to get their take on teaching math to the little ones. Everyone was really nice and we had a good discussion going about how to incorporate the changes that come with the new adoption.
Other parts of the training were not so great. I know they include ice breakers and "fun" activities to break up the day and make sure we are not completely bored, yet I signed up because I wanted to become familiar with the new curriculum, not because I wanted to get to know people better. If it's a long day filled with lots of information--I can take it! I can see starting the day off with something fun or silly, but I felt like there were too many switches taking us from the larger group to our grade level teams which interrupted the flow of what we were really there to accomplish. All of the additional activities were interesting and fun, yet ultimately I feel like we could have gotten more out of the day if we had just skipped over those... I know...party pooper in the house...
I got to see a few other teachers from my former school which was nice and I feel more comfortable about teaching the curriculum now that I had the chance to look through the teacher manual and get some guidance on what to expect. When I am done posting this, I am going to take a look at youtube because I was told there are some sample lessons posted on there. It's always nice to see a new curriculum in action to help wrap my mind around what I will be doing. Fortunately, they have specifically stated that half day Kinder sessions are expected to get through unit 4 instead of unit 6 and they have put together separate pacing guides for full day and half day Kinder. They also expressed that this is kind of an action research year so we are really encouraged to try out the curriculum even if we are doubtful certain things will work with our grade levels and the district wants our feedback. We were a little skeptical of the little notes in the margin recommending that we look ahead to notice that we should cut out the paper manipulatives ahead of time and that we might want to print them on card stock, but we will give it a go. There are some daily practice activities that are important to the curriculum and even though they require us to do calendar and some math activities in a different way than we are used to, they actually seem to be fun and I think the kids will do great. We can already tell it will take a lot of time to train the kids to do the daily routine/practice activities, but in the end I think it will become pretty simple.
I have another day of training tomorrow and then I am planning to try out a spin class at my new gym with my roomie. I got a pair of those super padded bike shorts today, so hopefully I will make out ok with spinning. I have done it before and it's not a favorite of mine, but I know it's a great workout and it will be fun to do together.
Certain parts of the training were fantastic. When we broke out into grade level teams to go over the first edition of the teacher's manual, I really got a lot out of it. It was great to meet some of the other Kinder teachers in the district and to get their take on teaching math to the little ones. Everyone was really nice and we had a good discussion going about how to incorporate the changes that come with the new adoption.
Other parts of the training were not so great. I know they include ice breakers and "fun" activities to break up the day and make sure we are not completely bored, yet I signed up because I wanted to become familiar with the new curriculum, not because I wanted to get to know people better. If it's a long day filled with lots of information--I can take it! I can see starting the day off with something fun or silly, but I felt like there were too many switches taking us from the larger group to our grade level teams which interrupted the flow of what we were really there to accomplish. All of the additional activities were interesting and fun, yet ultimately I feel like we could have gotten more out of the day if we had just skipped over those... I know...party pooper in the house...
I got to see a few other teachers from my former school which was nice and I feel more comfortable about teaching the curriculum now that I had the chance to look through the teacher manual and get some guidance on what to expect. When I am done posting this, I am going to take a look at youtube because I was told there are some sample lessons posted on there. It's always nice to see a new curriculum in action to help wrap my mind around what I will be doing. Fortunately, they have specifically stated that half day Kinder sessions are expected to get through unit 4 instead of unit 6 and they have put together separate pacing guides for full day and half day Kinder. They also expressed that this is kind of an action research year so we are really encouraged to try out the curriculum even if we are doubtful certain things will work with our grade levels and the district wants our feedback. We were a little skeptical of the little notes in the margin recommending that we look ahead to notice that we should cut out the paper manipulatives ahead of time and that we might want to print them on card stock, but we will give it a go. There are some daily practice activities that are important to the curriculum and even though they require us to do calendar and some math activities in a different way than we are used to, they actually seem to be fun and I think the kids will do great. We can already tell it will take a lot of time to train the kids to do the daily routine/practice activities, but in the end I think it will become pretty simple.
I have another day of training tomorrow and then I am planning to try out a spin class at my new gym with my roomie. I got a pair of those super padded bike shorts today, so hopefully I will make out ok with spinning. I have done it before and it's not a favorite of mine, but I know it's a great workout and it will be fun to do together.
Another busy day
I had an excellent morning planning with my new teammates. I got to spend some time with them and got to know them a little bit better. I was feeling pretty nervous about how I would fit in as part of the team. They are extremely organized and have systems down pat for pretty much everything they do. The good thing is that they made me feel very comfortable about doing things in a different way if I want to. They kind of expressed the attitude that they want to do it their way (it seems like they like the consistency of how they have done things) yet they were open to my ideas and were enthusiastic about my suggestions to do things differently with my own classes. We talked and planned all morning and then went out to lunch together which was fun.
I also met up with my old first grade team for some appetizers later on and it was so nice to catch up with them and chit chat for awhile. I did get some sad news from them though...One of the students I taught during my first year had a mom that was sick with Cancer. She had brain Cancer and because of that she didn't make too many appearances at school. She called to check in often though, and she was one of the sweetest women. She was so nice and cared so much for her daughter. She had been battling Cancer for awhile and earlier this year she passed away. I hadn't thought about this family in awhile, but they were always so sweet and I was really upset to hear this news. I just can't imagine what they are all going through and how hard it must be for young kids to lose their mom. My current roomie actually taught this student last year when she was in 4th grade and she said it was just a horribly sad situation. The youngest child in the family was in my previous team member's first grade class this past year and she said she actually had two students' mothers pass away during the school year. Such a difficult thing to deal with, especially when the kids are at such a young, fragile age. Even though this didn't just happen super recently, I know the family is still mourning and my heart goes out to them.
After returning home from seeing those friends, I hit up the gym for a good sweat session on the bike and started reading the book I just received from amazon today.
I have only read the first two chapters, but so far I LOVE it. I am so excited to try out the ideas! Here is a little excerpt for you:
It's the end of summer. School begins in just a few weeks. At night as you sleep, you find yourself dreaming about your new classroom, how it will be different this year. You see yourself sitting at the guided reading table with five young students gathered around you ready to read a new book. As you introduce the new text, no one interrupts you. There is no "Teacher, I need help with this paper," "The headset at the listening station doesn't work," or "He hit me." You glance around the room and see the rest of the class working cheerfully and intently at reading and writing tasks that the children find purposeful and fully engaging. Two boys stand beside the overhead, which is projecting a poem onto a nearby screen. Together they read this poem, which had been introduced to the class during shared reading. Then the pair take a dry-erase marker and circle the rhyming words. They read the rhyming words together and use magnetic letters to make other words that rhyme with those from the poem. They copy their rhyming words onto strips of paper, which they put in their literacy work station folders. You smile and return your gaze to the small group you're sitting with. You observe which children are using the strategies you've been modeling. You guide their reading and prompt when necessary, watching your students in the process of becoming independent problem solvers. At the end of your guided reading group, students move to different work stations and the learning continues. Is this just a dream? It doesn't need to be...
I am looking forward to reading the rest and getting ideas for great literacy work stations that I can use in my room. I love how the author, Debbie Diller, emphasizes the importance of creating work stations using materials that have already been used for instruction, the importance of modeling what to do in each station, and having the children demonstrate they understand what to do before they are released to work independently. She also stresses the importance of teaching the work stations one at a time and not overwhelming the children with too much stuff too soon. I like her reminders to take it slow!
Tomorrow I will be in a training for our new math curriculum adoption. I am really intrigued to see what it's all about. From what I have seen so far, it does not look at all developmentally appropriate for Kinder students, especially since the manipulatives were not purchased. There are pages in the workbook that have very small paper "manipulatives" that have to be cut out. As if I would waste precious time having my five-year-old students cut out these paper pieces. No thanks! We are supposed to give the program a try, but I suspect we will be making some adjustments as we go along. In any event, it is always good to receive training and become more familiar with a program instead of just complaining about it, so I will give it a go and hope for the best!
I also met up with my old first grade team for some appetizers later on and it was so nice to catch up with them and chit chat for awhile. I did get some sad news from them though...One of the students I taught during my first year had a mom that was sick with Cancer. She had brain Cancer and because of that she didn't make too many appearances at school. She called to check in often though, and she was one of the sweetest women. She was so nice and cared so much for her daughter. She had been battling Cancer for awhile and earlier this year she passed away. I hadn't thought about this family in awhile, but they were always so sweet and I was really upset to hear this news. I just can't imagine what they are all going through and how hard it must be for young kids to lose their mom. My current roomie actually taught this student last year when she was in 4th grade and she said it was just a horribly sad situation. The youngest child in the family was in my previous team member's first grade class this past year and she said she actually had two students' mothers pass away during the school year. Such a difficult thing to deal with, especially when the kids are at such a young, fragile age. Even though this didn't just happen super recently, I know the family is still mourning and my heart goes out to them.
After returning home from seeing those friends, I hit up the gym for a good sweat session on the bike and started reading the book I just received from amazon today.
I have only read the first two chapters, but so far I LOVE it. I am so excited to try out the ideas! Here is a little excerpt for you:
It's the end of summer. School begins in just a few weeks. At night as you sleep, you find yourself dreaming about your new classroom, how it will be different this year. You see yourself sitting at the guided reading table with five young students gathered around you ready to read a new book. As you introduce the new text, no one interrupts you. There is no "Teacher, I need help with this paper," "The headset at the listening station doesn't work," or "He hit me." You glance around the room and see the rest of the class working cheerfully and intently at reading and writing tasks that the children find purposeful and fully engaging. Two boys stand beside the overhead, which is projecting a poem onto a nearby screen. Together they read this poem, which had been introduced to the class during shared reading. Then the pair take a dry-erase marker and circle the rhyming words. They read the rhyming words together and use magnetic letters to make other words that rhyme with those from the poem. They copy their rhyming words onto strips of paper, which they put in their literacy work station folders. You smile and return your gaze to the small group you're sitting with. You observe which children are using the strategies you've been modeling. You guide their reading and prompt when necessary, watching your students in the process of becoming independent problem solvers. At the end of your guided reading group, students move to different work stations and the learning continues. Is this just a dream? It doesn't need to be...
I am looking forward to reading the rest and getting ideas for great literacy work stations that I can use in my room. I love how the author, Debbie Diller, emphasizes the importance of creating work stations using materials that have already been used for instruction, the importance of modeling what to do in each station, and having the children demonstrate they understand what to do before they are released to work independently. She also stresses the importance of teaching the work stations one at a time and not overwhelming the children with too much stuff too soon. I like her reminders to take it slow!
Tomorrow I will be in a training for our new math curriculum adoption. I am really intrigued to see what it's all about. From what I have seen so far, it does not look at all developmentally appropriate for Kinder students, especially since the manipulatives were not purchased. There are pages in the workbook that have very small paper "manipulatives" that have to be cut out. As if I would waste precious time having my five-year-old students cut out these paper pieces. No thanks! We are supposed to give the program a try, but I suspect we will be making some adjustments as we go along. In any event, it is always good to receive training and become more familiar with a program instead of just complaining about it, so I will give it a go and hope for the best!
Year Long Plan
Sorry, I don't have any more fun photos to post today. I took a day off from the classroom and went walking with some friends this morning and then went on a river float with my roomie and two other teachers from my previous school. It was a nice, relaxing day.
Tomorrow, I am heading to school bright and early to do some year long planning with my new team. I have never put together a year long plan before, how about you guys? Apparently it is required at my new school and must be submitted to the principal. I will definitely be relying on my teammates to guide me through this process. I can see why it is important to think in terms of the entire year, but at the same time, I think that so many things change as you go and I hope this plan is viewed with some flexibility in mind.
I received the schedule for our in-service week and we actually have a significant amount of time to work in our classrooms. I am excited to meet the staff, but I am mostly concerned with making sure I am ready for the kiddos. We have Back to School Night one week from tomorrow, so there is still a lot to be done. Once we get our year long plan, hopefully we will also do some planning for the first week. I already have some ideas in mind, but of course I am interested to know what the other teachers are thinking since they have done it all before.
I am still working my way (slowly but surely since I have been so busy) through The First Six Weeks of School. It seems like it will be a great source of guidance regarding what should be accomplished at first. It is easy to get swayed by the powers that be who insist on the immediate start of content instruction, so I always appreciate a good resource to back up my own personal beliefs about what should be happening in the classroom to make the children feel welcome, comfortable, and part of a community that needs to work together to learn together.
I know many teachers have already started back and I hope everything is going smoothly for you! The first week back is always exciting, yet incredibly exhausting at the same time!!
Tomorrow, I am heading to school bright and early to do some year long planning with my new team. I have never put together a year long plan before, how about you guys? Apparently it is required at my new school and must be submitted to the principal. I will definitely be relying on my teammates to guide me through this process. I can see why it is important to think in terms of the entire year, but at the same time, I think that so many things change as you go and I hope this plan is viewed with some flexibility in mind.
I received the schedule for our in-service week and we actually have a significant amount of time to work in our classrooms. I am excited to meet the staff, but I am mostly concerned with making sure I am ready for the kiddos. We have Back to School Night one week from tomorrow, so there is still a lot to be done. Once we get our year long plan, hopefully we will also do some planning for the first week. I already have some ideas in mind, but of course I am interested to know what the other teachers are thinking since they have done it all before.
I am still working my way (slowly but surely since I have been so busy) through The First Six Weeks of School. It seems like it will be a great source of guidance regarding what should be accomplished at first. It is easy to get swayed by the powers that be who insist on the immediate start of content instruction, so I always appreciate a good resource to back up my own personal beliefs about what should be happening in the classroom to make the children feel welcome, comfortable, and part of a community that needs to work together to learn together.
I know many teachers have already started back and I hope everything is going smoothly for you! The first week back is always exciting, yet incredibly exhausting at the same time!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)