note to self

Even though it's exciting to get my classroom all set up, which includes putting books and games out on the shelves instead of keeping them stored away in cabinets, tonight I made a few mental notes to remember next year when our Kindergarten supply drop night comes around.

do not leave out your bells-it annoys you when kids/their siblings ring them repeatedly while you try to remain calm and collected while meeting parents

do not put books on the shelves because it annoys you when kids/their siblings take said books off the shelves and leave them elsewhere in the room

do not leave your teacher pointer out on any surface that a child can reach because it annoys you when they pick it up and start playing with it

do not expect parents to keep their children under control because, even though they probably aren't allowed to at home, it seems that running around your classroom and touching everything is acceptable

do not expect parents to clean up after their children who take things off shelves, drop books on the floor, or move things from their proper spots, or pull things down from the walls

::sigh::

I like it so much better when all the parents leave and I can teach the kids what I expect of them in my classroom.

That being said, I have some cuties and I  am pretty sure I will have several criers on the first day. There is one boy in particular that I know is going to keep me laughing all year. He was too funny tonight and told me he can't make it on the first day...

speaking up

There have been a few times recently when I have had to force myself to speak up about something even though I felt pretty nervous/uncomfortable doing so. I don't want to go into specifics because even though I try to keep my "true identity" somewhat low profile on this blog, I know that it's always possible for people I know to come across it and I would never want to write about something personal and then have someone involved come across it and get upset. I don't even intend to use my blog as a place to complain or talk about people I work with, so I will continue to process that stuff in a different way rather than writing about it here.

But even without sharing the details of how/why/when I felt the need to speak up, I think just that small piece is worth talking about. I really really really dislike confrontation and I would consider myself someone who would rather bend or sacrifice to my own detriment rather than offend someone or come off as rude/mean. Maybe it's because I am so sensitive myself, but I just really have a hard time with the thought of pissing someone off or being thought of as argumentative. I want to be liked. I want to be easy going. I want to get along with everyone.

But I am coming to realize that speaking up, not necessarily defending myself, but just stating how I am actually feeling rather than burying that in order to "go with the flow" is really important. Yet, it is one of the most difficult things for me. It reminds me of when I was younger and I had a certain friend that would always say "I don't care." If I asked what she wanted to eat, the answer was I don't care. If I asked what she wanted to drink, the answer was I don't care. If I asked what she wanted to do, the answer was I don't care....Of course you care! Why wouldn't you care. Having an opinion is not a bad thing and sometime I think I forget that. I let my opinions take a backseat to those of others just so I don't rock the boat. I feel like I would rather bend to someone else's preference rather than cause a fight or confrontation. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around speaking up in a way that doesn't come across as rude or overly stubborn.

So in these few instances recently where I finally spoke up, it really required getting up the nerve. I literally rehearsed what I thought I would say because I wanted to make sure I came across as casual and not demanding. I wanted to keep it light and didn't want to create situations where relationships would become awkward. Yet, for all my worrying, speaking up ended up being okay. I was able to express what I wanted/what I needed and neither of the people on the other end were offended or had a problem with what I said. I still think this is a skill that I truly need to work on. I don't know if it is a confidence issue or something else, but for me, speaking up requires a lot of guts and preparation.

Hopefully, with practice, I will find it easier to express my opinions regardless of how it is received on the other end. I think realizing that you can't be liked by everyone and you can't always please everyone is a lesson that I am continuing to learn. Truly, all those cupcake birthday incidents last year were the catalyst to be able to stand my ground on something....

How do you go about letting someone know when you want something to change? 

Are you comfortable with confrontation?

classroom stuff

I dropped Baby Sneaker at daycare this morning (today was her second day) and headed down to my school to spend some time getting things in order. Since I am sharing my room this year, I have all this guilt about doing anything without the permission/presence of my new "roommate," yet I always go in before we officially go back to get the furniture arranged and take care of some organizing things. Especially since I will only have half of the prep time this year during in service, I want to get the show on the road. Although I haven't been able to get in touch with the teacher who will be sharing my space, I decided to go ahead and do a few things. We can always make changes next week to anything she objects to/hates/can't live with. 

As always, I arranged the furniture differently this year because let's face it, there is always a better way to do things. I am hopeful that my new roomie likes what I've done because I like it and would love to keep it the way it is. I wouldn't have done anything without her, but I have a focus group in my classroom on Friday so I need places for people to sit and I didn't want to invite participants to a room where all the furniture is stacked up and everything is in piles. So I did the basic room arrangement and like I said, we can always change it. 

Here is a sneak peak of what it looks like so far...

 I moved my desk from being perpendicular to the window to being perpendicular to the wall because the electrical outlet is along the wall, so the desk should be too...I like how the rocking chair is now up against the desk and I have direct access to my phone now. Also, there will no longer be wires across the floor that kids trip on every time we have a fire drill. 

Safety first!

 I moved my rainbow train from below my whiteboard to the top of the math wall. I plan to label the cars with die cut color words and then add more to that wall including our number parade and 120 chart. I also put a bookshelf there to house all of our math manipulatives.  

 I realized today that my whiteboard is centered in the room, but off center in terms of the space where the student tables are. I would have an easier time arranging them if the white board was positioned 1.5 feet to the left. But, I don't think it's easy to move, so I just tried my best to put the tables in locations where kids can see the board. 

All the colored storage bins will be where the kiddos keep their morning work folders and their iPads. Each bin will have the child's name and photo on it and they will get a special "parking spot" for their personal bin. All of these shelves have shelf space on both sides so I am thinking we can each take a side. That way we can have designated spaces for our stuff and our students will know what items they can use. I am hoping to put some cute curtains over the two shelves to the right so that when I am not there, I can have my personal materials covered up. I think we will share some things, but I also think some things are items I purchased myself that I want to use just with my students. 

I had to pick Baby Sneaker up at noon, so I didn't get everything on my list done. I think I will go back tomorrow and keep plugging away. 

I want it!

Ok guys, I have another cool thing that I learned about from Heidi of Heidi's Songs. She just ROCKS. I am a fan of hers on facebook and several times a day she posts links to great things she has come across. I LOVE this one and I plan to get it as soon as I have the chance to get to Lakeshore.

Check it out...

Here is the direct link to the Lakeshore page.

To start off, in a whole group, the kids take turns taking one little item out of the mystery box. They say what it is and then put the item on the letter that corresponds to the first sound. Basically the purpose of using whole group would be just to familiarize the kiddos with how to do it. Also, that way they get practice identifying all the little trinkets, naming them, and hearing the first sound. 

Then, it can become a small group center or activity for choice time. 

I think this will be very popular in my room this year. Anything with a MYSTERY box is very exciting for little people! 

So much fun!

inspired

I just want to share that I am so inspired by the interviews that I am doing for my dissertation study. I am hearing teachers talk about how they connect with families and how they modify their instruction to better meet the needs of, and connect to, culturally and linguistically diverse students.  I am hearing some great ideas and it makes me really eager to meet my new group of kiddos in a few short weeks and to begin the process of getting to know them and their families. 

I am also excited about two new books I am going to attempt to read before school starts...

 and 

The first one is a new publication from the International Reading Association and I was able to get a free copy for reviewing it here on my blog. Stay tuned for that (hopefully soon). I read just a few pages the other day while I was eating lunch and it's about critical literacy and encouraging critical thinking in children in grades K-6. I feel like "critical thinking" is a huge buzzword/phrase in the common core state standards and I am definitely very interested to learn some strategies for making it part of my Kindergarten classroom. 

The second book has been talked about on lots of blogs this summer as it was the subject of a book study among many bloggers. I am really excited to read it and find some good ideas that are applicable for our iPad grant this year. I'm not sure if there even is a Kindle version, but I got a hard copy so I can share it with my grant team members like Mrs. Bee! 

Little Miss Baby Sneaker is still napping so I think I am going to head down to the kitchen table with my Diet Coke and do some reading until she wakes up. 

What have you read this summer?

Any good professional development books that you would recommend? 

Revamp

Today I started my Literacy Bag revamping project. Since I will now only have one class, I decided to take the bags that I have (currently two sets with about 12 bags in each) and create a new and improved set. I purchased all new bags from Michael's and was disappointed to find that they are now more expensive and cost 2.99 each instead of 2.00. I think in the past I got them on sale at the end of the summer, but since I needed as many as I could find, I wanted to make sure to go before they went on clearance. I purchased 13 new bags and already had a few extras from last year, so I am hoping to make a new set of at least 15 or 16 bags. Ideally, I would have more, but it's expensive to put them together and I will no longer get a double stipend from our PSO, so I have to manage my money more carefully this year. 

This morning I spent some time decorating the new bags...

That was the easy part because I like coloring and drawing.

The more challenging part is making sure each bag has a good selection of 3-5 books related to the bag's theme and an educational activity that kids can do at home with their parents. 

With a really nice donation from DonorsChoose, I was able to create these bags two years ago. I got lots of great books on topics that Kinders are interested in and added some fun games/activities I purchased from Lakeshore. The problem is, over time, many things have gotten lost/damaged/dirty. It's really hard to send things home and have them come back fully in tact. I include an itemized list in each bag that lists all the book titles and all of the items related to the games with specific number counts such as 5 blue letter game pieces, 5 red letter game pieces etc. I indicate in the directions that parents should check the items in the bags against the list before using the bag so that if anything is missing I can check with the family who had the bag the previous week. I also have a parent helper go through all the bags each week to check for missing items. That way, if something is missing, I send home a note saying what was not returned or I send home a note if the entire bag was not returned. I have had pretty good luck with families finding/returning items after notes go home, but there are always instances when things just go missing and don't turn up/don't come back. That is the really frustrating part because then the itemized list needs to be changed so that other families know what items were already missing...

So now that the bags have been in use for 2 years, I need to go back and spruce them up. I will have to go back to my inventory lists and see what items are not accounted for, then try to buy new games so they are complete or just change the list to account for the items I no longer have. 

I always start out wanting to be really strict about these bags, with ideas such as not sending anymore home once a family loses an item or fails to return bags on time more than two times. Yet, ultimately I created these bags so that kids have books and activities at home. It seems counter productive to be punitive things get lost in the process of families using them. On the other hand though, these bags probably average about $20 per bag, maybe more if you add up the cost of the books, the bag itself, the games etc. I hate it when things get lost...especially when books get lost or damaged. One thing I feel the need to be very clear about is that these bags should not be used by the students without parent supervision/involvement and younger siblings should not be permitted to play with the books and materials because I think that is the source of how many things get lost/torn. I always struggle with how to word the letter I send home inviting parents to participate in the literacy bags. I don't want to sound threatening, yet I want to really emphasize that the bags and materials need to be taken care of. 

Some of the things I'd like to say are....

Please don't eat/drink while using them so the bag is returned sticky from a spill or with crumbs inside

Please don't let your child take the bag to his her room and dump everything out so that things get lost under the bed

Please don't let your child dump the bag out in the car

Please don't bring the bag on a weekend trip and leave it at your hotel

Please don't let your toddler chew on a book and tear the cover off

Please don't send the bag back with 2 of the 4 books and say you can't find the rest

I think this year I am going to hold off on sending home the note about these bags until October. Typically I talk about them at Back to School night and give the letter/permission slip then, but I think parents get too much information and the rules about the bags are not entirely absorbed. Maybe if I wait until later in the school year, parents will take more time to read over the information. Some parents are SO cautious and really concerned, yet I get the sense others don't use the bag with their child and then don't seem to care too much/have any idea when things are missing...

I still have a lot of work to do to make these bags ready to go, but I am happy I at least got them decorated. There are still a few more at school, so I will probably have to get some more new bags at Michaels so I can make sure each bag is brand new and redone. I think while I have them at home I will also go through the books and see if I need to order any new books or if I can find any better books to go in them. 

I am thinking maybe I should do a Pete the Cat bag or a Knuffle Bunny bag, yet those are stories that I really enjoy introducing the kids to and seeing their reactions when they hear them for the first time. 

Have you ever used Literacy Bags?

How do you handle parents who aren't responsible?

teacher fashion

I love love love how stores like J.Crew and Ann Taylor Loft give a teacher discount. ATL is 20% and J.Crew is 15%. I am all about savings and when shopping in those stores, full price items can be quite spendy.

The thing is though, although it is great to get a discount, some of their items are just not teacher friendly or at least not Kindergarten teacher friendly.

Take this adorable skirt for example....

(image from ATL website)

I love this look, yet I just can't imagine how criss cross applesauce would work out in this getup. Let's face it pencil skirts and Kindergarten are not a match made in heaven!

I wish that my teachery outfits could consist of looks like this

or this

 (images from J.Crew website)

complete with really cute heels to boot

but, alas, I cannot spend my teacher money on super skinny skirts, dry clean only items, pointy toed and spiky heels, or clothes that only look good when neatly pressed...

I guess I will have to stick with fun accessories like this bubble necklace which I am drooling over from J.Crew. Although, I have hit many a kid in the head with my long swinging necklaces...

(image from J.Crew website)

Both stores definitely offer enough items that are teacher friendly and they also have great sales on top of which the teacher discount can be applied!!! But sometimes I still wish I could dress like an über fancy teacher.

What do you wear to work? 

What are your favorite stores for purchasing work clothes?

What is your favorite teacher discount?

feeling crafty?

It's usually this time of year that I start perusing the internet to find cool ideas that I can steal borrow for my classroom in order to make the upcoming school year new and improved and the best year ever. I already think this year is going to rock because 1. I only have ONE class and will be working part time and 2. We are getting iPads for all our kiddos...but, I'm still on the lookout for other ways I can spice up the classroom and my instruction so that teaching Kindergarten continues to be a blast. 

So, I revived my twitter page in order to read some of the educational tweets posted by educators I follow and I started tuning in a bit more to the educational posts on facebook by none other than Heidi of HeidiSongs. She is the amazingly talented woman who created all the sight word songs that I love and the new CD full of classroom management songs that I am oh so excited to put to use this fall. Several posts from HeidiSongs popped up yesterday on FB and one of them linked to this site and a post about creative ideas for classroom set up. My favorite one involved this...

 what's that you ask?

well, it just so happens to be a rain gutter

creatively used to become these...

rain gutter book shelves?

Yes please!!

I have this one old display book shelf in my classroom and no matter where I put it, it's in the way. It sits against the wall but comes out on a diagonal and the shelves for books just aren't the right size, so many books get hidden in the effort to put them on display. I know those kinds of shelves are expensive, but I don't think it's the most attractive thing and it's frustrating that it doesn't really do a nice job of displaying books which is what it is meant to do...

I started googling rain gutter bookshelves and there are lots of sites with "how to" directions. It seems easy enough to do...if I can enlist the help of Mr. Sneaker. I am not really sure if this is just one of those cool ideas that will never come to fruition or if I can really make this happen in my classroom, but I think they are really cool and I want I want I want!!! Also, these shelves seem pretty compact and therefore flexible enough to put in various places around the room. Math books displayed on the math wall? Yes please! Books related to our sound of the week on the phonics wall? That would be terrific! A short shelf near our morning greeting area to display the daily read aloud?! I am getting really exciiiiited....

So props to Heidi for turning me on to this cool idea!!

I also have been thinking about trying to make some type of curtains that I can put on my bookshelves that could cover games and activities when they are not in use. I am also thinking curtains have the potential to be helpful for the classroom sharing situation I am in because if there are any materials I don't want the other students using, the curtains could function to block out that shelf. I am still not sure what we will and will not share with each other and each other's students, but I am thinking it might be nice to maintain some stuff for my own class. In the process of searching for a good photo of what I am hoping to make I came across this awesome site. Classroom DIY!? I am in love! Baby Sneaker just woke up, but I have a date with that site later today because I bet it has some great ideas to offer. 

What back to school ideas have you all excited?!

speaking of alphabets

Yesterday I posted about my idea for personal alphabets so I had alphabet on the mind and today, while shopping, I found something that every Kinder teacher should have...

I didn't even realize until after I bought it and was heading out that the letter u is missing. There was a little description about the artist and the design is called "Missing U." 

::doh::

I'll just turn that little snaffoo into a teachable moment and ask my kiddos to look and tell me which  letter is missing. 

So, if you want one for yourself...head on over to GAP and pick one up!

A T-shirt is a bit more casual than I wear to teach, but I thought this would be super cute under a nice blazer...and cute shoes of course ;0)

Now, I have to go find a super cute blazer...

Personal Alphabets

Every year I send home a sheet with every letter of the alphabet with a line next to it asking families to write one word for each letter that is important their child or their family. I ask them to complete the alphabet and send it back in so that each week when we focus on a letter, I can use examples from their lives that start with our letter of the week. I send a note explaining why I am asking them to do this and I fill in my own alphabet as a way for them to get to know me as well. I really enjoy doing my own alphabet because I find that it changes every year. If you're interested in the template I created email me at sneakerteacher26@googlemail.com and I will be happy to email you the letter and template. I have both a Spanish and English version (disclaimer: my writing in Spanish may not be perfect!!).

Here is my alphabet for this year

A-adidas (where Mr. Sneaker works)
B-baking (I heart baking cookies)
C-Connecticut (where I grew up)
D-dissertation (I am working on mine)
E-español (I speak Spanish)
F-frogs (I am terrified of them!)
G-Grace (my sweet baby girl)
H-Hawaii (I would love to vacation there)
I-iPads (We have one for every student in Kinder this year)
J- John (Mr. Sneaker)
K-Kindle (I love reading)
L-lattes (my favorite coffee drink)
M-mom (I love being a mama)
N-nieces (I have three)
O-Oregon (I moved here in 2005)
P-pictures (I take tons of Baby Sneaker)
Q-quiet (I can be shy at times)
R-running (I ran a half marathon in 2010)
S-sushi (yum! My favorite!)
T-traveling (I lived in Germany for a year)
U-Up (I love that movie)
V-Villanova (where I went to college)
W-Wright (my maiden name)
X-eXcellent (the kind of teacher I am...hehe)
Y-yellow (my favorite color when I was in Kindergarten)
Z-Zumba (I love to dance)

I don't necessarily expect the families to give details about their words like I did, but that would be great. These personal alphabets are a great way to learn a little bit more about my students and to get them engaged with our letter of the week. I will take the stack of alphabets and read each child's name along with their word and sometimes ask them a question about it if I need clarification. They enjoy hearing their own words because they often don't remember what is on their sheet and they get a kick out of hearing me say names of family members, pets, their favorite foods, places they go etc.