Self Portraits!

Hey Kinder Friends,

Well, with my room under construction it's fair to say that it has been an interesting start to the school year to say the least. I feel like I have been on a long scavenger hunt that has lasted a lot longer than I had anticipated. When I finally find something I am looking for it almost feels like Christmas. On the flip side of the construction, I really have learned a valuable lesson. As I tried to ease my nerves about starting a new school year without having every little thing in place, I learned that I had to let go of the idea of perfection and enjoy the joy in each day. And I learned that we really need fewer things to survive in kindergarten than I had originally thought. The kids were just happy to be in kindergarten finally and they didn't seem to care at all that things in the environment were not perfect.

As Open House was approaching I wasn't sure if I would be back in my old room or if I would still be in the new room. No matter what I had to get things ready for parents to come and visit the classroom. I will admit I had no grand plan. It was hard to get motivated considering I still felt like nothing was perfect or even close. I came in each day and stared at the walls and I was afraid to look at the shelves because they were not so organized but in reality only I would have known that!

As I passed my old room each day I knew I needed a pick-me-up and quick. We decided on self portraits because it is such a traditional kindergarten must. And I knew these would do the trick to add some life and color to the bare walls. But this time was different. A teacher friend of mine suggested that I include a you tube video to help facilitate the lesson. I believe this really helped the children produce such great self portraits. Not only could they visually see the process, they could hear the artist explain as he drew. The results were amazing.

We watched the video and used scrap paper to practice drawing our self portraits. I had plenty of paper on hand and we used it. Some children were happy with their first portrait and others were not. We practiced drawing a new portrait for five days and ended those sessions evaluating each portrait as they were shared. I believe all of us had a better idea of how to approach our final portrait after practicing for five days and learning how each person created theirs. The final products were amazing to look at. Each portrait had personality. I could not wait to hang them on the walls for Open House!

After the self portraits were up it started to feel a little more like home. I was able to throw together a few decorations behind my desk just in time. And the morale to this story is that the kids were happy to just be in kindergarten and it didn't matter if things were perfect. The parents were snapping pictures of the self portraits and the conversations were lively. Nobody ever knew things were not perfect or how I would have done this or that had there been no construction. I learned to not sweat the small stuff and move on and enjoy the joy in everyday no matter if it's perfect or not!

Goals!

Hey Kinder Friends,

We spent a lot of time setting goals last year and talking about positive mindsets. So when we were put to the challenge of a team challenge and contest, I think it all kind of collided. I think the hardest part of a team challenge is definitely defining the focus and getting started on a plan. And all I could muster up were images in my head of vintage red trucks carrying Christmas trees. I guess I was wishing I was back on break and things were not so busy.

After setting goals for the spring semester with our classes and displaying them it kind of made the truck idea seem a little more tied in to a theme of positive mindset traffic signs and trucks on the move. Once we all agreed on the theme and the kids had set their goals we really were ready to getting moving in the right direction. And once we got started we really were on a roll.

We were so excited our theme even reached the main building. And we all noticed that having the positive signs displayed just about everywhere seemed to uplift us all at a very busy time of year. We had the display up for open house and several weeks after. It was hard to take it all down because it was our favorite theme the entire year.

What really made this challenge fun was that we got to work together on a project in a different way than usual. I quickly discovered that I work with very creative teachers. We paired up on different parts of the project. We laughed a lot.

We had true collaboration and I also learned that I work with a team of perfectionists! I swear I do not remember the hallway being so clean or cohesive except for the day the building was opened 17 years ago.

I think one of my favorite parts about the team collaboration was having a general theme but having our own personality shine through. It was a lot of fun coming up with individual motto's for our drivers license, license plates, quotes for above our doors and individual truck designs.

It was a lot of fun looking at each door as it was put up and noticing the personality of each teacher come out. We had a lot of great comments on the night of open house. Parents commented on the goals the children had set for themselves, how they could help them reach their goals and they got to know a little bit about us personally through the decorations.

Our theme kind of took off and PreK wanted to join us! And they set their own goals too.

Once everything was done we almost forgot it was a team challenge. Even if we didn't win we were happy with what we had accomplished together.

But it sure was sweet when it was announced that we did win and we got to leave early the Friday before spring break!

A Little Fall Fun!

Hey Kinder Friends,

Fall is in the air and we are beginning to feel it. So, naturally we were excited to get busy with a little bit of fall fun. As the leaves begin to turn colors we were busy talking about Spookley the Square Pumpkin. I knew my class had not heard the story before so I was excited to get out the book and dig right in. It gave us a good reason to talk about how we are alike and different and begin the discussion about bullying.

You can still get this book from Amazon and if you want to get it on video that is available too. I like reading the book because I think it delivers the message better than a lengthy video. The kids were super excited to make Spookley and we will be writing about Spookley this coming week.

When I saw these counters I knew I had to have them for my class. I thought they would be perfect for the counting buckets we had in class already. As soon as I got them out the kids wanted to use them right away. I found them at Hobby Lobby and bought three bags but I really wish I had bought four!

We had been talking a lot about counting, counting strategies and organizing our count. These I knew would be perfect for practicing that skill. I knew we needed to review that before moving on to greater numbers. Once we were working with them we discovered that these could also be used for sorting by size, shape and color. And now I am wishing I had about five bags instead of three! As the children were counting the fall objects with the buckets, I was able to notice the different counting methods my class uses. Some children count and move the objects as they count. Some put everything in a row and then count. Some use the bucket and empty it and count as each one goes in. And a few had no method at all. These were perfect for a discussion about ways to count. As they went off to independent work they asked if they could use them on counting mats. Take it from me you will want more than three bags because three was not enough for our counting mats. We added apple counters and the problem was solved. But I still want...more!

Weather Wednesday!

Hey Kinder Friends,

So much fun talking about the weather as the weather is changing. It is always a topic we discuss as we observe the daily weather and look forward to spending time outdoors. Considering we have Weather Wednesday each week when we record our observations and we discuss and collect weather data daily you can imagine it is tough to keep the discussion fresh and ongoing at times.

We finally had a few days with some wind so we decided to shape our discussion around that. According to our standards our children are supposed to collect information using tools such as wind socks. So we decided to look up wind socks before making our own. Just a simple search and we were able to find lots of examples to look at.

Our wind socks were pretty simple and we decided on a weather theme. Just construction paper and some streamers and a little bit of glue and we had some pretty cute wind socks to hang around! For more Science fun join me here! Happy Investigating.

Pie Graphs!

Hey Kinder Friends,

I was excited to start the week knowing that I would be introducing pie graphs to my class. Since most of my class did not attend prek last year I was equally excited to tie these lessons to some kinder favorite books. The best part probably was that not very many children had actually heard of the books that we would be reading.

We started the week by reading about pie graphs and learning how they are used. And considering it was the beginning of the year we started off with pie graphs with small numbers which made it simple to understand. At the end of the week I wanted the children to understand that we could use a pie graph to gather information and draw conclusions from graphs. The small numbers kept this pretty simple.

I picked and old favorite to start off our pie graph fun. For the first time out the children did very good and asked a lot of questions. I had to help a lot at first as we discussed the pie graphs which I had expected. By day three they were well on their way to working to complete the pie chart on their own and they had a lot more to add to our discussion as we discussed our pie graphs.

Each day of the week the children really looked forward to the math book. Funny thing is that the books are just classic favorites that any teacher has on hand and paired with a math focus lesson on pie charts. It is fun to read to a class that hasn't heard even the most popular children's books. After 17 years I have not had that experience before. I usually hear how they have read every book I pick up in prek!

I guess it is safe to say throughout the week I read every Pete book I could get my hands on and they loved every one of them. We sang a lot too! Math was so much fun this week and we learned about pie graphs and that we could draw conclusions from them and answer questions. I know I will look forward to working on more pie graphs with larger numbers in the future.

Giddy For Graphs!

Flexible Grouping!

Hey Kinder Friends,
Flexible grouping has been on my mind since late last year. In the spring I was able to try several group strategies with my easy going class. I liked the idea and I learned it was not only engaging but highly motivational for my students. I was even able to branch out and try flexible grouping with a bilingual class and the results were the same...we loved it. We used flexible grouping mostly in math and science last year.

But this year I wanted to use this grouping strategy a little more and try some new things. I knew from experience that when I started in the spring last year I had already established many things in the classroom that made trying different strategies easy. Since I wanted to try flexible grouping this year at the beginning of the year I wanted something that would be simple to understand and easy to use. As I was on an internet search I came across these.

I knew when I found these that these would be the perfect start to my flexible grouping because they are simple to use. These are from Learning Resources. I bought them on Amazon cheaper than buying them direct and I paid no shipping since I am a prime member. I ordered them late on a Friday after ten days in school because I was thinking my class was ready to give it a try. I am excited that I have them in my hands on Sunday ready to take into the classroom this week and put them to work. I love that about Amazon Prime.
So, how am I going to use them?
In the beginning of the year the children can get familiar with them by selecting a stick and having them group themselves together and answer simple questions or even introduce themselves to each other. These can be used as a grouping tool for those first day ice breakers and you could establish flexible groupings from the first day of school...I love that!

The pencils can be grouped in a few simple ways. Cooperative groups can be grouped together by color, shape or number. It is simple and I especially love that at the beginning of the year. You can determine how the groups will be grouped or you can also allow the class to determine the grouping.

These pencils are made of think plastic and are very durable. These will last a long time and will survive Kindergarten. You will be able to use these again next year for sure. Additionally, you could use these if you happen to change grade levels. They could be used as call sticks for random calling but you would need to put a sticker on them and then write the name of the student. The sticker could be peeled off at the end of the year. I like keeping them as is and not marking them because I know I will be able to use these for years to come!

Handwriting!

Hey Kinder Friends,

As the school year approaches, I am starting to think about the essential items that I need to have on hand in order to be prepared for the year. Over the years I have noticed that the children that come to me need a lot of help in the area of handwriting. In the past, I have been able to get by with simple lessons and materials but over the last few years I have been faced with some serious handwriting challenges. For the past several years I have noticed a huge increase in the children that either wear or need glasses. Last year one third of my class either wore them or needed to wear them and didn't. In addition to that, I have also noticed that the children entering my classroom either cannot write yet or very little and if they do write their letter formation is poor. And I also know we have no formal curriculum for handwriting. Furthermore, this year I am faced with another challenge. Last year our prek at my school was cut and the children were sent to another school. The problem is many of the parents decided to keep their children home instead. So this year my classroom will more likely be filled with children who may not have had the benefit of a prek teacher or program.

Letter Formation Slide Show

Based on the needs of my class last year I needed several different things when considering each lesson. Some children needed large print, some needed very focused and repeated instruction and some just needed a little practice.

With the slide show I was able to focus on a particular letter each day or week and revisit a particular letter as needed. I was able to save the original slide show, delete the slides I did not need that week and keep the ones I would be working on. We focused on letter formation for about ten minutes per day and it was needed. It did not take long for the kids to catch on. The blue dot in each slide shows the proper path of motion for each letter. When I made my personal slide shows I made 3 copies of each slide so we could see the path of motion 3 times.

Highlight and Write

My Handwriting Book

Color and Write Beginning Sounds

Handwriting Practice

After the slide show focus lesson we all had plenty of opportunities to practice what we learned. We had fun with it. We went from weak handwriting to strong handwriting. I had to eventually create some large print handwriting pages for a few of my students who struggled.

Providing the larger format for practice really helped my strugglers. These would also be great in plastic sleeves with dry erase because they are large enough for the width of the marker. These pages can be found in the Handwriting Practice above.

I almost forgot my favorite part... One of my favorite teaching tools is my presentation pointer. I was able to walk around the room with it in my hand advancing the slides and pointing where needed from anywhere in the room. I found this on Amazon and would not want to start the year without it! So with a few basic tools on hand I feel ready to conquer and handwriting challenges I face and I know we will have fun doing it!

The Daily Schedule!

Hey Kinder Friends,
We are so close to the first day of school it is time to talk about the daily schedule. It is amazing how we fit it all in and get it all done all in a day and with a class full of students. Most of my career I  had flexibility in my schedule and I loved that. For the last few years I have had a mandated schedule but flexibility within each block...thank goodness. No matter how you look at it, it has to get accomplished so the way I look at it now is totally different than in the beginning of the mandate.
The Literacy Workshop
I am fortunate to have the flexibility to move the components around within the workshop and if I need a little more time one day for something I can use it. Even knowing that, I do my best to honor the amounts of time for each piece and make decisions based on the needs of the children I teach.
It is a balancing act...
What are the components of the Literacy Workshop?
Reading
Writing

Integrated Social Studies

Breaking it down!

Independent Workstations 10

Read Aloud 10

Word Study 10 

Writing Demonstration 10

Independent Writing 20

Reading Demonstration 10

Guided Reading/Workstations 40

Shared Reading 10

Enrichment/RTI 30

So much needs to be accomplished in 150 minutes!

The Math Workshop

One of the biggest questions I hear and ask other teachers about is the structure of the math workshop. We all want to know what is going on in this or that classroom so we can tweak and modify our own workshop and make it better. I never really tire of talking about the math workshop. Over the years I have had a standard 90 minutes of math. The only difference in the last few years is that now that 90 minutes is not broken up by specials or any other event. My 90 minutes is continuous. No matter if I have 90 continuous minutes of math or if it is broken into two parts, I could find and discuss the pros and cons of both. The fact of the matter is that I have 90 minutes of continuous math that consume my math block. Knowing the nature of a five year old and knowing my time allotment, I had to make it work so that we are continuously moving through the 90 minutes and accomplishing everything. I will be the first to admit 90 minutes at the beginning of kindergarten is challenging to say the least. It feels like that block will never end and within a few weeks I always find myself begging for more.  

What are the components of the Math Workshop?

In my math workshop I include:

Calendar Time

Focus Lesson

Guided Practice

Independent Practice

Small Group Instruction

RTI

Number Talks

Notebooking

Breaking it down!
I follow this format each day of the week except for my computer lab day. Having the lab day break up the week really helps me because it is just once a week and we look forward to it. So the rest of the week we follow the breakdown.
Calendar 5-10
Focus Lesson 5-10
Guided Practice 10
Independent Practice and Focused Small Group 20
Transition 10
Independent Practice and RTI 20
Number Talks 10 

The calendar time is quick and easy. The focus lesson is our current content. Guided practice is simply guided instruction and modeling. Independent practice is when children practice what has already been taught while I work in a small group. I usually have a transition planned that I am excited about because...I don't really like stopping! I need it for time management. In the beginning I use surveys and questions. We have another round of independent practice and RTI. And finally we end with Number Talks.

I end with Number Talks because everything is cleaned up and it signals the end of the workshop. Number Talks is one of my favorite components so leaving it to the end is motivational to...me!

The Science Workshop
One of the biggest changes over the last couple of years has been in the area of science. We used to have a flexible schedule rather than a mandated schedule. Before the mandated schedule science could be integrated into other subjects and the actual time was flexible. It was a freedom I enjoyed for well over a decade. I always had science embedded into my day before but it was flexible and if I needed a little more time for something I had it. So naturally I was not thrilled when we were on a mandated schedule and science was limited to 30 minutes at best and at the end of the day. Honestly I struggled and struggled a lot finding solutions that covered the standards and left enough time for hands-on exploration. Sometimes what I normally would do in one session, I had to spread over a couple of days. Last year smack in the middle of the year, our actual school day was increased 9 minutes and that was added to science. I made adjustments and moved on. This year I now have an hour! In response to the added time, I now envision a science structure that will actually work with enough time for hands-on learning!
What are the components of the Science Workshop?
Focus Lesson 10
Guided Practice 5
Independent Practice/Small Groups 30
Notebooking 15

Kindergarten Daily Schedule
8:20 Arrival
8:20-8:30 Independent Workstations
8:30-8:40 Read Aloud
8:40-8:50 Word Study
8:50-9:00 Writing Demonstration
9:00-9:20 Independent Writing
9:20-9:30 Reading Demonstration
9:30-10:10 Guided Reading/Workstations
10:10-10:20 Shared Reading
10:20-10:50 Enrichment/RTI
10:50-11:20 Lunch
11:20-11:40 Recess
11:50-12:00 Calendar Time
12:00-12:10 Math Focus Lesson
12:10-12:20 Math Guided Practice
12:20-12:40 Math Independent Practice and Focused Small Group
12:40-12:50 Transition
12:50-1:10 Math Independent Practice/RTI
1:10-1:20 Number Talks
1:25-2:35 Specials
2:35- 2:45 Science Focus Lesson
2:45-2:50 Science Guided Practice
2:50-3:20 Science Independent Practice
3:20-3:35 Notebooking
Social Studies is embedded into Language Arts
Check back with me to learn more about each component of our day!