New School Year 2013-14

The 2013-14 school year has officially begun!  It is quite a difference from last year.  I went from having 6 students last year to 9 this year.  I must confess that I really like a large number of students.  I know, most people think I'm totally nuts when I say that but to me there is so much less fussing with a large class.  As always, I held my breath the first day with my students.  Most of them already knew me because I had their brother/sister in my classroom or they had seen me at school last year.  A few were new to our school so I prepared for the worst.  I pulled out all the "extra" fun items from last year, I guess I was going for the "WOW" factor and it must have worked because we had NO tears!!! HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY!!!!!!  All in all my classroom is pretty much the same as last year.  Here are a few pictures.

This is my new birthday wall.

When the child has a birthday

we will add another candle to their cupcake.

This is our "Art Gallery".

We hang up very special pieces of art.

A close-up of our "Art Gallery" sign.

I love the lettering! 

My sweet son and his sweet bride-to-be gave me a Cricut Imagine last year

and boy have I used it!

I'm extremely lucky because my classroom is so large.  We have plenty of space to spread out.  Heck, I'm not lucky, I'm blessed.  I work with the most amazing people everyday.  I never say, "I've got to go to work", I say "I'm going to school".  Work is something you DO, school is something I WANT to do.  Okay, okay enough of that mushy stuff, let's see what we did last week!

We really don't have a theme or set curriculum for the first week.  We call it our "Getting to Know You" week.  We spent the first day taking pictures and talking, mostly talking.  I always try and pull out some paint the first day, because well, everyone loves to paint!  Of course we made an apple, but ours was a little different.  As one child said, "it looks like someone ate it already!".  It made me giggle.

 

I hope you can tell, we used our finger prints for the seeds!

On Thursday, we made a giant apple tree!  Again, we used our precious fingers for the apples.

Here is the special little poem at the bottom of the page.

Friday was a very special day!  It was our first "official" Fabulous Fun Friday and we had so much fun!!!  We made our very special "Friendship Pudding".  Now, if you have never made Friendship Pudding you are really missing out on some fun.  All you need is a couple of packages of instant pudding, milk and an empty container with a lid.  This year we used chocolate pudding and an empty Maxwell House Coffee tin.  I covered the tin with some red (our color for next week) construction paper and we added the pudding mix and milk.  Everyone took turns shaking up our concoction.  As we practiced sharing we also practice learning our names.  It was so much fun, by the end of the day we were all friends. 

 

 

While the pudding was setting up in the refrigerator we worked a little more on our sharing.  We covered our big kitchen table with butcher paper and everyone got big cups of paint.  I was careful not to give anyone their "favorite" color.  There was several very sad faces, but I had a plan.  Everyone got busy painting their masterpieces and then the fun began.  We started swapping the paint!!!  Next thing you know, everyone was calling out their friend's name asking if they would swap paint.  It was so much fun!  Here is our masterpiece! 

Of course the grand finale of our day was eating our WONDERFUL Friendship Pudding.  It was a great first week! 

Let's Get This Year Started!

Well, it has been an interesting two weeks to say the least.  First, I find out that I only have 6 students in my class this year.  SIX!  Then, one doesn't actually bother to show up and one is not potty-trained (a must to be in my class).  Hmmmm . . . . now I am down to 4!  Luckily another student was moved into my class so now I am up to the big number 5.  SERIOUSLY!?!?  I had more than this during the "stomach-bug epidemic of Spring 2005!  I'm still adjusting to the small number and hoping that we will have a few more students join us during the year.  Seriously, it was a great first week.  I didn't have any criers and only a few bathroom issues, so all in all, things are going well.  One of the popular centers in my class is the "Dress-up" box.  To be honest, I'm not sure where half of the things in there came from and frankly, my students don't care.  They just love to rummage through it and pick out their "outfit of the day".  One of my new students absolutely loves to wear an old crochet vest (I think it is from my closet from the 1980's - don't judge!).  She pairs it with a different hat each day and sits down with a book.  I think she is adorable!

We really don't focus on our alphabet of our themes until after Labor Day so let me share with you our first real week of school.  We call it "All About Me" and we talk about the color RED, the number 1 and circles.  Our busy week started with a fun activity to help us learn our names.  I wrote everyone's name on a large piece of black construction paper.

Next, everyone added little pieces of torn (or cut) tissue paper to each of the letters of their name.

I loved watching each child as they carefully picked out "their favorite colors".  I think they all did a great job.

We also talked about the letter "A" by making our very own apple trees!  We all decided to make our apple trees BIG, maybe a bit too big because they didn't fit onto our paper, but we didn't mind.

The "apples" on our trees are actually our fingerprints.  I let the children use their fingers to stamp a piece of paper and then I punched them out with my handy-dandy little circle punch.  It was fun to watch everyone add their "apples" to their trees and talk about how we made them.

Our next "A" activity got a little bit out of hand, but then again, the best things usually do!  I cut out some very large letter "A"s and laid them in an old cardboard box (a tiny piece of double stick tape helps hold it down).

We talked about some very pretty acorns that came from my yard.  (A little hint - put the acorns in a plastic bag and sit them in your freezer for 24 hours.  This will kill any unwanted pest that may be living and eating inside the acorns.  Thanks to my friend Tiffany for that hint.).

 Next, we added the acorns to some RED paint.

Here comes the messy part!  We dumped the acorns into the box with our letter "A" and shook, shook, shook!

The end results were very pretty.  I think I added a little too much paint so most of the "A"s were covered.  But, they all had a very nice texture from the acorns.  COOOOOLLLLLL!

No "All About Me" week would be complete without making our little "ME" dolls.  Everyone had such a fun time dressing up their people.

We used some old material for the girls dresses and some left-over scrapbooking paper for the boys.  If you look closely you will notice the some of the boy's pants looks like blue jeans.  Oh, one more very important thing . . . the hair was cut by the students themselves!  Pretty good job, don't you think???????

A really fun "A" word is alligator.  We made our own alligators out of our handprints!

The children added their own grass at the bottom with some wonderful dot paint and the sun is their palm print.

Our Friday has become a little more hectic because we have added a Spanish class first thing in the morning.  This week we kept things a little calm by doing a little name art project.  We used little foam stick-on letters and wrote our names.  Next, we added our fingerprints (or in some cases, our handprints) to add some colors.

Towards the end of last year I added our "Password of the Day".

(This is a little misleading because right now we keep the same password all week).  The children will tell me our password whenever we leave or enter our room.  I also have been wearing it around my neck.  I made a necklace out of our name badge and now I ask the children what they word is all during the day.  We are keeping our words very simple.  For the next few weeks we will be using a color for our word.  I love to see everyone's faces when I say "congratulations, you just read a word!   THEY GET SO EXCITED!

Next week is "C" week and we will be talking about our pets.  Thanks for visiting and I hope you check with us again soon.

New School Year 2012-13!

First, I must say how very sorry I am that I have not posted over the summer.  Heck, I haven't had a chance to post since APRIL!  OH, I'M SO SORRY!  It seems that I underestimated the amount of time it would take to do some renovations in our house.  But, it is done and I am (almost) ready to head back to school.  We start with our  "Teacher Work Day" on Monday and I am very excited.  Let me show you a couple of fun new ideas that I have for my class this year.  The first is our new "Color Word Puzzle".

 It cost me absolutely NOTHING to make!  I used an old "Grime Boss" container (I think it is the generic version of a "Swifter" refill container)

and some paint chips from my local Lowe's.  I used by NEW Cricut Imagine (a Christmas gift from my sweet son) and added some letters.  INSTANT GAME!

Each one of the paint chips is a different shade of the color, and you can see in the GREEN picture that all the puzzle pieces fit nicely into the container.  (NOTE:  Before someone gets all upset about me "stealing" paint chips, I did ask if I could take them and was told "of course" by the sales associate.)

My next new item is a little attention grabber I made from an old box of sea salt.

Since all the salt would not come out of the bottle,

I figured I might as well do something fun with it.  First, I covered the box with some of scraps of scrapbooking paper.  I found this cute little guy on the internet and he looked like he was "trying to listen"

so I added him to the bottom.  I wrote "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?????" and glued it on the top.  The idea is simple, when we start to get a little loud in our circle time, I will shake the bottle.  As the noise settles down, I will shake it softer and softer.  You must be quiet to hear the salt shaking in the bottle!

I wanted a new chart for our "Number of the Week" activity so I made this -

Each week we will be able to see the number, the word and count it all on a new chart!  After it is laminated,  I am hoping to let the children write the number and it's name with a dry erase marker.

Okay, I know everyone has seen those adorable "First Day of School" frames floating around on PINTEREST and of course, I had to have one too!  Here is my version -

I can hardly wait to try it out!

I have a few more ideas that I will be busy working on this afternoon and I promise I will take some pictures of my classroom when I get it finished.  THANKS for visiting and I hope you stop back by soon!!

First DAY!

SCHOOL OFFICIALLY STARTS TODAY!  Let the fun and the learning begin!

Treasures for My Classroom

It is official!  I've started moving all my wonderful "treasures" back into my classroom.  My husband can almost see the floor in our downstair's den.  It took me two days to unload and find room for all of my "treasures" at school, but I've done it!  Want to see what I have?  Let's sort it out . . .

First, there is my fabulous assortment of paint chips!

Aren't they wonderful!  We are going to use them in several games, cutting and sorting activities.  We will have so much fun with them.

I also got a little carried away with collecting bottle caps.

We will be sorting and learning with these as well.  I have an amazing reading game planned.  You will want to check back soon and see this!

Of course there are the obvious "treasures", such as cardboard tubes

 and cardboard boxes.  Please notice the Wii game box (my birthday present!).

But now, let me show you some of my greatest "treasures" . . . 

Plastic fishing worms!  Perfect for "W" week!

Feathers!!!  I even have a hawk feather!  Perfect for our study of not only birds but during "Q" week we can actually write with a QUILL!

But, I've saved the best until last . . . 

I found this in a field at our lake house!  I think it was used during a 4th of July celebration  to shot off rockets.  BUT LOOK AT IT!  It is a ROUND CYLINDER and it has a SQUARE base!  Can't you just see us dipping the square base in paint and smashing it onto some paper????  Oh, I'm getting chills!

I guess I better finish printing off some more notes to my parents, especially the one that says "WE GET MESSY!"  I hope you stop by again in a couple of days.  I hope to have pictures of my classroom up.  We start school on September 1st!!  YIPPPPEEEEE!

A Teacher's Prayer

I saw this on one of my favorite blogs  Teaching with TLC today and I just had to share it.

Teacher’s Prayer

I want to teach my children how

To live this life on earth,

To face its struggles and its strife

And to improve their worth.

Not just the lesson in a book

Or how the rivers flow,

But how to choose the proper path

Wherever they may go.

To understand eternal truth

And know right from wrong,

And gather all the beauty of

A flower and a song.

For if I help the world to grow

In wisdom and in grace,

Then I shall feel that I have won

And I have filled my place.

And so I ask Your guidance, God,

That I may do my part,

For character and confidence

And happiness of heart.

 ~James J. Metcalf

That pretty much sums up my feelings.  Have a great day!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like School!

I am pretty sure I am more excited than ever for school to start.  I have been working over the last two months collecting items, doing research, working on new lesson plans and making new things for my classroom.  I'M READY FOR SCHOOL.  But, we have a few more weeks.  Sigh . . . what is a girl to do?  Well, in my case HAVE A MEETING!  We had a pre-preschool meeting today!  OH YES WE DID!  I got together with three of my fellow three-year old teachers today and started discussing new ideas.  It was so fun!  We will have two new teachers in our group this year so my buddy, Mrs. Christi and I met with them to answer a few of their questions.  It was just plain great!  I had way tooooooooo many new ideas to share and I tried (really I did!) to be calm and listen to their questions.  I hope I eased their fears a little.  To be honest, all the meeting did was FIRE ME UP and get me all excited about the coming year.  I'm not real sure August 25th can get here soon enough.  But, until then . . . I've got more stuff to get ready!!!! :)

2011 New Classroom Ideas

Happy New Year! It is so hard to believe that it is the year 2011! I am looking forward to a happy and healthy year. I have worked most of the Christmas break organizing and getting ready for the remainder of the school year. I was very fortunate to be able to attend a Dr. Jean seminar http://drjean.org/ in December. Unfortunately, all those wonderful ideas had to just sit in my head because I was way to busy at school (and my second job and Christmas shopping and Christmas decorating, etc.) to implement any of the ideas. HOWEVER, I have worked so hard these last couple of weeks and I must admit, I am very excited about starting school. Let me share a few things with you that I am going to do. . . .

One of the challenges that I have faced this year is during my "Circle Time". I usually try to divide my large group sessions into two or even three separate times. This way the children (and I) don't have to sit still for too long. Even though it is only just a short time it seems like everyone wants to talk at once. Even though I enjoy the enthusiasm, some of my students are getting left out. I hopefully will solve this with an idea from Dr. Jean - my new microphone! Our new rule will be "you can only speak when you are holding the microphone" and of course everyone will get an opportunity to speak. By the way, the microphone was made with left over wrapping paper (that's the blue part) wrapped around a paper towel tube. (note: my husband suggested that I stuff the paper towel tube to keep it from collapsing. Great idea! I used old plastic grocery sacks.) The top is an old plastic Christmas ball that was on it's way to the garbage, covered in aluminum foil. The entire base was wrapped in clear packing tape to keep in from falling apart. This cost almost nothing!

My next dilemma has been walking from our classroom down the hall. It seems a have one or two that love running and yelling! My solution . . . .

The front of the bottle.

The back!

Mrs. Karen's "Quiet Spray"! It is an old spray bottle (completely cleaned and dried out!). There is nothing in the bottle but it does make a little "squirt" sound when you pull the spray trigger. Everyone will get a squirt of "Quiet Spray" as we walk down the hallway.

The next little item I decided to try is "Brain Sprinkles"! I borrowed this from Dr. Jean. It is an old coffee creamer bottle with the label removed. First I filled the bottle with about two tablespoons of rice. Then I put a piece of plastic wrap under the lid and glued the lid with my handy-dandy E-6000 glue. (If you don't have this glue - go get some!!! It will glue anything together.) The plastic wrap allows me to actually open the lid. Everyone will get a little sprinkle before our "Circle Time" begins! Very low tech, but I am hoping it will be effective!

The last thing (for today) is another new game. Does this look familiar??? It's the little lid that comes off the top of baby wipes! I asked my fellow teachers to save them for me. I laid 15 of them on a piece of poster board and wrote our numbers on the top.
On the inside there are coordinating "dots"! I believe this will be a fun way to help my students count and review our numbers.

Again, this is virtually free and very, very low-tech!

Thanks for checking in with me. See you soon!