Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Hi all,

One of my favorite activities at the beginning of the year is to read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  Then I pass out magnetic letters and we act it out with a big coconut tree drawn on the board.  The kids enjoy bringing up their magnetic letter when we get to it in the story.

After that, we make our own coconut trees and repeat.  This way they can each have all the letters.  Here are some pictures.

We first made our coconut trees, then cut out and ordered our alphabet letters.

We acted out the book, then glued the letters on. These first two were mine. The ones below are all student work.

This one likes when they all fall off, of course.  I love that even one of the palm leaves is falling.

The scattered approach

Another scattered one.

One of my more orderly kids...

It's so fun how each one is individual to the child.

So there ya go.  A fun, easy, beginning of the year alphabet review.

Joell

Day 4

Hi all,

I have survived until Day 4.  Things are getting a little better.  I'm trying to get the kids trained on procedures and still manage to teach a thing or two.  All the new stuff has me feeling stressed out and I don't feel like I'm being a very effective teacher, but I'm trying my best.

I got out my "practice" binders today.  The kids loved them!  I did actually think to get out my camera, so here are some pictures of the kids using them to practice handwriting.

Here's one that was getting close to finished.

They LOVED using the dry erase markers.

And the colorful socks as erasers were a hit, too.

Eraser on one hand, pen in the other.  Cute.

This is the neatest writing I've seen this kid do.

Another one got down to G.

I just hope they don't lose the markers and lids.  I'm letting them keep them in their desks.  I'm so happy to be almost done with the week.  I have company coming from out of town for the weekend!  Enjoy your Labor Day!

Joell

First Day

Well, we got through the first day.  We got very little done.  It's going to take some time for us to learn all the rules and procedures this year.  Kinda scary when you're already behind on the first day, but I did everything I could with what I was given, and that's my motto because I can't do more than that.

The kids are very cute and tried really hard on the few academic type things we did.

I'm completely exhausted and heading to bed soon.  All the pictures I took today had kid faces in them, and I just don't have it in me to edit for pictures here.  As I'm trying to get used to a lot of new routines, I might be more likely to forget to take pictures and things.  Once I get more used to my new room, new equipment, new students, and all the new curriculum, I'll hopefully be better at remembering to snap some pictures.

And with that, I'm off to bed where I"m sure to sleep well.  *yawn*

Joell

Excitement, Nerves, and Pictures!

Excitement

School starts on Monday!  All this work and preparation hopefully starts to pay off.  I already met many of my kids, and can't wait to start getting to know them for real on Monday.

Nerves

School starts on Monday!  I'm scared, as usual.  For some reason this year, I seem to feel like I've forgotten how to teach.  I think it's because so much of my curriculum is new to me, so I feel almost like a first year teacher.  I hope my students behave and learn a lot from me.

Pictures

School starts on Monday!  I took pictures of my room before I left on Friday.  There are still some things not completely done, but it's looking almost ready at least.  Here are pictures of my room.

Small group table and floor area

Rules, Consequences, Behavior Chart

Jobs

Wet area

Small group and shelves

Word Wall

Sight words and work wall

I can statements

Classroom

Classroom

Classroom

Outside my door

Super Improver with the stars up

So there ya go.  Notice there are no pictures of my desk--that's because that area is a scary mess right now.

Joell

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Hi all,

I have been so busy with meetings and professional development and trying to get things ready for parent/teacher conferences tomorrow that I haven't even thought of taking pictures.  I've gotten home too tired to even think straight.  But tonight, I feel more like myself rather than the scary stressball I was on Monday and Tuesday.

The Good

• I am now ready for parent/teacher conferences tomorrow, and actually had the first one today.
• We had a fabulous luncheon at a country club before our big faculty meeting.

The Bad

• The school district scheduled training on our new gradebook program for everyone in the district at the same time.  Naturally, nothing worked because too many people were all trying to do the same thing at the same time.  So, we weren't able to set things up.
• There's lots more, but I don't see the point in recapping a bunch of negativity when it won't change a thing.

The Ugly

• I have been in a foul mood with a headache most of the week.  It was mostly ugly inside my head and I tried to avoid too much contact with people for fear I'd implode on them.  Still, my team members did have to put up with a lot of whining from me.
• My living room might never get cleaned up since the cutting project is so slow going.

I will try to get some actual pictures taken probably Friday.  No post tomorrow--conferences will go until late.  As an introvert, conferences are always hard on me.

Joell

Rules and Consequences

Hello,

The rules and consequences for my classroom are determined partially by the school (the first 3 are school-wide) and my grade level team.  Here are the rules.

For consequences, we use a color coded card system.  The students progress through the colors and there's a consequence tied to each one.

A.C. stands for Alternative Classroom.  It's another place where students calm down and process with a counselor before returning to class.

I don't have pictures of my cards, but they're really nothing fancy.  Just a pocket chart--I used an old calendar one I had.  Each pocket has the 5 card colors listed above and the child's classroom number on it.  When the child is told to "pull a card" he or she takes the top color out and puts it into a container.  I used to have them move the card to the back of their stack, but found it easier and faster for me to record with things being moved to a container instead.

What are the rules and consequences in your classroom?

I'm hoping this made sense tonight.  My head has been spinning all day long.  So much to do!

Joell

Five Things I'll Miss About Summer Linky

Hi all,

I worked all day today, but didn't take any pictures.  So I'm joining in on this linky. From Joy of Kindergarten.

1.  I'll be surprised if this isn't a popular one...

Sleeping in late or taking naps whenever I want.

2. Not being interrupted all the time.

"Can I go to the bathroom?"  

3. Being able to relax because I'm not responsible for the education and well-being of lots of little ones.

The kitty was too cute to pass up.

4. Going out to lunch with friends and family members on weekdays.

You mean we have more than 5 minutes and don't have to eat on the run???

5.  This goes along with #1.  Staying up late.

Love this picture!

So there ya go.  I'll try and get some pictures taken tomorrow so I'll have something to post.

Joell