December Activities

This December I once again introduced my class to "Pancake" our Christmas elf.  On the first day, my class received an letter from Santa announcing the arrival of his favorite elf and to keep and eye out.  Later that day Pancake arrived hanging from the ceiling but the students didn't notice him until he decided to read some books at our book shelf.

 Each day he moved about the classroom.  The first things my students would say when they walked in each morning and every time after that throughout the day, "Where's Pancake?"  Him and his friends had too much fun and messed up all the chairs.  Pancake left another note explaining what happened to the chairs.

 Pancake moved about the room hanging out on the Chicka Boom Boom tree

 Then on our family tree.

And even in our emergency bag

Then he got really into messing with us, he taped the door so we couldn't get in lol.

 

And then got himself stunk in the tape.

My Favorite Ornaments

My best friend started a linky party of our 5 top favorite ornaments. This is a hard one to choose. My tree can't hold all of the ornaments my children have made over the years and I have them all LOL.  So like I said hard to choose a favorite but here are my top 5:

1.

These three ornaments are the very first ones my dad gave me after I left home for college and had my own tree. I know its not homemade but I remember getting them and still remember.

2.

These next three are my teacher ornaments.  They show others my profession that I am proud of.  I got these ornaments the year after I started teaching more than 13 years ago.

3. 

These two ornaments are my babies.  The top one is my oldest son who will be turning 18 in less than a month.  He was 2 in the picture and my mom made me the ornament.  The bottom one is my youngest son who will be turning 16 in April.  This is his first Christmas picture and first Christmas.  I received these ornaments in 1998 from my mom.

4. 

These two ornaments I got in 2007.  The top one is Oklahoma's 100th year of statehood.  The bottom one I got the same year, I just love how the snowman is inside the globe.

5.

My last favorite ornament is of my nephew Moses.  He sent me this ornament in 2012, he is 2 in this picture and was living in Turpin, Oklahoma over 6 hrs away from us.  I miss having him close where we could just run over and visit.

So I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite ornaments.

I'm back lol

Well it has been awhile since I blogged last, but here I am lol.  I can't believe today is December 1st already.  The school year is going great and super busy.  It's been super super busy.  My oldest son is a senior this year and we just finished up football season with him.  I am so proud of my son.

Before I know it he will be on his way to college.  He had a rough season dealing with a knee injury he received on homecoming night. November was a rough month all three of us as well.We dealt with illnesses, injures, a fire and serious burns( my youngest), but with faith and God's angels watching over us we made it through. 

TEACH

I finished watching the special series that was on TV last night about teachers called TEACH.  I don't know how many of us teachers watched it and what they think about it.  The show brought up many good and bad points of teaching.  I personally was inspired when I watched it.  It did bring a tear to my eye and I knew how they felt cause I have had those feelings many times.

I am glad Bill and Melinda Gates put this together to show America just a taste of what we teachers go through every day.  The show followed 4 years in 4 different schools in for different areas of the country.  We teachers walk into those classrooms everyday wanting our students to be successful.  How do we do it day after day when we as faced with so many challenges from low students, being tested to death, to budget cuts left and right.  These four teachers had students in their classrooms that were almost 2 to 3 years behind their peers.  This is happening more and more everyday.  We struggle to teach to all the students and to insure their success and growth while in our class.

Each teacher had to examine themselves and how to reach all students.  Each of them felt they failed their students.  The series showed how we test students progress so many times and that progress is then reflected on the teacher and their teaching.  I have many days where I feel I am failing to reach kids.  But like these teachers did they persevered and found ways to better their teaching and their students, I too get up everyday to continue making a difference to reach each student.

These teachers used new ways to reach their students.  One was 360 classroom.  The room is full of white boards all over the room 360 degrees.  The students then worked their math problems on these boards while the teacher was in the middle of the room turning to see each student's work.  (Traditional math we teacher don't get to see their work when they just sit at the desk working on their own.)  The teacher and the assistant principal tracked their progress with the districts tests.  Then mid way through the year the teacher was struggling with following district expectations or teaching at the students pace.  She chose their pace but in the end data showed her students out did the district in those taught areas but was behind on the material she didn't cover.

Another teacher received training and a grant (i think) to have her students participate in the Khan Academy. Students all received new laptops then the teacher could have groups(the middle students) work on assignments through Khan, or another groups(the higher students) peer teach, while she work with the struggling students.  This teacher had her struggles as well but in the end she had to think like a student and learn how Khan works for students in order to understand what her students needed.  Her data showed her students moving up 2 years to be able to enter the next grade at grade level.

Another teacher was great at teaching math but her struggled with teaching reading.  He had students who were almost 3 years behind.  These 4th graders were at 2nd grade levels.  He finally learned that he needed to find what interests the students.  He went and bought books for his students that were of their interests.

Overall teaching is a hard profession but a rewarding one too.  Each year I reflect on the year before and look at what I could do better or change about my teaching and how to reach my students.  Last year I had to do that day to day and adjust.  For those of you who are not a teacher please don't just look at us "Oh they get summers off, etc"  cause teaching is a 7 day a week job and not an 8 hour job either.  Please vote for those who will help education and not "Think" they know best when they have never walked in a teacher's footsteps.

Tips and Tricks

I am not sure where to begin with today's topic "Tips and Tricks".  I am a bit OCD on certain things with my personal life as well as my classroom. 

Tips
#1  Be organized:  you never know when someone important will come to visit your room and ask you so share data or other things to prove what you are doing in your class.  So if you are organized and know where things are it will impress them and you won't feel embarrassed either.  I have folders for everything from my student data, portfolios, committees I run or am on.  I also organize my lesson plans into a folder on my computer as well as have a printed copy.  Materials are organized in my room as well.

This is where I keep all my folders.  The bottom two shelves are my folders with all my themes.  I write on the outside what theme it is.  Inside you will find all you need for that theme including ideas, print outs, art work etc.  The top shelf has all my individual committees, data folder, contact logs, PLCs, PBIS folders.  The shelf below that are all my resource books.  I also place my emergency bag in this location for easy access.

#2  Communication

Communication is key.  Creating a relationship with your parents will help you be able to talk with them about the hard things that come up.  Getting to know them and their child the best you can.  There were times I didn't want to talk to a parent cause I was scared how they would react about me talking to them about their child's behavior.  But over the years I have learned I have to be able to communicate with them so that the child has success plus they are the child's first teacher and they may know something that can help me out as well as me being able to tell them what they can do at home.

Tricks

#1  Teaching Pre-K students how to use glue.

I introduce glue to my students in small doses.  I place glue on a paper plate and then have the students use Q-Tips to dip into the glue from the plate to place onto their item they are gluing.  Talking to them about using small dots.

#2 Velcro

Velcro is your friend.

I placed Velcro on the backs of the ladybugs, flowers, and bees.  This allows me to move these items with ease.  The flowers are their jobs and I move those to the right on Fridays so they are ready for their new jobs on Mondays.  The bees are where I write my agenda, so I take those down to be able to write on them easier.  The ladybugs are their names where they will place their backpacks.

There are many tips and tricks out there but find things that work for you or take it then make it work for you.

2013 Classroom Reveal !!!!

Drum roll please......I finally finished my classroom for 2013-2014 school year.  I have been working in my room for the last 3 weeks but I had other things I had to get done in my school, so my room would get put last each day.   I am excited about this school year.  I get to work with a new teacher to Pre-K, we are going through many new changes at my school as well.

So let the tour begin!!!!

 I got both of these new behavior systems from Pinterest.  The Voice Level will help my students see and learn which level is appropriate.  Our school is also implementing it school wide.  The other chart will need me to add the student's clip.  We will all start off on green and either move up for positives or down for negatives. This is the mini version , I made another for in large group.

 This is my math and science area.  My word wall is in the back.  We will be adding words throughout the year on the word wall.  I will be adding their names to the table when I get my final list.

This is my large group area.  This is one of my favorite areas.  I love to read to them as well as use my Promethean Board.  This is the second year to have it in my room.  During center time I also use this area for my block area and the students get to also use the board.

 Here's my Promethean board.  I placed another behavior chart on it.  The green crates I made last year from Pinterest.  The students use them to sit on in the listening center or to stand on when using the board.

 The bulletin board I use for sight words and other items to be shared in at group. I store my personal books behind the curtains.  I also store my listening center books under the book chart

 This is my chair I read stories to them.

 This is my Smart table.  This is shared with the other Pre-K classroom at our school.  Last year was the first year of using this as well.  The students LOVE it.  I have many sorting games for them.  They can also trace letters, numbers, and watch short videos.  The blue board behind it will be part of my student data wall.  This is a new board I put up this year.  I also used clothes pins hot glued to it to place each students data sheet.  This will have to be added when the students come in.  I am using a Chika Chika Boom Boom tracking sheet.  The students will color in each letter they know.

 This is my desk.  Also behind my desk is my center rotation chart.  Our school uses this and it was a learning process to use this one.  ( it is different than what I was using)  Our principal looks for this in our classes when doing her walk troughs and making it on our TLE (teacher evaluation)

 Part of my book area.  I place books we are focusing on with our theme or books I have read (which they fight over those).  Students pick a book after eating breakfast while we wait for all to finish.  Also during center time students choose books or do retelling.

A wide shot of my desk, book area as well as my writing area.  And yes your eyes are seeing a loft.  That is the whole reason I wanted this room when I first came to my school.  This loft will also go with me to my brand new room (that will start being built this September)

 My book area seating and I use the side of my filing cabinet for the students to use magnets letters etc here.

 This is my writing area and is on the other side of the couch.  I have a variety of materials for them to use to explore words, writing, and much more.

 This is my computer area.  I have students work on starfall.com.  I place a green smilie sticker on the mouse to show them where to click and then a red one where they don't click.  I show them the basics on the site but they are really good at figuring out the program on their own.  They usually end up going to the same page and working together.

 This is my loft and I use this for my puppet/retelling area (up top) and my small lego table.  I have chairs for them to sit at and they know only two at a time.  During the first 2-3 weeks I don't open this up to them.

 This is the view from the loft looking at my dramatic play, math/science, and my sensory table.  I use the circle table from  my small group table.  So days I have a hard time doing small groups cause those years I had major behavior issues that had to be dealt with first.

 This is my hall to my bathroom.  I use this area for painting.  Also to store our snacks.  The chairs to the left are used for students to wait on the bathroom. 

 This will be my schedule.  Our school has changed things and this will be the first year that Pre-K will get to in the specials rotations (music , art, PE, and library).  In the past I had to led these activities.

 The beehive is where I place my agenda for the day as well as my learning objectives.  Once again this is being looked at by the principal and others coming into our rooms.  The flower pots are my jobs.  I have 20 jobs (one for each student)  and they have that job all week long.  On Monday I rotate the petals to the right to give them a new job for the coming week.  The ladybugs will have their names on them and this is where they will hang up their backpacks (their coats go on their chairs)  I teach my students when they come into the room to get their daily folder out(put it in my chair), get their blanket out (on Mondays), get their library bag out and then hang up their bags before sitting down to eat breakfast.  We eat breakfast in the classroom.

This is my sensory table.  The first week of school I place scrap paper in the table along with scissors for the students to practice their scissor skills before we actually use them on projects.

This is my dramatic play area.  I have made this area different things like a grocery store, a Chinese restaurant, and much more.

This will be my Chika Boom tree where I will place their names.  Each child will have their picture taken on the first day then placed on a sentence strip with it saying something like this " A is for Addie"


I am so excited to have given you a tour of my classroom.  I will be adding things to it and will keep you up to date on things happening in my room.  Please feel free to leave me comments or things I can do better.