Once upon a Kindergarten...: August 2011

Friday, August 26, 2011

Freebie Friday!!

Many of my created activities our kept on my school computer and since I am at home on maternity leave, I cannot get to them to upload for you!
I do, however, have one fun activity I like to do with my kindergarten children on the first day of school.

We always read "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn on our first day. It is a precious story and one that really relates to how many of my kinders are feeling being away from their mommy/daddy for school!
After we read the story, I have them go to their tables for a special snack "Kissing Hand Cookies" which are made simple by using sugar cookie dough and a "hand" cookie cutter. After cutting out the hand prints from the dough, place a Hershey's kiss in the middle of the palm, and bake! (I prepare these the night before so all I have to do is pass them out with red kool-aid)
While the children are snacking, I call them one and a time to my table and "stamp" their handprint onto this sheet "Kissing Hand" Handprint Page. After it is stamped I attach a small red construction paper heart to the center of their hand. We send it home with the kids at the end of our first day!
This is something I do every year that my parents LOVE. Not only are they getting a precious handprint painting from their childs first day of Kindergarten, but they have a sweet poem to keep with them as well!

Enjoy! I'll be uploading more "freebies" once I return to school!

(I found the poem online through a goodgle search many years ago! I wish I knew who wrote it.. It is simply perfect!)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Where it all goes down Wednesday

For Back to School 2011, I decided on a Pirate theme!! Ahoy Matey's!!!!

"K5 marks the Spot!"

(the children's cubbys are underneath this board)

Above this board is our "birthday display"- I velcro the childrens names and date onto their birthday month bag!

Our Classroom Door

I borrowed these precious "pirate" bears from Deanna Jumps' blog!

After re-sizing them, they fit perfectly onto the name tags for the door display!

Photo Board (a fun extra for "Meet the Teacher" day)

And now for a look around our room!

This is our Learning Carpet area.

We sit here for our "Morning Meeting" which includes a review of the calendar, weather, math counts, map skills, alphabet songs, etc. There is another easel with a white erase board that sits on the far right.

In the corner by the window is my teacher desk

Word Wall and Writing Center to the left (yellow table)
Computer Center

The bears on the right contain our "Beary Special Blends"

The closeline hanging above has each of the children's names... Class work is displayed by hanging down from their "clip"

My teaching table for small groups

-I added the dry erase board last year... HUGE help!

Our reading center

Homeliving Center on the Left/Math Manipulatives Center on Right

Another work display board hangs above.

Each morning our day begins with "Morning Centers" which is a weekly group rotation through 5 centers: homeliving, computer, math skills, writing center (pocket chart) and reading. This last for 20 minutes each and the activities change weekly at each center to coordinate with our weekly unit.

I also have two other tables in my room- a circle table and a rectangle table. These are used during our "learning" center rotations where I teach one group at my table, my assistant reinforces skills at the long table, and we have an independent work center at the circle table. The students rotate through all three tables during a 60 minute time slot.

Hope you enjoyed visiting our classroom!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Teacher Talk Tuesday

Today is dedicated to providing advice for new teachers! What an exciting time... your OWN classroom! It seems like yesterday that I was preparing for my first class. I can feel the excitement all over again, and my NERVES!! Ek!!

  First, Take a deep BREATH! Everything WILL be okay and you will survive this!

  Remember that YOU are the teacher. You are a professional in this field and so YOU will always have an answer for any problem/student issue that arises! BUT never be afraid to say to the parents, "I do not know the answer... but I'll gladly find out for you"!

   Do everything you can to be prepared for the first weeks ahead of time. I always go ahead and write out my lesson plans for the first two or three weeks. I have everything copied and ready to go, divided into my "weekly" folders (more on this in a moment) just waiting for me to pull it out and go each day. Now... keep in mind, that this is a "tentative" schedule of your day. Things will happen and you will find your "plan" has changed a little.. be flexible and calm. You will eventually find another time slot to fit in whatever activity or skill you were going to teach when little Johnny threw up everywhere :)
Along with this, have EXTRA skill sheets or activities planned as well.

Now onto my "weekly" folder system. I have file folders dedicated to each day of the week.   Each Thursday my assistant copies all of the activities we will be doing for the next week. Using my lesson plans, I sort the activities based on what day we will be completing it. This way on Monday, for example, I just have to pull out my Monday folder and everything I need is there!
I am having difficulty uploading the pictures I took of it... will add them later on! The stand that holds all of my weekly folders sits to the left of my desk, behind my teacher computer. (To keep the "mess" hidden) I will add that mine personally could look cuter, but the purpose it serves is irreplaceable!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Meet the Teacher, Monday!

Hi teacher friends!!
While I have always loved blogging through my personal blog, I am a beginner when it comes to posting about my classroom! I decided that since I am home on maternity leave, what better time to TRY and get one started! I have uploaded mostly "display" pictures from previous units that I happened to snap pictures of but this year my goal is to also include all of the activities and crafts I come up with as well. It just seemed meant to be that I'm Blog Hoppin' also started off their blog at the same time... so I decided I'd link up! Thanks for "hoppin'" on over!

I'm Kristen Mason and I LOVE teaching! This is my fourth year in Kindergarten and I adore each and every day! I believe it is the most rewarding age... They start the year still as "babies" and by the end they leave me writing, READING and just so grown up! Children at age 5 and 6 have such a passion about everything they learn; it is so inspiring to me! This alone makes me want to always be the best teacher possible. I truly LOVE teaching!

My husband, Colby, is absolutely fabulous. He is my ROCK! God blessed our lives with a beautiful baby girl 5 weeks ago, Lucy. She is an angel, we are so in love! I am home on maternity leave until September 20th and while I love being home with her, I must say... I MISS being at school. Back to school is one of my favorite times of the year! I'm cherishing every second with Lucy though... and its giving me extra time to gather ideas from all of you!

My favorite teaching tools:
Lined dry erase boards- my must have for teaching handwriting skills!

Sharpies!!! I love a good sharpie, especially the sharpie "pen"

Finger puppets- I use these as "reading buddies" to help the kids follow along during reading centers

Mr. Sketch Markers- I use these to check papers... The kids love "smelling" their graded work!

All things paper: sentence strips, chart paper, decorative notepads-yes please!

Labels!!!! (and cute fonts)

I am a huge fan and follower of Deanna Jump's blog! She has really made me "step-up" my teaching the last year- I highly recommend you check out her blog- see the link for Mrs. Jumps Blog under "Blogs I love"!

Classroom displays: One of my favorite "extras" about teaching is creating our classroom displays! I get a little too excited when the kids finish something great and it's "display" time! I try to use every place possible in our room to showcase their great work! You'll probably notice this very quickly once you start reading some of my posts!

This is a picture of me and my husband, Colby

and here is our beautiful baby girl, Lucy

Other than teaching, I love shopping, reading, taking trips (the beach is my favorite!), going to Ole Miss football games, and spending time with my family. God is the center of my life and I am so grateful for all that he has blessed me and my family with. To HIM be the Glory!

Happy Teaching and Best Wishes for a WONDERFUL school year!