Setting up the Classroom!

I can not believe an entire year has gone by! It feels like I just started this blog. It has been so fun each week reflecting on the projects and activities that we've done. As it got to the end of the year I wondered whether I would continue blogging, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought... YES! It was just too fun to stop!

So, I start this new year with setting up the classroom! An important part of any teacher's beginning of the school year. I got the room sparkling, the toys and shelves scrubbed, all my paperwork set and the room rearranged.

 First came cleaning.

Then came organizing and arranging.

 I reorganized my bookcase and files. I bought this filing cabinet at GoodWill and painted it... 

I love it!

 I updated my classroom bulletin board for parents with our schedules, important dates, my teacher bio and interesting articles and information.

Im so ready for the new school year!! Can't wait to meet my new class!

Being Healthy (D, 1, Rectangle)

Our theme this week was "Being Healthy" and we focused on the letter Dd, the number 1 and the shape rectangle.

We read this week: Duck and Goose by Tad Hills
                               Duck, Duck Goose by Tad Hills
                               Bear's Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson
                               Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
                               1,2,3 Peas by Keith Baker

Our question of the week was "What do you think Dad does at work?" Some of the answers were spot on, and some were just hilarious.

For our theme of the week, we talked about different ways to be healthy, healthy minds, bodies, teeth. Everyone was very open to our daily discussions and special activities.

We did yoga in the gym and talked about healthy minds. My friends who were not with us for summer camp had a great time with the video. Its a great one that our director found that relates simple yoga poses with animals and plants. The kids get to sniff like a bunny, hiss like a snake and roar like a lion.

The kids practiced using tooth brushes against "plaque monsters" in an activity that I found here.

We also discussed that we keep our teeth healthy by not only brushing and flossing but also by the food and drink that goes into our bodies. Each child got to give me one way that they keep their teeth healthy and they got to stick it to our giant tooth. I found the activity here.

We talked about making sure to eat healthy things and to always try something before saying that you don't like it (and to try often and more than once =]) Each child "tried" (there were some licks and tiny nibbles here or there) red, orange, yellow and green bell pepper, celery and carrot.

We also got to exercise with our schools parachute. The kids LOVED it. Actually I'm not sure who had more fun, the teachers or the kids. It's hard not to be happy around a billowing and bouncing parachute.

We talked a lot this week about the shape rectangles. We sang this song to the tune of "Jingle Bells":

We walked around the school and tried to spot as many things as we could that were the rectangle shape.

We talked about the differences between squares and rectangles. The kids practiced drawing squares and rectangles with this cool worksheet, found here.

When we worked on our number activities, we practiced writing the number and word for the number.

The kids also used a key to color a picture. It was the first time we did something like this, and the kids did a great job.

For our letter activities, we used our handwriting sheet for the letter D,  and the sheet that helps work on letter recognition, both are from books that are mentioned in the "All About Me" post. The students also wrote in their journals for the letter D.

From one of The Mailbox books, I got the idea of having the students jump distances measured in pictures of little dachshunds. They didn't want to stop!

We turned D's into Ducks.

And we of course had a dance party. =]

For our alphabet wall we made dogs out of paper plates.

 And with the D addition, our wall now looks like...

Our list for words beginning with D's was very impressive. Here it is!

Up next week: The letter Ee, the number 2, ovals and "Community Helpers/Fire Prevention".

Setting up the Classroom

Last year I started this job the first official day of school, so the lovely ladies that I work with set up the classroom for me. I was very excited this year to be able to put a new stamp on the room, moving things around and most of all.... CLEAN! With no kids, I was able to move around my bookcases, rugs and tables, really get all the dust and things off the floor, super clean my toys, the windows... It was GREAT!

Here are some pictures of how the room looked.

 Our classroom has a hallway that you walk down to get into the room. That is where I hang our art project throughout the year, it looks so cool when it's filled with the kid's projects. I painted this "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" tree, for an activity that we do the first week of school.

 The Library Center.

 The Math Center

 The Science Center

 Dramatic Play, with a mural I painted for the beginning of school. =]

 The blocks center.

 Our Morning Meeting area, with a new calender and numbers that I got from Lakeshore Learning. Expensive, but I LOVE it!! Each month has different shaped numbers, like apples for September. You can check them out here and here.

 Since I am not there yet when most of the kids get there in the morning, I made a little note with the class's white board to welcome my new class and their families.

 At morning meeting we always do the weather. I though it would be nice this year since I have a full year of weather, to be able to compare the months when we're finished. The kids will love telling me what's the same with the months!

I really wanted something with feelings on the wall, and a fellow teacher found this idea on pinterest. I love it! So simply made with paper plates painted yellow.

Underneath it you can see the top of our growth chart. I always measure the kids when they start in my room and then we measure halfway through the year and at the end of the year... they love to be able to see how much they have grown and show their parents.

This is the birthday poster i've made that goes with our theme of the Butterfly Class.

I found a blog of a teacher in Australia who had this saying on a poster with owls. I loved it and loved the message and I just had to recreate it.

That is pretty much it! The classroom is nice and ready to welcome the new school year and all of my new students!