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Our Classroom A place to work, play and learn together! |
* Thanks to
this great
site for the graphics on this page
~
what talent!
Our Class Rules
Behavior Management
Classroom Photos
Our
classroom is an inviting and caring place to be!
We work hard to build a supporting "family" of learners.
A big part of our learning during the year is how to be a good student
in a classroom setting.
We discuss,
model, and practice - practice - practice how we should conduct
ourselves
so that we all can work, play, and learn together in a positive
environment.
Social skills and manners are an important part of this development.
Working hard on all we do and putting forth our best effort is stressed.
While we are learning, mistakes are chances to practice more!
My goal is
to provide an exciting, warm and accepting place
where children feel safe, accepted, and supported each and every day!
Here is a partial list
of our classroom rules (we always seem to add more!) ~
| We are always good LISTENERS | We use QUIET voices - inside ones, no funny noises | |
| We treat each other NICELY by our words & our actions ~ the way we want to be treated | We are HELPFUL to others | |
| We always do what the Teacher ASKS | We CLEAN-UP our own messes ~ and help others when we can | |
| We quickly STOP & LISTEN when the lights go off | We never THROW anything in the classroom | |
| We keep our HANDS and FEET to ourselves | We RAISE your HAND & WAIT to be called on to speak | |
| We always do our BEST on everything we do | We always WALK in the classroom and on the sidewalks | |
| We SHARE the toys and materials with each other | We work QUIETLY so we do not stop someone else's learning | |
| We NEVER hurt anyone on the inside or the outside | We use good table MANNERS | |
| We WAIT and WALK in line SAFELY and QUIETLY |
We often
discuss rules and why we have them ~ them seem to be a part of everyday
life ~ all our lives!
Rules at school are for our SAFETY and to help us LEARN in the best ways
we can.
We post a few of our rules and refer to them often. We have a
"Give Me Five" Chart and a "Good Listeners" Chart to remind us.
(Pictures of those can be seen below.)
We model and practice, practice, practice these rules.
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Behavior Management
| Because this is a
year of learning how to be a good student in a classroom
setting, behavior concerns are looked at as "teaching
opportunities." I cannot expect perfect behavior until I
teach clearly school expectations and we have many opportunities
to practice and refine our behaviors.
I do have high expectations of your child - it is their JOB to come to school to learn as much as they can, and to do that for themselves and for the others in class. Therefore, there are certain ways we act to promote a positive, caring learning environment. My job is to be positive, constantly highlighting good behavior when seen. Appropriate activities that are fun and engaging help to make it easier for children to have proper behavior. I need to be "preventative" and watch for possible trouble situations (kids are too tired, not engaged, are not clear on the instructions, etc.). My planning is key! However, misbehavior happens. That's when we focus on specifics and discuss how we can make things better ~ as a whole class, or individually. I try never to embarrass a child or put them on the spot in front of others, and so pulling him/her aside to quietly deal with the situation is preferred. At times, a "time out" chair gives a child a chance to collect themselves until I can meet with them. They are kept in the room in view of me, but in a separate area from the class for a short time until we have a chance to talk it through. Since children do not like being kept from the action, they usually comply and can rejoin the group in a better frame of mind. Their will be times when the Time Out chair is not effective, or the behavior is very disruptive or unsafe. Fighting, defiance, dangerous behavior, verbal attacks, and tantrums need outside help. At times I have called the Office for someone to come and remove a child. They are dealt with in a different place (usually the Office), and then when they are ready to return and join the class they are walked back, ready to work cooperatively. At these times, I do discuss with the Office what happened and how it was dealt with. Parents will be notified by phone or a note about the situation so you can be supportive and encouraging with your child. Their may be some children who have great difficulties controlling themselves. Individual behavior plans (things to work on) can be developed specifically for them, along with daily reports going home for your information and support. What kinds of things are used to reward proper behavior? Verbal, genuine praise, stickers when appropriate, a good note home, extra time on the computer, and a happy teacher! Really, I want the child to recognize the positive feelings inside when they are doing well! What kinds of consequences are used for inappropriate behavior? Verbal warning, Time Out, missing some of recess to discuss misbehavior or practice what should have been done, contact parents, sent to the Office. When possible the "consequence" will be connected to the inappropriate behavior (what should I have done?). As with everything else we do in Kindergarten - FLEXIBILITY is key! Knowing the expectations, being aware of one's own behavior (how it affects their learning as well as others around them), developing inner control - this is the goal, and we work on it ALL YEAR LONG! Your support and involvement is key, and our communication together will be important. |
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Here are
some pictures of our classroom. We are fortunate to have a large
room -
yet it is amazing how quickly it can get filled up!
Basically the Centers are located around the perimeter of the classroom
our tables are in the middle.
Please
click
on the thumbnails below to see the photos up close,
and the picture titles to read the details of the area
*
These are pictures of our classroom the last couple of years, but
I keep changing things, so I will be replacing these with the current
photos later this summer as my room comes together!
There is a lot of
stuff in my room, I must admit! Sometimes I wonder how it affects
children visually,
especially those who find it hard to focus without the added
distractions of my room.
But try as I might, I can't seem to do away with enough to look like it!
This must be my personality shining through big time!
There is 22 years of Kindergarten stuff in that room and I can't seem to
resist buying more each year.
I love my job and am dedicated to making the room reflect enthusiasm and
excitement for learning.
Well, my goal this summer as I put my room together is to eliminate some
of the furniture.
I am now convinced there is too much and it is distracting - and
starting to bother me a lot more!
I am organized, but there is just too much!
I'm also realizing that too much of the room is for MY stuff and it is
taking up learning space!
Wish me luck as I create a more effective space!!
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Calendar
Area
[Click
on the |
This is our main meeting
area, and where we do our Opening Activities. When we are
here, the children sit on assigned ABC rug squares put out in
about 4 to 5 rows. We go over the Helpers for the day, the
Schedule of the Day, Calendar and Weather activities, and any
Specialist activities for the day. Our Calendar work
becomes a math learning time as we work on numeral recognition,
counting (by 1's and 10's, counting on), patterning, days of the
week, months of the year, 100 chart activities, and
yesterday/today/tomorrow concepts. Our Weather routines
address some of our science objectives (seasons, types of
weather, effects of weather on people - clothes to wear,
activities that can be done, etc.).
We also use this floor space for our Language work and whole group instruction throughout the day. At Center Time, it becomes the floor space for our Block Center activities. |
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| Calendar, Up Close | Here you can see the Calendar components in a closer view. I made a special sign for each Specialist as well as one for Assemblies, Special Guest, and Party Day. This helps the class know what extra activities we will be having that day - at it helps me stay on schedule! There is an area for the Days of the Week, our Calendar for the month (days are on patterned shapes that go with our Themes, seasons, or holidays for the month), and a chart above the Calendar where I write the number of the school day and talk about how I write the number as I write it. There is our yesterday/today/tomorrow bears that are changed each day, the day's date ("Today is _(day of the week)_ , _(month)_, _(number of the day)_, This is school day number ____."), and our place value pockets. Above that is our Schedule of the Day in words and pictures - I think I use this more than the kids! |
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| Learning Area | My supply cupboards make a great extension of our Calendar Area items. There we have our Lost Teeth Chart, our Birthday Chart, the Weather Chart and graph, and our 100 chart. That's a funny looking hand that we use at our school - "Give Me Five" - with each finger reminding us of how to be a good listener (eyes on speaker, ears listening, mouths closed, hands still, and brains thinking). We also post our Helper Chart with children's names on bears (I love Teddy Bears!) that are changed daily. |
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| Letter Work Area | For our
letter focus of the week, the children bring in 1 to 3 items
from home that begin with the letter we are working with.
Five or six children are scheduled each day, Tuesday through
Friday. I send home "Letter Show'N Tell Calendars" each
quarter so the parents know which letter we are working on each
week and which weeks are set aside for Review. The
children enjoy bringing in items and many parents comment how
they notice their child's awareness of beginning sounds as they
look for things. We write up each item and then circle and
count all the focus letters each day, and then count up all the
circled letters for the week. Our Big Book easel sits in front, but we move it around when we use it. We work with a book that highlights the week's letter in our Shared Reading activities. The Letter Chart seen on the left is detailed below. |
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| Letter Chart & Pocket Chart |
The key pictures shown on
this chart are the ones I use on our ABC Wall Line and on the
individual Letter Flashcards used during the week. We are
learning signs for each letter and for the key picture.
When we make the sign for the key picture, we say the sound of
the letter. For example, when reading the Letter Chart we
might say, "A (making a hand sign), apple, /ă/ /ă/ /ă/" (while
making the apple sign on our cheek 3 times). I feel
learning the signs gives the children another hook for learning
and remembering the letters and sounds. Many children can
give me the sounds just by seeing the key picture signs or the
letter names by seeing the letter signs. They enjoy
learning a little sign language! We chant through the
Letter Chart at least three times a week and sing or say the
alphabet the other days. Repetition, repetition!
The small pocket chart to the left is used for working on our "Popcorn Words" (high frequency and sight words) as well as word making, sentence building, short letter poems, etc. The children love coming up and using pointers to track and read from this chart. [A list of our "Popcorn Words" we are working with this year can be found by clicking here.] |
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| Block Area | These shelves contain our variety of blocks and building items. We use the main floor space with this Center. The clear bins are numbered and have matching numbers on the shelves for easy clean-up. We try to make clean-up time a learning time as well. |
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| Pocket Chart | This is my largest and main pocket chart. When we use it we sit on the floor facing it. The children have access to the pocket chart activities we have done as a whole group as a choice during free choice and Learning Centers. |
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| Pee Chee Folder Chart | One of the items on our Supply List is a Pee Chee type folder from each child. It is kept in this roll cart in a hanging file - one per child. It is used to keep unfinished color, writing, or drawing papers in that are not main projects, and the children can use these when they have finished their work or as a free choice option during the day. It takes a while to have them be independent with this, but with lots of modeling and practice most of them can do this just fine. For some Themes I might make up a coloring booklet with the basic facts or concepts that the children can put in their Folders and use as well. This cart is two-layers, so I can use the bottom portion to store on going projects that contain several pages or as a place for portfolio-type papers. It is a good height for them and with the wheels is easy to move if needed. |
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| Math Tubs & Learning Center Tubs | This area is basically a storage area for tubs and boxes that are moved to the tables and floor space during specific times in the day. The Math Tub area includes the dark blue tubs that house most of our manipulatives we use with our math curriculum. Each tub is labeled with a picture, label and letter of the alphabet and has the same things on the shelf it goes to - again, working on matching and ABC order when we clean up! Our Treasure Boxes are located here as well, along with sorting tubs and trays and laminated pattern block and tangram pattern cards. I also have a large collection of math books that I keep on the top shelf. The taller shelf unit in the front right of this photo houses the Learning Center tubs. (I call my literacy centers "Learning Centers" to help the children know that this is a time when we are working on our language and math skills in special and fun ways.) |
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| My Desk Area | This area is my desk but it quickly ends up being my personal dumping ground that I rarely sit at during the day. (With 17+ years in Kindergarten and about 15 in this room I have acquired and bought a LOT of stuff! I'm almost embarrassed!) The black Dell computer on my desk is the "teacher" computer. You can also see my old L575 Mac that is now available to the children for a fourth student computer in our room. |
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| Kitchen | This is our housekeeping area. I made and painted PVC pipe & fabric "walls" that contain this space. It is small, but we limit the number of children who can play here to 3 or 4. I usually have the class discuss this and they decide and monitor it fairly well on their own after a few adjustments. |
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| ABC Wall | This wall becomes our alphabet wall, our word wall, and it displays the letter art projects we do each week. Soon the class names will be added under the corresponding beginning letter. We refer to this wall often as we work on our Language skills. The same key pictures that are on our Letter chart are used here as well as the hand sign for each letter. The Centers under the ABC line are our Quiet Center, the doll houses, and the Kitchen. |
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Other half
of ABC Wall |
Here is the rest of the ABC line. |
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| Quiet Center | In our Quiet Center, children have access to board and card games, puzzles, chalkboards, View Finders, and File Folder Games. These items are brought to the tables when used. |
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| Discovery Center | This is our science table. Right now it houses our 2 parakeets and our globe. I add things as we change themes throughout the year for observation and exploration. The table is our sand/water table, but I find I rarely get that out because of the mess and the space. |
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| Homework Chart | This is something new for me this year. I have always sent home "homework" dittos as part of our letter work. In the past if they returned it they got a stamp or sticker and it was given back to them - not required or graded. But I felt that if I was going to call it "homework" I should treat it with more respect. So more emphasis is now made on neatness and effort and when it is brought back they get a sticker on their chart. After 5 stickers they may choose a small item from the "Treasure Chest" as a reward. I also give stickers out for returning important papers I need from the parents, for bringing back their Boomerangs each week, and on some days, for excellent behavior or helpfulness above what is normally expected. (Boomerangs by the way are our manila envelopes that go home to all parents on Fridays and carry homework, newsletters, bulletins and work form the week. Parents sign the front to show they got the information and are returned empty on Mondays to be used again. All the students in our school use them.) |
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| Back Counter | This is a main storage area for me and a display area for student work, theme pictures, and our fish tank. This is where we paint with tempera (watercolors we do at the table seen in this picture). Our sink and drinking fountain are here as well. The door on the left is our main door. Just outside is a little foyer with 2 bathrooms (boys and girls) and a sink, the door to the next Kindergarten classroom and the outside door. The door on the right in this picture leads to our Centrum. This is a small room that connects all four Kindergarten classrooms. It is mainly storage with 2 counters and cupboards above and below on two sides of the room. There is room for a classroom table and 6 adult-sized chairs. We use this room with kids for testing or small group work as needed with para-educators or parent helpers. This year we have added a small refrigerator and a microwave which has been wonderful. |
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| Pocket Pals |
This is my
read-to-your-child-at-home program.
Children check out a book each day to be read to them at home.
They carry them in large manila envelopes with a kangaroo
picture on the front. Inside is a blue sheet for recording
the books that are read. They are brought back the next
day and a new one is chosen. The Clifford Pocket chart on
the wall is for each child to put the blue library card into
their own pocket as they check out the book. They are
responsible to put in back into the right book the next day and
then into the tub of books before choosing a new one.
(In the past years I have had the children sign their names to the cards, but I found that this was difficult for several or it took them forever to do, and then I had to find the time to put all the cards back into the books. And lots of times they would write their names in the wrong place so it was hard to know who had checked out the book anyway. This new system seems to be working better, and I do like the time it saves me!) This is one of the "First Thing Jobs" each child is expected to do when they first arrive in the morning. For more on this routine, click here.) |
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| Cubbies | As the children enter the room their Cubbie area is to their right. This is where they hang their coats and backpacks. There is a shelf for their lunch boxes. I have a box for my Parent Helpers where I can put instructions and materials to prepare ahead of time. The large green tubs on the left house our "Emergency Kits" (baggies of food & drink items if needed from each child) and miscellaneous recess/p.e. equipment. |
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Attendance &
Lunch Chart |
This is where each child indicates if they are here and what they will be doing for lunch. They turn over their "pencil" to show they are present, and then put in a stick with a shiny red apple to indicate they are buying hot lunch, or a stick with a fuzzy cow to indicate they are buying milk for their cold lunch brought from home. No stick means they have a drink in their lunch they brought with them. We go over the numbers when we do our attendance work for the Office. |
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| Class Library | Books are very important in our room and there are boxes in many places, but here is where they can choose to go to look at books quietly. I am looking for some small bean bags for more seating. I also have a small listening area at the student desk. |
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| Computer Center |
We are fortunate to have
some iMacs for our room. We have a color printer, scanner,
and digital camera as well. (I was able to participate in
the Gates Grant program a few years ago and was able to get
these things for my classroom. I spilt what I had with
another Kindergarten teacher when we combined schools two years
ago so she could provide those experiences for her class.) The children enjoy working on the computers! I use KidPix a lot and have several programs that focus on alphabet and math skills as well as problem solving and thinking programs. These are changed throughout the year. This area is available at choice time and is also used in a small group setting with more specific directions. |
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TV & Puppet Theater |
We watch educational videos that relate to our themes throughout the year. The puppet theater has a flannelboard on the lower front half and is easy to move (made form PVC pipe - I love that stuff!) and children can stand behind it to put on puppet plays. |
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| ABC Center | Here children will find more activities that focus on letters and sounds. This is an extension of the Learning Centers and is available at specific times. |
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| Writing Center | This areas houses paper, rules, stencils, fancy-cut scissors, etc. It is really a small extension of the art area. I am planning on adding some new items this year to encourage bookmaking and writing stories as we experience them first as a whole class. I do have printed coloring sheets available that many children love to do when they have time. Others would rather draw their own pictures. I did purchase a new kind of pocket chart this year with several deep pockets and a place for names to use as a "post office" of sorts. I am sure this will encourage more "writing" as they make things for their friends! |
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View from
the back counter |
This is the view of the classroom looking diagonally across to the Opening/Calendar area. I have four large 3'X6' tables, 6 chairs each for the children. Most of the Centers are around the outside of the room, with a few things on shelves in the center. |
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View from
the main door, left |
This is the view looking diagonally from the main door to my desk area. |
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View from
the main door, right |
This is the view looking straight from the main door area to the Opening/Calendar area. The place right behind the "Welcome" is another "teacher" space. Our blue ball tub and hula hoops can be seen here as well. We stand here when we line up to leave the room. |
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| Greeting Area | This is where I store the work for the week, where I stand for greeting the children and parents and where I begin with the Attendance and announcements, where I keep my testing records and materials, and where reminders are posted. This is a key organizational space for me in a very crowded room! |
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| My Kindergarten Philosophy Quilt |
I made this small
quilt wall
hanging for my Master's class to show my philosophy of
Kindergarten. A sign next to it reads as follows: What I Believe Kindergarten Should Be
This first
year in school should be a foundation-building year.
The
classroom environment should be supportive in the following
ways: Kindergarten . . . a place for happy children who love learning! |
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