Kitchen Makeover

My class LOVES to play in the dramatic play/"kitchen" area during free choice and inside recess.  So many great language opportunities, problem solving skills, and social functioning take place there that it makes me sad when I hear about how some kindergarten classroom are getting rid of these "playthings" because they need to focus more on "academics" and therefore miss out on all the wonderful things that go on here... Anyways, I had been getting really irritated that the kids were just shoving stuff everywhere to clean up - an then realized that the problem wasn't with the kids, but my lack of "organization" in this area.  Everything else in the room is labeled with it's own place, but somehow I overlooked all the dramatic play accessories.  So, I created some signs to put on my baskets, and now everything is neatly sorted.  (Not to mention it looks MUCH better!)  No more chaos!  Yeah! :)  If you have a better way to organize this area of your classroom, I'd love to hear from you!

If you'd like a copy of the signs/labels click HERE.

Class Dojo

I'm discovering that I am more of a tech geek than I realized... while this isn't really a surprise to anyone who knows me...  Anyways, one of my colleagues shared a new website for classroom management with me called Class Dojo (www.classdojo.com) . Basically, each student is given a monster avatar (which tied in beautifully after using Kathleen Pederson's Monster Behavior book!) where you give awards for positive behaviors, as well as take awards away for negative behaviors, and yes, you can customize the awards to fit your class and targeted behaviors.  

Below is a "demo" class, and you can see I have awarded (and taken away) awards from various students.  You can set it to only show students with a positive balance if you want as well.

Here are the "default" awards and how I have changed them to better fit my class.

You can also print out behavior reports to send home to parents, or to keep track of how students are doing.  I send one home at the end of each week, so there are no surprises when report cards go out! :)

If you have a smart phone, you can even use it to enter awards!  Since I am lucky enough to have a Promethean board, I just keep this minimized at the bottom, and use it throughout the day.  The kids LOVE it and once they hear the "ding" indicating someone got an award (or see me pull it up) everyone's behavior immediately improve as they hope they are getting a "good award".  I strive very hard to make sure everyone has a positive balance at the end of the day/each week.

Since this is BRAND NEW, there are still a few things that are being worked out, but in the month or so I have been using it, they have already made a lot of positive changes!

Here are 2 YouTube video that explains it further. http://www.youtube.com/user/classdojo#p/a/u/1/jxFTMmF0a6c and http://www.youtube.com/user/classdojo#p/a/f/0/b5uihmPlbvA
Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

October Promethean Calendar

It's done! It's done! It's done!  My October Calendar for the Promethean Board is done!  I know my kids are going to be super excited about the new songs, pages, and features!  For something that appears pretty simple, these things are very time intensive to create!  (If you are a perfectionist like me and have a board, you know what I mean - BUT they are definitely worth it!)  I don't know if it's just me, but that software is rather glitchy!  It never fails that as I go to click "save" the program freezes up and needs to be restarted... Ahhhh!   Despite my personal issues with the software I can't even begin to tell you how much I LOVE my Promethean Board.  I use it ALL the time and the kids are soooo engaged!  It has definitely changed the way I teach!  Everyone can FINALLY see, and it's so interactive the kids are always involved, and  "sharing the Pen" has additional meaning now - everyone gets a turn to do something - even when it is not a writing lesson! Check out my latest creation for yourself!

You can purchase it HERE

Chicka Chicka

OMG! Where does all the time go??? I have so much I want to add and share but don't have the time!  (Maybe that's just the beginning of the year in kindergarten for you... plus I coach middle school girls softball everyday after school and have one of those beginning of the year colds... again...)  Anyways, enough excuses.  I plan on updating this on a much more regular basis - which also means I can't spend as much time blog hopping :(   I don't know about you, but these blogs are ADDICTING!  BUT... they are definitely making me a MUCH better teacher, so THANK YOU to all of you out there!  If 1 idea I post on my site helps at least one person in some way, then it is worth the time!

OK, enough rambling for now...  We have spent the last week doing a big Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Unit.  One of my favorite parts of the unit was when we were exploring and opening a REAL coconut!  (After several discussions that coconuts don't grow in places that get cold in the winter, one of my little darlings asked if I found it on the street!  Ummm... we have very cold winters in Wisconsin, so remember, we don't have coconut trees here!)  Anyhow, their faces and excitement was priceless, but wouldn't ya know it - the battery in my camera died!  I must have left in on or something because I just charged it!  So, here is what I have to offer you instead.  About every week I send home a simple "Family Project" that the students are to complete and then bring to class the following week to share.  (Kind of like show and tell, but without the toys :) )  This week, they were to decorate a letter to place on the large "Chicka Tree" I have hanging in the classroom.  They all are so creative and they turned out great!  The kids keep waiting for the tree to tip over, just like it did in the book!  (I'm just waiting for the masking tape to give...)  If you want a copy of the letters, just below and they are all yours!  Enjoy!

Download the letters HERE

We make a "special snack" every week that relates to our theme.. of course we had to make "chicka trees"!  Look what a great job one of the kids did! It was WAY better then my example!

Each week we make one of these theme related "special snacks" which I have compiled into 2 cookbooks.  (Vol 2 is not quite done yet...)  Anyways, feel free to download the recipe card for this snack.  If you like what you see, feel free to purchase vol. 1!  Each recipe comes in 3 different levels.

Click HERE for the chicka recipe card!

Literacy Centers - Round 1

We began our first rotation of literacy centers this week, to actual cheers! (This is one of the many reasons why I love kindergarten!)  One of my centers is the pocket chart center.  The first few weeks I want the kids to focus on learning the routine, where to find the materials, how to choose a center and staying at it the entire time, etc.  Since these are my main goals, I purposely try and put fun/easier centers for the kids to do.  Typically, at the pocket chart center I have kids sort pictures by either shapes, or colors - but since the addition of 4K at our school, I decided I would make it a little more challenging and see how they do.  I planned on having them sort cards into letters, numbers, OR shapes, to see who knew the difference!  (Of course I kept my color and shape sorting nearby for those who needed it.)  I was pleasantly surprised to see how well everyone did with the activity!  Only a few kids needed the "easier version" (but isn't that what differentiation is all about?)  Anyways, you can download the pieces I used for free below and try it out for yourself!

Download it HERE