Classroom Is Ready!

I made it through our first week!  Nothing is better than meeting your new kinders and sharing with them their new room for the next 180 days.  As a teacher you spend a lot of time in your classroom, so for me, I need to have CHANGE.  It's a BIG job changing the decor in a classroom so this year I kept the same colors, sticking with BRIGHT, and I added more to my room.  I hope you like it!

Starting with my Meet The Teacher gift for my kiddos.  Thanks to Kim Adsit's Open House Unit, my kinders were welcomed with a bag of goodies!

 This is my dramatic play area.  It used to be called the Surf Shack but I changed my colors and added my black/white chevron rug.  My plan is to call this "Home, Sweet, Home" and take a photo of each student then frame it in BRIGHT colors for the wall.  Too cute!

The lighting on this pic is not too well but this is my Math and Engineering area.  This is where my kiddos explore building.  I have many different kinds of building materials in this area.  Under the window is our countdown for "How Many Days In School."  Here we are going to add a number to the 100th chart each day, add a link, fill in the Ten Frame, and build the number.  Looking forward to trying this!

 This is my Guided Reading Table which will be a little different this year since we are beginning Reader's Workshop.  To the left of my table is my NEW rolling Reader's Workshop cart.  I have mentor texts organized by letter, reading tools on the second pull-out shelf, and more reading supplies on the bottom.  My plan is to roll this cart around as I conference with students.

We have a school-wide set of rules that all teachers follow together.  It makes the message consistent and throughout each grade level.  RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, KIND, AND SAFE.  We give out blue awards that the students bring to the principal.  It is a positive system where the students are rewarded by having a chat with the principal about their positive behavior.

This is my calendar board.  I am planning on using the neon caddies as ones, tens, and hundredths and collecting straws.  Pretty simple calendar board but I like it.  Thinking of adding the sight words for the week.

This is my new idea for Student of the Week.  Instead this year we are doing Explorer of the Week!  When it is a child's week they will bring home a suitcase from our class.  Inside the suitcase is Zippy the Zebra who LOVES to travel and a travel scrapbook.  Each student needs to pick a county to travel to anywhere in the WORLD.  Each student will bring the suitcase back to school with things from that country and share with the class.  I have a special table for the items brought to school.  They also have to make a page in our class travel scrapbook.  We will keep track of our travels by stamping our passports and marking our class map!

This is my leveled library where students will shop for books for their book boxes.

Next to the leveled library is the student's book boxes.  This first week of school I will take a picture of each student and place it on their book box with their name.

For the first time EVER, I have focus walls for Language Arts, Math, and Science.  So excited how these came out.  Language Arts includes our Super Readers stamina chart, Common Core standards, Writer's Workshop goals, etc.

My math focus wall will have Common Core Standards, new vocabulary words and anchor charts that go along with the unit.

This is my Math Centers rotation board.  After Math Workshop we have Math Centers for 30 minutes.

This is my morning message board.  Each and every day I will write a message to my kiddos.  Each day of the week I try to practice skills in language arts, math, or science.

This is in my writing center.  Just love my new "Sharp" and "Dull" labels for my pencils.

Parent NIght Ideas

Getting closer to the first day of school and my room is almost ready to meet my little ones.  This is always a hectic time preparing for the first day of school so today I want to help ease the planning with some Back To School night preparations.  Together with my blogging buddies we are celebrating the start of school and the finale of our Linky Party by sharing Parent Night ideas!

I do not know about you but I tend to get the butterflies on this night.  Public speaking always makes me nervous and I definitely loose some precious sleep the night before.  So I came up with a way to help ease the Parent Night jitters!

As parents walk in my classroom I greet them with a little token of my appreciation...a small gift of some sort because we are all in this together right?  We are a team and starting today we are working together to make learning fun!  My husband is in the produce business so I usually have him bring home a box of fresh, juicy apples and I make cute little tags that I attach to each apple for the parents.  

Another go to at Parent Night is I get all my materials ready before I speak.  Take home folders, class mascot, interactive math journal, field trip permission slips, etc.  As I am speaking to the parents all my talking points are there ready for me to share.  

So I found to really take away the jitters I like to go step by step through my classroom website with parents.  My website contains every part of my classroom environment.  A lot of times parents do not know where to look to find information so I take this night to show them how.  Step by step!

Hoping that each and everyone of you has a fabulous school year!  Link up with us and share your plans for Parent Night and we are counting down the days until our giveaway!  2 $50 giftcards to TPT!  Don't forget to link up!

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First Week of School! What to do!

What?  It is the first week of school?  How can that be....feeling a little anxious with the first week of school coming so soon?  Well you came to the right place.  I am here to help you with some great first day activities and calm that anxiety!

Everyone is nervous on the first day of school.  I'm nervous!  I usually do no sleep well the night before because I want everything to go perfect for my new kiddos.  What I found most helpful is keep it simple and fun!  My number one goal is to make sure my new kiddos feel safe and secure in their new classroom environment.  So I begin our morning with of course...a  picture.  You have to take a picture of your new kiddos the first day of school.  It is a must!  Last year I made these cute signs for my kiddos to hold up...so darling!

The first day of school means new backpacks, new clothes, and that perfect hairstyle that you know mom made them wear.  So YES do not forget to take that classic pic!  It always amazes me how they really do not know me yet, but they trust me enough to take this picture.  So sweet!

Another must do for me is I always read them my all time favorite First Day of School book, The Kissing Hand!  The Kissing Hand touches on those first day jitters and missing mom and dad.  To help my sweeties feel at ease I read them the story and then we make these precious handprint puzzles to bring home to mom and dad to remember the first day!  I buy the puzzles at Morrisons's School Supply.   I help each kiddo paint the palm of their hand and then place it on the puzzle.

At the bottom of the puzzle I write their name in sharpie and the date to remember the first day of kindergarten.  Exploration is very important the first week of school.  We spend a lot of time exploring classroom materials and working cooperatively with our new friends.  

We also spend the first week of school focusing on our names.  Each kiddo gets their name puzzle in an envelope.  They put their name together to make their own personal puzzle!

We jumped right into science and STEM by doing our color experiment, rainbow toast, and a carnation experiment.

Wow!  What a busy first week of kindergarten!  Hopefully some of that anxiety is slipping away.  Join me and my blogging friends for our Linky Party.  

We are giving away 2 $50 to TPT!  

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Meet The Teacher Ideas!

Looking for fun and cute ideas for your Meet the Teacher or Back To School Night?  You came to the right place.  Together with my blogging friends we are sharing all those ADORABLE, FUN, and CREATIVE ideas!  

Now some schools offer a Meet the Teacher prior to the start of school while others have an official Back To School Night once school has started.  I am LUCKY to say that at my school we do BOTH!  Are you kidding me?  Yes, it is true!  The Friday before school starts we open up our classrooms for 1 glorious hour to WELCOME our sweet kiddos into their new classroom.  This is a chance for especially my kiddos (kinders) to get their first glance at their CLASSROOM.  Furniture is in place, the classroom is organized ( I hope), the decor is set and before you know it little feet come hoping through the door and the new school year officially begins.  

Let me share with you what my Meet & Greet looks like on this day:

My number one goal is to provide WARMTH to any individual that walks into the door.  This is the first time your student are meeting you and their parents.  I always make sure to pick out my FAVORITE, COLORFUL outfit to wear.  Kiddos love color so I make sure to be BRIGHT & SUNNY with a BIG smile on my face!  Oh and don't forget the SPARKLY shoes!

I set up stations throughout my classroom for parents and kiddos to visit.  There are 4 stations that families visit on Meet the Teacher day.  As they walk into the classroom I hand them a darling poem that explains where to go.  I found several of these ideas from Kim Adsit and her unit called The Ultimate Open House Scavenger Hunt

#1  Sign-In Table

This is where I collect important information from the parents.

• Sign-In Sheet-to record the parents and child's name. 
• Child Information- I started doing this due to the fact that the office collects information sheets for the office and I like to have my own for my class.  I keep these forms in my Teacher Binder. 
• Field Trip Permission Slips- As a kindergarten team we have these printed and ready to go for ALL field trips.  Parents sign all forms and write a check and your forms are completed in a SNAP!
• Parent Volunteer Form- Every parent likes to participate in some way throughout the year so on this form I have the parent describe what they are interested in doing.  Then I send a google doc out to the entire class for parents to sign up.
• Internet & Blog release-  I have ALL parents sign a release form for me to use photos of their child on my blog or website.  If they sign "No" then I make sure to never have the child in my pictures that I post.  

#2  Student Folder

Every new student will receive a special folder to start the new school year.  I write the names of each student on the folder.  This helps me remember who did not come that day.  Inside I make sure to include information for the new school year that parents can refer to all year long.

• Daily Schedule
• Monthly Themes
• Welcome Letter
• Supply List
• Explorer of the Week List (Star or Student of the Week)
• Parent information flip book (This is new this year!) Created by Learning in Wonderland

                              

#3  Family Scrapbooking Page

Another amazing idea from Kim Adsit.  For our Writer's Workshop folders I have each student bring home a Family Scrapbooking page to decorate.  Students get creative and decorate their page with pictures of family members, pets, favorite places to go, food, sports, you name it!  During the first week of school each day I try to have 3-4 students share their scrapbooking page.  This is their very first presentation!  Then we keep this as their cover to their Writer's Workshop folder.  It helps my kiddos think of things to write about.

#4 Picture Time

It is important to make every kiddo feel special in those first few moments in your classroom.  I do this 2 different ways.  First each child visits my classroom library and picks out a favorite book.  I have them place this book in my "Special Book Basket."  I try to read these special books the first week of school.  Then to end our SWEET visit I take a picture of my little gems to cherish this moment.  This is a keepsake for me and their parents.  

#5 Special Treat

Every kiddo and parent leaves with a Special Treat!  We are all in this together so I make sure to acknowledge my parents too.  We are a team!  

Parents are teacher too!

My kiddos have a BIG smile on their face when they see this!
Starburst
Eraser
Smarties
Hershey's Hug
Penny
Sticker

I can't wait to hear your ideas for Meet the Teacher or Back To School Night.  Don't forget to join our Linky party this week.  We are giving away fabulous TPT Units to start off your new year with a smile on your face.

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