Monsters Go to School! And a Freebie!

Have you seen these cute books from Creative Teaching Press?  I don't work for them or anything, I just like to use their monster books.  I think I have three or four of their titles and we use them to reinforce the rules at school. They are all very simple and the kids can reread them easily.  I made some felt monster puppets and my kids get to act out the book The Five Little Monsters Went to School.  Of course we get to do it four times so that they all get a turn.

Five Little Monsters: felt, puffy paint and wiggly eyes!

This year I am hoping to let the kids act out the book while we snap pictures with the ipad and then they can narrate the book and we'll save it.  Haven't gotten to that quite yet.  :)


 I made a simple paper book to go with the Where do Monsters Live? book.  The kids color and fill in the color words.  Nice and easy!

Monster Houses

We also read Go Away Big Green Monster and make these cute monsters.  We used green paint with some gold glitter mixed in on the first day.  I have them fold the paper in half and write their names.  Then they glob on the green paint and close the paper on the fold.  They smear it around with their hands and we open it up to see how it looks.  The next day we decorate the faces.  I model it but then try to let them do their own things.  They cut out teeth, eyes, mouth, noses, and ears then use the purple glitter for the hair.  I love how they come out!

Other fun monster activities:

We practiced our subtizing while making a Monster face in math.

We also sing a little song to go with the book.  It goes to "She'll be Coming Round the Mountain" and it is very simple: Go away big green monster, go away.  Go away big green monster, go away. (repeat, repeat, repeat).  Silly and fun!

There is an ipad app, too, that I have used with my own grandchild but not at school yet (we need a dongle!).

First Day Jitters!

I am joining the First Day Jitters party over at A Turn to Learn.  

I have exactly one week from tomorrow until I report back to work.  Tomorrow is the first day we are allowed to work in our classrooms.  I am trying to resist!  I am going on Tuesday because we are giving tours to new students on Wednesday and it would be nice if a few rooms didn't have all the furniture piled up in the middle!!!  A few of my friends will be there and we are going out to lunch (we'll see how much work I get done!)

  I get nervous every year, no matter how long I teach.  I have crazy dreams.  I wake up early and can't stop trying to plan.  I am printing out lots of new ideas, I have no idea when I will get to them.  I am excited and nervous and sad that summer is almost over!  I had fun with my family, especially my adorable little granddaughter. 

So tell me: Are you nervous, excited, calm, or dreading the new year?  Leave me a comment and tell me when you start (or if you already started!)

Getting Ready for the New Year!

As I am thinking about setting up my classroom (we can start on Monday but I am holding off until Tuesday), I am avidly searching the web for other cute classroom ideas.  I found an awesome site (through Pinterest, of course) that has a bunch of links to classroom pictures.


 I like my room (except for the fact that one wall is yellow, one wall is green, the shelves are peach, the rug is blue, and I think one more color that I can't remember right now.)  I have a big room with lots of light (even a skylight!) and a kid's bathroom (essential).  I have to house two teacher desks (one assistant's desk and one teacher desk) but I am considering using my desk as the projector table.

Front right corner

Back right corner

Looking in from the doorway

window and playground door from the sink

Circle time-last year I covered the chalkboard with whiteboard cling.  Looks much better-I can't stand that putty colored chalkboard!!

Back wall-This is actually a dividing wall with my friend next door but we never open it.  It is all made of metal.  When I went into school last week, they had removed that plastic burlap covering above and below the chalkboard (putty colored again!!!).  I gave away that horseshoe table-takes up a ton of room but they are nice to have reading groups at.

I took the above pictures a few years ago when I went in to set up.  It actually looks worse right now with everything all stacked up in the middle.  I don't think anyone understands (except other teachers) how much work this is every year to first put everything away and then set it all up again at the end of the summer!!

It is exciting to think of doing some new things in the room.

I love polka dots and we start off with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom so I have some polka dot bulletin boards and I bought more polka dot borders.  I got a polka dot pencil holder, too.'

My file cabinet is in the closet- I hardly ever use it.  I am trying to store more things digitally.  I just need to get more organized- folders and such.

I am going to switch some of my MP3 players to ipods/old iphones. (oooooo!  right?  The kids will probably wonder why they can't watch youtube videos-that's what my granddaughter does and she isn't even two yet!).  I need to set them up with the cover pictures of the books I have on mp3.  I read about it somewhere....I may need to google that!  I saw it on Jessica Stanford's site, too (scroll down and look at her ipods).

I am also considering using some shelves as dividers and making the rug area more separate.  Not sure until I go in and push things around.  I am exhausted just thinking about it.

I have bunches of things to print out and laminate.

I have a huge team this year: five teachers, two special ed teachers, two and a half reg ed assistants, two special ed assistants, and I think a one on one for special ed (but I haven't heard yet).  So I need to coordinate a bunch of schedules.

So I guess I should get busy!!!

First day of Kindergarten

It is still July, right?  We don't start school for another month!  But I have been reading other Kindergarten teachers' plans from the First Day of Kindergarten Linky party so I thought I would share mine, too.

We actually have our Back to School night the Thursday before school starts.  The parents all arrive around 6 pm and check the board to see who their child's teacher will be then head into the cafeteria for a short presentation.  We take turns going over things like how much lunch costs and when the field trips are.  Then we take our own group of parents to our classroom.  In the room, we get more specific. We also have them fill out some paperwork and sign up on our classroom Shutterfly site.  Then we go home and collapse!

Then on Friday, the whole school has an open house.  Most of the parents bring the kids and all the supplies so I let them sort their supplies into big bins (we do community supplies).  I set out a few baskets of crayons and some paper, some legos, and a few toys in the house corner.  The trick is to get them to feel comfortable but not to trash the room (usually, it is the little siblings!).  I try to take a picture of each child during this time if I can.  I have a nametag for the kids to take home and wear on the first day of school (actually, we ask them to wear them for three weeks).  I have the parents write the bus number or car rider or walker on the tags for me.

Our kids will be starting on Monday, August 27 this year.

At 9:10, the first bell rings and students start arriving at my door.  The bus riders, car riders, and walkers are collected by assistants and brought right to me (we ask the parents to let them travel their usual way that first week as we teach them the way to the classroom).

The kids enter and are shown where to put their lunch or buy lunch, where to hang up their back packs, and to answer the question of the day.  I usually can talk to each child and help them.  After the first few days, most of the kids will be able to do this on their own.  Then they choose a table to play at where I have set out legos, puzzles, pattern blocks, etc.  I try to get them to stay at one table and not wander off.  Wow!  I am already exhausted just typing this!

At 9:25, the tardy bell rings and the announcements start.  Some of the kids will know the pledge, some will be doing it for the first time.  We practice standing up and looking at the flag with our hand on our hearts a few times.  Then they sit down and use the materials for a few more minutes while I put out fires.

At 9:45, I play music and ask them to clean up and come to the rug for Morning Meeting. We point to the schedule. (Every year since we went to full day, we have had a different schedule.)  I write a short morning message.  We stand up and dance. We practice sitting.  We visit the bathroom and discuss the expectations.  Depending on how the time goes, I will either read a book (Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten big book.  I tell them I worked hard to get ready for them.  I try to get them to remember something they did to get ready for their first day of school and we write a class book about it on the second day of school.) now or after we visit the cafeteria.



 10:15 Practice lining up, using a few models and narrating how nicely they walk to the place to line up.  We take some deep breaths and try to be peaceful.  It will not be pretty but we will make it to the cafeteria and find our table.  Most of my kids bring their lunches from home for most of the year.  We try to encourage it for the first few weeks.  But we will show them the lunch line, trash cans, and rules for the cafeteria with our assistants.  Then we will do the same thing outside.  We stay with our kids for lunch or recess the first few days to help out.

10:45 Recess

11:15 Lunch

11:45 Wash hands/ Books on the carpet/drinks/bathroom (we wash hands again after lunch because we usually have a few kids with allergies and this helps protect them).


12:00  Calendar time, read another book, The Kissing Hand.  This book is a story of a raccoon who is afraid he will miss his mom when he goes to school so she helps him out with a kiss on his palm.  We have a great discussion about how things are the same and different for us and the animals in the book.  Then we have four activities: one is making a handprint puzzle , one is a handprint book, a Kissing hand paper book, coloring a wooden person/stick for our special friend box .  I may start them all coloring the Chester book and then call them one at a time to make their handprints. I am not sure how this time will go-we used to have the bigger time block before lunch.  I have another First day of Kindergarten book and I have them draw themselves.

1:15 Snack/small recess on Kindergarten playground

1:45 Special (PE, Music, Art, Tech, Media-not sure yet which we will get on what day)

2:45 Self-selected activities.  I will have the house, blocks, legos, and coloring available for the kids to choose from. I will be firming up dismissal details, helping kids, filling the folders for the kids to take home.

3:20 Play music and clean up.  Start dismissal procedures early!  I model being Special Friend and I put all the sticks into the box and choose a Special Friend for the next day (they take home a journal with directions in it.  They share it the next day.)  I have a few kids demonstrate how to go get their backpack and lunchbox.  I hand out the folders and make sure they get into the backpack.
We line up early, in bus order.  The walkers and car riders will be escorted by a teaching assistant, I walk out the bus riders.

3:50 Collapse!!!

Phew!

I have plans for the first six weeks of Kindergarten available on my website (free!).  Just click the link!

Check out the other first day plans at Teaching With Z!

I am going to link up with Time for Kindergarten's Classroom Jitters Party, too!

And the First Day of School party at Teach 123!

Be sure to click here and enter to win a copy of Pete the Cat!