New Students

You know, it's nice when they tell you that you have a new student coming BEFORE the kids show up for class. I mean, really, you knew yesterday. How hard is it to send me an email?

Also, I NEED to know how they're going home BEFORE the bell rings!

Today is one of those days where I wish I was organized enough to put together new student bags at the beginning of the year. I definitely thought of it!

Now to go discover every little nook and cranny where I write my kiddos' names...

It's getting easier...

One of the things I spent LOTS of time on last year was organizing my units, centers, printables, hand-outs, parent letters, etc. into file crates and filing everything according to the theme, unit, month, and season of the year. I tried to do a similar thing with my electronic files on the computer. This being my fourth year in kinder,  I'm finally feeling like it's getting easier to know what to teach next week! I was able to open the "September" file, pull out some physical papers, open some PDFs and Word docs, and send them all to print for next week! This sure beats frantically typing something up while the kids are at recess and printing it out on my classroom printer!

This year I'm documenting better on monthly planning sheets each of the math & literacy centers for my various themes and focuses, along with lists of all the materials needed, the prep to do, and what to send to print ahead of time. With a list like this ready for next year, I can even send September & October work to print in the spring! That would blow the Print Shop Ladies' minds! I'm definitely the "Hey, I know this is super late but is it possible to get this back by this afternoon or tomorrow morning?" girl.

Now to figure out how in the world to do the same thing with my paper mini-books to send home... Yuck!

I can do this! =)

To Clip or not to Clip?

So, I don't have a consistent behavior management that I love. I have a few systems in place that I use on and off, and in all reality it depends on my mood. Last year I was either sick or recovering most days, so I really didn't have the energy to be proactive, which ended up wasting a lot more energy!

(SQUIRREL! I just overheard my husband use the word "vacay" with a construction foreman! LOL! Really working hard not to laugh in front of them...)

By the end of the year, my management system was based on smiles, raised eyebrows, and exasperated looks. SUPER effective. *she says sarcastically*

A solution? Maybe? Everyone is blogging and TpT-ing about their Clip Chart systems: rainbow-colored banners where kids' clips can start in the middle on green (Ready to Learn) and move up and/or down through a variety of levels, with the goal of ending up on purple (Outstanding) or red (Call Home). Lots of people have shared their takes on it, but the original work is from Rick Morris at http://www.newmanagement.com/ebooks/clip_chart.html.

I'm wondering if I can adjust this to the bucket-fillers concept? We now have the book in Spanish, and my new roommate will be focusing on that again this year. I can use the bucket and pom poms for the whole class, and the chart for individuals. We could use markers or colored pencils to indicate kids' behaviors on a calendar or daily record sheet if necessary.

Projects to Start With...

So much to think about and consider before we get rolling in just a few weeks! Here are some routines I want to think through and revamp for next year. Interestingly, they all have to do with folders! Stay tuned to see what I come up with...

1. Homework folders
2. Communication folders (should 1 & 2 be the same?)
3. Sub folder
4. Writing folders
5. Science/Soc St/Song $& chant folders
6. Math folders

Now, last year, a good chunk of these folders spent a good chunk of the year empty, in a basket, collecting dust on my top shelf. And the kids' papers were a mess... At the same time, I have to remember, they're only five!

A Box a Day Keeps the Clutter Away!

Clutter Free Classroom's Flash Freebie today was labels for daily planning magazine files or book boxes where you put your read alouds, copies, materials, etc. for each day of the week. I've tried this method on-and-off the last two years, but it's hard to find room for this in a shared classroom, and to keep up with things--especially if you have materials you didn't end up using. I do really like the idea, though! Maybe if it's cute and in a new space (new classroom for the fifth year in a row!), it will be easier to keep up with. I like the quick and visual way of long-term (well, for the week) planning, instead of writing out: "I'll need this book for Monday and these copies for Tuesday and died pasta shells for Friday," or something like that.

I do know that having everything together like this makes it so easy for a sub to follow, or for my assistant to show my sub the plan. I did do this faithfully one week at a time (one tub per week) when I was out for an extended period last year for my surgery.

Cheap cardboard magazine files
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50022354/

Clutter Free Classroom Post
http://www.clutterfreeclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/07/organize-daily-copies-materials-teacher.html

On Yearbooks and Sleepless Nights

Just a preemptive reminder to myself:

This year I MUST create videos/photo slideshows and yearbook pages THROUGHOUT the year! Last year I had an excuse since I was sick and gone SO much that I was constantly in survival mode playing catch-up. But really? I pulled way too many all-nighters the week before graduation finishing our year-end iMovie and scrapbooking our yearbook (when no moms showed up to help =(  ). This year I cannot do that to myself! Maybe this week I can create some default scrapbook layouts for each season/field trip/party so next year I just have to drop in the photos? Or maybe I can print out the photos in a blank layout and have the kids illustrate them after each event... That may be a cuter keepsake than my scrapbooking skills! Hmmm...

Ooh, I know! For the video I think I want to record kids saying what we did and where and when. Like a short little introduction for each scene, instead of creating a title screen! This we can also do throughout the year, and I really need to show kids the videos all along, otherwise there's no point in recording and saving them, since only 1-2 minutes of each event makes the final DVD! I wonder how much of this I can do on my new iPad?

Name Cards

To add to my last post on Name Tickets and handwriting practice, here are a few more thoughts:

The name cards we make each year on cardstock for the kids are how we mark attendance each day. The first kids who come in pull the cards out of a pocket on the attendance pocket chart, and spread them out on a nearby table. As the kids come in, they find their name, and put it in the pocket chart. When we clean up to start class, I use the remaining names on the table to mark attendance online. The kids are welcome to go grab their name card at any time throughout the day if they need it to copy when writing. Later in the year they like to grab their friends' names to write them accurately in their journals or to write them letters or lists during free choice.

I've found in the past that for most kids, the name cards are the perfect size to be covered up with a jumbo sticky note which are see-through enough that they can trace their name. Maybe this is how we start the year? The kids pick up their name, trace it (or just the first letter or two to start with), then bring it to me to check. Once their name is written correctly to the best of their ability, they can put it in the pocket chart and go make a choice.

This will work much better if they trickle in. It may be tough to manage if they all come in from recess at once, at least at first. I wonder when I'll have my assistant this year? Last year she came in for a few minutes during this time to check in with me, then left right away for her lunch break. If there were two of us, it would be no trouble... We'll have to see!

The iPad Planner?

So, I came across a neat blog (on Pinterest, of course!) by designer Amanda Hawkins from www.ahh-design.com that inspired what may become a great idea... Now, I have been looking for YEARS for a good online lesson planner--and I don't mean a type-it-in-and-we'll-save-it "lesson templates" where you type out your resources, standards, anticipatory set, direct instruction, etc. I teach kindergarten, for crying out loud! I certainly think about all those things each day, but I certainly don't write out full-on work sample lesson plans for every single thing we do each day! I want a customizable, weekly lesson planner just like the paper ones I make and print out--only online. I have a computing device in my hands way more often than I have my lesson plan binder, and for me it's much faster to type something in and copy links or pictures instead of hand-writing things out.

Amanda may have just solved my problem... http://ahhh-design.com/ipad-notes/

I tried my hand at a quick mock daily lesson plan template last night:

It's pretty scattered and very right-brained! I think it just may work, though! We shall see...

What is your favorite lesson plan method?