Random Suggestions for First Year Kindergarten Teachers

     Someone recently said that the first week of kindergarten was like turning on a blender without a lid.   After 11 years of teaching kindergarten, I have to agree -- it is a pretty crazy time. My niece just got her first full time job -- teaching kindergarten -- and I was thinking about how I might help her and other beginning teachers manage that first wild month.  So I'm going to share some suggestions for survival.

1. Keep your iPad or camera handy all the time. Take pictures of each child alone and with their family when they come to open house so you can use them for the video you make for graduation.   You can use the pictures of the children for lots of things.  I cropped the faces and printed them all on one page like a yearbook page. Try to take lots of pictures all year.

2. Have name tags with lunch numbers ready to use for lunch time. You can get plastic name tag holders that clip on at Walmart. Lanyards are even better, but cost a little more. I even sent a letter home before school started to give them the numbers so they could start trying to learn it.  I sometimes offered a reward when a child could say their number.

3. Read The Daily Five book and plan to start teaching and modeling modeling modeling the procedures on the very first day. They can learn to sit in one spot and "read" books independently by the end of the month and that will give you time to work with groups. 

4. Let the children help you compose the RULES OF THE CLASSROOM.  I had 5 rules and we practiced them many times every single day with hand motions. Their first homework was to learn these rules. My rules: 1. Listen when others are talking. 2. Follow directions quickly. 3. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.  4. Clean up your area 5. Work quietly.  Heidisongs and Harry Kindergarten both have good songs on you tube about rules. Pin them on Pinterest so you can find them quickly.

5. Print off a Donors Choose permission form and get parents to sign it with the other papers at registration. You will need it if you want to try to get them to fund things for your classroom. I got a wonderful rug, cd players and DVD players from Donors Choose.

6. Have a signal to get the attention of the children.  I had a wind chime that I rang when it was time to gather on the carpet and a few songs loaded on my computer.  Sing every day! My favorite was "Ready to Read" by Jack Hartmann. I also recommend the  "Whole Brain Teaching" method of calling "Class" and they respond "Yes" and look at me. 

7. I kept a box of Skittles on my desk to reward the quietest in the bathroom line or the first children to follow my directions. It is amazing to see what they will do for one Skittle. The only time I gave one to the whole class was when they got a compliment for walking quietly in the hall. 

8. Teach them the "Quiet Game" I learned this wonderful game from Heidi Butkus of Heidisongs. It is great for the bathroom line or for when you need them to sit quietly while you need to do something else, like talk on the phone or talk to a visitor.  Just choose one child to come to the front of the room and look for the quietest kid. They point or call the name of the one they choose, and that kid gets to come up and choose the next quiet one. No call backs -- can't choose the one who chose you. We played it every day while lined up by the boys bathroom and they never got tired of it.

9. Teach them a hand signal for going to the bathroom. We used sign language for toilet. They could give the signal and I just nodded silently and usually no one else noticed.  Otherwise it was contagiously and suddenly everyone needed to go.

10. Take them on a trip around the school on the first day and show them how to get their lunch, how to choose a library book, how to go down the slide, etc. Before they actually need to be there.

11. I recommend a whistle for the playground. My signal was 3 short blasts that meant Line.up.now. Everyone knew to come running when they heard it.

12. Read lots of blogs. There are so many fabulous teachers who share ideas to make your job easier. And if you write your own blog, you can get to know some of them.  I highly recommend blogging!  Or follow some on Facebook, like Heidi Butkus, Deedee Wills, Deanna Jump, and Kreative in Kindergarten. They also have great stuff on Teachers Pay Teachers.

      What an adventure you will have this year!  When I started teaching, there were no blogs or TPT, NO Facebook or Pinterest.  Today you have a wealth of resources at your fingertips and soon you will have a room full of eager faces looking up at you.  I hope you love this opportunity to teach little ones to read and write -- it will be one of the most rewarding years of your life!!

Almost Ready!

            I am almost ready for kindergarten to start!! Just a few things left on my to-do list...
  1. Write 26 names on labels for...

• cubbies, 
• planners, 
• poetry notebooks,
•  desks, 
• literacy notebooks, 
• book baskets
• nametags
• word work folder
• journals
• math journals    

  2. Copy for parent folder

• introductory letter
• Donor's Choose permission
• scavenger hunt
• permission to post pictures on Internet
• supply list
• class schedule
• parent information sheet

3. Post class list
4. Make schedule
5  Sort all those boxes on the table
6. Cut out and laminate more stuff
7. Set up fish tank and bring fish to school
8  Change book barn display -- put away end of year books
9. Gather books to read for first week of school
10. Make playdough
11. Set up 10 math stations
12. Put names on birthday poster
13. Find "How We go Home" poster
14. Put books in individual book baskets
15. Write rest of lesson plans
16. Make homework folders 
17 Finish powerpoint for "Meet the Teacher" tomorrow night
18. Get "Bucket-filler " book from library and do bulletin board in hall -- if we have time.
19. Make new class helpers chart with polka dot pockets
20 Write names on clothespins for clip chart
21 Write names on sticks for job jar
22. Turn barn around so kids won't play inside
23 Charge batteries for camera
24. Activate ESGI account and enter names on line
25 Label baskets to collect school supplies

       Hmmm -- looks like the "optional" work day on Friday may not be so optional after all... I know I'm forgetting things...

26. Fill bird feeder outside the window!

First Day of Kindergarten

                                          

First Day of Kindergarten

         This has been the shortest summer ever!  And since I have spent a lot of the summer reading and writing blogs, cutting out and laminating, rearranging and redecorating my classroom, and buying school stuff -- well, it doesn't seem like it could possibly be time to start back in a little over a week.  We were very lucky to get our floors cleaned the first week of vacation, so I was able to get back in my room in June.
        But now it is time to think about what we will actually DO when the room is full of all those little blank slates -- eager (I hope) to learn!  I am glad to have a place to get my thoughts together -- and there are lots of other ideas shared if you click on the link.
        We have Meet the Teacher night next Thursday.  I always take a picture of the kids -- and a picture with their family on that day.  I use the kids' pictures in lots of ways, and the family picture helps me remember who belongs to who. So I hope to have pictures of all the kids on the door on the first day.
        All the kindergarten kids usually meet in the library every morning -- some will eat breakfast at school first. I will meet them there and clip on a name tag that I've already prepared -- it will have their lunch number on there as well, and they will wear these to lunch until they memorize that long number.  I will already have asked the parents to say a quick goodbye and let the children walk in the room alone -- that worked really well last year.  I'm hoping for no tears!!
     Names will be on cubbies -- and they should remember where theirs is since I showed it to them just a few days ago. So they will put bookbags away and go to a table.  In the previous years, I have had math manipulatives, a "Kissing Hand" raccoon picture to color, or a ball of white playdough with red food coloring inside.  They squeeze the playdough until it all turns pink -- magically -- and we will later make it into a heart shaped magnet for them to take home.  I'm still thinking about this -- but leaning toward the playdough.
    After everyone is in the room -- and hopefully all they parents have gone to cry -- or celebrate -- because their baby has grown up.-- I will play the Jack Hartmann "Hello" song and gather everyone on the carpet.  I will use what I have learned from the "Whole Brain Teaching" website to teach
"Class -- Yes" and "Hands and Eyes."
 Now we will develop the CLASS RULES.

 Now, there are lots of rules to chose from, but I always like to let the kids come up with the rules we need to be safe and happy. I actually have the rules all laminated and ready,  but I think it means more if they take part, so I don't show them my posters until the next day.  And everything they suggest can be incorporated into my rules.  For example, if they say "Don't hit" -- that's rule #3. Keep your hands and feet to yourself.

    I'll show them the clip chart -- and their own name on a clip -- and explain how that works.  I also have a silver box full of Skittles -- it is amazing what they will do for one little Skittle.

    We will practice names a little -- the WBT way, then stand and sing "Ready to Read"  and look at the Morning Message.  This will mostly involve counting words, counting letters, and seeing what they know.

    I'll introduce the job chart and assign jobs, then we will start our first Letterland lesson (our phonics program).  We will meet Annie Apple and Bouncy Ben -- hear their story, song, and actions, and perhaps color a picture of Annie Apple.

   By now it is time to move around a little, so after a discussion about rules in the hallway -- and rules in the bathroom -- and a story about Pete the Cat Rockin' in his school shoes, we will go on a tour of the school.  This involves stopping in to meet the office staff, librarian, computer lab teacher, and the lunchroom.  I always have them walk thru and show them how to get their tray -- and don't touch the food -- show your lunch number at the cash register, and where to sit.

   On the way back we will have our first group bathroom break -- something of an ordeal trying to keep 25 kids quiet while they wait in line for the 2 toilets.  This is usually the place for the first Skittles to be given to those who follow all the rules.

   Back in the room now -- on the carpet, criss cross applesause -- I sing Dr. Jean's "Everybody Have a Seat"-- and we will practice the RULES again.

   Reading Time -- We will talk about names -- long names, short names, and sort the names I have on the pocket chart -- as I see who can recognize their own name.  We will look at "Mary Wore a Red Dress" in a big book,
 then sing the song using  names of the children.  I might show the the Heidisongs "R-e-d spells red" video if we have time.
Sometime we will talk about voice levels -- 1 is a whisper voice and 5 is outside yelling.
  By now it is probably time for Gym or Art class -- don't have the schedule yet -- so time for teachers to take a breather and get ready for the rest of the day!
  Unless the schedule has changed, we go right from that class to the lunchroom.  Last year lunch was 10:50-11:20.  Oh, no -- another bathroom break!  If our library cards are ready, we will visit the library after lunch and check out a book.
  This year, we have "Enrichment/Intervention" on the schedule after lunch.  So this is the time I will introduce The Daily 5 and Cafe.  I'll read one of my favorites "No, David"

as I teach 3 ways to read a book. I have a little song about 3 ways that I will teach, then we will make a "Read to Self" anchor chart and model the right and wrong way to read.

I have  laundry baskets for some to sit in -- and I will assign good place to read on this first day.  We will try to build stamina -- training body and brain -- and color in a graph.

Math -- We will start our math time with calendar activities -- singing "Days of the Week" before the calendar person comes up to help me do the calendar. We are using Math Investigations -- plus Deb Diller's "Math Stations" -- so we have a mini-lesson -- just an intro -- and will graph bus riders and car riders with a pocket chart -- or magnets, if I get them done by then.  On this first week, we will just have exploration activities -- pattern blocks, etc.  During this time I will try to do a little math assessing -- find out if they can count, etc.

FINALLY--- TIME FOR RECESS!
After another bathroom break -- PLEASE be quiet-- I'll introduce writer's workshop.  We will talk about procedures -- again -- as we gather in the carpet.  I am having a hard time putting my writer's workshop together.  Here are the books that I am trying to combine: "Talking, Drawing, Writing" and

Growing Up Writing" and "Mastering the Mechanics" and a book I got from Jessica Meacham's website -- plus a gazillion ideas from other bloggers.  All have wonderful ideas -- and more than I could ever complete in a year -- so I am still working on that.  The first day, I expect we will just tell some stories and do a self portrait in their journals.
Oh HELP! -- the day is almost over and we haven't made the magnets yet!! And I still have to get bookbags packed and planners given out and look at the list to see who is riding which bus! And I have 3 more books that I wanted to read!  Oh, and did I mention that I will need to start assessing to see who knows the alphabet?
OK, obviously I still have more planning to do -- when I get the final schedule and the final class list.
But I am glad to have a plan of sorts -- and you can bet I'll be checking out all the rest of the links during this last week of cutting, laminating, planning...