slush and centers!

Slush is our classroom mascot I guess you could say.  I introduced you to him in one of my first blogs.  You can refresh your memory here.  Centers have become one of my favorite things because the students enjoy working together and exploring the different things I have in our classroom.  Every morning they ask what time we are going to do centers!  It also allows me to get a couple of things done.  My assistant is GREAT and helps out with the art center a lot of times.  I don't always have art centers though.  Most of the time my centers consist of math, blocks, reading, art, handwriting, play dough, and sometimes other little things that we need to get done in smaller groups.  I have 5 different groups and about 4 or 5 in each group.  I feel like I have done a good job with discussing our behavior in centers and the clean up process.  I have a center monitor as one of the classroom jobs who makes sure the centers are cleaned up just the way I like them!!!  I told them at the beginning of the year that if they do not clean up the way I have shown them and asked them to then we will not play with those things anymore.  I really hated to do it but it happened.....the puzzles are gone.  They had just put the pieces of the puzzle on top of puzzle and then back on the shelf.  I put them away and I am not sure how long they will be gone from our center but I do want to make sure I make my point!!!!!  Since this is my first year I do want to make sure I follow through with my classroom discipline. 

Last week during centers one of my students came up and asked if he could read to Slush.  I thought it would be really cute so I could not say no!  He got Slush and another frog stuffed animal I have on top of my book shelf and sat in my rocker put the animals in his lap and started reading.  It was one of the sweetest things.  He also made sure to show the animals each picture!  After he finished the book I guess he decided that Slush wasn't finished in the reading center because I looked in the center and saw this....

They love listening to all my books on tape!  I hope Slush did too!!!!

here we go!

Kids come this week!!!  It hit me today!  Eek!  I have a lot done but I keep on thinking of more to do.  I have been in workshops and trainings for the past couple of weeks.  I have felt just overloaded with information!  There is so much to being a first year teacher.  I am very very thankful to be going through this with another first year teacher at Grover in Kindergarten with me!  I am glad to be able to feel overwhelmed with her!  We have bonded a lot!!!  Thanks LeAnn for already being a good friend and I am glad we have one another!
There is so much I want to do in my classroom but I think I might have to work it in as the year goes.  A few things I am excited to be doing though is...

1.  Meet Slush!  He is a stuffed wolf (who is our school mascot) and he will listen to a lot of my kinder friends tattles.  I am sure he will fill me in on the things I need to know in the afternoon. 

2.  Chance Tickets.  Every day each student will start with 3 chance tickets.  After their second warning and the student moves their clip to yellow the student must give me a chance ticket.  Every warning after that they must give me a chance ticket as well.  At the end of the day if the students have any tickets left then they can put them in a container I have.  On Fridays I will then draw out 2 tickets and those students cards I drew will be able to pick a prize out of a bigger prize box.  I have to get some things for this though.  I am thinking some candy bars, Homework passes, and some other special things I can think of. 

3.  Mystery Reader.  Each week I am going to have a mystery reader come to my classroom and read a story.  This can be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc.  I have decided that if I don't have a lot of response then I will invite people from the community or school.  I think this will be fun and exciting for the students.  I am going to save some special books for those mystery readers just in case. 

4.  School Tour.  LeAnn and I have decided we want to tour the school in a fun way this year for our students.  We have heard of different ways to do this using books but we have decided to use Eric Carle's Brown Bear Brown Bear book.  We will read the story then read a little note that the animals have escaped and we have to go around the school to find them.  We have not gotten this all planned out but we are going to go to the cafeteria, media center, gym, office, assistant principal, principal. 

Tomorrow is orientation!  I will hopefully get to meet all of my 21 kindergartners and their families.  I still have a couple of boxes to go through and some cleaning to do but other than that I think I am ready to meet them.  Tuesday is our last teacher workday so I will really have to work on some lesson plans and just prepare myself to be the best teacher I can be this year.  Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday will be a staggered entry.  I will have 7 each day.  That will be nice!  Then I will really have to prepare myself for Monday when all 21 come! 

I am excited about what God has planned for me this year.  Please keep me in your prayers!!!!