Organizing the Classroom Library

Most of us have quite a few books in our classroom libraries! We collect and hoard paperbacks and old hardbacks and buy our favorites when we can. I personally started this collecting in college, which resulted in tote bins of children's books that sat unread for a few years. But now my students each have their own book bin and browsing rights in my class library. It's awesome! I had such wonderful readers thanks to Daily 5 and our literacy curriculum. But at the end of the year, my library was a mess. It took me a long time to go through all of the books. I devised a system for cataloging that is Kindergarten friendly.
I found these: http://www.reallygoodstuff.com/product/book+basket+label+set.do and used sticker dots and a permanent marker.

For science books, I used a green dot and drew the outline of a leaf. I marked that bin and every book that goes in it with a dot. Above, you see a collection of "Story Box" books from old curriculum. I used red dots with a square to mark all of these.
I plan to take some time to teach through interactive modeling, a Responsive Classroom core practice http://www.originsonline.org/responsive-classroom/about-approach/core-practices , and really make sure this cataloging system is put to use. I purposely put the dots on the front of each book to make it easy! If you're worried about aesthetics, you can put the sticker around the binding or on the back. I just wanted it to be easy.

Getting Ready 2012-2013

 This year I'm going with a "bright" theme. These little light bulbs are made with metallic, glitter, and shimmer scrap booking paper with googly eyes. I made all different sizes and glued them together. Then I used a fine permanent marker to draw the little wires inside the bulbs and the lines across the bottom part that screws into a socket (is there a name for that part?). I wanted to do something different! Last year I thought owls were really original...and then they ended up everywhere. So I'm betting that light bulbs aren't the next big trend. But I could be very wrong!

Even though I consider this "door decor," it's actually the window beside the door into the hallway. They are supposed to be covered for safety reasons, so why not do the decorating there? I don't mind a mostly bare door...if I have one thing that isn't covered in something it's actually quite an accomplishment! If you look back at my door decor from last year, I used the labels next to the owls as seasonal changes: leaves, snowflakes, raindrops, flowers. This year I hope to give the light bulbs hats: witches hats, Santa hats, leprechaun hats... and then leave the names or just change the colors. I do have quite a few seasonal/holiday borders, but I usually don't take the time to switch them out. We'll see about this year! I might try to get everything made and set it aside for when I need it. When I do things ahead of time like that, it really rocks.

The End of My Second Year

It was the first thing I put up and the last thing that I took down: my "Welcome to Kindergarten" sign. My mom came and helped me pack everything up because I shifted two rooms down the hallway (more bulletin boards!) and I'm so glad she could help. My mom teaches beginning band (bless her) and she kept saying, "You have so much stuff! You have so much stuff!" Well, yes. I do.

There it is!

You'd never guess that it all could be arranged neatly and organized in cupboards. It took a full day of hard work to get everything packed up. I did take her out to lunch! We really had fun. So that's what I started with for the 2012-2013 school year. And it's already coming together swimmingly, two doors down.



Snack Pockets

Snack time is a welcome part of the day. The children are nourished, they get a little break, and we can use the time to be with them, too. But snack can take up a good chunk of time! Last year, I structured snack so that we washed our hands, got our milk from the cafeteria and walked back to our room to eat. That way, I could progress monitor with one child at a time or work on an intervention for a couple minutes with a kiddo while they ate. I used this shoe holder as a way for the kids to store their snacks (we have snack in the morning). They each have their own pocket and I can see clearly who needs cereal from me because they forgot or didn't bring a snack. It is hung on strong magnetic hooks. It works very well! For allergies, I keep that snack totally separate from the others. I like it because the line walks in, remains in a line, each student grabs his/her snack, and sits down. Smooth sailing!

Spring 2011-2012

Crafts done in the spring at our school are just as adorable as any holiday! I added my own to the list and it made for a bright hallway and classroom.

You'll notice paper robins with button eyes, clouds with rainbow streamers, green pipe-cleaner flowers springing up, and handprint umbrellas with rain drops.

The robins are a looped piece of brown construction paper, with a smaller loop for the head. Glue on a brown tail and wings, a red belly, and orange legs & a beak. We glued on buttons for eyes, but you could use googly eyes or draw them too.
The flowers are a long strip of construction paper with petal shapes. In each shape goes a letter of the child's name. Fold the paper around like a fan and staple. The children glued on the buttons and pipe-cleaners.
The clouds start out like an open clam. Glue on the streamers and then close the cloud on either side.

Dr. Seuss Mania 2011-2012

March is a super month for learners! I really enjoy Dr. Seuss and his day in the spring, so we joyfully took on some projects in his honor.

These collages were a lot of fun! We read the book and then like chefs, took on the artistry of "plating" the food. Green pom poms, orange circles, and green and white construction paper are all you need! And a little glue. :) You'll notice Sam-I-Am drawn there, I love to sketch and draw. One of my favorite ways to decorate is through characters from children's literature. I sketch with pencil, outline with marker, and color with crayons. I have as much fun as the Kindergartners!

Christmas 2011-2012

There are our stockings! They are hung by our Word Work (Daily 5) with care! I found these stockings for two for a dollar at a craft store. The last day before Christmas Break I put a pencil, eraser, and play dough in each for a holiday gift.

The holidays were certainly Merry and Bright! We had a lot of fun with the traditional crafts done by the Kindergarten teachers at our school.

This is a reindeer hand/fingerprint. So cute!

And below is the foot/hands reindeer and the name bulbs:

The bulbs are a bit tricky, so I had the children do them with a volunteer. Run off the bulb shapes on construction paper and have a volunteer cut them out. Then use squares of black to wrap and glue around the yarn for each bulb. I strung them together in one long line for display and then sent them home for keeping.

The peppermints are made from paper plates. I used a ruler to trace the guiding lines and then the children painted one side red and the other green (pattern with the white). Add a cotton ball with a drop of peppermint extract in between, staple, and wrap with cellophane.

I decorated my "locker" (I have one in the hallway as well for team-building purposes) with this picture. The kiddos loved it! "You aren't old Miss Smiff!" they said. But someday, I will be!

Fall/Halloween 2011-2012

I love fall at school! Our school celebrates Halloween and all the kiddos get to wear their costumes on a special day before the holiday. We spend the month getting ready with poems and stories. I love it! This poem is traditional and widely used. I die-cut tiny pumpkins (5 for each child) and circles for the moon. I made a pattern on half a white sheet of paper so the kids cut out black rectangles (the negative space) and the result was a white fence. I put out glitter for the moons and printed poems. It was a fun craft!

Here is the poem:

"Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,

The first one said, 'Oh my, it's getting late!'

The second one said, 'There are witches in the air.'

The third one said, 'But we don't care!'

The fourth one said, 'Let's run! Let's run!'

The fifth one said, 'Isn't Halloween fun?'

Then whoooooooooosh went the wind,

And OUT went the lights.

And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight."

Another project we did was sponge painting yellow and orange onto a candy corn shape. See it on the lockers:

I'm sure I'll do some of the same projects this year! The children had so much fun with the pumpkin poem. It remained a favorite throughout the year.

Star of the Week - 2011/12

Star-of-the-Week is a great way to get to know your students and to encourage them to get to know one another. I used this board at the kid's eye-level to display what they brought from home. The frames are laminated tagboard from a scrapbooking store. I used a gold glitter pen to add a little glitz to each one after they were laminated. Then I created a poster page with the shapes of each frame and instructions for what pictures they should use; i.e. "My Pet" or "My House." They could cut out magazine pictures, draw pictures, or use real pictures to fill each frame. I included a baggie with the poster and the instructions for a family member to help them cut each out. Then they brought the baggie in and I put them up for a week. I start with myself to connect with my Kindergartners. :) I should upload the poster PDF for download!

Hopes And Dreams/Rule Creation - 2011/12

There are just never enough bulletin boards, are there? This is my "Hopes and Dreams" board from last year, which was a big piece of paper and boarder masking-taped up to the wall. I considered it very negative symbolism when the whole thing would be on the ground in the morning and I'd have to add another 20 pieces of tape to the bag and re-stick it up before the kiddos arrived. However, now I see it as a symbol of what we teachers do daily. We remind everyone of why we're at school and keep our goals in sight. We uplift and inspire, and occasionally stick everything back up when it all comes crashing down! It's too bad that this photo wasn't a video - you'll notice the bulging corners of the "board" because the whole thing was about to slide off and bite the dust. I'm happy to say that I have a new bulletin board (a real one!) for our Hopes and Dreams this year!

"Hopes and Dreams" are a part of Responsive Classroom, by Origins from the Northeast Foundation for Children. I am trained in Responsive Classroom and believe in it's validity and ability to empower teachers and students. Here's a link to find out more: http://www.originsonline.org/responsive-classroom .

"Hopes and Dreams" are a part of the Rule Creation process:
1. Establishing why we come to school.
2. Listing our hopes and dreams.
3. Brainstorming a whole bunch of rules!
4. Sorting the rules into Place, Self, and Each Other.
5. Grouping them into positively stated, general rules (no more than 3-5).
6. You add a rule as the teacher.
7. Publishing and displaying the rules with class signatures.

There they are beneath the pumpkin! This is the list from last year. (I didn't get a picture until October? No time!) The beauty of student created rules is the ownership that comes with them. Students are more connected to the guidelines and understand their purpose more clearly. The signatures are great when it's time to point out that we agreed to follow the rules. (Rule number 2 actually came from the kiddos! Score!)

The Writing Center - 2011/12

I love a big open space where I can spread out and work. Most kids do too! Last year, I set up my writing center for Kindergartners underneath the word wall. I kept materials handy in baskets nearby, but avoided clutter by changing them out every now and then. I offered choices besides paper, with dry erase and doodle boards. The children often used the word wall and surrounding posters in a purposeful way when they worked on writing. The writing center was the place to write. :)

Door Decoration - Owls

Everyone loves owls! Seriously, whoooo doesn't? And the possibility for puns are endless (that doesn't mean they don't get old!). Last year, I chose owls as my theme. I made the owls out of scrapbook papger and googly eyes. I wrote the children's names on leaves for fall, snowflakes for winter, raindrops for spring, and flowers for summer/late spring and then changed them as the seasons changed. The owls stayed put all year! Loved it.

"Guess What?! I lost a tooth!"

Kindergarten is where it begins... Those gosh darn teeth won't stay in! Those wiggly teeth can be bothersome, mom and dad want to pull them out, when they do come out sometimes they bleed, and then you have to try to chew without them. But we are proud when we lose our teeth!It's a right of passage that we make the most of. The tooth fairy comes! And brings me money! (The going rate is getting higher...) And my teacher records it on our chart. Woohoo!

I cut out teeth shapes from white paper, printed off month labels, and laminated them. When a kiddo says, "Guess what?! I lost a tooth!" I get out my permanent marker and write their name on that month. I usually extend it into a math lesson as well, where we count the names on each month and fill in a bar graph (during calendar/math time).

Magnet Clips

 Hanging up children's artwork is one of the best ways to encourage a sense of belonging. Put yourself in their shoes: you made your best picture ever. You are so proud and now it's hanging in the classroom! This place is where you belong.

I like to have a special place where kids can see the work of which they are proud. In one of my schools, I had a lot of whiteboards and few bulletin boards! So I used magnets like these to continually hang work throughout the year. I hot glued a clothespin to a Popsicle stick. I wrote the children's names with permanent markers. They decorated their own with puffy pens. Stick a magnet on the back and voila!

Who Has Time For A Blog?

NOT this girl!


Some teachers possess a type of industriousness characterized by efficiency and artistic flair. Most teachers work towards this! I am one of those teachers working towards efficiency, creativity, and cool tricks of the trade. I've found that learning from other professionals is the best way to gain insight and ideas. I've patrolled other blogs and gained so much. I'd like to share, too. Welcome to my blog! I really don't have time for it, but I'll do my best. :)

I've been teaching Kindergarten for the past three years and before that I taught Preschool right out of college. I've worked in several different schools and centers, so I've tried a few different things here and there that might also work for you.

Please feel free to share your ideas with me and any suggestions you might have. And again, welcome!