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!