I teach a challenging group of students this year. They are six & seven-year-old Kindergarteners. They learned their alphabet and numbers last year. The struggles they had were learning their alphabet and numbers plus the hundreds of other concepts Kindergarteners must learn before being promoted to first grade... basically, they need to be reading, writing sentences, and doing simple addition & subtraction to be prepared for the rigors of first grade. Let's face it Kindergarten is hard these days.
I learned how to read in home living at a half-day Kindergarten. I don't remember much else about Kindergarten except putting on an apron and serving plastic pancakes for breakfast to my classmates. Somehow though... I learned how to read doing just that.... playing. I thought teaching Kindergarten would be like it was when I was in Kindergarten. Centers, hands-on activities, singing & dancing, etc. It's not really like that. We give grades. I have some hard working students in my class with all As, and they got a really cool yard sign that says they're on the superintendent's list for honor roll.
Enter TJ. Six-years-old. Shoes are more expensive than all of my shoes combined. Knows his alphabet and sounds but refuses to say them when tested. Knows his numbers but intentionally says incorrect numbers. Laughs at inappropriate times. Falls out of his chair 46 times a day. Will not sing and dance. Puts pieces of crayons in his pockets during centers. When asked what he wants to be when he grows up, responds with..."a robber so I can go to jail."
The entire month of August, I worked and worked on breaking the attitude. The entire month of September, I worked and worked on finding out what motivates TJ to do things (maybe not learn.... but just to do something!!!) The entire month of October, I worked and worked on teaching him the rules & procedures of the classroom so he wouldn't go home in trouble every single day. The entire month of November, I worked and worked on teaching him manners. So far... so good. It's amazing to see how he's changed in 3 shor... I mean LONG months. :) TJ can sit for about 8 minutes during a lesson without interrupting me. He can be nice to his classmates and keep his hands to himself at recess. He can write all 26 letters and he can tell me the sounds associated with the letters. He can even write CVC words when I say them slowly (CVC-- consonant vowel consonant like cat, dog, pat, sat, rug). He can answer 50 addition facts in 5 minutes and get 90% correct. On the Thursday before Thanskgiving, he handed me a tray with a spork/napkin combo and told me he was trying to be nice to others.
Several problems are still lingering.... the goal of being a robber to go to jail, the refusal to do work (sometimes), and thinking making F's are funny. I still have to search his pockets (without his knowing) before he leaves every day to take out my linking cubes, crayons, and whatever else he hides in there during centers. I also have to distribue a LOT of stickers throughout the day to keep him motivated to work, sing, & dance, but the price of stickers is so worth it to me. He's not going to be instricially motivated to learn... not when life has been hard and it's too much fun to fail. My goal by the end of this year is to teach this child of God that he is worth something to His creator and savior and God has a plan for his life..... not to be a robber or whatever else may come to his six-year-old mind that has seen far more than I have seen. God's plan is for him to love others and serve. It's for him to grow up and continue his education so he can be something greater than we can predict in Kindergarten. We can "police officer, nurse," it all day long, but who knows what kind of jobs will exist in 2025. He's an important.... necessary piece of my puzzle of students this year, and although at the end of the day, it can be quite upsetting to think I've got only 6 more months to get this child ready for first grade, I know it's not me doing this work. It's God. God is using me to train this child the way he should go..... and I'm so thankful to be able to see His work each and every day (because this student is never absent.) :) :)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
MY students LOVE literacy this year!
I was a funny little first-year teacher last year. I learned about classroom management. I learned a lot about Kindergarten. Kindergarteners learn a lot more than the alphabet and numbers like I once thought. Kindergarten is about growing a little older, a little wiser, and about learning the very basics of reading. Teachers teach little ones to listen to stories, comprehend stories, visualize the stories, sound out words, memorize other words, read phrases fluently, and get from reading level aa books (two & three word sentences) to level D-E books (considered beginning 1st grade). Many students are successful. Some students work really hard but they can't learn THAT MUCH in 9 months.... that's where I come into the picture this year. I am the teacher of the second-years, the transition to 1st grade teacher.
This year, my students are a little older (with spring birthdays... all six), come with experience with alphabet and sounds, and are eager to grasp everything Kindergarten in their efforts to move forward towards first grade.
This year, I am not teaching the alphabet in a one letter per week fashion as Kindergarten teachers do. Saxon is a good program, and the students learn SO much through the lessons, but.... I just knew this new group of older Kinders needed more than what Saxon had to offer. I was not given another option for a program, so I am doing it my own way, and I think in the process, I'm learning how to really teach. I'm not leaning against scripts & scheduled lessons to tell me what to teach my students and when. I am making decisions based on assessments, and I am constantly monitoring my students.
This year, I have fallen in love with a book called The Daily 5, which has changed my view on centers. I am teaching my sweet students to be independent when I teach guided reading which is a 360 degree turn from centers last year. My students interrupted my lessons constantly last year..... which hurt the students I was trying to teach how to read. This year, we are slowly building stamina with independent reading-to-self, writing, working on words, listening to reading, and buddy reading. The students do five activities independently throughout the reading instruction, and they are growing as readers and writers.
Every day, I am amazed at how much my students are improving with spelling words in different word families, writing sentences that not only include subjects & verbs... but also adjectives & articles. I love watching them guiding their fingers under the words as they listen to fluent reading on tape or with their Leap Frog Tag books/pens. My students this year are not only learning to read, they are learning to love literacy. Their book baskets are filled with books they enjoy, and they get so excited when I ask them to pick one to read aloud to me. The love finding their sight words they've learned so far, and they work hard to sound-out new words. One of my students last year is with me again this year. Last year, it took him ALL year to identify 26 letters. He never grasped sounds. This year, he can write words like mosquito, dinosaur, and science. He will be a successful first grader next year because of the extra time he spent in Kindergarten.
It's also amazing to have a WONDERFUL para-professional who loves to teach, too. I have passed Calendar Math lessons over to her so I can assess and prepare for afternoon lessons. My days are more scheduled, filled with better teaching, and I can admit my students are happier than my students were last year.
This year, my students are a little older (with spring birthdays... all six), come with experience with alphabet and sounds, and are eager to grasp everything Kindergarten in their efforts to move forward towards first grade.
This year, I am not teaching the alphabet in a one letter per week fashion as Kindergarten teachers do. Saxon is a good program, and the students learn SO much through the lessons, but.... I just knew this new group of older Kinders needed more than what Saxon had to offer. I was not given another option for a program, so I am doing it my own way, and I think in the process, I'm learning how to really teach. I'm not leaning against scripts & scheduled lessons to tell me what to teach my students and when. I am making decisions based on assessments, and I am constantly monitoring my students.
This year, I have fallen in love with a book called The Daily 5, which has changed my view on centers. I am teaching my sweet students to be independent when I teach guided reading which is a 360 degree turn from centers last year. My students interrupted my lessons constantly last year..... which hurt the students I was trying to teach how to read. This year, we are slowly building stamina with independent reading-to-self, writing, working on words, listening to reading, and buddy reading. The students do five activities independently throughout the reading instruction, and they are growing as readers and writers.
Every day, I am amazed at how much my students are improving with spelling words in different word families, writing sentences that not only include subjects & verbs... but also adjectives & articles. I love watching them guiding their fingers under the words as they listen to fluent reading on tape or with their Leap Frog Tag books/pens. My students this year are not only learning to read, they are learning to love literacy. Their book baskets are filled with books they enjoy, and they get so excited when I ask them to pick one to read aloud to me. The love finding their sight words they've learned so far, and they work hard to sound-out new words. One of my students last year is with me again this year. Last year, it took him ALL year to identify 26 letters. He never grasped sounds. This year, he can write words like mosquito, dinosaur, and science. He will be a successful first grader next year because of the extra time he spent in Kindergarten.
It's also amazing to have a WONDERFUL para-professional who loves to teach, too. I have passed Calendar Math lessons over to her so I can assess and prepare for afternoon lessons. My days are more scheduled, filled with better teaching, and I can admit my students are happier than my students were last year.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
my obsessions
I get so tired after a day of teaching. I get home around 6, fall on the couch or into my computer chair, and I cannot get up for a good hour. "The Office," double stuff oreos, & simply lemonade have been my go-to's after school this week. After making so many decisions, answering so many questions, and hearing "Miss Hurst" 1,500 times in 8 hours, I need to zone out for an hour. :)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
loving having OLDER kindergarteners!
Yesterday was our 17th day of school.
I have a great group of students. This is their 2nd year of Kindergarten, and they are getting it this time! With the exception of three students, they have spring & summer birthdays so they were the youngest students in their classes last year, and this year, it's almost as if they are thinking, "I have to pay attention this time! I refuse to be a behavior problem!" The students with reputations for being behavior problems simply aren't this year. Whether it's because they grew up this summer or they are more mature at the start of this year then they were at the start of last year or for some, they are not the "low" ones in class... I'm honestly not sure, but I love my group of students.
I still have different levels. There were different reasons these students were retained. Some didn't get the hang of identifying letters of the alphabet. Some knew the letters but didn't grasp sounds. Some knew letters and sounds but didn't catch on to sounding out words. The requirement was they had to know 26 letters & sounds and "attack" a three letter (CVC) word at the end of Kindergarten to be promoted. I divided my kids up by ability at the end of this week to just see if I could -- and I have 6 groups of 3 students.
I've been implementing a lot of better teaching methods this year. They are up & moving, sitting at tables for shorter periods of time (at this point in the school year), learning through creating, and of course, we're singing. My class LOVES Jack Hartmann & Thomas Moore (who came to Amory/Becker, MS, this summer & led the Excelebration for 0-5 year olds in Monroe County). They beg for "the rhyming song," "the alphabet exercise song," "the cowboy song," and "Humpty Dumpty Dumpty." I will always be a fan of Dr. Jean, and although my students many not admit to loving "Who Let the Letters Out?" like they do the other songs we sing, they have learned 26 letters & sounds in 17 days of school. :) All you have to say is, "Who let the ___ out?" and my students can produce the sound. We're still working on the i & e sounds. Those are difficult.
Seventeen days into the school year, I already have an amazing room mother who comes in to read to students & give them AR tests. I have students who know my expectations and can recite the four classroom rules. My students are good at taking turns and sharing roles in science or during science centers. I have students who are motivated to learn to read, write, solve math problems, and LOVE science experiments. At recess duty the other day, two boys (who were in my class last year and did not love school) ran up to me and asked, "What are we doing in science this afternoon?" I have students who love big books & reading predictable sentences. Their journals are neater than I expected they would be, and they can keep a glue stick going for longer than 2 days! Last year, my class would go through some glue sticks. It was ridiculous. This year, we were only allowed to ask for two glue sticks from our students. Needless to say, I bought out Wal-Mart's glue sticks when they went on sale. :) My students can read their color words (including teal!) and are anxious to get started on sight word tests... which I've been putting off until we finish our alphabet a day to keep parents happy with me. I don't want them to have to study identifying letters, writing letters correctly, sounds, counting to a certain number, AND 7-8 sight words. That's a lot! I'm not sure how much of what I'm doing this year will apply to a "baby" Kindergarten class in the future, but this is definitely working for the "older" Kindergarten class.
Seventeen days into the school year, we still need work on using inside voices, not arguing in line, paying attention during instruction, and following directions quickly & the first time. We need some more work on "dot-dot-not a lot!" with glue, not picking at our scabs to make them bleed, not tying shoes during calendar math, and writing our letters correctly on handwriting paper. Copying letters off the board is still a challenge, and writing numbers is still very messy. I saw an upside down four for the first time this week. I've seen plenty of backwards fours in my first year as a Kindergarten teacher, but an upside down four???? That had to take some thought. I'm not sure if I can write an upside down four. :) My students miss their classmates from last year and want to know when they'll go to first grade, but at the same time, they have a lot of fun playing at recess with their new classmates. I watched my girls Friday group up with some Kindergarten girls and show them cheerleading "stunts." The boys run around & pretend to be characters from Twilight or Star Wars with the Kindergarten boys. They will soon be content with their new group of classmates, if they're not already content.
I have a great group of students. This is their 2nd year of Kindergarten, and they are getting it this time! With the exception of three students, they have spring & summer birthdays so they were the youngest students in their classes last year, and this year, it's almost as if they are thinking, "I have to pay attention this time! I refuse to be a behavior problem!" The students with reputations for being behavior problems simply aren't this year. Whether it's because they grew up this summer or they are more mature at the start of this year then they were at the start of last year or for some, they are not the "low" ones in class... I'm honestly not sure, but I love my group of students.
I still have different levels. There were different reasons these students were retained. Some didn't get the hang of identifying letters of the alphabet. Some knew the letters but didn't grasp sounds. Some knew letters and sounds but didn't catch on to sounding out words. The requirement was they had to know 26 letters & sounds and "attack" a three letter (CVC) word at the end of Kindergarten to be promoted. I divided my kids up by ability at the end of this week to just see if I could -- and I have 6 groups of 3 students.
I've been implementing a lot of better teaching methods this year. They are up & moving, sitting at tables for shorter periods of time (at this point in the school year), learning through creating, and of course, we're singing. My class LOVES Jack Hartmann & Thomas Moore (who came to Amory/Becker, MS, this summer & led the Excelebration for 0-5 year olds in Monroe County). They beg for "the rhyming song," "the alphabet exercise song," "the cowboy song," and "Humpty Dumpty Dumpty." I will always be a fan of Dr. Jean, and although my students many not admit to loving "Who Let the Letters Out?" like they do the other songs we sing, they have learned 26 letters & sounds in 17 days of school. :) All you have to say is, "Who let the ___ out?" and my students can produce the sound. We're still working on the i & e sounds. Those are difficult.
Seventeen days into the school year, I already have an amazing room mother who comes in to read to students & give them AR tests. I have students who know my expectations and can recite the four classroom rules. My students are good at taking turns and sharing roles in science or during science centers. I have students who are motivated to learn to read, write, solve math problems, and LOVE science experiments. At recess duty the other day, two boys (who were in my class last year and did not love school) ran up to me and asked, "What are we doing in science this afternoon?" I have students who love big books & reading predictable sentences. Their journals are neater than I expected they would be, and they can keep a glue stick going for longer than 2 days! Last year, my class would go through some glue sticks. It was ridiculous. This year, we were only allowed to ask for two glue sticks from our students. Needless to say, I bought out Wal-Mart's glue sticks when they went on sale. :) My students can read their color words (including teal!) and are anxious to get started on sight word tests... which I've been putting off until we finish our alphabet a day to keep parents happy with me. I don't want them to have to study identifying letters, writing letters correctly, sounds, counting to a certain number, AND 7-8 sight words. That's a lot! I'm not sure how much of what I'm doing this year will apply to a "baby" Kindergarten class in the future, but this is definitely working for the "older" Kindergarten class.
Seventeen days into the school year, we still need work on using inside voices, not arguing in line, paying attention during instruction, and following directions quickly & the first time. We need some more work on "dot-dot-not a lot!" with glue, not picking at our scabs to make them bleed, not tying shoes during calendar math, and writing our letters correctly on handwriting paper. Copying letters off the board is still a challenge, and writing numbers is still very messy. I saw an upside down four for the first time this week. I've seen plenty of backwards fours in my first year as a Kindergarten teacher, but an upside down four???? That had to take some thought. I'm not sure if I can write an upside down four. :) My students miss their classmates from last year and want to know when they'll go to first grade, but at the same time, they have a lot of fun playing at recess with their new classmates. I watched my girls Friday group up with some Kindergarten girls and show them cheerleading "stunts." The boys run around & pretend to be characters from Twilight or Star Wars with the Kindergarten boys. They will soon be content with their new group of classmates, if they're not already content.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
let the adventures begin!
We start school tomorrow.
I am content with this. Excited will happen when it cools down outside. It is too hot to start school. :)
May the adventures of being the first teacher ever in my school's history to teach Kindergarten AND Transition to first grade begin! (Overflow students are heading to my classroom... mix of transition students and baby Kinders.)
I am content with this. Excited will happen when it cools down outside. It is too hot to start school. :)
May the adventures of being the first teacher ever in my school's history to teach Kindergarten AND Transition to first grade begin! (Overflow students are heading to my classroom... mix of transition students and baby Kinders.)
Friday, July 23, 2010
tactile AND kinesthetic class
"Andy Apple is an acrobat. Andy can jump way over his mat. Ant can catch him, just like that! Andy Apple is an acrobat." "Benny Bear, Benny Bear. Please beware! Please beware! I see a bee near the basket of beets. The bee is buzzing by buttery treats. Please don't run. Eat your bun! Benny Bear.""Callie Cat can bake a cake...."
I love teaching Kindergarten. Two years ago, if you asked me what grades I wanted to teach, I would have said grades 1-5. You notice no mention of Kindergarten or 6th grade? Well, I was horribly afraid of both ages of kids. Sixth graders are hormonal & know more about worldly stuff than I do, and Kindergarteners "need help blowing their noses & tying their shoes."
Funny how a mindset can change. :)
I love helping five-year-olds LEARN to blow their own noses & tie their own shoes, and identify letters & sounds, count to 100 and beyond, begin addition & subtraction, and READ!
This year will be different. Not bad different..... good different IF I am a consistent teacher. I was not very consistent last year. Some days, I would teach phonics after calendar math, some days it would come before carpet time, and some days, it would fall in the afternoons. No one could ever guess when I'd teach math. That was even more unpredictable. The students would show a lot of success with routines for a few weeks, I would get bored, and the routines would change. This year, I am preparing my mind to NOT fall into those bad habits. Not only do I have a different group of students, but this group of six-year-olds has had a year of Kindergarten. They spent last year learning one letter per week through Saxon Phonics, lessons from Saxon Math, and center activities. This year, in order for them to learn & be prepared for 1st grade, I have to teach differently from day 1.
I also have to teach the rules & enforce them throughout the first weeks of school & beyond. This year, I have four rules.
1. Follow directions quickly.
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak or leave your seat.
3. Make smart choices.
4. Keep your dear teacher happy.
(These rules come from Whole Brain Teaching which I am implementing this year to keep classroom management under control.)
This group coming to me this year is a group filled with highly-tactile, highly-kinesthetic, highly-visual learners. That's why Saxon was not successful with this group. Saxon is designed for auditory learners, & less than 30% of students retain information from lessons designed for auditory learners. This year, I'm teaching hands-on math lessons, hands-on, move-around phonics lessons, daily 5 independent literacy & guided reading lessons with focus on student-selected goals, and science/social studies integrated into thematic units (not based on letters we're learning!)
Please pray for my excited sixteen students and their enthusiastic, filled with new research-based ideas, yet longing for a few extra weeks of summer break teacher in the coming days. :) August 4 is our first day of school!
I love teaching Kindergarten. Two years ago, if you asked me what grades I wanted to teach, I would have said grades 1-5. You notice no mention of Kindergarten or 6th grade? Well, I was horribly afraid of both ages of kids. Sixth graders are hormonal & know more about worldly stuff than I do, and Kindergarteners "need help blowing their noses & tying their shoes."
Funny how a mindset can change. :)
I love helping five-year-olds LEARN to blow their own noses & tie their own shoes, and identify letters & sounds, count to 100 and beyond, begin addition & subtraction, and READ!
This year will be different. Not bad different..... good different IF I am a consistent teacher. I was not very consistent last year. Some days, I would teach phonics after calendar math, some days it would come before carpet time, and some days, it would fall in the afternoons. No one could ever guess when I'd teach math. That was even more unpredictable. The students would show a lot of success with routines for a few weeks, I would get bored, and the routines would change. This year, I am preparing my mind to NOT fall into those bad habits. Not only do I have a different group of students, but this group of six-year-olds has had a year of Kindergarten. They spent last year learning one letter per week through Saxon Phonics, lessons from Saxon Math, and center activities. This year, in order for them to learn & be prepared for 1st grade, I have to teach differently from day 1.
I also have to teach the rules & enforce them throughout the first weeks of school & beyond. This year, I have four rules.
1. Follow directions quickly.
2. Raise your hand for permission to speak or leave your seat.
3. Make smart choices.
4. Keep your dear teacher happy.
(These rules come from Whole Brain Teaching which I am implementing this year to keep classroom management under control.)
This group coming to me this year is a group filled with highly-tactile, highly-kinesthetic, highly-visual learners. That's why Saxon was not successful with this group. Saxon is designed for auditory learners, & less than 30% of students retain information from lessons designed for auditory learners. This year, I'm teaching hands-on math lessons, hands-on, move-around phonics lessons, daily 5 independent literacy & guided reading lessons with focus on student-selected goals, and science/social studies integrated into thematic units (not based on letters we're learning!)
Please pray for my excited sixteen students and their enthusiastic, filled with new research-based ideas, yet longing for a few extra weeks of summer break teacher in the coming days. :) August 4 is our first day of school!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
thank you for second chances
I am so glad I have a chance to start over....
Being the teacher that I am, I have to make a list.
1. Christ: I plateaued this year. I made my job more than a job; it became my idol. Everything about me revolved around teaching, preparing lessons, & working in my room until all hours of the day & night. I was going through the motions at church & instead of enjoying sweet time with Jesus, I was dreading the chore. Awful isn't it? Preparing for Super Summer & Super Summer itself brought me back to my knees. I realized what an IDIOT I've been this past year & how MAGNIFICENT my Creator & Savior is. Amazing He never left my side. Could have, should have, but chose not to because He knew His plan was going on.... He knew I'd see my struggles & would turn away from them & back to Him. He knew I'd learn how to relate to people again at Super Summer... how to worship Him again.... and how to be a reflection of His love. Sure wasn't a pretty reflection this past year.
2. School: My first year was not bad. My students will always have a special place in my heart. I am obsessed with knowing who they have for first grade, and I know they will be successful. I am so glad all of the first grade teachers are experienced so they will have a balanced first years of school after having a crazy first year teacher for Kindergarten. :) I learned a lot about a lot. I've described all that before, but I am itching to get back into room 109 and start fresh with a new group of students. I have tricks up my sleeve.... research-based tricks, I might add, and it's going to be a great year! However, I am going to learn to balance job-life-Jesus MUCH better than I did last year. So far, I've done an impressive job at not living at the school decorating & cleaning like I did last summer... so that is a good start! I'm planning to do Zumba/Boot Camp during the school year to keep my physically healthy... I'm working within the youth group at church, which as you may know, I LOVE & truly GROW in Him when I'm doing this. .. and I'm helping with a children's musical this year -- another thing I love doing but do NOT want to be in charge of. :)
Research-based tricks I'm doing this year in Pre-1st Grade include Whole Brain/Power Teaching for classroom management. This gets the students involved with following rules & procedures of the classroom. The Daily 5/Cafe/Guided Reading is how I'm structuring my reading instruction. This will be students working with & in books & spelling/sight words while I'm teaching reading lessons to small groups/individuals. Centers are going to be developmentally appropriate for 6-year-olds, & I will be working with students in their centers...not teaching reading during this time. We're doing a poem/interactive chart each week to help the students learn to read whole-language style. Math is going to be part-Kindergarten/part-1st grade to prepare them for the BIG things they'll learn next year. My lessons are going to be in UbD format and will not follow a program (like Saxon or Houghton Mifflin). It's a lot of hands-on experiences, journaling/problem-solving, and games. There will be sheets at times, but it's got to get BEYOND sheets for it to be truly learned & engrained into their sweet brains.
I am so thankful for second chances. :)
Being the teacher that I am, I have to make a list.
1. Christ: I plateaued this year. I made my job more than a job; it became my idol. Everything about me revolved around teaching, preparing lessons, & working in my room until all hours of the day & night. I was going through the motions at church & instead of enjoying sweet time with Jesus, I was dreading the chore. Awful isn't it? Preparing for Super Summer & Super Summer itself brought me back to my knees. I realized what an IDIOT I've been this past year & how MAGNIFICENT my Creator & Savior is. Amazing He never left my side. Could have, should have, but chose not to because He knew His plan was going on.... He knew I'd see my struggles & would turn away from them & back to Him. He knew I'd learn how to relate to people again at Super Summer... how to worship Him again.... and how to be a reflection of His love. Sure wasn't a pretty reflection this past year.
2. School: My first year was not bad. My students will always have a special place in my heart. I am obsessed with knowing who they have for first grade, and I know they will be successful. I am so glad all of the first grade teachers are experienced so they will have a balanced first years of school after having a crazy first year teacher for Kindergarten. :) I learned a lot about a lot. I've described all that before, but I am itching to get back into room 109 and start fresh with a new group of students. I have tricks up my sleeve.... research-based tricks, I might add, and it's going to be a great year! However, I am going to learn to balance job-life-Jesus MUCH better than I did last year. So far, I've done an impressive job at not living at the school decorating & cleaning like I did last summer... so that is a good start! I'm planning to do Zumba/Boot Camp during the school year to keep my physically healthy... I'm working within the youth group at church, which as you may know, I LOVE & truly GROW in Him when I'm doing this. .. and I'm helping with a children's musical this year -- another thing I love doing but do NOT want to be in charge of. :)
Research-based tricks I'm doing this year in Pre-1st Grade include Whole Brain/Power Teaching for classroom management. This gets the students involved with following rules & procedures of the classroom. The Daily 5/Cafe/Guided Reading is how I'm structuring my reading instruction. This will be students working with & in books & spelling/sight words while I'm teaching reading lessons to small groups/individuals. Centers are going to be developmentally appropriate for 6-year-olds, & I will be working with students in their centers...not teaching reading during this time. We're doing a poem/interactive chart each week to help the students learn to read whole-language style. Math is going to be part-Kindergarten/part-1st grade to prepare them for the BIG things they'll learn next year. My lessons are going to be in UbD format and will not follow a program (like Saxon or Houghton Mifflin). It's a lot of hands-on experiences, journaling/problem-solving, and games. There will be sheets at times, but it's got to get BEYOND sheets for it to be truly learned & engrained into their sweet brains.
I am so thankful for second chances. :)
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