It's Fall Already!

It's hard to believe that it's almost October! Fall is my favorite season. I love the cooler weather, fall decorations, festivals, and watching the leaves change colors. Today was our 28th day in school already. My kiddos have adjusted well to school and are learning so much. Our school is in the 1st year of professional development called the Missouri Reading Initiative. I am excited to learn more about how to teach balanced literacy and learn new strategies. However, the pre-testing has taken so much time. I do see the benefits though. I have given each student a Letter Identification Test (LID), a Writing Sample test, and a Concepts About Print (CAP) in the last few weeks. I have to remind myself that even though I'm starting off slow (not as much time to "teach" b/c of testing), it will be worth it all in the long run. My students are eager to learn and it's a privilege for me to have the responsibility of teaching them.

Classroom Pictures

Above is the reading center. The huge "shade" is a display from a local sports shop. The manager was kind enough to donate some of their former displays.

I got the idea for this behavior chart from "Clutter-Free Classroom" blog spot. I displayed it low enough that my students could reach it. Each clothespin will have a student's name.
Everyone starts out on the rim (inbounds). They will move their own clothespin down to the "foul balls" if they make inappropriate choices. I only put 3 foul balls since it's kindergarten!

The pennants add a little more to the overall sports theme.

The football and basketball baskets were purchased after Easter for half price.

This is our whole group area where we have calendar time, math, reading, etc. I bought the small baseball rug at a yard sale.

School Starts Soon!

My summer "break" went by so fast! It's already time to prepare for the 1st day of school. I've been working in my classroom for a few days now. There is always so much preparation! This year our school wide theme is "Sports". Teachers are not required to decorate their classrooms with this theme, only the hallways. However, I decided to use the sports theme anyways. I wasn't thrilled at first, but after finding a few pennants and other items at yard sales, the more I started liking the theme. I also found lots of ideas on other blogs and Internet sites. I hope my new kindergarten kiddos will like the classroom. It's really bright and inviting.