Aug 30, 2010

Camera Center

Today we started our normal center rotation. The kids were very excited! One of the new centers this year is the camera center which has the flip video camera and a digital camera. The student that is in this center gets to walk around and take pictures and/or videos of what he/she wants! So, here are some of the highlights that were taken today! Remember, these were taken by one of the students! :-) She did a great job!




Aug 25, 2010

We Can Cut

It was another great day in KinderLand! We were able to cut/paste for the first time this year. Also, we found some time to play with play-doh and put together some puzzles. Kiddos LOVED it!






I have more pictures (plus these) that I will put on the Class Photo Page! Check those out too!

Aug 24, 2010

Count by 10's

Today was the 4th day of school and I am so impressed with my students! They are catching on very quickly to the rules, policies, and all our procedures in Kindergarten! Today we focused on following directions in Language Arts. We had a worksheet and the students had to listen closely to my directions to know what to do on their paper. They did a fantastic job. I was impressed with how many followed exactly what I said! I often have some that like to venture into their own coloring ideas. :-) In Math we discussed In and Out. We practiced putting things in and taking things out. I knew they would do great and they did! We are getting close to focusing on Left and Right which is a hard subject for most kindergartners. I have some great ideas to help them!

Tuesdays are our special day because we get to go to P.E. and to Music! They earned an "A" for our 50 A's Chart in both activities!!! Yay! The 50 A's is an incentive program to promote good behavior. When we fill up our chart we get to have a party! We can fill up as many charts as possible throughout the year.

I would have to say that the kids get most excited when it is Morning Calendar Time. We do this on the SMARTboard and they are loving it! We have many songs that we sing to help us learn including days of the week, months of the year, weather songs, money songs, counting by 2's, 5's, 10's, and of course some alphabet songs! Their favorite though is without a doubt counting by 10's so I wanted to share it with you! Enjoy!



Count by 10's from Jessica Austin on Vimeo.

Aug 22, 2010

Class Recycle Center


Recycling is an important issue I want all my students to participate in! Every year our school recycles paper and this year we are adding plastic also. Our school is involved in a grant through Lowe's to improve our baseball fields with a concession stand, bathrooms, and some lights. I'm very excited to teach my students all about recycling, so what better way than to set up a Recycling Center in our classroom! I spent a few hours getting it all ready this morning. I glued some examples above each bin to show what type of items can go in! I hope my students get excited and involved in our project! We need to remember that Earth Day is everyday!!!

Aug 19, 2010

First Day

The first day of Kindergarten was a GREAT SUCCESS!!! I am loving all of my students and I know that we are going to have a super year! We had a long day learning about the rules, policies, and procedures of our everyday activities. This morning we learned all about the SMARTboard and the wonderful things it can do. This is how we will have our Morning Calendar Time. Morning calendar will include the actual calendar for each month, days of the week, months of the year, the weather, telling time, reading sight words, counting to the number of the day, counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's, and singing some really COOL alphabet songs! They loved all the songs and even learned the counting by 10's song!!! It was great to see them learning while having so much fun!

We also had to learn some procedures that aren't as much fun but still good to know: Pushing our chairs in, standing and walking in a straight line, how to sit in the cafeteria, raising our hand before talking, my name is Miss Austin not Teacher, and a BIG one - saying yes/no ma'am and yes/no sir!!! I believe RESPECT is a great place to start!

On top of all that the students were able to let out energy during 2 recesses! By the time 2:00 hit they were wore out and it was nap time! They were all out like lights!


It was such a wonderful day! I CANNOT WAIT FOR TOMORROW!!!

Aug 14, 2010

I'm Ready 4 Students!!!

Well, my classroom is ready and I can't wait for my students to come in for Open House on Tuesday night and school begins on Thursday! Shorty Girl is in her new home and really starting to like it! She has tons more room to play and swim! Enjoy the pics!
















Aug 10, 2010

New Parts to the Room

It was another very productive day in my classroom! I decided to show different parts of my classroom that are new! These little things make such huge differences in the look/feel of my classroom. I can't wait for the kiddos to get to enjoy them!


Camp Out with a Book Reading Center! Thanks to my best friend for the tent!!!

New Monkey Rules and Happy Birthday Posters!

Area behind my desk! I'm loving it!!!

Aug 9, 2010

Cleaning Day

I spent all morning cleaning the dust off everything! My room is smelling Pine-Sol fresh!!! After cleaning I re-arranged the furniture, I put everything in a new spot from the year before. I don't want to fall into a predictable pattern! Here is how it looks after 8 hours of hard work!

I have lots more to go but I made BIG progress today so I'm feeling great!

Aug 8, 2010

I Like A Challenge!

I was able to be in my classroom for the first time this summer on Friday. All my furniture is stacked up on one side of the room and EVERYTHING is covered in a layer of dust. The dust is from the workers who ripped up our tile which apparently causes some serious dust problems! This is currently what my classroom looks like . . .


I will begin cleaning bright & early tomorrow morning! I have my work cut out for me but I like a challenge!


Trip 2 My Classroom!

On Friday morning I was given the go-ahead to work in my room! This summer they ripped up our tile and stained our concrete to a nice, dark marble. We haven't been able to enter our rooms yet so ALL the great supplies I have been buying this summer were just piling up in my house! So my goal was to get as much as I could in my car to take to the room! I managed to fit: 2 big bookshelves, a stool, small 1 child tent, beanbag, a few stuffed animals (monkey, giraffe), a box of books, all the supplies from the Learning Oasis (post on July, 16), and a few random other things! Here is how it looked!


TRUNK


BACKSEAT



BACKSEAT

FRONT SEAT
The only thing that did not fit in my car was a smaller bookshelf that I will have to take on the next trip!