Look at my happy rainbow!

Present.

Anonymous — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:35:12 GMT

Oh my students never cease to amaze me. Calvin did something today that has to rank as one of the sweetest gestures I’ve ever seen. Well today, Calvin hadn’t even walked into the classroom, and he handed me a book. It was Whistle for Willie. Now we’ve...(read more)

Brothers.

Anonymous — Sun, 05 May 2013 15:47:29 GMT

Joey has an older brother. In fact, his older brother goes to our school. Sam is in fifth grade so the age difference is pretty big, but the way he takes care of his little brother is something to be admired. Last week, the book fair started in our school’s...(read more)

Teasing, Tattling, Defiance, and More: Positive Approaches to 10 Common Classroom Behviors

Anonymous — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 13:15:53 GMT

As anyone who reads here regularly knows, I’m a big proponent of the Responsive Classroom approach to classroom management. There is something inherent in it, just the name ‘Responsive’ always guides me back to the children. What do they need at this...(read more)

Where?

Anonymous — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 21:17:52 GMT

Today during Sharing, Joey decided to tell the class what he was doing over our Spring Break, which doesn’t happen for another week. “I’m going campin’ on the ‘cation,” he blurted out. Now, during Sharing, it’s common for me to comment or ask clarifying...(read more)

Loved on.

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:08:44 GMT

Love really is all you need. I know, I know, it’s much easier said than done. Trust me, I know. This year, I have one little guy, William that has really challenged me. I have tried every trick in the book: preferential seating, behavior charts, positive...(read more)

Drum set.

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:10:16 GMT

We had an assembly today. It was a good one, but it was on the loooong side. Like over an hour long. Which is never good for my sprouts. Sitting more than fifteen minutes is hard. Well today, to help out, I ended up with a drum set. Let me explain. If...(read more)

Chickerella.

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 00:28:36 GMT

Yes, you read that correctly, Chickerella. She showed me just how important and powerful our Fairy Tale unit has been. We started with Cinderella and ready many versions… even Dogerella, but I had never heard of Chickerella. Until yesterday, when Maria,...(read more)

Baby!

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:51:07 GMT

Let me be clear about something: We do not teach sex education in kindergarten. Not now, not ever. The day they ask me to teach sex ed to five and six-year-olds is the day I will retire early. That being said, my friend Mrs. R. who teaches another grade,...(read more)

Rhombus.

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:22:54 GMT

The other day, we were reviewing shapes. For some reason, most of the shape names aren’t too tricky. Circle – well we all know that. Square and Triangle too. Rectangle can be challenging, but a little explanation of the two short and two long sides usually...(read more)

Just the Way You Are.

Anonymous — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 21:24:40 GMT

A few weeks ago, a very smart second grade teacher at my school (yes, YOU Mrs. R.) told me she was brining her Wii in for a treat. Huh? I was confused. Apparently, you can hook a Wii up to a Smartboard. And it’s not very difficult either. Well I had a...(read more)

The Artist.

Anonymous — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:42:58 GMT

We are winding down our study of fairy tales (I plan to go out with a bang next week, but you’ll have to wait to find out more about that…) and we finished with Jack and the Beanstalk. After starting with a physical sculpture activity again using some...(read more)

Deep in the Forest.

Anonymous — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:36:33 GMT

The creative juices are flowing in my classroom. Turbo charged. It’s something to behold. This morning, we started by working in three small groups. With an adult to guide each group (and my wonderful Ed Tech Ms. C. to guide me), each group worked to...(read more)

Inspired.

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 15:12:21 GMT

We all hate it. I realize a lot of work goes into most professional development (here on out referred to as PD) days for teachers, but most of us (well at least me) are used to being in the classroom. We love to be active, moving around, engaged in something,...(read more)

Epic.

Anonymous — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:18:37 GMT

We’ve been studying fairy tales. We started with Cinderella, which to me, seems like one of the most basic, simple, and core fairy tales. We started by reading a fairly traditional retelling of the story and then explored some variations of the story....(read more)

Spring.

Anonymous — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 14:25:47 GMT

I took a peek at the blog today and realized I haven’t posted in almost two weeks. Yikes. Sorry about that. First, if I’m being completely honest, my last posts about ‘Preschool’ (and I mean experiences before school) seemed to be misunderstood, misrepresented,...(read more)