Creating--A stress relief

 Through the years I have been a creator.  It started when I was young, digging in the dumpsters to find cool things I could remake.  I took the wheels off my white roller skates, took pieces of a broken table and some of my step dad's nails and made a scooter.  This was in the 80's.  It was what we did.  I have not lost the art of creating.  This summer, I wanted a beautiful Waldorf inspired perpetual calendar to use in my classroom as part of my birthday celebration.   I did not want to pay $40 plus dollars for it.  So, I took felt scraps that I already had in my craft closet and set to work.  It took almost a month of handwork during tv times or at a teacher conference in between taking notes.  I love how it turned out.  I used things that are "norms" in my classroom or in our family to highlight the different months.  

Here is the whole calendar.  All the pieces are attached and do not move.  

Typically in January where we live, you have at least one snow day where you can actually build a snowman.  

Ground Hog's day is a huge celebration at our house.  One year when my kids were very little, we had a snow day that we knew about ahead of time.  So, I make sure I had the supplies to create groundhog pancakes.  My kids woke up to snow on the ground and these silly pancakes.  After that, it was a tradition.  Now, they are in their teens and we still make Groundhog Day pancakes.  Now, we deliver them to their friends.  

While most families camp in the summer, our family camps in March.  It is the one consistant time when every one can get away from work and school.  And the plus is that it is not HOT. 

April showers bring May flowers.  

We had to put our cat "Mouse" in our calendar.  

We always visit my mother in Florida in June. 

Fourth of July is a great time to celebrate our freedom. 

Our family usually has one last trip/vacation before going back to school in August.  Many years, it is a kayak trip. 

Although it does not always look like fall in September, I could not pass up a chance to make those squirrells.  

Our PK4 classes always go to the pumpkin patch in October. 

In my PK4 class, we hold a lantern walk.  I wanted something a little different.  I love how this turned out.  It is simple beacutful!

And, I ended the calendar with beautiful Christmas trees.  It was a lovely project.  I had so much fun making.  

NCEA Conference

NCEA---Faith, Scripture, and a good book handout Something I have loved over the last 20 years is giving presentations about things I am passionate about.  This week, I am speaking in Texas (one of my favorite places) about Scripture and a good book:  two of my favorite things!  Now, I needed a way to get my handout to my attendants.  I hope this works.  ;) 

Blessings!

Life got busy...

Sometimes, life gets really busy.  My blog was one of the things I could let go.  I am going to try again.  Trying a 30 day blogging challenge sounding like a really good place to start especially when this is something that I have been toying with.

Just waiting...

 The carpet is waiting to be filled.  The books are waiting to be read.  The desk is waiting to be dirtied.  It is a common know fact that MY desk is the MESSIEST desk in the whole school.  I just remind myself (and anyone who mentions it) that so was Einsteins.

 The songs are waiting to be sung.  The paper is waiting for all the letters to be written.  Webster, our class pet, is waiting to meet new friends.

 The kitchen is waiting to be used.  The babies are waiting to be played with.  The easel is waiting for it's first glob of paint.

 The water table is waiting to be filled. The math center is waiting for children to count the items within.  The tile is waiting for its first mess to show just how easy it is to clean.

The calm spot is waiting.  Our nap critters are waiting for the first new friend snuggles.  Our texture basket is waiting for friends to explore. Tomorrow, the waiting is over! First day of school here we come!

Lesson's you can't "plan" for

My favorite kind of lessons are those lessons that you don't plan for.  Not just that you don't plan for them,  but that you CAN'T plan for them.

I had one of those lessons this week.

Now,  before I tell you the story of the unplanned lesson.  I must tell you something about me.  I am TERRIFIED of snakes.  And, my children know this.  They learn it around the time that we do letter bag S because "EVERYONE" and I mean "EVERYONE"  (not really but it sure feels like it) puts a snake in their S bag.  So, in class I "play" up my fear and we talk about what to do when we are afraid and how to handle ourselves.  Because I am at a Catholic school we talk about how God helps us when we are afraid.  It does not take our fear away,  but he will comfort us when we are afraid.  AND, knowing that there is going to be a plastic snake in the bag I can usually keep it together in front of the kids.  

It is the last week of school.  We are starting to put things away and pack things for summer.  I have pulled a tote out of the closet to put away a few games.  And what do I find when I open the tote.  4 plastic snakes.  That I KNOW are in the tote because I am the one that put them there.  Do you think it helped me in the "moment"?  Not one little bit.  I screamed and jumped and dropped the box on the ground.  And then when my ENTIRE class who had been working so well up until I disturbed them began looking at me and asking what was wrong I immediately began laughing all the while hyperventilating and shaking because I had scared myself with my own SNAKES!!!

 

So while I took a few moments to collect myself.  My lovelies decided that I needed signs on my tote to remind myself that there were snakes inside the box.  

 

The entire class, 24 lovelies, took it upon them selves to write me signs that say "BEWARE of SNAKES".  

Are they not just the most wonderful things you have ever seen?

I just could not have planned a better writing assessment.  And, I am sure that when they went home and told the story to their parents it was a story for sure. :) 

Why I teach!

It's Tuesday and it has been one of those thought provoking weeks where I stand back and the end of my day throwing  my "lesson plans" to the side because what my kids wanted to do was SO much more productive then what I had "planned."  I am so blessed that I live in a school and a district that allows me to teach in this fashion as long as I "map" what I have taught.  (Don't worry, I will have it by the end of the year.  I take really good notes.)

 This week we are learning about Problem solving.  At 4 we are SO good at this.  We have such good ideas.  We are not afraid to try anything.  And yet somewhere between here and middle school we quite using that God given thing called a brain and we stop learning that we can solve problems.  We quit trying.  We quit taking a chance.  Our Problem was simple:  How do I move the plate? No one laughed at an idea.  No one said it would not work. In fact many times I heard, "Oh, that is a good idea."  I did "force" them to choose something else if their idea was already taken but I am just amazed at their list. 
*with a bucket                           * push it with your feet                     *use your hands
*with a remote control              * a thing to drive it (motor)               * you can hold it up
* with a stick                             * wing                                                * with a race car
* with a shovel                          *make a wave                                   * with a flag (sail)
*push it                                      *push it with a bucket                       *make the water move
*something else floating           *by swimming in a boat to move it     * push the water
*push the water with a boat       *you can bump it                                *with a fork lift
* make a dinosaur push it
 I stood looking at their ideas thinking, "I love my job."  That was Monday. 

And then today...We began our day reading the book The Gruffalo by Julie Davidson.  If you have never read the book, I suggest you run out a buy it.  SO, good!!! (Spoiler Alert!!!)  I read the first 1/2 and stopped.  The story is fantastic. The fox sees a mouse invites him to lunch.  The mouse, who is a quick thinker, invents a creatures called a Gruffalo and tells the fox that he can't come to lunch because he is having lunch with the Gruffalo whose favorite food is roast fox.  When the fox runs away the mouse laughs because there is no such thing as a Gruffalo.  Half way through the book, the mouse finds himself face to face with a real live Gruffalo.  This is where I stopped our story.  I then told the kids it was time to go to centers.  One of my precious little guys asked, "Can we play Gruffalo?"  Now, please tell me how in my right mind I can tell them no?  So, I allow them to head to the science center (which at this point was the only center that no one had chosen).  I had 5 boys that wanted to play.  They completely had who was playing which part and had began chasing each other around the room before I had everyone in their centers.  So, we had to set some ground rules.  I know that you are playing but,  you can not run and you can not "bite" even if you are pretending.  Then we gathered paper, index cards, crayons and string and set to work so that they could make character cards for the class to see who they were in the story.  I wrote the names of their characters for them to copy.  And they set to work.  They spent 45 minutes replaying the story.  I did not get my "sorting assessment" completed.  But let me tell you I saw some AMAZING learning, problem solving, cooperation, support, and encouragement not just from those five boys but also from my class who watched them preform the first 1/2 of the story.  They laughed so hard when the little mouse said,  "Silly .... doesn't he know there is no such thing as a Gruffalo." 
That my friends is what I LOVE about teaching.  That my friends is so much more then just "I played Gruffalo today!" 

My room

 Welcome to my classroom!  This year my classroom got an overhaul.  A new coat of paint, all new bulletin boards and so, I needed a new theme.  I am "cheap."  I don't buy a new theme each year.  So, for the last 8 years we have been hopping into the Pre-K pond.  This year we are Super!!!!  Super Heroes are everywhere!  This area is our story center.  It opens about the fourth week of school after my kids understand what my procedures are for centers.  In this center there are magnetic story pieces to retell stories we have told through tout the week, flannel boards with pieces, clip boards with paper, markers (not found in other places in the classroom), a small book case with class-made books, stuffed animals, puppets and puppet theater, items to make puppets (sometimes open ended, sometimes specific).  

 Here is our Greeting/Carpet area.  I LOVE that we have these wonderful projectors that our school auction purchased for us last year.  I did not realize how much I used them especially for 30 seconds to a minute and a half at a time until lightening took out the "wireless" connection piece of it!  Yuck!!!  It takes me 3 minutes to switch out my monitor for my projector now...not so user friendly.   I just don't use it as often.  This also serves as our block center during center time.  Which is why you see a ton of "clutter" under the board.  The buckets house various blocks under our white board.  The left part of the shelf in the picture has the other portion of our block options.  This is where later we add variety to the center.  I will a variety of odds and ends to the block center to expand and extend their play/work. 

 This is our Writing Center.  This is my 9th year of teaching.  Last year I tried this (thank you Pinterest!!!) and for the 1st time my kids began to use the writing center. I mean REALLY use the writing center!!!  I was so super excited.  This I love.  And I love the flexibility of this station.  The table pulls away from the shelf and we "borrow" chairs from the other tables in the room.  When center time is over they return the chairs and the table to their correct position.  It is  a lot of "moving" but it works for our room.  They kids love that the buckets and baskets come down. Some times they even use the floor instead of the tables. I love how easy it makes

 I use Frog Street Pre-K  this year.  I am enjoying it.  It is very different from what I have done in the past.  This spot our "Safe Spot" is part of Conscious Discipline. The kids love it.  The pillow, the "Cranky Cream" and the timers are their favorites. 

 The art center...And this is the center that I don't think needs any explanation.  Doesn't everyone have one of these? :)

 This is our Sensory Station.  It, of course, is a favorite.  Last year, this was my "goal" I spent the year focusing on beefing up the things that I could use in this center. I love what I did.  I had a parent make my table 5 years ago.  Now I store all my supplies under the table in three large totes.  I switch out the items in the table each week. Sometimes, we switch tables with the Pre-K 3 class in our building.  It really has been fun for me and for the kids. 

 This is our Dramatic Play center.  I don't feel like this is my "best" center in town.  But the kids love it.  There are times in the year when it is better than others.  Right now it is the first of the year so I only have the dishes and food out.  The puppet theater is also seen in this picture.  It was moved to the story center.  My personal kids were playing with it while we waited on their dad to fix the door that fell off. 

 This in our Science Center.  Not too exciting looking but the kids love it.  I have a lot of movement stuff that stays on this shelf year round that they can manipulate as well as any investigations we do throughout the week. 

 Because I teach in a Catholic School, we are required to have a Prayer Table.  This is our space.   I love that we have a space set up somewhere in our classroom to display a Bible.  It just makes my heart happy. 

The Math Center:  This is another one of those centers that I have a hard time thinking of things to "explain." Everyone has one.  

 My Desk:  The cleanest that it will EVER be.  I Never sit here It just becomes a place to pile things that I need to get to someday when I want to take a minute.  :) I have one more center that I did not

I have one more center that I did not get a picture of.  You can see it here.  The back table is the Language Center.  This center is anything to do with alphabet and words.  I usually have a lot of fine motor things in this center as well.

 

 I had a really hard time with my classroom this year.  For 8 years I have lived in these walls.  These walls have been neon green.  They have been FULL of color!!!!  I had to have something that would balance that, so I made the little bunnting.  I LOVE it!  It matched the skirt that I made for the water table a few years back and it matched the colors in the super hero kids and the alphabet chart that I had as well. 

So, the end of September is a little late for a classroom tour I know  but, life got the better of me.  I have been busy with life and blogging was not on the list of things to keep up with. :)
Enjoy!