Lessons I've learned so far

1) I never would have known how many different leg muscles I'd be working out now that the year has started! I feel like I've been at the gym all day doing squats thanks to my 30 short guys that need me to get on their level throughout the day. It seriously is just more than mental power. 

2) For the record: routines are the hardest thing ever! The first day was so crazy that I caught myself just standing there at times thinking, "Oh geez, ok this is not working out the way I thought!" 

3) My Aide has quickly become my best friend. I appreciate the help so much more now than I ever would have known.  I should have thanked the aides in my classes as a kid more, they really are the best. 

4) I feel like I am surrounded by angels. I have such great support from all of the other teachers and staff that I never feel alone. I guess they are the ones that can relate to you the most since they are right there doing it all with you. It really pays to connect with anyone you can. 

5) The kids are learning so fast! Besides me adapting to the new routines, I have to say that I am super impressed with how quickly they are understanding school routines. We did our first watercolor activity today too and they were all so great with following the rules. 

The activity was magical paper that knew their name when they painted on it. It was the first time I used my document camera, and I think they really got a kick out of the live painting session on the big screen. Here is the example one I did for them: 

Tomorrow we introduce play dough!!! Let's hope it goes great! 

Almost time!

Yesterday I finally got the meet everyone at Meet the Teacher. There were about 70 people all packed into my class with big eyes and curiosity. All the little ones were so sweet!!! Everyone was on good behavior too. All the kids sat in their seat and everyone stayed off the blocked areas like I asked! here is what their desks looked like:

These were signs I put up for everyone to try to stay off of the toys etc. before the start of school. Thanks Jenny!

All things I couldn't get to in 30 minutes will be discussed on Back-to-School night or through email. I think they all were OK with this.

I am purposely NOT going to work today. I think its time for some pool and relaxing! But tomorrow I will get there bright and early to panic a little. 

End note before bed

So my co-worker Jenny has mentioned to me more than once that I need balance. I totally agree with her but still went home at 7 tonight. How can I sleep when there are booklets to cut out and crafts to Pre-make?? 

I love it all. So many fun ideas for my kids I can't wait to teach them. 

And I also can't wait to introduce this little guy to the kids: 

Good night! 

Back pain, but for a good cause!

I was on go go go mode today and finally feel like I'm at least a LITTLE prepared for everything coming up! Yes!!! Can't move though, so hoping Advil will do me right tonight but it was so worth it. 

Here I made a little sign for my hermit crab's arrival into the class later on this week! The easel will but used for art center things later, but so cute to show off the little guy now.

I got this awesome clipboard from my auntie yesterday. She modge podged it with her own paper- creativity definitely runs in the family! 

Here are some places where I will be keeping writing and number center work. My kids have to take the baskets and tubs to their tables since we don't have designated areas for these. Thanks to my  co-worker Candace again for the cute labels! 

My TK picture frame is done! This was way more work than I expected (I'm seeing a theme on things that take way too long to do lately). I had to paint like three layers on each piece and wait for it to dry. So tedious! Kids will be taking their first day picture with their precious faces through my frame. 

This next one was another time-consuming thing, but I'm just hoping the numbers will withstand the students' wrath. I took circle sticker labels, put their  numbers on them, stuck them through the laminator, cut them out, then hot glued them to little binder clips. Phew! I'm satisfied. 

I was able to invest in some bigger tubs for lunch and snack. Here they are with their themed labels!

This coming Friday is Meet the teacher. Students will get to meet me and look around their classroom. We also collect miscellaneous items the we had previously requested in the beginning of the summer (baby wipes, masking tape, Kleenex, etc). I made this station for the parents to dump their goods off! Simple enough but effective!

Last is just a picture of my playdough balls I had mentioned in the previous post. The poem is too cute (Pinterest idea, of course). 

Meetings start tomorrow! I can't wait to meet everyone and get this year started!

Shapes, Treasure, and playdough

Hooray! More fun projects getting done. Here is the latest. I finished my zebra treasure chest that I bought at Michael's. 

The next are my fun animal shapes! Again, it was so tricky trying to cut some of these (especially the hexagons), but I love the way they all turned out. 

This last one is going to be for sneak peek night this coming Friday. It is magic playdough. I made my own playdough and added glitter in the middle to make the playdough "magical". The kids are going to get a great surprise when they start squishing the ball around! Out will come MAGIC!! 

First I dyed the dough half red and half blue. Then I separated them into balls. 

 

Then just make it into a bowl shape and add the glitter. Secretly cover it so it remains in the middle. And the end result is shiny playdough!!

More pieces...

Ok! Didn't sleep at all last night thinking about how LITTLE TIME I have before the big day! My school is sounding more lively now with returning teachers prepping their rooms and walking around the halls. So exciting! Here are my rules, I forgot to add the last one about being kind. Cutting out cloud-like shapes takes forever but the end result makes me happy:) 

Below is my teacher stool. I wanted to have something low to still be near the kids and put a cute ribbon on it to make it mine! Tiger is our mascot- maybe the kids can name him later (math project!). 

This next one is Billy the Bear. He shows the kids how to listen properly. I copied this idea from my other TK teacher who did a little boy named Sam. I wanted him to fit my theme so all I did was cut out paper to form him... I don't recommend this technique, it took forever! 

All the tape here is ready to go- I was also given the tip to put the masking tape on your jeans before putting it on the carpet to avoid so much stickiness later. Thanks Candace! 

Next up is the coolest thing ever: The Circle of Silence. What I do is try to make a game out of being quiet- when it is time to concentrate, we will all draw an invisible circle with our fingers and whisper "circle of silence". Anyone to break the circle of silence will get their number on the board and will be reminded to keep the game going! The rest of the kids without their name on the board will get a reward (one extra minute playing or first to line up). 

Below is my schedule- again in cloud formation:) sorry it is a tad blurry. I have these nifty hand magnets so the kids will know exactly where we are during the day. 

Next are my direction pictures. My kids won't be coming in reading so these will make projects easier to understand, and if the kids ask what to so next, they just look at the board! All of the pieces I put on the board have magnetic tape on the back for easy transfer. 

I'm working on a treasure chest and TK picture frame for the first day of school next. Look for an update soon! 

Things are coming together!

Aaaah! I'm starting to have trouble sleeping already. August is here and even though I've been posting the progress on my class, I feel like there is so much more to do! Here are some more things I've been putting together: 

This first one I bought at lakeshore. It was a boring calendar that I decided to jazz up to meet my jungle standards.

You can see that it looked like a plain orange card, and all I did was stick my fancy numbers on top! This is my finished  product: 

This next one is for all the visitors who want to know what's going on in our class. I decided to post our weekly newsletter on a picture clip next to this fun sign: 

It says, "Room 5 Monkey business". My weekly newsletter will be "Ms. A's Gorilla Gazette" whenever I get around to it. 

Here is just a screenshot of my matching chairs, tables, and material buckets! 

Next is my wonderful Word Worm!! I already love him. He only has a head to start the year, and as we learn each new sight word, the worm will grow! I wanted him vibrant so I made him the colors of the rainbow. 

Here's his head: 

And this is an example of what his body will look like: 

I'm in the process of making so much more! Let the insomnia begin...