December is a time of giving and sharing

In December we learned about the lives of children around the world and the holidays they celebrate at this time of year such as Hanukkah, Las Posadas, Ramadan, Christmas and Kwanzaa. We also learned about giving and sharing with each other in our in class gift exchange.


We made hand print menorahs and kinaras, glitter covered popsicle stick Star of David, collage mosques, layered paper poinsettias, and holiday wish list magazine cut outs.

Thanks to my volunteer time as a Jumpstart Team Leader, my class was invited to participate in a winter holiday literacy event at Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus (my Alma Mater). Jumpstart members created art activities and read Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day to the children. They were then given a set of books to take home and keep as holiday presents.

Since many of our families are underprivileged, financial constraints make it difficult to purchase toys for their children during the holidays. To ease this burden, I helped coordinate the Toys for Tots donations and I also helped with our wonderful Parent Committee's own holiday toy drive. Thankfully, every child in the center received at least two toys. We were also able to have a hilariously funny volunteer play Santa for our children. Here he is with a few of my students and my co-teacher/Parent Committe member Ms. Kelly.

We also took the children to view our mall's Christmas tree. To save parents money on holiday portraits we surprised them with pictures I had taken and printed of the children in frames they had decorated.

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Books we read for December:

November - I’m Thankful For...

During November we learned to appreciate the people that we’re close to; our families and friends. We also spent time exploring the history of Native Americans, Pilgrims, and celebrating a holiday they created together, Thanksgiving.

Here the children have made family quilts by drawing family members onto construction paper that was then cut into squares and glued onto a rectangular piece of felt. We then added a sleeping face peeking out from under the covers and hands holding it up.

We also had class Thanksgiving dinner with our students and families. The children made mashed potatoes (a mixture of instant and freshly boiled redskins) and stuffing (instant mixed with raisins and celery the kids added) and a sweet potato pie. It was a yummy spread that also included turkey, Latin style yellow rice with pigeon peas, salad, baked macaroni and cheese, cake, cookies, chips, sweet potato pie, and juice.

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November books to read:

October - Fall is Here

In October we learned about farms and the animals that live on them, leaves, apples, pumpkins and Halloween!

On October 7, 2010, classrooms participating in Jumpstart's Read for the Record campaign came together and read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats to create the largest shared reading experience in history! A record breaking 2,057,513 children the story on that day!

Here the children made sheep with wool using recycled pillow stuffing. They also finger painted spots onto the cows and mud onto the pigs.

Since we didn't have access to a farm this year, we bought apples at our local supermarket one day and scattered them around the park down the street. The kids hunted for the apples and put them in paper bag baskets (paper bags with pipe cleaner stems for handles)

Here we made a class apple tree using paper plates and tissue paper.

We also were able to purchase miniature pumpkins at the supermarket that we then hid in the classroom for pumpkin picking. The kids then placed them onto our haystacks (cardboard boxes with shredded construction paper glued to them). They later painted them.

We also celebrated Halloween by making our own costumes for the children to wear during the Halloween weekend using plain white tshirts, shaped sponges, paint brushes and fabric paint (sorry-no picture). The kids also used this same method to make trick-or-treat bags using small totes bags I had purchased for them. We topped the celebration off with a mummy making using toilet paper.

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October books to read:

September - All About Me

This month we learned about ourselves, our friends, the 5 senses, and body parts.

We started off the week learning about ourselves. We had the children lay down as we traced their bodies onto white bulletin board paper. We then took the pieces of paper and taped them to the walls and doors to have the children color them in.

For our 5 Senses week we made Jello to see, smell, feel and our favorite-taste and painted with "puffy paint". The texture was a mixture of shaving cream and tempera paint to produce 3d paint.

We also spent some time outdoors at our local park while the weather was still pleasant.

Here we are during our first Circle Time of the year on the first day of school.

Part of a Circle Time routine includes fingerplays. These are songs with physical actions that are done along with the singing. Here our class is singing "The Wheels on the Bus"

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September books to read:

Extreme Classroom Makeover!

Here is the shell of a classroom I was given. It was pretty much stripped bare.

Here is the BEFORE:

AND THE AFTER:

Not a bad start after 3 days of pulling together donations from family, friends, and the internet. I highly recommend joining a Freecycle group to anyone who has limited funds and wants gently used items.

Back To School Fever

It's August and I'm excited to start a new school year. I'll be getting a new set students (two year olds) starting September 8th. I started clearing out my classroom this week to make way for the new kids. And I do love a good end of the year cleaning. Back to school shopping also gets me in a good mood when I come across great deals. I just love the smell of a fresh new box of Crayola crayons!




While going through my closet and looking for lesson materials to start my planning, I found this wonderful photo!

It's my first day of PreKindergarten! Sept 1984. I'm all dressed up for school in my baby blue sweater. Books, games, lunch and naps - best way to spend a day back then and still is.

Carlos Tapia Elementary School P.S. 120. Bushwick, Brooklyn NYC.

August means 3 weeks of classes and 2 weeks training!

This year, my center has decided to take no breaks. We'll have children continuing to attend for the first 3 weeks of August and we'll spend the last 2 weeks in training and preparing our classrooms for the new school year. I've been home this week thinking of new hands on circle time activities to engage the new set of students we'll be getting. The class will be much larger and the majority of the students will be special needs children.

A wonderful resource that I've been using is a book called Early Intervention Games by Barbara Sher. She clearly lays out all the games with instructions and material listings with their intended goals and outcomes so you can pinpoint exactly what skills you want to work on with your student.

A Little Late Update

There has been such a whirlwind of activity. Here's what's happened so far:

- I've been promoted from Assistant Teacher for the past two years and finally made a Head Teacher for a class of eight 2 year olds this coming September.
- The Assistant Teacher I was given is a former parent whose child was in my PreK class last year and contributed to a lot of positive changes and events at the center.
- I've been given a shell of a classroom that only has shelves, cubbies, tables, and chairs in it. Decorating challenge accepted!
- I'm embarking on getting items of my classroom via donations with the help of friends, family and the internet!

Ice Cream Recipe

ice cream recipe

With our graduation finally over about a week ago, things are settling back down. We have many of our students returning for the summer session.

This week we studied ice cream. We even made some in class. Here is an image of our recipe and links to books you might like to use for an ice cream theme.

Make a Bean Bag Tosser

Ordering these through teaching supply catalogs can be so expensive. I was able to find this tutorial on how to make my own Bean Bag Toss Game. Thinking of making some with fabric from old clothes, sheets, etc I have at home.

Here's the link: How To Make a Bean Bag Toss Game.

fyi-I wonder if the type of bean matters.

Parent Volunteer Thank You Gifts

With our class' graduation coming up (called Moving Up in our Head Start center) I've been on the hunt for cheap or free gifts to give to the parent volunteers who worked so efficiently and endlessly to make this year an amazing one. Our students benefited so much from having such a dedicated Parent Committee. We were able to get so many supplies, trips, and moral support that I can't begin to thank them enough.

Since I have quiet a few people I'd like to thank, I'm trying to keep gifts for every parent volunteer $10 or under each. I came across these great ideas below.

Free Customizable Printable Certificates Here you can upload your own image, type in any text, and print! These would be great for adults and children alike. I plan on getting pretty $1 store frames for these. And since I like getting crafty, I'm working on making these beautiful Felt Hydrangeas and creating mini pin corsages. Also thinking of giving these two gifts out with the Cupcake Stand/Dome at our class party.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my first attempt at a blog! I'm fairly new to trying to create my own despite being a fan of many others. I decided that I'd finally put one together to share what I'm learning and doing as a student and teacher. Hope you enjoy it!