Workstations Frustrations!

I have been slacking in posting on my blog! Don't hate me! I miss the blogosphere, too. :( Especially now.

I'm having some trouble with my workstations. My kids really enjoy them, and center time is their favorite part of the day. I want to give them more time in each station, but the way I have it set up doesn't allow but 5-7 minutes in each one. I have from 10:00-10:40ish for stations, and they don't get their work done. I want them to finish their work!!


Could you give me some suggestions on how your rotations work? I do not want it to be a free-for-all type situation because I want 1-2 in each station. Preferably just one. (I have 10 kids! I know!! Don't throw any tomatoes at me!)


What has worked for you? Maybe I'm just over thinking it. How would you organize my classroom stations if you had 10 kids to work with?

My stations are: Listening, Write the Room, Word Work, Puzzles, Math, Writing, Play-doh, Library, Computer, and Creative (Art).

Word Work Station

Math Station

I'll ask another question next time! Thanks for all your love and sharing!

My Super Short Post!

Well guys, I'm very sorry I've been MIA.

Blogging in my first year of teaching was a great idea at first, but let me just say that it is pretty much the hardest thing ever to do. I've been so busy planning, printing, talking, eating chocolate, and lying in bed in the evening thinking,"Is it normal to want to sleep at 8:30???" that I forgot to post.

I've been asking tons of questions on my Facebook page about the ins and outs of Kindergarten, though. Drop by to help me out!

I'll be posting a lot of classroom pictures sometime soon. For now, here is my September Currently!

Hope you're well! Leave me a comment with an answer to this question:

What kind of behavior management systems have you tried? Which are your favorites?

My Little Jungle of a Classroom!

I'm sorry I've been MIA all week...I've had a lot to do! Monday was the first day I was able to go in and really get down to business setting up my classroom. I was so excited because my classroom has a GREEN accent wall! Can you believe my luck? :) My aunt took some before pictures, so here they are!

I moved the right cabinet to beside my teacher desk!

The previous teacher left quite a bit of stuff for me, and I wanted to change up the layout of the room to make it my own. So...my cousin and I attacked. We moved furniture, hung posters, sorted books, put things in cabinets, went through curriculum...EVERYTHING! It was fun because we put some music on and talked a ton. She was so helpful and I'm blessed to have had her help! I still have some work to do on the room before the kiddos arrive, but I think I'm pretty much set to go.

I hope that you like the pictures. Let me know if you have any fun ideas that I should add in!

Little library area! I store other things on that shelf as well. Should I cover it somehow?

Hallway window to my classroom! (Ignore the mess on the inside!)

Word wall! I have no bulletin boards so I made due.
We added the missing letters, don't worry :)

Job rotations! I will put craft sticks in these pockets and move them.

Made my cubbies into a little entrance hall.

All that's missing now is a teaching chair and little sweethearts!

Calendar and Skippyjon Jones! Oh, and Blue. That's my shelf's name.
I promise I'm not crazy.

What's a jungle without a palm tree? The coconuts will have
student names labelled on them!

Guided reading table. The blue cabinet has curriculum in it!

My desk! I had no desk drawers, so I put sterilite drawers and fabric drawers under!

Have you tried Veggie Sticks? LOVE them! And I couldn't live without my label machine!

Hallway poster set of praying kids! I thought they were precious!

I left some space for classroom rules, but I haven't even put them together yet...I seem to be procrastinating on creating my classroom rules and procedures. How do you post your rules? I was thinking of doing the Whole Brain Teaching rules because they seem really good, but I don't like the two that say that they need to constantly raise their hand for permission to do things.

Other things I need to are set up workstations a bit better, organize my picture books, organize cabinets, and hang up some paper lanterns! I'd really like to get some fake plants to spread around the classroom. I think it would make the room look more like a "jungle."

Hopefully this post wasn't too picture heavy for you! I thought you all would appreciate these pictures the most! :) Feel free to pin these photos to your heart's content!

What are your classroom rules?

Magazine Holders Redesigned!

During my time as a student teacher, my cooperating teacher/mentor taught me so many tips and tricks about kindergarten. Her main tip was planning lessons and getting materials ready on Friday so that Monday doesn't sneak up on you.

She used these wonderful magazine holders to store her lessons. There were five holders labeled with the days of the week. Each holder had a manila folders for math, phonics, shared reading, etc.

I decided to use this form of planning as well, so I took a trip down to one of my local Walmarts. (I'm from a huge city where there are a billion Walmarts within driving distance. It's ridiculous really.)

I found some really nice magazine holders for $5 each. I wasn't too excited about the price, but after looking on my phone and comparing prices quickly on Amazon, OfficeDepot, and other stores, I decided to just splurge. They're made of metal, so I know they will last through the years. Not sure what the holes are for. Any ideas?

My only problem is...they're not so cute. I mean, if you're a minimalist, it would probably suit you. But I'm a teacher. There's not enough...personality! I needed to do something about that--FAST!

Out came the scrapbook paper and the black cardstock. I booted up my trusty Silhouette Cameo die-cutter (which is my absolute favorite thing right now besides my laptop!) and got to creating. It didn't take long before I had these little babies all assembled and ready to stick on.

I used the font Elise by Kevin and Amanda. I love their fonts. So cute, yet so free! :) Anyways. Back to my creation.

After I laminated and cut each one, I got out my packing/masking tape. You know, the clear tape that's super sticky? I pulled off a bit so that I could wrap the ends around onto the holders. It turned out really cute.

Here are some photos of the completed project! It really took very little time to do this, and I'm definitely excited about them!

I hope I inspired you to try this out, too. It's really fun and can go with any classroom theme and color scheme. My theme happens to be jungle/wild animals, so that's why I picked these adorable animals!

Thanks for dropping by.

I'm so thankful to Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for hosting this fantastic linky! It makes me work. :)

OH!! Classroom pics will be up sometime THIS WEEK! Keep your eyes peeled for that!
 

How do you organize your teaching materials?

Liebster Award! Woo Hoo!

Just this Wednesday, I received the sweetest compliment from a blogger that really encourages me to keep on keeping on. Mrs. Katzman from Mrs. Katzman's Kinder Cubs and Mrs. McElveen from Whooo Loves Kindergarten? awarded me the Liebster Award! Mrs. McElveen doesn't have a blog button, but her blog is still precious! I've been seeing this award floating around the blogosphere lately, but didn't think I'd have the honor of receiving it. Thank you so much, my dear friends! You are wonderful! Oh, and you should go check them out if you haven't. :)

 

This award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favorite", and is given to a "new, up and coming blogger."

Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

AND the award goes to.... (drum-roll pleeeease!):

Mrs. Hodge and Her Kindergarten Kids	Patterson's Porch
The Resource Room Teacher	The Teacher Garden
Liv to Teach

I'm also linking up to the Newbie Bloggers Blog Hop! I love this idea, and I'm excited to participate.

Here are my responses to the questions:

1.  What state you are in? Texas (All hail the mighty state!)

2.  Your current teaching position: Kindergarten teacher (and super excited!)

3.  Your teaching experience: I've gone through student teaching and I tutored a lot. This will be my first year of teaching and I can't wait to begin this journey.

4.  When you started blogging: The middle of May, and I don't regret it at all!

5.  Share a blogging tip/Blogging resource: Honestly, I learned so much from Teaching Blog Traffic School! I watched all the videos and I got to meet some fantastic bloggers who've helped me grow and expand. I love the community provided there! If you haven't checked it out, I really highly recommend it to you! (Seriously.) I also learned a lot about social media etiquette, how to host a good linky party, and what to do with Google+! Charity is great and I love how much time she puts in to help newbie bloggers get on their feet. Click the picture below to learn more about it through my referral!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed reading my responses! Thanks for being awesome!

What do you love about teaching blogs?