Coding and Friendship in Kindergarten

One of my favorite lessons!

Moonshot Academy

This is what I've been up to so far this summer!! More kindergarten updates coming soon!

http://moonshotacademyrms.blogspot.com

The Curious Garden

I am very fortunate to be part of a community focused on improving student literacy. This is from the web site for The Learning Alliance-

" Scientists study the brain, but teachers shape it. The Learning Alliance is committed to training teachers to understand the basic neuro-psychological processes involved in reading and reading development. A foundational knowledge of language structures and how they are processed in the brain allows teachers to analyze, evaluate, and deliver instruction to meet the individual needs of all types of readers.

The Learning Alliance provides quality professional development followed by individual and group coaching and mentoring. We want to arm our teachers with knowledge, tools, and opportunities to practice in collaborative and supportive ways. Awkwardness is normal when learning anything new, and it is our intention to give teachers the time and support to learn, model, and practice so that finally this knowledge will be internalized, and they, in turn, will be able to do the most important job of all, teach all children to read."   ---- see SO lucky!!!

I participated in professional development around the book The Curious Garden . I brought the new visual thinking, literacy, and comprehension strategies I learned into my classroom for this unit. This book tied in really well to our fall unit on plants and harvest and it also fit with our essential question "How are communities helpful?". I was able to hit almost all of the first quarter reading, language, and listening & speaking standards in this week long unit. One of the standards was to identify the major events in the story. The students worked together looking back in the text to decide which events they thought were the most important when retelling the story.  Our culminating activity was this paper cut out garden inspired by the work of Molly Bang How Pictures Work. I gave students the construction paper and scissors. They couldn't draw to plan out their garden, they just had to cut. I think they are amazing! You will see the text the students pulled out of the book displayed with our garden.

 

 

Authentic or Real Art

Through a book study of Teaching With Intention  and sitting in a Writing Workshop training discussing asking kids to write in the way that writing IS in in the world (to be read by others not just daily journaling) made me examine the way I use art in kindergarten. I love a cute turkey handprint but what am I really teaching kids about art when I press their cubby little fingers into paint? This year I have been trying to incorporate real artists or mediums into our kindergarten art. I am NOT an artist and I don't remember much from my works of art class in college but I excel at scouring the internet for ideas. At the beginning of December it was time to take my Thanksgiving Family Turkey projects down and that left the windows bare - I didn't want to display anything Christmasy - I figured the kids are nutty enough without the constant classroom display to remind them of Santa. I called on my good friend Pinterest for art ideas - specifically the alphabet since I had just finished introducing all of the lowercase letters. Pinterest never disappoints! I found information about an American Modernist Painter named Stuart Davis. We looked at his work and I read the class a little about his life. We studied how he layered his paintings and that sometimes it looked like the art was popping out. The first day the kids just painted letters in white. I told them to turn the page so the letters would be in different directions. The second day they filled in the black space with color. The third day they added foam sticker letters for the pop art look.

Writing like Scientists

This is the second year I have used Lucy Calkins Units of Study for writing. I absolutely love it! I was lucky enough to have additional training this summer from the Teachers College Reading & Writing Project. The trainer suggested that I try the unit Writing Like Scientists that is in the If/Then unit. It fit right along with the Core Knowledge plant and harvest unit as well. I loved teaching this unit. The students LOVED it and really got into collecting nature items. They brought in things to write and learn about as well.

Antarctica Unit

Our culminating activity to our kindergarten Antarctica unit. We went through the performance cycle from the book A Reason to Read - the students picked out the major events in 4 information texts about the Emperor Penguin and created storyboards and monologues from the penguin (or krill, squid, & seals) point of view. They included facts and vocabulary they had learned and designed and constructed puppets. Through much trial and error, reflection, and revision I am proud to show off their work!

Walker Texas Ranger

Kindergarten life has been very busy the last few weeks.. and I keep thinking that it will get better.. but it really feels like I've hit the ground running this year. But when I think back to the last 16 Septembers I've spent as a teacher.. I think they have all felt like this! The beginning of the year is like child birth.. you forget the pain... and inevitably repeat the experience and remember why you vowed never to do it again! I am really enjoying getting to know my class and we are really starting to "gel" and get all of the routines and procedures down.

A few days ago I left my lunchbox on the counter. I didn't realize until I was already at work so I called my husband Mr. Lewis in a panic. I didn't have cash or check to buy my lunch in the cafeteria and I was staying after school for professional development until 6:00pm. Thankfully, Mr. Lewis was able to deliver lunch to my classroom. The kids were very excited to meet him and had many questions for me after he left- the biggest most intriguing question was - "why do we have the same last name"? I explained that when women great married they can change their last name if they want  and have the same last name as their husband. Well, the boys were kind of miffed, so I told them that they too could change their name... (we had to get started on our math lesson after all!)

From the back row I hear a little voice say, "awesome- I am going to change mine to Walker". I smiled at him and asked why he picked that name? And in the cutest just turned five sweet kindergarten voice he said, because I love Walker Texas Ranger. Totally made my day! And I was quickly reminded exactly why I choose to return to my kindergarten classroom year after year.

I LOVE BOOKS

Whenever I am asked what I love about teaching I always reply that I LOVE reading books to children. This year I am using Units of Study in Reading for reading workshop and I am trying to find multiple copies of story books to add to my library. As much as I LOVE books - I can't afford retail. I hit up three thrift stores this Labor Day weekend and found some great reads for my classroom. I didn't really find the story books I was looking for but I got a killer deal on these! I think the most expensive book was .79 from Goodwill. I also troll Amazon looking for deals but the shipping $$ usually kills it - even when the books are a penny the shipping is always $3.99. I love a good bargain almost as much as I love children's books.  

The Dot and Growth Mindset in Kindergarten

I just spent the last 4 days meeting all of my new students. I am so happy my school lets kindergarten have a staggered start the first week of school. It is a little like the movie Groundhog Day but I really like getting to know my students and teaching rules and routines to a small group. They all come tomorrow and I am looking forward to bringing everyone together and starting our year!

Over the last two years I have had some professional development around the theory of  growth/fixed mindset. I am pretty lucky that nearly all kindergarteners come to school with a growth mindset. It seems to be what happens after they enter the school doors that changes their mindset. When I was planning lessons for the start of the year I came across this book and art idea on Pinterest. It is about a student who believes she can't draw but her art teacher encourages her by saying, "Just make a mark and see where it takes you." When I read that line, I knew I had to make it part of our kindergarten day. I read the book The Dot 4 times this week. Each time the students were able to see where the art teacher encouraged the student to try. We had some pretty great conversations about not giving up and never saying "I can't".  I was very impressed with my brand new kindergarteners. I plan to reference back to this lesson throughout the year when things get tough.

The students were so excited to get to paint on their very first day of kindergarten. I prepared the paper ahead of time by attaching a circle of to clear contact paper to the middle. In The Dot the art student explains that she once even made a dot by not making a dot at all. The students were pretty wowed by me peeling the circle on their papers.

It is so interesting to me that all the art is so different. I hung the art up right away so by today the Thursday group had many samples to look at but they all did their own thing.

For more information about Growth and Fixed Mindset you can watch this or visit this website.

Classroom Photos for 2015-16!

Welcome to my classroom. It is as "done" as it can be for our first day on Monday. 

 Our Daily Focus wall - I am still working on this. It is so hard for me to wrap my brain around logical goals and scales when the kids can't read them.

Anchor charts will go here eventually - This is where the writing supplies are kept for writing workshop and inside the cabinet are blocks.

I made this response board after seeing a blog post about a trip to a Pittsburg children's museum. I wasn't sure what the choices were- so I emailed the museum. The students will use magnets to indicate what they did that day. This goes along with our closing circle activities at the end of the day. 

                       Puzzle area and chalkboard

Safe Keeper box ready and waiting. We are so lucky to have staggered start in my district so I only have 4 students on Monday!

                          Meeting place and library

Song, poem, and Fundations handwriting grid ready and waiting.  Our essential question for the next few weeks is "What is a community".

Word Wall, Sensory Table with Reading Buddies underneath

My desk with all the materials for the week waiting.. Two bags of stuff to bring home and finish tonight!

I always make sure to find a little time each day to play. My daughters donated a few things to make this area a more exciting. 

      Writing center with dollhouse/puppets peaking in the back and mailboxes waiting for work!

I got this idea from kindercraze and schoolstyle - I love it!

Timeline waiting for some events! Supplies ready to go-

Here is the back of my room. I just love how this turned out!

All About Mrs. Lewis

Today the office sent off all of my staggered start letters! I can't wait to meet my new kindergarteners. I included the address of my little neglected blog, so I thought I'd better update!

Hi, I am Mrs. Lewis!
I have been a teacher for 16 years. I graduated from Florida Southern College in 1999 (Go Mocs!) with a BS in Elementary Education K-6, Specific Learning Disabilities K-12, and Varying Exceptionalities K-12.

I have been married for 10 years. My husband Andy is also a teacher. We have two amazing daughters- Amelia is 8 and Lydia is 3.

My favorite thing to do it read! I also love to find great books to read with my daughters and to my students! I have a very healthy children's book collection. You can never have too many books. Thank goodness for free shipping on Amazon!

I enjoy spending time with my family. We like to swim, go on walks, and take day trips. We also spend a lot of time deciding what movies to rent from Red Box.

This summer I was lucky to tutor at the Rosewood Summer Moonshot Academy. I have also spent many hours in the pool, at the free movies, and The Skate Factory. My daughter Amelia and I are currently on the hunt for Waldo. The Vero Beach Book Center has him hidden all around town.

When I am not with my family or working in my classroom you can find me at Target. I can always find a thing or two I need.. especially from the Dollar Spot.

As my summer ends I will be in and out of my classroom and attending a few trainings. I am hoping to fit in a trip to the new Crayola Experience in Orlando and make Amelia's summer bucket list complete by going to a flea market...

I can't wait to meet all of my new families and say hello to my old friends.

I am excited for a great 2015-2016!

Sunday Night

I had a wonderful long weekend! My daughter Amelia had her first swim meet Saturday. I went out with a friend to a comedy show to benefit a student at our school who will be having a heart transplant. I went grocery shopping (and forgot a few things) and worked in my classroom for a while. I also read books, played barbies, and cooked, cleaned, and laundried. So now I am wrapping up my weekend with a little lesson planning. My school "to do" list is very long but I am trying to find a better balance this year. Looking forward to another week! Fire Safety, Christopher Columbus, and Mrs. Wishy Washy here I come!

Why I have the best job in the world

This amazing child got recognized in a "mid writing workshop interruption" (in the middle of writing) for making a thinking bubble over his characters head! Pretty safisticated for 20 days into kindergarten. So, during Core Knowledge he took that thinking bubble to the next level and put one over the houses in his neighborhood. This (and a million more each day) is why I have the best job!! 

Lockdown, Septmeber 11th, and Grace

On Wednesday our school was in a code yellow for the entire day. There was a situation involving US Marshalls in the neighborhood behind our school. The lockdown was a safety precaution and thankfully no one was hurt. My students had absolutely no idea about the events of the day. The art teacher came into our classroom with the explanation that she wanted to see our art in our room. I took a class vote and it was unanimous that we would have a picnic lunch in our class room with hot lunches being delivered. (don't you know they begged me on Thursday for another picnic!) I avoided recess disappointment by showing The Magic School Bus. Dismissal was different but I explained we were practicing for a rainy day. Thankfully, no one needed to visit the clinic! It was exhausting for the adults on campus but the kids were all stress free. Even my own 2nd grader had no idea. I sent worried parents photos on Remind101 to reassure them that we were carrying on and happy and safe!

I don't discuss the events of 9/11 in my classroom because  my students are so young. I do emphasize 9/11 as a day of service. We took time to make our classroom extra clean for Ms. Dot our custodian and I did "shout outs" to students I saw being kind and helpful. We read this book-





                                                  


and we talked about ways to make the world a better place. We also sang I can Change The World With My Own Two Hands by Jack Johnson on YouTube-

The students painted pictures and I included a note on the back that I found on this blog - Preschool Daze a few years ago. The note said:

                   While we didn’t discuss the events of September 11, 2001, we talked about

the ways we can be kind, the ways we can solve conflict, the ways we can

change the world to be a better place. You adults who are reading this note

likely remember the moments of 9/11/01. May the colors created by a child’s

own two hands give you hope and reassurance of the goodness that is.

Because we were talking about service we also talked about our beloved friend, Officer Morrison. He has been standing guard for over two years in the morning and afternoon at our school. This wonderful city policeman patrolled our school during the lockdown the day before. Seeing him out our window made ME feel reassured. He worked closely with our administration and the US Marshalls all day. Sadly for us he is retiring next week. We made him a card to say thank you.

                                     

On to Grace..... I spent 6 hours after school in professional development this week... and we had a lockdown.... and it was a full moon... and my daughter had swimming practice 4 nights.. and the alternator in my car went out on the way to school....

I sent home all of the beautiful pictures my students painted with a wonderful note and quote on the front... with a TYPO. UGHHH I didn't even notice it until I looked at the photos I took of their art work. So - I sent home the correct quote yesterday... so thankful for God's Grace.. hopefully the parents of my students will give me a little grace too!

The Golden Rule

  

This week we focused on the Golden Rule in kindergarten. This saying is part of the  Core Knowledge curriculum for kindergarten. All of the planets aligned this week because without much effort at all, my read-a-louds all fit into this theme! To introduced the saying I read The Berenstain Bears- I love this book! I found it for 10 cents at a junk sale.. it was once a chik-fil-a kids meal prize! Our author study this month is Audrey Penn. I read Sassafras, a story about a skunk who is embarrassed by his potential smell who encounters a grey fox and together they learn a lesson.  ---BONUS! Our reading curriculum theme was, "What makes me special" So, I read The Ugly Duckling and we talked about the Golden Rule and what made the "ugly duckling" special. I also read Rachel Parker Kindergarten Show- Off and had a great discussion about friendship and treating others with kindness. It was a great week!

Routines and Procedures again and again and again

My little kindys are amazing. They are full of wonder and questions and SO HAPPY! The first weeks of kindergarten are so important. We spend so long getting the procedures down.. the time I take to establish how to be in kindergarten pays off in the end.. but it can be exhausting! This afternoon at car duty another kindergarten teacher and I just looked at each other and sighed.. it's kind of like herding cats these first few weeks.
This morning during our phonics lesson I was teaching the class how to echo back to me... I say {letter} {picture} {sound} and the class echoes it back to me. To walk them through it I said {letter} {picture} {sound} an then I made the mistake and said "echo"
Well, you know how this goes... I heard 18 darlings echo back to me, "{letter} {picture} {sound} echo!" After reminding them NOT to say echo 5 more times.. I thought.. well, Tuesday we will try again!

Units of Study - Storytelling with Carl

My kindergarten team and I are embarking on a new writing journey-- we are joyfully diving into Lucy Calkins Units of Study. I am so excited to be launching a real writing workshop! In the 11 years I have taught kindergarten, writing was always a bit of this and bit of that flavored with whatever the current reading curriculum thought about kindergarten writing. It never felt right and writing was stressful for me (and my students).  I was lucky enough to attend 4 days of training this summer on Units of Study and it was so soothing to my kindergarten soul!!! The last few days I have been teaching my students how to be storytellers (in the If/Then book if anyone out there finds this post and wonders). Good Dog Carl had been a HUGE help! I had never heard of Good Dog Carl books - turns out there are 14 of them!- but I am lucky to be teaching with another kindergarten teacher that met Carl many years ago and gifted these books to her now grown children. She added them to her classroom library and is sharing with me. They are PERFECT books for storytelling because only the first and last page have words. The rest of the pages are full of engaging illustrations. They make it easy to tell the story by reading the pages and encourage children to sketch out their stories without worrying about the words.  Carl was also a huge help this week during Reading Workshop since we are learning to read 3 ways! Of course I want all of the books now! I will have to keep my eye out for a deal.

I had a wonderful week with my class this week. I am so excited for the next 175 days!!

Ready for 2014-2015!

Room 108 ---- Before!!

The floor is waxed... Now I have to put all of this away!! Good thing the AC is on!

I Heart Ethan!

 

 

Meet Ethan~ a super hero and miracle.  7-year-old Ethan has been recently listed for a heart transplant at Shand’s Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. He was born with Hypoplastic Left heart syndrome – in Ethan’s words “half my heart works”.  Ethan has already endured 3 open heart surgeries and many other smaller procedures.  A very special #iheartethan bundle fundraiser is available for those who make a $20 (or more) donation to COTA in honor of Team Ethan H.  Funds are being raised to assist with transplant-related expenses.

 

 

Click here to meet Ethan

Donate $20 or more to COTA in honor of Team Ethan H. and receive this K-2 Bundle worth over $100!

 

 

 

Head over here to donate now!

Pencils Glue & Tying Shoes