Kindergarten Newbies!

Well, our school still isn't ready to move in! Gah! I'm going crazy! I've been trying my best to stay busy though. Last night I met with a friend of mine who just found out she's being moved from First Grade to Kindergarten... dun dun dun!!! ;)

Naturally, she had a lot of questions. There is SO much more to think about than you realize! We talked for nearly 3 hours and I still didn't feel like I did anything but overwhelm her... Sooooo I came home and decided to make a "shortcut" type document that tells those "Kindergarten Newbies" the basics of setting up a Kindergarten Classroom! I tried to not go over three pages, and to make it not look too scary. :)
Soooo here ya go... Your New Kindergarten Classroom!

Keep in mind, our district kind of "spoils" us and we are blessed with furniture, and a plethora (that's the word I use to make myself sound smart) of manipulatives, resources, etc. But at least you get an idea of what you're getting into. :) I remember my first year of teaching, I just stood in the middle of my empty classroom thinking, "Where in the world do I start?"

Veteran teachers, if you have a "newbie" on your team, give this to them! They'll love you FOREVER! ;)

Happy planning!

Classroom Snapshots

The clock is a'ticking! At one of my training's this week I found out that all that has been finished of the new wing of our school (where the kinder rooms will be) is the frame... yikes! I'm getting kinda nervous, so I've been jotting down ideas and looking at old pictures of my room. I thought I'd share a few snapshots with y'all, so heeerrreee you go!

Seasonal Book Display
(this was spring!)

Student Library and "Reading Corral"
(organized by genre and level)

4-Way Word Wall
(Science, Math, Social Studies and monthly words)

Calendar Corner (aka "Cowboy Calendar")

"Tacks"- My Individual Class Incentives

Lunch Count Center and Class Jobs ("Ranch Hands")

"A Pocket Full of Words"
This is my interactive word wall. (used in addition to the traditional word wall.)
Students simply come up, grab the word they need, and take it to their desk to help them spell! :)
Encourages initial sound knowledge and of course sight word practice!

More Organization...
(Pictures are good for Kinder babies)

Desk Group Organization
(Minimizes the amount of time we take
passing out journals, notebooks, etc.)

Browsing Baskets

Read to Self "Hub"
This isn't my best work, I'll improve on it next year... but the basic idea is that students have easy access to the IPICK chart, reading response journal pieces and book recommendation cards.

Readin' Buddies Chart and Pictures

Student of the Week Board
(Our school mascot was the "Trailblazers" so I played on that...)

New sight words and word family easy access
The kids loved coming in on Monday to see our new words and word family!

I thought I had more pictures, but you get the idea: Western theme, literacy everywhere, kid-friendly organization... it's down-home kindergarten! :) I will post more pics as I find them!

-Kinderella