Kindergarten Classroom Tour

This is a simple tour of my classroom environment. I try to maximize space and create inviting, cozy areas for the students. In addition to everything pictured, I have many lamps, a sound machine, and a wax warmer to create a sense of peace and tranquility. I want my students to feel like our classroom community is a comfortable second home. My goals is that they feel like our classroom belongs to them. If you click on the double diagonal arrows at the bottom, you will be able to see the slide show better.

Video About Me

Most of the information that I include on this page is professional, so I thought that it would be fun to get to know me on a personal level. I put together this slideshow using IMovie. I enjoy using programs like this with my students and feel that technology gives our students an opportunity to present information in an authentic way.

***disclaimer--My 10 year old daughter viewed the video, and informed me that my ending was silly. I assured her that you have to be a little bit silly to teach early childhood kiddos!

Self Regulation

I am passionate about guiding my students to independent thought and work. A critical piece for success in this area is teaching students to self-regulate. Students must be able to recognize when their emotions are not appropriate for the situation. They need to have strategies to calm themselves down, and they need to learn to recognize when they are ready to rejoin activities. I have a cool down spot in my classroom with many items for students. I have calming jars and bottles, an I Spy jar, fidgets, small marble mazes, gel masks, brushes, clothespins and other clips, therapy putty, sand timers in different increments of time, and more. Students visit when they are angry, upset, or needing a break. Some of them choose to relax on a pillow with a gel mask over their eyes. Some choose a simple cognitive task like a maze or the I Spy jar to engage the logical area of their brain and move away from the emotional area. Some need some time to fidget or squeeze something to get some sensory stimulation. After becoming familiar with all of the items, they are very good at self-selecting items that are effective for them.

Examples of Cool Down Spot Items

Another component of self regulation that I feel is important, is for students to recognize when they are working inefficiently. We have class meetings and discussions about this topic. I want my students to notice if they are distracted, think about what changes they can make to limit distraction, and find a way to change the situation so they can work effectively. Students make choices such as changing locations, putting up folders, taking a break, getting a drink, stretching, and more. Even at age 5, they do a great job of noticing what needs to change!

Fine Motor and Sensory in Kindergarten

Education is a dynamic field. Even in the time that I have taught, many things have changed tremendously. As standards have become more rigorous in the early childhood grades, and academic expectations rise, I find it increasingly important to incorporate sensory and fine motor experiences into my classroom. Many of my students are learning to write in preschool, or even younger. This means that many of them come to me with an immature pencil grip because they lack hand strength or have not moved past grasps that are appropriate for younger ages.

Click here to visit a great website that explains pencil grasps and when to attempt to modify them!

I work with my kids to build up hand strength by offering opportunities to exercise their hands. I find that my student have very strong and coordinated thumbs because of their video game experience, but  often lack strength in the remaining fingers and hand. I currently have a sensory center that has a large bin of popcorn kernels, with a variety of cups, plastic test tubes, funnels, measuring spoons, and other containers for the student to scoop, pour, and fill. I encourage play with play dough, including putting beads or other small objects in it for the students to find and remove. I offer opportunities with chopsticks and tweezers frequently. This week, we read a book about tools, and students visited centers where they could use real pliers, pulleys, nuts and bolts, and hammers and nails. (with eye protection and my close supervision!) Throughout warmer months, I also offer opportunities with water and squirt toys, turkey basters, and sponges that they can squeeze. These activities expose them  to a variety of sensory opportunities, strengthen their hands, and are lots of fun!

Experimenting on the light table

Working with water beads

Working in sand

What Do My Teammates Think of Me?

One of our activities in August before school began, was to take a picture of ourselves and list words that we feel define us. I have an extremely self-deprecating sense of humor, and tend to be highly critical of myself, so this simple project was a real struggle for me. (The same could be said about interviewing and going through hiring processes--I am not always effective at selling myself, because I always see the flaws in my own work, and end up downplaying my abilities.) To solve this issue with my discomfort, I asked my teammates to think of words that they associated with me. A friend of mine even typed them in and submitted them for me. I did not know what words were entered, until I received the final product. Because they were all generated by others who work closely with me, I truly cherish the final product and feel flattered and thankful for my colleagues.

Process Art

I think it is very important to balance activities for early childhood students. We work very hard on academic subjects, but I also offer activities to express themselves in other ways. I have an art/sensory area in my room. It includes a tall wood table, where students stand to complete activities. I have been really excited about offering process art activities in this area. Giving them an opportunity to practice a process results in improved work on larger projects.

Process art, simply put, is art that focuses on a process instead of a product. I use this when I want my student to pick up on an art technique instead of trying to recreate my work. This always makes me think about the trend of "paint parties," where people come together and follow step by step instructions to create a piece of art. While this is likely a fun activity for all, it is not really teaching the participants to create. The end products are highly similar with little variation. While following step by step directions is an important life skill, I want my students to be creators, particularly when making art! I feel that there is a lot of transfer of this creativity to their project work, which makes these activities extremely important to me.

My current art center has blue, yellow, and white paint, along with brushes, bottle caps of different sizes, and many colors of paper. Students select their own color of background paper. We are working to mix colors to make shades of green, so they mix the provided colors to make their own shades. They paint the caps and use them to stamp circles on their paper in any design they wish. It has been fun for me to see what they do! Some meticulously line their circles up in rows and make their green shades get progressively lighter or darker. Others randomnly stamp their circles without pattern, often overlapping to create new shapes and shades. Many students ask if they can complete another paper when they finish the first--which is a sign of a successful activity in my book.

Here is an example of one student's work--she made several green shades and tones, but chose to keep her circles similar in size with no intentional overlapping:

Here is a great link to show many ideas for process art. Click here.