Pressure Makes a Diamond!

Today we learned that when you apply different pressure to a crayon, using your hand, it changes the shade. Everyone got one crayon. The way that students colored their hearts made them look like jewels!

Template is is attached here.

 

FREE April Calendar Pieces

 Check them out! Free April calendar pieces are ready to print!

FREE March Calendar Pieces

 Feeling lucky this March? Here are my FREE March Calendar Pieces designed around, what else, Lucky Charms!

Download Here

FREE February Calendar Pieces

My calendar pieces are starting to fall apart. Anyone relate? I have been using them over 15 years now! Time for a refresher. I will be posting new calendar pieces for FREE over the next few weeks! Enjoy!

 Grab them here!

Going Hybrid!

 The countdown has begun. In 9 days I will start teaching with a Hybrid model. I will have 7 kiddos at school every day except Wednesday from 9:00am to 11:15am. In this time frame I am expected to cram in everything they need to know, which doesn't sound very feasible. I also want to make class time engaging, incorporating play as much as I can. 

This post is about how I am going to keep play going under a hybrid model, both in the classroom and at home. Keeping the play going at home shouldn't be too difficult, seeing as how we have been playing this whole time! But, I do want to refresh some items, like more playdoh, and incorporate some crafts and planting materials (sunflower seeds, tiny pots, and soil). This will need to be done via supply pick-up. 

The real struggle is how to get my kiddos to play in class with sanitization in mind. I have decided I will have 2 play times during the day. One will be content based, working on centers that have to do with our science lessons. I am planning on teaching content themed for the remainder of the year, with themes of butterflies, bees, plants, and frogs. Reading, writing, math, and phonics will be worked on through the theme. These are individual centers I made (see picture for butterfly centers) and are keeping them in Ziploc baggies to distribute each day. 

There are two of each center so students can play alongside each other and talk about what they are doing. They are not sharing materials, but they are sharing experiences.

The other part of my play time will be exploratory "choice" play. The materials for this will include art materials, blocks, magnet tiles, and small toys. The rule that I need to follow is to give each toy (or set of toys) at least 24 hours of decontamination time before it can be used again. This includes me decontaminating it with Lysol or Clorox and giving it 24 hours of no usage before another child uses it. If I give students 2 days to play with it, having them keep it in their area, I will have Wednesdays and the weekends for decontamination. Yes, hybrid play is hard. 

So, how am I going to keep materials separated? Storage tubs. I bought each child a tub for use in their area. These tubs (from Hobby Lobby) will hold their school supplies, writing materials, books, art supplies, etc. They are a good size and I am thinking they will work out well.

I will be in on Monday finalizing my room set up and will have photos soon!

Books That Look Like Us

 I am looking for donors for my Books That Look Like Us project on Donors Choose! Today is a Double Donations day! If you are able to donate, please click here: Books That Look Like Us!.

Did you know that that 50% of all children's books reflect white children? The next most represented group is ANIMALS. This comes before any other group of children, be they Black, Latinx, Native, or Asian. Help me build a classroom library that reflects the faces of the students in my class. I have students from all over the world, speaking many languages. I want to show then that they have stories too. 

The Schedule

* UPDATE! I had a parent tell me that my schedule was not clear. I took a look at it, and thought that I might need to add when to login to Zoom and what is NOT on Zoom. Below is the updated version. 

 Alright. It is getting really real, really quick. I know we are some of the very last to start school,  but we have been preparing for a month! Tech is up, apps are on, families are connected, and the real work begins this week. I am excited to try something new, nervous about how it will go, and anxious about how to maintain it. 

We are missing a crucial part of school: socialization. And everything I have been working toward has been to highlight relationships amongst my Kinders. How? Through play, through Zoom, through family connection. My schedule will allow time for Play Workshop, which I am super grateful for. Here is a look at my schedule:

Just a reminder, this is only for the week of September 21-25. Things will get a little (lot?) more intense after that. I will begin whole group and small group meets. My goal for the kids to get the hang of signing-in to Clever and then signing in to Zoom through Clever. Take a look: 

When we get to the point of logging in like champs, I will start adding more times to log in. I will be running a whole group Zoom Community Circle, a whole group Play Workshop with breakout rooms, Small Group Phonics and Math, and an end of the day Community Circle/Review. 

Who knows? This whole thing could bomb and I will have to start from scratch. All we can do it try!