Summer School Classroom

Today was a teacher work day before summer school begins on Tuesday. I am teaching summer school at a neighboring school since the school I teach at does not offer it to the community.  I had the daunting task in front of me to transform a room in chaos into a teachable space.




The previous teacher in the room I moved into was leaving the school so her things were all over the place from tables to shelves. There was sticky stuff all over the desks and all of the bulletin boards had been stripped.

These are my before pictures but I took them after I had been in the room for an hour or so moving furniture. Note the bookcases on the reading table. A perfectly logical place to leave them (I do hope she leaves some for me though!). All of my things are only on top of the bookcases in these photos!










After 4 hours of work and much help by a member of building service I'm happy to show off my finished 1st grade classroom ready for the kids on Tuesday!











Bulletin board are up, desks are clean, share bins out, class library is out, centers organized, math materials out, and so much more!








We are expecting 22 kids for each 1st grade class (they were expecting 18) so it will be an interesting 4 week session!

- Lindsey

Great Give Aways!

There is a great amazon gift card give away at A place Called Kindergarten
http://aplacecalledkindergarten.blogspot.com/

Erica's Elementary Excitement has two give aways for lakeshore and target cardss!
http://erica-elementaryexcitement.blogspot.com/2011/06/beginning-blog-giveaway.html

I'm thinking I should start participating in all of these blog give aways to purchase things for next year! Happy posting!
-Lindsey

Berenstain Bears Lessons *updated*

At the start of any school year I think it's important to take time to build community and discuss how students can work together with friends. The Berenstain Bears Series covers lots of topics that are applicable to situations in the classroom. Brother and Sister bear provide opportunities for discussion and teachable moments. I wanted to share 3 response activities for Trouble with Friends, Too Much Teasing and Get in a Fight to use in 1st or 2nd grade classrooms. Please leave a comment if you download the Berenstain Bears Activities from google docs. *Updated Link 6/28/11*
The official website http://www.berenstainbears.com/ also provides learning activities, video clips online, a BB book read aloud, mazes, coloring activities, and much much more!  Check it out!
~Lindsey

Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten Unit!

Hey all! Check out Kinder Kraziness for a free Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten Unit!  She also has some great letter and sight word activities on her blog that you should check out!


Broken Bone Update! Saw the orthopedist and my elbow is broken but thankfully I didn't get put in a cast. I will have to wear a sling through July and into August and limit my use with my right arm. So much for getting in shape this summer!
-Lindsey

Segway tour and broken elbow

So I took mom to Annapolis yesterday for a 2-hour Segway tour for her birthday.



We loved it and theyre so easy to use until...





I hit a curb on our way back to the shop and I flew off and broke my elbow :-( yes Segway's are dummy proof but they're not Lindsey proof! Off to the orthopedist now.


- Lindsey

Looking for Summer School Words of Wisdom

I'm teaching summer school for the first time beginning on July 5th  for 4 weeks to rising 1st graders. I'm looking for words of wisdom from those of you who have taught it before. The kids arrive at school by 9am, get breakfast, have a reading lesson, guided reading groups, literacy centers, they have lunch and then math class. The kids go home by 1pm. Does anyone have words of wisdom or creative summer projects/themes for rising first graders?
Thanks!
Ms. Whyte

Last Day of School

Today was the last day of kindergarten and I was very excited to make it to the end of the year to start my summer but the reality of starting a new year also hit me in that I will have to train a new and much larger class of munchkins. Trying not to think about it....

I wanted to share a picture of my end of the year gift to my kids since there had been a lot of discussion in the blogging world this past month. I was feeling crafty so I found a deal on these cute bags at Michael's Craft Store and I painted the bags for my kids with one of these designs shown. Or until I ran out of blue paint for the wizard hats. :-D




The kids loved the bags and then yesterday I had the kids go around with sharpies and sign the back of everyone's bag. I then stuffed them with a summer cup, beach ball, and sunglasses and passed them out today on our last day!

Today we shaving creamed our tables and packed the room. I'm not moving classrooms this year which is a shocker since I've been in 7 classrooms over 9 years at the same school. I'm not quite sure how to pack up a room since I'm staying in the same place. Here is a pic of my little minions at work!








And then finally the moment we all had been waiting for... Seeing the buses off! See you in August kids!

My next stop will be 1st grade summer school but I have a 2 week vacation until then.....Until Summer School .... I'm going to go out and have some fun!!
-Lindsey