Getting Started in Kindergarten: Opening Centers

     It's usually about thirteen minutes into the first day of kindergarten when I here, "When can we paint? When can we use the trains? When can we play?"  I'm showing them where their lunch box goes, but this is what they REALLY want to know! Here's what I tell them:  

Each center is like a big, beautiful present waiting to be opened. Is opening presents the first thing you do when you get to a birthday party? NO! You usually have to wait a little bit, right?  Do you open all of your presents at once or one at a time?" ONE AT  A TIME!  Well, it's the same with centers.  We have to wait a bit before we begin opening them and we will open them one at a time.

Last year's science center - waiting for children to arrive!

Here are some more tips for opening centers:

• String crepe paper across the centers and cut the ribbon as you open each one.
• Open 1-2 centers each day.  Use a similar routine for your "grand opening" to provide consistency and a predictable language around center use.   
• Begin with centers in which you have the most materials since the whole class will be working at these 2 centers in the beginning. I start with construction and math because I have a lot of blocks and math manipulatives.  Since they all won't fit in the center space, temporarily extend it to floor or table areas in other parts of your room.      
• Dismiss children to centers by asking, “Who would like to work in the _______ center today? Invite children to raise hands or stand up to show their interest.  If the whole class raises their hand for one center (oh no!), ask for volunteers to choose a different center.

Once the centers are all opened, it's your "gift" to stand back and observe the children happily engaged in exploring, experimenting, discovering, and creating. 

You can find my full plan for opening and introducing each center here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Jackie

The Magic of Tidying Up - Classroom Style!

     I have a teacher friend who often says, "My room looks like kindergarten threw up!" This is what goes through my mind as I look around my classroom and realize it's time to pack it all in! The space does not look as it did in September - children have lived here, children have worked and played here. I'm reminded that this is what it should look like if I've been doing my job!
    My first inclination is to go center by center (inch by inch, life is a cinch!).  Then I remember Marie Kondo and her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  While Marie is very good at cleaning up, I am very good at making messes!  So having her "principles" in my back pocket can be a very good thing when dealing with a year's worth of "vomit!"  If she were here, she would suggest that I not "tidy up" by center (oh no!), but rather grab all of one type of item, such as books and begin there.  My brain likes this way of thinking!  So I gather all the books and bring them to the floor. 

 She suggests you do this so you can see how much you really have (uh oh!).  She would tell me I have too many! I would not tell her that I have more at home! Instead of tackling the books right away (avoidance tactic!), I continue to bring like things together. I create groups of paper, writing utensils, charts, science stuff, math stuff, reading stuff, art materials, storage containers, storytelling props and a miscellaneous pile.  

At this point, my room is looking more like a full blow case of the flu rather than a 24-hour bug, but I'm in too deep to turn back now.  Once everything is sorted, I tackle the easiest pile first - paper.  Not sure what clutter experts would say about this, but it works for me. I need to feel some success!  

Paper goes quickly as most of it is just recycled.  I find forms I was supposed to hand in (oops)!  

     Next, I move on to writing utensils. I'm actually starting to enjoy the process.  I check markers to see if they are dried out.  I sharpen pretty pencils and think how these might be my "underwriting" tools for next year.  I admire colored pens I received as a gift and decide that these will be used for drawing stars on math papers.  I begin to create my supply order and add pencils, erasers, Sharpies, and dry erase markers to the list. I'm starting to see how focusing on one type of item brings clarity!  My typical approach to clean up would have been more of a  dart here, dart there pattern, which means more Fitbit steps, but less efficiency.
     So I continue to tackle each category until all I'm left with is the books.  It is then that I'm reminded of another one of Marie's principles and that is to hold each and every item and ask, "Does it  spark joy?"  Worn out copies of No, David! with the "naked page" ripped out do not spark joy for me!  They go in the recycling bin.  Stacks of I Can Read books that consume precious closet real estate are given away to a colleague.

     The remaining books are sorted into categories such as fairy tales, song books, favorite authors, concepts, etc. and I reminisce about joyful moments with last year's class.  I see Ashlynn trying hard to read Tikki Tikki Tembo's full name and hear the kids saying Tsz Tsz Tsz like the monkeys in Caps for Sale. I realize I'm feeling grateful for these books which is what Marie calls, "thanking your belongings for their service."  When the very last copy of The Napping House was finally "put to bed," I felt the great satisfaction of a job well done.

     While I didn't "dress for the event" as Marie suggests, and at times had music playing (she prefers you give it your full attention), her principles were super helpful in doing a thorough job and making a dreaded task somewhat pleasurable!  Maybe this summer, she can help me "tidy" my basement! (Note: Never before have I used the words "tidy" and "basement" in one sentence!) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Jackie

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Playful Encounters with the Reggio Emilia Approach

     

     I recently went to Rochester, NY to attend a conference at the Strong National Museum of Play entitled, Playful Encounters with the Reggio Emilia Approach.  

Keynote speakers included Lella Gandini (United States Liaison for the Dissemination of the Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Childhood Education and coauthor of Hundred Languages of Children) and Ben Mardell (Project Director of the Pedagogy of Play, Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education).  Both speakers provided insightful and inspiring stories, challenges, and food for thought.  

     The museum itself offered a wonderful backdrop for this professional development and is home to the Woodbury School, a Reggio-inspired preschool and early kindergarten program. As part of a break-out session, I was able to visit the classrooms and snap a few photos.

indoor garden space

They also have an outdoor discovery garden to extend their indoor garden space

beautiful provocation

love the bleeding hearts!

a sculptural way to display children's art

possible inspiration - Very Hungry Caterpillar??

floating fish hung from the ceiling

natural treasures to explore

caterpillar provocation

words showing what they value

artwork as inspiration displayed between the easels

feltboards attached to the wall

an invitation to write

 "Habitat Boards" created by children

Documentation Panel: How Can We Care For Mother Earth?

Documentation Panel: What is life in a castle like?

Documentation Panel: What was it like to live long ago in a castle?

light exploration table

resources to connect children to the larger world

 dramatic play

more dramatic play

blocks

storage

wall boxes

castle exploration

Transcribed Documentation: How can we care for Mother Earth?

ceiling sculpture

loose parts storage

more loose parts storage

art offerings

clay sculptures and painted habitats

animal paintings on a vinyl shower curtain

more opportunities for writing

documentation of their shared story

story stones

process art

sun prints

portfolio storage

bird treasures

mailboxes made from milk cartons

  

     Debbie McCoy, assistant vice president for education at Strong, shared, on a previous visit, Lella had suggested to the staff that they might consider scaling back a bit on the materials offered in the classroom by placing some in storage and rotating them out.  They took her up on her suggestion and the classrooms felt orderly, inviting, and despite their small size, not at all overcrowded.  I realize that I too have some work to do in this area and that some serious weeding out is in order!

     On another breakout session, entitled Playful Inquiry, I visited the museum's Butterfly Garden and Lab.  

In the garden:

In the Lab:

     The big take-away from this session was the modeling of a process called Science Talk inspired by the book, Talking Their Way Into Science by Karen Gallas.

     I was able to connect my own experiences with children's questions to this process and am hoping the book will take me further in the coming school year. 

     While most (if not all) of us aren't lucky enough to have our classrooms located within a children's museum, there are elements of their classrooms that could certainly be replicated within our own spaces.  What inspires you most as you end one school year and look ahead to another?  

Thanks for stopping by!

Jackie

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