Setting up a kindergarten classroom at the beginning of the year can be an exciting, yet overwhelming. Whether you are a student teacher, or this is your last year teaching elementary school, I'm here to share
Kindergarten classroom setup made easy! Find ideas for floor plans, centers, & classroom decor using a zones model of organization.
Reducing Problem Behaviour using a function based intervention. Here I combined the first and then with the three star reward token boards and came up with this Behaviour Management Tool. Everythin…
Actionable tips on setting up student groups, choosing literacy centers, and effectively organizing materials and classroom space!
Being a new special education teacher can be overwhelming and stressful. Check out The FIRST thing to do as a new special ed teacher.
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Handwriting has never been easy to teach to kindergartners, but it is in the Common Core Standards that they learn how to print letters correctly. Each year I have tried through the traditional ways of working on fine motor skills the first half and then formal handwriting sheets the second half of the year. It never worked so this year I tried something new... An inquiry about lines! I asked the kids what kind of lines they knew of. At first they drew straight lines, but then started to expand the types of lines they made! We read some books and watched some videos on YouTube that showed us different lines and also gave them names. I put out provocations for them to explore lines in many different ways and see what they noticed and what connections they made. I put out invitations for them to use lines to make letters, shapes, designs, pictures and numbers: They explored! They are doing activities to build strong finger muscles to help with handwriting and explore lines at the same time! Our clay is quite hard and they have to work it to soften it up. Plus, manipulating the pipe cleaners helps work those fine motor skills! Through this simple inquiry, the kids are much more aware of the different types of lines and how to make them. They are recognizing them in letters, shapes, numbers and pictures. So far, I am seeing an improvement compared to previous years in their names as they try to form the letters the correct way. More are pulling down vertical lines rather than pulling up when making letters but for some this is a hard habit to break! We will keep working on it in developmentally appropriate ways and we will see as the year goes on if this knowledge of lines will help them with the common core standard of writing letters correctly! Here are some other things the kids have been doing in our room during this inquiry! Dots! We celebrated International Dot Day and celebrated creativity! Ken Robinson said that creativity is as important as literacy and I cannot stress enough how true that is! Employers want creative and critical thinkers so these skills need to be emphasized! Here are some pictures of some invitations to be creative and our final display of creativity! In Literacy, we have been focusing on letters and letter sounds. They have been using their names and the names of their friends to help them to recognize letters and their sounds. The invitations at the beginning of the year focused mostly on exploring letters and names. Working lavender into this play-dough also made this a great sensory experience as they used it to explore letters and try to spell their name and friends names. They have been working on the concepts of print as they learn letters and sounds through letter books. They have been practicing starting in the right place, pointing to the words and going in the right direction when they read. When they partner read, one is the reader, the other is the helper so they have to listen and watch closely, then they switch roles. In math we have been exploring numbers counting objects and matching them to the number. We also have been exploring measurement. In math we are also exploring shapes and their properties. In science, they have been working on looking closer, wondering and documenting what they notice. I set out invitations for them to explore and practice these skills. It has been a very full first month! It is amazing how far the kids have come! Stay tuned to find out what the kids are creating for our math area!
The month of September has really taking over my classroom! I've been busy getting the year started with classroom routines, organization,...
These kindergarten anchor charts will give you the tools you need to teach math, reading, friendship skills, and much more!
I remember being a new teacher and waiting so anxiously to get into my new room! I tried to imagine what it would look like...the center areas, the little tables and chairs, the storage space, etc. How would I arrange my new room? What centers would I have? Would I have enough shelves and tables? Those were just a few of the hundreds of thoughts I had before I started school. I drew my layout on notebook paper late at night when I had new teacher jitters and on napkins as I waited for my food in restaurants. The day had come, and after I saw my classroom, I had to reconfigure my arrangement based on the space, furniture, and other obstacles. I knew I had to have space to put down cots for nap time, I needed a small group table/teacher aide work space, I needed the tables to do double duty for activities and lunch time, I had to work around the built in carpet, cubbies, teacher desk....the list went on and on! My advice is to make a list of necessities and plan those areas first. Sometimes you will have to work around not having enough storage or tables, funky pieces of furniture that have to stay in your room, outlets in goofy places, etc. You will have to get creative! Also, It's perfectly fine to redo your arrangement during the year and switch it up! I've always changed my arrangement at least once a year and I always want something different as a new school year begins. The classroom should be a happy & comforting place for students and teachers as well! During college courses and internships I learned about early childhood room arrangements. The shelves should be low, all materials on open shelves are for the students, everything labeled, plenty of walk space, etc. I took notes as I toured classrooms and poured over those cute teacher blogs! : ) But only from my own teaching experience, I truly learned the importance of classroom space & design. Here are a few of my favorite classroom floor plan arrangements that I've had over the years. We might not have the same furniture or same amount of furniture but I hope it gives you at least a few ideas to work with! Happy planning! I liked this arrangement because there was plenty of room between the centers and tables. I bought the cube shelves from Target. They made a great room divider, held storage, and you could see through them so it made the classroom a light & airy feeling! The large group time carpet was built into the floor so it couldn't be moved. I double duty used it for our whole group lessons & for block play. The art center and easel were conveniently located to the sink for easy clean up. The light table was next to an outlet and book shelves were used as center dividers. I also used some of the backs of bookshelves for felt boards and to display vocabulary. The cabinet next to the door was used as a parent sign-in station and the rug there was used as our safe spot. I liked this arrangement because placing the library center at the entrance of the classroom provided for a homey/living room look as students entered. The safe spot was located closer to the teacher work area tucked into a corner and the pretend center had plenty of space. I also liked having a defined blocks center. Students could leave out special constructions during transition time and return to them later. In this floor plan the safe spot was moved near the cubbies and the light table was moved to the back wall. I traded in a table in the discovery area to allow students to have more workspace. Also, the library area was moved to the middle and made the classroom feel much larger. There was also a book shelf/cabinet placed behind the group time carpet. The cabinet held puzzles and morning tub manipulatives. Here of a few photos of some of my past classroom arrangement ideas! They are a mix of photos and from different years. Enjoy! Parent sign-in station...the back of this cabinet (which actually used to be the pretend center fridge) stored crayon buckets! Pretend center in the corner... Here's another pretend center area where I had it in front of the window... Discovery/science center close to the classroom entrance... Chairs were bought at Ikea and they have remained in great shape! Baskets were bought at garage sales and www.saveoncrafts.com Discovery/science center Here's another discovery area idea in the corner with bookshelf and table... ABC center with use of table, magazine rack, and bookshelf. The shelf on top of the table is an over the sink shelf. I bought it at a garage sale and sometimes use it for storage under the Smartboard! I love items that do double duty! Portable light table on top of Ikea table with magnet board behind. Safe spot and crayon tub storage...parent sign-in station with folder drop off bucket... Built in group time area... (labeled apple baskets awaiting school supplies on Meet the Teacher Night! Get your labels HERE!) Built in cubbies and rectangle table used for breakfast... Rolling blocks station that could be moved to the big carpet for play. Another year, I made a bigger blocks area. I turned over the dress up closet/mirror and utilized it for block play/storage. The rug is from Ikea and I love the mellow colors! Math center table and bookshelf/cabinet... Library area when it was in front of the window. I created extra storage from zip tying Michael's wooden crates together to make a bookcase. I covered an existing felt board with burlap to tie in the neutral colors. The chairs were half price (yay!) from Garden Ridge/At Home store...the rug was bought there too. In this arrangement the library center is near the classroom entrance. It's defined by a rolling book cart and writing station cart. The writing station cart actually used to be the blocks cart, lol. Like I said..I have done a lot of re-planning and rearranging in my teaching career. It's fun when you find new uses for things and they work! I took the wheels off my listening center cart, flipped it over, and put a plastic bin inside...instant sensory station! ABC station: writing center/abc games... this is when I had a whole lot of hot pink leftover from my previous classrooms... I slowly turned over to neutrals and natural textures...it made the classroom feel much more calm, clean, and relaxed... Math center with storage for manipulatives and a table to play the games. I used the back of a cabinet for a math pocket chart game and vocabulary. And last but not least...the art center built by Target cube shelves. I've hope you've enjoyed my little room arrangements tour and I hope you've found some useful ideas for your new or existing classroom! If you have any questions leave them in the comment section below. Happy planning & happy teaching! ~ Christian
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Friday letters are a great way to connect with students in your classroom and build a solid classroom community. Get tips to implement today!
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Laying out the classroom design in special education can be tough. I've rounded up posts and goals of setting up the physical space.
