Classroom Tour

I was so happy to have well over half of our families join me on Curriculum Night!  I appreciate you taking your time to learn what will be going on in the classroom this year.  I know, as a parent, my hope in attending my kids' curriculum night isn't to find out about the publishers of curriculum or even the text books the kids will use.  I want to spend time in the classroom!  I want to meet the teacher who will be spending more waking hours with my child than I will be. I want to know that my kids will be cared for, loved, and are being taught by someone I have faith and confidence in.   (If I were in church right now, I know I'd be hearing a few Amens!)

For those who attended, I hope I was able to give you a glimpse into our classroom life and I hope you feel a bit more confident in your child's teacher this year.  For those of you who were not able to attend, I have the next best thing.  I've already sent out a link to our Curriculum Night tab, at the top of the blog.  That link will have all of the information I went over.  As for the other part... spending time in the classroom... I have a mini-photo tour for you.  There will be many more pictures to come, but here's a start:

Our classroom is not "done" by any means.  There is a lot more "cute-si-fication" that needs to happen.  (Yes, that's a word.)  Bulletin boards need to be completed, curtains need to be sewn, and art work needs to be hung.  My goal in showing you the almost-finished product is to show you where the kindergarten magic happens every day.  I'm hoping that your child comes home every day saying that they had fun here.  I guarantee you that there is learning and hard work happening here too, but I'm hoping they will remember the fun parts over the hard work.  

After almost 20 years of teaching, I have a pretty large classroom library.  I have books in several places in the room for kids to access and I also have my seasonal books hidden, which I bring out as the months change.  The little table in the library area doubles as a small motor/art station.  I found pictures online of Andy Goldsworthy's artwork and set them out with a sand, rock, and shell tray for kids to explore.  

There are a couple different "teaching spots" in the room.  We have an easel set up for modeling writing and a rocking chair for our main story time.  We also have the area, above, to do flannel board stories and practice letters and sounds.

I love my little nature table, by the back door, too!  Last week we had sunflowers set up for the kids to explore and this week it's rocks.  Right now I'm changing things out pretty quickly.  I'd like to find out topics the kids are most interested in learning more about.  I really LOVE the natural curiosity of kindergartners!

There is so much more to explore in our little corner of Cascade View Elementary, but that will have to do for now.  It's a happy place, filled with music, laughter, and learning.  

Thanks for taking the classroom tour!