Update…
I am trying unsuccessfully to upload most of the other PDF files. They have all been converted, but for some reason are not uploading today. Must not be my day! 🙂 I’ll keep trying and let you know when that happens.
Is anyone else wiped out after their 2nd week of school? I didn’t anticipate the jump from 1/2 day to Full Day Kindergarten would be so big! I’m usually a pretty non-stressed out person, but man, this week has been CRAZY! The kids are starting to get the routine–I just need to! 🙂
Kristen 🙂
Posted on August 24, 2008, in Updates. Bookmark the permalink. 5 Comments.
Kristen's Kindergarten 
Dear Kristin,
In reply to your comment about being tired after only teaching a few days of kindergarten, I totally agree! I am in my second year of teaching full day kindergarten and this year is much different than last year! The children are going to require a longer “Training Period.” Any advice concerning what to do with students who are not following the classroom routines and rules well yet? Your help would be appreciated. P.S.- I love your website! Keep up the great work!
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Keep going with those routines! They will get them quickly as long as you are consistent and fair with your rules/procedures. Something new I tried this year was to ask the students what they thought were important rules that we have. Who knew that it was important that we not bite each other to have a successful day at school? 🙂 What matters is that the rules are important to them and they can be held accountable for them because THEY were the ones who made them–not me. It’s all about OWNERSHIP! 🙂
Kristen 🙂
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HI Kristin ,
I love your site! I am going from 1/2 to full day this year. We start the day after Labor Day. I really liked your center chart. I was wondering how you moved children from center to center. Do you put the names of the children next to the center they will be at? Also, I can see you have ten centers, but I can not see what they are. Could you take a close up picture of that chart?
Thanks! I aspire to get a website going like this. I bow down to your energy!
Michelle from Michigan
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You are not alone. I have been so tired. This is my third year. Many things have gotten easier but I think we always forget how tiring the beginning of the year can be. However, it is so worth it. We wouldn’t be doing all that we do if we didn’t love it. Don’t you just love seeing their smiling faces full of enthusiasm. It inspires me and fires me up. I also try to be consistent with rules and procedures. I use peer modeling a lot and logical consequences to deal with behavior. We have class meetings to discuss problems and situations and to celebrate success. Kristen, I love your blog.
Donna Williams
http://donnakwilliams.wordpress.com
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Hi Michelle,
I will try to get you a close up picture of the chart. I put the chart names in a pocket chart and then put the kids names on sentence strips/index cards. I then start the year by randomly choosing where I want the students to begin. After that, I just move their names down a “row” in the chart each day. When they get to the bottom, they get moved to the top again. I also have the chart labeled with pictures and the centers as well so that eventually the students will be able to figure out where they need to go on their own.
Something else I did this year since we could actually have “Discovery Centers”–home living, blocks, you know the fun ones, was to laminate the library pockets and write the name of each center on the outside and the number of people at each center. I rotate the sticks in the pockets each day and that would work well for Literacy Stations as well.
Kristen 🙂
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