Boho Minimalist Reading Rotation Cards
July 30, 2024
Literacy Center Rotation Cards
- Work on Writing
- Library Station
- Word Work
- Write the Room
- Technology Station (great for learning apps)
- Meet with Teacher
- Guided Reading
- Read to Self
- Buddy Reading
- Listen to Reading (can be a listening station or reading apps like Epic Books)
- Book Club (can be for upper grades)
- Creation Station (a craft/art station related to earlier read aloud, seasonal, etc.)
Classroom Setup '24
July 29, 2024
Welcome to my classroom!
This upcoming year I am inheriting a brand new classroom at a new campus, in a new city, and a new (somewhat) grade level. There have been a lot of transitions this last month, but ones that are exciting. After our move from Texas this summer back to San Diego, California, I was excited to be able to get into my classroom early and begin unpacking and setting up.
We all know that inservice week brings time in classrooms, but most of that week is prep, planning, and meetings. So, to have this extra time to build my classroom is a gift.
Arranging Furniture
- meeting area near TV (which is where I plan to have us spend the most time together)
- teacher desk with access to small group table
- student desk arrangement (18 students)
- classroom library
- writing materials area
Small Groups
Future Sound Wall
Classroom Library
- "Cool Kids Read Books" poster
- Amazing Work Coming Soon printable (FREEBIE!)
- Fake Plants
- Everyone Is Welcome border for walls & black book bins
A final note...
Goodbye Kindergarten...
June 7, 2024
...and hello, SECOND GRADE!
...not only that, but our family will be moving once more. This time, back to the sunny west coast in San Diego. It's a bittersweet moment because the last four years have been filled with so many memories. I was pregnant with Olivia - who happened to bring with her arrival a snowstorm that wiped out Texas for a week (snow like this hadn't happened since the 1980s!). She had so many firsts in our home. And speaking of home, we became first-time homeowners here in San Antonio, too! Just looking back makes me realize how much this place provided for our family when we needed it most.
But, like many other times in our life as a family, things shift and change. With that change comes new opportunities...
So, here's a bit of a long post that shares what leading us back to San Diego!
Shifting Feelings in 2024
Leaving the classroom...
What's Meant To Be Will Find a Way
Back to Cali...
Second Grade
J is for JEEP Day!
May 27, 2024
Planning for JEEP Day
JEEP Day
JEEP Duckies
Fun Jeep Read-Alouds
Sheep in a Jeep
My Daddy's Jeep
The Little Jeep Who Couldn't Beep
Graduation Directed Drawings
May 25, 2024
As I prepare for our end-of-year kindergarten graduation, I begin to prep all of the things students will be presenting to their parents on the big day. There's a writing portfolio I assemble using work samples from throughout the year, their monthly self-portraits and name writing, and other fun pieces from the year.
In addition, students create watercolor self-portraits of them in their caps and gowns. This is an activity where I direct them (no YouTube required) and each year they come out so well! I display them in the hallway for a couple of weeks before I laminate them and present them during our class party.
Why Directed Drawings?
BOY Directed Drawings
Graduation Directed Drawings
General Guide:
- Draw a large oval for the face
- Add straight lines for the neck, a curved line connecting the sides of the neck
- Add diagonal lines to shape the shoulders to the end of the page. Add additional lines to make it look like a graduation gown
- Add facial features such as: eyes, nose, mouth, ears, eyebrows etc.
- Draw a triangle shape at the top of the head. This will be part of the cap
- Guide students to drawing a slanted square as the top of the cap. Add an optional tassel to the side