Sprucing Up the Sterlite Drawers

I've had these Sterlite Drawers for years, I think from when I first started teaching 14 years ago. While surfing Pinterest, I found a great idea that Maria from Kindercraze shared: Line the drawers with scrapbook paper!  Labels will be added to the drawers soon.

Did I take ANY pictures of the process? Nope. I was having so much fun with this that I didn't want to stop and grab the camera!

Want to see how you, too, can add some color to your rolling cart? Since Maria describes it best (and you just have to see her cute Sterlite drawers!), I will send you to her blog for instructions. The one thing I will add is that I used double-sided Scotch tape between the drawers/sides and the paper. It seemed to position the paper in place better and felt a bit more secure.

The total cost was under $3 for the paper (it was on sale 4 sheets for $1 at Joann's).

Now I'm looking for some more carts to spiffy up!

Follow Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds on Facebook!

Setting Up the Writing and Reading Centers

Our writing table and reading centers are actually combined in the front corner of our classroom, on the complete opposite side as our block corner. Since one area is "quiet" and the other one more "active", it makes sense not to have them near each other!

At the beginning of the year, I keep this area very simple, with just a few materials. Each new material that is added will first be introduced in a small group.

I wanted to keep the writing table as clutter-free as possible, so I decided to hang my marker organizers on the wall. I had no organizers on hand, so decided to try paper cups.

Since they are going to stay on the wall, I didn't worry too much about the paper fitting perfectly. I did a quick staple job and added some Velcro.

I realized after needing to reposition one that it works best to have the Velcro sticking to the cup, not the paper. So, I left a gap in the back. (Even this was not enough of a gap. All the Velcro should be sticking to the cup, not the paper.)

I will add more colors and perhaps more markers as we get used to making sure our markers are put away with the caps. This takes some practice.

Here's what the area looks like now. I'm sure I'll tweak it some more. I'm also changing that small drab carpet mat for something larger and more cheerful. 

Here are some links to other writing and reading centers:

Mrs. Mc Dowell

Diary of a First Year Teacher

Montessori Book Corner

Pre-Kinders Reading Center

Pre-Kinders Writing Center

Pre-K Pages

Teach Preschool

Follow Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds on Facebook

See more pictures of my classroom here!

Our Morning Schedule for the 2's Class

Our preschool has two 2's classes. One is Tuesdays only, and the other is on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I teach the 2-day a week class, but both follow this schedule:

9:30  Arrivals and Centers Time

We offer free-choice centers as soon as the 2's arrive. They are not required to be at any center at any given time, but have the freedom to roam and explore at their own pace. The centers provided are: book corner, writing table, play dough, table activities, house corner, blocks and cars, science, art, easel and sensory. Also, during this time, if the weather is cooperating we open the door for outdoor exploration as well.

10:15 Clean Up

We sing our clean up song and work together to clean up the classroom.

10:25 Story

At the beginning of the year this is very informal and I don't force anyone to sit while we read. As the year progresses and their attention spans grow, they sit on their personalized mats while we read a short story.

10:35  Snack

Our preschoolers bring their own snack and we sit family style.

11:00  Recess

We have the choice of 2 indoor spaces for large motor fun. We are lucky to have access to these spaces since it rains often here in the Pacific Northwest.

11:40 Music and Movement

We finish our day with some fingerplays, instruments, dancing and singing.

12:00 Departures

 

Follow me on Facebook!

3 Year Olds Morning Schedule - Revisited

 

Our Morning in the 3's Class:

9:25 Arrivals

We open the classroom door and greet the children. They say their good-byes to parents and come on in!

9:30 Free Choice Centers

We start our morning with free-choice centers - this includes listening center/library, writing table, manipulatives, house corner, blocks and cars, art table, playdough, easel, sensory table, science. I prefer free-choice for this age group because they are all at different levels, and some want to spend a lot of time exploring one thing while others move from area to area, often wanting to return to a previous activity.

10:30 Clean Up

10:40 Circle Time #1

I place the children's personalized mats (actually vinyl placemats with their names attached) in a horseshoe shape. When I sing the "come to the circle" song, they each bring a book to their mat and look at it while the class helper and one other child help set the tables for snack. Looking at a book is a great transition to quiet themselves and prepare to listen. My co-teacher then has the children put away their books and they all sing a good morning song. We have 1 class helper a day and that person sits in front of the window. He/she checks outside to see what the weather is, and places the correct picture on the wall. We then sing a weather song and listen to a story. On Fridays, we add sharing. We have one sharing person per week. They take home their boxes on Wednesday and return on Friday.

10:55 Snack

As the children are dismissed from circle, they go to the bathroom to wash hands and then get their snacks from their cubbies.Our children bring their own snack each day and an empty cup. They place their snack on their mat . We then pass a pitcher of water down each side of the table for them to pour their own water. As the children finish snack, they put away their garbage and work on activities that are placed on the circle time carpet, or they can go to the book area or writing table. 

11: 20 Music & Movement

Nursery Rhymes, Finger Plays

11:35 Recess

12:15 Small Groups
The children are separated into 4 color groups (so each group has 4). We rotate each day. At this time in the day we have 3 teachers, so each teacher does a simple activity with her group and the 4th group sits right beside my group and works on journals. This way I can supervise both groups, since we don't have a 4th teacher.
12:25 Departures

We call children to the door as their caregivers arrive.

Because we have such a small classroom, almost all our areas get used in various ways. When Free-Choice is over and we are cleaning up, we push our small shelves against the wall and the block area is now our circle time area for the rest of the morning. Our art table and play dough table get cleaned up and pushed together for snack. After snack, they get cleaned up and separated once again for small groups. We've learned to be creative with our space and it works quite well! I will show pictures once I get the classroom set up later this month.

It's important to note that this schedule is not set in stone. On Fridays we have music with the 4 year old class in between centers and circle time #1. Once a month we have Chapel so our centers time isn't as long, and recess is moved so that it's right after Chapel. When we have class visitors, our schedule is altered a bit as well. Circle Times are not set to the clock, either. Sometimes we get into wonderful conversations that last quite awhile. Other days we are just too wound up to sit for long!

Car Wash

Our final camp for the summer is Wet and Wild Water Camp. Of course, a car wash is involved.

We set up one tray with small cars and shaving cream and another tray with water. The third tray had small towels to place the cars on.

The delight of putting your hands in the shaving cream and then rinsing them in water, and repeating over and over, was quite soothing for many of the preschoolers. And all our toy cars got cleaned in the process! Hmm....maybe tomorrow we will try this with some of our other toys!

Teaching 2 and 3 Years Olds on Facebook

Painting with Shoes

This week's camp is Moving and Grooving, so my co-teacher brought in some various athletic shoes for the preschoolers to use with paint.

They loved exploring the different types of soles and the prints they made.

Of course, the Heely's were the most popular, being able to roll the sole across the paper.

This was also a color mixing activity, blending blue and red to make purple.

Always fun to try new ways of painting without a brush!

Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds on Facebook

Egg Shakers

As part of our Magnificent Music Camp last week, we made egg shakers. So simple and the preschoolers loved them! Last spring I mentioned how we use our plastic eggs year round, for so many activities. You can find them on clearance after Easter, of course.

We filled ours with leftover colored rice and beads that we had used in a sensory tub awhile back. 

Paper mache over them.

Let them dry a day and then paint them with acrylics.

Turn on some music and shake, shake, shake!

Follow me on Facebook

First Day with the 3's Class {Re-Post}

Today was our first day with the 3 Year Olds! I always forget how much work the first week is. We need to start all over again and show them how we do everything. Many times. Over and over. We don't move on until we feel they have grasped what we've shown them and they feel comfortable in their surroundings. Here are some firsts for today:

Signing In. We find our names and draw a line across the page. Later, when we are ready, we can write some or all of the letters in our name.

Sometimes there is a line at the sink to wash hands. We learned that only one person can be on the step stool at a time. Waiting for 3's can be very challenging, but they did a great job!

When we are finished with our work, we put them in our cubbies. Unless they are wet. Then they go on the drying table.

Clean up time takes the longest at the beginning, and we never, ever remember to give extra time for this. They were so willing to help clean, though!

Each child has his/her own mat at circle time. In the beginning, many need help recognizing their names.

Our first circle time went well! A bit of talking and poking, but that's the norm. They were very excited to have their own place to sit.

We worked hard, played hard, and made new friends. I don't know about the children, but I was tired when I got home and took a nice nap! The first week is exhausting, but so much fun.

Follow Me on Twitter!