Thoughts of next school year are never far away in the summer. Especially this summer for me. I will be at a new school in the fall, so this summer is being spent organizing and purging my school things. I'm finding it is not as easy to do as I thought it would be. Going through a box of math manipulatives I find a use for every item. Sigh. So I have had to use this list to determine what to keep and what to say goodbye to: 1. Is there a purpose for this item? Could it be used for teaching a lesson or independent practice in centers? 2. Have I actually used this item the past 2 years? Even if it is useful if I haven't actually used it then it needs to go. I give it a 2 year window because sometimes you can't use something because of certain children or the children's interests did not support the use of that item this year. 3. Does it fit in the environment that I create in the classroom? This year I can only use natural baskets, shiny metal plates and containers or t...
It has been over a year since my last post. I started on a journey a year ago this past fall that seems to have completely occupied my time and thoughts. I have been reflecting on my teaching practices, but not writing them down as much. As this journey is drawing to an end, I realized that I missed a golden opportunity to write my thoughts and experiences here and not just in the papers I'm writing for the classes I have been taking to achieve a Master's degree. Hopefully, I complete this journey in May. Until then my intentions are to start writing thoughts that I am pondering. This will help me think through questions and wonderings I have about teaching and learning.
In preparation for my trip to the Boulder Journey School, I have started reading one of the books that I received with the grant money from Funds For Teachers. "Working in the Reggio Way; A Beginner's Guide for American Teachers" by Julianne P. Wurm is my first book that I read. It was so good I actually read it in 24 hours. Easy to read and lots of ideas on how to implement some of the Reggio way into your classroom without being too overwhelmed. I love the idea that you pick 5 things in your classroom to change and work on those changes. Once you are satisfied with those changes you pick 5 more things. I have already started implementing some of the ideas before reading this book on my own just with what I know is Developmentally Appropriate for 4 year olds. So it has been really cool to find out how much I have already changed and the direction I need to go from here. I want to learn more about the Project Approach that is used. The new curriculum I get to try next s...
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