This picture is taken from the middle of the roomracing the math manipulative center, the hooks and our classroom library.

You can see our carpet area (even though I have changed it already) as well as our behavior traffic light job chart and tables.

 

This messy area is my desk.  I removed my desk at the end of last year and only use my guided reading table with several bookshelves and storage carts.  I thought it was wasted space because I never had time to sit at my desk.

This is a picture from the doorway.  You can see my closet as well as the art center in the back, two of my four tables for the children’s seats and our math manipulative.

Cooperative Learning:  I usually begin the year off with many cooperative-learning activities to help students learn to not only work together successfully but to also meet new friends.

Johnny Appleseed:  For Johnny Appleseed’s birthday we graph our favorite kind of apple and learn many cool facts about apples.  We even like to dress up in our pot hats like Johnny.

Fire Safety:  We like to make cool hats in our art center and this was during fire safety.  We all became firefighters.
 

Halloween:  One activity the children like is to decorate a pumpkin in their group and then we carve them with help of a few of the parents.  Sometimes the students can’t decide if it is fun or disgusting.

5 Senses:  My pre-student teacher completed her science unit on the 5 senses.  One activity that the students completed, which was fun to see the students experience, was the sense of taste.  Students tasted many things that were sour, sweet, and bitter.  Students tried bitter chocolate and were fooled by the smell.  Their reaction was priceless.

Thanksgiving:  In our building, the six kindergartens have a Thanksgiving feast.  Each class prepares a food to bring to our feast.  Our room always makes bread, using a bread machine.  We dress up as Indians or pilgrims.  Finally, we sing a song to the other classes and parents who have joined us. 

Reindeer Write:  Students enjoyed writing around the classroom as reindeer.  We have used several different hats to create many characters that we are writing as.

Our MLK:  These are some of the children's Martin Luther King, Jr.  Students wrote about what they had a dream for and made their own MLKs.

Listening Center:  I have tried many different types of listening center setups.  For my classroom (especially because space is limited) students sit on a chair and listen to our listening center.  Headphones are then placed back on the chairs to create a cleaner spot.  Sometimes they share books or are able to have their own book as the story is read.
 

Math Calendar:  This is our math board area.  I have a farming theme in my room so my calendar, a barn, and weather chart, the silo are used daily.  We also tally the weather, tally, write and collect straws for the days in school.  We learn names through our name chart and have other activities that relate to our everyday math program.

Math Center:  Our centers are broken into 3 centers everyday.  Students are completing a math center worksheet and then they have a fun anchor activity until the time goes off.

Overhead Center: I only use this center from time to time, but the children love it.  This activity required students to spell their name using magnetic letters.  Once they have completed their names, they could spell word wall words, other student’s names, etc.
 

Word Wall:  This is our word wall area.  I have two chalkboards that I cover to make my calendar and word wall.  Our reading program, the Ohio Literacy Collaborative, focuses on using an easel.  Therefore this is prime space to use.
 

Writing Center:  Typically the students complete six centers in two days during our center tie.  Everyday days there is an ABC center, writing center, math center, listening center and two other centers that are given depending on what is going on in our theme.  The students stay at the center for 15 minutes and then follow the work board rotation.  After they complete their writing center or center worksheet, they have a fun activity to work with.