So this was a short week, just 3 days, but it was really great! My kiddos are really a great bunch and I am *so excited* for this year. I think we are going to have a great year!
We started our Read to Self this week. This is my first attempt at the Daily 5 and I have been pretty nervous about it. But I was seriously amazed at how great the kids did right away. Now, it's not perfect, but they were all engaged and I could tell by looking at them that they really *want* to do it right and build their stamina. So needless to say, I'm thrilled and can't wait to see the class improve!
Also my principal told me yesterday that she is giving me a teacher candidate to observe for about 40 hours. I am totally honored that my principal thinks I'm the kind of educator that other teachers should learn from. It makes me feel great and everyone likes to be recognized. On the other hand, I'm really scared! I've only been doing this for 3 years, what if I don't do a good job. I told my fiance yesterday that I wasn't sure I was good enough for someone to learn from. He said "You realize 22 people already learn from you every day, right?" Ha! You would think I would have known that! ;)
And lastly, I'm REALLY struggling with fitting everything in this year. Our day isn't actually any shorter than previous years but I feel like we have no time for anything but literacy and math. I've had to cut back on some things to add 20 minutes of developmental centers. And I've made it through a day or two only reading 1 book because we are so rushed! We have a new math curriculum which has a lot of whole group instruction on the smartboard and then a lot of worksheet type work. I really want to be doing math stations and pulling small groups, similar to Daily 5 literacy, but I don't know how to make the math fit with that style. Does anyone use enVision Math and have some advice for me on how to modify it? Seriously. I feel like my kiddos are missing out on so much hands-on learning because I'm sticking to the assigned curriculum.
Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading my ramblings ;) I'm off to search for more inspiration!
~Samantha
We have envisions math as well.....I find it to be very easy for my kids....so we do the introduction stuff and quickly move to math stations. But I only have time for math stations twice a week right now. I hope to do more as time goes on. I also let the kids do math stations once they finish the math lessons I taught for the day.
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http://theverybusykindergarten.blogspot.com/
Thanks for letting me know how it goes for you, Sue. Do you do the worksheets daily? If so, how long are you finding it to take? And are you doing it whole group or small groups? I've tried both and don't really like either!
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