Tanner Life

Ms. Tanner's Class

Come on, take a trip with me. Let me show you my world, preschool! Come on down the hall, actually from this end, you've come up the back way. That brown door also leads to my room, to my mini kitchen. That hall door stays locked all the time though. (And I forgot to take pics of my shelves, fridge, sink, etc... "the mini kitchen")

Those orange squares were our easel painting this week. Sometimes we can paint what we want, this week it was painting with our month color and our month shape. Those things glued on are our square poem & orange song words. The kids can now spell & read the color orange, from the song. (They can also spell & read red now) Then there is my generic yellow kid door. I use to change it for every season, holiday, whatever. Like I NEED one more job at school. I decided that was for the birds. You see a sign hanging over the door that is for Sunday School, thankfully they aren't using my room this year!!! (Yay!! You have no idea. When they use it you must shut everything up for the weekend, no fun!) Then you see my wall "self made" bulletin board with our fall quilt, I'll show you it closer soon. Oh, stop sign is my serious food allergy warning.

Here we go, let's look at the centers, one by one.

Manipulatives:
Known to the children as "Table Toys". This center has puzzles, Mr. Potato Head (and that red & white bucket full of pieces, including Disney ones) games, lacing cards, geo boards, gears, alphabet blocks and on and on and on.... It's also currently home to our pumpkin. Oh, and it seems one dinosaur "Kaylee - a - saurus" headband that got left at school. The bulletin board behind it has black paper with circles. That was one of our first week of school "a dot is alot" when using glue bottles lessons.

Moving on. Here's our Science Center. There are a few pictures out of magazines on the wall and then some pictures. They are ones I've taken @ Animal Kingdom or various zoos! I picked up that little aquarium lamp (shoulda turned it on for you, our guest) at our neighbors yard sale for $2, a steal! The blocks on top are a listening game. You have to shake them and match the sounds. There are plastic bugs, magnifying glasses, shells, magnets galore, a talking microscope with oodlles of slides, an insect puzzle, a magnetic mini aquarium and various other junk that I can't remember from the picture.

Language & Literacy Center:
This shelf is one of the places in our afternoon center time where the kids can pull out what they want to. During our morning center time, they're allowed in all the centers. Afternoon centers are small groups with myself or Ms. Misty, games or "work" that I have put out for them or they can choose something from this shelf. If they choose something here they are "playing with a purpose" without knowing it! File folder games, an alphabetical order puzzle, Boggle Jr., fishing for #s, sorting shapes, driving on letters & numbers, rhyming mouse game and on and on and on!

Here is our schedule on the wall in the apple. Then it's our art center. There are all kinds & colors and paper on top of the pink cart. Coloring sheets, construction paper, card stock, left over scrapbook paper, you just never know. In the drawers there are markers, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, funky scissors, glue, glue sticks, popsicle sticks, wiggle eyes, buttons, die cuts, feathers, sequins, hole punches, well... you get the idea. There's a list on the wall there that has the kids listed who have lunch bunch or dance daily, so we know who goes where after school.

This would be the block center. They are to "stay on the rug" with blocks. There is a farm with all sorts of farm junk. A box of cars, Lincoln logs, animals, dinosaurs, wooden train track with train/road/cars, small legos, pirate stuff that goes with a castle, doll house stuff that goes with a doll house and then of course, BLOCKS!


This shelf is just inside the door, on your right. The top shelf is random books with animals. A picture of me and my "partner in crime", assistant teacher and greatest friend MISTY! (love you and why don't you start your OWN blog instead of lurking here *wink*wink*) There is a shelf for the kids pencil box that has much more than just a pencil. There is an orange basket where they put their communication folders when they walk in the door, FIRST THING. It's where I look for notes from parents, I send home stuff, etc.... Then those bottom drawers are there's for whatever. They put work in it, art stuff they're working on or whatever. They have blue bags that they hang on their chairs and keep their snacks in and stuff.


Here's the view of our circle time area. The block center is located there, but obviously closed when we're having together time. That purple part of the board is designated for Sunday School, they don't use it so it has kid magnet faces there for now. You see our calendar, spot for helper name, weather chart, Bible verse & prayer for the month, yesterday was/today is/tomorrow will be area, a paper with some scarecrow songs to work on, the radio on the floor, my chart paper on the floor for Monday. (It says "Firefighters.... They are going to help me brain storm what they might do as we start our fire safety week) The red/yellow/blue bucket cart is MY circle time stuff. Books to read, CDs to use that day, poem cubes (don't ask), flash cards, yadda yadda.... Then there is another chart stand that has our color poem/song on one side and other charts we're working with, but it's turned around to our "morning news" chart. Three kids a day share morning news and we use it for various literacy/pre reading skills. This week we talked about putting a period at the end of a sentence and we went back and circled all the letter (e) in our news since that's this weeks letter. We do other stuff each week with it. One kid takes it home when the chart is full. Oh and there's the dry erase board there too. It has random junk written on it for Monday already. We're talking about same & different, so I drew rows of stuff for them do look for what's different in each row. The alphabet is on the wall up high, the colors are to the right & birthdays are bottom right. The rules song/chart/poster is also on the right, near the board.


Here is the view from "my area" of the room. I have a table and all (coming in a second) Of course I teach preschool SILLY, so I NEVER sit there during the time the kids are there! It's useful when they leave though! Those are dinosaurs hanging from the ceiling that they made with their Dad's during Donuts for Dad's last week.


Here's the reading & writing centers. On the far left you barely see the file cabinet that has pictures on it. Those are one class picture for every year I've taught, they're awesome! Let's see, reading on the left. I just brought this shelf in last week (from my Grandparents house) so I am not organized there yet. I am DYING for buckets for the books, but haven't gotten that far yet. There are books about our theme on there (just put up dinosaur and got out fall & fire safety books today) and there are ABC/Color/Counting & Faves that stay out all the time. Then there are class books that we make. We make A L O T of class books (Misty, you're nodding your head) I LOVE LOVE LOVE them and so do the kids!! This year everyone will take home one of the class books to remember our year! Oh that yellow crate is puppets. The bottom shelf is a cd/radio/tape player with headphones & beside it a bucket of books with tapes/cd's. We just started using it 2 weeks ago and it's WILDLY popular! We are ANXIOUSLY awaiting them to get better at using it themselves!! Those pillows there, I made 'em!!

Then there is writing on the right. Reminds me, I must grab my "Fall Words" poster to hang up. The "school words" one is hanging there. I encourage them to write a word from the poster. There are ALL kinds of paper, stationary, cards, envelopes, etc.. there to write with. There is dry erase stuff there (Amy stuff you gave me AGES ago is still in use) There is a thingy with fancy pens & pencils there too. They think they're hot stuff using fancy pens, anything to get them to write. Then there is a little book that we add to with words we talk about. Their pictures are there with names, to write letters to friends and other often used words. Then you see the wall to the right where I hang stuff they make me. Currently it's the bday cards that they made me and brought to the fair!

And now I'm looking at my toys on the top of the file cabinet my "Talking Larry" & "Talking Mater", there's a huge poster frame there waiting on a class picture I had printed in 16X20. I can't wait to hang it up!! Oh and on the wall behind those centers. You can't see it well (and it's totally against the law I'm sure) but I decorate with copies of the fronts of favorite books. I color copy them, laminate 'em (Go Ginger) and hang 'em up.


Here's looking at MY area. Oh Lordy, where to start. The curtains, made 'em. (Well, I think Mom helped with those) The stick kids on the wall were bought at the scrapbook store in Pigeon Forge after I BEGGED for them. My closet which is stuffed, on top are tons of games, my Chicken stuffed animal whom I LOVE and the "birthday box" that has the "fake cake" for birthday parties and goodies. (you pick one when it's your birthday) The book shelf on the left has a zillion books (though the theme books are at home in theme boxes, those are just faves I can't live without) and it has "work" books on it. The top has drawers labeled "Monday", "Tuesday", etc... On Thursdays I stay late (3:00 today, HOLY MOLY) and put everything in each drawer I'll need next week. I'm ANAL organized at school. (Andy's wondering what happens to that organization at home) There is a cork board thingy on the wall with TONS of pictures of those I know & love. Then there is the file cabinet, ugh! Stuffed. The top has the toys and then it has more drawers. They say "Next week", "week after next" and "further still". I keep stuff on going there, ready to toss in the drawers when it's time for that week. Told ya, anal organized!! Oh and there's a frame up there with a priceless quote (that I can't think of this second, about ... doing something with all your heart...and that's how I feel about school) Andrea (love ya & miss ya & see ya again soon) gave to me last year! That brown thing that says Preschool has art shirts, plastic bags, cleaning supplies and all sorts of garb in it. Then there is my table, packed! My flower pot a parent made me ages ago with stuff in it, one of my favorite things in the world. My duck lamp, CD box, "work in" box and then there's Ms. Misty's table. (She gets the tiny one, bless her! BUT.. She's the ONLY one that has her own space ... SO THERE)



Ok, looking from the door into the room. You might notice I have a stand without a TV on the wall. If they used it for Sunday School, there would be a TV. Part of their curriculum is a DVD. You see my purple word wall, we put words that we learn and should know. The yellow wall is the photo wall. Each kid has their name and I end up filling the wall up as the year goes on.




Here's the bulletin board in my room that's a work in progress. There is this "homework bag" that's making it's way home each night to different houses. (Actually there are 10 October homework bags that go home) Anyway... this one has fall books to read and then instructions to go on a leaf hunt, pick up leaves and go home to make leaf rubbings. I'm hanging the rubbings up as they come back from home.




Here's our Fall quilt. I think it's so cute! They sponge painted with the cat or bat. I may go back and put their picture in the face, we'll see. They talked about patterns as they glued on the mini purple and orange squares. Then we tore paper for the jack o lanterns, they are super cute and abstract. They were stressed about tearing & not using scissors, too funny! Then I have ribbon tied here & there. Obviously the ribbon is cuter in person, looks odd in the photos.



There ya have it, my world. I wish I could share photos of my kids that I adore. I wish I could show you the AWESOME pictures that I took at the pumpkin patch yesterday, sooo great! But... the tour of my room will have to do. Come back anytime, you're welcome to join us!