Classroom Photos!

So obviously this is our reading center :) I have framed student photos and an electronic picture frame that plays slideshows of our past activities...books are organized by topic and students practice sorting them by sticker colors (they are doing great!) ...I bought the rug at Big Lots for under $10..the pink stool from Goodwill...and the Owl canvas print from Garden Ridge...which initiated the Owl theme!

I made these yarn wrapped letters from cardboard cutouts from Michael's and attached with hot glue.. it took me an entire Hello Dolly movie to get this project done! And I will tell you I will never ever do this project again! It was way more complicated than I thought it would be..think of all the corners and curves..but I do think they came out very cute! Inspiration for this project came from yarn letters on pinterest.

We read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and then students drew what they were hungry for and used their own pre-k spelling! 

I have clothespins with the students' photos on them to rotate and clip on the center  labels. The clip-art is from Word and the polka dot frames were a free download!

***scroll to the end of this post for links to my new chevron mini center signs (and 8.5x11 center signs)..and Whooo's in Centers? sign available in my TPT shop! 

Inspiration for this behavior chart comes from:  http://firstgradeowls.blogspot.com/2011/08/tree-mendous-behavior.html
I simplified the number of animals for pre-k. Owls because they are wise and smart! Squirrel for squirrely behavior..and the skunk for stinky behavior.. I have a headshot photo of each student that I tape on the yellow circle. If they move off their spot on the carpet..or don't follow the rules..then I simply move their photo down to the next circle..they usually change their behavior right away if they are on the squirrel and rarely are on the skunk.. I'd say the chart has been working pretty well! I made the circles (think Kandinsky!), text, and added clip art in photoshop.

One of our charts from our garden unit...we practiced positional words..above, below..beginning letter sounds..the labels were blank at first and then students wrote the first letter of each vegetable...they highlighted the O's, P's, and N's... I found this chart idea from:http://first-grade-fever.blogspot.com/2012/04/lil-garden-cuties-freebie.html

I love all my storage! Next year I am moving into a brand new room.. I will not have this back room..Instead  I will have a wall of cabinets/counter space. I am in the process of cleaning and packing for the big move.

How roots carry water through the plant...and experiment we observed during our garden unit.

Students partnered up and measured each others shoes with unifix cubes..they wrote the number of cubes and some drew their shoes.

Our window sprout houses and science center!

Petal sorting...seed counting...insect and plant books...seed identification...and jars that we have used on the playground to collect a number of creepy crawly artifacts...grasshoppers, caterpillars, and snake skin!

We did an artist study on Monet...while in the process of learning about the many varieties of gardens..we toured our school's water garden and pond...students used crayons to interpret the lilies, flowers, frogs, turtles, and fish they observes..and painted over their art with watercolor...we then read a children's storybook about Monet and the gardens he painted...I wanted to read the book last so that students would paint what THEY saw in our garden and not just a copy of what Monet painted.

We are so fortunate to have this water garden in our courtyard! I love walking through the halls inside and seeing turtles strolling on the path through our large windows!

One of our sensory tables..it housed plastic insects, pots, and sand tools for our insects and garden units..next week children will sift for sand dollars and shells during our ocean unit... we will be taking a field trip to the aquarium soon!

I made these folder games during my internships and they are perfect for our puzzles center... The kids love folder games!

This large piece of furniture came with the room and I had no idea what to do with it at first.. Now the top holds take home books that students check out in the mornings..and books students can read after breakfast...the bottom holds a transportation rug for blocks center.

Students sorted vegetables in baskets in the dramatic play center..and pretended to be clerks and shoppers..I showed them photos from my honeymoon in Quebec where I visited a wonderful farmer's market.. this pretend center tied in perfectly with the vegetable theme ..the week before, this center housed a flower shop with my leftover wedding flowers!

Plastic cups were from my kitchen.. fruits and vegetables borrowed from a friend.. and mini chalk boards are from my wedding!  I used vegetable vocab cards free from teacherspayteachers and attached them to the bulletin board with yarn and clothespins.. students practiced letter writing on the boards to label their baskets! 

We had a celery taste test and used our five senses to create this chart! Idea from: http://kindergartencrayons.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-04-04T11%3A46%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=10

We read "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear." We had a taste test..and signed our names..and counted and compared the results! 

Painting our own vegetable gardens using peppers, potatoes, and celery as stamps!

The math center...featuring: ladybug number sequencing, folder games, books with math stories, manipulatives, and past games from math groups. I made the number line on photoshop...

The class receives a paper cut out treat on the cookie sheet for working together ... I have different "treats" that  I have created and laminated...brownies, lollipops, candy.  It has taken a few weeks to earn six cupcakes.. When they finally reached six we had a party ...the cookie sheet I purchased from the dollar store and hot glued on some Hobby Lobby polka dot ribbon! idea from: http://oneextradegree.blogspot.com/2010/10/sweet-behavior.html

I took photos from a previous schedule that was posted in the room and added them onto  my own schedule cards. ..I designed them with a teal and white chevron background (loving chevron patterns!) and owls.. I laminated the cards and attached with ribbons (hole punched)..I wrote the schedule in sharpie..It removes with a clorox magic eraser so I can re-use or change it for next year!

The writing center has been very popular lately!  The cabinet holds our whiteboards and journals...on top is name cards and handwriting paper. I rotate writing activities along with the units or themes. This week we have garden tool vocab picture/word cards..a roll the dice/trace the letter game...and letter cubes/letter cube vegetable cards.

We read "Growing Vegetable Soup" and students planned their real vegetable soup for the end of the week!  They drew their vegetable they wanted to add...wrote their vegetable name with pre-k spelling..and added them to our chart paper pot.

Garden tool picture cards from:
http://prekinders.com/2011/06/garden-word-cards

Math tubs for math group rotations.

They absolutely love this center! They can listen to headphones, use the pointer, write on the board, and read the teacher books.

I love the view outside the window...it's so green with the trees and the playground.

Items below are available in the new PrekTweets TPT shop!