Recycling Crayons

It has been a while since my last post. A lot of things are going on right now. And while I am writing this post, I am recycling old crayons. I should have done this before, but for some reason I did not. I am peeling, sorting, and baking crayons to give my kids on Friday.  Yes, this coming Friday!  Crazy, I know! 

This is the 3rd year I am doing this for my students, instead of giving them candy, I will give them recycled crayons in the shape of a finger. Two years before, I did them by using the same color for each piece because I do not like to mix colors. However, this year, I decided to mix just two colors. Since it is getting closer and closer to Friday and the fact that I just have one cooking sheet,  and I thought two colors are more fun than just one.  Right?  It also takes me less time to sort through and peel the papers off crayons to prepare them for the mold.

I know the kids will love them; it is something different and fun.

Here are some pictures.

A cantar

Como educadora de niños en edad preescolar, creo que una parte fundamental de su aprendizaje es la música. Me estoy refiriendo específicamente a  los cantos en el salón de clases. Los cantos, rondas y juegos ayudan a los niños a desarrollar su aptitud rítmica. La cual a su vez y entre otras cosas, sera de beneficio en el aprendizaje de la lectura y la escritura.

Los cancioneros, son una recopilación de canciones y/o poemas de varios autores. Existen varios cancioneros infantiles en español de diferentes países de habla hispana. Sin embargo, para los que vivimos en USA no hay tantas opciones.  Sin embargo, se puede crear uno fácilmente al imprimir las letras de las canciones y grabar las canciones, o bajarlas del internet en sitios como YouTube. De esta manera puedes formar un cancionero mas personal. 

Uno de los programas adquiridos por la escuela hace ya varios años fue "De Canciones a Cuentos", el cual tiene tarjetones del alfabeto con rimas, libro del alumno a color, guía del maestro, CD y por supuesto, ¡el cancionero! El cual consiste de un libro grande para el maestro y los normales para cada uno de los alumnos. 

Algunas de las actividades que hago con este cancionero, a parte de cantar, son: enseñar direccionalidad, enseñar las partes del libro, identificar palabras de uso frecuente, identificar palabras que riman, identificar oraciones, hacer conexiones, etc. 

Una de mis actividades favoritas es poner solo la canción, oírla por varios días y después, dejar que los niños dibujen lo que oyen. Los alumnos comparten su dibujo a un compañero o a la clase, dependiendo del tiempo que se tenga. Finalmente, comparamos nuestros dibujos con el dibujo del libro y así discutimos diferencias y similitudes. ¡A los niños les encanta comparar su dibujo con el dibujo del libro!

¡Cancionero! Libro grande

First Week of School

It is a new beginning, a new first week, and a new 2014-2015 school year! Even though it is exciting, it is also tiring. I have a total of 20 students. Some of them are more excited than others, but none of them cried on the fist day of school.  So, it was a great start! After the second day, two students cried because they missed their mom, and one more cried because she was sleepy. The first two or threes weeks of school are the hardest for those 5 and 6 year olds.

At this time, the kindergarteners are learning to follow rules, follow directions, and setting routines. They were introduced to the classroom mascot (stuffed raccoon) which they adore now.  I know that as time passes by, it will be easier for them to get used to kinder.

Here are pictures of some of the activities we did during this week.

 Chester the Raccoon with The Kissing Hand book in Spanish.

We read the book The Kissing Hand, and then students met Chester the Raccon. We talked about students' feelings during the first day of school. Most of the students were happy to be at school; a few were sad, and scared. As you can see, Chester has an IOWA t-shirt. That is because our school is part of the program No Excuses University, and our classroom adopted The University of Iowa. Go Hawkeyes!

                                     

Spanish Kissing Hand Poem.

I introduced the Kissing Hand Poem in Spanish to the students, and we read it several times. The students handprinted their little left hand with paint. We let it dry, and then they glued a little red heart. We practiced reading the poem every day, and on Thursday they took it home to share with their parents.

Manipulating different materials.

We practice with different materials, how to get them, how to use them, how to put them away, and clean our work area. Students love to learn how to use manipulatives!

Read to Self

During this week, we also learned about Good-Fit Books, the 3 Ways of Reading, and started with Read to Self. We are now working on building stamina  in order to introduce the other components of the  Daily 5.

We did much more, but it was hard to take pictures of all the activities during the day. For now, this is all I have. See you soon!

De regreso

Si, ¡ya estoy de regreso! Después de un viaje relámpago a México, la semana pasada. El cual por cierto aproveche para comprar algunos materiales y libros en español. Los cuales compartiré posteriormente.

Terminando los últimos detalles, para iniciar nuestro ciclo escolar 2014-2015. Mas adelante compartiré también, mas fotografías del salón de clases y varias actividades.

Esperando no dejar pasar mucho tiempo para escribir, poner mas fotos e ideas durante el año. Aquí les dejo algunas fotos de cómo quedo finalmente el salón de clases.

¡Hasta pronto!

Mesas listas

Canastas para libros

Area de calendario y lectura

Trabajo con palabras, parte del Daily 5

My First Post!

Hello! As you can see, this is my first post. I am very excited, but at the same time nervous, about this blogging thing. I do not know whether to write in English, Spanish, or both! I think I will start with English, and then switch to Spanish, maybe. So, if you see blue letters, that means English, and if they are red, that means Spanish.

I am going to start by introducing myself. I am a Kindergarten teacher. I am from Mexico City, and I was a Pre K and Kindergarten teacher there for 3 years.  Here in Texas, I was a substitute teacher for 2 years, and this will be my 12th year as a bilingual kindergarten teacher.

I love teaching Kindergarten. Those kids amaze me everyday, and as I am writing these words I am also getting ready for the beginning of a new school year!

¡Éxito en este  ciclo escolar 2014-2015!