Jen's First week

My first day of teaching....

Things I noticed

1. I liked the question of the day. I think I did okay at this part
2. My first story time book went well. The second book was way to wordy. Gotta mix that up better on Wednesday.
3. I didn't get to singing time. Will really have to do that on Wednesday.
4. Definitely need some active stuff but it was hard because it is raining. That will get better as the months go by.
5. I will get our mats done and that should also help keep the kiddos in place.
6. Gotta nurse Tyler just a little bit longer in the morning.
7. No trains out. Too many boys fighting over it just yet.
8. Snack time was the best! Watermelon (in the shape of W) and wheat thins. W week
9. Look over the schedule again to see if it will work better in another way.

I do know that once the kids can go outside to play things will also be better. We had quite a few timeouts today and I think that was mostly due to the rain. At least I hope it was because of the rain. :) I'm already looking forward to Wednesday because I think I can stuff better.

Wednesday....My second day of teaching.

I have to say that today went much better than the first day. I headed off melt downs by having more options for the kids when it came to play areas. I also didn't even bring out the trains. I disguised the train table with puzzles. Huge difference. I also got the kids involved more in choosing the books and such. The whole "if you get them to help you cook then they are more likely to eat it" bit. I think I will still be choosing books with less words and then gradually add in wordier/longer books as the months go on. I made mats for each of the kids to sit on. Then it was easy to say go find your letter or sit on your mat when I wanted their attention again. I think the kids did such a better job of listening ans sharing the second day. Pretty much just using all that classroom management stuff I paid big bucks for. haha. Kristyn was so right that the second day was easier.

Thank you Kristyn for going first and for all the great ideas you had. I put my thoughts on here so that I can refer back to them in future weeks. If you ladies have any suggestions for me, good or bad, let me know. Oh, if this isn't the place for me to write down my thoughts about my day let me know that too. I can keep a journal separately.