Does Your Classroom Favor Girls or Boys?

I posted last week about a book I am reading called Boy Writers.  While reading, one thing really stood out to me.  "...teachers tend to create classrooms that favor the tastes, strengths, sensibilities, and learning styles of girls..."  If 90% of elementary school teachers are women, this should come as no shock.  I got to thinking about some of the classrooms that I have seen both in person and online.  I look at these classroom and think to myself that it is "cute" or "pretty".  I think that I would like to have a room that looked like that.  Now I am thinking "Would my son like to spend all day, every day, in that room?"  While the pinks and yellows and the flowers and ribbons all appeal to me, I know that my husband would probably gag if he had to work in that environment.  Now when I look at these CUTE rooms that I love so much, I have to pause and remind myself that it is not practical for all students.

Here are some pics of some classrooms that I have come across that I think boys and girls both might enjoy spending time in. 


Go to CFC to get her Camping Theme Pack

Source: The Clutter Free Classroom

I HATE snakes but boys love them :)

I'm not sure where the source is to this pic.  I found the pic on Pinterest but it took me to a recipe when I clicked on it.

THIS ONE HAS TO BE MY FAVORITE!!!! :) I LOVE THE PIRATE THEME!

I LOVE THIS! It's pirates but it's still cute.
I'm wishing I had bought those book bins in red now :)

Source: School Girl Style

What boy doesn't want to be a pirate?

 I am not sure of the source on these too either. Sorry.

Dreamin' of The Daily 5

Hello... Are there any other teachers out there who just can not sleep at night because you can't quit thinking about how you want to set up your classroom for next year or, you can't quit coming up with ideas of things to do for the D5 or in your small groups? 

Last night I was so tired! I had worked all day out in the heat on my mom's pool, came home to mow the yard, then went to VBS only to get home at a quarter till nine.  I was exhausted but, as soon as my head hit the pillow my mind went in to over drive.  I was envisioning OUR classroom.  Where I wanted what tables, what table would be OUR writing center, what would be at the writing center, what anchor charts I wanted to make to go on the wall by the writing center.  Where would be the listening center?  What shelf is going where and what is going to go on those shelves?  I am going to have to put a notebook by my bed so that when these ideas hit me, I can jot them down quickly and revisit them in the morning.

Well... I'm off to make myself a few notes and add some things to my to do list.  Have a great day friends!

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We're Having A Barn Raisin'

Well...not a barn raising, but we have been putting in a pool at my mom's.  Today they came in with concrete to poor between the pool walls and dirt walls.  Thank God my step-brother was there! He jumped right in to that concrete, literally, and started spreading it out.

Before the man got there with the concrete we had to move some dirt out of the way.  Look what I did!

After being married to a farmer for 6 years,
I finally am taught to drive a tractor.

It's not as easy as it looks!

I am smiling but I am in PAIN!
The power steering is out on that thing.
It killed my arms and put blisters on my hands.

A Great Big Birthday

Today has been so hectic! I am so behind on reading what everyone has said about the Daily 5.  Maybe tomorrow I can sit down for a minute. (Yeah Right!)  Today is my babies' birthday.  Yes babies', my baby boy is 6 and the one I call baby ;-) is 30ish.  Shawn and Hunter share their birthday.  Not only that but Shawn's dad's birthday is today as well.  Yep, 3 generations.  Isn't that crazy? So I decided that I would cook Shawn a big lunch.  Not only did Shawn come home for lunch but, he brought the rest of the farm as well.  I had to cook for SIX MEN! Do you have any idea how much food that is?  I also made a cake for the birthday boys.  I made that crazy rainbow cake that you see on Pinterest all the time.  It was great!   I told myself to take pictures off all the steps and then forgot.


So here's all my batter separated in the bowls with the colors.

Here's what is left.  I wold say it was a big hit.

Here's a few more pictures of Hunter opening some of his presents.

A basketball goal from MiMi and PaPa

A ball to go with the goal.
He carried that thing everywhere today.

A 22 Rifle from Daddy and Mommy

We LOVE Lego!

Daddy got Lego's too.
Like Father, Like Son.

I forgot to mention swim lessons were today too.
I can't believe he is learning to dive!

Daily 5 Book Study Chapter 2

I can't get enough D5! I lay in bed at night thinking about what I can do next year to better my class. I do have some issues that I am going to have to work out. Mostly about trust. 

Thank you to Caitlin from  Kindergarten Smiles for hosting chapter 2 of The Daily 5.

I have really enjoyed reading this book with everyone.

1. Do you trust your students? How do you build this trust? Are you able to trust them and allow them to be independent throughout all aspects of your day? Are you going to be able to stay out of their way?

 This goes back to the control that I have such a hard time letting go of.  I am going to have to trust myself and trust that I have taught the kids the skill that they need to make the right decisions.  I like when in the book they asked "What am I doing now that I can trust the kids to do?" I talk all the time about teaching the kids to be independent.  I want them to be able to take care of their morning routines without me or their parents having to help them with every detail so why can't they take care of picking out which of the D5 they want to do.  I am going to have such a hard time staying out of their way.  They are just so little...

2. How much choice do you give your students throughout the day? Do you go over your daily schedule with your students or is it just 'posted' in the room?

I have no idea how I am going to be able to give 4-5 year old kids choice in their learning.  This is going to be  the hardest part for me.  It all goes back to that trust, can I trust them to make the right choices?  I will constantly be wondering if they did all of the things they were supposed to do. 

I do not post my schedule in my room.  I've always looked at it as something else to hang on the wall and manage.  The kids can't read it.  However, after reading what Krissy Miner from Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Business wrote about why she post and reviews her daily schedule, I am seriously considering it.  My only issue is, I have two, half day classes and while we will follow the same routines the times will be different. (Maybe I can just number them.)

3. How are you going to create that sense of community where students will hold each other accountable?

As much as little ones love to tattle I'm thinking this may not be too hard.  I am going to teach the expectations and then teach the kids how to problem solve.  If there is that sense of community where kids all feel like family then there will be less trying to get each other in trouble and more helping each other out. At least, that's what I hope.  I know that there will still be kids who feel that need to tattle but hopefully we can work that out. 

4. Student ownership in learning? How do you instill this in every child?

How about instead of me telling you how I do it, I tell you how I am planning to do it?  Really, in the past, I have just taught and hoped they got it.  I didn't give much thought to telling them why we do things.  That really doesn't make sense though, because I am the type that if you tell me not to push that red button you better tell me why or I am going to push it and find out.  So I found myself asking why I didn't do the same for my kids.  Maybe it was because when I was in school they didn't tell us why,they just said do.  Next year, I plan on telling the kids what we are going to do each day and explain to them why we are going to do those things.  As I teach each of the Daily 5, I am going to explain why we do each of the things.  (I'm already making notes to myself.)

5. Stamina! How are you going to build stamina with reading? independent work? Will you use a timer? Will you set goals?

I have to admit, when I saw the word stamina before starting this book study I was like, "Really? Do we really need to take the time to talk to the kids about this?  Are they even going to care?"  Then as I was reading the book and reading some other post about this I realized just how important it really is. (Even if the kids don't really care, they are going to want to use that big word.)  Without stamina you wont get that independence.  I had been worried about how I was going to be able to to turn the rest of my class loose while I worked with my group.  I knew there was no way that they would be able to stay in any of the D5 for very long at all.  When I read in the book how with just one week of practice, one kindergarten class when from 1 minute to 10, I was blown away.  I now see just how important it really is.  I will probably use a self timer and practice, practice, practice.
I do like this timer. I think it is a great visual for the kids and, it's one that I can keep close to me so that I can reset it.

GET THIS!

My hubby came home for lunch and was talking about something he heard on the radio today.  He said they were talking about the top jobs that cause you to gain weight.  Guess what #3 was.  You got it. TEACHING!  He said it was due to stress. He should have stopped there.  Can you believe he had the nerve to say "They were jobs where you sit all day."  EXCUSE ME?!  Did you just say teachers sit all day?  WHEN? PLEASE TELL ME WHEN I GET TO SIT AT MY DESK!  Ha! I say whoever said that has obviously never spent a day in an elementary classroom.

Another Book To Read

I've been reading the Daily 5 with several kindergarten teachers in a book study. We are doing a chapter a week and I have had my eyes opened to many things that I need to change in my classroom and getting some really great ideas. Tomorrow is chapter 2 so I will tell you more about that later. Right now I want to tell you about another book that I am reading on my own.




No, I am not reading this because I am expecting to teach my preschoolers how to write. I found this book by accident while looking at some other teaching resources and thought "Hmm...I maybe I should read that so I can help Hunter." When Hunter started writing it was very stressful, for all of us. Granted, he is just going in to first grade but my how the expectations of kids have gone up. I read all of his writing from kindergarten a couple of weeks ago and couldn't believe how much he had improved already. But I had a hard time finding his "voice" in his writing. It seemed that there was more "Write three things you learned about Antarctica" and other reflections of things that he had read with his class than things that came from his heart. Now, I am not discrediting his teacher in any way. She was wonderful!
 
I started reflecting on the ways that I had taught writing in second grade and what had been stressed to me as a teacher that needed to be done. I remember telling kids what to write about more than giving them choice. (sound familiar? Daily 5 maybe?) I realized how telling kids what to write about and how to write was taking away their voice in writing. They were told to reflect on a piece of literature or tell what their favorite food was and why or if they could be any flavor of ice cream what would it be and why. Where is the fun in that? What boy wants to be ice cream?

Anyhow.... I knew there was no way that I could read this book while I was in school so I saved it to my favorites and decided to wait for the summer so that I could concentrate on it. I just got my book in today and I have already read chapter 1. Here are a few things that stood out to me as I read.
-Boys, those troubled, troubled boys.... What are we going to do with them? All they want to do is play video games and pretend to shoot each other. They are so rough, always hitting and pushing each other. Here's an idea, how about instead of treating them like a problem to be managed, we try to understand them.

-"Boy writers have unique strengths, quirks, and weaknesses that every thoughtful practitioner or parent will want to be aware of." I can't wait to see what the writer has to say about this!

-"Think deeply about what concrete steps we can take to do a better job of teaching boys to write." What can I do to help my son be a better writer?

Dad's Day

I hope everyone had a great Father's day.  I think my hubby was extra surprised at his Dad's day treats. I found this really cute idea on Sandy Toes and Popsicles.  (click the name to go to the page)

I put my own twist on it a little.  Hers is so much cute but I just ran out of time and had to make due.

Shawn seemed pretty happy with it. 


I don't know why my picture turned out so fuzzy. Sorry!

He also got an ice cream maker.
Shawn loves home made ice cream.