Making our Class Our Own

    Each year I spend a lot of time in the summer thinking about the classroom - where centres will go so materials can be accessed easily, how students will sit so they can work together well, where charts and "bump it up" walls will go.  I always put up a multitude of brightly coloured paper and trim on bulletin boards and alphabet friezes and number lines.  Everything is all ready for learning to begin.  When the children arrive in September, I hope they find the room bright, cheerful and engaging. 
     This year, at the request of our Principal to consider the new research about the classroom being a "Third Teacher", I took more time to think about how I decorate.  The "Third Teacher" theory is based on the idea that the children should take an active role in the construction of the classroom learning. The walls reflect what we value (the children's work and thinking) and the wonderful learning that is taking place.  I took a step back and thought about how my decorating must be over-powering with its rainbow-variety of colours and patterns. 
     In June, our wonderful Principal asked that all teachers keep the "Third Teacher" idea in mind while decorating, and to try ONE bulletin board with brown craft paper, so the children's work will "shine" against it.  I am happy to report that our staff has taken this suggestion to heart and the whole school is awash in brown bulletin boards.  My bright, colourful and over-stimulating room is gone, replaced with a room that is bare, but calm and peaceful.  My Principal was right.  It is amazing how great the children's work looks against the plain background.  We began the first day of school with a tour of the room, and when I explained that the walls were bare because they were to help me decorate it with their work and learning, a few hoots of joy were heard! Who knew that would be so popular?.
     We have begun to personalize our classroom by making a student-created word wall and a "pride wall" to display student work.  We will use these spaces to help us in our daily work.  The word wall will help us remember tricky words while writing, and the pride wall will build our confidence and show our progress. Our next step is designing the trim for the bulletin board in the hallway where we will display our work to visitors and creating a new number line.  We have our learning goals for the week displayed, and we are slowly creating success criteria.

I can't wait to see how our classroom looks in June!

P.S.  I wonder if the kids could help me with changing the background on this blog...

Welcome to a Wonderful Year of Learning!

     Last week we began a wonderful adventure- a year of growing and learning from each other.  I am very priviledged to have the best job in the world, as I get to teach, laugh and learn with our 18 new friends.
     Our first objective for the month of September is getting to know our friends, our classroom, and our rules and routines.  We have been very successful in reaching our goals so far.  One vital part of learning is feeling comfortable enough to take risks and sometimes make mistakes. We have been playing co-operative games and sharing information about ourselves to help us make our classroom a community.  The first step in creating a community is learning to talk meaningfully to each other.  "Accountable" talk will be an essential part of our program this year.  We learn so much more by collaborating and sharing our ideas and experiences.  Each year, the students surprise me with their insights and creative thinking.  I hope that the students will leave our class in June knowing that they play an active and important role in their learning.  Please support your child's curiousity and sense of wonder by discussing what they know, what they want to know, and what they have learned at home.
     So far, we have discussed topics which everyone can relate to - our first day fears, how special our names are, our favourite books and t-shirts and five things that we love.  We are presenting our "Me in a Bag" assignments and I am learning a great deal about everyone's interests and abilities.  I look forward to teaching and learning with you this year 1J!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2013, a wonderful new "fresh start".  As all the children entered today after being away for two weeks, the excitement of being with people you missed and that you enjoy learning and working with was palpable.  We are truly fortunate to have such a caring and respectful class who work so well together.

 A new year always reminds me to take stock of all things I am thankful for.  A friend the other day remarked that she has learned a lot from her children, and it got me thinking that I am truly lucky to be a teacher, as I have learned so much from all of the children I have taught, in addition to the lessons my own children have imparted.  We can learn so much from others, and this year I hope we can all learn from all the different, special talents and perspectives that we bring and appreciate each other as both learners and teachers .  We are all works in progress, but together we can become a masterpiece!

Here's to another wonderful, new year of adventure and learning!

Mrs. Jinks