Catalogs

There is nothing like a catalog. Not for us in the administration. Not even for the teachers as they dream about what they would like to have in the classroom. For the children! They love catalogs. Want to see a group of children sit at a table for possibly hours on end, without fighting, and all talking to each other? Put a couple catalogs in the middle of the table. Some types of catalogs (Avon, coldwater creek, oriental trade) will get conversations that talk about what they like. They discuss the pictures; and just plain enjoy looking through them. Other catalogs (Discount School Supply, Lakeshore, Kaplan) are great fun. They not only talk about what they see and like, but they begin to make connections to what is in the classroom. Most of the time, in my experience, it quickly goes from "Hey this is the same carpet we have" to "Miss N, can we get this?" They make that cognitive connection that the things in their classroom are the things that are in this catalog; that must mean that there is a possibility to have more!
I am always impressed with the language and conversation that comes out of this simple thing. They develop so much language, conversations, social skills, and everything from a simple catalog. They even develop small motor skills (turning pages), literacy skills (which way do the pages turn, what are these words, etc..), and, in an older group, math skills (how much would we need to have to buy these five things you want to get?).

The view from my desk

I completed my wall of pictures project. This is now what I am looking at across from my desk. It's hard to see from the slideshow, but it is awsome in person! All the pictures are black and white; I was easily able to print them from my printer/copier and they turned out very well. Each picture is of one child doing something, not just a still face shot. It has already been a huge hit! Parents have come by my office just to admire it, as word spreads quickly. It is also a great thing to be looking at all day.

I have a huge white board right across from my desk with notes that I need to be looking at, my way of staying organized and keeping the teachers informed without having to get up and tell them every time a parent calls (we don't have phones in our classrooms). And I have a radio on the top left there. This is literally the only wall I can use to hang things on because the outside walls in our building are all brick, and some interior walls as well. Anyway, this has really added to the environment in my office and I am glad I did it. It's nice looking up and seeing those smiling faces; it reminds me why I'm here when things get tough.

Music

I do a lot of my shopping for the center at the Dollar Tree. This is a fabulous store to get many fun items. And everything is just a dollar! When I as parents for donations, I also refer them to the dollar store. If we need crayons, puzzles, bowls, buckets, etc.. It can usually be found there. One thing that I discovered recently was that they have CD's! I bought a couple, not sure what I was going to be getting, to try out. I am greatly impressed! The music is fun and recognizable. They use songs that are used come from pop culture and are sung reasonably well. To be honest, I was afraid that the music on these discs would be some bad singing by children who have no talent whatsoever; I have a few of those CD's. I was very pleasantly surprised and I will be going out to find more CD's from them as well. The children also seem to like the CD, as they keep asking for it to be played repeatedly; as opposed to another CD.

The other nice thing about buying CD's for a dollar? I don't get so nervous about the children scratching them as they handle them. After all, it was only a buck! And I have my radio at child level with a book of CD's available so that they can decide what they want to listen to.