Thinking about Centers

Summer vacation is not exactly the same for me as it is for most people.  For the past 8 years I have taught summer VPK, an 8 week voluntary prek program offered through our state (FL).  This gives kids one last chance to "practice" school before entering kindergarten.

But, while I am there, I am also ALWAYS thinking about my regular class.  Right now, I am thinking about literacy centers.  After 5 years in prek inclusion, I am so excited to go back to kindergarten.  I have done centers lots of different ways in the past.  I am now thinking of changing them up (yet again) and having 9-10 "basic" centers - and then having a variety of activities within each one.   
My kids go to one literacy center a day, which means I can leave centers set up for 2 weeks.
I would love to hear what you do in your classes.
Here are my center ideas so far

Poetry-Pocket chart (Deedee monthly poetry, Alessia pocket chart stories, Jamie Mayas pocket charts all year)
Computers
Listening
Games
ABC/Word work 1 (magnet letters, ABC clip cards)
ABC/Word Work 2 (letter stamps, abc match-up)
Overhead
Writing
Play dough
Names (beg of year)

I want to have enough planned to change up what is available in the centers but keep the area the same.

Til next time!!

Thinking about August already!!

School ended yesterday for the kids. I have been thinking and semi preparing for my switch back to kindergarten.  Attended the Reading Street training today in my district for K teachers.  Wow - there is a lot to do everyday.  Will definitely need to pick and choose, could never fit it all in, not with everything else I still want to do during the ELA black.
Anyway - thinking about literacy centers  - Beginning of the Year literacy Centers.  My team mates and I were chatting about them today after the training.  I usually start on day 1 with a short center time.  Other teachers on my team discuss and unveil centers for about a week before the kids actually do them (going over rules, what to do there, etc)
Anyway - I am trying to get about 10 different centers for the first couple of weeks of school. I usually start with more "play" centers and gradually add more "work" centers.
So far I'm thinking...
playdough
beads and string
colors and shapes pocket chart
legos
mobilo (like legos  - rounded, lots of wheels)
drawing/coloring/writing
stamping (limited number of stamps)
computers

I'd love to hear what everyone else does - and to get a large selection of choices for my beginning of the year centers.  Thanks for chiming in!!

It's Official!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going back to Kindergarten!
I'm so excited - I have wanted to go back all year and was hoping the opportunity would be available. Today was the day all teachers were told of moves (or non-reappointments).  when my principal told me I literally jumped for joy - twice!!
I even got the double-bonus of my old room back.  I have spent 4 long years in tiny portables (boo-hoo), now I get to go back to the second largest room on the campus! (and boy do I need it, because I have a ton and a half of school stuff)

I am thrilled to rejoin the kindergarten team and can't wait for an awesome - (and tiring and paperwork filled) year.

I hope you all got your wish for the 2013-2014 school year :)

AMAZING!!!!!!

For the last 2 days I have had the utmost thrill of being in the presence of the fabulous Kim Adsit. I happily paid my own registration fee (I had been with her Jan 2012 for DI for the Little Guy) for her newest training Destination Common Core.  This training was superb!! The amount of info was enormous - I would've loved to spend a whole week  listening and learning with Kim.
If you ever have the opportunity to see Kim, RUN - do not walk, to register, you will not be disappointed!!

Update, kinda...

Wow - I haven't posted in a while.  
All in all things are good - kids are learning and are **almost** ready for kindergarten!!  
We have been practicing reading with our pointing fingers (I L-O-V-E the emergent readers made by Fran Kramer, kindergarten Crayons,  with the dots under each word for one to one pointing!!)
And seeing words all over the place has made them into readers!  Each day in our math journals they are finding words they know (and can read!).  Wow-zers!!

On a side note, I might have a pretty exciting (for me, anyway) announcement soon.

So here's what we've been doing in prek...in pictures

I finally brought my camera home. Here are some pics.

 Ugh - pic is sideways. Anyway, we did a penguin and arctic animals unit in February.  We started with a schema chart of what they thought about penguins.  I accepted all answers, as the kids are 3-5.  Some made sense,some, not so much.  As we read non-fiction books, we added our new learning. 

Here are 2 of my kiddos using our sight word cards from our "word of the week".  They pulled out the cards after they realized they could make words with the leapfrog letters on the magnet board.  While there is no space between thego, One of my little guys was super psyched he could make 2 of our words!!

I was pretty psyched, too

March Madness

March came - we are a week in already - and we are B-U-S-Y in prek.  We finished our arctic theme - they did so good!  The vocab, the semi-directed drawing lesson we tried (and they did amazing!!) all of it was wonderful.  I was always a fiction lover, but now - non-fiction is Fabulous!!  

We started our Community helpers theme this week. Probably one of my favorites (or it used to be, I'm loving the arctic theme we just finished).

I'm taking pics for my teacher eval next week, so I am going to try to attach photos (last time I tried, no luck).
On a side note - the reading adoption committee selected 2 curriculums for vote (by all k-5 teachers) Pearson Reading Street and Houghton Mifflin Journeys.  I really like the Pearson program for K and the prek program we would get if Pearson is selected would be OWL, which I like. Final vote in by March 21, up for school board adoption in May.  We'll see...