other stuff By Julianne

At the beginning of the day you may want to work on calendar activities such as counting the days, reciting the days of the week, naming the month, deciding which day is today, yesterday and tomorrow.

After calendar time you should have some kind of seat work that gives you a little time to roam the room. Ask your colleagues for easy math or language arts blacklines on your grade level. Explain to your students how to do the page and turn them loose while you look over their shoulders and make notes about things like - Do they know how to write their names? Can they write a sentence? Do they know their numbers in order? Whatever is appropriate to your grade level.

As they finish, designate a turn-in spot and have them grab a book from your classroom library (you DO have a classroom library, right? Borrow 30 books from your school library if you need to.) Have the students work on sustained silent reading (SSR) for 5 to 15 minutes. By this time it should be.....

RECESS!!! (Go get a drink of water, you need it!)

After recess you may want to read a story and have a discussion about it. Have them draw a picture from the book or connect it to journal writing. Now would be a good time to introduce spelling words and the kinds of work that young students can do with words like changing initial sounds to make new words, etc. You can do a whole-group activity or give them a worksheet to complete independently.

Try to fit in some "out of our seats" activity just before lunch to get the jitters out. You might have them move to music, or teach them a simple song with motions. (Think back to camp or scout days.) Prepare the group for lunch by a short discussion of nutrition, hand washing, food groups, favorite dishes, etc. Choose a different topic every day as you have them wash up and get ready for lunch.

LUNCH!!!!! (Please remember to eat. You need the nutrition. Besides, it sets a good example.)

After lunch you need a quiet activity to settle into the afternoon. You might have them work on handwriting. Or you could ask them to listen to some music and draw what they hear.

Move into math as a whole group activity and assign your math work for the day before afternoon recess. You want them to still be awake as they do it!

RECESS!!!! (Yes, again, if you're lucky.)

After recess you can place out simple centers or you can have students work on science or social studies. I like free choice centers late in the day because they are relaxing and it gives me a chance to catch up with students who may have struggled with activities earlier. Here's my list of easy to put together centers you can teach your group in less than one week - Honest!

playdough and ABC cookie cutters
24 and 60 piece jigsaw puzzles (one at a time, please)
Candyland or other non reading game
deck of cards for "Go Fish" or "War"
legos
lincoln logs
blocks
free art with crayons
unifix or snap cubes
pattern blocks
magnet letters and cookie sheets to build words on

All these centers are just for exploration at this point, meaning you show the group how to handle the materials and let them play. The only "no no's" are misusing the materials in some way. Otherwise they can just explore and enjoy. This is important, especially for the math manipulatives like unifix cubes and pattern blocks because if you let them play now they'll be ready to do real work with these materials later on. Let the kids rotate freely between five or six centers or you decide who goes where and set a timer to rotate to a new center. I have yarn necklaces at each center. If there's a necklace available the center is open. If all the necklaces are being used, the center is full and they must go elsewhere. They rotate at will. It works for me. Later in the year things get a bit more structured.

About 10 minutes before the final bell have students clean up and put away the materials. Show them how to do this and insist they all help and all do it right. Now get ready to go home, pass out those last minute notes and say goodbye.
(Big SIGH.) It will get easier. And you will find a routine that works. Each day add one new bit of real core curriculum to your lesson plans. Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't feel like you're really teaching anything of importance yet. The first month is for learning routines, rules and responsibility anyway.

Cheers!