Part 1: Chapter 6: If I Had A Million Dollars, Oh the supplies and resources I would Buy! Oh My!

[SIC]Re: 3 top concerns  

Jan 14 2009

chinese new year...it would be nice for you to do something....something just in your classroom...some sort of celebration..try to involve Jack's mom..and Wendy.......of course you should invite all the parents and Annie and Camille.....nothing too big..just a little something......as for math month..one thing that is done is that all teachers have to decorate their class doors.....obviously with something dealing with math...yours can be something with numbers..or a calendar...have the kids do something to put on the door...but it really should look nice...in fact you  can do something with pairs....as you have already done stuff on that...that tuns out to be a fairly big deal..also, parents should be invited in to see what the kids are doing with numbers...singing a song..playing a game...drawing etc...as for the 100th day of school.. ask Annie  if the pre k is involved....not sure on that....as for the trips..try to finalize those great plans that you have...and finally...utilize Wendy....just as her for WHATEVER you need ..she will look for it..or order it>>>>JUST ASK! [SIC]

As for decorating the door (yes, I know. For some reason this school administration WERE OBSESSED with having the classroom doors decorated. I have never been in a school where this was much focus on a stupid door), I actually made a survey and asked the children "Is Sponge Bob Square Pants or Dora the Explorer your favorite TV show?".   Each child chose a picture of either Sponge Bob or Dora and then colored it in. On chart paper, we counted out the names of the friends who liked each TV show. Sponge Bob had the most votes because 8 friends picked this TV show. Then as an extension the children had to find any way to make the number 8 which was part of our center time. Some children made 8 Sponge Bobs, 8 tally marks, 8 sticks or just wrote the numbers 1 to 8. As for the 100 Day of School, it turned out that Pre-K was not involved in the festivities. Chinese New Year was a big deal in my school because there was a large Chinese student population in the school. I reached out to the parents and asked if they would want to come in and share their family traditions with the class. 1 parent did come in and shared her family's tradition. The other parent was not able to because of work but brought in a Chinese snack and candy for the children. Carla also reminded me to ask and not to be so shy when I needed resources or materials. This was the starting point of me actually coming out of my shy turtle shell. I am also glad that I listened and ordered whatever  I needed  or even wanted for the classroom. Oh and I ordered a lot of stuff:

• book case for 4 year olds- the one that is a stand that allows the picture books to show their title
• new sand/water table that was replaced by one that looked like it came from 20th century
• dollhouse (the old dollhouse was actually sort of fine other than the wood having to be sanded and polished. I got a splinter on my arm when I walked by the dollhouse and I was wearing a sweater. Seriously, you CAN NOT make this stuff up when working in the city).
• most of the trips were paid for.

It is nice to know that when there is money available, one does not need to worry about spending their own.