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Decor Inspiration
Yesterday I promised to share the classroom photos that I’ve been drooling over. I’ve gathered these from all kinds of different places and I’ve tried my best to find the original sources for all of them, so please click the links to check out other amazing, inspiring decor ideas! I love the use of color and the awesome alphabet on that beautiful green wall! KLA Schools North Bay These bare walls feel anything but institutional – and I have that exact teal cart in my home, but that’s not the point… Kids Collective Preschool This room feels so homey and comfortable! Charlestown Nursery School This is 100% my dream classroom,…
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Classroom Decor
I have honestly gone back and forth on whether or not to publish this post, because I know teachers who feel very strongly about both sides of the issue, but I decided to go for it. My thoughts on the classroom decor debate shouldn’t be a surprise to those of you who have followed Preschool Ponderings for a while. It’s no secret that I am a huge advocate for the Reggio Emilia approach, and my own personal opinions about classroom decor are closely aligned with Reggio teachings about the environment. But as you read this please remember that my opinions are just that – my own personal opinions. This is…
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Psst!
Did you hear?! Teachers Pay Teachers is doing it again – they’re having a second back to school sale! Today you can get special discounts on any of those items that you need to start the school year (or those things that you wish you’d had when you started a couple of weeks ago). Make sure to head over to TPT and make some of those purchases that have been sitting in your wishlist – if you are in need of inspiration, here are some of the posts that I’ve done about items on my own wishlist: Back to School Wish List 2016Back to School Wish List 2015Back to School Wish…
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Friday Freebie – Back to School Teacher Gift
Happy Friday! The week really flies by when I’m as busy as I have been lately, if this whole back to school season has snuck up on you just a little too quickly I have the perfect freebie for you today. The very first product that I ever purchased on Teachers Pay Teachers was an editable planner from A Modern Teacher (it was completely worth it, and if you’re in the market hers are beautiful!), and to this day I still turn to her when I really want to up my game. This gift tag freebie is beautiful, and comes with an easy idea for a teacher gift that is…
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Cleaning tips
I spent most of today cutting out things that had been laminated, and when I was done my scissors were full of sticky lamination adhesive and I could barely use them. Do you want to know my trick for cleaning sticky scissors? Clorox wipes. I’m not joking, if you carefully rub the wipe along the blade of the scissors over and over, all of the sticky stuff will come off. Since I’m sharing that random cleaning tip, here is another post that has even more great cleaning tips for the preschool room: Getting rid of preschool stains What are your secret cleaning tips?
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Best Freebie Ever!
I know I’ve shared this resource on here before, but I found myself using it again today and thought I’d better tell you about it again. So here it is, my all-time favorite resource for preschool printables: Pre-K Packs from Over the Big Moon I discovered Over the Big Moon the first year that I taught preschool and since then I have used every single one of their Pre-K Packs in one way or another. They are perfect for activity centers, holiday parties, take home activities, and even gifts for preschoolers. There are 26 different themes, giving you plenty of options, some of the themes are seasonal, some are character…
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Sanity Savers
This time of year is stressful, so I wanted to take a minute to share a tip that has saved my sanity time after time. It’s really simple, I keep a list on my phone of all of the things that I love to do when I need some “me time.” Things are all things that help me unwind and relax a little. I pull out the list on tough days and pick one of those activities to help myself unwind. The key to this particular list is that I’m very specific about including activities that help me unwind that my budget can handle. I also make sure to include…
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Tips for the first day of Preschool
Whether you’ve already started the school year, or you’re still gearing up to it here are some tips for helping your first few days go a little more smoothly; Stick to your regular schedule: Following your regular schedule right from the start will help the children get used to it more quickly. It will also help them begin to feel a little more comfortable because they will always know what is coming next. For help planning your daily schedule take a look at these posts on the topic. Make time for each child: Build those relationships now. Take time out of your day to talk to each child on-on-one. This…
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Friday Freebie – Name Song
Happy Friday! This week has been a whirlwind, have you ever felt like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation? That was definitely me this week, so for today’s freebie I turned to a very trusted source. This Name Song freebie is from Play to Learn Preschool. This song would be perfect for circle time the first few weeks of school. You can help the children learn each others’ names and work on name recognition at the same time. Make sure to download this cute set and enjoy your weekend!
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My personal philosophy
One of my favorite Early Childhood blogs is Let the childrenplay. I love it because Jenny’s educational philosophies are so closely aligned with my own – she has great love for loose parts, hands on learning, and getting messy! She posted this week about the big ideas behind her philosophies, and why she connects with each of them (you can read it all here). Her post got me thinking about the philosophies that I value, and more importantly, why I value them. I’ve shared many of my values related to education here, but I’m not sure that I’ve ever written about why these particular methods and ideals resonate with me. …
