And Suddenly...Alternative Seating!

Here's a bird's eye view of my classroom this spring. I was sitting on top of my cubbies when I took these pictures. I had six round tables, and each had four chairs. When the kids and chairs were at the tables, it was CROWDED. But that's also because I have a lot of stuff, and a lot of areas in my room.

I'd read a lot about alternative seating, and Shannon was already making the transition in her classroom, so I thought it was something I'd get on board with this coming year. I mentioned it to my principal, and the next thing I knew, a 4th grade teacher stopped by the room, saying, "I hear you want to get rid of some of your round tables?" (I never realized what a hot commodity they were!) I let him have one...then he came back for two more. I was on my way!

Shannon and I have always thought that the last weeks of school are perfect for "spring training." We still have kids to practice new ideas with...and they love exciting changes! It's the perfect time to work out bugs in anything that you want to implement in the fall! I thought it would be a great time to figure out "how to's" with alternative seating for next year. Because let's face it...I wasn't going to get those tables back. I didn't want them, either. The room was already so much more spacious!

I asked our custodian to take the legs off of one of the three remaining round tables. I bought cheap tennis balls from Target to put on the raw legs, so they wouldn't scratch the floor. I got four colorful lawn furniture cushions from Target, too. They were on sale! The "short table" quickly became everyone's favorite spot...unless they preferred the "tall table."

I asked our custodian to bring this table in from the hallway. It was just an extra table sometimes used for tutoring. No one really needed it. He raised it up almost as high as it would go. I only had one stool for this table, but the kids didn't mind. They wanted to stand!

I thought that I would have problems with behaviors...but I saw an immediate decrease in behaviors. The kids were very willing to "pick and stick" to a spot when it was time to work. Their supplies were in their toolboxes, so when the work time was over, they just put their toolbox back in their cubby, and came back to the carpet for the next mini-lesson or whole group activity. If they didn't like their seat, they knew that at the next work time, they could pick a new seat. I didn't have much arguing or fighting over spots, because the consequence of that was to have the area closed. The Peeps and I moved very easily into alternative seating! Love it, love it, love it!

There are only two "regular" tables left...and this year, I'm going to add stability balls or wobble stools...I haven't decided yet. The Peeps also have the option of working on the carpet with a clipboard.

I'll take more pictures to share next year. The changes to the room happened in May this year, and the last weeks of school went fast!

Planning for Writer's Workshop

Summertime, summertime...time to relax and play and plan. We're at it this week, working on getting plans set for writing next year. Our district uses the Lucy Calkins writing program, which is cumbersome for kindergarten, to say the least. There's good stuff there, don't get me wrong, but it's hard to siphon out. Those lessons take a long time to read and think through, and can be hard to break down for kinders who don't have any prior experience with writing.

Shannon and I do a lot with goal setting with our kids...individually and as a whole group. We've developed our Goal Setting for Writer's Workshop set to help kids keep in mind what goals they're working towards, and to help us focus on the most important skills for the children to master during the year.

This page can go right in the middle section of each child's writing folder. Keep a small file box of goal sheets handy, and as they are applicable to each child, add them to the writing goal sheet. This is a good way to differentiate for different learning needs...each child can focus on his/her goal when writing!

If you don't want to mess with strips of goals to glue in the folders, you can photocopy the list of goals instead. Put this in the folder, and put star stickers or other marks to show when a child has mastered the goal.

Check out Goal Setting for Young Writers on TpT to see the complete list of goals. If you have goals that you'd like to see added, let us know!

Whole Class Data Display

We've learned a LOT about whole-class data display this year! Our principals asked us to incorporate this into our instruction more, and we were skeptical...this is KINDERGARTEN, and it seemed like this was one more "push down" that would be developmentally inappropriate. It was wonderful to be wrong! Our children LOVED seeing data displayed, and as the year went on, they took charge of how and when it happened!

The first task was to make whole class data display developmentally appropriate; something that the kids could buy into and easily understand. Bring on the cookies! I thought that kids would have fun with a "cookie monster" themed display, and we could "crunch the numbers" together. The Peeps and I decided on simple class goals that we wanted everyone to master...so letters and letter sounds came first, along with numbers to 10 and basic shapes. I created a bulletin board like this!

Throughout the year, the kids were eager to "check their cookies." As I assessed children in small groups or 1-1, they asked me to hurry up and update the cookies. Whenever the principals popped in the classroom, the kids got up to show them how we were doing. All of the kids knew what our goals were, and they knew how they were doing as far as meeting the goals. 

I had worried a little that the kids would feel bad if they didn't reach a class goal. I shouldn't have! As I encouraged the class, and modeled a "we'll get there" attitude, the kids mirrored that. One day I was amazed when two boys used their reading workshop time working together to master letter sounds...because that was a class goal.  The principals offered to have a cookie party for us at the end of the year, and that was a HUGE motivator for everyone to continue to reach the goals we set. As we continued to work on various skills, the kids would say, "We need to add that as a cookie!"

Shannon and I had some other ideas for data display, too! 

Here's one for our Rockstars!

Whole-class data displays can be wonderful teaching and learning tools! Try using one with your students! If you use a data display like this, let us know in the comments, or tell us how yours is different! We'd love to hear your ideas!

See these on TpT...Crunching the Numbers, How We Slice It, Our Greatest Hits