Classroom Management: Without it there is just preschool pandemonium!

Philosophy

I believe in a good balance of play based and academic programs. In the academic classrooms, teachers lead the children in a more structured way, planning the activities, and then guiding the children in doing them. This design is aimed at preparing kids for the kindergarten setting. In a play based program the play-based classroom is broken up into sections, such as a home or kitchen, science area, water table, reading nook, space with blocks and other toys, or other areas. Teachers encourage the kids to play, facilitating social skills along the way. Our kiddos here at Christ the King get the best of both worlds.

 Reward System

Group

This year I am using “Gem Jars.” Each class has its own decorated jar, each day they will earn gems to fill up the jar. Once they have reached the line they will get to pick from the treasure tub!! Ways to earn Gems include: listening and following instructions, playing with the toys in an appropriate manner, treating each other with kindness and respect, being helpful to each other and the teacher, and following the classroom rules.

Discipline procedure

We have a list of classroom rules posted on the wall, and I will take time to review these with the children during the first few weeks of school and periodically throughout the year. If someone makes a poor choice then I will verbally remind them of the rule they should be following. If they continue the behavior, I will redirect them to a different activity. If I have to talk to them a third time, they will only get to do “quiet activities.” (Quiet activities include: books, puzzles, and file folder games.) If their behavior does not change, they will have a “time-out talk” A “time-out talk” is where they will have to sit in a chair next to me (taking some time-out) and we can discuss how they are feeling and what we can do to help each other.

* Hitting, biting, spitting, and kicking receive an automatic “time-out talk”. These are hurtful and disrespectful and will not be tolerated.

 

Show and Tell

We have Show and Tell once a month.. Each month will have specific guidelines for what to bring. For example, one month might have a specific color, shape, theme, or start with a certain letter.

 

Field Trips

I LOVE taking the children on field trips, just as much as they love going. Parent participation is a must. I realize that many parents are working, if they cannot make it then they can have a grandparent or relative join us.. Last year my class went on five different field trips, and each one was a great success. Some of the field trips so far have been

WillowBrook Apple Farm in October and Albertson’s Healthy Eaters Tour in November! We will be going to the March Field Air Museum in March and Hidden Valley Nature Center in April

 

Portfolios

I have parents bring in a 2 inch binder so that I can create portfolios for the children. These include art samples, writing samples, work samples, self-portraits of each child, and other various items throughout the year. It is basically a year in the life of a preschooler. J

 

Take Home Book Bag

Every day we read a story that correlates with our themes, and each day someone new gets a chance to take this book home to read together with their family. I have created book bags for the books to go home in. There is also a Reading Report folder, color pencils and a pillow in the bag as well. Their job is to read the story, have the child answer questions about the story, and them they draw a picture depicting the story. They can use the pillow to rest against and get comfy while parents read to them.  During circle time we will read what the parents wrote and show the picture the child created.

Take Home Envelopes

I don’t know if you are aware, but, there are many things that get sent home almost every day. In an effort to help ensure that parents receive these papers, I have provided envelopes to stick the papers in. Newsletters, completed worksheets, flyers, announcements, permission slips, invitations, notes, and reminders are the things that can be found in these envelopes. They take them home almost every day and they bring them back every day. This is a part of their morning routine; they take them out and put them in the designated spot.

 

Birthdays

Birthdays are important in room 5 and so much fun to celebrate! I have a birthday cape for the kids to wear on their special day as well as a small gift for them! I also have a birthday display that hangs on our door to let everyone know when it’s someone’s special day! Parents can bring in a special birthday snack, they just sign up on the birthday snack sign-up sheets.

 

Parent Volunteers

I love having parent volunteers on special days to help with our fun activities and special parties! Every month we have something fun planned and I always announce the dates in the newsletter to let them know if it requires parent help.  Also, if there are days that a parent may have off and they just want to stay and help (if the child can handle that) then of course I always welcome the extra hands.

Parent Communication

Every month I send home the classroom newsletter during the first week of the new month. This also includes the school newsletter as well as any important papers such as field trip permission slips, party/special day reminders, fundraising information and any other important information. I also have a classroom share site through Shutterfly where I post pictures of special events and field trips, journal entries about what is going on in the classroom, there is a calendar that will send email reminders, and some other cool tools that we may or may not get use of.

I also send home two separate “Mark Your Calendar” papers one for the first half of the school year and one for the second half. Field trip dates are subject to change but I do my very best to plan ahead for those working parents who need to adjust schedules and such.

 

Class Schedule

Morning Routine: Children come in, put their snack in the basket, put their Take Home Envelope on the shelf, hang their backpack, sign in their name, and hang their owl on the tree.

 

Jesus time: We have a small segment of our days dedicated to our bible lesson and theme. We rotate fun activities such as a simple craft, game, song, finger play, puppet time, and other hands on fun I come up with. We forgo this time on chapel days which are Wednesday and Thursdays.

Large Group Time: This is our circle time where we go over the calendar, days of the week, weather, letters, numbers, sight words, and large group learning activities. We also have jobs that each child gets to do for the week, these include:

-President: This person gets to be the line leader, and lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

-Door Attendant: This person gets to hold open the door as we enter and exit the classroom and opens the door at dismissal time.

-Nurse: This person gets to take the First Aid Kit to and from the playground and get band aids and assist in helping a hurt friend.

-Teacher helper: This person gets to help the teacher pass things out and acts as a substitute for an absent friend.

-Mail Carrier: This person gets to check our mailbox everyday during circle time.

-Nutritionist: This is a two person job and these kiddos help pass out snack.

-Electrician: This is also a two person job; each child gets to turn off and on a set of light switches.

-Greeter: This person greets anyone who enters our classroom during our day. They normally use the phrase “Welcome to Room 5!”

-Librarian: This person helps tidy the Reading area and make sure books have been put away properly.

-Custodian: This person helps wipe the tables after snack, and helps keep things neat and tidy in our classroom.

 

Seat Work: They each have a pencil holder that they use when completing their seat work. (Alphabet books, number books, worksheets, and alphabet builders)

 

Art and Craft/Free Play: At this time we work on art and craft in a small group and the others get to choose what toys they want to play with or what area they want to play in.

Dismissal Routine: The children clean up, grab their backpacks and sit in their seats. I will open the door when we are ready for parents to come in. The children are asked to stay seated until they have been signed out. This just makes it easier for everyone and less congested when trying to sign out.

A Day In the Life at Christ the King

Our center opens at 6:30am and closes at 6:00pm, and there are families there waiting to be let in at 6:30 am and there are kids waiting to be picked up at 6:00 pm. 
 

Our tuition based program is from 9am to 12pm and anything before and after that is considered daycare. We have a 2 day program, a 3 day program, and a 5 day program for preschoolers. We are a Title 22 Licensed facility, we actually have two different licenses, one for our preschool program and one for elementary. We have a toddler room (TLC) which is for children ages 18 months to 2 and a half years, and the child to teacher ratio is 1:6. When they reach 2 and a half years or a little beyond that point they move up to our preschool program. The TLC room is a daily flat rate fee and parents can leave their children all day or just 3 hours and it is the same price either way. 
 

The Enrichment Center (EC) s a mixed age group, the children in here can be between the age of 2 and a half years up to 5 years old. Many parents utilize this room when they need to come on a call in basis or if their children need to come five days a week then they sign them up for our 2 or 3 day program and on the opposite days their children attend the EC. Our ration for the preschool aged children is 1:12. 
 


We also have a Kindergarten room, with a credentialed teacher and an aide, and on average we have around 22 students. This is a full day Kindergarten class so it goes from 9 to 3 and any kids that need daycare after that come up and join the elementary kids. We have around 240 families enrolled in these programs and on any given day we have up to 158 kids throughout the day and that does not include our Elementary daycare program. Our campus has an “upstairs” and a “downstairs” which is really two separate sections of classrooms because we are divided by the parking lot. Rooms 0, 00, EC, 1, 2, TLC, 3, and 4 are considered “upstairs” and these are our younger preschoolers. Rooms 5 (mine), 6, 7, 8(Kindergarten). 9, and 10 are “downstairs” and these are the Pre-K rooms. 

 
We are licensed for 112 elementary aged children, this includes TK up to 5^th grade. We have 6 vans that take kids to and from school throughout the day, there are always vans going back and forth from our campus to three of the local schools because there are different start times and pick up times especially for the TK and Kindergartners. Parents pay a van fee every month and they must call in by 1:00pm to add or cancel van pick up. Our Assistant Director is in charge of keeping the schedules and lists for this area. Our vans seat 7 children and only 6 if there aren’t any front seaters (kids whose parents signed a waiver to allow them to sit in the front seat). The kids who ride the vans have two milestones they can’t wait to reach: 8 years old because then they don’t have to ride in a booster seat anymore and 4^th or 5^th grade because that’s when most parents allow them to sit up front in our vans.

 
 We have two main elementary rooms that we use and our elementary kids utilize the three upper playgrounds in the afternoon. On a high day we have between 80 and 90 kids and on a low day we have 50 to 60. 

 
We do not have a lunch program, all of the kids from TLC to Elementary bring their own lunch and morning snack. We provide afternoon snacks at 2:00 and 5:00 for Elementary and 3:00 and 5:00 for Preschool. We also have a summer program for the elementary and preschoolers. We are a large campus and in order to work here you have to be able to multi-task and go where you are needed. 

 

There are usually 30 of us on campus everyday: 15 teachers, 6 floaters,1 Director, 1 Assistant Director, 1 office manager, 2 Human Resource gals, 2 Maintenance guys (these guys fix and build anything and everything and they are rock starts in the kids’ eyes), 1 Church secretary, and 1 Pastor (pretty much a celebrity on campus). Many people have come and gone because they weren’t able to handle the amount of kids and staff. You have a work schedule and times to come in and get off but mostly you need to be flexible because if there are tons of kids and they aren’t going home as quickly as they usually do and you are short two staff members then you may be staying a little later. If someone calls off, you may be called to see if you can come in a little earlier. I spend my mornings in preschool, my afternoons in elementary and my evenings in the office, and a bunch of other gals have different hats they wear as well. Phew!! I know that was long and that’s barely scratching the surface, I didn’t even talk about how the lunch hour works, nap-time, getting and giving breaks, how the van lists are kept, keeping lists of all the kids and marking times, checking in and out on our Pro Care system…sheesh just writing this makes me remember how much it takes to run this place and I am in awe of our facility and staff!