A Helping Set of Chompers

Thank goodness he was there to help me get rid of that pesky box. I mean, all it was doing was holding things, anyway.

Back to School!

In case you've never walked into a classroom after summer break, here is what you will find.

View from the door

 

View from a corner

It's pretty wild! But at least it's just furniture- last year I moved to a different classroom so all my worldly possessions were stacked up in the middle of the room.

Now THAT was intimidating!

This year I am in the same classroom, so all my cabinets and closets were intact without my having to unpack anything. Since I simply love to compulsively organize, I still spent an afternoon moving materials around, sorting through them, and putting them in "just right" containers. My fiance mocks me for this but when it's Friday afternoon and you need to change up center activities and also leave before midnight, it's a lifesaver. In all my setting up and organizing I found some interesting things. First, I discovered that last year someone took our Michaelangelo discussion a bit too far:

 A masterpiece on the bottom of a table.

I also learned a puzzle I bought last year is actually not a puzzle at all. Looks like a puzzle, doesn't it?

After taking it out of the packaging, I learned it is in fact a set of magnetic letters and the yellow background is meant to be thrown away. My bad. On the other hand, maybe I can somehow merge its original intent with my own ideas...

Up on a white board

It does work! So now I have a magnetic puzzle, when I thought I was just going to have a cheapie ABC puzzle to send home in an activity kit. 

Tomorrow begins our week-long professional development before we welcome students, so I'm looking forward to getting some great ideas and learning about some exciting changes for the upcoming school year!

Double the crayons

Fine motor skills are perhaps my favorite of the motor skills, probably because they give me a professional use for my love of tiny things. Of all the ways I incorporate activities to strengthen small hands, the writing tools I choose for my classroom have possibly the biggest effect since they are the tools children will use the most. Two years ago I bought a big package of golf pencils after reading a lot about pencil grip and handwriting formation. The main idea is this: give children writing implements that allow them to hold it their fist and they very well may do so. (Think the "fat" crayons and markers.) Provide tools that are shorter and smaller and they are forced to use a proper pencil grip. (Think golf pencils and those tiny pens you always want to buy in the Target Dollar Spot.) This pencil grasp is known in the biz as the tripod grip because it uses three fingers. Clever.

So back to the golf pencils. I absolutely love using them, plus you can find them free all over the place. A good place to stock up (make sure you ask first!) is Ikea. Last year I downsized my writing tools even more by breaking my chalk sticks in half before their first use. I put colored chalk in my writing center and also use it at my easel from time to time. The chalk gets broken quickly anyway so pre-halving it probably isn't even necessary. This year, I decided to get pretty hardcore and cut my colored pencils in half. You can buy tiny colored pencils but they aren't $1 or less at BTS sales. I enlisted my grandfather's fancy saw and chopped those puppies in half. Twice the pencils for your buck AND an excellent writing tool for the beginning of the school year! Sadly these little guys have already made their journey to school, so they are not available for photographs.

After chopping up my pencils my grandfather offered to cut the crayons as well. I'd just assumed this wouldn't be good for the blade but he said poppycock! I will share with you his genius secret for cutting crayons in half.

Just cut the entire box in half! Works like a charm!

Here are a few examples of the finished product. I realize I didn't put in anything for a size comparison, but I trust you can imagine half a crayon's size. The slight damage to the leftmost crayon wasn't sustained by the sawing, it's just a testament to how delicious crayons are to rabbits.

As I said before, I LOVE all things fine motor, so if you have any brilliant ideas for great writing tools please share the wealth!