C4T#3

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Classroom Tour 2014-15

Ms. Sandi Purdell-Lewis, a Kindergarten teacher in Canada, invites visitors to her blog to take a detailed tour of her classroom. Her goal is to make her classroom a place where both her students and their families feel welcomed. She wants her classroom to showcase what the students have learned throughout the year in Kindergarten. Her classroom is not meant to be overwhelming, but designed to spark her students' curiosity. She begins guiding visitors through the exterior door. When visitors first walk in, there is a station called the "command center". This is where parents will find the lost and found and students will find the scissor practice box. Next is the "cloakroom", what she believes is wasted space and should be used for an instructional area instead of storage for coats and shoes. Ms. Purdell-Lewis further takes visitors by the learning activity bins and toy storage where visitors can also find the line-up dots. Line-up dots are not only used for order during line-up, but for number practice. Next is the cosy corner for reading and her desk area. Following that, she introduces "the rainbow", which stores loose parts and is a station for games designed for students to explore their imagination. Next is "the house" with the tree changing seasons which is signified by colors of balloons. There is a dress-up area along with a cosy curl chair. The yearly calendar, which is the focal point of the classroom, depicts all lessons for the entire year. There is an art area with a digital projector and science area for students to explore. I especially liked how each station promoted and enhanced a skill for students to keep with them throughout their life. This was a very warm and inviting classroom and I hope each student loved it as much as I did. I am thankful for the tour! Below is the comment I left:

Hi Sandi! My name is Sammi Taylor. I am a student of Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at the University of South Alabama. I will be summarizing my visits to your blog with a post to my blog on 11/09. My twitter address is @PoiseRed. I really enjoyed touring your classroom! It is very inviting and full of creativity! I really liked when you stated it is for the students and their families. Incorporating families is a great way to keep them involved into their child's learning journey. I also liked how each station is designed to promote and enhance a skill that students can carry with them throughout life ie the house and scissor practice sand table. Thank you for sharing your classroom. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Have a great year!

Dancing Skeleton

For Halloween, Ms. Purdell-Lewis had her students make a dancing skeleton from paper, Q-tips, and creativity (kids brought this). She listed the instructions on how to form the skeletons. She makes the comment "anatomy is not quite right, but our skeletons have personality." She displayed a few of her students' skeletons on her blog. My favorite was the skeleton with the top hat and cane. She also gives links to more projects and to a book about skeletons that could be read to the class. Below is the comment I left:

Hi Sandi! The dancing skeletons are great! The creativity really showed in this project. I especially liked the skeleton with the top hat and cane. It is great that you encourage free-flowing imagination in your class. I can only hope I will be as encouraging as you are when it comes to my students' projects. Also, it seems that your classroom is a very warm and inviting environment to learn and grow as a student. Thanks for the glimpse into your classroom.