R Week- R Rabbit

My last day went by way too fast. But i did receive some lovely parting gifts which you can see on my instagram @TheTeacherWithTheFro. Anyway let's make a rabbit.

What you'll need:

• Pipe cleaners
• Construction paper
• Letter R cutout
• Eyes
• Glue
• Scissors
• Pom poms
• Cotton balls
• Pink Crayon

What to do:

1. Cut out a white R and glue it to green construction paper. I chose green to imitate grass.
2. Use the scraps to make some rabbit ears.
3. Have the kids glue an eye on the front curve of the R.
4. Have the kids glue a pink pom pom on the front curve of the R to make a rabbit nose.
5. Cut the pipe cleaner into small pieces, less than an inch. Glue them around the nose for whiskers.
6. Put some glue on the leg of the R and let the kids make a rabbit tail with a cotton ball.
7. Place some glue on the top of the R and let the children attach the ears. After they are dried, color the inside of the ears pink like rabbit ears.

The finished product:

As Time Ticks On... I Get Ticked Off

I'm a little P.O.'d today. I didn't go to work yesterday I had to go to my grad school to deal with some things before school starts. Anyway I came back today and things were changed in my classroom. Decorations were changed things were moved. I had left notes around the room for the new hire teacher to know certain things, they were taken down. After tomorrow of course I don't have any say or care what they do with the room, life goes on after I leave, but I'm still here and I don't like things being moved and changed while I'm still here so now I have to wonder where things are in my own classroom. I just needed to vent it out.

Anyway I left a few pages of notes for the new teacher about each kid and a few things that really I'm probably the only one who knows because I'm in there with them everyday. As far as the big stuff the other employees can train the new teacher, the same way they trained me when I started. The difference is I was hired as a sub and when I became lead I had spent a lot of time with these children and talked to the parents and I knew certain things, a new hire who didn't train under the lead of the room would have a different experience. In these notes I left things like who gets a binky at nap time, what behaviors they should watch for with each child, and what they mean when they're talking about certain things. I just thought it'd be helpful but I hope they get to even read it and it's not deemed unnecessary and thrown away before they even hire someone.

R Week- Handprint Rose

Just a simple one to finish out my last few days.

What you'll need:

• Red and green paint
• Paintbrush
• Sponge brush
• Construction paper
• Something to clean tiny hands with

What to do:

1. Using the sponge brush paint the child's hand red.
2. Place it on the paper, I usually hold it down and count to 5 because sitting still is not a mastered skill of 2 year olds.
3. Use the paint brush and the green paint to paint a stem for your rose and maybe some grass if you feel like it.

The finished product:

And the Plot Thickens...

So this doesn't directly affect me but I feel the need to share anyway. I have been telling the parents of the children in my class that the previous teacher that I took over for would be coming back after I leave because that was my understanding. I'd asked my boss a week or a few weeks ago when she would be coming back and she'd just told me she hadn't spoken to her yet and she didn't know. From what I know, it is a regular thing every year for this teacher to leave during the summer and take care of her own children, then return to her job. This year, her kids are older now, I'm not sure exactly how old but they're older. She has some sort of art degree and has decided now to pursue a career doing something with art instead of coming back. I kind of feel like I've been lying to the parents even though I didn't know. I can't help but wonder if I would be keeping the position of lead teacher if I was staying in this city instead of going to graduate school. Hmm..

R Week- Rainbow Fruit Loop R

I know we already did rainbows but this time lets learn the letter R and add some fruity rainbow cereal while we're at it.

What you'll need:

• A large letter R
• Fruit loops
• Crayons
• Glue

What to do:

1. Let the children color their R however they want.
2. Drizzle glue on the R in the shape of an R.
3. Let the children place fruit loops on the glue.
4. Usually when you do a project with food it's best to bring enough for the children to eat some otherwise they'll want to eat the ones that now have glue on them.

The finished product:

What's Coming Next

So I start my new position next week and as much as I was looking forward to not changing anymore diapers, it looks like I'm going to be lead teacher of an older 2 year old room. I'm happy for the work and to have gotten hired as a lead teacher this time from the jump not taking over temporarily for someone else. Every age level has its ups and downs and advantages and disadvantages. So while I'm not switching age levels, this maybe will make it a smooth transition and maybe having older 2's will mean more kids closer to being potty trained and better verbal skills and listening skills. Who knows what the future is going to hold. Gotta take the next step to see what's up the stairs.

R Week- Rainbow

When I think R I think rainbows. And kids love rainbows to why not?

What you'll need:

• Paper plates
• Cotton balls
• Glue
• Scissors
• Construction paper

I didn't realize the picture was so blurry but you can still see the materials I hope.

What to do:

1. Cut up rainbow colored construction paper. (For those of you who haven't met ROY G. BIV, the colors of the rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). Now I think I cut my strips a smidge too wide but that's because I was only expecting a few children today so in my head I needed to cut the same amount of strips as kids, make them a little narrower than an inch to accommodate the space.
2. Cut the paper plates in half.
3. Drizzle glue on the paper plate, leaving some space on the bottom.
4. Have the children place cotton balls on the glue to create a cloud.
5. Put enough glue for one strip on the bottom of the plate. Doing the glue one strip at a time will help the children keep the colors in order. If you put a whole line of glue across the bottom the kids will likely just put their strip wherever they see glue.

The finished product: