New 1 Minute Game

I decided that I did not think my pre-k babies were ready for Mind Soccer, but I wanted a fun 1 Minute game to play when they win on the scoreboard.  So, I decided to shrink the power pix down to a 3 x 5 size.  I cut them and put them in a can; we use them to play charades!  One student chooses a card from the can and they show the gesture with lots of excitement to the rest of the class.  Then the class has to guess what power pix they are showing us.  They had so much fun doing this, and I could really tell who understood the power pix and who did not.  What a great assessment tool!!!!!

WBT on the move!

Well this has been an amazing start to my week!  As you know I have changed schools this year, and I discovered today that there is another Whole Brain Teacher in my school!!!!  This is her first year and she loves it just like all of us do.  It is so nice to have a colleague to discuss challenges and celebrate success with.   We even had the opportunity at a faculty meeting to explain the power pix to the entire staff and some of the successes we have had with them.


 Then last night I had the chance to catch up with my mentor teacher from last year.  She has also switched schools, and she knew that I was an advocate for WBT last year.  One of her fellow teachers is also using WBT and he loves it! 


It is so amazing to see fellow teachers discover WBT, and to watch this marvelous way of teaching grow everyday.  I cannot wait for the day when I can teach in a school full of Whole Brain Teachers!!!

You know you have done a good job implementing class-yes when one of your students notices there is too much talking and they say class and the class responds yes!  Who knew pre-k kiddos would catch on so quickly.  I am so pleased with how well they know the rules already, and how well the classroom community is running. 

I was so worried that I would not be able to teach them everything they need to know, but I am beginning to realize that WBT techniques are allowing me to cover more material in a short amount of time. It is shocking at how much I am actually accomplishing in 2 1/2 hours.  This week we covered title, front cover, and author in addition to the letter m and number 1.  We began adding words to our word wall this week and I can not wait to introduce word wall candy and super speed letters and phonics next week!  My co-worker thinks that I am crazy because I play so many games and I just wish she would see how well they work and how much fun they are.

Today I was a success!   After teaching kindergarten last year, I realized that these kiddos grow leaps and bounds during this year in pre-k.  I introduced class-yes, the scoreboard and the 5 rules today.  They are having a hard time with the class-yes, but overall I was so impressed with how well the pre-k babies handled themselves.  We practiced the rules a lot and standing up and sitting down.  I know that with practice they will understand class-yes and the scoreboard will be successful.  I have two half day classes, and it is so hard to squeeze everything I want to do into 2 1/2 hours!  However, I believe that using WBT techniques I will be able to accomplish so much more than I ever would without it.  Here's to a great start to a new year:)

Ready or Not.......

Well, my room is ready, I have met my students, and ready or not the first day is tomorrow!  I am so excited and I can not wait to see how these pre-k babies soar with the WBT techniques I have learned over the past two years.  At my school each of the grades are thematic and my team decided on Fairy Tales. At first I was disappointed that I was not going to use my gumball idea, but I did get to use it on a bulletin board in the cafeteria.  After lots of brainstorming I realized how many ways fairy tales could enhance my room and I decided to incorporate Jack and the Beanstalk.  I created a growing beanstalk next to my word wall.  As my students make their way through the levels of super speed letters and phonics they will have a paper jack (or jill if they are a girl) to move up the bean stalk.  I also created an area in my room titled A Crowned Moment...this will be for the student of the week at the beginning of the year and then I will utilize to recognize student leaders.  I am in the process of making a Rapunzel tower with a ladder on the front for my sentence ladder, and I know as I continue to brainstorm more fairy tale ideas will come.  Sorry about the flash on the pics:(