My Spanish Art Classroom is ready for next week!!!

This is the display right outside my classroom. Everything is in Spanish because I will be teaching art classes in Spanish to K, 2nd and 4th graders. 

Some initial decorative boards were put up to beautify the halls before the art goes up. 

The 3 art teachers share this lockable storage closet. It's an art teacher's dream!!

Another view of our lockable, storage closet. 

More displays in the halls. The art teachers are responsible for over  15 bulletin boards. 

My classroom view from the doorway. I have 7 tables. 

My table markers. Each table has a different color. 

My elmo projector!!

I teach 3 grades and see kids 2-3 times a week for 45 minutes.  That is more art than I took for my studio art degree in college. Content and Language objectives will be posted here daily. 

My Spanish Art vocabulary wall of the letters A, B, C and Ch. (Remember, it's a Spanish alphabet) 

My Spanish Art vocabulary wall detail of the letter P. 

The Early childhood educator in me always loves these jars filled with colorful items....

My demonstration corner 

A gallery corkboard on right

A sink!!! (Ta da!!)

I posed these moving figures up on top of my cabinets. 

My drying rack and visual files

Paper.....glorious paper. 

My doorway..... 

Says, 'Welcome to Ms. Cutelis' class'

This door goes out to some wooded area.... 

Huge picture windows

My class with the lights off

Peeks into the beginnings of my Spanish Art Classroom

               Okay, my room is FAR from done....but I am very proud of what I've done so far. It took me 4 half days to even get it to this point, and I still have lots of work to do to get it to match my vision of a safe, warm and exciting Spanish art room. 

This is my door. Lots of storage on the left and the right (not pictured). 

This is the view of my tables, my whiteboard, more storage, my sink (way in the back on the right). I have 7 tables altogether. So much potential!!!

A blurry picture of my display area (left) with rug. I will be getting an Elmo, a projector, and a cart next week. The papers you see were in this room, but they are going to the storage closet.  

My paper shelf. I took out about 300lbs. of paper out of here and placed them in our lockable art teacher closet. In this one I leap watercolor. On top are my multicultural paper, below that are my black papers, below that are drawing papers (2 shelves) and last, my watercolor papers. 

My demo area. 

I did this in my last class and it's just so visually appealing that I had to do it again. It brings mystery and interest to ones class. 

The models on display here in my window, which faces trees. 

View of my classroom from the entrance. Sorry for the blurriness. 

View of my classroom with the lights off......look at those trees!! what a view. I need more plants. So if you have any plants you no longer need, I'd be glad to adopt them for my classroom. 

Hallways full of art teacher bulletin boards. We, the three art teachers at the school, are responsible for over 20 bulletin boards that are expected to be changed often. Thankfully, we are given time in our schedule to put up displays. Can's wait to meet the kids. All classes I see twice a week, some even three times a week. Will post more next week after I have created and added all the signs. 

New Classroom Pics

I was able to finally enter my new classroom yesterday and assess what all I would need to do before I begin a new school year. Nora came along to 'help' me. 

Drying rack on the left.

 Lots of official bulletin boards spaces both in the classroom and all over the hallways.

 Windows that lead to trees.

A door that leads to these trees and the outdoors.

 Locking cabinets. Locking doors, locking storage closets. I get keys to all these.

 and.....a sink.

               I feel like I finally have more time again to be able to write. I have been actively involved in the last 3 years in informing myself and in many ways battling the crazy 'de'form agenda taking over our schools across the nation. But lately, I have wanted to simply exists outside of these battles in my head and focus more on what works in education rather than always trying to expose how currently we are headed the OTHER direction. The shift in focus is a much needed on. I am ultimately a teacher and a parent first, not an organizer, or a politician. So look for posts more about schools and teachers that are doing wonderful things in education. My need to get renewed inspiration in my calling as a teacher has me needing these more positive narratives swimming around in my head. Ultimately, we teachers need to be inspired too. 

Early childhood education at its best

Aside from getting a Masters in early childhood special education, it took me being a mother to see that teaching early childhood is not just a dumb-down-version of teaching older children. It has a world of its own, a language of its own and MOST importantly, a pace of its own. Small children do not conceptualize anything at a young age, so everything they learn needs to be concrete and tangible and applicable to their own immediate world and possibly connecting with their imagination as well. Knowing this, I can spot bad practice a mile away.

Now having taught young children for over 13 years, having earned two Masters in childhood education and most importantly having two young children under age 5 you bet I have very clear and strong ideas of what works and does not work for children. After all, these are my kids that will ultimately be affected. Which brings me to my son's class.

I just attended open house for my son's kindergarten class and was absolutely in awe of the amount of thoughtfulness and application of early childhood principles I saw there. The teacher focuses the children heavily on class cooperation and working together as team members to solve problems. As a mother of a particularly shy and homesick boy this was very reassuring.

The constant and consistent exposure to core ideas, principles and experiences was planned and very deliberate; every experience seemed to be utilized as a learning experience. I could not have been happier. In addition, my son has become much more confident in himself and eagerly looks forward to his weekly sharing times.

Each child is highlighted for a whole week. How could you NOT feel special in this class. You have a whole week when you get to be a STAR. I wish we did this in real life. I'd like to be a STAR at work...or in my family for a week. What would this feel like? Why not.
I love this agreement. It has everyone's signature on it. Again, why can't we do this in our own adult world? How often are adults breaking these rules? wouldn't that be fantastic?
Again. I love all the emphasis on social emotional skills. The kids get to share every week. They get their own day and each child gets to be heard. AND AGAIN, as adults we could too benefit from days of sharing. how many people do we work next to who might have amazing stories but we are too wrapped up in our lives to open up and listen. Remember listening is the best gift we could give anyone....try it....don't interrupt, interject, correct.....just listen....it's therapeutic.
Math center. I am buying these for my son as we speak.
I think we all would be amazing at math if we were able to use manipulatives for as long as possible.
Respect. Kids get to save their creations for some time. When I saw this the first thing that went through my mind was, "why not?"....and "how respectful"
concrete math....relevant to their lives.....
love this.....just respectful....simple, about their lives.....