CLASSROOM TOUR | Pre-K Classroom 2020 | Succulent Decor

Summary

In this classroom vlog, Kristen Lankford, a first-year pre-K teacher, gives a detailed tour of her classroom setup. She shares insights into her learning environment, teaching tools, and how she has adapted her classroom over time. Kristen highlights key areas, including learning centers, storage solutions, and activity zones like the calm-down area and kitchen station. She explains her teaching strategies and reflects on the ongoing changes she makes based on her experience. The vlog provides a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a pre-K teacher and invites viewers to engage with future content.

Takeaways

• 😀 The video is a classroom tour by Kristen Lankford, a first-year pre-K teacher, filmed in January.
• 🖼️ Kristen apologizes for not vlogging much due to her busy first year of teaching.
• 🏫 The classroom setup includes tools like visual aids for children with communication needs, a pizza-themed bulletin board, and snack storage.
• 🎨 A calm-down corner with fidgets and emotion charts helps students manage their emotions, along with various play centers for different activities.
• 🖍️ Kristen mentions organizational tools like weekly bins for projects, teacher toolboxes, and storage for items students cannot reach.
• 🖥️ Due to limited space, she has improvised a setup with a projector and whiteboard for lessons, which isn't ideal but still functional.
• 🍽️ There's a cooking station for weekly cooking sessions, and the classroom includes learning centers with different themes like alphabet, word work, and art.
• 💻 The classroom integrates technology, including touch screen laptops and a rotation system for learning centers, adjusted for COVID-19 restrictions.
• 🧑‍🏫 Kristen discusses the challenges of organizing student play centers and how students can choose where they want to participate during playtime.
• 📝 She reflects on the adjustments and improvements she might want to make next year based on her first-year teaching experience.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to give a final tour of the creator's Pre-K classroom setup after making several changes throughout the year.

What is the teacher's name, and what grade does she teach?

The teacher's name is Kristen Lankford, and she is teaching her first year in a Pre-K classroom.

What are some changes Kristen made in the classroom since her initial setup?

Kristen mentions she has changed several things, such as the placement of the kitchen and dollhouse stations, moving the greeting area, and introducing new centers like the whiteboard and art centers.

What system does the teacher use to help kids communicate non-verbally?

The teacher uses a communication tool with pictures on the classroom door to help kids who may not have the words to verbalize their needs.

How does Kristen organize the classroom activities?

Kristen organizes activities using bins labeled by the day of the week. She also has a teacher toolbox, weekly targets, and areas like the letter hat activity and other projects stored in advance.

What is the purpose of the calm down area in the classroom?

The calm down area provides students with a quiet space to relax, equipped with a chair, fidget tools, breathing techniques posters, and emotion visuals to help them regulate their feelings.

How does the learning center rotation system work?

The classroom has four learning centers: alphabet, word work, writing, and technology. Students rotate through these centers daily, spending around 15 minutes at each. During this time, each teacher is assigned a group, except for the computer center.

What does the classroom’s ‘Wishing Well’ involve?

The 'Wishing Well' is a morning activity where students place their pictures on the board if they are present. Absent students' pictures go inside a heart, and the class sings a song wishing them well.

What does Kristen plan to change next year in her classroom setup?

Kristen is already thinking about moving her classroom carpet in front of the whiteboard for next year, as she constantly reassesses what works and what doesn't.

How does the classroom manage social-emotional learning?

The classroom uses social-emotional lessons during morning meetings, focusing on visual cues to represent class agreements. Students pick an agreement to work on for the week, and a 'star student' is chosen on Fridays to lead the class in repeating these agreements.