An Insight Into French Knitting plus a tutorial

Hello everyone. Today I would like to share with you a new insight into French Knitting. From 8.30am to 8.45am, we have quiet games in our learning space. They are meant to help establish relationships and also to enable a calm start to the day. I am always on the look out for games and activities that the children enjoy as well as provide some experiences that allow for conversation.

I recently made some French Knitting Looms out of toilet rolls and bought some bright colourful wool. I asked some children to join me and immediately I had a group of children eager to join in. What was amazing was the reaction - I ran out of stock. I have now approx 20-25 looms created.

Both boys and girls join in when the French knitting comes out. They chat and share their experiences with me about who knits etc in their family. Some even bring their own knitting to school to join in. Others ask their siblings to show them what to do as they want to join in or have their own knitting loom. It has also empowered students. Those who are experienced, very graciously assist those new to French knitting or help out when I am busy with other knitters.

Another positive is the feedback from parents. I often hear parents share how their children love to French knit at home. They also share how much their children enjoy the experience.

I had a request from some of the students to create a tutorial. I have accepted the challenge and you can find it below. In my video tutorial I will show you how to create a knitting loom, French knit and cast off.

Supplies:

• toilet roll
• strong adhesive
• pop sticks
• wool

Thanks for stopping  by!

Flip Books - A Creative way to Encourage Writing

Hello everyone. Today I am going to share a resource/idea that a colleague shared with me many years ago. One of the rotations I have in my Reading Groups is a flip book activity. This is a writing task. This format has been one of my successes over the years. The children like the variety of topics, flipping the pages and also the option of creating their own.

What is a flip book?
A flip book begins as a basic A4 page. It is divided into four sections. The majority of my flip books are narratives, but they are so versatile that they can be used for any text type. Each flip book is scaffolded in order to assist the children to create a story quite quickly. I also incorporate pictures onto the page to provide extra support to the children who may need some extra inspiration.

Once the children become familiar with the format of the flip book, they become more independent and really enjoy writing. As each section looks small, it deceives the children and takes the pressure of having to write to fill a page. This works particularly well with children who are reluctant writers.

Examples
I have taught Kindergarten through to year 5 and have used flip books in each grade. They are easy to differentiate to meet the needs of students in any grade. The following example is one completed by a student in my class. We had been focused on writing expositions at the time.

How to make a flip book
For my example, I will share a blank flip book.
Step One: Cut across the middle section. Place the top section to one side.
Step Two: Cut the pages marked 1, 2 and 3.
Step Three: Staple pages 1, 2 and 3 to page 4.

Again, once the children use this scaffold/template they will enjoy writing. I have some students who cut their flip book before they write as they fill up the front and back of their pages.

How I Use Them

I have five activities for reading groups. At the start of the new rotations (when all of the activities are new),  I go through and explain all of the activities. I spend some time in sharing and introducing the flip book. I have a grid which shows what activities the children will be doing that day. I don't go in any particular order. At the conclusion of the reading group activities for that session, the children who wrote a flip book read it to the class.

The children love sharing and also enjoy hearing the flip books.  I usually let the more competent and confident writers complete the flip book task first. This assists the less confident students and it gives them  more time to come up with ideas as well as provide them with models to assist them when it is their turn to write.

Some samples to share

I am going to share a blank template as well as a themed flip book. If you do decide to use them, share your experience with me via this blog. I would love to hear how your students reacted to them.

Thanks for stopping by!

Helpful Sign and Display Idea

Hello! In my last post, I shared some organisational ideas and today I have another to share. On the Ikea shopping spree, my team and I came upon these photo frames. We thought that they would work as a portable display in the space. They cost from memory approx $1 each.

We have a staggered start in the morning. The classrooms/learning spaces are open from 8.30am. The children participate in quiet activities with their peers and teachers before they day officially starts at 8.45am. The purpose is to encourage a calm start, develop relationships and also for the children and teachers to have a chance to interact and develop relationships.

The frames you can see, contain different signs. These assist in managing noise. The number of participants to an activity is determined by the sign. The signs were printed on photo paper, which makes them look really appealing to the children.

We have a number of these around the learning space. You can place more than one sign inside the frames. They are plastic and are easy to store.

The signs are from SparkleBox. If you like the signs indicating how many students can play here click here for the link. This is a free download.

If you like the Quiet Please sign, it is from Teach This, which is a subscription site worth investing in!


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Looking Beyond The obvious - Storage Solutions

Do you look at products and think what are the possibilities? My colleagues and I did just that with this trolley from Ikea. As you have discovered from my earlier posts, I currently work in a flexible learning space. Looking at this kitchen trolley (it's intended use) we saw it as a solution to organising classroom supplies.

In our Year Three Learning Space, we supply the children with their stationery. This trolley allowed us to have the ability to take all of our supplies in and around the entire space. The three tiers offer storage for a number of items. As you can see, glue, pencils, scissors, activity sheets all travel around with me with ease. We purchased three, one for each teacher.

On this same shopping trip, we also discovered these colourful containers. Again designed for kitchen storage, these hang nicely onto the edge of the trolley. When the children work at desks, the containers come off and when the job is done, the containers go back. No confusion between homerooms and no shortage of supplies.

After having these in our space for approx 2.5 terms, we couldn't imagine working without them. They don't take up a lot of space, they don't get cluttered. They look attractive, are versatile and easy to move around.

My sister and I assembled this trolley together quite easily. If you are unhappy with storage, consider this as an option. I can also see it used as a guided reading solution or something activity/rotational group based.

Thanks for stopping by!

Classroom Organisation in a Flexible Learning Space ~ Getting The Job Done ~

Do you ever cringe at updating the weekly jobs list in your classroom or you let it lapse for two maybe three weeks? I certainly have been guilty of both crimes and the children reminded me of it! What I disliked was the time it took to negotiate, designate and record the job roster.

I have created a notebook file for the SmartBoard in the past but that lost its impact (for both myself and the children). Last year I discovered Pinterest. It's a virtual pinboard where you pin images and links to sites of all of the things you love. It's free to join and highly addictive. You can become inspired and discover different ways of doing things.

I came across this idea of the jobs ladder/peg cards from a Pin that someone had shared. I really liked the simplicity of the idea. I had a look at the types of jobs that needed to be done to make my gathering space work. In a flexible learning space, it is important for the children to have ownership of areas, and that can be achieved through responsibilities given over to them. In a traditional classroom, this is important as well.

The jobs I have created are in the table below. A brief description is also supplied of what is required.

Job	Description	Number of students
bins	·         Add bins each day ·         Insert bin liners to bins	2
cloths	·         Collect and place eating cloths onto the floor before eating times ·         Collect and fold eating cloths after eating times	2
trolley	·         Transport homeroom trolley to work areas within the learning space ·         Check that stationery is tidy ·         Dispose used or damaged stationery items e.g. glue etc and inform teacher of any shortages	1
book tubs	·         Ensure that all book tubs are neat and that all student work books are placed correctly within them	2
bookshelves	·         To maintain that the bookshelves are neat and organised	2
vacuuming	·         To vacuum the carpet in the gatherine space after eating times	1
table group helpers	·         Handout and collect books, worksheets and stationery students need when commencing or completing tasks	4
reserve	·         To assist if other students are absent and cannot complete job assigned ·         To assist if more students are needed to complete a job/task	2

 All of the students at my school eat inside before going outside to play. We have a cordless vacuum that the children use to vacuum up the crumbs. This is the most popular job! A picture of it is below.

To designate jobs, you simply need a packet of pegs. Write each students name onto the pegs. I chose a mulit-coloured packet to make the job easier. The children recognise their pegs when you go searching. Simply attach the peg to the side of the job card and it's done. Simple!

I also decided to have the job week start and conclude on a Wednesday. Monday is always busy with homework etc and it's less pressure on the timetable.

I really like this system. The children have easy access to it and it's fun. I used this system in term four last year. At the beginning of the year, my old students told me that they shared this system with their new teacher/s. One student also said, "Miss McGrath found it on Pinterest!"

If you would like to see the original Pin where this idea came from, click here to the link to my Pinterest board. It's such a great idea and can easily be adapted to whatever your needs are. It certainly helps to get the job done.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Quiet Space in a Flexible Learning Space

Some Background Info

I teach at Santa Maria del Monte Strathfield. Last year (2012), I joined the Year Three team. Year three is situated in a purpose built flexible learning space which means all of the year three students plus their teachers (three) work together in one large space. Working in such a space is brand new to me. I have been teaching in a traditional classroom since 1995 and this type of learning space was foreign to me.

Ar the conclusion of term two last year, the year three team met in the holidays to redesign the space. My two colleagues have been working in the space for approx 18months prior to me joining the team. The challenge we faced was  "How do we move away from operating as separate classes (comfort zone)  and to utilise the space for its flexibility and to maximise its potential?"

We sought advice from another colleague. The beauty of working at Santa Sabina College is that we are a P-12 College and have staff members who offer their support and expertise across campuses. The Director of Mary Bailey House (early education campus 0-5) offered some advice and practical solutions.  Using the Reggio Emilia approach we can view the environment as the third educator.

The arrangement of structures, objects and activities encourages choices, problem solving, and discoveries in the process of learning. In preparing the space, teachers offer the possibility for children to be with the teachers and many of the other children, or with just a few of the children, or even alone. Teachers are aware, however, that children also learn from their peers, especially when they can interact in small groups. Gandini (1993 p.6)

After looking at the learning space together, we needed to find and define smaller spaces within the learning space. One solution to achieve this is by placing furniture strategically to define an area and to direct the traffic flow within the learning space. We then defined spaces in terms of purpose. One space that we created was The Quiet Space.

The purpose of this space is that is an area that is quiet. The children can use this area for different purposes. These include:

1. silent reading
2. a private area to talk to friends or to engage in a quiet activity
3. a place to go to to become calm, e.g. if they are upset from an incident after a playbreak and need some 'quiet time.'

Two portable shelving units define the areas. Portable cubes, cushions and a lamp give the space a feeling of being at home. The leaf attached to wall was purchased so that the children can nestle under it for some comfort. The addition of plants add to the aesthetics of the area.

The feedback from the children was overwhelming. They really loved the space and valued its intended purpose. Later we established committees where the children had some input as to how the spaces operated. I will explain these in a later post.

Thanks for stopping by!
Cathy