The Rules of the Classroom...

Today we began the process of rule making in the classroom. I feel it's important to keep the kiddos involved. We discussed in pairs and as a class the importance of rules and brainstormed a list of rules we think we should have in our classroom. Over the next few days we will refine our list until we have a finalized set of classroom expectations. We also read several stories, including We Share Everything by Robert Munsch (a super funny children's author-they love his stories) and we worked on pages for a class book about what we can share in first grade. We continue to get our procedures in place for packing up, getting to and from places and how we move in the classroom. We also began sharing favorite books from home. This included an animal encyclopedia, two chapter books-one scary, one funny, and a Dick and Jane book. The children had an amazing discussion about which books we read by ourselves, what type of stories we like, how we can use pictures to get information, and rereading books for fun. This is so beneficial in setting the stage as a community of reader's. I look forward to seeing the other children's selections!
As we start this year, I try to notice things that are working well and try to tweak procedures that aren't. Right now, dismissal is on my mind. With the high traffic area by our back door, I have decided to exit now out of our classroom side door. I get a little paranoid about keeping together, and while the card system has worked well, I think that it will help us stay together if we take a slightly different route!
I love your children-they make me smile all day! Here are a few more pictures!

On The First Day of First Grade...

Hi everyone! We had a GREAT first day! We read several books (Froggy Goes to School, The Secret Birthday Message, Where the Wild Things Are, and Lunch), and learned a short poem. We did some writing including a page for our time capsule that we will open at the end of year. We also worked with our math tools and drew sets of numbers. We celebrated a birthday and wrote "secret birthday messages" for her. I was amazed at how creative they are-from signing their name with a question mark to keep it "really secret" to folding it like a paper airplane for delivery. We read books from our classroom library, discussed how to take care of them and talked about what good listening looks like and sound likes. We enjoyed PAT time at the track and recess is always a highlight despite the heat. The kiddos did a great job with our goodbye routine of handing a card with a special goodbye on it to me before they leave with their adult. This helps make sure I've made eye contact with every person picking up so I know the children are getting home safely! We did have very rumble-y tummies at 9:30 so having snacks on hand was great-please send more if you can! I am including a few pictures. If you haven't sent back your paperwork I did not add your child this time to the photos. As soon as I get permission I can post them on the web! Have a great evening!

Welcome to First Grade!

Hi there!
My name is Tammy Thompson and I am so excited to be teaching first grade at Zilker Elementary this year!I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I am married to a wonderful and patient husband and have two fabulous kiddos-Jake, 4 and Cooper, 2.
I grew up in San Antonio and graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor's in Applied Learning and Development. I have always wanted to be a teacher and used to practice on my little brother and best friend all the time!
I began my formal teaching career in Killeen ISD in a multi-age K-2 classroom. Four years later I moved back to Austin, teaching Kindergarten and then 5th grade at J. Houston Elementary. While there, I earned my National Board Certification as an Early Childhood Generalist, along with my Special Education and ESL endorsements. After five years, I transferred to Zilker to teach Kindergarten. Unfortunately, after only a year here, my husband accepted a job in San Antonio and our family relocated. I maintained ties to Austin ISD as a part-time curriculum coach for the math department for the last two years training new teachers in math instruction. I am thrilled that we have moved back to Austin-there's no place like home!

P.S. This photo was taken in the Amsterdam airport during my world wide tour of Starbucks. Actually-we were in Europe for a wedding-the Starbucks was just a bonus. The other photo is of my boys trying to stow away on our trip. We were on to them and had them stay a week with grandparents instead.