Classroom Environment:
or
The classroom is one place where students need to feel like they are at home and feel safe. The classroom needs to be set up with children in mind not adults. This means that toys, games, art materials, building blocks, books, etc. need to be at the children's level. This will allow the children to play and explore at their own convenience. However, with that said there still needs to be adult supervision. The teacher in the classroom should set up his/her classroom with centers in mind. There should be a library, building blocks, sand/water table, computer, art, toys/games, science discovery, and dramatic play. These different centers allow the children to investigate the areas of their interest and play along side of or with other children.
Classroom Management:
This should be set up so the children know what is expected of themselves each and every day. The rules and routines should be conisistent, with the exception of occassional field trips or guests. Children should know their daily schedule so they have an idea of what is expected of them through out the day and approxitamely when it is going to occur.
Classroom Organization:
The classroom should be organized and structured. The teacher should know where things are and where to find things if needed. Disorganization leads to stress and down time for children.
Classroom Activities:
Activities and lessons for children should be made in advance. All materials should be gathered prior to doing the activity/lesson. The teacher should aslo make sure the activity is age appropriate.
Here are some oustanding teacher websites that I came across:
http://www.teachpreschool.org/powered-by-play/
http://eisforexplore.blogspot.com/
http://www.k-3teacherresources.com/
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/elementary-educators-k-3/802
All for of these sites have different values and virtues for teachers to use within the classroom. I like how they give you ideas for academic, art, and/or fine and gross motor skills. One of the sites also give ideas to help with parents. The activities and lessons that they portray have been tried by teachers themselves so you will know if they are good or not, whether you should even attempt it in your classroom. Some site you go to are just posts and have not really been researched based but I believe these ones are.
