Classroom Job-POLLSTER

Classroom jobs are one of my favorite classroom management tools and the children take their jobs very seriously and look forward to them every day! Not only does it help the child feel responsible, they also get to contribute to the daily happenings in the classroom in a meaningful way for both the child and the adults!

I started out with a job that I called the interviewer and they were responsible for taking a poll. They were very official and had to carry a clipboard with a fun and fancy pen and ask each peer a yes/no question related to our theme or event that happened at school. After some reflection I felt that calling this job the interviewer was not sufficient. The job is now called the Pollster! You can head over to my TPT store and pick up a years worth of questions.

These are the developmental domains and academic skills that this job covers. As you can see there is a lot that the child is engaged in while performing this job. It is very important! 

 As an early childhood special education teacher teaching all learners in an inclusive environment, differentiation, adaptations, and modifications have to be taken into consideration! Below are some examples of how this can be adapted to meet the needs of all your learners! I have a variety of supports from least to most, including a completely adapted sheet.

You can head over to my TPT store and pick up a years worth of questions (209), ideas for implementation, and directions for making and adapted pollster sheet. What are some of your favorite classroom jobs?

Diana

Stories and Felt Boards DIY

Nursery rhymes and felt! Essential for preschool and all learners love them! I wanted to share what I have been working on as I prepare for next school year.

I had a ton of felt that I purchased at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store using their awesome coupons! They also have a Teacher Rewards Program that you can sign up for and get an additional 15% off your classroom purchases. Yes! This includes already discounted items! This program is open to state certified educators, home school teachers with proof, and child care providers.      

This felt has been sitting around in a plastic storage bin for...well let's just say...more than a year but less then 3 years. So, it was time to put it to good use!

While strolling around in my local library, I came across a book called The Flannel Board Storytelling Book by Judy Sierra. (FYI I looked online at Amazon for a copy of this book and the one I had was not available for purchase but another similar version was, it is a bit pricy though)

After a quick flip through, I thought, this is just the motivation I needed to get myself to tackle that bin of felt and conquer it!

I left the library that sunny day, book in hand, and felt full of determination. That was until I got home and saw....THE BIN. It tried to make me feel overwhelmed and shut me down but I didn't let it. I walked right up to it, grabbed it by its handles and lugged it upstairs!

I was looking for something to use to trace the patterns on that was easy for me to pin onto the felt and cut out my pieces. Well, my daughter just graduated from high school so I had a ton of tissue paper from the gifts she received and it was PERFECT! Just like the paper in a sewing pattern! I grabbed a pen and some pins and started to trace away and pin to my felt.

After all my felt pieces were cut out, I took out the puffy paints and started adding my own detail and my personal touch to each piece. Now I have several sets of flannel stories to share with my students!

This can be a time consuming process. Especially, if you are eager like myself and want to get the whole book done before you have to return it to the library!

I plan to keep these out during our free play time and let the children enjoy them!
Let me know if you make some and send me your pictures! :)

Diana