RainbowsWithinReach: Kindergarten Excellence Viewed During Author Visit

photo of: Kindergarten Excellence: Visual Support via RainbowsWithinReach

EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION: KINDERGARTEN

I told you that I'd be returning to Roosevelt Elementary repeatedly to share the excellence-in-education that I observed there during my Author-Illustrator school visit last week. I've got some more goodies to share with you! [Here's the initial post from last week -- showcasing my time in their midst and some incredible bulletin boards.]

Today's article is something of a mini-RoundUP of additional great ideas, similar to others that I've shared here in the past, just interpreted through a slightly new and different prism. When you LUV kindergarten, I know that you LUV to take a peek inside of the classrooms of your peers. BEHOLD.

photo of: "Hand Jive" Kindergarten Chart for Behavior Management via RainbowsWithinReach

Mrs. Hake's room is filled with supportive visuals to encourage her Visual Learners.

Her great "Hand Jive" poster of non-verbal communicating signals is an awesome way to contribute to classroom management in any busy kindergarten room.... in any active classroom for that matter. Communicate your needs silently. HELPFUL!

One of my favorite articles has made it into my Top-10 list {over there in my sidebar} is the HUGE RoundUP I created of Visual Cues and Supports from visits all across the country. I'll go next and add Mrs. Hake's "Hand Jive" into that oldie-but-goodie.

photo of: VISUAL Learning: Cues, Supports and Systems

Visual Learning: Examples, Schedules, Cues, Support

Yes. That's her incredible grand-daughter, Ella posing for the pictures in the Hand-Jive poster above. Go ahead and pin that great idea. MR. Hake is even on Pinterest each morning, and I know it will give him a smile to see their beauty contributing to improving classrooms around the country, even around the world!

photo of: Morning Meeting Anchor Charts via RainbowsWithinReach

I got such a kick out of seeing my name written-up in their morning meeting greetings for the week. YIPPEE!

Even more amazing? Take a look at the little bulletin board immediately behind Mrs. Hake's desk! She has many significant K pieces: The Pledge of Allegiance is hanging there, her grand-children's pictures, personal keepsakes of joy, President Obama and MOI!!! Yes, I'm right there with the president-of-our-country and the grandchildren!

Now take a look at the anchor chart that is the classroom's Kindness Pledge. What a powerful anchor chart to help direct classroom cooperation, emotional intelligence and even mitigate against classroom bullying. YEAH! Mrs. Hake! Kinder-kiddos LUV having pieces memorized that they can share with visitors.

photo of: "The Kindness Pledge" Anchor Chart in Kindergarten via RainbowsWithinReach

I'll need to add this "Kindness Promise" into my earlier RoundUP on all things: kind, bucket filling and reinforcing cooperation in the classroom. That one has yet to make an appearance in my Top-10. It will take a lot of pins to get it there -- but its also an issue near and dear to my heart.

photo of: Kindness Inspiration, Filling Buckets + Emotional Intelligence RoundUP via RainbowsWithinReach

Kindness, Bucket Filling and Emotional Intelligence

I have seen LOTS of variations on Behavior Charts in classrooms across the country. Here's the way that Mrs. Hake keeps track for her kinders. Notice that she uses the classic pinching wooden laundry clothes pins with the student names written in magic marker.

That image I'll have to reverse-engineer and add to my earlier RoundUP of all sorts of Behavior charts that premiered earlier this school year. I reached out to my fellow Kinderland bloggers to add their system to the many I had photographed -- so it continues to grow and grow! I quit counting at 17 examples.