Listening Center Stools

Oh, am I glad tomorrow is Friday.  And that I have a THREE DAY weekend!  Yippee!!!   

Before I get on with the real reason for this post, I have to clarify something about my new Fun Friday chart.

The magnets themselves are not slipping off.  They're sticking to the laminated chart perfectly fine.  

What's falling off are the student numbers!  At the bottom!  Dadgumit!  They're just not very magnetic with the other magnets . . . even though they're the same kind and I tested it before I started this whole project!  (she said in the most annoying and whining voice ever)

I'm still just going for it tomorrow and I'm going to see what happens.  But my hubby came up with a good idea just in case it doesn't work out.

He suggested I get the little white circle velcro dots and just stick them on top of the black circle magnets.  No re-making the chart necessary!!!  So I'll see about that . . . but it still has to look cute.  If it doesn't, I'll have to remake the whole chart, obviously.

OBVIOUSLY.

Today I want to talk about my new stools!!  I just got them yesterday.

(By the way, this is not a commercial.  I searched, paid for, and waited patiently for these stools to arrive.  I'm blogging about them because I love them and I want to.  The End.)  

New stool!

These are the perfect height for my back counter and take up MUCH LESS ROOM than the big chairs my kids need in order to actually reach the counter.    

Listening Center

with 4 new stools!

My kids thought the "holes" in the stools were the coolest things ever.  So I told them that I was actually the one 

who made those holes.  

The stools are extremely lightweight.  I mean it.  The box had all five (I tucked one away for now.  Just in case.) stacked together, fully assembled.  I was able to carry that box all the way from the office to my classroom BY MYSELF.  ALL THE WAY!!  Without taking a break or setting the box down!  FOR REAL!

Fully assembled, I repeat.  All I had to do was take the stools OUT OF THE BOX.  Some were upside down which was a bit tricky to navigate, but I managed.

Here are the stools in action at Centers today.  My kids go bananas for centers.  BANANAS.  (I think it's because we only get centers on Tuesdays and Thursdays for about twelve minutes.  Talk about keeping the novelty alive.)

Awww.  So cute.

Mouths closed.  Listening.  

Peace.

That is, until they heard MY VOICE on the tape and freaked out.

No book on tape or cd this time around.

Oh no - not this week.   

It's ME on the tape!  

They have to follow my directions and decorate the snowman according to my specifications.

I also dictate some sentences for students

 to write on the back.

I recorded this tape (and several others) about twelve years ago when I moved schools.  My old school had EVERYTHING including books on tape, pipe cleaners, tissue paper, counters in the shapes of bears and ducks and dinosaurs, construction paper, water bugs, crayons, mice, etc.

My current school really doesn't have anything so before I bought every book and tape that Scholastic offered, I just recorded my own voice doing all sorts of things.

And, as you know, I have to be silly and stupid which means I take what is supposed to be an important standard and turn it into The Disney Channel complete with the obligatory cheese factor.  

In other words, when my kids are supposed to be QUIETLY LISTENING, they tend to guffaw out loud . . . which startles the rest of us.  

And, did you know that when your kids are wearing headphones, the talking and guffawing is EXTREMELY LOUD?

So when you're in a serious game of checkers with a first grader and you're about to make your next move, the following conversation can really rattle you.

"HAHAHAHA!  MY TEACHER'S SO FUNNY!  HEY, FRIEND SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO ME WITH HEADPHONES ON, AS WELL, DID YOU HEAR WHAT TEACHER SAID?"

"YES!  THAT WAS SO SO SO FUNNY!  HAHAHAHA!  LET ME ASK OUR FRIEND SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO ME WITH HEADPHONES, TOO, IF SHE HEARD.  NEXT FRIEND, DID YOU HEAR THAT?"

"WHAT?  WHAT DID YOU SAY?  CAN WE REWIND?!"

If you think you might be in the market for some stools, you can check them out {HERE}.  Again, this is not a commercial.  I just really like my new stools and I'm thinking of buying another set!  Maybe for my house . . .