Yay! GA Pre-K forum section woot! I'll kick it off :D

[Ayn Colsh]

I'm not a GA pre-k teacher but I am interested in the topic of literacy bags so I hope it's o.k. if I post here I love literacy bags, so much so that I think I may be addicted to making them You can see many of them on my website, but I also have many more that are not pictured. The generic note I send home with each bag as well as the parent contract are located at the bottom of the page. I only sent one bag home with one child per day (not each child), otherwise it would be a real hassle to keep track of who had each one. My parents were fine with the bags going home once every couple of weeks.

Wow! I love your backpacks! I hope to have some of this caliber soon. I had about a week to come up with 12 of them, in the midst of other back to school preparations! I have been collecting materials all year so next year's kits will be better.

I especially love the contract idea. I will definitely implement that next year. Every time I visit your site, I am more and more impressed. (And I have to say that having visited your site for a while before joining these communities and blogging, I feel a little like I'm meeting a celebrity--at least in MY world! : )

Thank you so much for sharing! We Ga. Pre-K teachers are from the same breed as most of the other early childhood educators-- we love to share and can modify ideas from other programs to make them fit our needs.

[Livvie]

Thank you Vanna! I will check your ideas out soon. I loved some of your other ideas, and have been using them in the classroom

[vannapk]

Thank you for your kind words Ayn Wow! I can't imagine making 12 packs in one week, it took me years and years to amass my collection.

[sarah elizabeth]

i know this thread is a little old, but i thought i'd jump in. i have never been told that i have to have a literacy pack for each child. in the pqa i know it mentions having enough books in the classroom that there is at least one for each child out.
my consultant didn't question the way i do my packs, but i know each consultant is different.
i have a calendar list posted on the wall by my literacy packs. i listed out five students for a week's time to be allowed to check out the packs. (i only have 8, so i limited the number of people each week that would take them home). this rotates, so i go through the 20 students and then start over. each child could check out a literacy pack every day for one week, and then four weeks later would be their next turn.
now, there is something else in the pqa that has to do with taking books home. we should have a lending library in our classroom, and allow students to take home books whenever they want to. the consultant make ask or look for you sign-out sheet. these can be books set aside to go home, or books off of your shelves, but they have to be allowed to go home.

[mebga]

Thank goodness we are in a school setting and have books designated for checkout in the library!! I have not done too much with literacy packs yet - thanks for all the great ideas posted here!!