Colds, Construction, and End of Year Gifts

Teacher tip: Make sure to take Non-Drowsy cold medicine before a day of teaching.  Anything else, will most definitely make it very difficult to teach 19 kindergartners!

Why is it that every time the weather begins to get nicer, colds tend to become more prevalent?  My entire class, myself included, should probably be quarantined- coughing, sneezing, you name it, my class has it.  Currently, I am personally keeping Airborne in business.

Okay-now on to happier notes!

We have been super busy in my classroom.  Between our Alphabet Countdown to Summer, guest speakers, walking field trips, assessments, and more assessments there is not much time for anything else. But, we're hanging in there!

Last week our Reading series had us reading Old MacDonald had a Woodshop.  (I so enjoy books that have a well known tune!)  In addition, we read many other fiction and nonfiction books about construction and tools needed to build "stuff."  Our mini construction unit got carried over into math.  The kiddos were challenged not only with demonstrating subtraction in this way, but to design their pictures only using rectangles, circles, and triangles.  They did such a nice job, and they turned out so cute!  I will have to add more later, but my computer is being stubborn with some of the images.!

I do not know a single teacher who is not a fan of the Dollar Tree.  If it wasn't for that store, my classroom would definitely not look the way it does!  As an end of the year gift this year, I found adorable water bottles at the Dollar Tree- filled them with sidewalk chalk and Smarties, and now I am good to go!  Hopefully these water bottles will last through the summer and I will see some of them come back with their new first grader!

Thanks for checking in- I believe it is time for me to sleep this cold away!

Earth Day Shenanigans!

Take a close look...

Does anything seem out of place?

Our Earth Day celebration took a fun and exciting turn when the red tail hawk, brought by one of our presenters, decided she wanted to be free!  She was gorgeous.  I think I could have stayed all day just watching her sit up there on her make-shift perch!

I absolutely love our Earth Day celebrations.  The kids have a full day of learning from presenters, they have some time to give back by cleaning up trash around our school, and we sometimes get some "downtime" to do a fun activity in our classroom!

In writing, the kiddos have been working hard on opinion and persuasive pieces that would make the world a better place.  They did a nice job writing about recycling, not littering, and why we shouldn't cut down trees.  During a portion of this unit we explored how to recycle school supplies.  A colleague of mine introduced us to Crazy Crayons out of Minnesota.  They take old, broken crayons and re-melt them into fun shapes.  Seeing the fun shapes and crazy colors really got the kiddos excited.  So, we decided to re-purpose some of our old crayons on Earth Day!  Take a look:

Step 1: Fill silicon molds with broken crayons

Step 2: Put in oven and watch the transformation.  Solid-to liquid

Step 3:  Cooled to a solid again and so incredibly cool!

Now this is what teaching is about! The excitement from the kids over the transformation was so fun!  They each got to bring home their own crayon- it was all they could talk about (and show to whoever would look and listen) as we were walking out to the buses that day.  What an impact!

In addition to recycling our old crayons, the students made promises to the earth.  They took this so seriously!  I just love how this display brightened up our hallway!

One month to go!  Happy Monday!

Word Families

Meet Super POW!  He has been helping my kiddos discover and explore word families the last couple of weeks.  POW stands for Power of Words.  Let's face it, words can be powerful- in many different ways, but, for right now, in my room, knowing word chunks and how to add or change an onset has been very powerful for many! (Besides, it is super cute to be reading or making new words and hearing POW whispered every time someone finds a word family word.)

We spent several classes just exploring different word chunks. I would spend 5 minutes introducing the new chunk and modeling how to change the onset to make a new word, then it was their turn. With partners, they used magnets to make as many "real" words that they could using the new word chunk.  AH!  They learned so much- and they had so much fun!  A few kiddos even began experimenting with digraphs and blends to create words like chat and slit.  We have many word families left to explore, but I am so excited to lead them on this POWerful adventure!  

My kiddos enjoyed practicing word families by playing Super Change-O.  This game requires that students make new words by changing the onset of a familiar word.  By the end of the game, several of my students weren't even using the letter cards to physically change the word.  They were able to create the new word in their heads!  Yay!

Clipart: Clipart Queen; Mycutegraphics
Font: Rowdy In Room 300; KG Fonts

The children in my class also practiced recognizing word family words by following word mazes. They worked so hard on these activities!

Click the image above to get this activity as a freebie!

Last week my students had a "Boo Hoo" day.  Our student teacher's last day was on Thursday.  She has been so amazing for these students- they learned a ton from her!  We needed to send her off in style.  I purchased a Thirty-One bag for her new teaching job.  We each, then, used fabric paint to place our thumbprint and sign our name on the back of her new bag.  It turned out so adorable!  Take a look:  (I apologize for the crossed out names.  I do not put my students' names on my blog.  But, I think you get the idea!)

Before she left in the afternoon, each student helped to fill her bag with school supplies for her own future classroom.  They were so excited to have a part in this special event!

Thanks for checking in!

A cold day and New Year's Resolutions

It's official... the first Cold Day of the year is tomorrow.  I guess a -45 degree wind chill is just too cold.  And considering that winter break only ended 2 days ago, I am right back into the routine of staying up late and so, so ready to sleep in tomorrow morning. 

New Year's Resolutions: I typically don't make them, but this year I am bound and determined to accomplish two.  Both of which relate to school:

Number 1

 I shall use a daily planner to keep my life organized and keep track of my new-found love of to do lists.

And, naturally, since this is a school related goal, I began it yesterday.  So far so good.  I have even crossed off 4 items on my list.  Yay!  (Of course, using the new felt tip pens that were specifically purchased for my planner help.)  Check back with me in a week .

Number 2

I shall be more organized in my classroom.

Again, just like my planner success, this goal has also been quite successful.  Before our break, I received a grant to help purchase organizational supplies. With that money, the Dollar Tree became my new best friend (again).  Take a look at these super cute book baskets I purchased for my kiddos.  I am so excited to have them start collecting books that they can read independently.

At first, I wasn't so thrilled with the funky looking handles that are on each one, but I have actually grown quite fond of them.  Plus, I believe the handles will make the baskets easier for the kiddos to carry.  As we read new books from my subscription to Reading A-Z during guided reading, we will add them to their baskets.  During our 10 minutes of quiet/rest/"silent" reading time, each student will need to read at least 1 book from his/her basket.

The baskets would not have been complete without the book basket labels!  I got the star clip art and the font from Graphics From the Pond.  They are perfect!  If you would like my free book basket labels click here!

And, in honor of our first Cold Day, tomorrow I will be having a one day sale!  Everything in my store will be 20% off tomorrow only!  Check it out!

Visible Literacy and Gingerbread Houses

I just love December!  It is so magical, and I am finding that this is the same feeling my kindergartners feel!  I can just feel the energy, magic, and excitement bouncing off of the walls each day.

Visible Literacy

About a month ago, I had the privilege of hearing Regie Routman speak on classroom literacy.  This was a great workshop which led to many great discussions on literacy with many other educators from my district.  One of the main points I walked away with was in response to the question: "Will visitors instantly know that your school (or classroom) focuses on literacy?"  And, honestly, as hard as it was to answer no, that was what I had to say.  Don't get me wrong, we focus on literacy all day long, but it isn't always visible.  We make cute crafts to go along with guided and shared readings, we celebrate writing- but it is almost like it is a secret among the members of my classroom.  Hence a goal was created.  Anytime a project is done- we now have an additional literacy component to be displayed with our work. So far, this has been a shared writing experience that explains our projects. It is has been a great way to bring more meaning to fun craft projects!

This cute project was from First Grade and Fabulous.  We studied realism and fantasy while reading Olivia.  

My student teacher reviewed and taught sequence by using Pet the Cat.  She found this fun craftivity from Mrs. Bremer's Class blog.

 

I just LOVE how these two projects turned out- so cute!  I am very big on having my students completely create their own craft.  They have gotten so good at problem solving by being in charge of their own artwork.

Gingerbread Houses

On Friday, we celebrated Grandparent's day by making gingerbread houses.  This was quite the event. For several weeks, we have been planning this event.  Each student could have up to 4 grandparents (or other relatives) come help them make a house.  Students supplied graham crackers, frosting, candy, and ENERGY.  And, even though teaching on Friday was rather challenging, it was all worth it.

For an entire hour my room was filled with smiles, concentration, laughter, holiday music, and the strong scent of sugar.  Take a quick look at some of the masterpieces created by my kiddos and their special visitors.

Can you say MESSY???  But, oh so cute!

Happy Holidays!

Kindness Elves

Kindness is a social skill that I teach in my classroom.  What does it look like, sound like, and how can we achieve it.  This year my class took part in a Wrinkled Heart lesson.  Take a look at these two sites to learn about it more thoroughly.

Bully prevention

Wrinkled Heart with Chrysanthemum

I did use the story of Chrysanthemum to help my children understand the concept.  This lesson did have a great impact with many of the kiddos.  However, kindness is not something that should just be discussed in one day and then forgotten.  Shortly after this lesson, I purchased 2 locker rugs to use in my classroom.  (It really does baffle me as to why anyone would ever need a rug in his/her locker.  But they definitely work well in my room!)  We designated these our Peace Rugs.  As a class demonstration two students modeled how to use these rugs.  When a child's heart is wrinkled they may ask their friend to chat on the peace rug.  By using I feel statements, they then can share what upset them.  So far, these rugs have really helped some of the kiddos take the initiative to solve their own small problems.  Our next step with these rugs will be determining the appropriate time to use them.  (I have a few kiddos who are so sneaky!  They use the rugs during class time to just chat with their friends.)

In my district, Elf on the Shelf is a tradition in some of the classrooms.  Honestly, he is a super cute idea, but I really feel that he is more of an at home deal.  When I found an idea for a Kindness Elf from The Imagination Tree blog, I knew that this was the type of elf I could incorporate into my classroom.  The one thing missing, however, was a book.  I am a sucker for introducing concepts with a book.  So, I wrote one!  

Teaching in the Tongrass created these adorable kindness elf clip art that I used in my story!  They worked perfectly.  Included with the book (there is a story that features a girl elf, and one that features a boy elf) are task cards that could be left each morning when your students get to school.  Most of them are easy tasks like smiling at others or using manners.  Some of them involve a little more work- baking cookies or drawing a picture.  Take a look at a few of the pictures and then visit my store if you would like more information!

I found my elf from the ornament section in Target.  And, naturally I went all out and purchased a fairy door from Hobby Lobby.  (But, I think I will save painting it for another year.)

Enjoy!

I'm Still Here!

Boy!  It has been a while.  I am sure that those of you who have switched grades know that sometimes it takes a little bit to feel in control again!

I would love to post right now and share all of these wonderful and amazing ideas that I have been incorporating into my class- but, alas, right now I am just figuring things out!  I do know one thing though... I love kindergarten!

Here are my top 5 I just started teaching kindergarten must haves:

1. Dr. Jean's Tootsie Roll attention grabber.  I will be completely honest, that I probably use this one way too much during the day.  But, it is easy to remember and the kiddos are still responding to it!

Click here for Dr. Jean's Tootsie Roll! 


2. The Learning Station's You Tube channel for much needed Brain Breaks.  There are many times we just need to move.  These songs are great!  The children really enjoy them and are 100% percent engaged!  For most of my kiddos, it is just what they need to get back into learning.

Our favorite song so far is the Body Boogie song.  Especially when we get to do the air guitar!

Body Boogie

3. Google Drive.  This has been a lifesaver in sharing lesson plans with my team.  I can access our plans anywhere.  And if you know my organizational skills (ahem. lack there of), you would also know that I can never find my printed version when I need it.  So, thank you Google Drive!

4. The book, Teaching with Love and Logic.  I have read and utilized the strategies in this book before.  But I was overdue for a refresher course.  When I remember this language, my day is much smoother!

5. Puppets.  Let's be real, having a puppet teach math to you is MUCH better than having your teacher teach it.  I don't get it- but, hey, at least we all can now compare numbers!


Thanks for stopping by!