I can't believe we've already made it to the 100th Day of School! So, in true teacher style I wanted a new shirt for myself and the little man...
Here is what we did last year...
We made it on the quick! So I made a template for the wording and ironed it on...super simple! Then we bought 100 stick on mustaches...which I hot glue gunned on for extra durability...just in case! You never know with kindergarten babies what will make it through the day!
If you want this shirt, here is the template for the wording...
Here's how you get the wording on...
You can save this template. Then you put it in a Publisher document and flip the picture so that it appears reversed on the screen. Then you print it on iron on transfer paper and it will appear on your shirt the right way!
This is our shirt design for this year!
If you want this one...you do the same thing as the directions above!
Just a quick hello and a Christmas gift tag freebie! If you're looking for a quick and inexpensive way to thank the people who you appreciate here is a cute little gift tag to put on a bottle of hand sanitizer!
I feel like I just might *maybe* be getting the swing of this school year?! Finally, 50 days in...BTW where is the time going this year? I've never had a year go so fast. I digress... I really, honestly think that I just might have the sweetest bunch of kinder babies ever! Seriously, y'all! They are caring and thoughtful! So I've been working really hard on making my stations memorable, fun, and integrating S.T.E.M. into their literacy stations. So here is what we've done this week...
In our Science/Engineering Literacy Station we are designing a tepee. Seriously! This station has been a favorite station amongst the group! I just put the materials out that I thought they could design and engineer with and let them at it! Of course it was beside my life size tepee for an example to since their actual schema of what a tepee is made of is limited...BTW if you need an engaging, purposeful and extremely fun center for Thanksgiving for your lil' kindergarten students...this has hands down been the easiest and most self directed center I've ever had...
You can see their little tepees! Presh, I tell ya! They are so proud of them! They also drew their blueprints in their science journal but somehow I forgot to take a picture of those...#busynewmama! We've also been introducing some new technology into our lil' kindergarten classroom. Here are the two newest ones we've used... Dance Dance Revolution for the PC...
this is all my own opinion and I'm not being compensated in anyway for this...
I tried to get a picture of the pad and the screen...you don't need an actual SmartBoard to use this, just a projector for your PC. I just happen to project my projector onto the SmartBoard. #needbiggerwalls
Anyhoo...you actually create the games with this software. So for the game my kiddos are playing I wanted them to work on beginning sounds. I uploaded the letters I wanted them to work on and the clipart with the beginning sounds and it creates an interactive center that they L.O.V.E! They get to move and get their energy out and they actually stay in their station! I'm working on a game for this dance pad for them to practice sight words!
I may be a little behind but there is a listening device called the Playaway...the books are already loaded to it and you just plug in a set of head phones! What? Easiest listening center EVER! Hands down! Our sweet librarian recently bought several of them! My kiddos think they are the coolest thing ever!
And my own sweet boy goes to this wonderful S.T.E.M. campus...now he is all about designing and working on science. Here is what he did after school today!
Hello all! I know it's been a l.o.n.g. time since I posted...but I've been oh so busy! So...did I tell y'all I'm teaching kindergarten at a S.T.E.M campus this year? It is so fun...and I'm learning SOOOOOO much! Seriously! Everyday those kiddos surprise me with what they're retaining!
Day 1: we ACTUALLY did a real, honest to goodness science journal entry!
Day 2: Glitter Germs Science Exploration...
I seriously LOVE this quote..."Do You Speak Science?"...I smile each and every time I see this in my room!
Y'all this is hands down the best book for introducing your young readers to the theory of S.T.E.M...if you haven't seen it you need to get your hands on it!
I also made a cute little Veteran's Day Emergent Reader that is perfect your young kindergarten readers...It introduces your kindergarten readers to the five branches of the military...if you're interested in it you can find it here! I have so much awesome stuff coming to share with y'all for S.T.E.M. Check back this weekend to see it all!
I can't believe that August is already here and that I start back to work on TUESDAY! AHH! Where did the time go? Did I mention that I haven't even set foot inside my classroom yet?? Yep. That's right! The school is under construction and we aren't allowed to go in yet...but hopefully soon! Which is ok, because the kiddos don't start for another two weeks...
So I've busied myself by creating two new projects...
So it's back to school time! My lil' man's clothes & supplies are bought...I had the little sweet princess at the beginning of July...so we are set to have an awesome year!
As for my classroom, well I'm changing school districts and moving to a school so much closer to home! I am beyond excited! So I decided to do my classroom in a "burlap & birdie" theme! Y'all it is so cute & it goes with turquoise and chicken wire! So very shabby chic! Check out this TpT set from KidsRCute...
I.LOVE.IT! She even made it editable!
So I know that I will be reading a Pete the Cat book for back to school and I created this little emergent reader to work on tracking/color words/sight words and fine motor & coloring skills... (click here if you're interested) to keep my little kinders engaged the first week of school...
Check back next week...I'm working on some burlap shabby chic center signs and an emergent reader to compliment David Goes to School...gotta love a little boy who LOVES trouble! Oh yeah...TpT is having a sale and EVERYTHING.IN.MY.STORE is 20 percent off plus the additional discount TpT gives ya!
Are you ready for Back to School?
Have a great summer!
Brandy
Today is supposed to be a sunny, gorgeous day...and it's our LAST.WEEK.OF.SCHOOL for the year! If you're anything like me than you'll spend a few weeks relaxing, but then quickly fill your days with getting ready for back to school errands/shopping/preparing!
So I just wanted to quickly post my FAVORITE kindergarten Back To Schoolmath FREEBIES on TpT!
To go and grab these just click on the picture and it will link you to the teacher's TpT store!
Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have a great end of the year...and remember, these teachers would LOVE and APPRECIATE it if you leave positive feedback on their FREEBIES! See ya later! Brandy
I am so excited about this summer! I have so many new things planned for next year! So you know what that means as a teacher...I will be VERY.BUSY this summer gearing up and creating new things for next year! I have started designing my new "theme" for my classroom. I am going to go for a nautical, shabby chic theme! I am so excited to get it all finished!
But until I do get it finished I can "pin" my dream classroom and all the new and exciting things that I have planned for next year! My area of concentration to find exciting things for is MATH! I would love to see any ideas you have or any units you've created on TpT! Let me just say that my basket on TpT is mighty full!
Here are my Top 10 Things I Want To Do This Summer...
10. Get this Baby Out!
Did I forget to mention on this lil' blog that I am preggo??That's right...I only have about 4 weeks left! We can't wait to meet our little girl! Brett is so excited to be a big brother! 9. Go to Canton, TX
Ok...I LOVE Canton! It is crazy fun y'all! It is the first "flea" market in the US and it is always a good time! The hubs and I went last summer and it was so much fun! I've started making a list of the things that I *need* for our home! 8. Finish the house...
So we moved into our newly built house in January and we still have a lot things to do! See my #10 as to why... 7. Get my classroom super.mega.crazy organized!
I love cleaning and organizing...so I can't wait to get all of my "stuff" out and start sorting and purging!
6. Finish designing my new "theme" for the classroom...
It'll be nautical/shabby chic. Think navy blue, lime green and white! Can't wait to show y'all pictures when I get it all done! 5. Swim!
We have a pool and I've only been in it once...'Nuff said!
4. Go on a lil' family vaca...
Not sure where but hopefully somewhere that we can be tech free! 3. Read! 2. Start running again...
I haven't been able to run since I've been "preggo" because it's just too hard when I'm tired! But this summer I can't wait to get my run on! 1. Relax!
Check out my math pinterest board...I really am looking to fill this board with exciting ideas!
Brandy
Teaching kiddos to internalize and take responsibility for organizational skills is probably the most important life lesson that we teach each day.
When you look into their little desks you know which kiddos know how to organize their materials and keep up with their work. It seems that those sweet little babies who need help getting organized are also the same kiddos who need help "remembering" to turn their work in.
I came up with a simple solution that can grow with kiddos as they go through elementary and is very simple to create! I simply took all the different strategies/modifications that we normally use and put them ALL.INTO.ONE.LOCATION! Crazy simple! Y'all...hands down one of the simplest and efficient strategies I've ever done!
The front of the binder is simply what "reward" will they get for finishing all of their work. Each time they complete an assignment than they earn four minutes of "play time" at the end of the day. They can earn up to 20 minutes per day. Half the picture represents only two minutes were earned...this is a cheat for me to calculate the time! So on this binder the kiddo earned 18 minutes of dinosaur "free play"!
The inside of the front cover is where I store the pictures that are "to be earned"....
Inside the binder I have one folder for each subject area that I monitor for the student. I put the work for the day on the inside pocket that is labeled "work to be completed" and they are responsible for moving the work over to the "finished" side.When they finish one subject assignment I check the assignments on the "finished" side of the folder. If they have finished the work in the allotted amount of time then they earn a "sticker" for the front cover.
At the end of the day I calculate their time and discuss with them all of the work they completed. The VERY END OF THE DAY is when they earn their "free play time" activity.
I plan to put a zipper pouch in the very front of the binder. If a student has a picture schedule as an accommodation/modification that requires a picture schedule I could/will also put it in the binder...the binder will STAY AT SCHOOL. It will not be used as a communication log for school and home. I want to think of it simply as a "portable desk"! The front will have the materials that they will need FOR.THAT.DAY.ONLY! Yes,this will require a little extra work...but I will have a check sheet for them to keep track of what they are supposed to have inside that pouch for that day. It's a process that has to be taught!
I'll post more pictures as I "perfect" the binder!
The goal is for them to be INDEPENDENT LIFE LONG LEARNERS! This will be a very beneficial skill for them for the rest of their life! To me, that's a win!
What strategies do you use for teaching organizational skills to your kiddos?? I'd love to hear about them!
So for a few months I haven't had much interest with blogging...to be honest, I haven't had much desire to do anything. I originally started blogging because of my graduate classes...shortly after I discovered that I really enjoyed it and that I was able to meet some pretty amazing "friends" through blogging!
Before I start...I have to be honest, I've debated sharing this story with others. My husband and I have prayed about it and prayed that it wasn't true. I now feel that I am at a point where I can share this story. I have accepted that it's happening and have decided to use this as an outlet. Usually, when I'm down or not wanting to do something I use the motto: Suck it up, Buttercup! But my sweet, sweet angel has been having his own battles. In March, we noticed our little angel's hair had "thinned" slightly. So we took his little angel heart to the pediatrician...
MARCH 2014
The pediatrician did some lab work and sent us to a regular dermatologist. Nothing! They said his hair would stop falling out because it was at the end of the cycle. At the beginning of April his hair still hadn't stopped falling out! We were dumbfounded at this point and returned to the doctor. We told them other strange behaviors we notice...excessive thirst, EXTREME hair loss, constant complaining that he was hot, excessive irritability, easily tired...still they said he's fine!
APRIL 2014
Mid April we went to a pediatric dermatologist...who is a saint in our eyes! She immediately said this was NOT normal! She immediately told us that someone his age shouldn't not be having these symptoms and that these were signs of an autoimmune disease...she documented his hair loss and all the other symptoms. Took photos and then sent us to get his head shaved (what little there was left)...so that she could document growth and changes in his hair growth cycle. She was so sincere and honest...even when what she had to tell us wasn't the best of news to deliver. We are now working with a pediatric dermatologist and a pediatric endocrinologist...hopefully soon we will have answers. Until then all we can do is pray! We are so blessed to have this little man in our lives!
IS THIS NOT THE FACE OF AN ANGEL???
Thank you to all of you who have continued to follow my lil' blog and to those of you who have joined while I've been on my hiatus. I am so grateful for all of you! Hopefully, now that we are working with such amazing specialists we will have answers and I can continue to blog!
Have you heard of a digital story telling site called Story Bird?? Well...you need to go there (after you read this post :o))! It is a site that allows you to create your own "books" using photos they have. It was soooo EASY! Seriously! You can create your own projectable books on topics of your units of study! What a great way to teach "writing across pages" at this point in the year with your littles!?! Seriously!
Check mine out...
Here is a free short book that I created for projection on teaching colors to young learners using Story Bird. Please check it out!
What other great digital story telling products do you use?? I'd love to hear about 'em!
Brandy
We are busy studying nocturnal animals in our room. I am really trying to differentiate the work because I am working with PPCD kiddos and Kindergarten Resource...all on different levels and with different needs.I've also realized that my students LOVE all things fall/Halloween...which is great because I do too! We have read bat books, made a bat poster (that corresponds with our bat emergent reader) and made precious bat crafts! We are just going "batty" in my room! Ha! Love it!
We have also been working extremely hard on numbers 1-10 by creating ten frames and using a number line...
These precious little numbers came from the number cards in Cara Carroll's Don't Forget My Number packet...I just cut out the numbers from the Anchor Chart poster pages! Super cute!
I also wanted to make a large ten frame that I could have out at all times...so I made one on the floor using some of that adorable duct tape that is out! I have decided that I can change out the manipulatives that I am using in it to match each thematic unit!
CHALKBOARD ART
A few of my teacher friends at school and I have developed a serious LOVE for chalkboard art...some might say we've developed an obsession with it! I am so in love with it I purchased a HUGE chalkboard at a trade days and the darn thing wouldn't fit in my suv (this might be have something to do with the fact that it was already loaded down with goodies that may or may not have been purchased by myself and another sweet teacher friend) ! One of the other sweet teachers had to carry it back to town in her car! Thank goodness for sweet friends who also have a love for chalkboards! Speaking of chalkboards, the sweet friend of mine who kindly brought my chalkboard back also taught me how to "cure" a chalkboard! Did you know you had to cure those darn things??? Yeah, me neither! According to Cara Carroll, (I don't want to take credit for this but I do want others to know this fabulous advice!!) you should take a piece of chalk and lay it on it's side. Then you rub the chalk all over the chalkboard...kind of like doing a crayon rubbing! This will help you avoid ruining your chalkboard by having lil' remnants of your first drawing remaining on your precious chalkboard!
This board was drawn by my precious friend Lori! She is awesome!
Sight Words
My lil' man also gave me an AHA moment the other day at school...I don't know about you but I am always looking for new ways to work on sight words! Well my sweet lil' man was playing with the large foam blocks in my room and said to me "Mama, tell me if you can read this word?"...he likes to play like he's the teacher and I'm the student...
Isn't that so clever?? Sometimes our best ideas come from kiddos! Love it!
What fun things are you doing for the autumn season? Do you have any tips on sight word instruction?? I would love to hear them!
I LOVE all things fall...I love blankets, leaves, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin spice coffee, football, decorations, and cold southern nights...umm...well living in southeast Texas that last one is kind of a stretch...but hey, when we do get one, I LOVE it (and just to let ya' know the weather channel says we'll be getting our 1st one next weekend!!!)! I found a great recipe on Pinterest for pumpkin spice muffins...3 ingredients: 100% pure pumpkin in a 15 ounce can, one box spice cake mix, and 1 cup of water. Mix together and then put in a muffin pan...it makes 24 muffins! Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes! A little piece of heaven in my mouth! I did add cream cheese icing and it was unbelievably yummy!
In my room, we have been working on any and all things fall. Usually I organize each week and focus on one topic: leaves, apples, bats and then pumpkins. But this year I just can't help it...I'm ready for fall weather so I'm just "mushing" it all together! Fall makes me feel so happy and calm!
I also managed to created a L.O.W. FREEBIE for G...super cute! It is a craft of a guitar and I made the sentence to go with!
I love...love...love teaching simple sentences. There is this cute little ditty on unitedstreaming that has lyrics of " a simple sentence is a noun and a verb...a noun and a verb...a simple sentence is a noun and a verb...to make a simple sentence"! I love that song (I wish I could find it to link to but you can search Unitedstreaming)! In my experience, when you are working with struggling writers if you break down the most simple of thoughts for writer's workshop for them and explain what a subject/noun and a verb/predicate is....they are less afraid to write! By doing this you are taking away the overwhelming thought that they have to have LOTS of words...this is way less intimidating! I usually start this off by explaining that a noun is a person/place/thing and that a verb is what the noun is doing. I use a lot of simple examples that I can easily illustrate...so this year I am using bats to start this topic. Bats hang. Bats fly. Bats sleep...you get the picture...right?
This is a little simple sentence reader I created that the students can illustrate and then on the last page create their own simple sentence. The pattern for the adorable bat craftivity comes with it...if you are interested it is here!
YouTube has some awesome videos for explaining nouns and verbs as well...here is one that I love!
And here is a great verb song from YouTube...
Also I have to mention that my lil' man started i9 football...which is supposed to be a flag football league...but those little guys must not have got the memo because there was a whole lotta tacklin' going on out there. My little man got to run the ball in and he played so good! But...ummm...he may not have realized that it was a real game because at the end of the game he kinda of sorta might have yelled out "Who's ready to play some football?"...uhhh....did I mention the game was OVER and his team had won?? We *might* need to work on that....
.JPG)
Posts
