IT'S HERE! The Back 2 School Bloghop and Giveaway!!!

IT'S HERE!!! The time has come for the Back 2 School Bloghop and Giveaway!

The other bloggers and I are SO pumped to be a part of this bloghop and giveaway! Listed below are all of the amazingly fantastic teacher bloggers that agreed to be involved!!

       

       

       

       

       

       

During back to school time, any teacher can use new back to school advice and ideas right? 

RIGHT!! 

So this bloghop/giveaway is going to benefit you in 2 ways:

1. You could win over $100 worth of TPT products from some amazing bloggers! Check out the rafflecopter below to enter. We will choose 5 winners at the end of the bloghop on August 13th! This gives you TONS of chances to enter.

2. Follow the bloghop each day to a new blog that will give you tons of advice and ideas, in addition to lots of FREEBIES!

Awesome right?

So it all starts with me! I LOVE LOVE LOVE back to school time! Maybe it is the OCD in me or the color-coordinator in me, but having all of my goodies nice and neat really makes my heart sing (classroom pictures to come)! 

It's a new year! So I'm going to be telling you about my typical day in the classroom. Watch out for freebies along the way :)

8:45-9:05 Arrival and Morning Meeting
I love the beginning of the day! My babies are all cute and sleepy and calm, and they are just happy to see each other!

My students have a quite a few jobs to take care of in the morning, but it is nothing that they cannot handle. When they come in, I ask them to:

*Hang up their backpack/coat
*Show me their folder (for notes, etc.), then put it in their mailbox
*Make their lunch choice
*Tap their name/picture (attendance)
*Sit down at their table and do morning work (usually an interactive worksheet/activity)

I love Mrs. Wills' Read, Trace, Glue and Draw activities. Handwriting practice, fine motor work, and coloring? What's better! I also love using Vickie Plant's I Can Sort from A to Z letter sorting activities. I love that these morning work options are interactive and make them think, but I don't have to give directions. Win-win!

My students are almost always able to complete all of these tasks each day and have this routine mastered in about a month!

9:05-9:20 Morning Meeting and Calendar

I am a big believer in transitions! It saves my voice and gives my kiddos the responsibility of knowing what they are supposed to do.

Our announcements start at 9:05 and generally last 2-3 minutes. After the announcements, I play a "good morning" song. My kids know to clean up and come up to the carpet. It's super motivating because the kids want to come up and sing and dance!

We greet each other, have our 4-5 "sharers" for the day, and then start calendar!

I am so excited to be using Miss Kindergarten's Interactive Calendar Notebook! I have been waiting for something like this for my kinder babies. 

This way my calendar helper and my other kiddos are ALL involved in calendar!

(If you are looking for a more detailed calendar activity that I unfortunately just do not have time for anymore, check out my calendar journals in my TPT store!

9:25-10:25 Math Workshop

I LOVE teaching math :) My kiddos love it too! I am trying all kinds of new things this year and am so excited to use DeeDee Wills and Deanna Jump's Guided Kinders Math Units! My team and I splurged and got these amazing units!

 

I am planning on following their daily schedule included in the units (fluency review, mini-lesson, whole group, independent practice), plus math stations.

 Math stations are one of my students favorite times of the day! I allow them to choose their own math stations, as long as I see they are making it around the all of the games. Some of the math stations that I use at the beginning of the year are from my Oh What Fun! K.CC.1 and Number Writing for Me K.CC.3 packs. This little guy is using playing a what number comes next game.  

As you can see from the picture, I set up my math stations as trays at each table and students choose which table to go to. We spend about 20 minutes at math stations each day. I have my kiddos try to go to two tables each day.

I assign my tables by colors, which makes it very easy for my kiddos to transition. I made new table signs this year that I attach from the ceiling above the table, and you can have them for free here!

10:25-10:50 Snack, Restroom Break, and Morning Recess

My team and I have this part of the day down to a science! Two classes go right out at 10:25. The other two eat snack and take our restroom break. At 10:35, the snack classes go outside. So all four classes are together for 5 minutes. Then at 10:40, the first two classes go in for snack and restroom. It is a perfect amount of time and gets in all the important stuff before that all important reading block!

10:50-11:50 Reading Workshop

Reading is so much fun with kindergartners! We have a packed schedule, but we work hard to get it all in!

We start with a mini-lesson and read-aloud. I try to make this time 10-15 minutes at the most. I always make my read-alouds super engaging, so my kiddos can usually last for 15 minutes to get in the book and the skill.

Then we have me-time (independent reading) and we-time (partner reading). We start at 5 minutes, and gradually make it to 20 by the end of the year. 

The love their independent reading time because they have their just-right books that they can be successful with. But their partner reading is definitely the favorite. I give them these talkers bookmarks to make sure they know how to talk about a book!

After me-time and we-time, we do some shared reading/poetry. I use Mrs. Wills poetry stations. They are created for children, and work on all kinds of early reading skills, such as beginning/middle/ending letter sounds, rhyming, syllables, and more. I LOVE them! 

During this time we could also do predictable charts, shared writing, group games, and independent work.

We end our reading workshop with literacy stations. Although I let my kiddos choose math stations, I choose their literacy stations. If I didn't we would all be fighting over the computers and tablets!

We go to one literacy station a day for 15 minutes, because each station has multiple activities. Our stations are:

*Computer station

*Tablet station

*Listening station

*Sight word station

*ABC station

*Handwriting station (honestly it's a favorite!)

*Meet with Teacher (because if I pull them away from the station they are engaged and interested in, I'm in trouble!)

There are usually 2-4 kids at each station. Since I have 6 computers and 6 tablets (I know I'm a lucky girl!), they usually hit these stations twice a week.

11:50-12:50 Specials

This is my break time! My kiddos go to PE everyday, art twice a week, music twice a week, and library once a week!

12:50-1:20 Lunch

Lunch time!

1:20-1:50 Rest and Refuel

My kiddos and I take a quick restroom break and then we have our rest/refuel time. At the beginning of the year, this is truly nap time. The kids are tired and they need the rest. The others are reading or just relaxing with a fidget. No talking allowed!

I use this time for my individual assessments, small group work, character ed. groups, or really anything else!

Once the year goes on, it turns more into an extended math/literacy stations time.

1:50-2:20 Science/Social Studies

Our science and social studies units switch off. This is a really fun time of the day for my kinders because it is super hands-on! 

Our very first unit is about diversity and how we are all special! We talk about our beautiful skin colors and write our class promise!

2:20-2:35 Afternoon Recess

All 4 classes go out to recess together!

2:35-3:15 Writer's Workshop

Once again, my girls DeeDee and Deanna have made a wonderful writing resource, Writing Through the Year. I used it last year and could not believe the amazing progress that my students made! 

It really gives the kiddos a strong foundation for the skills they need to be writers! And it is also an awesome pack because it can be used as a resource or as your main writing curriculum. I use it more as a strong resource :)

We start with a 5-10 minute mini-lesson, where I practice using a writing skill and really strongly model my writing practices for them. Then, the kiddos go write independently, and I conference with 3-4 kids each day.

My writer's workshop block changes throughout the year. In the beginning, they only do independent writing for 5-7 minutes, and in the end, they can write for up to 25-30 minutes! They really can!

We always spend the last 5-10 minutes sharing. My kiddos work really hard on their books so they can have something special to share.

3:15-3:45 Learning Centers

This is, without a doubt, my kiddos favorite part of the day...learning centers! It is so important for kids to still have time to play, so we make sure we have at least 30 minutes of time for it everyday!

The math center is always fun! The kiddos love the opportunity to use the manipulatives in a silly way, or to just play math games! 

The home center is by far the most popular! My kiddos love dressing up, taking care of babies, and cooking in the kitchen. Unfortunately, we don't have too many kitchen toys to play with! If you are feeling generous, my project on Donor's Choose is working to get my students more things for dramatic play!

This is the blocks center! It's also a favorite!

As I said before, we have 6 computers and 6 tablets. They honestly are not super popular! The kiddos would much rather be playing house, building a bridge, or making a bracelet!

My sensory table is a lot of fun! We change in the materials in there every few months, and the kids just love filling and emptying the cups!

My art center is another favorite. I allow my kids to use anything they want, as long as it is meaningful...i.e., you cannot use 20 pipe cleaners to make a bracelet! My kids get so creative! 

Last is the writing center! I have calendars, notepads, dry erase boards and more for my kiddos to write to their heart's content!

3:45-4:00 Pack-Up and Dismissal

After cleaning up centers, my kiddos do their dismissal routine. Their jobs are to:

*Pack their folder neatly!

*Pack and put on their backpack/coat

*Stack their chair

*Pick up their floor

*Wait patiently on the carpet!

We usually end up having 5 minutes or so of extra time, so we usually do a fun song/dance or some fluency review! It's a lot of fun!

And HERE is the good part :) The giveaway! Enter below. You have TONS of chances for entries!! I will notify the winners on August 14th! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to stop by Live, Laugh, I Love Kindergarten for Day 2 of the bloghop! She is amazing :)

Kindergarten Screening freebie, Back 2 School Bloghop/Giveaway and a TPT Sale!

I don't know about anyone else, but I am so not about getting up at 6AM everyday. This trying to get used to getting up early again SUCKS! 

But for today, it was for a good reason. We have kindergarten screening today! All (hopefully all) of the kindergartners for this fall come in for an hour session to get screened socially/emotionally, academically, and for gross/fine motor skills. 

It is amazing! It is so good to meet the kiddos and spend an extended period of time with them to get a glimpse of what we can expect during the school year.

After screening, we use all of the information we received to make balanced classes. It is SUCH an awesome system! This way certain behaviors, social differences, friendships, high/low academics can all be addressed!

I attached our academic portion of the screening for free here!

Next, remember the Back 2 School Bloghop/Giveaway is coming up soon!

Check back in on Friday for the fun!!

Last, the Blast Off Back to School Sale on TPT is happening August 4th-5th! 

Everything in my store will be 20% off, and using TPT's code, you will get a total of 28% off of all my store items! YAY! I know I have a ton of stuff on my wishlist :)

Bye for now!

Back to School Mode!

Hey all! Hope you are enjoying the last few days of summer. It's down to days now! AHH! I am trying to soak up as much sun as I can, and spend lots of time with this foster pup! 

Isn't she the cutest? How the heck does she lay like this?? Hopefully girlfriend will get adopted soon!

But unfortunately school is calling me back. Its actually screaming at me to come back. The chaos that is my classroom right now is making my skin crawl. Look at this mess!!

I'm hyperventilating a little....I moved classrooms this year, just right across the hall. But apparently moving 10 feet is a bigger deal than I realized :(

However, I knew where I wanted most of my stuff before I moved it! I don't know if you all have read Debbie Diller's book, Spaces and Places: Designing Classrooms for Literacy, but it is AMAZING.

I learned so much about how classroom organization and management of spaces can affect your classroom environment! Debbie suggests that you make your classroom plan before you touch your furniture. 

I think we know that as teachers who want the perfectly functioning classroom, we tend to *ahem* change our minds fairly often. She says to use sticky notes to create a topographical map of your classroom, that way you can move everything without straining your muscles (or without redrawing a map of your classroom 200 times)!

I have done this in the past, but have now found something even better! It's a website that you can use for free called floorplanner.com. It gives you any classroom furniture you could use/need, and also gives you a 3D view of what it looks like! So awesome!

I'll keep updating you as my classroom gets more and more put together :)

For the exciting news, make sure that you come check back in August 1st! Myself and tons of other bloggers have gotten together to create a bloghop/giveaway that is going to be AMAZING!

I've seen some of the products in the giveaway and they are fantastic. You do NOT want to miss this!!

Have a great Sunday!

Back To School Linky: Behavior Management

I was perusing Pinterest the other day and found this fun linky for Back School ideas. Mrs. D's Corner and Miss V's Busy Bees are hosting a Back to School Weekly Linky and it looks super fun!

So week 1 is all about behavior management! This is something that I am ALL ABOUT people. As a now 4th year teacher, there is a TON that I still have to learn about being a teacher, but my classroom management is something that I often get compliments on from parents, other teachers, and administrators.

I set HIGH expectations for my kiddos from the very first day of school. I find that it is much better to be stern and stick to the rules from the beginning to have a well behaved class all year long!

Hallway Management
I feel like hallway management is a huge part of behavior management. I make a HUGE deal out of the hallway being the pathway to the "learning zone" and we will not be distracting other students while they are learning. There are a few ways that I make this happen with my kinder babies!

Line-up Songs
I love line up songs! They are such a fun way to get your kiddos ready and quiet to enter the hallway. I change them up all the time so that they never get bored with what we are singing. These are a few of my favorites:

Get them for free here!!

Line Order
I am a big believer in having a line order. Butting in line, shoving to be first, crying about being last....I'm having none of that. My kindergartners start with line order the first day of school and they CAN do it. They need a lot of help in the beginning, with numbers/names on the floor to show them where to stand, but they catch on quick! 

(These are my feet from last year. They worked fine, but I'll definitely change to something smaller this year as these fell off pretty quickly!)

When I taught 1st/2nd grade, I would send the line leader to the end of the line each week. This gave everyone the chance to be first. But with my kinders, we just choose a new line leader each month and the rest of the line stays the same. These little guys don't know any different and they honestly DON'T CARE. Having the same spot all year keeps my behavior problems and talking in the hall to almost zero!

Mystery Walker
Mystery walkers are such a great way to encourage good hallway behavior! I have a box with each kiddos name on a stick in it that I carry with me. At the door, I choose a stick and cover it with my hand. If the kiddo shows good hallway behavior, they get a point (Class Dojo, I'll explain below). If not, I don't acknowledge them at all, and they go back in the box. I want to reward good behavior, not make a child feel bad!

I just make it a habit to carry the box wherever I go! As a special treat, I include a stick that says "whole class" and obviously, if the whole class has good behavior, we all get a point! This is the only time that I let them know if they did not earn it.

Behavior Management
These are the actual tools I use as behavior management in the classroom. I use a multitude of different things, all working together to create a wonderful, well behaved class. Obviously, not every management tool is going to work for every student, but there are what work best for me!

Class Dojo
I love love love Class Dojo! If you have never heard of it, Class Dojo is an online behavior management tool and it's FREE! You just have to sign up for an account, set up your class, and then you are good to go!!

 This is the set-up for my class for last year with no points. It displays the child's first name, their dojo and their points. This next screen shows the kiddos with some points. 

Students can get points for WHATEVER you want them to!  They are customizable! I made them according to school rules, character traits, or something I wanted the kiddos to work on (like superstar pictures)!

You can also make different awards worth different amounts. For example, kindness is a BIG deal to me. So if I catch a kiddo being kind, in addition to putting a ribbon on the kindness wreath, they also get 2 points! The possibilities are endless. There is also an option to add negative points, but I choose not to do this. I find this is much more successful when I keep it positive!

This website is also phenomenal because you can track your kiddos behavior!! This is a much more beneficial aspect of the website if you are using both positive and negative, but I like to reward my kiddos who are being extra kind or extra responsible.

The last wonderful part of this website is the ability to communicate with parents. You can send home reports daily, weekly, monthly, etc. They can see what behaviors their child was awarded what day and at what time.  It's a great tool for conferences! 

They way that I use Class Dojo in my classroom is for the students to reach a goal of 50 points. When they get 50 points, they get a reward (prize box, coupon, etc.). Then I reset their Dojo points to zero, and they start all over again. This way, NO ONE KNOWS if a certain special friend takes much longer to get to their reward than others. They just get super excited for whoever reaches their goal, whenever they reach it!

As you can tell, I'm a HUGE fan! I've used clip charts in the past and they have worked just fine for me. I just feel that this is a better fit for me as a teacher!

Kindness Wreath
Out of all of the traits that I instill in my kiddos throughout the year, kindness is the most important to me! I really praise my students when they are being kind! I use this kindness wreath as a symbol of each kind act a student has performed. We start with an empty wreath at the beginning of the year, and by the end, it is full of ribbons!! I make a HUGE deal out of getting to put a ribbon on the wreath, meaning maybe only once or twice a day. Thanks to Debbie Clement for the idea!



Turn-A-Letter
In addition to having an individualized behavior management system, I also have a whole-class management system. Using turn-a-letter, my kiddos are working together as a class to earn a party. Each time they receive a compliment, or are super-well behaved as a whole class, they get to turn a letter. In the end, the letters all spell out what type of party we have!

This year we had: ice cream party, popcorn party, movie party, glow in the dark party, Frozen party, popsicle party, no shoes party, etc. I'm so frustrated I don't have a picture to show it to you in action. I'll find one soon!!

Character Education
I am so into character education it's not even funny. I integrate character ed. into pretty much any teaching situation. That's how important I think it is! I teach it all year long because I feel that it is  a pivotal part of behavior management.

I'm working on a character education pack that will hopefully be finished by the school year! Depends on how much of my pool time I want to squander :)

(Coming SOON!!!!!)

Happy summer! I don't know about you all, but as much as I love talking about school, I still value my precious summertime.

Link up for next week!