Missing Person Found!! Monday Made-It (And some FREEBIES)

So I am here to tell you that I am not a missing person. Although, not blogging for 6 MONTHS would almost make me one. I'm so sorry for my long absence. I had a special friend in my class this year, and it was really all I could do to actually make it in the door each morning, much less think about this little blog. But I'm back, and I'm definitely going to be better about blogging more often :)

I've been teaching summer school, and taking the opportunity to get some stuff ready for next year! I FINALLY get to teach the same grade level two years in a row. Kindergarten again next year and I couldn't be more excited! These are some of the things I've been getting ready for next year! (Don't worry, I only stay for an extra 30 minutes each day!! I'm not wasting my precious summer!)

I purchased DeeDee Wills' Poetry Station and Shared Reading Complete Set for next year! 

Being new to kindergarten this year, I bought her poetry pack for August/September with every intention of continuing on throughout the year as my students LOVED it! I just couldn't get it together to have them all set and ready. So, I'm doing it this summer!!

This is just some of my progress. I've managed to cut out/laminate all of the little pieces, and am working on the actual poems on sentence strips right now. I'm about 1/3 the way done! That's pretty good right?

I also convinced my K team that we had to have DeeDee Wills and Deanna Jump's math and writing complete sets! I mean come on, these ladies are amazing! And if you get just one unit, you know you're going to love and it and will be mad at yourself for wasting your money on one when you want the whole pack :) 

I didn't want to overwhelm myself, but had a little time for pool reading, so I've completely read through Units 1-5 on DW and DJ's Guided Kinder's: Math Units.

These units are AMAZING. I'm not kidding, I cannot wait to see how much more and how much faster my kiddos grow in their mathematical abilities because of this amazing resource. Not only does it give you detailed lesson plans, but it also organizes and builds on itself in a way that is easy for kids to understand, easy to differentiate, and easy for teachers to prepare. I LOVE IT!

I think I have all of the materials ready for the first 4 units, which should hopefully last me until December(ish). I am just beyond excited to start this in August!

We also purchased DJ and DW's Writer's Workshop: Writing Through the Year pack too! I am also super excited to use this wonderful resource. 



So far, I have managed to get through the first three units. Once again, I am just amazed at how wonderful these ladies are at making fluid lessons that push students, in addition to building off of the unit before. Writing was my biggest struggle as a kindergarten teacher because I felt as if I was modeling too much of what my students were not ready for. These lessons are very developmentally appropriate!



So, now onto my Monday Made-It! I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics to show you some projects I've been working on!



This project is something that I've wanted to make for a LONG time. A new prize box! I'd been waiting and waiting for the wooden treasure chests at Hobby Lobby or Michaels to go on sale, but the more I thought about my little kinder babies, I think if that got dropped it would shatter. So, on to plan B!

Michael's was having a sale on their containers, so I got this guy! It is perfect for a prize box because it is big enough to hold everything, and has a snap lid. My only concern was that it was clear. With a little sparkly scrapbook paper, problem solved! 

This was honestly one of the easiest projects I've done. I just attached the scrapbook paper with scotch tape! My kiddos are not going to be in this that often, and when they are, they won't be ripping at the sides (hopefully haha!). And since the box will be full and you won't see it anyway, I put the tape on the inside. 

This is what the box looks like with a few new prizes in it! Since the box is not totally square, the paper did not go all the way to the edges, but I think it still looks good!

Then I just needed to finish the lid! I put some extra sparkle paper on it and made a little prize box label. You can download it for free here (thanks Creative Clips for the border and Kevin and Amanda for the font!)! 

I feel like it turned out really nice! I'm happy and I'm sure my kiddos will be too with all the lovely prizes they'll earn :) Total cost of this project: $15. ($10 for the box, $5 for the scrapbook paper)



After having students the last few years that struggled with emotional regulation, I knew that for next year, I wanted more resources available in my room to help my students calm themselves down. I had seen this idea of a calming jar on Pinterest before, and had failed at making it! 



But I finally found an easy way to make this calming jar that I didn't mess up, from Juggling with Kids. It was so easy! All you need is food coloring, some kind of jar/bottle, glitter glue, and warm water! 

I ended up using Gatorade bottles. (Glass in a K classroom? I think not!) For each bottle I added 3 cups of warm water (it needs to be warm/hot to melt the glue), half the bottle of glitter glue (I used Elmer's), and 3-4 drops of food coloring. Just shake/stir to mix. Then I added just a tad more water at the end, but don't make it totally full or the kids can't shake and mix the glitter!

I think they turned out great! These pictures were taken about 1 minute after shaking, and it takes about 5 minutes for the glitter to settle completely. Total cost for this project: $7. ($3 for the glitter glue and $4 for the food coloring)

So I have been reading The Next Step in Guided Reading: Focused Assessments and Targeted Lessons for Helping Every Student Become a Better Reader. I bought it last summer and briefly read through it, but I really wanted to delve more into it! 


After reading the chapter about emergent readers, and learning that the fastest way for students to pick up letters and letter sounds is for them to: a) trace the letter everyday and b) see the same pictures for sounds on everything (wall letters, ABC charts, tracing books, etc.). Since I couldn't find one on TPT that I liked, I made my own!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Now-I-Know-My-ABCs-ABC-Posters-Tracing-Books-and-Charts-1311217

Now I Know My ABC's is a little 83 page pack I made that includes large ABC posters to hang on your wall, ABC tracing books in color and black and white, and an ABC chart for student reference! 
It is on sale on TPT for 1/2 off today and tomorrow only! And the ABC chart is included as a freebie in the preview file :)

Have a great Monday! I'm so jealous of those of  you in VEGAS!

Peek at my Week! 1/27 and Freebies!

So I have basically been a missing person for over a month! I have absolutely no excuse. Winter Break and at least 5 snow days were thrown in there. But, I'm back and would love to share our plans for the week!

We have begun our talk curriculum unit and are really delving into how to talk to partners. I have modeled it with other teachers, had them practice with me and each other, given them prompts, practiced with read-alouds and more....but I will tell you none of this really got them talking. They all sort of tried, but they basically sat with their partner and read books to each other.

What got them talking? VIDEOTAPING THEM. So simple. I happened to have a 2 minute free window when I was done with my conferring during our partner block and saw two girls in my class just nailing their talk about their story. I videotaped them on my iPad and showed the class and all of a sudden, I have little superstar talkers!

We are doing so well that I get to show videos of my little experts almost everyday! I want to make sure that they are still independent when I'm not watching/videotaping them, so I made these little bookmarks to remind them of what they can say to each other.

You can get them here!

In math, we are starting our geometry unit! Our scope and sequence doesn't have us starting shapes until now (weird!). But anyway, we have been learning all about 2-D shapes and sides/corners!

I use this great song to help them relate the shapes to the environment.



I also found TONS of freebies on TPT that I'm using as math stations this week. They are on my lesson plans!

I also made two subtraction games using Dollar Tree finds for my math stations. You can get Fancy Hearts Subtraction and How Many Hearts? here and here! Both games practice basic subtraction skills.

 

 

My last math station game comes from my newest product that gives students opportunities to work towards mastery of addition skills covering all K.OA CCSS. You can check it out here! You can check out On A Mission for Addition! I will be posting pictures of my kiddos playing the games over the next few weeks.

Here are my lesson plans for the week. I have an extended observation, our 100th day, 2 birthdays, Bring Your Parents to School Day, and buddy time. It's going to be quite a week :)

 Enjoy the last of January!

Peek at my Week 12/15

The week before break....sigh. The behavior....sigh. These babies just do not do well with changes in their schedule. It's partially my fault. I've made them creatures of habit, and being out of their routine is a big fat no-no for them!

But anyway, we had a fantastic last week learning about Hanukkah and Kwanzaa (didn't quite get to Diwali, we'll hit it after break!). I have a post all ready to go to talk about all of the holiday fun we've had at the end of the week :) This week, we are going to finish Kwanzaa, and learn about Las Posadas and Christmas! My kiddos have really enjoyed learning about the different traditions.

We are still working on really hitting the sight words hard. Have you seen the Have Fun Teaching songs for sight words? They are awesome! I used them for letters and now sight words. I totally get that best practice is for students to experience sight words in their reading BUT some repetitive practice is necessary too!!

And this Harry Kindergarten sight word rap is so cute! It is introducing a lot of sight words at the same time, but it is also a fun, engaging transition song!

I am going to start playing this song as a transition into our reading block! We are going to be learning a bunch of new sight word games this week.

We will also be focusing on subtraction! We will be doing a lot of story problems in our math journals to practice.

Lots going on this week, so here is a Peek at my Week!

Have a great last week before break!

Peek and My Week! 12/9

So I don't know about you, but this is about the time of the year when I look at my curriculum and think AHH? I'm supposed to be where???

So I took a deep breath and spent my snow day Friday (after spending half the day sleeping and reading Insurgent of course) collecting myself and preparing to buckle down these next 2 weeks (yeah right!).

But I'm going to try! We are going to really hit the sight words hard these next two weeks because I would love to start working on medial vowels/blending when I get back in January. I don't know about you all, but I have a TON of assessments that need to be done before I leave and I don't know when I'm going to fit them all in!!

I don't have the energy to post up all of the crafts and activities, so I will after we do them :)

I'm linking up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for a Peek at My Week!

Here are my plans for this week...

Enjoy your week! Only 2 weeks till Christmas break :)

TPT Playlist and a Peek at my Week

So my wish list for the HUGE TPT Cyber Monday and Tuesday sale is entirely too long, but I'm so excited for the discounts!!!

So I'm participating in the Deck the Halls linky with Bunting, Books and Bainbridge for my TPT playlist!


So I'll begin with some of my best-sellers....Oh Management, Oh Management!

These behavior charts are themed for tons of different themed classrooms. The pack not only includes the chart itself, but also an independent behavior sheet, sheet to make better choices, and an explanation of expectations for parents!

And now It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Reading...

These are all products to help your kiddos become better readers, whether it is through sight words, spelling patterns, or cute songs about the farm!

Last but not least is Walking in a Math Wonderland...

These products are not only wonderful for teaching important math skills, but are also aligned to the CCSS!

And last but not least, I'm linking up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten for a Peek at my Week!

I'm getting reared up for a tough 3 weeks for my kiddos. Holidays always get them crazy! We are just going to have to pack in a ton of learning :)

You can see my plans here :)

Have a fantastic week!

Peek at my Week...late 11/11

I moved into my apartment this weekend so my plans are just getting done now. And I have lots to do so I am just going to post my plans and get back to unpacking :)

Link up with Mrs. Wills Kindergarten and do the same!

Here are my plans:

My Weekly Schedule, Currently, and a Peek at my Week!

Well I have to say...my week ended quite nicely. I got my kids hopped up on sugar and sent them off for Halloween fun and NO SCHOOL FRIDAY! Woo :) It was records day for me, but that's still a day off in my book. And I don't know about you other teachers, but I NEVER get school time to just work on my room, and my finishing my report cards early, I had 6 uninterrupted hours to just organize and work!

So I got my lesson plans done early, and it gave me time to check out some linky parties!

The first one is from Susan at Thank God It's First Grade called What's Your Schedule? I thought this was such a good idea! I love seeing how other teachers organize their day. I unfortunately have no control over my schedule, but I like to see what others do.

 

This is my schedule. I will preface it by saying I don't love it! But it's what I have to live with so I make it work :)

 

 

 

8:45-9:15 Arrival, Announcements, Morning Work, and Jobs

 

This part of my day I like! First of all, I am NOT a morning person and being a late start school is fantastic. The kiddos are all wide awake and ready to learn when they get to school.

 

So when my kiddos get to school, they do their morning routine and start their morning work. Every morning except for Fridays, we do DeeDee Wills' Read, Trace, Glue, and Draw. I bought all three of her bundles and let me tell you...these babies are gold!

 

 

First of all, the kiddos know what to do EVERY DAY. No more Miss M, Miss M, how do I do this? Drove me crazy! Now my kiddos know what to do every single day. Second, this not only helps my kiddos with handwriting, but improves their cutting skills, one to one correspondence, left to right directionality, reverse sweep, sight words, making detailed illustrations, counting, etc. I could go on and on! Try them out!

 

When they finish their morning work, they are allowed to play any of our math station/literacy station games until I start our morning song for calendar.

 

9:15-9:55 Calendar and Math Workshop

 

Yes...I know. 40 minutes for calendar and math...its awful. But it's what I have to work with, so I make it happen. I think calendar is important enough to still take up 15 minutes of our math time because not only are we practicing literacy/math skills, it is am important life skill that I am not going to keep them from learning!

 

Anywho, that leaves us with about 25 minutes for math. Generally, this means that I either do mini-lesson/whole group activity, or mini-lesson/math stations. We do not have time to do all three. And I am usually five minutes late to specials...whoops :)

 

9:55-10:50 Specials

 

10:50-12:00 Reader's Workshop

 

We spend the first 15 minutes of reader's workshop having snack, doing a bathroom break, and watching ABC/character education videos.

 

Then, we do our mini lesson, me time (independent reading), we time (partner/book tub reading), and our read-aloud lesson.

 

12:00-12:25 Literacy Stations

 

My kiddos love these! Our literacy stations include computer station, ABC station, Word Work station, listening station, and poetry station.

 

During all of reader's workshop and literacy stations I am pulling groups (minus the mini lesson and read-aloud). I drill routines into my kiddos and I trust them to do what they need to do while I'm busy with their friends. Plus, they LOVE coming to my table to work with me, so no one wants to misbehave and lose the privilege!

 

12:25-1:05 Writer's Workshop

 

We always start writer's workshop with a mini lesson, and then my kiddos get right to work. They honestly work the whole time. I work really hard to get them excited about books and excited about their stories and they groan when I tell them time is up! I spend writing time conferring with individual students. Right now, my kiddos are in such different places that I cannot really pull writing groups, but eventually, I will do that too!

 

Later in the year when the kiddos are better readers and writers, the literacy stations time will dissolve into reader's and writer's workshop.

 

1:05-1:35 Lunch

 

1:35-1:45 Bathroom Break

 

1:45-2:10 Rest Time/Academic Lab

 

This time is really pivotal for my kiddos. Having a full day kindergarten program, my kiddos need this time of rest. For the first few months, it is just that...rest time. Then, it turns into an academic lab, where students are working on individual reading/math/writing skills.

 

2:10-2:35 Science/Social Studies

 

I switch off teaching science and social studies. We spend a few weeks on each unit and then move into the other subject. We don't have time in the day nor enough material to teach both at the same time.

 

2:35-3:05 Recess

 

3:05-3:45 Learning Centers

 

This is awesome time for my kiddos to learn how to collaborate and play together, build relationships, and practice those skills we are learning throughout the day. It is also a time when I can pull kiddos for extra help. Since I have such minimal time for math, many times I use this part of the day to pull math groups.

 

3:45-4:00 Pack Up and Dismissal

 

So that's my day! Not my ideal schedule, but we manage to make it work! Head on over to Susan's blog and share yours!

 

Next is November Currently from Oh' Boy Fourth Grade! These are so fun to do!

 

 

Listening...to Wild Wild West! I haven't watched this movie in years :)

 

Loving...that I am moving into my new apartment next weekend! It is actually final now :) Woo!

 

Thinking...I need to start packing!

 

Wanting...To not do this grad school project due tomorrow. My partner and I have worked on it for so long already I just want it to be finished!

 

Needing...to get motivated! I have a lot to do today!

 

A Yummy Pin...I've seen this one before, but they just look so good!!! Cheddar biscuits :) Yum! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/170714642097407544/

And last, a peek at my week! We have a late start day (2 hour delay) for PD on Wednesday and a special Veteran's day assembly on Friday, so it's a little different than usual. Link up over at Mrs. Wills Kindergarten!

 

 

Here are my plans! Starting three new units this week :(

And if you are looking for any Veteran's Day activities, check out my Honoring Our Soldiers pack!

Enjoy your week!