Cara Carroll

An Oldie, But Goodie

One of my favorite {& most stressful} things about teaching Kindergarten is welcoming a ton of different ability levels at the beginning of each year.  I LOVE how much progress ALL the kids make in such a short amount of time and it’s AMAZING to see the growth they make in a year!!!  Each year I totally change the way I teach.  I don’t teach to the same kids/dynamics/personalities/abilities/interests/attention spans every year, so things HAVE to change.  What worked one year might not be so fitting for the group I’m blessed with the next.  I don’t really look back at old plans, copy & paste, and call it a day.  Each group of kids is different, so I really have to plan for the group I have in the PRESENT. One thing that has remained constant since my first year teaching 12 years ago is this little resource from Creative Teaching Press… CTP_2332 Y’all.  For real.  Tattered, dog-eared pages & all.  It’s still one of my favorites.  An oldie, but goodie for sure.  There are some great, SUPER easy to implement, quick activities to help introduce and reinforce phonemic awareness concepts. At the beginning of each year I keep this little resource handy because I love to transition with a lot of these activities. One of our favorite little transition activities is the often used and very loved Erase-a-Rhyme activity.  My kids LOVE this one every.single.year.  Since I love to doodle…even when it looks like a hot mess…this is the perfect little activity to whip out during transitions. photo (21) I say a word.  They erase the word that rhymes.  Quick. Simple. Easy. Effective.  {Add your adjective here}. Speaking of loving to doodle, I recently started to turn mine into clipart.  Don’t judge.  I’m not an artist.  I’m sure the clipartists of the world are shaking their head at my attempts right this very moment.  But if you’re obsessed with clipart as much as me…and own more than  you can count…then maybe you want to add another set of doodles to your collection.  If that’s the case, just leave a comment {1 only, please!} and I’ll choose 3 winners {before bedtime tonight!} at random.  Winners will get all 3 sets of doodles 🙂  Slide1Apple Babies CoverFall Fun Doodles 1A Now it’s time for Sons of Anarchy.  I can hear Jax calling my name 😉

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Comments

  21. Erica says

    That is the one thing I miss about Kindergarten. They make SO MUCH progress in so little time. First grade is pretty great for that too. 🙂 But I do miss K sometimes.

    As someone who loves to doodle, I encourage you to keep doodling! I have tried my hand at making my own clip art, but since I have to draw it by hand, then scan it in, it's a whole lot of work! But I love your stuff! It's adorable! Can't wait to see more! And I'd definitely love to win some!

    Erica
    Blooming In First
    butler . erica @ gmail . com

    Reply

  23. Diana says

    I can't draw much more than a stick figure, so for my anchor charts I draw off pictures using my overhead projector. Not exactly like the old days with the opaque projector, but close enough! I would love to win your clip art. You are really talented! Thanks for all your creative idea!

    Reply

  54. Bethany Louise says

    Your doodles are so cute and I think it is great that you are turning them into clipart! Thanks for all of the brilliant ideas you share and for your happy teaching attitude! Your posts are always so fun to read and they make me want to be a better teacher for my students! Thanks!

    Bethany
    Ship Shape First Grade

    Reply

  61. Megan Bonert says

    I absolutely love your clipart and your blog! You always have great ideas that are fun and meaningful! I am so glad that I found your blog a little over 2 years ago!

    Reply

  69. Katy says

    Precious doodles! You ARE an artist, I don't know what you're talkin' 'bout honey! I would LOVE to win these 🙂 They are so super cute!!!

    Reply

  80. Leslie Jones says

    One post two comments:
    1st: I love the phonemic awareness book as well. I find it very useful with my kindergarteners. I agree with what you said about planning different each year. Every group I have had has been different as well. Thanks for letting me know I am not alone in the planning.
    2nd: love the clip art, super cute.
    Thanks for sharing

    Leslie
    ldjones35@yahoo.com

    Reply

  84. Michaela says

    Cara, I just LOVE your doodles and would be sooooo delighted to add them to my ever growing collection! Hi my name is Michaela, and I'm a clip art addict. 😉

    Reply

  92. Samantha Kearns says

    Taking a super quick break from watching my Buccos play their wildcard game to read your post! So glad you started making clip art! I have all of your fonts, so I'm a big fan of your creativity! Enjoy your show and let's go Bucs!

    Samantha
    Skearns87@gmail.com
    Tales of a #teachernerd

    Reply

  94. Samantha Kearns says

    Taking a super quick break from watching my Buccos play their wildcard game to read your post! So glad you started making clip art! I have all of your fonts, so I'm a big fan of your creativity! Enjoy your show and let's go Bucs!

    Samantha
    Skearns87@gmail.com
    Tales of a #teachernerd

    Reply

  102. Diane says

    All 3 sets of your clip art are cute! I would love to have these. I discovered clip art about 2 years ago and have enjoyed putting them on papers and even lesson plans. Keep making wonderful clip art!

    Diane
    The Teacher's Jungle
    dkbradner@gmail.com

    Reply

  111. Ashley Wright says

    Ohhhhh my goodness I freaking love your cute clip art! Would you consider a post on how you do it? I am so obsessed with clip art and I lovvvvve to doodle. I would love to be able to make mine into clip art but I wouldn't know how to begin. Tips would be marvelous 🙂 Pleeeeease? 😛

    Thanks for the opportunity on this cute give-away kawright317@gmail.com

    Reply

  119. smitty says

    Tried to post from my phone… don't think it went through. I love doing the erase a rhyme in my class as well. The kids love these quick, but beneficial activities. Also, your doodles are great, so adorable!

    Reply

  125. Rachael Parent says

    I love YOU! I seriously hope to be as an inspirational and motivating teacher as you are!! I would love the clip art to add to my files and to my classroom!!!! Much love from all the way up in New Jersey!! xoxo

    Reply

  138. Margaret Dismukes says

    I can't imagine there isn't anything you can't creatively make! I love seeing what you've come up with and you make me excited to use all the fun things you make in my room. My kids get excited to use it and I get excited to show them what we will be doing! Thank you for making it all fun!

    Reply

  142. Emily Medrano says

    I recently bought your Write the Room for October. and OH MY GOSH!! The kids are obsessed with your clipart! They love love love!! I would really like to add more of your awesome clip art to my collection!! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  144. Mrs. Schmitt says

    Your ideas and creativity are amazing ! I got sucked in to spending my entire planning period looking at and downloading clip art ! These are too cute and would make my flipcharts even more enjoyable to make and.use !

    Reply

  199. krazy4K says

    I ordered this book immediately and received it yesterday! Can't wait to pull it out Monday with my kiddos! You are so right every year is different and I have to plan for each class as I go. I use a lot of different phonological awareness activities but I am always looking for new activities to help my sweeties! Thanks for referring it!

    Reply

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