Okay, so what HAVEN’T we been up to?! We stay pretty busy in Kindergarten! So much so that I haven’t been very good about remembering to take any pictures! Boo for me! However, I haven’t forgotten how to write with lots of exclamations!!! ;) A few weeks ago, I saw a DARLING idea on Pencils, Glue, & Tying Shoes {don’tcha just LOVE that name?!?!?} for teaching the 5 senses. I absolutely LOVED her anchor chart, so I wanted to introduce our little unit of study with something pretty similar. Meet Five Senses Frank. It always cracks me up when the kids say they have a sense of “eyes” … [Read more...] about What We’ve Been Up To…
freebies
Is that a B?? Or a D???
I swear I must get this question no less than 50 times a day. I got it that much when I taught first grade and it was occasionally asked in 2nd grade, too. I do realize that reversals are common, but ANYTHING I can do to help my kids discriminate between the two, I’ll try!!! I usually always have this visual posted in all of my stations and various areas around the classroom just for a reminder. click on the picture to download All the girls I taught with the first few years of Kindergarten used this visual…I’m pretty sure it came from The Mailbox Magazine. Well, I remember one of the girls on my team telling … [Read more...] about Is that a B?? Or a D???
Reading Strategies & First Week Highlights
HELLO my sweet friends! I’ve been without internet access since last week. Sad. But now it’s restored and I’m ready to share a few things with you!! Hard to believe I’ve been back in Kindergarten for 7 days. It’s like I never left! My babies are settled into a bit of a routine and I feel like things are running pretty well…so far :) I forgot how much I LOVE this age!!! EVERYTHING is new to them…books, centers, friends…it’s ALL new and I love seeing them *get it* for the first time! Last week was our first full week and it was jam packed full of SO much! I’ve been researching … [Read more...] about Reading Strategies & First Week Highlights
Plant Freebies, Cinquain Poetry, & Dirty Word Work
As promised, here are a few plant themed literacy & math activities for you! Sorry I didn’t post them last night…I fell asleep…fully clothed!!!!…at 8:30 and didn’t get out of bed to change into my jammies until sometime around 2 a.m.! All those late, sleepless nights caught up to me!!! Click on the pics for the downloads :) Graphics courtesy of Scrappin Doodles I don’t have too many station activities because I’ve been using everything from Kelly & Diane’s Plenty of Plants Unit! I was in a pinch on Sunday night…I spent the whole weekend celebrating my just turned 3-year-old and didn’t devote much time to … [Read more...] about Plant Freebies, Cinquain Poetry, & Dirty Word Work
A Day Fit for a Foodie
If you know me well, you know I’m a foodie. NOT a food snob at all...I’ll eat ANTYHING. Especially if it’s deep fried and made with butter :) But I’m definitely a foodie!! Today’s activities were focused all around a couple of my favorites…pizza and cinnamon rolls!!! Both terribly fattening and unhealthy, but that’s not the point of this post :) Before we started our math tubs today, we did a whole group fraction activity. I set out 4 pizza boxes on different tables and handed out recording sheets and clipboards. The objective of this activity was to get the kids to count the number of slices … [Read more...] about A Day Fit for a Foodie
Inferencing with NO David! and a Silent E Freebie
To kick off inferencing, we started out using Abby’s Snow Day Case Files. Do y’all have this yet?? If you’re teaching inferencing, you SERIOUSLY need this!!!! Let me just tell you that my kids were all over it. I set up my case files and the kids went to town being little “inference investigators”. Wow. I mean, they really got it!!!!! To follow up, we pulled out the book, NO David! My kids LOVE this one!!! Our whole team is using this book to reinforce inferencing skills. First up, we made a little “No David!” inferencing brainstorm chart. We talked about using our schema and … [Read more...] about Inferencing with NO David! and a Silent E Freebie
A New Year Freebie & Some Resolutions
So…let me just go ahead and say that I LOVE New Year’s :) Not because I’m partyin’ it up on NYE…unless you consider sparkling cider, my sofa, and MTV a party…but I love it because it gives us a chance to start all over. Such a great time to reflect and make resolutions and ohmiword…I’ve got a few! I thought I’d go ahead and share those with y’all and then share a *little* freebie :) This has been one of those years. I’m sure you can tell by the lack of my blogging :) Between my very spirited class, my even more spirited boys, a husband that works nights, and domestic duties, this little blog has been pushed … [Read more...] about A New Year Freebie & Some Resolutions
Celebrating St. Pat’s Day!
The Irish in me is ALL.OVER St. Patty’s Day!! I LOVE IT!!! I especially love celebrating it with the kids! I don’t have many pictures to show you, but with St. Pat’s right around the corner, I just wanted to share a few things I’ve done in the past to make it fun for the kids! Here’s a fun little writing we did today. This is one of my favorites!! You can download the Loopy Leprechaun craft patterns HERE. First we read this book… Then we talked about luck and feeling lucky. Afterwards, I had the kids write about what makes them feel lucky using the prompt, “I feel lucky when…”. I got some darling responses! After they were … [Read more...] about Celebrating St. Pat’s Day!
Positive Reinforcement Freebie
I love positive reinforcement. Sometimes…okay, maybe a lot of times…there are a few little friends who need a little something more than positive reinforcement. You know those babies I’m talkin’ about…the ones who just DO NOT…no matter how positive you are…respond to it. Those are the kids that *might* give me a little bit of heartburn & grey hair ;) However, I still use positive reinforcement as often as I possibly can! One of my favorite things to do is give out certificates & awards. The kids LOVE these! I’m always so shocked how motivated they are by a piece of paper :) Not only do … [Read more...] about Positive Reinforcement Freebie
How Many {Antonym} Feet Do We Meet?!
This week we’ve been working on antonyms and the kids are lovin’ it! We started by reading this book……and then we brainstormed a list of opposites. Surprisingly, some of my babies were having a hard time with the concept. So I had to explain to them, “If something is ______ it can’t be _______!!!” After a few go ‘rounds of that, I sent the kids off to trace their own feet and write a pair antonyms on either one!!I added all the pairs to a big anchor chart…The kids have also been working on their very own little antonym books! They’ve been keeping these in their book baskets and adding to them every time they have … [Read more...] about How Many {Antonym} Feet Do We Meet?!
Inventors Light Bulb Freebie
I’ve gotten several comments and lots of emails regarding the fun little light bulb template I used for my kids’ invention writing. Click the pic below to download. If you have any questions, let me know!! … [Read more...] about Inventors Light Bulb Freebie
