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Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Rock It With Rhyming: Seuss Style



I just finished this last night in barely enough time for our pajama day. Whew! The kids are so excited about our special day and I can't wait to give them their own book to celebrate with! We are having oatmeal with toppings for breakfast and sorting ourselves according to the jammies we are wearing. Don't ya love how teachers can make an academic activity out of anything?! If this looks like a book your kids might like check it out in my TpT store and purchase it. Give yourself enough time to laminate the big book and create enough little books for your whole class to take home.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Another Birthday Celebration


My husband is the king of rhyming and he helped me create this little emergent reader that my kids will adore.
It is perfect for celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday on Friday. Our students are coming in their jammies and I am saving this book as a surprise to take home at the end of the day. I used the word "fantastic" because kids can actually sound it out when you break it up into chunks and I love when their light bulb goes on and they figure it out! Naturally, I used repetitive text when I created it but I still need to make the teacher's version so I can laminate it and be ready...

Saturday, February 25, 2012

I'm As Lucky As A Leprechaun!



Here is just a teaser of what is in this new packet. I tried to make it super fun to keep my students engaged while I am busy with assessments. These take me soooo long to do and I need activities that are mainly review so they will not come over to me with a billion questions. I also included some games for those moments when we need  a brain break (every 5 minutes) and my students demand some fun!  If you could use a packet that reviews many kinder skills check it out in my TpT store and I will also put it in my shop at Teachers Notebook. Now go have a lucky day!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Will I Get Lucky?


Where has the time gone? February just whipped past me with so much going on that I thought I was going to choke! Valentine's Day and the 100th day were on top of each other and then we had to celebrate George and Abe as part of our Social Studies work. I cannot keep up the pace and now report cards are looking me in the eye. I have to do a billion individual assessments that make me cranky. So this time I am trying to build in some activities that might look like fun while I check on their skills. You better hope I have the "luck of the Irish" during this week. On top of all this our school is up for another award, we have a field trip coming, and Read Across America is just around the corner. Really? Wish me luck!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

St. Patrick's Day Reader


Lots of followers have asked me for a St. Patrick's Day emergent reader and I finally came up with this idea and I really love the concept. It's all about being lucky through a child's eyes. The text is a little more challenging and the graphics are adorable. I love how Makda did the girl on the cover. The message is positive and the shamrocks make it a wee bit Irish! If you want it you can find it in my TpT shop or at Teachers Notebook. My class will love this upbeat little reader! The repetitive text is: I am so lucky! At the end students draw a self portrait which can done as a guided drawing lesson. Easy!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

History Reinvented Kinder Style!


Okay so I changed it out a little to simplify the story. My kids loved hearing about this president and what happened during his lifetime. They made immediate connections to Lincoln and even Barack Obama. Why do they find this information so fascinating? Students love non fiction but it's not always easy to find appropriate text at this level.  I thought you might enjoy seeing their version of his portrait. I can never get enough of this. 
I read them an actual book on George Washington (yup it wasn't coloring book style) but they told me they liked mine a lot better. They know how to flatter their teacher!  We also made 3 cornered hats with our fifth grade mentors.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

100 Days of Learning... Teaching... Exhaustion




We just hit our 100th day of school and it was really fun for my kids. I had a lot of parents come in to help and run the centers that I created. However, I have a lot of extra activities so you know what I'll be doing this week!
The glow bracelets were a change from the certificate I use to give out with "smarties" attached. Check out the amazing cookies. They were gorgeous and the kids loved the treat at the end of a day full of counting and number work. We all had a blast!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Sugar-Free Valentine's Day!




Yup, you guessed it. There was no candy going on in my room on Valentine's Day and the kids never even made a comment. They loved all the games and activities and the special folder I let them color in. It was precious to watch them give out their cards. The parents gave out tons of pencils and heart erasers but resisted the candy. At the end of the day two fifth graders came in with a pile of handmade valentines created by the kinder mentors. My kids were in awe of this. I swear I read each one to the class and had to resist choking over the things that their mentors wrote. I got messages like, " I knew you were the perfect little buddy for me when Mrs. Kramer introduced us...,"Be my valentine because you are so cute and smart..." " I will always be your friend,Love from your Mentor Alex..." It was so adorable and touching. When did 5th grade boys become such mush balls? I L*O*V*E*D it!
Check out the little mailboxes I made for my grade level. They loved them and it was so much fun to make these. I filled them with valentine m&m's and little note cards I made with their names. I love these guys. I love this holiday. Don't you?

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Hearts Are Going to Roll!


My teaching friends next door had their kids playing dice games and I promised them one for Valentine's Day. So here is my version with just a few color words that are appropriate for this day! Happy Valentine's Day to all. This might keep them busy while you are passing out the cards! The graphics are by KPM Doodles.
Grab it right here!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

A Crown Fit for A Queen or King


I decided to make my own version of the 100th day crown. I needed something simple to do since we have a 5 group rotation that day and our parents run these centers. This is easy peasy and yet each math wizard will feel special wearing it. If you must have this for your classroom grab it here and enjoy it. Leave me a happy comment if you would like to.

Lovin' President Lincoln




We had a blast with Abraham Lincoln this week and learned lots of important facts. Then later in the week I got an email from Kaye Espinosa to check a site where she is reading my Abraham Lincoln book to her grandson's class. Are you kidding me! I love this picture. Do you know Kaye? She is always at our California Kindergarten Conference and is a wonderful resource for kinder teachers. She is the original designer of these cut and paste projects that you see all over the internet. I will post about her later in the month. She is a true celebrity in the world of kindergarten, a lovely person to meet, and a fine educator of young children. Check out her site.
I want to do more TLC projects with our fifth grade buddies.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Integration Is the Name of the Game


Abraham Lincoln, 100th Day, Valentines Day, George Washington, and I am still teaching about penguins! This is the craziest month of the year and I am probably confusing my students incredibly. Oh well. I will do my best to get through all this curriculum and have a little fun! They loved these math mats because I made up addition stories using their names and any penguin vocabulary my brain could come up with. I was so ridiculous but it made them laugh. Integration is the name of the game! So they take the cubes from the penguin's belly to the number line and read the last number to get the answer. They have to give me the equation.

Lincoln Pride


This was a huge hit in my classroom yesterday. My students love the repetitive text and could read much of it with very little help. They had a great time doing the guided drawing of Lincoln and felt so successful. Sometimes I think keeping it small is better and they loved the results! I think I had their full attention when doing this. We used a thin marker and colored it in with a colored pencil. I think these are adorable.Now I am going to put the big book version where they can practice it with a partner. Next up is George...

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

What Do You Read for President's Day?


I finally finished both of these little packets and I am glad to have them for my little kiddos. Today I introduced the Lincoln emergent reader and they loved it. First I used the teacher version and then I told them they could have a copy of the same book. We practiced the text, highlighted the star words and they all shouted, "Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln. It was a big hit and tomorrow I am doing a guided drawing of him based on these graphics. We also made Lincoln hats with a penny glued in the middle. Yup, my partner loves Social Studies!
 These are available at Tpt and I am ready to put them up at Teachers Notebook. Here is where you can grab Lincoln  and Washington is available here. 

Monday, February 6, 2012

You Guessed It

So I came in today bearing the gift of the Lincoln emergent reader and got tons of kuddos for this. However,
now they want George's biography kinder style. What does that mean? I re-invent history and never mention any of the bad stuff. My partner is an expert at doing this when she is reading a text with words like death, war, slavery, etc. She changes it quick as a wink and never looks up at me because I am laughing hysterically in the back of the room. 
George and I were both born on February 22nd and I am not sure how to celebrate this on my blog. Any fabulous suggestions? The icing on the cake is that my blog will also be a year old. Okay, too much on a Monday night to think about so I will get back to ya.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Where are kindergarten books on Abraham Lincoln?

I can never find age appropriate books on Abraham Lincoln. Every year I swear to my partner I will make one but time marches on and I never get to it. Boy is she going to love me tomorrow! I made this with dots underneath the text and a teacher version you slam out of the printer and bind at the top. I think it's pretty good and I have past tense language which my kids find challenging to use appropriately. The vocabulary is age appropriate and this is no mention of a mother that dies. Seriously, I cannot read that in front of a five year old and I reinvent the text every year. Not happening this year... Grab it for $3.50 here. Everyone loves a birthday book!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

No More Candy! My Mini Valentines...


I decided not to give my students candy this year. Not only does is dental decay a huge issue but I think they will L*O*V*E this just as much. It was super simple to do. I bought bags of bubbles from Target for 2 dollars a set and took some ribbon to make it a necklace. Finally, my valentine note says, "I am bubbling over with love for kinderkids." No fuss but I think this is adorable. Gift and card all wrapped up in one! I am offering the tag as a freebie but if you post it please link back to me. Click here. Once you cut the tag out loop the top through the heart and tape it to the back of the bubbles. I also taped the tag down to the bubble tube. If you like this check out my valentine packet on TpT or Teachers Notebook and now you are my valentine!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Look What My Partner Thought Of!



This takes some prep time but it is well worth the effort! My kids are reading their own version of  The Mitten that is in my winter packet. They love building the flow map in my pocket chart with the retelling cards that match the text of the book. But my partner (she is a genius) took it one step further and had me make them their own version of  this retelling using a sentence strip where they had to sequence the animals. They loved this activity so much and are begging me to take it home. I guess this will not be a bulletin board this time. I love creative, easy teaching ideas!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Be My Valentine....Please



Can you believe February is here? This is a month where you have a billion holidays to celebrate and not much time to do it.  Are you asking yourself what holidays? Let me fill you in . My partner was born on Lincoln's birthday and I was born on Washington's birthday. Go figure. More about that later in the month. On top of that is my favorite holiday... Valentine's Day! It makes me stop and remind people of how much I love them. I love valentine "stuff" in an irrational sort of way. So this packet is for anyone out there who has the winter blahs (not me cause its 85 degrees here) and needs a little pick me up. Now treat yourself to a packet of love right here.