Kindergarten Crayons

Reading Is Fun But Here Is Math On the Run!

2012-03-02T05:54:00.000-08:00

Are you going to school in your PJ's? Woohoo! This is the best day ever! I love books with a passion but if you need to mix it up with some math fun grab this freebie and leave me a comment about your Seussy Day! Have a blast!

Rock It With Rhyming: Seuss Style

2012-02-28T13:42:00.001-08:00

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.

Another Birthday Celebration

2012-02-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

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...

I'm As Lucky As A Leprechaun!

2012-02-25T16:02:00.000-08:00

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!

Will I Get Lucky?

2012-02-24T05:55:00.000-08:00

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!

This Birthday Is A Big One... World's Oldest Blogger!

2012-02-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

St. Patrick's Day Reader

2012-02-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

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!

History Reinvented Kinder Style!

2012-02-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

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.

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

2012-02-18T21:54:00.000-08:00

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!

Sugar-Free Valentine's Day!

2012-02-15T18:30:00.000-08:00

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?

Hearts Are Going to Roll!

2012-02-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

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!

A Crown Fit for A Queen or King

2012-02-11T14:10:00.000-08:00

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

2012-02-11T07:23:00.000-08:00

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.

Integration Is the Name of the Game

2012-02-10T06:06:00.000-08:00

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

2012-02-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

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...

What Do You Read for President's Day?

2012-02-08T18:11:00.000-08:00

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.

You Guessed It

2012-02-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

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.

Where are kindergarten books on Abraham Lincoln?

2012-02-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

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!

No More Candy! My Mini Valentines...

2012-02-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

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!

Look What My Partner Thought Of!

2012-02-03T06:15:00.000-08:00

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!

Be My Valentine....Please

2012-02-01T05:39:00.000-08:00

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.

Counting On... Some Are Catching On!

2012-01-30T19:58:00.000-08:00

I actually had a student tell me it was faster to just say ten and then count on with the additional cubes! So now I'm not alone in my understandings and I am starting to feel hopeful. So many of these concepts are developmental and cannot be rushed. I get it but the standards are still staring me in the face so I will stay with it. My students found this activity engaging and I am big on keeping them engaged. We are also working on addition with our counting sticks which have been a big hit in kinderland.

What Do You Love At School?

2012-01-29T22:07:00.000-08:00

I made this little emergent reader because love is in the air and I thought it would be perfect for the month of February. It could be used on Valentine's Day and even the boys won't think it's yucky. You know how they react to words like love and kiss! So if you want this it's in my TpT store and I made a teacher version in color so you can print it quickly and easily. Follow me in my store and leave a comment and you will be my valentine! Click here!
Yes, I have dots under the text for the little ones who still have no idea of what a word is.
I know that it will happen and I hope I am still their teacher when it does. I'm just saying...

Counting On... Not In My Room

2012-01-29T14:18:00.000-08:00

When you have a really young class the concept of "counting on" becomes a real challenge. My students are probably not ready for this developmentally but it is something I am expected to teach so I will whisper under my breath "exposure, exposure, exposure." I made this little book just to focus on this skill and I am hoping (fingers crossed) some of them will have their light bulb turn on! First grade teachers need to love me for trying-right? If you think this is worth a try, it's available in my TpT store or at Teachers Notebook.

Cutting or Tearing? What Are You Doing?

2012-01-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the activities we did this week while I was busy assessing my students. It is so hard to accomplish this and still give them meaningful work. So what did I find out? Some of my kids are still rotating their letters and gluing them upside down! ( OMG I am in trouble). On top of this some of the cutting that I saw looked a lot more like tearing to me. Holey moley!

The Expo Is Over But You Can Still Get a Ticket And See This

2012-01-28T15:36:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I am still in my jammies and I am emotionally exhausted. How did the Expo go? I think it was pretty great. I think the 3 other presenters knocked it out of the park. If you enjoyed this please follow all of our blogs and stores and leave a comment if you have the energy. Are you going back to bed or taking a nap? I don't blame you. This was a lot of drama for me but well worth the work. It was a great experience and I hope more of you will participate in this wonderful world called kindergarten.
Thanks for all your support and helpful comments.
Everyone was so patient about the traffic jams. I appreciate that so much.
Remember that you can watch these presentations again but my family thinks once is more than enough when it comes to me and they might have a point there.

Virtual Teaching Expo Question and Answer

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Whew! That was a big project and I hope you got something out of that presentation. I have used all those routines and strategies in my classroom so if you have a question ask away... I hope you leave a comment on the blog and any great ideas you would like to share. Thanks for joining me this morning for some professional development.

Really? You Still Don't Know These?

2012-01-26T06:02:00.000-08:00

My students still do not know all their numbers to thirty and this is a big standard in kindergarten. I have hit this hard but obviously not well enough. When I started assessing them for progress reports I got every possible answer but the one I was looking for... Lets see for thirteen I got 3, 31, or my mom hasn't taught me that one yet! I can even accept that but where have you been while I have been working on it? I need help! I'm calling in the mentors so I can keep smiling. These adorable graphics are by KPM Doodles and you can find her at Teachers Notebook if you want to grab them.
It sounds like you need them as much as I do so grab a set here!

In My Room:

2012-01-25T22:42:00.000-08:00

I'm not so sure this looks like pony beads and a pipe cleaner but I think the kids will get the point. This is an addition recording sheet so I have some evidence that my students did some work while I am working with a small group. They can color the beads and fill in the numbers. Let's see how this goes.

Not Walking Sticks...Not A Talking Stick...A Counting Stick

2012-01-25T20:06:00.000-08:00

I have a bizillion (yes that's a number) pony beads from all the retelling activities I've made. What do you do with them? This is an old idea I re-invented today to keep the kids busy and interested in addition. We made counting sticks to use when doing addition. They had no problem making them and I put all the supplies on a paper plate.
However, do not ever try to give a five year old boy pink beads because it horrifies him and he can't bear to use them. The best part was watching them put these on the pipe cleaner and keep track of 10. Once these were made we practiced simple addition problems by sliding the beads to the right (just like you read) and counting the total. They really loved when I made up stories with their names. Cute huh... ? I store them all in a cup in the front of the room and plan to use them as part of my morning opening. I call them "counting sticks."

Don't Get Dressed On Saturday

2012-01-24T22:04:00.000-08:00

Saturday I am setting the alarm for 6:00 to get ready for the Everything's Kindergarten Expo. Yup, you people on the east coast do not have to get up at the crack of dawn but I do.So I will be ready to answer all of your burning questions after you watch the kindergarten presentations. Pete the Cat and I are gearing up for the big party and I can stay in my PJ's until it is over. I better grab a pound of Starbucks and plug in the coffee pot. Even if you don't have a question come on the blog and say hi cause I am a nervous wreck and need serious support. Thank goodness my closest friend is a therapist. I will be texting her if I start to panic!
If you don't have a ticket you can't come to the movies! Get yours now. How does popcorn at 7AM sound to you?

My Head Is Spinning With Ideas!

2012-01-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

So I made this huge Winter Packet and did some adorable mitten activities and left this out of it completely.
My kids love spinner games and would have been so disappointed if I did not make this for them. This is very simple and I am offering it for free in my TpT store here for you to enjoy. I love free!

Countdown... Blog Expo Is Around the Corner

2012-01-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

Okay the big moment is almost here and I want to know if you are coming to this party. There might not be cake but you are in for a treat and naturally we all need our goodie bag of freebies. Mine happens to be rhyming cards that are pretty, darn cute. So please don't miss this opportunity to learn something new. I actually tried out my presentation in another school district and made them do all the routines to make sure they were teacher friendly. They gave me a thumbs up and spent an entire afternoon cutting and laminating their guts out. I can't wait to listen to Hadar, Crystal, and Krissy share their ideas. They are great bloggers so... get that ticket and hang out with me this Saturday. I will answer any questions you might have on my own blog and will probably stay in my jammies all day!

Winter Warm-Ups To Keep Your Room Cozy: FINISHED! WOOHOO!

2012-01-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

I can't wait to use this in my own classroom. I need something fresh and new for the kids and I am hoping this is just what will "float their boat.". This packet is exploding with activities with a winter theme. However, it's a bit more demanding since my students are ready for a challenge (maybe) and the emergent readers have more text. I need these independent activities while I do my assessments and hug children who have mastered important standards. Wait, I can hug them anyway-right? If you want this you can go to TpT here or to Teacher's Notebook here.

Warm Up With This Packet

2012-01-21T17:07:00.000-08:00

How cute is this cover? My husband and I have a friend who is an artist and illustrator and he slammed this out for me in a few minutes and I adore it! It has just the right feeling. His name is Michael Smith and my husband needs to do all his dental work for the rest of time so I can ~~bribe~~ convince him to make more drawings for me but he is one busy guy so I am not so sure where this is going but I can keep my fingers crossed- right?
This packet has numerous emergent readers with more language than usual because I expect more from my kids at this time of year. I have some games I think my kids will like once I teach them how to play them during small group instruction. I've stepped up the patterning work and teen numbers with counting on work. I am finishing this up today and hopefully it will be up by tomorrow. As usual it is all standards based. Have a great weekend.

Come Into My Mitten

2012-01-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

The ability to retell a story is an important kinder standard and one that tends to be quite challenging for English Language Learners.My class loves to hear stories and I think this will be a real favorite. Why do I love The Mitten? I like it because of the rich vocabulary it introduces and most students can relate to losing something important.The retelling cards are placed in the pocket chart and look like a Flow Map which is used for sequencing. I made a reader for them that matches the cards and has dots under the text to help them continue to develop concepts of print. Thank you KPM Doodles for the adorable graphics to help me to make these materials. She has a great shop at Teacher's Notebook.

Snowflake Segmentation Fun

2012-01-19T06:02:00.000-08:00

Didn't we just get back from vacation? I am still in a state of confusion but I know our students will be tested shortly for progress reports. We do not have segmentation down yet so I am doing a cut and paste activity to practice this skill. They will listen to the parts of each word and glue snowflakes in the grid at the bottom to represent each part. Will they be tricked into thinking this is fun? I'll get back to you on that!
Okay, I'm home from working out and now I can give you the link to the download if you want it. Click here and maybe this will make tomorrow a little easier. Happy Friday.

Drum Roll Please... Announcing the Lucky Winners

2012-01-16T17:42:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! Here are the winners for the Kindergarten Expo! I am so excited to announce the winners. I wish I could give everyone a ticket. Your stories were wonderful and some were even heartbreaking. We want as many people to attend this as possible. Teachers love to share so Tamara has decided to offer scholarships for those interested but really not able to afford this. The owner of the expo will read your request (Steve) and decide if a free ticket can be offered. He can be contacted at scholarships@virtualteachingexpo.com. Thank you for entering this drawing and think about buying that ticket for your friend or student teacher just because...
If you won (lucky duck) contact me with your email address. You are all winners because you are kindergarten teachers and don't you forget it!
Fran

Guess Who Came to Dinner?

2012-01-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

I just came back from the California Kindergarten Conference where I had the best time ever. Friday night my daughter came to pick me up from the airport and we spent the day together shopping, drinking coffee, and laughing. It was pretty fabulous. Yup I even got a new pair of boots on sale.
Saturday morning I woke up ready to check out the conference, vendors, and see if anyone looked familiar from Blogland. I really did not want to wait until 5PM to meet my BFF Cindy. I headed over to the vendors and Heidi's booth was mobbed. She was so busy she never looked up. But I went behind the crazies (kinder teachers needing her stuff) and grabbed her arm. We bonded but only for a second because teachers needed her attention! When I looked up Cindy was standing in front of me. I knew it was her- instantly! We smiled and grabbed each other for a hug! Okay this sounds like a soap opera but she has been leaving the nicest comments on my blog since DAY #1. We talked and talked and I loved her even more in person! It was the best part of my weekend and I hope you check out her blog when you can. She is an accomplished teacher with great ideas.
So then we bump into ... hold on now, Dr. Jean. When do you ever see Dr. Jean without six billion people around her? We told her our story and she loved the idea of a blogger pic! We chatted but eventually class started and we had to add that into the mix.

Cindy and I met up for lunch and chatted like crazy (or at least I talked her ear off). We agreed to meet in the lobby and try to find the others who said they were coming for dinner. Camille and her friend Stacy came by and we grabbed them. She had her Pete name tag on and Stacy told me she was a total blog stalker. Naturally we all loved her for this. Dr. Jean spent time with us and loved the idea of this meet-up but had another obligation. After more pictures we let her go...Finally Kat came by and Jennifer and our group was complete. We headed for dinner right in the hotel. We NEVER stopped talking, hugging, and sharing about our classrooms. We were probably too loud for the restaurant but we didn't care. The waiter took a BILLION pictures and was adorable.

Here is the whole group at dinner for you to check out. There were the nicest, warmest women I have met in a long time.
Cindy: I bonded with her immediately and loved her personality, warmth, and positive outlook. She is full of wonderful teaching strategies and has actually presented at this conference. She was the very best part of my weekend! Thanks Cindy! Click here for her blog.
Stacy: She is an official blog stalker and works with Camille at the same school. She is so funny and adorable. She has been teaching kindergarten for a long time and still loves it. Stacy took Dr. Jean to the airport after a visit to her school. Yup, you heard me.
Kat: When you look into Kat's eyes they actually sparkle, especially when she talks about her horse. She lives in a rural community but is on top of her game when it comes to kindergarten kids. I really liked being with her. Click here for her blog.
Jennifer: This young woman was so sweet and smart. She teaches in a Catholic school and shared so much about her experiences. We even spent more time together on Sunday in a class. I loved her and her passion for kindergarten.
Camille: It was so nice to meet this wonderful teacher. Camille is full of wisdom and unlike me she thinks before she speaks. I can only imagine what a fine teacher she is. Click here for her blog.
Heidi: She was exhausted from working all day but came anyway. What an amazing person she is. She is a classroom teacher, presenter across the country, and is running a business too. She is full of enthusiasm and loves what she does.Of course you know this amazing blog but click here just in case.
So there you go... It was such a wonderful experience for me. We all talked for hours. I made so many new friends who I hope to see next year since I might be presenting... Will you come next year?

The Giveaway Is Over

2012-01-16T05:37:00.000-08:00

I read all of your comments when you entered this giveaway and you are the nicest people on the planet. I can never get over kindergarten teachers and how loving they are! I wish I could buy you all a ticket (how cool would that be?) but I can only pick 3. So hang on, have some fun today, and come back tonight for the big announcement! If you don't win I hope you sign up for this anyway so you can get a few tips and tricks to add some sparkle to your classroom!

Kindergarten Crayons Giveaway! Expo Tickets

2012-01-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

Do you have your ticket for Everything's K Expo? If you do thank you for supporting TBA and helping teachers to continue to access professional development. These trainings can continue if we actively support them. The presenters are doing this to help the teaching community and are sharing ideas we know will be useful in your classroom. As the date approaches we have each been given 3 tickets to do a giveaway. If you already purchased a ticket think about participating in this giveaway to hand the ticket to a deserving friend as a gift or your student teacher. Is there someone in your life who cannot afford this? I know that teachers have been hit with drastic budget cuts across the country so please encourage everyone to sign up. I have three tickets to give away and I hope one of them goes to you! I can't wait to see you at the Expo. The goodie bag is full of virtual treats you will love.
What do you need to do?
Leave me a comment telling me why you want this ticket. Easy, right? No other conditions because I want everyone to participate.
Fran

Am I Growing A Pumpkin?

2012-01-12T20:36:00.000-08:00

Do not fall over but this is what my pumpkin plant looks like in 2012. Can you believe it? As you show snow activities around the country we are having warm, sunny weather in southern California.I put my plant outside during winter break and I accepted the possibility that it would be dead when I came back. My partner put it near a sprinkler and now the kids are amazed by the size of it. Remember when we could have gardens and grow things to observe in our classroom? I am going to plant this next to my classroom. Keep your fingers crossed that no one notices.This has been so much fun for my class.

Guess Who Is Coming to the California Conference?

2012-01-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

I just started back to school and I amalready taking Friday off to come to the California Kindergarten Conference. PLEEEEESE join us for our blog meet-up. I am so excited about this that I am packing tonight! So, here are your name tags that go right into your badge holder for the conference. Subtle-huh? Keep your fingers crossed because I invited Dr. Jean to join us and I would fall over if she showed up. Please stop screaming. If you are there Friday night I will probably be there at some point after I see my daughter (lawyer girl) who lives nearby. Grab this now and getting ready to rock with Pete. If your name is not on here take a blank tag and feel free to put your name on it. Everyone is invited.

Stripping In the Winter: Brrrrr

2012-01-08T18:41:00.000-08:00

Here's what I am thinking- I better take it S*L*O*W tomorrow. I am not sure my students will remember who I am which could be a real problem. So I better not throw too much at them tomorrow after a 3 week break! They have done these little pattern books and will not find them too challenging. Cutting and coloring shouldn't be too demanding... right? Do you need a game plan for tomorrow? Grab this if it helps! I almost forgot, the graphics are by: www.djinkers.com

At the end of the day everyone loves polka dotted maps!

2012-01-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

I had the best time with a bunch of kindergarten teachers from another district. They were so smart, so real, and so funny. I made them do a million routines and they were such good sports and we had a blast. Every time a presented an idea someone talked about how to differentiate the activity or another way to hit the same standard. We sang, we danced, we chatted, we ate lunch together and at the end of the day (I was exhausted from presentation anxiety) we left as friends. Wanna know why? Cause kindergarten teachers are the best! They roll with the punches, they laugh at their own mistakes, and they love new ideas. By the way I brought billions of things for them to make but the Thinking Maps mobile was the hit of the day! We all love cute.
A big shout-out to these guys for making my day so much fun. I walked away with more ideas than I brought.

The shop is up... finally

2012-01-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

I finally got my shop up on Teacher's Notebook and now I can go back to school feeling like I met a goal that has been on my mind for a long time. My hubby did this for me while I did my training and I am so grateful. Honestly, I can only do one big project at a time so I am feeling pretty good about things right now until the next job comes along to overwhelm me! Check it out and see what you think. I love to shop and Pay Pal is my BFF.

Winter Chill

2012-01-06T05:49:00.000-08:00

So school starts back Monday for me and I have been working on a weather unit for my class. We live in the OC so not much snow is happening here. However, some of my students have been to the mountains where there is plenty of snow during the winter months. They love learning about it and it is a great opportunity for me to read wonderful literature and build their vocabulary. Are you freezing where you live? Yesterday it was about 85 degrees here! Come and warm up at the California Kindergarten Conference later this month. Sorry I had a big training and forgot the link! Woops don't slip on the ice and enjoy this download

Calling All Primary Teachers... Are You In?

2012-01-03T19:12:00.000-08:00

I am doing a workshop on Friday on kindergarten routines and I made about a billion things for it. What is my problem? Anyhow, I am using the same Power Point that I created for the blog expo. Maybe I will offer up a packet to go with the presentation. Holy Guacamole I hope I don't make them run away screaming! Anyhow, back to the Kindergarten Expo. Have you signed up? If you haven't it hurts my feelings. The other speakers are high powered experts with lots of great ideas. You will not want to miss this. Are you in? Come on... just do it.
By the way I don't do any presentations without Pete.
Right-makes sense to me.

How Cute Is This

2012-01-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

I am doing a training at the end of this week and I am worried that the teachers attending will hate me because they are back at work and reality has hit after 2 weeks off. So here is my bribe. Yup, you guessed it- candy. My partner is addicted to m&m's so we cannot have them in the room. She adores them so after Gingerbread Activity Day and the 100th Day I have to sweep the room because she cannot handle the temptation. How cute is this for an ice breaker? Okay, never mind but at least I stuck 2 little bags in there so they will listen to me for umm, 5 minutes. I thought the questions would give me a chance to get to know them. Here is the download if you would like it. How would you answer these questions?
1. favorite movie: I Am Sam (I cried my eyes out but loved it
and I am a total Beatles fanatic.
2. favorite food: pizza and you can see it on my hips but
I also adore a good bagel
3.favorite children's book: Knuffle Bunny Free and Pete the
Cat but I have millions of favorites
Charlotte's Web still upsets me
4. favorite teacher supply: post-it notes in beautiful colors
and Avery labels, smelly markers,
tabs, blah, blah, I love it all!
5. favorite grade: Kindergarten silly, best grade ever... hands
down (do not argue with your elders)nothin'
like a 5 year old without a filter!
6. favorite piece of technology: My ipad 2 is my new BFF
Now I can eat my candy. Life is good.

What about you?

California Teachers: Are You Coming to This Conference?

2011-12-31T15:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am willing to admit that I loved my blog meet-up so much that I am ready for another one. If you live in California and teach kindergarten I hope you plan on coming to this conference so I can meet you! Pleeeeese... How much fun would that be-right? Those of you who live in northern California just have to travel to Santa Clara. I have a daughter in San Francisco (attorney girl) and she is dying to spend more time with her mom. So for me this is a no brainer.I love to hang with kinder teachers, spend too much money on things for my classroom, see Dr. Jean and do the Tooty-Ta with her, and buy another corny kindergarten t-shirt. Heidi will be there Saturday too. I always come back re-energized but this time I want to learn more about transitional kindergarten. I want to hug the people at the state level who recognize that four year olds are not developmentally ready for a rigorous kindergarten program. Yeah! Love you guys. So are you game? Come on... I am dying to meet you and talk about blogging until you get sick of me.Find out more here.

Join Us Next Time!

2011-12-29T08:49:00.000-08:00

So this is the whole group of women. I made them a silly little gift so they would remember this day. It was a luggage tag with their name and blog address. Yes, I am super corny and both of my daughters had to help me put this together. I hope this is the beginning of many new friendships. We all need to meet up and celebrate each other! I think all of these blogs are wonderful so let me list them for you to check out. Some of them you might already know, but just in case:
Annie (moffattgirls.blogspot.com)
Kristin (ateenytinyteacher.blogspot.com)
Fran (kindergartencrayons.blogspot.com)
Kerri & Lindsay (teacherbitsandbobs.blogspot.com)
Madison (livelovelearnwithmrsl.blogspot.com)
Gwyn (owensfamily-gwyn.blogspot.com)
Kathy (coloroutsidelines.blogspot.com)

If you live in Northern California I am going to the California Kindergarten Conference in Santa Clara and would love to meet you. Hello Cindy! That can't be too far from you.. I'll be there January 13th-15th. Heidi presents at this conference and Dr. Jean. These are two of my favorites so join me!

Orange County Blog Meet-Up

2011-12-28T18:28:00.000-08:00

Well the big day finally happened thanks to Hadar (Miss Kindergarten). Some of the teacher bloggers from Orange County met up for lunch and got to spend a few hours together. These women are beautiful, smart, and really funny. I loved all of them! I am hoping to get more pictures since others were there but here are just a few for you to see. Okay, so let me give you a brief explanation of who you are looking at. Hadar is from Miss Kindergarten and she is such a warm, likable person. Next, you see Annie who is incredible, sweet and so easy to talk to. Her blog is Moffett Girls. Next are Kerri and Lindsay who are close friends and share a blog called Bits and Bobs. Lindsay just had that gorgeous baby a few months ago and his behavior was perfect! I wish Jack was in my class. Kristin is from Teeny Tiny Teacher and yes she is hilarious and adorable. Yup, she is a little bit of a thing too. Others were there too but I will let you wonder until the next post. By the way Sylvia (learning with Mrs. Parker) could not come and my friend Cindy (kindergartenfreckleteacher). I hope there is a next time. These are amazing women. I loved them all. Thanks Hadar for getting us together. Next time- my house for lunch. No crazies (except me) in this group!

Do you teach kindergarten or primary special education? Rock Your World!

2011-12-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

We are coming to your house in a few weeks and we are all bringing tons of goodies with us. If you are a kindergarten blog stalker, here are some of my favorite people. They area wildly creative, funny, amazing bunch of kinder teachers who have so much to share with you. This event is on January 28th and you can even watch it in your jammies! I love at home professional development. I promise that you won't be disappointed and I am so excited to hear their ideas. I am letting my district know about this ASAP. Please join our party by signing up here.After you sign up would you mind leaving me a RSVP in my comment box. That way I can love you for all the support.

More from our Gingerbread Day

2011-12-22T09:57:00.000-08:00

A few people asked me about this necklace and what the end result looked like so this is the best picture I could come up with. Most of my pictures are of the kids facing the camera and I am hesitant to put them on the blog. We played tons of math and literacy games so I have a few extra pictures. I hope everyone is on a well deserved break now and can enjoy their time off. Remember to check back if you are a kindergarten teacher to sign up for the blog expo. It should be amazing!

Who Needs Gingerbread Jewelry?

2011-12-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

So I wanted one more center on our Gingerbread Activity Day and this was a big hit with everyone! It was so simple but the kids loved creating their own necklace with cut up straws and pasta (teeny tiny beads). The real kicker was the center of the necklace. It was a small gingerbread man that students colored in and put their name on. I wrapped the paper strip around the paper clip and it hung in the middle. Hey, I wore mine all day and got lots of compliments. Maybe you can do this next year.

A Gift From the Kindergarten Chick

2011-12-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

This is so precious. Please take the time to go over to the Kindergarten Chick and see her little one reading a little book and doing an "I have", "who has" number activity. Amanda sent me an email this evening and I just have to show my friends this adorable post. Click here to celebrate the power of words and numbers in the world of a 3 year old. A special hug to you Amanda for sharing this.

How to Dye Pasta Chef Kramer's Way!

2011-12-11T14:23:00.000-08:00

Warning: This is not the standard way of dying pasta but I like rich, bright colors. I do all of this in a ziplock bag because the mess can be overwhelming. Obviously you make separate batches for each color. You can mix colors if you like lime green, purple, etc. The trick is adding enough food coloring to make the pasta intense and leaving it to soak for a few hours to get vibrant colors. After you add the alcohol, pasta, and dye be sure to mix it around, lay it out and when you like the color spread it out on newspaper to dry thoroughly. It's easy. Do not do this on your granite counters or you will stain them. Use gloves if you do not like having green or red hands!
If you have a little doodle at home you can let them help. Kids love doing this.

Cooking Up More Treats for Next Week

2011-12-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

I need to find nine billion ways to practice writing numbers so I am sneaking this in (sly fox that I am) next week and I am praying that the kids think this looks like fun. To make the buttons they can use the back of a pencil and dip the eraser in an ink pad. Number writing is still a real challenge for my gingerkids. If this helps you to keep them engaged during all the chaos you can click here to download it.

What did you do for a parent gift?

2011-12-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

Everyone can be successful with this simple project. I have too many students to do a long and involved activity and too many standards to cover! So after a few years of changing it out I finally decided to do a class picture because a parent will love having this memory. One of my team partners suggested converting it to black and white which makes it so much nicer I can't believe it! Thanks Deb. The kids loved making these and the room was silent (my room is never silent) and not a single child got frustrated. If they lost the pattern around the frame I let it go... If you are still worried about what to do this is just another idea. What do you do?

Running As Fast As I Can (I'm an old woman)

2011-12-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I am trying to prepare for our Gingerbread Activity Day which is led by our parents and I am making a dash to the finish line. We are practicing the text of my little retelling book,
adding the main character and the setting. Nothing like overwhelming 5 year olds with information. Honestly though, they are loving this little book because they can read it themselves and screaming "crunch" thrills them!
If you want all this and more with story elements it is in my Holiday Joy With the Gingerbread Boy literacy packet.

KISS: Keep It Super Simple so you can get it all done

2011-12-08T06:22:00.000-08:00

Here is an independent activity that I am hoping will keep them busy for a few minutes while I finish other projects and get ready for my conferences. Sorry but I had to go to work so here is the file for this. Grab this right here.

Do Not Eat the Play Doh...Please!

2011-12-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

If you love gingerbread cookies do not make this play doh. I am serious. You will want to eat it and it has an entire cup of salt in it! Gross-right? But if you could smell it you would want to put it in your mouth. One of our amazing parents ( she is a master baker) did this for me and I L*O*V*E her because the kids had so much fun with it. I just do not have enough hours in the day to do one more thing but she came through, as usual. No standards... just fun. Shhhhh.

My students are really working on their oral language skills through a simple version of The Gingerbread Man. This is a simple activity I did in my pocket chart and is becomes a flow map for sequencing work. Eventually they will create their own map and write about this cocky, little cookie!
I have lots of retelling work in my literacy packet - Holiday Joy With the Gingerbread Boy.

Gingerbread Madness

2011-12-07T20:08:00.000-08:00

We are doing all things Gingerbread this week and the kids are having a great time. They are loving all the retelling activities I have in my TpT packet and my grade level buddies are on board with this too. I cannot get through all this curriculum but I am having fun trying! The pocket chart retell has been a big hit and the kids love to scream "crunch" when we get to the crafty old fox. So I have put aside the regular curriculum for a few days and I am sneaking in these activities. We are singing our way through the week too!
OMG. We still have to make our parent gift...

I Packed This Full of Gingerbread Joy

2011-12-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

Okay this is finally finished and I need to catch my breath. Report cards, conferences, paperwork, oh my! This is a packet full of activities that focus on response to literature. I have tried to include all the pieces my team loves the most. I plan to use this for the few weeks of school to keep the kids engaged and excited. However, it has so much in it that some of it will have to wait until the new year. Run, run as fast as you can and grab this to help you survive those busy days before winter break. I am putting it up at TpT now. Check it out here.

Now I need to crash and get some rest. My cold is back and I need to get ready for our Gingerbread Activity Day. Talk about running...

Gingerkids Are Coming to My Room

2011-12-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

I just created two gingerbread packets this weekend (little overachiever) to use during those final weeks before vacation. The Math Packet is already in my TpT store but I 'm still working on the Literacy pack. I need some new ~~games~~ standard based projects to keep things upbeat and engaging while I hold a million parent conferences! These are new ideas that my kids have not seen yet. Do I sound a little desperate? The best part of this packet is the headband 'cause you know how I feel about those. By the way- this theme is staying around till after winter break so I can read all the stories I bought on Amazon. I'm just saying...

Handwriting With Tears (MINE)

2011-12-04T08:32:00.000-08:00

My kids are very young this year. Hello, someone turned five on November 30th. So handwriting has been a bit challenging in my room. They all have ~~crazy~~ interesting ways of forming letters. I notice that my bottom lip is a little sore from biting it when I watch them. But they are really young and need the gift of time. Here is a "sweet treat" if your sweeties need some extra practice too. I am off to work on my Gingerbread Packet! My team is waiting for their stuff. Grab it here.

Down came the turkeys and up went the gingerbread friends...

2011-12-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

Down came the turkeys only to be replaced by all things Gingerbread. I have been reading different versions and my students can't get enough of these stories. Amazon is in love with this teacher! They are loving these stories. When I lead up to the fox I change my voice, it sounds slow and sweet and the kids get so tense. It is so cute to watch their faces because they know what is coming. They always clap at the end! I am not sure who is having more fun with this. I still have to hit some important standards before we go on winter break and I will be working hard to get some projects completed too!
Report cards are done and now conferences are ahead of me. It never stops... so I will run, run as fast as I can. I better finish my presentation for the Blog Expo coming up too!

Woops, grab this little activity here.

Did You Hear Me Scream Today?

2011-11-28T22:36:00.000-08:00

You have to admit this is ridiculous. I was not in my classroom today because we had a report card day and after school I went into the room to see what it looked like after the sub. I noticed the pumpkin plant and almost had a stroke . I sent it home with one of my students over Thanksgiving and freaked out when I saw it! OMG .
I am so in love with this project and the results. This might be the longest time any plant has survived that has been in my care. Did you hear me scream ? Yup, not enough excitement in my life right now but things are picking up. Tomorrow I am expecting a bean stalk climbing up the side of the school.

Who Talked Me Into This?

2011-11-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

Have you been to a TBA Expo? If not I really recommend it. My sweet friend Leslie@KindergartenWorks is putting together this expo with Tamara and they asked me to join the party. If you are a kindergarten teacher who is looking for some new ideas this might be a great way to get some professional development from home.

Come and join me... Who's in?

Did I tell you how ~~nervous~~ excited I am to do this?!

Let the Sun Shine In

2011-11-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

What a "sunny" surprise to wake up to this morning. My dear friend Cindy from In the Teacher's Lounge sent me this wonderful award. I am busy with assessments and report cards and have not been cruising around the blogging world too much. This is such a hard time of the year with Thanksgiving around the corner and cooking to do on top of this! But... I saw this award and it made me stop in my tracks and remember why I am here and how wonderful my blogging friends are. Cindy is my "go to" person since she is a tech wiz but she is also a supportive, loving friend and I look forward to the day I can meet her. Thanks friend.
Rules I must follow: (Really?... okay)
1. Thank the person and write a post about it (DUH as my 5th grade mentors would say)
2. Answer the following questions below.
3. Pass the award to 10 to 12 fabulous bloggers and let them know about this (Yikes- those report cards are glaring at me)

Favorite color: Purple
Favorite animal: cat ( I had one for years)
Favorite number? never thought about it so I guess 2 ( I have 2 daughters and was born in February)
Facebook or Twitter: big Facebook fan
Your passion: Teaching and creating materials
Giving or Getting Presents? I lovemaking gifts that are a perfect match for the person intended
Favorite Day: When my daughters were born and I looked into their eyes for the first time

Cindy's list is perfect but I can add a few that are so special to me:
Amber at Kindergarten Rocks (love her and love her blog; met her in Vegas)
Cindy at For the Love of Kindergarten (freckleteacher is so supportive and sweet)
Mandy at A Special Kind of Class (teaches me new things all the time)
Heidi at Heidisongs (great presenter)
April at Chalk Talk (such great information and ideas: everyone loves April)
Ms. M at Ms. M's blog (she made my button and teaches ELLS like I do: love her)
Julie at Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten (so smart and so sweet)
so many others but those report cards are screaming at me...

So grab this if you are on this list and pay it forward friends.

Turkey Retell Reinvented

2011-11-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

I love Dr. Jean's retelling bracelet but my kids need a little more scaffolding to help them with this.The flow map cards are taught first and we review them for several days. On our activity day we sorted a billion pony beads and got the pipe cleaners ready. Then I had my parents lead them through a little strip book that matched the flow map. After each page they colored the bead in their book the matchingcolor and then added it to their bracelet.
They also had to count their beads as they went along. They were so engaged in this activity. This year I gave the parents a larger version of this book as cards to help them along. The room was SO QUIET and the children were so invested in this activity. All the materials were on a paper plate for each student. I love success! Now they can take home the book and bracelet and retell the story at Thanksgiving.
Okay the truth is-I am now gathering my gingerbread beads! Does it ever slow down?

Have you met Chef Kramer?

2011-11-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

If you have ever given a typical five year old cranberry sauce, most of them would turn up their nose at the thought of tasting it. However, if you make it in your classroom and have the kids help you (cannot screw this up) they think it is delicious. Add the ingredients and use a ridiculous voice. Be sure to sound like you are on the cooking channel and you will sustain their attention- I promise. Most of the children thought it was yummy. So,
don't try to figure them out. Presentation is everything! The following day you can make a flow map and retell this "how to". The coolest part is listening to the cranberries pop out of their skins. Try it. It is on the top of Chef Kramer's list. The describing word "tart" was a new vocabulary word they all understood after eating this.

Okay I Have to Show You One More Time

2011-11-20T16:57:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I cannot get over how quickly this pumpkin has sprouted. The kids have loved this science activity so much. Now I'm thinkin' Jack and the Beanstalk really happened! Right? I promise not to post this again. It was painful for me but I sent it home with a student and she is going to plant it because my teammates told me it is starting to smell. They said this is the nicest way possible! Who cares! I loved watching it grow from hour to hour! Okay, I am over it. Done.

In my room we made a thanksgiving song book:

2011-11-17T20:20:00.000-08:00

This is from my Turkey Leftovers packet. We practiced the song in the pocket chart for several days and today I let them make the little book version that they can take home for the holidays. I did this whole group and they did really well with this. They hummed the song to help figure out what to cut and paste to match the text. It was so cute. I don't think I want to hear this song again for a really, really long time! I love when a book is simple for them and they feel super successful.

Farmer Fran has a magic touch

2011-11-17T19:54:00.000-08:00

Seriously, this is growing in front of my eyes. My students are so enthralled with this pumpkin and so is the teacher. Each day it grows so much bigger. You have to try this! Now what? What am I going to do? I guess I have to take it home and plant it in a big pot so I can bring it back. Farmer Fran has not killed this plant. Applause please!

Am I the Only Teacher Alive Who Does Not Know This Trick?

2011-11-16T05:55:00.000-08:00

Is this not the cutest child in the world? His mom is my friend and that is why I can post his picture. He's wearing the Indian headband he made which is gorgeous but look at the back. My girlfriends next door showed me this idea which I have never seen in my life. They told me that have been doing it since the dawn of time! Now my headband addiction will be out of control. Some of our kids had a really hard time patterning these and I can throw their formal assessments out the window. This is a much more valid way to see if they can apply these skills. If you know about this why are you keeping it to yourself? If you don't- I just changed your life and rocked your world! A big shout-out to my friends Krista, Alicia, and Belinda. Love you guys so much!

The Kids Were Excited But the Teacher Went Crazy

2011-11-15T19:56:00.000-08:00

Okay so one of my favorite blogs Growing in Pre-K suggested this fabulous pumpkin activity. As I mentioned before I did not expect much to happen but I loved the idea and decided to give it a shot. I talked about this in a previous post. Well hold on because yesterday two sprouts appeared. I almost had a stroke and wanted to see if the kids would notice on their own. Yup, they saw the sprouts and freaked out just like I did. Then I came into the room this morning and they had grown so much that I was screaming with happiness. I guess I lead a dull life.
So the kids saw this when they came in and were stomping on each other to see. I am loving this experiment and I hope you try it next year. By the end of the day I swear the sprouts had gotten even bigger. Thank you Growing in Pre-K .Hop over to this blog to check out her pumpkin plant. I am so ~~jealous~~ amazed by her results. Wish the lady with the black thumb good luck! I might have to take this home over our break!

Retelling the story (kinder style)

2011-11-14T21:15:00.000-08:00

Okay I have to release these even though I have ten billion assessments to put on a chart tonight. I cannot make you wait any longer since I am known to put things off and this will lose its value in a few days! Click here to grab them for tomorrow. I hope your kids like them. Remember to make a retelling bracelet using pony beads that match these cards. I will post more about this tomorrow.

I Love Surprises!

2011-11-14T20:15:00.000-08:00

I came home tonight to a wonderful surprise. Tamara from TBA sent me an email congratulating me for being included in her top ten teaching blogs on blogs.com. Thanksgiving is just around the corner (we made cranberry sauce in class today) and this is the perfect time to stop, enjoy this moment and to be thankful for all the blogging friends that have come into my life.You inspire me on a daily basis and make me strive to do my very best for our children. You help me solve problems that often feel overwhelming (love ya Cindy) and encourage me with your thoughtful comments and suggestions. I hope to meet each of you one day and hug you in person.

I am in the amazing company of these blogs who also received this award:

Funky First Grade Fun

Ingles360

Kindergarten Works

Kleinspiration

Ms. M's Blog

The Moffatt Girls

The Organized Classroom

What the Teacher Wants!

and best of all Teaching Blog Addict! I am sending Tamara a virtual hug and I hope one day to meet her. She is such a rock star. She has changed the blogging world with her innovative thinking.

I think I am addicted to ...pocket charts

2011-11-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

Does anyone else have this problem? I love pocket charts and have way too many in my room. I cannot control this addiction. This is the story of Thanksgiving (my version) done as a flow map. I love just putting arrows on the side of my cards but the last one should not have any arrow (woops!). Now is my version historically correct? No way but it makes a great story and I know I am reinventing the truth but our unit this month is "Friends"and I could not resist. This goes along with Dr. Jean's retelling bracelet which we make every year because I L*O*V*E it so much. It is a brilliant idea. More about that tomorrow. Assessments need to be charted and I have to force myself...

Who Likes Turkey Sandwiches?

2011-11-12T13:41:00.000-08:00

I am finally finished and I have posted this in my TpT store. What made me decide to do this? My partner asked me where this Thanksgiving poem was and I was clueless! Seriously, it had disappeared and we love doing this right before our break. I did not want her to think I was disorganized (I am a train wreck right now) so I went home to put this together. On Monday my team will L*O*V*E me so much. This is a literacy pack with all the things I like to do with a poem or song to build print awareness and vocabulary. Many of the activities in this packet could be monitored by a parent if you are having a Turkey Day at school. I hope you gobble it up and have some fun with it. Click here to check it out.

Just Cooking Up One More Dish

2011-11-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

Assessments are finally coming to a close and I am so happy to finish! When did we decide that kindergarten children should be assessed to death and be given formal benchmarks? Timing them makes me want to scream!
Who came up with that idea? Have they ever met a ~~5 year old~~ 4 year old turning 5 in December? Seriously? So the race to nowhere continues. However, I can take a deep breath until the next time and celebrate this great American holiday known as Thanksgiving. My partner asked me to make a new emergent reader and I decided to add a few other ingredients to make it a delicious tidbit. I am just about finished but I have the TBA Expo tomorrow so I will be busy soaking in all the information. I will post this in my TpT store as soon as I can. I hope you like it.

Sweeten Your Day by Saying Hello to a New Kinder Blog

2011-11-09T05:33:00.000-08:00

She has finally moved into our kindergarten neighborhood. This is my friend Cindy who is from Northern California and has left kind, generous comments on my blog since I can remember. I once told my husband I would love to meet this teacher. She is one of those people I feel like I know already through the wonderful world of blogging. Now she has started her own blog and needs a warm welcome. Is there a virtual welcome to the neighborhood gift? That would be hilarious! Check her out right here when you get a moment in your busy day and you will never be sorry. Have a great day. I am off to test five your olds for about the 5th day....grrrr.

Mentor Magic

2011-11-08T05:35:00.000-08:00

On Thursday we met with our fifth grade mentors and decided to go to the computer lab for some letter practice. We walked over together (kids had their arms around their buddies or were holding their hands). In front of the lab is a grassy area where students sat down together and the little ones read from their literacy bags all the books I have created for them for guided reading. It was great practice for them and their buddies gave them lots of praise for their efforts. After this we went into the lab. The kinderkids sat at the computer with headphones while their buddy sat next to them (on their knees) and helped them along. We had some glitches with the technology but the 5th graders resolved these issues faster than I could! There is something to be said for "digital natives."

More or Less Taught My Way...

2011-11-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

Many teachers have very little difficulty teaching the standard for more and less. My students have had limited experiences with numbers and need a scaffold to help them understand this concept. What do we do in our room? My teaching partner came up with the idea of having them compare their towers so they would clearly see which number was more and which was less. Let's see if this middle step helps them with this. Turkey Day is around the corner so I used DJinkers graphics that were ideal for this season! Grab it and tell me if you have a better idea for this by leaving a comment. I also have a Thanksgiving packet on Tpt right now if you need one.

Pumpkins Are Not Predictable in Kindergarten

2011-11-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

We finally got to our pumpkin activities. I loved Abby's method of collecting data with dot markers. This teacher is so amazing so check out her blog The Inspired Apple for fantastic ideas and visit if you just need a little chuckle. How about blue water? It was much more dramatic for the kids! Even the kids that predicted the pumpkin would float were so shocked when it happened. It was precious to see their expressions.

I saw this idea on Growing in Pre-K and was in awe of it. A sprout will actually grow inside of this slightly hollowed out pumpkin that still has lots of seeds inside. I am not well know for my green thumb but give me credit for trying. If it happens you will be able to hear me screaming at your school. Isn't this so cool? If you do
not know this site it is a wonderful resource for kindergarten teachers so take a peek. Have you ever asked a five year old to say circumference? Make sure you clap the syllables!

Gobble Gobble: Thanksgiving Sounds

2011-11-01T21:19:00.000-07:00

My kids hold their pencils in ways I have never witnessed before. This is not a good thing at all. We need lots of practice identifying sounds we hear at the beginning of seen be words and writing the letter that goes with it. Your students can color in the correct letter or use that handy dandy bingo marker to mix it up. I am going to be doing this activity this week and I like the idea of writing letters for a purpose! I love when you hear kids making the sounds at the top of their voices as they complete their work with no realization of how loud they are. This is so cute and funny. Grab this right here if you want it. I hope you like it.

If you like this activity you might like my T is for Turkey packet that I am selling on Tpt. Check it out if you need some activities to keep them busy and engaged.Click here friends.

In my room turkeys are beginning to appear ...

2011-10-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

This is just a fun game veteran teachers have been using for years to build sight word knowledge. If you have ELL's change it out a bit and have them come up to the pocket chart and use a sentence such as, "The word is here." This is a quick and easy routine you can do daily and keep it fresh by changing out the graphic! I repeat sight words that I want them to practice with greater frequency.

Mentor Magic is Here

2011-10-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

How cute are these pictures? None of these students even noticed me in the room. I gave the directions to my fifth grade helpers and they got right down to business. They did a quick letter and sight word assessment, filled out a double bubble map with their little buddy and finally worked on flash cards to review letters and words.
I made a notebook for each kinderkid and they L*O*V*E*D it! I put an apple on the front cover and eventually I want to put a photo of each student with his or her mentor.The notebook has fluency charts, flash cards and any activities I want them to work on.

So Friday I assessed each student myself to see if they were coming along and fourteen of them got perfect scores! Woohoo, talk about progress! Is this working? You bet it is and the kids are so much more interested in school and participating in class. I even gave out certificates and sent emails to their parents. It was a happy day in Mrs. Kramer'sclassroom. Many of the students who did not get perfect scores only missed a few. Loving this progress...

Turkey Day Is On the Way!

2011-10-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

This is a mini unit you can start tomorrow. I have tons of activities that kinder kids should be practicing to meet the standards. Many of these can be done independently during workshop time and will be fun for your students. If this looks like something you could useclick here to go to my TpT store. I hope this makes life a little easier at such a busy time.

Gobble Gobble Fun

2011-10-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

I have been working all weekend on a turkey mini packet for my classroom and to sell on TpT. It is a little bigger than I planned for but it is full of activities that I am hoping will help my students to grow academically. This is one of my favorite times of the year and my head is spinning with the projects that need to be done. So... I am busy coming up with things to keep your students engaged while you are getting ready for your festivities. Macaroni necklaces, patterned vests, placemats, turkey art... Okay I better finish this and move on so I will be ready too.

T is for Turkey has an emergent reader, syllable counting work, sight word games, maps to use, cvc activities,

beginning sounds work, alphabet matching, counting work, etc. It is almost finished!

Pumpkin Learning

2011-10-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

New strategy in my room: Practice the text in the little books I make billions of times so students feel more confident when reading. Obviously the sight words I am working on are "we" and "see" but I am also talking about adding s to show more than one. We practice this as a routine every day for a week and by the time we get to the little book we know it really well! They feel really successful and so does the teacher! The pumpkin cards are another way to practice the alphabet with a partner.

Mentor Magic Is Coming to Kindergarten

2011-10-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

Okay I am getting ready for tomorrow and I even ran off questions so the mentors have something to guide their thinking. They can ask any kind of a question but these are suggestions in case they run out of ideas. I want to take pictures of each kinder student with his mentor to put on the front of their intervention notebooks. Now I need to come up with something fun for us to do after this... Suggestions?

Calling In Pete for Intervention

2011-10-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Help me understand the adoration my kids have for this cool blue cat. Honestly, using Pete on my bingo boards was inspirational. My kiddos are so motivated by this class icon. What I like best about this is they covered his red shoes and I could still see if their bingo chip was on the right word since it was not covered up. At the end of the game I put them in partners and they "read' their board for additional practice. Why is the word "the" such a challenge for some of my students?

Q tips Can Be Used for Other Things

2011-10-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

We have been listening to lots of stories about the life cycle of a pumpkin so I made this quick little mini book for my students. It was so simple and then I decided to let them jazz up the cover by using a q tip dipped in orange and yellow paint. How much mess could this possibly make? Plenty. but they loved doing it so maybe I will try something bigger next time.

Star Word Mastery Lights Up My World

2011-10-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, no one warned me how much work this intervention would be but once it is done we will be ready to rock and roll with our mentors. I got these rings in Office Depot for a dime a bag and I thought I was going to die of happiness because rings are costly. I have a friend that uses shower curtain rings that she finds at the dollar store and that is a brilliant idea! Teachers are sooooooo smart! Anyhow, once they master these ten words they will get a certificate and tons of applause for a job well done. Motivation and competition rule the world!

Just a little check up...

2011-10-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

Okay I'm not sure how this will roll but I am going to give it a try. Here's the plan: I am going to have my mentors quickly review letters and sight words using flash cards and then give a quick five minute assessment
which will be stored in individual student notebooks. If any student gets 100% I will check for accuracy and give out a certificate the following week and we can all applaud these students. Will this work? I will get back to you on that!

Pumpkin Seeds: Count Them and Eat Them

2011-10-22T15:45:00.000-07:00

My grade level BFF's are already doing Pumpkin investigations and needed this book to finish out their activities. This is just like the book I have in the Applelicious Packet for sale at TpT. The kids had so much fun doing it and it was easy enough that many could do this pumpkin one independently... maybe. This week we are going to estimate the seeds in a small pumpkin by counting them in groups of ten. I also bought pumpkin seeds for them to taste too. We have been reading some great stories, focusing on the life cycle of a pumpkin. What activities are you doing? Grab it here and I hope you use it in your classroom.

Mentor Mapping: Week #2

2011-10-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

So I had our mentors fill out questionnaires with the kinders and now they are going to put this information on a double bubble map. Why? They are going to figure out how they are alike and how they differ. When students look at text they often are expected to compare and contrast two characters and this is a great way for them to get started with this important skill. Photographs can go under each label or kids can draw themselves. The most meaningful part of this experience is buddies have an opportunity to get to know each other and share ideas.
I am looking for sentences such as "We both love dogs." Another possibility might be, I like to play soccer but Tomas likes to ride bikes." The outside circles are colored one color and the ones the buddies share are another color. I hope this makes sense. I can't wait to see how these turn out. By the way I run these maps on 8 and1/2 by 14" paper for my little ones.

Attention... Here Come Our Mentors

2011-10-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

The day was almost over and I told my students their mentors or buddies were coming to work with them. They were so excited. The fifth graders came in with clipboards, ready to meet their little friends and get down to business. They were just as excited! I asked them if they knew what a mentor was and laid some ground rules.I told them I was counting on them to help make our young friends scholars but I needed their help to do this.I modeled the activity I wanted them to do and provided a questionnaire so they could get to know the child they would be working with. I also provided an assessment so they could see what their skills were like. No one prepared me for how touching this would be. They took their job seriously and worked hard. I was close to tears just watching them imitate their own teacher or just go into "teacher mode." Many of them were past students of mine and to watch them in this role was really special for me. Wow, what an amazing experience for all of us. At the end I asked the 5th graders what they had really liked about this experience and they answered me with such honestly and passion. I asked them what else they would like to do with their buddies in the future and they suggested playing games and doing art projects with them. I am filled with hope that we will all get so much from this and I cannot wait to get started on this journey.
My hubby spent all night cutting out flash cards to build their "buddy learning bags." I made upper and lowercase letters on pumpkins and now I need numbers, sound cards, etc. Lots of work but well worth the effort.