Report Cards Make Me Crazy

                                   

I am sitting in front of my computer on a Saturday (like all my district friends) doing report cards. This is always a difficult, demanding task and we have been assessing our little ones for 2 weeks. Ugh, not something I enjoy. However, some of them have really grown and were anxious to show me what they knew. Kindergarten is the most joyous grade! If you are feeling like I am watch this video and remind yourself  that we are in the best profession out there.

I love to read. What are you reading right now?

More About Those Bears

Here is the map I created in class with my little ones. I loved the words they selected and they made the connection to their own moms quickly and easily. I always have to remind myself that this map is only for describing. Notice the scaffold with the word is to help them build the linguistic pattern and read the map effectively!
                                                   

 

 click here for book

Meet the Bear Family



These are some cute samples of the writing my class is doing now:



Click here for my map

We made this bubble map in class today and tomorrow we will build this text in a pocket chart.

For example:  

Mama Bear is helpful.

Mama Bear is furry.

Mama Bear is brown. 

Mama Bear is a good chef.

Mama Bear is kind.

The students will get this paper with the bubble map already on there. I want them to draw a picture of Mama Bear with much detail (we practiced on a wipe-off board)  in the frame and then write two sentences using the bubble map. This is an excellent scaffold for our English Learners.



Have You Heard The Buzz?

Yup, it's really true. Kinderglynn is having a "honey" of a giveaway on her site today. Buzz over to learn about this sweet deal... If your morning messages no longer feel exciting here is a chance to win an  incredible book. Hurry because this deal ends on March 12th.
"Bee" the first to have it at your school.

Hurry...Math Work Stations Is Finally Available!

                                                                          

I am so excited that this book is finally available on Amazon. I have waited so long for this to come out.

If you are not familiar with this author please take the time to check her out. Her books are fantastic and so easy to implement! I have been watching the mail for my "gift" but it hasn't arrived yet. Don't you love getting packages from Amazon?
  

Oatmeal for Breakfast

When we celebrated "Read Across America" in kindergarten our kids came in their jammies and were thrilled to see me dressed the same way, down to my slippers.It was a day full of fun and learning but the best part was making oatmeal in our classroom.  This related to our unit on Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. With some creative thinking we came up with the idea of using our own coffee pot to make hot water. I had the kids line up as I poured the water into their cup of oatmeal and then had them stir carefully. We offered toppings such as honey (that's what a bear would want), brown sugar, and raisins. This was a big hit!





It's a simple set-up and oatmeal needs very little heat to cook.
Just be sure to add enough water to make it creamy.



 

The students helped me make a bubble map using their senses to describe the oatmeal.
We practiced the following linguistic pattern:
Oatmeal is ________.

  The  children got into small groups and graphed their answer to the question: Do you like oatmeal? A green strip was for yes and purple was for no. We let them do this independently after modeling.

I will have them fill out a form like this on Monday.

So You Think You Know the Story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears...Think Again

I have been reading many different versions of Goldilocks and the Three Bears  in class this week. The children always listen with great interest and enthusiasm as I present each version of the story. They never get tired of hearing it and many love the predictability of each one. Each story has unique vocabulary and this provides a wonderful opportunity to compare and contrast different versions. Here are a few of my favorites:

This is a much more modern version of the story and you will notice that Goldilocks does not have curly hair. I wonder if she decided to straighten her hair? You will love the illustrations and the rich vocabulary in this story.

Now come the less traditional tales that you might not know about:

I adore this version. Papa Bear never gets around to fixing Baby Bear's chair (sounds like my husband) so the bear family goes shopping for a new chair for him. This provides you with an amazing opportunity to talk about describing words and to have children draw a picture of a chair they would love to have. The story ends with a twist and a gift from Goldilocks!

This is a little more sophisticated but hilarious. Read it ahead of time so you can simplify it for young children. It reminds all of us not to do things we might regret later. You can have rich conversations using this book but you may need to read it over several days.

 Jan Brett changes the setting for this version and for those of you who did Artic animals with your little ones, this is the perfect version for making connections to that learning.Goldilocks is an Inuit girl .The illustrations are gorgeous and typical of Jan Brett's wonderful work. I have not read this to my class yet but it is certainly on my list.  

Jazzy Patterns to Dazzle Your Kids

 Click here for "kid friendly" patterns:

I got this amazing idea from Amanda on her blog  http://aspecialkindofclass.blogspot.com/

and I can't thank her enough. My kids needed something different to mix it up a little and Amanda  inspired me to make this important concept more interesting. Each child got their own baggie of cards and I told them what kind of pattern I wanted them to make (AAB etc. ) Then they had to read their pattern to me. We switched our baggies and I could quickly assess who needed more work on this.

The children loved this! We had so much fun... I love all the creative teachers out there...


First we practiced in the pocket chart.

They got to pick their baggie:

One Extra Degree: Fiction File: Story Elements Posters!

One Extra Degree: Fiction File: Story Elements Posters!
You have to see these adorable posters Amanda made for
our youngest writiers. I can't wait to buy them at her TpT store.

What You Can Learn From Kindergarten Crayons...

This is what we all belive as classroom teachers.

I
This is why I named this blog Kindergarten Crayons.
All 5 year olds love a new box of crayons the most-right! 
We used this idea to celebrate MLK's birthday.