I think I am addicted to ...pocket charts

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?

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

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

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

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...

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

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

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 ...

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

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...