Flipping Over Flip Books!

I learned something about kindergarten kids this year. They build skills over time when you keep the task systematic and consistent. I have made them these books for every theme we have covered this year and the pay off is their ability to do this independently as a result. It is so cute to watch them clap each word and count the syllables. It makes me smile. I can't go wrong when it comes to this farm thing... I will post this soon as a freebie.

What do the kids like?

Here is a better view of this packet and I will post some freebies that will go along nicely with this theme. I have been really focusing on their writing and what do you think is the hot topic? Animals! We have done a lot of guided drawing and I am amazed by the results. I am changing out the routine cards today and I hope it helps to keep them invested in learning some of these more difficult skills. Animals with clocks... hummmmm.

Farmer Fran Created A New Packet

Howdy folks! This is Farmer Fran here and I have just finished a huge packet for anyone interested in reviewing kinder skills with a farm theme. This was a theme every kindergarten teacher did faithfully in her classroom, but now that we have scripted curriculum it has really gone away in many classrooms, including mine. I remember when we use to make all the TLC barnyard animals (bless you Kaye for your genius) and the students loved learning about all the animals with related poems and songs. I find that I really do not have a place to fit this in because of all the academic demands being mandated but my kids had such a blast at the farm and wanted to talk about it for endless amounts of time! So... I bit the bullet and made some activities that they need to improve on and used a farm theme. Easy enough- right. On Friday I did a sight word game with chickens and got their full attention for at least ten minutes! Not bad on a Friday afternoon...
If you want to squeeze this in here is the link and I hope you are familiar with the Barnyard Boogie!

Farm Freebies Are Fun!

I really cannot teach a Farm Unit but I know my kids are loving these animals and I need to keep them going with standards based activities. Who said I can't change the graphics in the room so that it looks like abarnyard boogie? Anyhow, if you think you might want this little freebie you can grab it here. Here are two spinners that you can make with brads and paper clips. The recording sheet for this is included. I am going to include manipulatives to help students build their number sentences.

Barnyard Fun In Kindergarten

We had a great time on our farm field trip and the kids thought riding a school bus was fantastic.It takes very little to thrill a 5 year old.  They loved touching the animals and watching a cow get milked. Farmer Teena (our tour guide) was really excellent and something tells me she might have been a teacher in a previous life. She knew everyone's name within a few minutes and she never lost control over her enthusiastic audience. We also saw oxen and found out they each weighed 3,000 pounds. They really impressed them. The gardens were filled with vegetables so I told them I was sorry that I didn't bring any salad dressing. No one thought that was even slightly funny except for Farmer Teena. Now I know why I liked her...

Have you met Farmer Fran?

So report cards are finished but the paper work in addition to this is crazy. However, in the middle of all of this we are heading for the farm this week and I needed to make something for the kids to use when they got back from the trip. The text is simple enough and my students have already practiced it in a pocket chart. So now I needed to move on to a book for their literacy bag. This is available in my TpT store and I like the cut and paste format with kids adding in a few sight words. One word needs to be capitalized so we'll see how that rolls...
Do you need something like this for your farm unit or just because? Click here to grab it. EIEI-O!

My Life Is Full of Surprises...

I never like to mix my teaching blog with my personal life but this is worth sharing. For months now my husband and two daughters (who live far away) have been planning a birthday party for me. My husband told me he would wait for me to fall asleep each night (sometimes earlier than I want to admit) and he would get on the phone with the girls to work on the plans. It was so spectacular that I am still trying to wrap my head around it.

It was in a gorgeous part of Orange County and he had it outside with delicious food and wine. The daughters contacted everyone they thought I would want, including my entire grade level. They created a slide show of my life (sniff) which was really embarrassing  touching. They wrote a poem together about having me for a mom and other friends spoke about our friendships. OMG. It was a lot to take in with presents and a cake that was amazing with a gorgeous photo of my family. My husband flew in my sister as a surprise for me and my niece came from New York! At the end of the party my very quiet husband stood up and read a poem he had written about our lives together over 37 years. There was not a dry eye in the room... That is why I have not blogged this week. I am still try to take it all in...

What is magically delicious?

This has been around for many, many years but if your students need more graphing experience this is an easy solution to celebrate St. Patrick's day. I'm not a big fan of all children sticking their hands in the same bowl to do this activity so I have another suggestion that will make it feel special. Have a parent put a handful of cereal in clear treat bags and you can use the topper I have provided to seal off the bag. Each child has their own to use when doing this graphing activity! The graph can be run off on colored paper or stay with the white so they can color in how many of each shape they have in their baggie. Easy and fun during assessment time. This might give you a handy fifteen minutes.They can even compare their data with a partner and I will come up with a recording sheet if I have time... The graph and topper are available as a freebie for kinders and firsties at my shop on TpT.
Please rate it and leave a comment if you think it will make you luckier!

Seuss Fun In Room 101

Reading Is Fun But Here Is Math On the Run!

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!