Counting On... Some Are Catching On!

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?

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

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?

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

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

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?

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:

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

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

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?