It's been a looooong time!

Ok, so it's been a long time since my last post!  Like most of you, I've been very very busy with getting my new kiddos into the kindergarten routine!  So far this year, we've done our All about School, All About Me, Colors and Shapes, Families, Community Helpers, Fire Safety, and Post Office units.  Wow, that's a lot of material!  I've got a student teacher right now, so I'm hoping now that she's taking over most of the teaching for awhile, I can start getting "ahead of the game" by planning ahead and also making some of the new stuff I've been inspired to make on Pinterest (my new addiction). 

So, this week we started working on patterns, sorting, and graphing in math.  The kids had tons of fun because we used a box of Fruit Loops to explore these concepts during the week.  We sorted the cereal by colors and then counted and graphed.  We also made pattern bracelets with pipe cleaners. 

This year we've also lost a lot of our math support due to budget cuts.  Since we don't have much extra help for math groups anymore, I've been trying to find things that the kids can work on independently if they've finished with their main math activity while I'm still helping others to finish.  Here's something that I made a couple of years ago that they really seem to like:  I made cardstock cards with numbers (1-20) and made a hole punch.  They have to made a chain with that many links and attach it to the card.  I'm not sure where the links originally came from; they were left in my room when I first started teaching.  Students in the past used to try to use them as jump ropes (um, no!!!), so I knew I had to come up with something better and FAST!!!  This is a much better use for them! :)

Another one they really like is a sticker number match.  I have sheets with numbers on one side and a box next to the numbers.  They have to place the corresponding amount of small stickers in the boxes. 

And one more thing that I've had them work on is coin sorting.  We don't start money for awhile, but coin recognition and counting are two things that are always really hard for the little ones; I think it's always a good idea to just start exposing them to the basics early!  So for this activity, I simply give them a handful of plastic coins and have them sort them on the graph.

So these are just a couple of the things that they are working on as "math stations."  I hope to take more pictures soon and post them as well.  I am also trying to work on some new stuff for them!  I LOVE making new things!  :)  I'm off to check out some more stuff on Pinterest!  Happy weekend!

Mouse Paint Freebie, Take 1000000002

Ok, so next week we start our Colors and Shapes unit.  I love to read Mouse Paint!  I made a sheet on Microsoft Word for the kids to do right after reading it; they color the mice with crayons and then figure out the resulting color and write the word in the box.  I finally figured out how to put a Google Doc on here, but now my problem is that I used a really cute font, and I can't figure out how to get the font to show up on Google Docs?!  I'll post the sheet on here in case anyone is interested....and, if anyone knows how to fix my font problem, or if you know of another route I should take, PLEASE let me know!! Thanks!! :)

We survived the first full week...and an earthquake!

Wow, this has been one EXHAUSTING week!! We've been very busy trying to learn routines! Earlier this week, we had an earthquake, which is not common here at all! The kids didn't even notice it because they were outside for recess; I had just run inside to use the restroom (our afternoon is loooong, so our team always covers for each other for a couple minutes so we can have a bathroom break!!!). The door handle was the first thing to start shaking, and I actually thought one of the kids had come in to use the bathroom too...but then everything else started shaking. So then I thought (as did many of the other teachers) it was the AC people on the roof, since our air unit ALWAYS seems to have something wrong with it. But, turns out, EARTHQUAKE! Hmmm...hopefully the next time the AC people are up there, we won't mistake them for another earthquake! Luckily, everything was fine in our area!
At the beginning of the year, we always read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We make this cute craft with their names....letter foam stickers from Michael's. (The idea was from Mailbox magazine.)

And then, for our "All About Me" unit, we write the kids' names on large sheets of paper. They practice using glue and making their names with Fruit Loops.

Next week's unit is Colors and Shapes! We'll be doing Mouse Paint and mixing paint colors. Also, we'll be doing a colored ice cube melting experiment, which they always love! Oooooooh, and I found this book at the library, which combines colors, counting, AND an anti-bullying message!! It's called One by Kathryn Otoshi(Again, I was grabbed by the cover....it was so simple, yet so appealing!) Check it out! :)

Ready or Not....the first full week is coming!

Ok, so Jess, Jenny, and Jenn....surprise! You are EACH getting a set of clips from me! :) Jenny, I need you to message me your address so I can send them out. Jenn, I will see you next month, so I'll give you your clips then. Jess, I'm sure I'll see you around school! :) Guys, I started working on a cute clipboard yesterday, I'll post pics once I put on the finishing touches (ribbons......letters.....scrapbook paper.....)! :)

The kids started back last Wednesday, and boy, are they busy!! They are all super cute and excited to be at school. Tomorrow we start doing our reading rotations, which should help calm things down a bit, since the kids will be in small groups for an hour!

I started using my behavior clips on Thursday, and most kids seemed to respond really well! I had a few to reach "Super Star" on Friday, so I sent cute notes to their parents. I may start doing some tickets this week so they can have a chance to earn prizes from the prize box! Which means I need to head to the Target dollar spot to refill my box! ;) I think I'll head that way now....and enjoy a nice Starbucks Frappuccino while I'm at it! Have a great Sunday!

Tomorrow's the day!

Open House was last night, and I have met 20 out of 21 of my new kiddos! So exciting! I just wanted to share a few pictures of my classroom!
(Note the birthday display that I decided to make...I was inspired by one that I saw on The Clutter Free Classroom blog!)

Clips!

Ok, so I finally got around to getting more clothespins, and I sat down last night and had fun making them cute! I'll use these on my new behavior board! At first I was worried that they wouldn't all be able to fit on the "Ready to Learn" section all at one time, but there was actually a little extra room, so I was relieved! Now I think I need to make a set of these clothespins for my house and make them into magnets or something!! And maybe a set for my desk to use as paper clips....and I could go on and on. :)

Hmmmm....I have an idea. How about a giveaway? My very first one, actually. You have from now until Friday, August 19. To win a set of 10 of these clips, you must do at least 2 things. 1) follow my blog, and 2) post a comment saying that you follow my blog.
Want an extra chance to win? Blog about me or grab my button and leave me a comment letting me know you've done this!(Because I get sad when I see only 4 followers!! Though I love you 4 for your faith in me, haha!) Make sense? Hope so! (remember, I'm new at this!) I'll choose at random! :)
P.S. Sorry the pics are a little fuzzy. Had to use the camera phone so I could get this posted today, and my camera phone stinks!!

Back to School

Well, we teachers headed back to school today for Preschool Week! We had meetings today, so not a lot of time to work in our rooms, which is what I always feel like I need to be doing! I did go BACK into work this evening for a couple of hours and tied up a few loose ends. I've used LOTS of scrapbook paper in my room this year, and I have to say I really like how nice it makes things look! Hopefully I'll get some pictures posted soon! I did get the Jitter Glitter poem (found on Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Business blog) copied today and it looks adorable on polka dot paper that I found at the Dollar Tree. I plan to hand those out during Open House night with a tiny bag of "magic glitter!" Also, we got tiny bottles of bubbles from the Dollar Tree (in the wedding section, comes in packs of 9 in a box!!!!!!!) and labeled those with "We had a "bubbly" first day in kindergarten" to hand out on the first day of school. I'll post pictures of those, too! Cheap, but fun!! :)

Clip Behavior System board...ribbons and scrapbook paper and paint, oh my!

Ok, so I got right to work last night on the behavior board (again, the system was not my original idea...I took the idea of the board from the Voss Vine blog, and most of the sayings from The Polka Dot Patch (http://www.thekinderpolkadotpatch.com/search/label/Classroom%20Management). And anyway, here's what I came up with. It was a lot of fun to make, and I adore that there's lots of color and ribbon. Like other clip systems, the kids start the day on the green "Ready to Learn" section. If they make good choices, they can move their clip up to "Good Day," "Great job," and finally, "Super Star!" On the other hand, poor choices will mean that the clip is moved to "Think About it" (a warning), "Teacher Choice" (depending on the time of day and the bevhavior, this could mean missing some recess, center time, or losing some other opportunity), and finally, "Parent Contact/Office" (again, depending on the type of behaviors). The beauty is that even if the child has had to move the clip down, they always have the chance to move their clip back UP! MUCH more motivating than the typical name-on-the-board-and-you-miss-5-minutes-of-recess discipline! So, I guess here in a couple of weeks I'll see how it works in my classroom! Now to make some cute clips...I see a trip to Walmart for clothespins in the near future....

New projects underway!

I am so excited! I've been reading on quite a few blogs about a clip behavior system, and I really like that I've been reading! I was inspired by the The Voss Vine blog to make a piece of wood for the kids to put their clips on. Then they can move clips up and down according to how their day is going. I love that even if they make a bad choice, they still have the opportunity to turn it around! I will be working on painting or maybe decoupaging that in the next couple of nights! Please check back to see how that turns out!
Also, I need to work on a new display for the kids' birthdays. I'm bored with my old display and need to spice it up a bit. I haven't decided 100% what that's going to look like yet, though I found a cool idea on the Clutter-free Classroom blog that I may have to steal/adapt! I found some really cute dimensional stickers at Michael's craft store today for $0.49! Woo hoo! I need to find a way to put them to use! Anybody got any cool birthday displays to share??

New book!

I found the most adorable book this week while looking for books for my boys. It's called Tom's Tree by Gillian Shields. I first picked it up because the illustrations (by Gemma Raynor) caught my eye; I'll admit that I often judge books by their covers! I read it to the boys at bedtime and LOVED it! It has a lot of possibilities; difference between real life and fantasy, changes that occur over time in both plants AND people, and how changes can be fast or slow. I think I'll need to purchase a copy! And I'll be thinking of activities to go along with it!

5 more days.....

Wow, it seems like just yesterday that I was handing out kindergarten diplomas and zooming down the hill on the slip and slide for field day.  How did summer vacation go by so quickly?  This must be some kind of record!  Next Wednesday we teachers will all be back at school for preschool week, and before you know it, the kiddies will be back in the classroom!  This year we are back down to 4 kindergarten classrooms due to redistricting in our area.  Last month when we made the class lists, we each had about 17 kids, which was ideal, but now we are all up to 20 and 21.  That's a little scary when you think about kids registering after labor day, new students in the area, etc.  But, the good news is that I have an equal number of girls and boys this year, which almost never happens!  Today I worked on nametags for cubbies, my class helpers, and centers.  Most people I know think I'm crazy to get excited about labeling stuff, but I think it's a teacher thing!  And I'm so excited about my owls for the cubbies this year...I used scrapbook paper and the die cut machine.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE scrapbook paper...I'm pretty much an addict!  Anyway, I need to really work on the plans for the first 3 days of school; those are always the hardest; we don't start our reading groups until the following week, so we do whole group EVERYTHING for the first three days.  I'm looking for some new ideas, because I get tired of doing the same thing all the time.  What are your favorite back to school activities in kindergarten classrooms??