Friday, August 31, 2012

Dry-erase board center

Here is a quick and easy way to update your dry-erase board center.  Word lists are great tool for handwriting, letter and word recognition.  They are also super easy to make.  The sight word lists correspond to the Start Smart and Unit 1 in the MMH reading series.  The document includes 7 lists.  The Friends list is intentionally left blank.  Add your student's names to this list.

The lists can be displayed on the board with a magnet or clipped together with a binder ring.  They also make a nice addition to the children's book boxes, writing folders or writing center.


Thursday, August 30, 2012

Working on name writing

The first intervention group I pull is for writing names.  Right now, my grade level team is in the process of testing, so this is just temporary.  Here is an example of what our intervention groups will eventually cover, once we get a clear picture of what our students' needs are.



I am also including a homework schedule for name-writing practice.  I'm hoping it will get the parents involved.  It's also an opportunity to introduce myself to families, since I am not their classroom teacher.
I left the signature space open because I thought it would be SO adorable to have the little-learners sign their own name.  We'll see how it works tomorrow!


I'd be happy to share both of these documents.  They are up on google docs, but if you would like an "editable" version, please send me a message and I will email it to you.


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Wild about Word Walls!


Today I'd like to share some examples of word walls. We use word walls to display sight words we are teaching in reading and writing. Word walls are a great resource for children during centers and writing time. Integrating your word wall into your instruction is a wonderful way to teach children how to use a word wall to become better readers and writers.    
Writing Center Word Wall

Using names to introduce word wall                

Here are some great examples of word walls that I found on Pinterest.

Some word-wall reminders...

~Location, location!  Keep your word wall in a place the children will see it.  The words should be large enough to see from their tables or literacy centers.

~Keep it simple!  TOO much color and pattern might take away from displaying the words clearly.

~You can have more than one word wall.  An example is a math word-wall.  This is used to display math vocabulary.  Keep your word-walls purposeful.  They should never be just a decoration.

~Refer to your word-wall often in your teaching.  Teach and re-teach how to find words on the word wall.  Always connect it to real reading and writing!

~Introduce your word wall by displaying student pictures and names under each letter.  You can also put examples of environmental print on your word wall.

Already have a word wall in place?  Here is a great way to get some extra use from a door in your classroom!   Make it a class project by having your students bring in environmental print from home.


Monday, August 27, 2012

Monday's Must Have- Hurricane day supplies

Anthropologie rain boots
 A super cute pair of rain boots is at the top of my must have list.

 

    
This may be a more affordable option for teachers.  Wait to you see the other cute styles Target has!  Here is a fun article that will  give you more ideas on rainy-day fashion.


A darling umbrella to keep you dry is a must-have!    
Vera Bradley Umbrella-  Rythm and Blues
Totes Umbrella-  Walmart.com
This one from Walmart is just as cute!


Some candles of course!  Not just for power outages, but fragrance and ambiance!  Tyler candles are the best.  My must have scent is High Maintenance.  A bit pricey, but they are totally worth it!  Here's a tip...  if you have a tall jar candle that is hard to light- use a dry spaghetti noodle as a long candle lighter.  Thanks Pinterest for another brilliant idea!

And of course.  Lots and lots of water!  Need some flavor?  I use these...

Mio Flavor Drops-  Mango Peach is delicious!

Emergen-C

I hope all you teachers get some extra rest and stay safe and dry while the Isaac passes through!  See you Tuesday!
  

Saturday, August 25, 2012

First week is over!



Now that we've got THAT out of the way, take some time to do something you enjoy this weekend!  This afternoon, I'm going to Sarasota to attend a ballet performance featuring Jose Manuel Carreno and Julie Kent.  I'm super excited to get lost in some ballet and spend time with friends!

Here's a sneak peak of what I'll be seeing in a few hours...  2:44 and 4:15 are my favorite parts!
I hope you can put aside some time for yourself before we start week 2!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Purple Day

 How funny was it to see all the purple Thursday at school!  So many cute purple shirts, pants and necklaces.  WGES teachers- the NEXT time you plan a color theme, let me know about it!

I went on a purple hunt to see what other great things come in purple at our school!  Take a look at what I found...

 














Like what you see?  If any of these things look familiar to you, leave a comment below to win your own set of purple pocket charts- embellished with ribbon of course!  I'll be drawing a name Friday, August 31.  





Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Teaching Rules in Kindergarten


I like to introduce the word "rules" to the children with this quick video. Every time we hear the word rules, we put a thumbs up.  Following the video, I like to create a quick list of rules for a fun activity.  An example-  using bean bags.  Write a list of rules and see how well the children can follow them.  To summarize the activity, the children can state the school rules or talk about why we have rules at school.    

Florida teachers!  This is one of the domains on your FLKRS checklist!  Take this time to observe if children know the school rules.

Here is another activity to do as a follow up lesson.  The children can trace the word rules and  draw a picture of how they follow school rules.





Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Back to School Video Playlist

Here is a collection of videos to help you with transitions and to get your kids moving!


 

Monday, August 20, 2012

Monday's Must Have- DIY Headbands



It's terribly humid and hot the first month of school.  There's no reason to over-style your hair when its so sticky and sweaty from August to September.  The solution?  Dry shampoo, messy up-dos, braids, and pony tails accessorized with headbands (see this link for some great ideas).  Here are some Pinterest inspired headbands for your first week of school hair looks.  Thanks Ms. Hunter for taking the time to model for me!

Whimsical-  sew buttons on an elastic hairband.  Super cute!


Girly and romantic-  make a bow and attach it to an elastic hairband.  If you aren't feeling crafty, you can always find cute hair bows in the hair brush aisle at Walmart or CVS.

Thank you Mrs. Dapcic for inspiring this idea!

Bold and fun-  brightly colored flowers are a great way to add interest to any hairdo!  I got these flowers in the Target girls department.  So pretty!



Here are some great dry shampoos to consider...



Dove® Refresh Care™ Invigorating Dry Shampoo

Suave Dry Shampoo-  Mrs. Perez's  daughter's favorite!





Hoping you'll keep cool during the first week of school!

Friday, August 17, 2012

A little ribbon and glitter...



... is all you need to make your classroom fun and fancy for the first day of school!  Today a friend asked me to "fancify" her READ sign.

After some brainstorming between Mrs. Mack and Ms. Hunter we decided on hanging the owls on ribbon with clothespins.

It's a good thing Michael's recently stocked up on ribbon!  Take a look at all the choices we have!  

I've been dying to do a Mod-Podge glitter project, soooo...  it's time to make these clothespins sparkle!


After looking up a few tutorials on Pinterest, I combined glitter and Mod-Podge to make this icky, goopy mess.



I applied a thick layer of the glitter mixture with a sponge brush.  I let it dry and applied another generous coat.


Once dried, I sprayed them with Mod Podge clear acrylic sealer.  

A bit messy but SO shiny!  Yes that's a Command damage free hook... not sure how it will turn out.

I attached the owls to a bit of ribbon using the glitter clothespins...  here's the finished product!  The ribbon has a simple ABC design.


 Thanks Mrs. Mack for letting me have fun with your owls!  I'm glad you were happy with the end result.  To find out more about Mrs. Mack's first grade class, click here.





Thursday, August 16, 2012

Lesson Plan Templates

I'm sharing two lesson plan templates today.  This year, I'm working as an intervention teacher, so my lesson plans will look very different.  I would love to see your ideas for small group intervention documentation and lesson planning.  Please comment if you have any ideas to share!









Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Meet the Teacher Day

Today is the day we meet our students and families for this school year.  It's a busy day!  I always love seeing the children's excitement for starting school.  While a lot are shy and reserved, many are full of stories to fill the new teacher in on "what's new" in their life.

At my school, we teach in pods organized into 4 separate classrooms-  we work closely with each other so it's important that our students and families know who all the teachers are.  We use this brochure to introduce our team of teachers to our new school families.


Thanks Ms. Hunter for creating and SHARING this document.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

A few pointers ... on POINTERS!








Pointers are a great resource for beginning readers.  The purpose of pointers is to help children to look at print.  They also help "train" little eyes to look at letters and words.  As they begin to learn more about letters and words, they start to notice more features on their own.  In the beginning it's the teacher who demonstrates the correct way to use a pointer to look at letters and words.

Ms. Hunter has a ton of fun pointers in her classroom.  Look what I found when she wasn't looking!


Who wouldn't want to "point and read" using these fancy pointers!


Here's a great idea from Dr. Jean called the Magic Paintbrush – Give students a clean paintbrush and ask them to “paint” details in a book.  “Who can paint the word "A"?”   “Who can paint what the giraffe is eating?” 




If you have some extra popsicle sticks, you can make super cute pointers by adding stickers or any other interesting objects (google-eyes!!) to one end of the stick.  This one is a class favorite!




I can't wait to make these pointers for my little learners this year.  I found this idea on Pinterst.

Adventures in Teaching

I found these stirring sticks a few years ago.  The kids are really attracted to the colors and they are so easy for their little hands to manipulate.






Try decorating a paint stirrer.  Walmart is happy to share!  This works great for larger print.


I'd love to see your creative ideas for pointers.  Comment below to share your favorite pointer designs!