Friday Five!

What a week!  I'm so thankful for a three-day weekend!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for another Friday Five!

1.  I have to start by recommending that you NOT buy this yogurt.  Ever.  It tastes like what I'd imagine orange Clorox wipes taste like.   There is a coconut vanilla flavor that is awesome, but this one... not so much.

 

2.  Our first week of math centers was a success!!

 

3.  Making shapes with yarn and glue.

 

4.  I've been spending more time with my embroidery machine...

5.  And....

 

Friday Five!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for another Five for Friday!  I love reading what others post about their week and looking at all the pictures.  It's a great way to wrap up the week!

1.  We had some Chicka Chicka Boom Boom fun this week in class!  I love having my kids make Chicka trees!  I tell them to write all of the letters they know... it's a good way to gauge their letter knowledge at the beginning of the year!

2.  We had F.A.Q. Night this week... it's pretty much a Parent Night, or Back to School Night.  Parents are invited to come learn more about the classroom and ask questions about anything.  Here's a picture of my parent turnout... whomp whomp. :)  There's was a huge downpour right before it was scheduled, so I think that had a lot to do with it.

3.  This little one made my heart melt with her adorable outfit today!!

4.  I've been working on things for our baby girl we're adopting in October... a ribbon wreath is the perfect girly touch in her nursery!

5.  And I tried my hand at sewing her a onesie gown!  LOVE it. :)

P.S.  I've bundled several products into a Back to School Bundle!  I marked it at 20% off for the regular bundle price... but this weekend only I've take an additional 20% off!  Click below to check it out!

Back to School Sale!

It's back to school time!  Everything in my store will be 20% off on August 18-19!  Plus, you can get an additional 10% off your entire purchase by entering code BTS13 at checkout!

Here are some fun back to school items that I'll have on sale.  Click on the pictures to check them out!

Friday Five!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for a Friday Five!

1.  Rainbow Hair!!  We had such a fun time reading this poem and making our own rainbow hair pictures.  This little friend is having such a hard time with glue... but we're gonna keep working on it!

2.  We're working on shapes and this is one of my favorite cooperative group activity!  We searched magazines for objects that are different shapes and made collages!

3.  I'm trying a new system for extra crayons this year.  I usually have a big tub and all extra crayons go into it.  Then, when a student needs a color, he/she can get it from that tub.  However, in recent years, I've noticed some kids get lost over at the crayon tub, digging for what seems like an hour!  So, hopefully, this will cut down on the crayon box digging!

4.  LOVE this fortune from lunch today!!

5.  Hit a consignment sale this week and was so excited to find some really cute smocked items for baby girl!

Teacher Week '13 - Tricks and Tips!

It's the last day of the Teacher Week '13 blog hop and it's been a ton of fun! I've learned a lot and have loved having a peek into the classrooms of so many amazing teachers. Today's topic is all about teacher tricks and tips! I have two that I'd like to share with you! The first tip is about how I manage lunch choices in the mornings. If your classroom is anything like mine, there is so much to do and keep track of in the mornings! I used to do the lunch count as a whole group and have kids raise their hands if they wanted the main entree, PBJ, or salad. But what ended up happening is that my kinder kids would end up raising their hands more than once and messing up the count. I tried sticks in cups, but somehow we'd end up losing some sticks. So, last year I tried a clip system, and it's worked!

I have pictures printed out of all the menu items our cafeteria serves for lunch.  Every morning I switch the main entree choice.  Then kids come in and move their clip to the choice they want for that day.  The clips stay put!  This makes the lunch count SO much easier to deal with because they choose one thing and are done!

My second tip is my favorite...

I seriously LOVE these things!  We don't really grade papers in kindergarten... when my kids finish with something I give them a smiley face on their work.  And these kids will work HARD to get a smiley face in a fun scent!  If they do extra well they can choose their scent.  They are obsessed! :)

Don't forget to hop over to Blog Hoppin' to check out more tips and tricks!

Teacher Week '13: Classroom Management

Day 4 of Teacher Week is all about Taming the Wild!  Classroom management can be one of the trickiest parts of teaching... especially when teaching the little ones who really don't have much school experience.  I remember my first year of teaching feeling like college did not prepare me AT ALL for how to handle management and discipline problems.  I've used many systems over the years... some have worked and some have failed miserably.

What I've learned is that the most important part of a good classroom management plan is consistency and high expectations.  Helping children learn to respect themselves and respect one another is huge.  And LOTS of praise goes a long way!

We have a school-wide plan since we follow PBIS.  We have tickets called Pride Paws that students can earn when they are making good choices.  Every 2 weeks we spend time trading them in for small prizes or extra privileges (recess, computer time, sit with a friend at lunch, etc).

 

I used a behavior clip chart last year, but this year we have implemented the behavior stick school-wide.  It's just like a chart, but in mobile stick form. :)  It goes with us everywhere... to lunch, specials, etc.  

 

Don't forget to hop on over to Blog Hoppin' to read about some more classroom management ideas!

Teacher Week '13 -- Organizing for Instruction

I'm loving all of the Teacher Week posts I've been reading!  Today's topic is Now Teach!  Organizing for Instruction.  Being more organized became one of my classroom goals last year, and it's still one I'm working on this year.  So, here's a small peek into some of the ways I try to organize myself for instruction.

First of all, I started using a large teacher planner binder last year and it's been awesome!  I have tabs in there for my calendar, lesson plans, curriculum maps, student info, committee meeting minutes, Common Core standards, and a few others.  I'm grade chair this year, so keeping all that info straight is important!

I worked hard last summer to organize my cabinets!  It's so easy to find things now, and to be able to see when something is getting low.

 

This past summer I worked on putting together math stations.  I decided to organize them using large manila envelopes.  I like attaching the cover sheet with instructions on the front so I can easily remember how the station works!

 

I have these storage drawers under my desk.  I've labeled each drawer with a day of the week.  Inside I keep copies for each day, as well as any materials we'll need.  It's awesome to be able to open a drawer and have what I need for the day inside.

 

I love this organizer I found on clearance at Target this past summer!  I'm using it for our math stations this year.  I like how there are 4 colors, and I have 4 tables in my classroom.  So, each day, a table gets to use a different color.  They have to complete the activity in the large tub first, then if they finish early, they can grab one of the small tubs to use.  

Don't forget to link over to Blog Hoppin' to check out some more organization ideas!

Teacher Week 2013 -- Classroom Digs

Day 2 of the Teacher Week '13 Blog Hop!  I am so excited to see all of the classroom pictures and get some new ideas and inspiration.  Here's a little peek into my classroom.  Let me start by saying that we have to deal with a lot of fire marshal regulations, so I don't have as much hanging on my walls as some of the other fabulous classrooms I've seen!  I also feel like my classroom is very small for a kindergarten classroom and I definitely need more storage!  But, despite all of that, it's my home away from home and I love spending my days there. :)

Here's the door to my classroom.  School started for us last week, so we've already decorated our door with our names!

 

Stepping inside, here's what everything looks like from the door.  The large black cart in the center is my technology cart.  It houses a computer, projector, document camera, and an e-beam.  I do not have a smart board (we only have 7 in our school) so I have to make due with this! :)

 

Moving to the left and around the room, here is my word wall, writing center, housekeeping center (dramatic play), and my old little classroom computers.

 

I bought this from Target online this summer at a clearance price of $26!  I'm using it this year for math stations.

 

Above the math stations is my number wall.  I love these number posters and having the ten frames on display has really helped my kiddos!

 

To the right of the math stations is the monster I call Blue Shelf.  Behind the curtains are math manipulatives on the right and then puzzles, games, Legos, Lincoln Logs, and other things for kids to choose during developmental centers.

 

On top of the Blue Shelf we keep our supply baskets.  I used to keep them on the tables full time, but I've had years where the kids could not stop playing with their supplies when it was time to listen, or they would fight over where the basket went on the table.  So, we keep them here and get our supplies when we need them.  

 

To the right of the Blue Shelf is my desk area and bookshelves with my read-aloud books and teacher resource books.

 Under my desk I keep storage drawers that organize our activities for Monday-Friday, as well as our writing and math journals.

Here's our large group gathering spot at the front of the classroom.  I bought this shaggy black rug at Wal-Mart last year and my kids love sitting on it.  It also does a good job of hiding the cords from my technology cart.

 

To the right of that, we have blocks, big books, and cubbies.

 We have to display essential questions and standards.  I used black and white polka dot washi tape to section off that part of the board.

 Our school has placed an emphasis on vocabulary, so here is my vocabulary wall.  I only put up the words we are focusing on that week.

 

This is the system I use for lunch choices.  The kids move their clip to let me know what they're having for lunch.

I used a clip chart last year for behavior, but this year our school decided to go school-wide with behavior sticks.  It's the same idea as a clip chart, only the stick is mobile and goes with us to specials and to lunch.  I just had to fancy mine up with polka dots!

So, that's about it! :)  Be sure to hop over to Blog Hoppin' to check out other classrooms!