October Fun

Can I just tell you how much I love October??  I'd say it was my favorite, but I also really love December.  We have had so much fun!  We ended our apple week at the end of September and jumped into reading Otis books.  If you haven't read these books, you must!  They are sooo cute!  It is about a tractor and his farm friends.  There are several books, but I love the original and Otis and the Scarecrow best.  Otis and the animals think the scarecrow is real, and they don't understand why he doesn't smile at them or talk to them.  We made a character map describing Otis, and then each created their own scarecrows. They turned out really cute! 

 I bought some straw at the Dollar tree for their hands, and they chose which head, hat, and outfit for the scarecrow.  We also have been talking about setting and characters, so they drew a picture of the setting and characters in the story. 

My class loves Otis, so definitely check it out! 

We moved into Pumpkin week which of course is always a favorite!  For one of the centers, I added this sensory bin.  I put oatmeal, leaves, and rocks with letters on them.  I wrote our sight words, color words, and the student's names on the pumpkins.  They could look for the letters and make words or write the words on the dry erase board.  Most chose to do both. 

I also wrote our sight words on a pumpkin, and they loved being able to write the words or make the words with magnetic letters. 

 This a game they love!!  All of the words we have learned so far go into the pumpkin.  There are also 3 with the word BOO!  They take turns pulling out a pumpkin and read the word.  If they pull out a BOO card, all of the cards go back in.  They LOVE this game and were doing really well praciticing our sight words! 

You could use this for number and letter recognition, sounds, math facts-  the options are endless!  Best of all - they are learning while having fun! 

 

 Later in the week, we decided to experiment with candy pumpkins.  We wondered and predicted what might happen when we put a pumpkin in oil, water, 7-up, vinegar, and milk.  Most of them ended up dissolving, but it was fun watching them change.  They were all pretty different, and I like this activity becuase it can be done in a day! 

 We also created shapes, towers, or anything they wanted with the pumpkins and toothpicks!  They loved doing this.  One made a set of dumbell weights.  :D  So cute! 

Others made shapes, and one even made a fidget spinner!  Pretty creative! 

We ended our week with lots of activities with small pumpkins.  Each table had their own pumpkin to measure with links and cubes.  They also counted the number of lines.  They drew what they looked like and described how they felt. 
Finally, we cut them open so everyone could reach in and pull out the seeds.  Lots of squeals with that!!  Their faces were priceless! 

Next week is Bat Week which is one of my favorite weeks of the year!! 

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The Jelly Donut Difference

In the beginning of the year (well, really throughout the whole year), we talk about friendships and showing kindness.  This is such a huge part of year!  I emphasize that we are a school family on day 1 to day 180.  We do lots of activities and read many books learning how to accept, respect, and show love to each other.  Our school motto is Love One Another, so they hear this a lot.

They begin to become more aware that they are not the only ones in the class.  They have to be patient, wait their turn, show compassion, and learn how to be kind to each other.  We are family.

Maria Dismondy writes so many amazing books that are perfect for character education.  This week we read The Jelly Donut Difference.  This book was such a heartfelt story about showing kindness to a lonely neighbor.  It was such a sweet book!  The students loved it, and it really made them think.

We did some interactive writing on a chart of how we can be kind at school and at home.  They each thought of their own ways and wrote them on the chart.

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Our First Couple of Weeks

Long time no post!!!  As a teacher, the beginning of the year is crazy busy!  As a parent and a teacher, double or triple that!  We went back August 6, and the students started on August 15.  I'm finally feeling like I am getting back into my routine with a little bit of time to spare.

Meet the Teacher was very successful!  I set my classroom up in stations for each family to visit, and it was a hit.  I have a previous post about how I run my stations.  I kept it the same but changed up the signs and gifts this year.  I also recorded myself reading The Night Before Kindergarten attached it to a QR code.  It was such a fun way to kick off the year.

The 1st few weeks we do not do many activities.  It is ALL about introducing and practicing routines and procedures.  This is a MUST for me.  If we don't go through all of those procedures, we are setting ourselves up for a really tough year.

We did a few 1st day book activities!  That is my absolute favorite!  The first day we read The Kissing Hand, and we talked about how we feel coming to school.  Many were nervous and happy.  I will admit that I felt the same!



We also read Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes.  I love this book!  There are so many fun activities to do with names.  We looked at beginning letters and counted the letters in our names.  They made this craft, and it turned out so cute!  This template is on my TPT.  I printed it on white and pink cardstock, and they drew the eyes and whiskers.  They also wrote their name and how many letters were in their name.


 We also talked about the other characters in the book were being unkind and saying things that hurt her feelings.  As we read the story, we crinkled up a little of the heart each time someone said something hurtful.  At first, the kids were shocked that I was wrinkling up the heart.  They began to understand and understood more of how she felt in the story.  I gave the kids bandaids to color and decorate which is like saying "I'm sorry".

 The beginning of the year is such an important time of year in not only establishing routines but in developing friendships and building relationships.  This is HUGE as we work on becoming a school family.  We read lots of books about kindness, friendship, and ways to be a good friend.  The book "We Don't Eat Our Classmates" is a hilarious book!  If you haven't read it, please do!!  The kids LOVE it!  I loved it!  It is so funny, and again another book on how to be a good friend.  We did a shared writing on what each can do to be a good friend.  Then, I gave the students a dinosaur to color, cut out, and then glue on to construction paper.  On the speech bubble, each wrote a way to be a friend.  It was a fun, simple activity- great for the beginning of the year!  Extra bonus- all the coloring and cutting practice!

Sooooo... we had a GREAT 1st couple of weeks!!!  

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Find the Sunshine and Rainbows!!

All summer I have been thinking about what I want on my back wall and how I was going to decorate it.  I love having something encouraging on that board.  No, the students don't know what it says at first, but I tell them, and it reminds me during the year that we are in this together, and we can do our best.

I came up with the name Sunshine and Rainbows in Teaching for a couple of reasons.  Obviously one is that I like sunshine and rainbows!  They are beautiful!!!  Rainbows are a vision of hope and remind me of God's love and faithfulness.

Another reason is that there is good in every day.  Some days we can name so many things that were great that day.  There are also days that it may seem really hard to find the good, but it is there.  ALWAYS!  We begin to appreciate and feel gratitude in the good AND the challenging days.  As a teacher, it is important to find the positives and to stay positive because it impacts the children!  They react to us and how we feel.  I want them to enjoy learning and want to be at school!  Nothing is sweeter than big smiles as they come in the classroom each morning because they are excited to be there!  I like to start our morning with everyone sharing one thing they are grateful for, and they love hearing what each other has to say.  Start each day with a grateful heart and find the sunshine and rainbows every day!

Soooo.... here is the bulletin board!!  It came out just as I had envisioned!  I LOVE it!!!  The borders are from Schoolgirl Style (which are absolutely AMAZING)!!  The letters are on my TPT.  I printed all the letters on white and colored cardstock, so it was pretty simple to make!  The poms are mostly from Hobby Lobby.  I have also created this look using more poms to make a larger rainbow. 

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Back to school- Here it comes!

How is it already August??  Time for Back to School??  I feel like this summer flew by!  This is always such a crazy time of year.  Getting all the appointments in, getting my kids ready for school, getting my classroom finished, all the things to do before school starts- kind of is EXHAUSTING!! 

In all the years of teaching and starting a new year, my biggest goal is teaching routines and procedures!  Classroom management is EVERYTHING!  And I do not remember having a class on that when I got my certification.  That for me was the hardest thing to learn and put into practice.  We spend the first 2 weeks learning and practicing routines and more practice and more practice.  Especially in Kindergarten!  It takes so much practice, but it is worth every second when everything begins to fall into place and runs on its own.  It is like heaven on earth!  :D

I will admit I spend a lot of time (and sometimes money) to get my room the way I want it.  It is my way to express myself, make it inviting and home for my school family, and create our happy place.  There are so many cute activities to do on the first days, but really - we never get it all done.  I tend to overprepare for the just in case moments, but it all comes down to routines, procedures, and getting to know each other. 

My job is to teach and prepare them for the next grade, but mostly - my job is to help them feel loved and know that they are loved.  That's what it's ALL about!!  I love teaching Kindergarten because this is their first year of school for most of them.  We get to set the foundation and help them LOVE learning!!!  We get to take them on adventures through books!  Nothing is more precious than seeing little faces eager and excited to see what will happen next!  We build relationships and teach them how to love one another and care for each other.  We help them see the world in a new, exciting way! 

So in all the hard work and preparations made-  a little one awaits the first day of school nervous and unsure of what it will be like.  What a gift we can give them by making them feel welcomed and assured that they are loved, and that we believe in them!  I want them to be excited to come to school.  So, Kindergarten, here we come!!! 

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Meet the Teacher

Back to School is one of my favorite times of year!  I adore the summer, but I begin to feel ready for the routine and excitement that comes with going back to school.  In the past, I was always scrambling around trying to finish my room, going to all of the meetings, getting lesson plans for the first couple of weeks done, and preparing for Meet the Teacher.

Meet the Teacher was always SO busy, and I try to talk with each family, and everyone wants to ask me questions, and it just always seemed a little chaotic.  UNTIL... I began doing stations for Meet the Teacher.  My world (well, that day) completely changed!  I started doing this a couple of years ago, and it works so well.  It went so smoothly, and everyone had something to do while waiting to talk with me.

Here is how I do it...

I have 5-6 stations set up.  I created signs for each station, and put them in black 8X10 frames that I bought from $1 tree.  When you first walk in, I have a Welcome sign with a sign in sheet for them to write the child's name and parents.  Each sign has a number, so they know where to go next.
This helped so much because no one was just standing around or getting frustrated waiting to talk to me.

Station 1:  Pick up your student's packet and return on the 1st day of school.  In large envelopes, I put a packet which includes Student Information page, Getting to Know You, My About Me page, About the Student (for them to fill out), and a welcome letter to let them know all of the basics of our routines in Kindergarten (such as, our schedule, lunch, etc).  

 The Student Information page, Getting to Know You, and the About Me pages are all on my TPT.  You can click on the TPT icon to direct you to my store.  Here is the link...
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Sunshine-And-Rainbows-In-Teaching



These help so much in getting to know them a little bit at the beginning of school.  It also helps them learn more about me.

I have everyone's names on their envelope so it's easy to grab.


Station 2:  Write your name, the child's name, and address on the envelope and place it in the basket.
I have regular envelopes on the table, and then we can send them mail later in the year, or I can send a positive note after school starts.

Station 3: I use Bloomz app for any announcements, classroom updates, weekly "What are we learning" posts, and lots of pictures of what we are doing.  I absolutely LOVE it, and the parents do, too.  They can message me from the app, and they can even message other parents if you turn that feature on.  I have a form that I ask them to fill out that night, so I can add them all in to our classroom page.  The form is a permission slip to allow photos to be posted of their child, and they can write their best email address for the invite to the app to join.  It also tells them how to join the page.

Station 4:  Transportation:  How will your child get home the 1st day of school?
I have a sheet on the table so they can check off carpool or aftercare program.  This is so helpful instead of scrambling that day making sure they are where they are needed to be.  We don't use a bus, so those are our only options.  If someone else is picking them up, they let me know, also. 

Station 5:  Get your treat and give me a hug before you go!  

My FAVORITE station!!  I love making them little fun treats.  This year I have bubbles and Fun Dip.  I printed a label for each and signed my name on them.  I am in love with the bubbles- MAGIC bubbles!!!  Blow these bubbles before the 1st day for a magical year!  YES!!  I might blow them every day!  Teaching the littles is SO fun because you can blow them, and magically everyone has a smile!  These gift tags are also available on TPT if you are interested!   

 This year I will also give a QR code with these.  When they open it up, it will be me reading Kindergarten, Here I Come or The Night Before Kindergarten.  Stay tuned and I will post how I did it soon!!  Let me know if you have any questions on how to set up your stations.

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Back to School Student information

How is it already almost time to start thinking about Back to School???  June went by SOOOOO fast!!!  I like to get some things that I can get done in July, so that I can spend more time with lesson plans and working on my classroom. 



On Meet the Teacher night, I send home a packet for parents to fill out at home and then return on the 1st day of school.  I like to have all of their information in a folder, so that I can easily refer to it as needed.  I also have them fill out a 1/2 sheet of student information for our emergency folder for drills, etc.  I print these on cardstock and put them all on a ring to keep them together. 

 

My parents will also fill out a page about getting to know the child.  I have questions like what do they like to do, what motivates them, and lets me know a little about their personality and what works for them.  This is so helpful for me to learn a little more about them and their family. 

 Meet the Teacher is always such a busy night, and you don't have much time with each family that day.  Sending this home also helps them have time to fill it out without having to do it all that night.  I have it all together in a large brown envelope with my welcome letter for Kindergarten, and a page about me. 

I will add another post soon all about how I do Meet the Teacher night using stations. 
This packet is available on my TPT to get you started. 

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Class Mascot: Knuffle Bunny

One of my favorite things to do with my class is having a class mascot that goes home with a student each weekend.  They LOVE it!!!  I send home the book character mascot, a journal, and the book in a backpack.  I read the book to the class before I begin sending it home.  Last year I used Knuffle Bunny.  It was always a HUGE deal to see who gets Knuffle Bunny each weekend. 

I randonmly draw names on popsicle sticks each Friday to see who gets to take him home.  They take the backpack home on Friday and return it on Monday.  Inside the journal, I add a letter about how to care for the backpack and Knuffle Bunny and instructions.  The journal is used to put pictures or draw about their time together with their family.  They also write all about what they did with Knuffle Bunny.  On Monday, they will share all about their weekend and show everyone the journal.  It is SO cute to see what they did and how much fun they had.

I love that it builds a feeling of community as well within our class.  When the journal goes home, everyone can see what others have done with their time with Knuffle Bunny.

You can find the instruction page and a log in my TPT, and it's FREE!!   I glue the instructions on the cover of the journal.  I can't wait to do this again next year.  I am still deciding if I want to do Knuffle Bunny again or Biscuit.  

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Emergent Readers

I have been reading The Next Step Forward in Guided Reading by Jan Richardson.  It has been such a fantastic book!  I highly recommend this one!  There are so many books out there for guided reading, but what I love about this one is that she gives you step by step exactly what to do during each part of guided reading.  She even includes a site to watch videos of her doing all of the parts of the lesson.  It is soooooo helpful reading it and then seeing it in action. 

Most of our time in Kindergarten is spent with the emergent level readers.  Of course, there are some that are considered Pre-A and others that are Early readers and beyond. 
Jan says that emergent readers at level A can...

-write their first name on their own
-identify at least 40 uppercase and lowercase letters by name
-demonstrate left to right directionality
-follow simple directions
-know at least 8 sounds

Once they get to C level, they can

-knows all the letters and sounds
-match one to one and point to each word as they read
-control left to right directionality with several lines of print
-use meaning, structure, and initial letters to figure out unknown words
-form letters correctly
-hear and record CVC sounds in sequence
-monitor for meaning
-reread a sentence or confim predictions
-read and write about 30 sight words
-discuss a story with teacher prompting
-write a simple message about the book with teacher scaffolding

So, as you can see, there's a great deal learned between level A and level C readers. 

One of the parts of  a lesson is on teaching a new sight word.  She shares several activities to teach the new words.  One is called "What's Missing?"-  I like this one because after having introduced the word, you erase a letter near the end of the word, and ask the students what is missing.  They try to figure out what letter is missing from that word.  You can repeat this several times using a dry erase board. 

She also has a time for Word Study activities.  This can be working on initial consonants, final consanants, and short medial vowels.  Level C can work on all 3. 

An activity for this is using sound boxes which she provides and suggests putting it in a sheet protector so it can be reused.  I tried this working on a tray that I found at the Dollar Tree (who doesn't love anything that is $1??). 

For my students needing to work on initial consonants, I placed 2 letters in the medial and final spot, told them the word, and they had to select the letter that was needed to make a word.  I found it easier with my level A students to use fewer letters to choose from.  The trays are awesome to make CVC words! 


There is SOOOO much in this book!!  Definitely worth buying!!  I can't wait to try it all out and follow her lesson guides! 

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Adventures in Reading

You know, I was not a reader when I was younger.  I loved all things math.  Now~ I LOVE to read (and write)!  There’s nothing like diving into a good book and letting it take you on an adventure.  OR- reading to discover more of who you really are and were meant to be and how can I be a better version of myself.  

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I have not always felt like this.  I did not like reading growing up because of either never having a choice of what to read or feeling uncomfortable reading in front of the WHOLE class.  I would get sooooo nervous and not even be listening to the book being read by everyone else.  All I could think was ~ please, don’t call on ME!  

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Anyone else?  I saw my son go through the same.  He didn’t feel confident, and then the love for books dwindled more and more with each passing year.  

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One of my goals with my students is for them to develop a love of reading.  Get them excited by showing your passion in exploring through books.  Allow them to choose their books.  They may not be able to read all the words, but they are interested.  

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I love reading different books from the same author.  They love this!  It’s so fun to see them selecting the books you’ve read aloud to check out from the library.  Their eyes open wide with a smile from ear to ear because they can’t wait to show you what book they chose.  

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It breaks my heart to see kids miss out on reading because they don’t feel competent or frustrated and quit and say they don’t like reading.  

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The best part of Kindergarten is seeing them so immersed in the story and can’t wait to turn the page to see what happens next.  They may not like reading...YET, but they sure can enjoy listening to others read to them.  

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I know we need to teach them all the how to steps and strategies of reading.  BUT~ we are also there to teach them how much fun and exciting reading can be and how amazing diving in a book can be.  Onward to more adventures!!  They can’t wait to see where you will take them next.  

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Timed Math- Building Fact Fluency

Math fact fluency is so important- agree?  It is so important first that they learn the concept of addition and subtraction.  I see so many that don't really have a full understanding of what they are actually doing.  In my class we have a word problem each day for their journal and LOTS of manipulatives to practice and solve and have a visual of this concept. 

In 1st and 2nd grades, we begin to move away from the manipulatives and start memorizing those facts.  It is so important that they know these facts as the foundation to build on in each grade level.  I know we have limited time and there are so many other concepts to cover over the year, so 1 minute math became my every day routine when I taught 1st and 2nd grades. 

The kids LOVED it!  Everyone started at level 1, and they moved up to the next level when they answered them all correctly and within the time frame.  In the beginning I set the timer to 1 minute, but as they progressed through the levels, I added a little time to that.  They had so much fun with this, and I could see what a difference it made for them. 

There are 16 levels - the 1st level begins with addition to 5.  The last level is addition with regrouping.  Each level progresses with a mix of addition and subtraction. 

I added this to my TPT, so grab it to learn facts and have fun.  The packet includes the 16 levels, instructions, and a chart to track each student's level.  I made several copies at a time of each level, so they were easy to grab each day.  They were able to move at their own pace and helped me in assessing where they need more help.  The link to this product is below...

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Timed-Math-Facts-Build-Fact-Fluency-3868581

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Tutoring in Summer

This summer I decided to tutor a few students.  It was kind of unplanned at first, but I had one sweet one who needed a little extra over the summer, so I offered to tutor him.  I have to say that it has been SO fun getting to know him more and work with him one on one.  He was my little cutie that liked to keep me on my toes each day- ha!  Well, I have loved our time together.  A couple of other parents found out I was doing it and asked if I could tutor their children, too.  I do it from my home (which is awesome) and 30 minutes each session.  The students are PK-1st, so 30 minutes is plenty of time for them!

I needed a form to communicate with the parents on what we worked on and what can be practiced at home.  It is summer, so I don't want them doing too much outside of our time.  Summer is about having time to play and enjoy our families!  I know some like to continue working with them, so I do write an activity or something simple they can work on. 

There is also a log and a lesson plan form.  It is super simple, but it's easy to jot down a few plans to for each visit.  I posted it on TPT, and it is FREE!!  If you are tutoring or would like to use it during the school year, go and grab it!  Here is the link...
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Tutoring-Forms-3865776 

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My Classroom

There's nothing like getting your room set up for a new school year.  This was my room last year, and I loved it!  I will be keeping it the same for the most part, but I will make a few changes.  I LOVE summer break to find new fun things to add and tweak in my room.  I would like to add more to my library-  who doesn't love a cozy library to read in?  Last year I had more kids in my classroom, so I didn't have quite as much space.  I like finding spaces for the kids to enjoy and be in.  One thing about Kindergarten- I don't like desks and having to stay at their table for long periods of time, but there are some that like to work at the tables.  

There is some work that we do together at the tables, but most of our day they are spread out on the floor, in corners, and sometimes under tables.  I have taught grades PK3-2nd.  Kindergarten and 1st can't be beat!  Here's my room...

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