Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Tis' the season!

Christmas break is coming quickly. The kiddos know that our routine has changed and they are feeling the effects of the crunch to get second quarter grade card testing completed. At our school, we participate in Positive Behavior Support (PBS). One of the things we adopted as a consequence for unacceptable behavior is the Kindergarten Think Sheet.  Since most Kindergarten students don't come to us knowing how to write, we've found this Think Sheet meets the needs of our writers and non-writers and it allows them to take responsibility for expressing their actions on paper. I have adapted it a little to be less specific to our school expectations so that others can use it, as well. I hope you find it useful!

Think Sheet

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Gingerbread Men Number Flip Book 1-20

I just updated the seasonal flip book to include gingerbread men. Our kids are expected to be at 31 by this time of year. I stopped the book at 20 though because it's mainly just a reinforcement for the kiddos who need extra practice.

My Gingerbread Men Number Flip Book 1-20

Popcorn Words Printables

I recently attended a BER conference specifically for Kindergarten. It was amazing the amount of ideas that my co-workers and I came back with. One thing I knew I wanted to do immediately was change my boring alphabetical order word wall to fun popcorn words. There were so many great ideas. I know the concept has been around awhile, but it made more sense for my class this year.

I created a few printables to go along with our Houghton Mifflin Reading Series. There are large words for the word wall and smaller cards for flash cards or station/center activities. I also included color words. I hope to make a template for you to type your own words sometime soon.

Popcorn Words - HM Series Large

Popcorn Words - Color Words Large

Popcorn Words - HM Series Flash Cards

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Top 100 Classroom Blogs

I'm so thankful my blog is listed in the Top 100 Classroom Blogs. Alexis has put a lot of hard work into compiling sites that serve as a 'resource guide' for other teachers. You should definitely check it out. I'm sure you will find lots of interesting blogs and many great ideas and resources, as well.

I'm so humbled by her inclusion of my tiny little blog. It makes me happy to know that there are other teachers out there searching for many of the same things my Kdg. kiddos are learning about. I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I do sharing! :)

Bear Stays Up for Christmas + Printables

Today, I was observed for my yearly formal observation. I woke up with a migraine this morning and none of the medicine I took remotely eased the pain. Hopefully my evaluation won't be horrible. My fingers are crossed! I will find out soon. There were a few points I was disappointed with, but I am pretty critical when it comes to judging myself. Is anyone else like this?

 Photo Source www.bn.com

I chose to read the story Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson.  I focused on developing post-reading strategies and allowing the students to re-enact the action words in the story and then illustrate the square with pictures of their favorite parts of the story. Here are a few printables that I created to go along with the story. I will try to take a picture after we finish our quilt.

Bear Stays Up for Christmas Vocab Words

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Christmas Picture Prompts for the Projector

As I was introducing a few new pages to our overhead projector binder today, I decided the kids have show enough responsibility to begin moving the projector toward our regular board to begin tracing pictures. The kids wanted me to add some Christmas pictures for their prompts. I have long manila paper available for the students to sticky tack to the board and trace the objects from the transparency.

My students are expected to write about whatever picture they choose to trace onto their paper. You wouldn't believe how good they are when they think it might be their turn. :)

Here's a printable to share.
Christmas Writing Prompts for the Overhead