Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Daily 5 Printable Signs, Pocket Chart Headers and Grouping Cards

The number one search that leads people to my blog is some form of The Daily 5 in pictures. Since there are so many people searching, I can only imagine that others like freebies as much as I do. :) I made a small file of printables with Signs, Pocket Chart Headers and Pocket Chart Grouping Cards for use with managing The Daily 5. Here are just a few of the pictures below. Click on the pictures to take you to the freebie. Enjoy!



Finish this sentence...A Kindergarten teacher loves children, but hates...

I saw this quote and thought it was funny, "A Kindergarten teacher loves children, but hates zippers." -Author Unknown

Now, you finish the sentence. A Kindergarten teacher loves children, but hates....

For me, it would have to be SHOELACES! :) If I had a $1 for every time I tied a shoe, I would be a millionaire! I tell my kids all the time that I will tie their shoes for $5. So far, no one has paid me a penny. Hmmm....I must be doing something wrong.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Just for fun! Adding a favicon to your Blogger blog

For me, summer vacation is the perfect time to spruce up my blog. So, last night, I searched for valid tutorials for adding a favicon to my blog. (If you aren't familiar with the term favicon, it is the little image that shows up next to your web address where you would normally see the orange and white Blogger b.  Favicon is short for favorite icon.) It also helps your link stand apart from others in a bookmark list.


Here's what I found that worked for me. I'm sure others that are more talented at this will have WAY easier instructions, but this worked for me and it was free. (I was leary of signing up on sites that I knew nothing about just to be able to upload & host an .ico file and I didn't want to pay anyone to host the picture for me.)

Now, if I haven't completely scared you off, here are the instructions I followed.
  1. Go to www.favicon.cc
  2. Click on the import image button. Then, browse to choose which image you would like to use. Keep in mind, you want something that will show up even when it's teeny tiny. 
  3. Upload the image.  (When it shows up on the screen it will look like a lot of tiny squares. This is normal. :) Just look at the preview image a little further down the middle of the page.)
  4. Under the preview area, click Download Favicon and save the file.  
Now, go to To The PC and follow the directions for adding your favicon to Blogger draft.
My settings were a tiny bit different than theirs. I had to go to Dashboard > Layout. Then, I was able to click the Favicon edit section.

****Although my favicon uploaded immediately following the instructions above, it did take about 1/2 a day before it actually showed up for me. Just be patient!***

If you try this, I hope it works for you, too! Be sure to leave a comment when yours works for you. I'd love to check it out!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Math on my mind!

I have really enjoyed visiting other blogs and I'm in awe of all the ideas, activities and printables that I will be able to add to our math time next year. However, I haven't been able to get math off my mind the last few days. So, this is what I'm doing.

Currently reading Math in Motion...Wiggle, Gallop, and Leap with Numbers! I love the math obstacle course! The book is available as an e-book download at Creative Teaching Press for $12.99.




Playing 1-2-3 Stomp with my 4 year-old daughter! We bought it on Amazon a few years ago around Christmas time for 9.99. So much fun and great for number recognition.
Also reading Developing Number Concepts Using Unifix Cubes. It is an older book, but it has lots of great ideas.
Photo Source: Amazon.com



I'm also trying to get HeidiSongs Number 17 song out of my head. :) I LOVE it! Can you tell what we've been watching at our house? Head over to Heidi's web site to download her free Jumpin' Numbers 0-30 presentation handout for lots of goodies. Actually, the whole page has fabulous downloads. 

I dare you to try not to sing along! :) 






Amazon.com FREE $2 MP3 Credit

Quick! Head over to this page on Amazon.com and enter CLOUDMP3 to get your free $2 MP3 credit from Amazon. Be sure to use your credit by June 30, 2011.

Buy a some songs for your classroom or a few songs to listen to while you're doing whatever you do that makes your summertime fabulous! Enjoy!
Photo Source: Amazon.com

Another Peek Into My Classroom

I went to school yesterday to finish covering my bookcases and to pick up a few files and books I wanted to work on this summer. Just walking in with everything put away and nothing on the walls made me feel a little sad. As ready as I am for summer break each year, putting everything away just makes my room look so empty.

These pictures were taken for an assignment for a Visual Impairment class I was taking this spring. The kids had already cleaned up for the day before going home. If I would have taken the pictures while they were there, well....I'm sure you all know what that looks like! :) Plus, I'm a firm believer in curtains that hide EVERYTHING!

(Sorry that there are some gaps in the pictures, but there were students' photos and/or full names that would violate privacy rights if I posted them and I didn't have time to mess with PhotoShop. )

Here's a link to my classroom last year. I wish I had photos from the beginning of the year when my room was decked out in western decor for our PBIS theme. I had a reading corral and other areas that were cute. I don't think I took any pictures. I ended up getting rid of the corral because it took up too much room. 





 My desk is only clean at the beginning and end of each day. As soon as the kids arrive, it gets filled with everything (and it's not always their things!) :)














Fun Kissing Hand Handprint Puzzle for the 1st Day of School

I just saw the activity below on Little Giraffe's web site and decided I have to do it next year. I love to read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn to my students. I looked for blank puzzles, but found them to be way too expensive to have to buy year after year. I searched ebay and found a Sizzix jigsaw puzzle die for only $6.99, which was less than the cost of the puzzles I could buy for one year. Now, I can't wait to do this activity! I created a printable with the poem to go along with it.





Kissing Hand Puzzle Poem
***Update--Tammy asked for a copy of this poem for first grade students, so here's a link for the printable in case anyone else would like to use it. Great idea, Tammy!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Free Summer Reading Chart Printable

For those of you who are still teaching, here's a Summer Reading Chart free printable to give to your students. Enjoy!

Summer Reading Chart

Five Green and Speckled Frogs Subtraction Reader


I finally 'jumped' into the TeachersPayTeachers 'pool' with a Five Green and Speckled Frogs predictable subtraction reader, along with manipulatives, flash cards, number word and quantity matching cards, etc. You can find it in my TpT store for only $2! I thought it would be a great addition to our Math Work Stations next year.

Photo Source: www.amazon.com

Amazon has a Fisher-Price Rainforest CD that includes instrumental music for Five Green and Speckled Frogs. The download is only 89 cents and it's very upbeat and it has fun sounds in the background. Very cute! You can listen to a sample of it by clicking here. There are also other versions with the lyrics here. I will be doing a giveaway for the above song, soon!

Friday, June 24, 2011

Teacher Inspired Math Work Stations Ideas and Activities for Chapters 1-5

While I’m waiting to get my Math Work Stations book, I am working on compiling lists of blog posts that have lots of great ideas for Kindergarten Work Stations. I have gone through lots and lots of links, but I’m only posting those I found to be the most beneficial and most easily adaptable for Kindergarten. I hope you’ll find something useful, too! 

***If you don't see a link on here that you think would be beneficial, please leave a comment and let me know!***
Chapter 1: What is a Math Work Station?
Chapter 2: Organizing and Managing Math Materials
Chapter 3: Getting Started with Math Work Stations
Chapter 4: Beginning Number Concepts Work Stations
Chapter 5: Addition and Subtraction Work Stations
General Ideas
To read Math Work Stations by Debbie Diller for free online, click here. You will need to click on the green box above the book that says preview online.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Please pardon the mess!

Welcome to my blog! I'm currently changing a few things around, so please pardon my mess!