Who doesn't love Dr. Jean?! I mean, seriously... The first time I attended one of her conferences, she WALKED by me and I was in SHOCK. Celebrity in the house. And the entire conference was amazing and inspiring. I left wanting to do an EVEN better job. And now, a few years later and several collaborative projects together... and I still get a little gitty when I see an email from her to me. {I … [Read more...]
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books
My students LOVE the Old Lady books by Lucille Colandro. I love to use these books to work on sequencing right away, since it can take a while master this skill. I also use sequencing to take about words like before, after, next... etc. We also use ordinal numbers like 1st, 2nd, 3rd... etc. I also snagged a class set of these books and made a recording of my voice to turn … [Read more...]
Back to School Book Freebie
Today is the start of new Scholastic Book Orders! {You can't order books during the month of July.} Each year I buy a cheap book from Scholastic to give to my students for Meet the Teacher. I put each book on each student's desk along with a little note asking them to read the book as "homework" for the night before school starts. I wasn't able to find a $1book in June, but here is what I … [Read more...]
Classroom Decor
Classroom Decor Linky is here... this is the next in our Summer Linky Party! And what a great day I had! I was able to head to my classroom to get it ready for the new year. My carpets got cleaned and the floor got waxed, so I was able to reset the things that got mixed up. AND I worked on getting my new classroom decor up and ready for the new year. I am now allowed on a ladder, so … [Read more...]
Write Me Three Fall Pack with a FREEBIE
I am working away on the to-do list you guys have given me this summer. This item is something I have been looking forward to for a while because my students and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I finished the newest Write Me Three pack! This one is perfect for the fall these you teach. It has themed word walls for back to school, lunch room, recess, bats, spiders, nocturnal animals, community … [Read more...]
Preparing for Kindergarten- Easy Classroom Set Up
You guys have asked for it so I am going to answer all the question about preparing for Kindergarten with these easy classroom set up tips. Let's face it. Kindergarten is a completely different {and better} world than most grades... so let's break it down and help out some of these new to K teachers. And maybe some veterans can learn some new tips or lend a hand along the way??? Schedule and … [Read more...]
First Week Back!
Don't you LOVE it when you do back to school, thinking... "Man, I am going to be SO ready since I worked all summer to make my classroom better than ever!" THEN you discover that you are in WAY over your head! Here are some of the improvements to my room... specifically for Daily 5 with freebies along the way. Here is my Daily 5 choice board. {The pack you can buy also … [Read more...]
Freebie Start of the Year Reading Notes Home
Here is a must do idea for Meet the Teacher. Send home a $1 book from Scholastic and one of these simple notes with each new students. This is a fun activity for families to do together the night before school starts. Scholastic Books for $1 Each school year, I buy my new students a book to start the year off with. You can find the cheapo Scholastic books and order a class set. Look for … [Read more...]
First Day Art Project
Do you need a fun, quick art project to complete with your class on the first day of school? You will love this first day art project. Each year, my Kindergarten team does the same art project on the first day of school. This freebie 1st day art project is an easy assessment to learn what our students can they do as far as writing their name, color, cut, and glue. And, of course, teachers need to … [Read more...]
Freebie Friday with “An Apple to Play”
Freebie Friday time! I made this small, but fun unit all about apples. {and updated the whole thing} My class is doing the letter Aa the 4th week of school, very early, so I made these activities hands on and easy. Take a peak... This is a HUGE file! It contains tons of printables and playable games I know your students will enjoy. Here is an amazing … [Read more...]