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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard COLORIZE YOUR CLASSROOM GIVEAWAY!

August 5, 2014, 2:25 pm
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Hello people!  Well... it's time.  Tomorrow is the first day of school.  15 new little 'staches arrive.  And when they arrive I will try not to be curled up in the corner in a state of hysteria.  The first day always terrifies me.  At least when they arrive they will have a very fun and colorful room to walk into!



Well, I have to give a HUGE shoutout to my color lovin pals at Astrobrights.  Without their amazing paper, the room wouldn't be nearly as RAINBOW FABULOUS as it is.  You see, Astrobrights contacted me this summer and asked if I wanted to participate in their #colorizeyourclassroom promotion.  They'd send me some goodies and I'd use the goodies and blog about it and share it.  So, you wanna send me some paper for my classroom?!  SIGN ME UP.  And then they said they would let me do a giveaway so that one of my friends (um, that's you all!) could win the same thing they sent me.  Seriously...when you see the give away, you'll freak.  You might even throw some glitter!

Did you know that using your color in your classroom isn't just fun, but research shows it helps kids learn.  Fun and helps kids learn?!  Oh yeah, I'm in.  And really, who wants to stare at BLAH cinder block walls all day when you can have COLOR!

TRUTH!

Color can increase retention by 18%  18% just by using some color. I've heard that green on yellow is excellent for retention.

Color can speed up learning by 55-78%.  And it can increase comprehension by 73%!

People, we need to use some color!

So, here's how I have colorized my classroom so far.


Classroom labels.  I labeled the classroom using these labels printed on all of the colors of the rainbow.  RAINBOW FABULOUS!

You can get your FREE copy of the labels by clicking on the picture!



Next I made these RAINBOW FABULOUS direction cards!!!  I hope these will help eliminate the "WHAT DO I DO???" questions.  And thus lessen how many times I have to make my special "I JUST TOLD YOU!" face....it ain't a pretty face.

You can get your direction cards FREEBIE by clicking on the picture!


I even made RAINBOW FABULOUS name tags for the first day of school tomorrow!  So the classroom is colorized and so are the 'staches!


I also made our morning routine/procedures RAINBOW FABULOUS!  I used IKEA frames and put the steps in our morning routine in color and placed them in the classroom.  Now the staches can just follow the numbers to get things done QUICKLY in the mornings!!!



And finally, I have decided to be more organized and not ALLEGEDLY lose so many papers.  ALLEGEDLY!  So I am colorizing my classroom ot help with organization!


I color coded each form/letter/note that had to go home and made a checklist so I know who brings back what!  I WILL BE ORGANIZED and it will be RAINBOW FABULOUS!


Now, Astrobrights is having a contest called #colorizeyourclassroom.  There is 1 winner in each state and a grand prize winner!  PLUS bonus winners for creative lesson plans!  Want to enter?  Simply share a photo of how you #colorizeyourclassroom using Astrobrights on social media and use the #colorizeyourclassroom hashtag!  Contest runs until September 12!

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/astrobrights

Pinterest:  www.pinterest.com/astrobrights

Twitter:  www.twitter.com/ABColorize

Instagram:  www.instagram.com/astrobrights

And now for a give away for my friends.



Astrobrights is giving one of you....WAIT FOR IT....

A customized box of Astrobrights papers.  People it's a huge box of paper in all kinds of colors.  AND....AND....A $50 gift card to Office Depot!  

I KNOW, RIGHT?!?!?!

See, I told you it was good.  

Just enter below.  I'll choose a winner FRIDAY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


And don't forget...the big BACK TO SCHOOL SALE is still happening at TPT!  My store is 20% off and with the code BTS14 you get another 10% off!!!  Click the picture to see my store!


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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard First Day Fun!

August 6, 2014, 3:43 pm
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First day 2014-2015 is in the books.



No tired like first day tired.

Here it is by the numbers:

13 'staches
9 girls
4 boys
0 criers
13 name writers
1 SERIOUS talker

That's an amazing group, right there!  I couldn't be more happy with these 'staches.  I have a feeling this is going to be an EPIC year!

So, how did we spend our first day?  Check it out...we were busy people!


When we arrived, we colored a picture of Mr. Greg.  I mean, why not have your kids color  a picture of you?!  It's so fun to see them slowly start figuring it out....they think it's hilarious!  


Then we read Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready For Kindergarten.  We talked all about school and kindergarten.  We even made a chart of all of things Miss Bindergarten did to get ready and all the things we did to get ready for kindergarten!

Quote:  "It sure takes a lot of things to get ready for kindergarten!"
HAHAHA have no idea 'staches!


Then we learned all about crayons.  Mr. Greg started breaking crayons.  Es no bueno.  People, seriously almost had one girl cry when I started breaking crayons.  They were quite disturbed by the breaking of crayons.  Lesson learned!  Then we practiced coloring with our soccer ball!  Seriously good coloring from all of the 'staches.  I'm tellin ya...EPIC year...

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE SOCCER BALL!


Then we wrote our name on our chart.  Everyone can write their name.  We need a little refinement but seriously impressed with these names.  Guess we're getting journals on Monday!


Of course we had to wear mustaches and our first silly hat of the year!!  

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE HATS!



And what better way to end the first day of kindergarten than with a mustache cookie!  Yeah, we're that awesome!



First day fun!

And now...it's time for ya'll to show off your TEACHER STYLE!


Here is my epic first day of school outfit.  Bicycle and Unicycle pants?  Check.  Rainbow shirt?  Check.  


Now I want everyone to link up with a blog post or Facebook post or Instagram post or tweet and share your first day of school outfits!  Let's show our #teacherstyle!

You can link up here on this blog....
You can post a picture on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!  If you post on social media, please use the hashtag #teacherstyle!  

WORK IT!



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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Five For Friday: Carpet Seating

August 8, 2014, 3:48 pm
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Happy Friday!  Well our first not a real week of Kindergarten is over.  We had 2 half days this week...so next week will be our first real full week of kindergarten.  LOOK OUT GIMPY KNEE....it's gonna be a long week!

I LOVE my job.  I LOVE my staches.  I LOVE my school.  I am loving this years parents.  People, this year is going to be EPIC!  

So, ya'll know about my experiment with no assigned seats and using rugs and clipboards for work instead of tables and desks.  Well...I know you're anxious to hear how it's working.  So this Five For Friday is all about CARPETS!

Today was day one of using our carpets and clipboards.  The verdict:  EPIC SUCCESS!  

I approached this like any other activity/lesson/skill in my classroom.  Explicit instruction and modeling.

We talked about safety.  (Don't flop our your rug and pop your friends in the head.) 
Don't step on other peoples rug.
We practiced rolling up the rug.  
We practiced using the clipboards SAFELY!  (They bite!)

And then off we went....the result....


Our sit wherever you like rule works.  Look at the engagement.  And please notice JM at my table.  He took the "sit wherever you want" comment literally and sat in my chair!  Hey...it works!

In this picture (above) they're working on their names.  I know some people asked about neatness...well, their names were beautiful.  Even better than day one when they sat at tables.  The reason:  for one, I think it's because they had choice and freedom so they're more engaged.  The other is that I once heard that laying on the floor helps with handwriting because it uses the muscles so differently!  


I love that each 'stache has their own space to work.  And I love all of the bright colors.




Seriously...him rolling that rug up and carrying it...pretty precious!

So day one of carpets...success.  I think this is going to go very well.  Do I think there will be bumps in the road?  Absolutely.  Will there be days when I hate the rugs?  Sure.  But it's worth it.  And we will work through the bumps.  With glitter.  Lots of glitter.

I get asked a lot about the carpets.  They came from Target and Wal-Mart and were $10 a piece.  So yeah, major out of pocket expense.  But so worth it.  You could buy a couple a month.  You could ask carpet stores for remnants.  Ask parents to help.  

And now, it's time for a Fabulous Friend, a freebie and a give away!


Today I want you to meet my fellow Tennessean:  Gina from Third Grade Tidbits.

Gina says:  "I try to use the quote "be a better you today than yesterday" as my guide for everything. We as teachers are never perfect, but the harder we try the closer we get. If I try each day to do one thing better than I did the day before, I feel like I am doing something right by my students and myself.

Head over and visit Gina and tell her Greg sent ya!

Here is a fun freebie:


And you can enter to win Gina's Math Mania Weekly Math Practice and TWO creations of your choice from my store!


Enter below to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Schedulin Sunday! Week 2

August 10, 2014, 11:47 am
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It's time again for SCHEDULIN SUNDAY with The Kindergarten Smorgasboard.  This is our first FULL WEEK and FULL 8 hour days.  Yeah, that's no typo people!  Our day is 8 hours long!  We are an extended day program so we've got a lot of time to fill....so why not overplan, overplan, overplan?

Are ya ready for week 2?  Here we go!


As always, you can download a copy of my lesson plans by clicking on the picture.  The template is available at A Teacher's Plan and is called THE GREG.

This year we are trying something new for letters and sounds.   Normally, we do a very informal letter a week.  It's more deliberate at the beginning of the year and then we add in our letter/sound chart so the letter a week loses some focus.  This year we want to expose the 'staches to the letters and sounds as quickly as possible....so we're going to camp.

ABC BOOTCAMP!


Here's how it will work:  

Starting tomorrow we're introducing 1 letter and sound each day for 26 days.  This way the 'staches will have a letter/sound foundation earlier so that we can start building on that foundation to become readers!  

Here's what we have planned for bootcamp each day:

Letter/Sound Circle Map!  I will introduce the letter and sound and the 'staches will generate pictures for that sound.  I will,  with my mad artistic skills, draw their pictures.  The 'staches will generate the first sound/letter and then I will spell the remainder of the word and we will read the word. 

Handwriting.  We will practice each letter on our chalkboards.  Custom made by my daddy when I first started teaching kindergarten.  I will model how to write each letter and then they will practice.  

Silly hat.  Of course.  It's a tradition.  It's a requirement.  You must use the silly hat!  

26 days.  ABC Bootcamp.  

Monday:

Letter A goes to bootcamp.

It's also time to meet the scissors.  AND THE GLUE SPONGES!  This day makes me a nervous wreck.  What if they cut off a finger?  Or some hair?  YIKES!

To help us practice writing and cutting, I whipped up this great freebie!

10 pages of lines to trace and cut!  


We will read Chrysanthemum and discuss our names.  We will play the name game.  The name game is a simple PowerPoint with every child's (and Mr. Greg's) name on it.  When they see their name, they stand up and sit down.  We play it a lot the first few weeks of school!  Then we will make a graph of how many letters in our names!


This is the PowerPoint for the name game.  Click the picture to download your freebie!

We will also make a circle map of our names!  Each child will say their name and spell their name!


Math is all about colors.  We will read Brown Bear Brown Bear and find things in the classroom that are certain colors.

Next the 'staches will sort bears by colors.  Before they sort the bears, we will learn about using manipuatlives and counters.  We will also get 10-15 minutes of exploration with the bears.  Let's be honest...that means playtime!  hehe

Next we will do a color matching activity and a coloring sheet!

Click here to download your freebie!

We will also go on a tour of the school in search of the monster.  After we return to our room, we will make a monster! 


These adorbs monsters are from Kindergarten Smiles!

Tuesday

ABC Bootcamp:  Letter B.

We will read No David and do a good choice/bad choice sort.  We will then take those choices and make a class anchor chart!  


We will play the name game.  We will write our names.  We will write letter Bb.  We will make a bear hat.  We will read our emergent reader.  We will make our Bb circle map.

In math, we will read Chicka Chicka 123 and learn about numbers.  We will go on a number hunt.  Mr. Greg will hide magnetic numbers around the class and we will find them and bring them to the whiteboard.  We will put them in order.  

We will sing Counting 1-20 by Jack Hartmann.
Next we will get to play with our bears again.  And by play I mean free exploration.  
After 10-15 minutes of exploration, we will practice counting.  I will say a number and the 'staches will put that many bears on their paper plate.  This is a great and easy way to see who has a good foundation for counting!

We will also make a fun pencil craftivity!
Wednesday
ABC Bootcamp:  Letter C.
Caterpillar hat.  Circle map.  Chalkboard writing.

We will read Animal Park ABC.  It's a big book that came with an old reading series.  We love it because it's animals!  It's a great letter book if you can find it!
After the story, we go on a letter hunt.  We find the magnetic letters and bring them to the rug.  Then we put them in order and talk about why we need letters and how we use the letters.
Math is more number practice.  We will use The Random Number CD from Kim Sutton.  It's soft music and calls out random numbers.  The 'staches will have a number mat (1-10) in front of them and when they hear a number, the point the number!
We will sing 1-20 with Jack Hartmann and practice counting with cubes. 
We will read Officer Buckle And Gloria and make a circle map of safety rules for our classroom!


BUSY!

Thursday:

ABC Bootcamp:  Letter D.

Dog hat.  Circle map.  Chalkboard.

We will read The Crayon Box That Talked and discuss how we need everyone in our class to be successful.  We will talk about helping and loving and kindness.  Then each 'stache will get to design a crayon for our class crayon box!  



We will make a "How Can I Be A Pal?" anchor chart.

For math we will use our random number CD but this time the 'staches will hold up fingers!  If the song says 3, they hold up 3 fingers.  Another fun, easy way to assess counting.  

We will make rainbow names using torn paper.  Each stache will decorate the letters of their name with rainbow paper so we can display them in our rainbow mustache room!

Friday!

Let's take bets on how my knee holds up this week...AND GO!

ABC Bootcamp:  Letter E.

Elephant hat.  Circle map.  Chalkboard.

Name game.  Name writing.

We will read Rainbow Fish and talk about sharing and caring.  We will talk about friendship and make a friends tree map!


We will make our CIRCLE OF FRIENDSHIP by painting our hands and putting them in the circle!


We also get to do our first center like activity.  We will use our Letter Discovery Bottles to practice our letters!



CLICK THE PICTURE TO GET YOUR FREE RECORDING SHEET FROM MY FREEBIES PAGE!


We will also do a letter/number sort.  We will write our names.  We will play the name game.

And then it's time for FOODIE FUN FRIDAY!


This week's recipe is FRIENDSHIP SALAD!

This is a super fun way to talk about friendship and the kind of friends we want in our classroom!


You use different kinds of fruit to illustrate the character traits you want in your classroom.  Then you use a rotten banana to demonstrate a bully.  It's a great concrete lesson to help the 'staches with an abstract concept.  And it's yummy. And you can reference the rotten banana all year long.  To get the recipe and directions, click on the friendship salad picture.






If you're interested in the alphabet hats, you can get them from my friend Jenifer at Simply Kinder!
























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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Alphabet Chart Freebie!

August 11, 2014, 4:08 pm
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Happy Monday!  Today was our first full 8 hour day of kindergarten.  And it was a gassy one!  Apparently, we're going to be the stinky gassy class this year!  At least we're claiming our title early!

8 hours=EXHAUSTED Mr. Greg.  And yes, one student did fall asleep while standing in line at the end of the day.  Kindergarten is hard work people.

I had a request for this to be posted and then I couldn't find the file....so I made a new one.

click to download your freebie!  (Color and black line versions!)

This is the letter sound chart we use in our class during our morning literacy routine and we use it for writing.  For more on our daily literacy routine CLICK HERE!

I am having it enlarged into a poster for our class and I even make and laminate several copies for students to use during writing.  

This chart goes along with the Dr. Jean (She's AMAZING!) song, Alphardy.  The song is available on her Sing To Learn CD.

We sing the song EVERY MORNING from day one all the way until day 180.  (180 days minus a few for our Nashville no snow days....).  For each letter and sound, we have a motion.  This is EPIC goodness.  My 'staches use those motions all year to help them with sounds and writing.  If they're struggling with a sound, simply make the motion and BAM they remember.  

I wanted a poster to match our song so I asked my amazingly  sweet and uber talented friend Mel and Graphics From The Pond if she would help.  And she made this clip art for me.  She is beyond glitterrific and GREG-TACULAR!



So, me and my blogging buddies over at The Primary Chalkboard are having a fun YouTube party for Back To School!

People, those prizes are EPIC!  Click the picture to head over to The Primary Chalkboard and watch our YouTube tips and enter to win some great prizes!





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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Meet The Teacher!

August 12, 2014, 2:58 pm
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My name is Greg Smedley-Warren.  Better known as Mr. Greg....or The Kindergarten Smorgasboard...or Smorgie...or Glitter Greg....or Mr. Mustache....or my new fave is Guru Greg!  I love all things glitter and mustaches!  

I am 35 years young.  Ya'll know I am married to the amazing mister.  Yes, he has a real name.  It happens to be Jason!  He laminates...he cuts...he brings cookies to my class.  He loves me and supports me and protects me.  He's my world.  Can we say LUCKY!?


We have a very spoiled fur baby named Butters.  He is the CEO of The Kindergarten Smorgasboard.




IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?
I cannot imagine being anything other than a teacher...but if I had to choose, I would have my own talk show.  Seriously.  I want to be like Oprah!  

Or I would be the driver of the Pope-Mobile.  Don't judge my dream.  It could happen...


THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Energetic.  Sparkly.  Passionate.

 
FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"I'd love another email from the district office"
 

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

Oprah!

Q: IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

The Sparkly Mustache

 Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?
 
Flying!!!  I'd love to be able to just lift off and fly wherever!  How freeing would that be?!  And I don't do well with bad drivers (Nashville is full of bad drivers...) so flying would save my sanity!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

Be yourself. 

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 

Roar-Katy Perry
 
 Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

BOTH!  I roll out of bed at 5:30 a.m and hit the ground running....and then I whine about being tired...and then I stay awake until 11:00 or 12:00!

It's a vicious cycle...but I always say I don't need sleep....so that's a good!
Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

 I really love my What Does The Fox Say creations!  I have one for CVC words, one for CVC-E words and one for blends!  I am working on one for beginning sounds!

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU! 

Ummm...I spent 2 summers teaching in Ecuador...I have a 3rd nipple.  True story.  Marky Mark has one.  I have one.  It's called an auxillary mammary gland!  TRUTH!


And now you know all about me.  Questions?  Comments?  Concerns?!

Thanks to Miss Case at Falling Into First for this fun linky!



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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Back To School Video TIp!

August 13, 2014, 5:00 am
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Friends! I am SERIOUSLY excited (and a little bit nervous) about this post. You see, my blogging friends and I at the Primary Chalkboard wanted to do something BIG for back to school for you.BIG 

I'm talking, BIG.We decided to throw a party. Here is a hint.YES. It is a YouTube Partaaaaay! We are here sharing lots of tips -- organizational, DIY, helpful ideas-- lots of things you can do RIGHT NOW to make your back to school a little easier!  

AND.We are having a huge giveaway!  Would anyone like a....$100 Amazon Gift Card or $100 TeachersPayTeachers Gift Card orA fabulous Michael Kors bag (you know, the one you want but can't justify spending the money for)?  I thought so.

So what do you need to do? Did you see that?   You can EVEN gain EXTRA entries in the giveaway by watching our videos and entering our SECRET WORDS into the Rafflecopter (but I know you were going to do that anyway, so... 2 birds, 1 stone).

We will be linking up 5 new videos every day this week... so you can come back, watch, and enter every day!

Be sure to check out my YouTube video about a $10 classroom manament miracle.  For reals.  This amazing piece of technology revolutionized my classroom management.  What is this modern marvel that every teacher must have??  

It's a wireless doorbell.  People, it is seriously an amazing little tool for getting your class to stop and look at you!  Check out my video to see more about how it works!







And don't forget to head over to the Primary Chalkboard to watch more tip clips and gain more entries to the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Schedulin Sunday!

August 17, 2014, 11:06 am
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Happy Sunday!  It's rainy and stormy here at the Kindergarten Smorgasboard World Headquarters! It's a great day for a nap...but there's no rest for Mr. Greg!  It's Sunday so it's time for some Schedulin' Sunday, lesson plan writing, activity creating, mind blowing, kindergarten world rocking planning for the week!  Who's ready??

It's week 2 for us so it's more rules and procedures.  It's also CENTER WEEK!  That's right, we're introducing math and literacy centers.  This week is all about procedures and expectations.  We're introducing our tub centers first.  These are stocked with simple to do activities that need little to no explanation so students can grab and go!    I am super excited to settle into a more normal routine and start assessing my gifted 'staches!  

As always, you can download your very own copy of my lesson plans by clicking on the picture below!


If you're interested in the template I use for my plans, it's available at A Teacher's Plan blog!  It's called THE GREG!



This week, we continue with our ABC Bootcamp with letters F-J.  I have been asked a lot about our bootcamp...it's really just a fun name for introducing a letter and sound a day!  We do a circle map of pictures for the sound, we make a silly hat for the sound and we practice writing the letter!  We call it ABC Bootcamp because we're hitting a letter each day so we can get through them quickly!  Then we can move onto all kinds of fun stuff like blending, and reading more!  

F-Frog hat
G-grass hat
H-Hippo hat
I-insect hat
J-Jelly beans hat

This week is also our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom week!  I love this week. There's so much art this week and I just love the book!  For reals...it's PINK, what's not to love?!?!

Here's what we have planned for CCBB week!



I love this interactive CCBB chart from Hubbard's Cupboard!  It's fun to read and slide the letters through!  The 'staches love this!  I also add a strip with their names and we slide through their names.  Good times.  I am making a new version for my classroom and can't wait to reveal it this week!  Stay tuned!

We're gonna rock some painting, feathers and sandpaper art this week!!!  How much fun are the different ways to make a coconut tree!!  In the past, I've used these as an assessment piece.  After assessing each child on letters, they got to add the letters they could name to their tree!  

Of course, we're making a silly hat!  Each 'stache gets 4 leaves to cut out and they can add letter stickers to their hat!  
The mister looks sooooo good in his CCBB hat!   If you would like the template for the leaves, just click on the mister!  
Ya'll, seriously...how awesome is he for playing along with the kindergarten craziness that never stops in our house...currently, he's cutting and laminating!  Best. Hubby. Ever.



We'll be going on a letter hunt!  We'll dig letters out of the sand and name the letter and sound.  Then we place them in order!

I found this AMAZE BALLS idea from Mrs. Lee's Kinder Kids and knew that I HAD TO DO IT!  It's loud.  It's messy.  It's so me.

You putt upper case letters in a pocket chart.  You put the lowercase letters in balloons.  1 letter per balloon.  You blow up the balloons.  Then the class pops the balloons to get the letters.  They mat the letters!  EPIC.  OMG I can't tell you how excited I am for this one!!  This is going to be our morning meeting activity Monday!  We're gonna kick this week off with a bang!

(Click on the picture to download a set of upper and lowercase letters!)



Of course, we have to explore a coconut with our 5 senses!  This best part of this activity??  Opening the coconut!  It's funny to hear the banging from each classroom as we attempt to open these darn coconuts!  

Click on the picture to get your FREE coconut labels for a class chart!  

We will also read two other ABC books at the end of the week:






And of course, Foodie Fun Friday is a coconut tree with letters!!  Green apple slices, graham crackers, Whoppers and alphabet animal crackers!  YUMMO!


This week in math we are working on numbers to 10!  We will be using our random number CD from Kim Sutton to do dancing fingers.  

The CD plays fun music and calls out random numbers.  The 'staches hold up that number of fingers!  Super fun, super easy way to get a good idea of who needs help with numbers and counting!

This week we are also introducing ten frames!  We will do a match up game where students have to find the person with the number to match their ten frames.  We will also practice making ten frames.  Each child will have a ten frame mat and some manipulatives.  I'll show a number on the screen and they have to make that number on their ten frame!

Click the picture to get your free ten frame work mat!

Click the picture to get some fun ten frame activities FREE!  


This week we are also introducing roll and color!  I love roll and color because it can be easily differentiated and used all year long!  Once they learn how to play at the beginning of the year, it's great for centers, substitutes, time fillers and more!  And my friend Kristine got us these awesome LED dice in Vegas...they are going to make roll and color even more amazing!  

Here's a free CCBB roll and color set for your class!


Just click the picture to get your freebie!

This week is also all about rules, procedures and expectations!  

We're doing our bubble self control lesson.  If you've never done this lesson, DO IT!  Stand the 'staches in a circle.  Talk about self control.  Being in control of you.  Not doing something you might want to.  Doing the right thing.  Then tell them you're going to blow bubbles but they cannot pop them.  NO MATTER WHAT!  They must have self control.  Blow bubbles.  Talk about how hard it is...give tons of praise for having control.

Then you can blow more bubbles and let them pop the bubbles for fun!

We're also doing one of my fave back to school lessons using one of my fave back to school books:  Miss Nelson Is Missing!


Did you know that Miss Nelson teaches at the Horace B. SMEDLEY school?!  hehehe

After we read we will make a list of words describing Miss Nelson.  Then a list of words describing Miss Swamp.  We talk about what kind of teacher we want and if we want Miss Swamp to come.  Then we talk about the things we can do to make Miss Swamp come.

Then we make a chart to describe Mr. Greg and what kind of teacher we want him to be!

Then we get to make a picture of Miss Swamp!


And that's our week!

Here are two requested freebies for ya:

Here is an editable version of my class newsletter.  To use this you will need two fonts:  KG THE LAST TIME BUBBLE and KG WHAT THE TEACHER WANTS.  Both are FREE for PERSONAL AND CLASSROOM USE!  Visit KG FONTS on TPT to download your fonts.

And here are the name tags I used with my class:



This week's activities and centers can be found in these creations:
Click on any picture to learn more!

























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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Miss Nelson Is Missing Activity

August 18, 2014, 3:44 pm
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Happy Monday!  I hope ya'll had a great day.  People, I got so sleepy after lunch...I think it was because we couldn't go outside...we GoNoodled but I still could have curled in our plastic swimming pool and napped!


Today I want to share a fun activity that I did with my little 'staches as part of our big back to school push about rules, procedures, friendship and behavior.  We used one of my all time favorite books:  Miss Nelson Is Missing to help us talk about what we wanted from our teacher!  People, I have loved this book ever since I was a kid.  It's a classic.  And Miss Nelson works at the SMEDLEY school....just sayin' It was destined to be a legend...


We read the book and then we talk about what happened.  We talk about why Miss Nelson left and mean Miss Swamp came.  Then we talk about if we want Miss Swamp to come to our room.  Of course it's a resounding NO!  

This is when I talk to the kids about my feelings and how I get upset sometimes when they're rude or disrespectful.  We also talk about how I might get upset with them or I might raise my voice but I still love them.  And I always tell them there is nothing they could do that would make not love them!  

Then we describe Miss Nelson and Miss Swamp.


And then...this is a huge boost to your ego...and a great reminder for the rest of the year...I have my 'staches describe and what kind of teacher they want me to be!


I am a super teacher...sweet...cute, lovely and pretty!  I'll take it!

And finally, we make a picture of Miss Swamp!



You can provide templates for Miss Swamp or do a directed art project by directing students to cut out a triangle for the body, a circle for the head and 2 rectangles for the legs.  For the hands and feet, it's just a circle cut in half!  The hair is scraps of paper!

We had a blast with Miss Nelson is missing today!   People, for reals, I love my job!!










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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Freebie and Giveaway!

August 19, 2014, 3:45 pm
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Howdy ya'll!  Just a short post today!  I whipped up this super fun ten frame match freebie for my 'staches to use in our math centers so I wanted to share it all with you!

Who doesn't love some superheroes?!  I mean really...even my 'staches think I'm a superhero teacher!




Click to visit my store!



AND did you know there is a BOOST sale at TPT tomorrow?!  Truth.  All of my common core creations are one sale for 20% off and with the code BOOST you can save an extra 10% off!  My cart is full of clip art for new creations!  Who's ready to shop??

How about a $25 gift card to spend?  Just enter with the Rafflecopter below.  I'll choose a winner at 5:00 p.m. central time tomorrow so you'll have plenty of time to shop! 




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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Of Wednesday Centers

August 20, 2014, 4:23 pm
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It's BACK!  That's right folks!   It's a new school year...a whole new crop of 'staches to grow and manicure...and a whole new year of Wednesday Centers!  Each Wednesday I will share some of the center activities we've been doing in our classroom!  Hopefully you'll find something new to try or be inspired to whip up a fun center!  As always, feel free to share these ideas and share your own center ideas in the comment section!

This week was our introduction to centers and so far they're doing an amazing job.  We have started our tubs, technology, library and write the room centers.  After a couple more weeks of practice, we will transition to using our center wheels. I HEART CENTERS!  



Nothing beats some glittery ABCs and 123s to go along with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom unit!


Summer blockbusters ain't got nothing on our blockbuster numbers center!


This is a huge hit in the class!  Cookie sheet letter matching!    IT'S SO EASY and basically free.  Cookie sheets are 97 cents at Wal-Mart...unless you're like me and hoard them in your classroom.  And the magnetic letters...we all have those by the billions.  They multiply like those dang plastic tiles...someday, they're gonna take over my classroom.  


Another cookie sheet goodie.  Tape.  Gems.  Magnets.  TEN FRAME fun!


Counting ants!  A fun counting center.  FREE on my FREEBIES PAGE!

People...check out the hairdo.  This kid has the best hair ever.  Seriously...I want the spiky mohawk!  



Humpty Dumpty letter matching.  No fall here.  Just fun letter matching!


Letter writing fun!


People, I made this light box over the summer.  It's a HUGE HIT!  I love love love love love love love love love it.  I might have to whip up another one soon!  Seriously...you need this!

CLICK HERE to see how I made it. And yes those are plastic shot glasses from the Dollar Tree.  I bought HUNDREDS of those...just for this purpose!


This is another favorite already.  QR Codes!  If you don't have these, get them.  You need these.  They are so different and engaging...your kiddos will beg for them.  


Who doesn't love ten frames?!



Writing the room?  YES PLEASE!

If you're interested in any of these centers, check em out below!




And you still have a few hours to shop the TPT one day BOOST sale!

All of my creations are 20% off and the code BOOST saves an extra 10% off!  Click the pictures to see my creations and visit my store!






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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Pencil Management System

August 22, 2014, 5:06 pm
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Happy Friday!  No Five For Friday this week for me because it's my very first time posting on The Primary Chalkboard!  I am super honored and blessed to be a part of such an amazing group of teacher bloggers over on the Chalkboard.  The "Chalkies" are a second family to me!  Make sure to head over to the Primary Chalkboard and follow us for great tips, ideas, and other fun!


Today I am going to share my pencil management system.  It's fairly simple, it saves my sanity and helps my little 'staches with some responsibility!  


My pencil management system starts on Monday morning (sometimes Friday afternoons) when I sharpen a bunch of pencils.  I use the world's best pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies to sharpen my pencils.  This little device means no blisters on my fingers...no sore arms...no cuss words...just beautifully sharp pencils.


Our pencils are stored in a plastic 3 drawer organizer.  There is a drawer for sharp pencils, broken pencils and erasers.


Sharp pencils!

Broken pencils!


I don't sharpen pencils during the week.  We have a drawer full of sharp pencils.  If we break a pencil, we place it in the broken drawer and get a new sharp pencil.  If we need an eraser, we get one from the eraser drawer.

We have 5 buckets of pencils around our room.  Since we don't have seats this year, we just have them sitting around.  I keep 10 or so pencils in the buckets at all times.

This system helps keep me from sharpening pencils during the week so it's a time saver and the 'staches are responsible for solving their problem of a broken pencil!

Here's another tip:  "Hire" a 3rd, 4th or 5th grader from your school to come to your classroom Friday afternoon to sharpen pencils.  You could even arrange a deal with a teacher who has a student who might need some extra attention and TLC to be your pencil sharpener!  

How do you manage your pencils?


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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Schedulin Sunday: Week 3

August 24, 2014, 10:07 am
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Happy Schedulin Sunday people!  It's pretty early for me to have lesson plans finished.  I'm currently printing off a ton of new centers for the week, new small group activities and anchor chart labels!  I am SO loving my new color laser printer.  I highly recommend you make the leap to color laser printing.  It's so much higher quality and the long term cost is so much better.  

Here is the printer I have:

Click the picture to order your printer from Amazon for only $169!!!

And now onto Schedulin Sunday!

This week we're kicking off our apple study.  We will be learning all about apples for the next 2 weeks...and that will lead us into our farm unit which leads us into our pumpkin unit which leads us to our farm field trip and halloween.  See how that all ties together and works so well?!

As always, you can download a copy of my lesson plans by clicking on the picture!

Click the picture to download your copy!

I have also created a folder for all of my lesson plans for 2014-2015 and you can access the folder by CLICKING  HERE!!


K-King
L-Lion
M-Mustache
N-Nest
O-Octopus

Here we go:

Monday:

We will read the book The Seasons Of Arnold's Apple Tree and identify the beginning, middle and end of the story using our story map.


We will also start our Apple KWL chart!  We will share what we know about apples and what we hope to learn about apples!

We will continue our ABC Bootcamp with letter K!  Which means...a KING HAT!

We will continue working on letter and name recognition.  We will write letter K.  

For math we are reading Ten Apples Up On Top!


After reading the story, we will pick a number card from 1-10.  We will count that many apples and glue them on top of our heads.

I print pictures of the 'staches and cut them out and we glue those on the bottom of our paper.  Then we glue the apples on top!

This year, to make things a little more manageable and less stressful, I made some simple and SMALL apple cutouts that we will use!  


You can click on the picture of the apples to download your apple cutouts!


Seriously...every year with this project the apples are too big and I end up scrambling to cut more paper strips.  NO MORE!  Small apples, people!  Small apples!

We will study the parts of an apple and label the parts of an apple.


Tuesday

We will read Apple Farmer Annie and work on beginning, middle and end!


ABC BOOTCAMP continues with letter L which means a lion hat and letter L Circle Map and letter L writing!

Today is also one of my favorite days because we start our hopes and dreams project!

We kick off our hopes and dreams project with the book Big Plans!  I love this book becuase the little boy in the book has big plans and he makes those big plans happen!  It's such a fun and engaging read too!  


After reading the story we will share all of our hopes and dreams (goals) for kindergarten.  I write down EVERYTHING that my 'staches share that they hope to learn in our circle map!


I also send home a letter to parents asking them to share their hopes and dreams for their child in kindergarten.  The 'staches love this because they get to take homework home to their parents and make their parents do their homework.  Seriously...make a big deal about how the parents/families have homework...the kids will eat it up!

In math,  it's Ten Frame Tuesday and we will be working on building numbers from 10-20 using our ten frame cards.  After our mini lesson, we will have a cut and paste page for independent practice and then centers.  I will be pulling small groups for some differentiated work on counting and numbers!


We will study the life cycle of an apple and make apple prints.  It's fun.  It's messy.  It's paint.  You know the motto:


Messy=success!



Wednesday:

Today we will read the book My Five Senses by Aliki and create a tree map of our 5 senses.  We will list the things we can see, touch, smell, hear and feel.

ABC Bootcamp continues with letter M.  M means MUSTACHE HATS!  And of course our M circle map!

Click to get your free mustache hat pieces!


For writing, we continue our hopes and dreams project.  Today we complete a predictable chart.  Each 'stache will pick the 1 thing they most want to learn this year to complete the sentence frame:

____________ wants to learn _____________.

Then we combine this sentence and the families hopes and dreams to create a giant puzzle display.  This display stays up all year long to remind us that we have BIG PLANS to accomplish and we're all in this together!


Math will be more work on numbers 10-20.  This means more small group work to meet the needs of the 'staches.  I have some who are still working on recognizing numbers to 10 so we will play "MATCH THAT NUMBER!" (Imagine me saying that in my best tv game show host voice from the 1970's!  I'm picturing the Golden Girls episode where they went on the show Grab That Dough!)


The students race THEMSELVES to match the numbers!  It's a super fun game and seriously will build their number recognition in NO TIME FLAT!  Trust me on this one!

Click the picture to see a more detailed post about the game and snag some number card freebies!


We will explore our 5 senses with an amazing taste test from Mrs. Plants Press!

The students taste sweet, salty, bitter and sour and graph their favorites!  Watching them bite into the bitter chocolate is epic stuff.  TRUST ME!  It's worth doing this just for that moment!


Thursday

More apples.  Today we will meet Johnny Appleseed and read all about Johnny's life.  We will create a tree map about what Johnny.



ABC BOOTCAMP continues with letter N.  That means a nest hat and an N circle map!

Writing will be a predictable chart:  I like....

Math will be something new....

MEASUREMENT!  We will be introduced to our very first measurement unit.

We will be measuring apple pictures.  We will do this whole group!  Each 'stache will get to measure a picture using the Elmo document camera and we will record the height of the picture on our recording sheets.  Then we will complete our class recording chart!



Friday!!!!

We will review all we've learned about apples and complete our KWL chart.

We will continue ABC Bootcamp with letter O.  That means an octopus hat and an O circle map.

We will be tasting apples and graphing our favorite type of apple.  

And, since we're still working on building community and friendship and love in our classroom, I am going to surprise the 'staches with a fun painting project!

We will read A Bad Case Of The Stripes and talk about acceptance!


Then we will work together to paint these beautiful and diverse pictures of kids!


Seriously...love this activity.  Yes it's messy which makes me happy.  But there is something amazing about watching your class working together to create beautiful things.  It's what teaching is all about.  It's a lesson the world could learn from 5 year olds!  

And that folks, is our week!



Our centers, activities, anchor charts and independent practice pages are from these creations:




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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Fabulous Friends Friday!

July 18, 2014, 8:00 am
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Happy Friday.  Well...for me it's not so happy.  As you read this, I am hopefully home and resting after my knee surgery.  They're doing arthroscopic surgery to repair torn cartillage in my right knee!  People, I admit it.  I'm being a big, whiny, dramatic baby.  But it's my first surgery...so I'm a little nervous.  I'll update my status on social media (Facebook and Instagram) so you'll know how I'm holding up!

But...I wanted to share this sneak peek into my classroom. I worked my booty off to get it ready before surgery.  All that's left is some decorating and final touches.  The mister is going to decorate.  I'm going to sit and tell him what to do and he's going to do it.  Isn't he amazing?!?!


That's all you get!  I'll do a full reveal with a video in a couple of weeks!!!


And now...how about you meet one of my fabulous friends?!


This is a lady that I've been friends with for over 2 years.  We've been blog buddies and chatted and she is just the sweetest, kindest person.  I was beyond ecstatic when I finally got to meet her and hug her in Vegas.  


It's Farrah from Mrs. Shipley's Classroom!

Seroiously this woman is amazing.  Talented and genuine.  Friendly.  Positive.  I can admit that it was a huge relief during my blog panel at the Teacher's Pay Teachers Conference to see her smiling face in the front row.  It sure made my morning much easier!  

Here's what Farrah has to say about blogging and teaching:
"Blogging about my classroom and how WBT has changed the atmosphere in my classroom gives me a sense of satisfaction that I can share a little piece of Teaching Heaven with other teachers.""When teachers email me and tell me that they discovered WBT through my blog and tried it, and that it recharged their passion for teaching again, I feel like maybe, just maybe, it is worth letting the whole world into my classroom for those brief moments through video!""The friendships and connections I have made through the blogging world are priceless. The ideas that I get from seeing into other bloggers classrooms through their blogs are endless. There are a lot of talented teachers out there!"


How about a freebie?


Click the picture to download your freebie!

And now a giveaway!

Farrah is giving away her Guided Reading WBT Style guide and I'm giving away $10 to my TPT store!  Just use the Rafflecopter to enter!





a Rafflecopter giveaway
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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Classroom Video: Introducing Centers

August 25, 2014, 4:49 pm
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Do you ever have one of those days teaching when your class just rocks?  Today was that day for us.  Everything went great.  We were on top of our game.  My charge to my class every day is to be your best.  And today they met that challenge.  We rocked centers after being introduced to the center wheel in reading and math....we rocked our first day of using our interactive math notebook...we rocked behavior and apples and people, we just rocked!

So to celebrate, it's time for our first Kindergarten Smorgasboard Classroom Video of the 2014-2015 school year!


I get asked often about introducing new centers so I figured why not do a video of how I introduce new centers.  

My secret:  small groups!  I introduce the activity in small groups and then it becomes a center.   This allows me to still differentiate learning while introducing centers to the students quickly and efficiently.  
Another secret:  since I create a lot of our own centers, they follow a pretty similar pattern so once we've been introduced to numerous centers, we are very independent with new centers because we've seen the game/activity before.  This allows independence, success and less stress for me!  My system also allows students to rely on each other for help and not always relying on me.  

In this video you see me working with two groups where I'm introducing two different centers that follow the same procedures.  Each center is a spin and color/graph center but differentiated for the needs of the group.  Group 1 is working on letters so they are spinning and coloring letters.  Group 2 is working on beginning sounds so they spinning and identifying beginning sounds!  

The beauty of this:  they can show others how to do the centers if they're are questions!  And now they can use all of our What Does The Fox Say centers for the year!  


You can watch the video here or you can check it out on my YouTube channel!


The center i'm introducing is from my newest fox creation!





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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard of Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

August 26, 2014, 3:44 pm
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People, this year I have a lot of cussers in my class.  True story.  Two days in a row I've had cussers.  UGH!  Cussers...

We have wrapped our big Chicka Chicka Boom Boom extravaganza and I wanted to share some of the fun we had!  Who doesn't love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom at the beginning of the year?!  Such a great book and a great fun way to introduce letters!
We kicked off CCBB with this awesome activity from Julie Lee at Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten.  
The Mister blew up 26 balloons (yeah, he rocks!)  and we put 26 letters in the balloons.  The letters were printed on colored paper and rolled up.

Then we popped the balloons and matched lowercase and uppercase letters!  SUPER FUN!  SUPER LOUD!   (Watch the video below!)

We also use this Chicka Chicka Boom Boom fluency chart!  This chart is from Hubbard's Cupboard!  We read the chant and I slide letters through the opening and they read the letters.  This is great for building letter recognition and fluency!   To make it more fun, I make a strip with our names and we read that also!  SUPER FUN!  (Video below!)


We played Grab A Letter using our CCBB tree from Lakeshore!  LOVE THIS TREE!  We use it all year for various activities!  The 'staches grabbed a letter, named the letter and put it on the tree!  


We made sandpaper and feather Chicka Chicka Boom Boom trees!  Super fun.  And there's always one who puts the tree on backwards....always!

We painted Chicka Chicka Boom Boom trees with our hands and arms!  SUPER FUN!  

Of course we had to make a CCBB hat!  DUH!  



And we made a CCBB SNACK!

Graham crackers, apple slices, whoppers and letter animal crackers!





We also use this glittery sparkly goodness in our centers to extend our CCBB learning!


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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Five Senses Freebie!

August 27, 2014, 7:22 pm
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Late night post...by request...

We did a fun Five Senses tree map today...I shared this picture on my Instagram and Facebook and people have been asking for my labels...so here they are!

Click the picture to download your freebie!



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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard of Thursday Centers!

August 28, 2014, 3:07 pm
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It's time for a sneak peek into our classroom to see our center work for the week!  Centers are rolling along with a few bumps and glitches.   Like staring at the center wheel for 15 minutes trying to figure out what center to go to....or asking Mr. Greg where to go over and over again and he refuses to answer because he's not a center wheel...and the red light is on so that means stop!  But really, the 'staches are doing a great job with centers!  Wanna see?








Click here for the DIY light box directions!



This spin and graph is FREE!!!  Just click on the picture to download your freebie!




If you're interested in these centers, click the pictures below!









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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard Schedulin Sunday!

August 31, 2014, 1:17 pm
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It's here people!  Week 4 of Schedulin' Sunday!  I am super stoked for this week.  It's a 4 day week...and we have planned some pretty amazing activities for our fairy tale unit!  SUPER EXCITED!  People, it involves painting with pudding.  What more do you need?!?!?!

As always, you can click on the lesson plans to download your copy of my plans!





ABC BOOTCAMP continues this week with the letters:
P-pig
Q-Quilt/Queen
R-Robot
S-Stop sign

(and a blog post coming tomorrow about bootcamp with details and stuff...and maybe a hat give away!)


Here are the fairy tales we are reading this week: (click to see the books on Amazon)




Each day we will read a fairy tale and re-tell the story using beginning, middle and end.

We will fill out our Fairy Tale comparison chart.  Each story will list the characters, setting, and lesson learned.

We will also work on our What Are Fairy Tale Anchor charts each day.  Included on the chart are what can be a character, setting, features and lessons learned from fairy tales.

This is from Tangled With Teaching.


Princess Pigtoria is an amazingly fun book to read for P day and pigs.  It tells the story of the Princess and the Pea but adds in some fun elements and a billion (yes, I counted!) P words.  SO MUCH FUN!

When we read The True Story of The Three Pigs we will....wait for it....wait....PAINT WITH PUDDING!  I mean for real, how fun?!  Each 'stache will get 2 pigs on pink card stock and a pudding cup.  They will get to use their fingers to paint the pigs!  Epic mess.  Epic fun.  Epic memories.  #evaluatethat

We will do a fun math activity with Rapunzel's hair!  Each 'stache will make a tower and a picture of Rapunzel's face.  They will use yellow streamer to make her hair.  Then they will cut a piece of yellow yarn.  They will measure the yarn using cubes.  They will write how many cubes the yarn is before gluing the yarn to the paper.  I know right?!  Measuring Rapunzel's hair?!?!

This idea is from Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten.


We also have two super fun graphing/data activities we will be doing.  We will graph about kissing frogs and whether the wolf or the pigs are telling the truth!

Click either picture to get your FREEBIES!


People, we're not done yet...

How about a FREE fairy tales emergent reader?

Click the picture to download your freebie!



How about some fairy tale science for Mad Science Friday?!  It's also our first OFFICIAL Mad Science Friday!

This is from Fun A Day and it's made for my class.  Glitter?  CHECK!  Messy?  CHECK!

You freeze a mixture of baking soday, Jello-O, glitter and water.  FREEZE IT!

Then you give the 'staches a squirt bottle of Vinegar and clear un-scented dish soap and let them go at it.  (Before they squirt we will predict what might happen...and talk safety!)

I mean for reals...how freakin' awesome is this going to be?!


In math, we are working on numbers to 20.  We will be doing a lot of small group work this week!  We will be using activities from my 1-20 A Number Odyssey Creation to make anchor charts and work on numbers to 20!

And for Foodie Fun Friday we're making applesauce!  YUM!

And that's our week!  I am super ready for this week!

Make sure to like my Facebook page because I am going to be doing some give aways tonight!!!

This week's activities are from the following creations:




These are my two newest creations that I created this morning!  TRUTH!  2 creations in 3 hours!

These were both created for a need in our classroom this week.  The first is a fun sight word recognition game (center or sensory bin activity!) and the second is a giant ABC floor puzzle and a set of beginning sounds puzzles.  Our giant floor puzzles were missing pieces so I just made new ones!
















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A Kindergarten Smorgasboard ABC BOOTCAMP!

September 2, 2014, 5:23 pm
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Howdy ya'll!  Happy Tuesday!

Buckle up...grab a Mt. Dew...or coffee...or grown up libation...this is a wordy post...I have a lot to say...imagine that...me, with lots to say!!!  Hopefully this helps answer all of your questions about our ABC BOOTCAMP!  Ya ready?!?!  Get. Set. GO!



So you've probably seen my posts on Instagram or Faceboook or Twitter about our ABC BOOTCAMP!  You've seen it mentioned in my lesson plans....and you've had TONS of questions about ABC BOOTCAMP!  So today I wanted to share some details about our ABC BOOTCAMP!  (And I have a fun give away!)

Where Did The Idea For Bootcamp Come From?
The idea came about during our team planning last May.  We were....gasp....a letter a week crowd.  I KNOW!  I KNOW!  We were tired of still "introducing" a letter in April or May.  It didn't work.  It doesn't work.  And it really doesn't make sense.  We decided to try something new.  We decided to do all 26 letters in 26 days at the beginning of the year.  We decided to call it BOOTCAMP because it was going to be fast and furious!    So BOOTCAMP was born out of necessity for us to try something new that we hoped would be better for our students.

By introducing the letters/sounds this early we can move our focus to reading and writing words and more!  For students who need more help, they get extra help during small groups, one on one instruction and centers!

Another benefit of bootcamp?   EXCITEMENT!  The 'staches are excited to come to class.  How do we know?  Our literacy coach (who has cafeteria breakfast duty) tells us the kids are excited to come up to see what the letter for bootcamp will be!  Even the hesitant little ones can be coaxed up stairs when asked about bootcamp!  My 'staches are now talking about the letter for the next day as we leave to go home. It's brought a new excitement to our learning.  WAIT...WHAT?!  Fun?  Excitement!?!  Kids are excited about bootcamp?!  YES PLEASE!  Where's the glitter?!  Someone throw some glitter!

DOES IT WORK?
YES!  We did an assessment last Friday.  9 of my 12 (yes, I have 12 students!) students scored 100% on all the letters and sounds we have learned so far.  The 3 who did not are my 2 ELL students and a student with an IEP!  They got more than half of the letters and sounds correct so they still knocked it out of the park. 

HOW?
The how is pretty simple...nothing big and fancy.  Each day of BOOTCAMP we work on a letter.  We started with A and we're working through the alphabet.   The letter is mentioned in the morning message.  As part of the morning message, I model how to write the uppercase and lowercase letter.  Then each child comes to the message and writes the letter (upper and lower case!).   




During our morning literacy routine, we do a circle map.  The circle map features the letter (Um, I made GLITTERY LETTERS!).  We brainstorm ideas for words that begin with the sound of the letter.  WE DO NOT INCLUDE VOWEL SOUNDS at this time.  If a student suggests a word with the vowel sound, we talk about how the letter makes that vowel sound....and we say we will remember it when we come back to the vowel sounds!  




When they suggest a word Mr. Greg attempts (very badly attempts...) to draw the picture!  After I draw the picture, they name the picture.  I ask them what sound the word begins with.  Then I ask them:  "HOW DO WE SPELL (the sound)?"   Then I write the letter for the sound.  Then I spell the rest of the word.    Finally, we read the word again and identify the sound!    (At this point we've also added in counting syllables...but we did not do that in the beginning!)

The circle maps are being displayed on our anchor chart rope.  When we finish all 26 letters, I am going to take a picture of each circle map, have it printed in an 8x10 photograph at Walgreens.  Then laminated and bound into a book!


Our "ticket to centers" is handwriting.  Each child gets a handwriting page and practices writing the letters.


Our handwriting pages come from my iLetters and iSounds creation!


HATS
One of the highlights of ABC BOOTCAMP is our silly hats.  For each letter we make a silly hat.  Everyone makes each hat, including me!  In fact, you might walk in and find me laying on the floor making my hat with the 'staches.  Some days I have my hat prepared ahead of time as a model, but I really like to get down on the floor and work with them.  THEY LOVE THAT!  We usually have 15-20 minutes for the hat.  If your hat isn't finished before time, it goes home.  No excuses!

We make the hats in the morning, usually right before lunch.  We wear them all day!  However, we do have some rules for hats!  Rule 1:  on your head or in the trash!  We don't play with them and if they're a distraction they get trashed.  The 'staches can choose to put their hats in their backpacks but most wear the.  Rule 2:  We do not wear them to lunch, recess or specials.  This is just to avoid issues!  Another benefit to the hats?  I can pull a child or a small group while the others are hard at work on a hat.  

We do this to re-inforce the sound and have some fun.  The hats are great for cutting and gluing practice, following directions and fine motor skills!   It also reinforces the letter sound of the day in a fun, meaningful way!    And they're silly and fun.  We get lots of giggles from the hats!  The 'staches love to look up and see me wearing my hat.  They're also great for getting other adults involved.  Every day at t dismissal, our gym teacher asks my 'staches about their hats!  They're recalling the sound and letter and explaining why we did a certain hat.  






People, the hats are EPIC fun!  My 'staches love them.  I love them.  We wear our hats proudly all day!  And yes, I make a hat and wear it proudly!



And finally, I have been asked if this is the only time we will learn the letter and sound....NO!   We review every letter and sound every day during our morning literacy routine!  We use letter/sound chart every. day.  of. the.  year.  BOOTCAMP is just introducing the letters....it's not the only time we see the letter and work on the sound!  

Click the picture to get your free copy of our alphabet chart!  Thanks to Graphics From The Pond for the amazing clip art!

Now, you can watch the video to see a quick peek into what ABC BOOTCAMP looks like!

And finally, to celebrate the end of bootcamp....each child will get some dogtags and we're having an alaphabet fashion show!  Each child will get a vest made from brown grocery bags.  Each vest will feature a single letter.   The 'staches will take the vest home and work with the family to decorate the vest with pictures for the letter.  Then we will walk the runway with our vests!  (For certain letters we will send home clip art for the letters to make it easier....and the vests are required to be returned 2 days before the fashion show so we can help anyone who might not have completed the vests at home!)

How about a freebie?!  Who doesn't love glittery letters?!  (TEAM GLITTER!  And this isn't the kind of glitter that makes a mess!!!!)  Of course they're glitter....have you met me?!


And who wants to win a copy of the Alphabet Hats we use?  The hats are from my amazing and sweet friend Jennifer at Simply Kinder!  I started using these 3 years ago and use them every year.  This is my best TPT purchase ever.  By far!    To enter, leave a comment below with a letter recognition or activity or beginning sound activity!  I'll choose a winner tomorrow after school!



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