Counting On Winter Penguin Freebie!

Hey ya'll! So I made this back in December to practice counting on with my kids! I ended up being really sick and having a sub use these, but she did a great job! I just printed them off onto cardstock and laminated them. Then had the sub use a dry erase marker and model counting on from a given number a few times. Then I had her call on kids (by pulling popsicle sticks with the kids names on them) to come up and complete a counting on card on the document reader. If a child got stuck, they could reference the 100s chart, calendar, number line, or the class could help them if they wanted! The sub said they had a great time with it! (Click on the little square with an arrow, to have the screen pop up so you can download it. Let me know if it doesn't work!)

Once they had plenty of practice whole group, I made this recording sheet for my student's to complete for independent work! (I made them 2 to a page to save paper, which is why there are two of the same sheet in this document.)  The kids loved having it half size b/c it was little like them! =) I did not print the recording sheet in color, just in black and white b/c lets be honest, it probably gets tossed as soon as their parents get it! Am I right? =)

You could even pop this into a math station too for more practice! 

Be sure to leave me a comment if you like them! I'd love to post some more freebies I've created lately if ya'll like this! =)
Have a great rest of the weekend!

Guess who's posting!

Oh my, it has been too long since I last posted! I made it one of my goals to try and post AT LEAST once a month. Is this pitiful that this post shows the only pictures I have taken since my last one?! I've been good about taking pics of my kids during our most memorable days: First day of K, Decorating our Gingerbread Man cookies, With their favorite book, Checking out their first library book, and our 100th day!

Here's a FEW pics of what we have been up to this January!

 I introduced this fun number game (from Growing Kinders!) to my students in a small group and challenged them when they finished: "Show me the number 2, as many ways as you can." So you see the kids using tally marks, numerals, dots, ten frames, drawings, and number words. (We worked on that A TON at the beginning of the year!) 

A fun idea I got from Tara at Little Minds at Work. Working on spelling sight words with magnetic letter tiles. These words were in their leveled readers, which we highlights in their paper versions to take home and keep.Ya'll- if you have not checked out her blog post on guided reading in kindergarten, you MUST!!!! It's full of genius ideas!

Anyone notice my beautiful new kidney bean table??? Thanks to donorschoose, I finally have one and got rid of the old, ginormous rectangular one. YAY! I love my small group area now!

I even got some adorable new baskets from the Dollar Tree and labeled each group to keep our leveled readers, games, etc. in. This helps keep me organized and transition from group to group easily! (I meet with every child, every day, for 15 minutes).

I got this ADORABLE retelling chart idea from Simple Second Grade.

Last week, we practiced retelling using key details with the following winter books:
(click on each picture to go to the link)

 
If you haven't read Diamond in the Snow, you need to find it. My mom bought it for me a long time ago, but if you click on the photo below, it will take you to the author's website. It's such cute story, and my littles totally giggled at parts and we connected it to our ice experiment when we learned all about matter the week before! 

  
We also read a book called "Snow" from the Journey's series, but I didn't have any luck finding a picture on google.

On that Friday, I assessed my student's in a few ways. I had them practice retelling me a story we read all week (orally) and I took notes on who struggled with the skill on a checklist/grid I made with all my student's names.

Then I gave them each this quick little assessment to complete in small groups. My kids couldn't read all it, so I made sure I would read one part at a time to them. Then I'd have them place it where they thought it would go before the glued it. In kindergarten, this skill is with prompting and support- so I made note of any student who needed more help/corrections. I made sure to have them glue it on the right spot. My low babies struggled with this, so I asked them to orally tell me "Who were the characters?" (and as they named them, I would give them the piece that said that character's name.) I did the same with setting and major events. This seemed to help them be more successful! 

So I'm proud to say that WITH PROMPTING AND SUPPORT- all my babies mastered the skill of retelling! =) 


Now lets get onto some math fun. We had a blast celebrating the 100th day of school! My kids thought it was SO COOL to trade in our 10 towers of 10 for a block of 100! They literally went "OOoo! WOW!"

Hip! Hip! Hooray it's our 100th day! My kids loved trading our ten towers of 10 for a block of 100!

I used the AMAZING 100th day freebie from Cara at First Grade Parade for our 100th day centers! 

The kids loved them!

Here are just a few pics of my kids in action!

Matching Hershey Kisses (with #s 1-100 on a dot sticker on the bottom) to the 100s chart!

The coolest structure that was built! They had difficulty using all 100 marshmallows in 20 minutes or less. So I think next year I may have them work in a larger group as a team!

I provided them with 100 mini-solo cups- but the kids only got this far with them before they would crumble to the ground! It's okay though! They loved it so much they asked if they could keep them for indoor recess time! Why not?! =)

This one had me cracking up! Right as I went to take a picture of their structure, all the cups fell and her face was priceless. I had to giggle and that's when the hands came out on her hips and she grinned! Love it!

The cups were definitely the class favorite! I think I may have a group of engineers in the works!

Speaking of which! This week in science, we are exploring all the ways objects move. (straight/zigzag, up/down, back/forth, round and round, side to side, fast/slow)  It was surprisingly difficult to find some activities I could with objects around the classroom. But I found some great ideas at Little Miss Hypothesis! My favorite was the "Objects can move" predictable chart! I just noticed that she even has a whole packet on TPT... so I think I will have to purchase that next year!

But as I was researching ideas on how to work on this concept in the classroom, I remember watching Peewee's Big Adventure and being glued to the TV when his breakfast "Rube Goldberg" machine would start! Oh how my curiosity would soar! So I thought, why not show something similiar to my kids to get them excited? Well I stumbled across this amazing commercial on youtube and my kids were OBSESSED. I'm telling you- we watched it like 3 times and talked about all the different ways the objects moved. They were so excited. I told them that engineers (like my dad!) build and invent machines. Then I asked them... after watching this "Who want's be an engineer?!" And I tell you- EVERY. SINGLE. HAND. WAS UP!!!! I need to get me these "Goldieblox" for my classroom AND my nieces! (I bet my dad's already on it though! He tried to get me to be an engineer, but my heart just wasn't in it.)

So during indoor recess, we got out he blocks and those kids WENT TO TOWN! It was so exciting to see them psyched up about something we were learning! I love it!

Mitten Writing Freebie

Hey ya'll! I have had quite a few emails asking me for this mitten writing page! It's a quick and easy writing prompt I give my kids when we had too many snow days and not enough time to start a new writing one week. I've provided some pictures of examples from the past. We read The Mitten by Jann Brett, then brainstormed things/animals that too big to fit in a normal mitten, illustrate a detailed picture and finish the sentence. This could also be put into a writing center! Hope you enjoy! Click on the last picture to get the free download. =)

Snowman Science Fun for kids! =) Guest blogger

Hey ya'll!

I've been so busy teaching my kids reading, writing and math, that science and social studies has been pushed to the side. I hate this because I remember LOVING science as a kid and I love teaching it. So I was looking up ideas online and was getting frustrated because I just couldn't find any cool science experiments for kindergarten! But I am so excited to share some news with you! One of my best friends from high school works at a science museum in Indiana and always posts the coolest stuff she does with kids there! So I told her she should make a blog for teachers to get science experiments from. Then she asked if she could just post her ideas on mine! Without hesitation I accepted and am so excited to bring you her first post! I can't wait to do this experiment with my own kindergarteners! I hope you enjoy!......

Since science standards haven't been created in Common core, I'm using the standards we have in my district in TN that you could use as your objective for this experiment:
CFU 7.9.1 Observe, identify, and compare the properties of various objects such as color, shape, and size. (BEFORE AND AFTER EXPERIMENT)
CFU 7.9.2 Observe, discuss, and compare characteristics of various solids and liquids. 
CFU 7.Inq.1 Use senses and simple tools to make observations. 
CFU 7.Inq.2 Communicate interest in simple phenomena and plan for simple investigations.
CFU 7.Inq.3 Communicate understanding of simple data using age-appropriate vocabulary.
CFU 7.Inq.4 Collect, discuss, and communicate findings from a variety of investigations. 
GLE 7.Inq.2 Ask questions, make logical predictions, plan investigations, and represent data.
GLE 7.Inq.3 Explain the data from an investigation.

Hey all you awesome teacher bloggers out there! I’m glad you’re all here reading Jessica’s blog. Isn’t she a fantastic teacher? I’ve known Jessica since she moved to Illinois in middle school. I was given the duty to show her and her sister around the school and we became immediate friends. She’s been one of my good friends for a looooong time and one of the most hilarious, caring, creative and sweetest people I know. I have to admit that I’m a little sad she lives in TN, but it’s a GREAT excuse for me to travel and get my “country” on. ☺

Anyway, here’s a little about me. I went to Indiana State University and have a Bachelor’s in Recreation and Sport Management with a focus in Youth Leadership. I worked at residential summer camps for 7 years prior to my college internship (man do I have stories). After two internships at the Terre Haute Children’s Museum I was hired on in 2010. People tell me I have the coolest job ever, and I rarely disagree. I’m currently the Program and Special Event Coordinator. Out museum is considered “small”, we only have 6 full-time staff members and operate with about 6-10 volunteers every day. This means I do A LOT of the hands-on science with kids of ALL ages, learning abilities and demographics. We’re also a non-profit in a small city... so basically we have no money. Ok, ok, we have SOME money; but I operate on a very small budget, so a lot of the experiments I do are CHEAP!

Jessica is always commenting on my social media pages about the cool experiments we do and mentioned I should start a blog.... WHOAH! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I mentioned doing some guest posts on her blog and she agreed! So here I am, to give awesome teachers cheap and easy experiments to do in your classroom!

 Since we’re in the middle of winter, here’s a “cold” experiment.

Melting Snow Man Materials: 

• Baking Soda- I used about 1 Cup-ish (exact amounts are not crucial) 
• Shaving Cream- 3+ Cups. May need more or less depending on the consistency of the mixture. 
• Foam Shapes (cut into carrot noses, coal eyes, buttons, etc...) 
• Vinegar 
• Spray Bottles 
• Foil Cake Pans (Invest in these. I used them ALL the time for tons of experiments!) 

Instructions: 
Before any science experiment I like to pass out safety goggles to kids and give them instructions on safe practices. I always make it a point to tell children to NOT EAT anything. The ingredients in this experiment are not harmful, but sometimes I use borax or other harmful chemicals that they should not ingest. So I’ve just made it a rule to not eat anything they experiment with. If we do use something that is edible (twizzlers for DNA models), I give them extras after the experiment.

Pass out a cake pan with some baking soda to each child. I let the kids touch it and tell me what it feels like. Does it smell like anything?

After that you can pass out the shaving cream. Depending on your class size you may want to prep containers with it beforehand. If you have a smaller class, you can go around and put the cream in their pans individually. (Exact amount varies. It’s best to do the experiment first and find what ratio works best for you. I ended up adding more shaving cream to the amount pictured below.)

Have them use their hands to mix the two ingredients together. Now what does it feel like? Does it smell differently? Is it warm or cold? (Yes, this is VERY messy!)

Encourage them to make a snow man with their mixture. They can use the foam pieces to personalize their snowman. Is your snowman tall and thin or short and squat?

Put the vinegar in spray bottles. We have one for each child, but one for each table is fine too. One per table will allow the children to witness the experiment several times. Have the children spray their snowman with the vinegar. What happened? What does it smell like? Is the snowman warm or cold now? What are some things you noticed when your snowman “melted”? Did it make a noise?

What is the science behind the experiment?
The vinegar is an acid and the baking soda is a base. When and acid and a base come in contact, they create a reaction. In this case, they react and create a gas, carbon dioxide. The reaction is an endothermic reaction which means all the “heat” is used to create the reaction leaving the product cold. The children should let you know that the melted snow man got colder.

WINTER FREEBIES

Hey ya'll! If you haven't noticed, I've taken a little hiatus from blogging. I honestly wasn't enjoying it as much as I used to, so I have been taking a break, while I'm finishing up grad school. I hope to return next school year (2014-15), but until then I'll try and post a few old freebies that I have had a few requests for!

Today I'm bringing back the hot chocolate ten frames that I made a year or two ago. I have uploaded it to my google drive for you to download for free.  Just click on any of the photos below and you will be directed to your free download! =)

This one I tweaked a little bit! I now have it so the kids write down the number words and color words (since those are the words my kids need extra practice with!) And now my kids only need to read number words to ten, but I still included the teen numbers for older grades or for students that may need enrichment. Again, click on the pictures below for the free download!

Christmas Update!!!

Hey friends! I miss blogging so much.... But I HAD to share some of the adorable Christmas stuff we have been doing the past few weeks before we are all on break! =)

First off... Here is one of the few good pics I have of my sisters and I... with sweet baby Sonorah! (Who am I kidding...? She's already a little lady! This chick is walking people!!! What happened to my sweet girl who would lay in my arms for hours on end? Yup... no more! She's an independent woman! Only kidding folks...) =)
This was on Thanksgiving, right after we ate before we went to see Breaking Dawn, pt. 2 (AMAAAAZING!!!!)

I've had a great start to December... every December 1st, I break out THIS baby....

Then one of my besties was an elf in the local Christmas parade.... and her parents were.... THE Santa and Mrs. Claus... needless to say- I was pretty psyched... I ran up screaming "SANTA!!! I know him! I know him!!!" (Anyone else obsessed with Elf????...)

Lisa and I before the parade

Here is the whole family dressed up--- please note how adorable Lisa's daughter is... =)

After the parade, we attempted to walk down to the river and see the Christmas lights... should have known better b/c we did not even step foot in the first light tunnel before we were stopped and a line formed to get pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus. It was so adorable!!!!

Lisa's mom is killin me in this one! =)

Dec. 1st was a blast! Here are a few other Christmas fun pictures....

My mom's big, beautiful tree- I put everything up except the lights and ribbon... =)

My cute little tree at my house!

My house with Christmas lights on it! (and I did it by myself! Single girl- WINS!) =)

I'm obsessed with Christmas... can you tell????

OKay- now onto the more interesting stuff!!!!
Here are some pictures of my classroom all "Christmas-fied!"

When the kids are working nicely, we turn the lights off and enjoy the Christmas lights! They love it!

One of my kinders made those snowflakes and colored them at home and brought them in for me! I loved them so much I had to hang them on the window! Now we have window decor all through the winter! You should have seen his face when he walked in the next day and saw them! Priceless! =)

Our cute little tree!

And here are the kids beautiful work!
We have been working on measurement standards: describing and comparing measurements...

And here are my sweeties working hard on their measurement trees!!! I even let them use the bottled glue and they did an AMAZING job... I had one little guy even make up "Just a dot! Not a lot!" I was so proud... =)

And now some Christmas pictures from the past that I thought you might like to see! =)

This was from my 2nd year of teaching (2 years ago)... the wrote about what they wanted for Christmas on the ornament shaped paper, and then they got to decorate a tree as a craft that Friday. Then we put them together to make a "quilt". I think I would have had them find a picture of what they wanted for Christmas and glue it under the tree to make it more relevant to their writing!

These were crafts we did during our Holidays around the World my 2nd year of teaching.... so cute! (We had not done Kwanzaa yet! I don't think I got a picture of it, sadly!)

The awesome Gingerbread comparison chart I made - I can't remember who's original idea it was... it's been floating around on pinterest though! This was NOT my original idea! =)

This was a cute way to retell--- I had sentence strips with the name and picture of each character from the story and the kids would help me retell by holding that sentence strip up as we read!

An adorable word work center found on makinglearningfun.com (look under gingerbread theme!)

This was a pocket chart center we had made. The kids would read "Jingle Bells" on the chart and help to put the words back in order in the pocket chart.

Thanks for being so patient with me and sticking around! I appreciate all my new followers recently! I promise I will share some stuff when I do some really AMAZING new stuff! But for now... I'm just stealing all ya'lls ideas! =) hehehe Love my blogging buddies!

I'm sure I'll post some more during break b/c not only do I have 2 weeks off from school, but my masters as well! HOOORAY! =) Freedom! 

It's so close I can taste it!

Alright- I need to get to bed. 

(Oh, in case you're wondering why I am posting at 2 am on a school night- it's b/c my internal clock is messed up from having strep for 5 days.... It literally hit me like a brick on Saturday night out of no where! I'm talking -couldn't swallow, headache, ears hurt, light headed, running a fever of 102... and NO meds. My strep test came up negative on Monday... so I went to another doc on Tuesday afternoon and that one came up positive. So I started taking meds Tuesday night and woke up feeling amazing Wednesday! So I can't wait to see my little friends in 5 hours! =) Alright, I'm off for real now!

Hope to find ya'll doing wonderful and feeling blessed this holiday season!!!!!

Love,