Spotlight Saturday: Little Kinder Warriors

Happy Saturday everyone! I know there are some of you who have gone back to school yet and others are still enjoying summer! Make the most of the time you have left!

Today is Saturday, so that means it's time for another installment of Spotlight Saturday!!

Spotlight Saturday is a link up that was created to act like a Teacher's Show and Tell. There are so many amazing products, ideas, resources, activities, tips, tricks, classroom decor, organization ideas, and so much more! Spotlight Saturday gives you a chance to showcase some of your favorites! Tell us all about them and how you use them in your classroom, and maybe we can use them too! This link up is all about sharing information that can make our classroom lives easier and more awesome!

This week I would like to shine the Spotlight on Katie from Little Kinder Warriors!!

I'm sure most of you already know all about Katie and her awesome creations, but I recently found an incredible packet of hers and I just had to tell you about it!
You know how I do Spotlight Saturday, first I'll tell you about a freebie you can find in her store and then I'll tell you about the packet I bought. You're gonna love them both!!

First up is a cute little freebie I found in her store. How many of you read this book with your kiddos?

I LOVE this book, and not just because of the sweet story line with the color changing mice and the adorable illustrations. This book is perfect for teaching about colors, as well as a great lead in to a science experiment for mixing two primary colors to make secondary colors!
Not only do my kinders LOVE listening to this story but they love the science experiment even more! We always practice mixing colors after reading this story, and Katie has created a wonderful little freebie to help with this!!

Her freebie contains two pages, the first is a page of instructions and the next is an adorable little recording sheet! In the instructions Katie tells you how to set up a science center with different colors of water and pipets, and students practice mixing the colors of the mice on the recording sheet. They would then use crayons to color all of the mice, the two by code and the third after mixing the two colors.
This is such a great little experiment to have your kiddos complete after reading the book!

I recently stumbled across an AMAZING packet from Katie that I just had to have!! I wanted the 'Growing Bundle', but you can buy each one separately as well. 
How many of you use these blocks in your classroom?

I use them during Math with Self and Math with Someone rotations, not to mention different small guided group lessons. I have some mats where students can make different animals, and the mats are all brightly colored and match the colors of the blocks. You probably have those mats too.
My kinders LOVE using the mats, but all too soon they begin to loose interest in making the same animals over and over again.
Enter Katie's AMAZING product that I found!!

Katie created a Pattern Blocks Bundle!! Each month she has created different mats that go along with the season, holidays, and themes that occur during those months!

Here's a closer look at the August and September pack.

She has included several mats that fit perfectly with August and September. Students practice shapes, and this is HUGE because they are creating larger shapes by using one or more smaller shapes. That's a Common Core Standard!!
There are also several fun mats to fit the time period, including a school house, pencil, the chicka-chicka tree, bear, and everyone's favorite cat! Each mat has three different versions to help you differentiate. Check out the Pete the Cat mats, those are the three different styles. One where students fill in the missing blocks, another where they are given only the outline, and a third where they are given only and empty space and must build their own.
How AWESOME is that?? Not only can you differentiate, but you can challenge your students with new, harder mats as they complete each one. This is a way to make each set of mats last several weeks. How perfect is that??

Oh but it gets better!!!

Katie has include spinners and a rolling cube for each packet. This way students can work on the mats together, taking turns spinning or rolling in order to complete the picture. You could also have students working on the mats alone use the spinner/roller in order to make the activity last longer. 

But WAIT, there's MORE!!!

Katie has included FOUR different response sheet, each one different from the last. Here is a glimpse of two! See all the different math skills that are being covered with these sheets? The other two cover even more.
Best thing is, you don't have to use these recording sheets unless you want to. They are not necessary to complete the pattern blocks mats, but they can be used interchangeably with every mat she created!

It's a growing bundle because at the moment it is missing the months of November, December, and January. However, the rest of the months are covered and they are AWESOME! I bought the bundle, but you don't have to!! You can buy each month separately, and start with the August/September pack to see how you like the activity!!
I am SO EXCITED to use this in my classroom this year, I know my kinders are going to love all the different choices. I love all the different parts that Katie included to make this bundle even more awesome!!!

If you want to check out these products for yourself, click on one of the images below to head over and snag one!

Mouse Paint Freebie <click image>

Pattern Blocks Bundle <click image>
REMEMBER, you don't have to buy the whole bundle. You can buy each pack separately if you want.


Now that I've shown you how awesome Katie from Little Kinder Warriors is, here's how you can find her on social media.

CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO HEAD TO HER BLOG:

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO HEAD TO HER TPT STORE:

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO HEAD OVER TO HER FACEBOOK PAGE:

Make sure to check her out and leave her some feedback love!!
I would LOVE to have you all link up for Spotlight Saturday too!! Feel free to use the graphic from the very top of the post or the one below! If whoever you are Spotlighting is on Facebook, leave them a post on their wall to let them know you Spotlighted them!! 
Make sure to read the rules below the image and then link up to Spotlight your favorite product, activity, idea, resource, tip, trick, or anything else that makes your classroom life easier and you just can't wait to share it with us!!

Rules:

1) You need to spotlight an educational resource that either you have created or you have found from someone else and love! This means you must link up with a blog post you have written putting an activity or idea in the Spotlight. Please do not link directly to a product in Teachers Pay Teachers or Teacher's Notebook or similar sites.

2) If you are Spotlighting a product from your own TPT store or that of another seller, make sure that in your blog post you Spotlight a freebie or a paid product. If you have a freebie and a paid product from the same seller, feel free to use both in your post. If all you have is a freebie, then post about the freebie and how you used it. You can also Spotlight a freebie that someone else created along with a product that you created.

2) Make sure to give credit where credit is due! You will need to include the name of the creator as well as a link to their TPT or Teacher's Notebook store where others can get a copy of the resource as well.

3) Include pictures of the product in your post, either screen shots  or photographs of your kiddos actually using the product. Give us a snapshot, just a brief glimpse into how the product or activity works. Just an image of the cover and one of the pages you have listed in the preview of the activity on TPT would be fine. It gives readers a visual and helps them better understand what your product is all about.

4) Make sure to leave a comment on the post of the two people before your post and the person after. This will help get conversation rolling, and will make sure everyone feels recognized for their efforts!

5) This is not the place to share your frustrations or disappointment with an activity or how you would have done it differently. If you are unsatisfied with your purchase that is a private conversation you need to have with the seller via email. This is not a link up to bash any sellers or their products, and any posts like that WILL BE DELETED!!

6) Follow my blog with Bloglovin' to make sure you are kept up to date on all the latest link up additions. Don't forget to follow my Facebook page too to keep up with all the notifications I send out!

7) To Link Up, you will need to click on the small blue button underneath my closing signature. It is directly under my name on the left hand side of the blog.