Five for Friday

AAHH NO!!!  It's my last Friday of vacation!!!  On Monday I am officially headed back to school.  Luckily I've been able to get some work down in my classroom, so I'm not as stressed about going back as I could be!!!  <It's still early yet, though...>

Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky party!!  Make sure to stop back over to her blog to read about who else linked up!!

 (these fun numbers are from Mel at Graphics from the Pond!!)

I have been spending A LOT of time in my classroom this week to try and get things ready!! I will be having a 'Classroom Reveal' soon, but here's a few pics to hold you over!!

This is the left side of my classroom as seen from the door.  This is what greeted me on Tuesday.  Eeek!!

Here is the right side of my classroom.  That's my nephew, Mason.  I drug him along with me to help, and it's a good thing I did 'cause there was A LOT of furniture that needed moving around!!

Here is the back left corner of my classroom.  This space is actually a lot bigger than it looks in this picture.  The open door leads to the kitchenette I share with another kindergarten teacher.  The door with the window leads to another kindergarten room.  Ours are the only two room that adjoin like this.  The closed wooden door is the student bathroom. There is a sink in there, too, but we prefer them to wash their hands out here where they can be monitored!!  :-)

 Here are my student lockers, where they can keep all of their belongings.  There are plenty of hooks inside for backpacks, jackets, and lunch boxes.  The small shelf at the top of the locker will be where they keep their extra supplies.

Here is my classroom door and entryway as seen from the inside of the classroom.  That slightly ajar door on the left of the picture leads into our classroom closet.

This is why the door stays closed.  This dang closet has been an organizational challenge for me for four years now!!  THIS IS THE YEAR that I will finally get all this hot mess organized!!!

These are all 'before' pictures of my classroom!!  Make sure to keep checking back within the next few days so I can share with you the 'after' pictures!!  If you have already headed back to school, I wish you a super fabulous school year!!  If you are still enjoying your summer vacation, make sure to make the most of every day!!  :-)

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Hump Day all!!  I am linking up today with Miss DeCarbo from Second Grade Sugar and Spice for her Wordless Wednesday linky party!!

I officially return to work on Monday, and I have been able to get into my classroom twice so far this week.  I will be heading back tomorrow and maybe Friday.  I am trying very hard to be more organized this year, and am going through an Extreme Classroom Makeover.  So far, I have steadfastly avoided the area shown in the picture.

I KNOW that it needs to be organized, and it's been an ongoing battle for years now.  However, I have SO MUCH TO DO that I don't think I'll be getting to the closet any time soon.  Luckily for me, it has a door I can shut to hide the messiness.

My question for you is: Is there a place in your classroom or house where you just kind of put stuff and 'shut the door'?  :-)

I would love to read your comments, and don't forget to hop back over to Miss DeCarbo's so you can see who else has linked up!!

Book Talk Tuesday

Tuesday means that I am linking up with Deanna Jump from Mrs. Jump's Class for her Book Talk Tuesday linky.  This is my most favorite linky party, because it centers around one of my biggest obsessions - books!!  Every Tuesday, bloggers from near and far link up to share glimpses and synopsis of their favorite books.  These books are usually picture books/children's literature (SCORE!!!), but there are plenty of professional development and mysteries and dramas....all kinds of books!!  Something else I love about this linky is that so many of the bloggers link up with a picture of the cover of the book they're going to be sharing.  Scrolling through and looking at the book covers always either sparks a memory (Hey, I have that book!!) or a wish (Oohh, that is a book I NEED to own!!).  I have even found myself going back to prior Tuesdays this summer and checking out all the books that are being discussed.  Truly, this is a great resource to have available!!!  Tons of book reviews written by actual TEACHERS who have actually used the books in their classrooms.  They share the books, how they use them in the classroom, and many times even provide a freebie to go with it!!  If you haven't checked out this linky yet, you really need to!!  You can click on the Book Talk Tuesday at the bottom of this post to hop on over to Mrs. Jump's Class and read about how she uses Clark the Shark in her classroom!

This week I'm going to share with you a book I like to read during the first few days of school. 

This book is called You Get What You Get, written by Julie Gassman and illustrated by Sarah Horne.  I got my copy through Scholastic, but you can find this book HERE on Amazon.com if you're interested!!

Many of my kinders have already heard the phrase 'You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!" at least once before they get to my classroom, so many of them are excited about this book because they can relate to that rule.

The story starts out by introducing us to Melvin, and we learn that he is not a fan of disappointment.  Who is, right?  <we take some time here to examine the illustration and talk about what we notice or what we wonder>

Here we learn that Melvin doesn't handle disappointment well at all.  It seems he has a complete meltdown whenever he doesn't get his way, even when it is as something as insignificant as not getting as many chocolate chips in your cookie as your sister did.

He even throws fits when his mom is around.  He wasn't thrilled when his mom bought him the 'wrong' backpack, and he showed his disappointment by screaming and jumping up and down on the offensive backpack.  We also stop here and discuss the illustrations.  I always ask them how their grown-ups would react if they did what Melvin did.  One of my more observant kinders notice Momma Squirrel has her fist clenched.  This little dragon told me that means 'She is ANG-GRY!!'

We soon learn how much he HATES his teacher's favorite rule: You get what you get and you don't throw a fit!

HOWEVER, because of this rule, he is allowed to throw a fit, no matter what happens, whether it be having to be the last in line or

getting stuck with a pink napkin at lunch.  While Melvin doesn't not throw fits at school because of this rule, we learn how very glad he is that his family doesn't know about this terrible rule!!

Fast forward to that night at home where there is a discussion about which movie to watch.  It is Melvin's turn to choose, however his sister REALLY wants to watch her pony movie.

In perfect little-kid style, Melvin pulls his trump card and tells his sister that you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.  He was so excited to throw that in her face that he didn't stop to think about what he was saying, in front of his entire family.

Making sure they understand this rule, his family poses several situations to Melvin and asks if they are times when he should throw a fit.  Like when he doesn't get enough chocolate chips or

when he doesn't get the backpack he wanted.  Melvin is aghast to realize his family now knows about the TERRIBLE RULE.

Trying desperately to back peddle, he informs them that it doesn't really matter since that is a school rule and most definitely NOT a home rule.

Much to his surprise (and disappointment) his family decided to adopt this wonderful rule.  Melvin very, very much wanted to throw a fit, but he didn't.

After all, rules are rules!!

I like this book because it helps my littles understand that it is not okay to throw a fit when you don't get your way.  We use this book as a way to brainstorm better solutions to a problem.  I also draw their attention to the last illustration, where the entire family is sitting down to enjoy a movie together.  I ask them how they think Melvin feels, and if they think he would have been enjoying his evening if he had thrown a fit for not getting to watch the movie he wanted to.  I also make sure to point out that they are indeed watching the movie his sister wanted to watch, and I ask them if they think that is fair.  It is interesting to hear their view points and opinions on this, since some of them are the youngest, the oldest, or the only.  I like reading this book during the beginning of the year and I hope that you will too!!

Don't forget to jump over to Mrs. Jump's Class where she shares about the book Clark the Shark, ties it into Discovery Channel's Shark Week this week (AWESOME!!), compares it to a non-fiction book about shark, AND offers up lesson ideas with a FREEBIE to go with it!!!  :-)  p.s. - I LOVE Book Talk Tuesday!!

Markdown Monday

Whelp, this Monday marks the last Monday of the summer for me.  Next Monday is my official day back to school....early morning alarm clocks, commuting to work, not being able to use the bathroom whenever I want to....I'm a little bitter right now, yes.  I promise I'll be much better next Monday!!  :-)

In order to celebrate my last Monday of Freedom, I am linking up with Kelly and Kim's Kindergarten Kreations for their Markdown Monday linky party!!

For these week I am going to mark down some of my newest creations.  These are all activities that can be used at the beginning of the school year.

This is a GROWING bundle of math activities my students can work on during their Math with Self or Math with Someone time.  I am going to be adding a new activity for each of the first four weeks of school.  So far it contains Week 1, which has students counting up random sets of back to school objects and choosing the numeral that represents each set.  Then, they use a clothespin or a paper clip to clip each answer.  You can easily make this a self-checking activity AND I created assessment sheets to go with it!!  Week 1 focuses on the numbers 0-10, and is at it's LOWEST PRICE EVER!!  As I add new weeks, the price will be going up.  For this week ONLY, you can get it at $1 off the regular price.  That makes this GROWING bundle only $1.50 this week!!!

The next activity I'm marking down for this week is a Write the Room activity for the numbers 0-10.  My kinders will walk around the room, searching for the posters which have the set of dots matching the numerals on their response sheets.  We also read some of their very favorite Pete the Cat books during the first few weeks of school, so this activity is a perfect fit!!  My kinders can work on it independently during their Math with Self time!!  I marked this one down to $1 off, so you can now get it for the low price of $1.50 THIS WEEK ONLY!!!

This activity can be completed during Word Work time, and is another one that my students can complete independently while getting a chance to get up and move around.  They will search the room for the letter posters, and then need to decide which choice is the correct letter buddy.  For example, on the uppercase 'A' poster, there are two choice for it's lowercase letter buddy.  Students complete a recording sheet while they are walking around the room.  This product is also being marked down $1, so you can get it for $1.50 THIS WEEK ONLY!!!

The last product I'm marking down for this week is another Write the Room activity that my kinders can complete during their Word Work time.  They walk around the room with their recording sheets, and search for the different school-item-themed posters.  The posters give them a choice between a letter and a number, and depending on what you're having them look for that is what they record.  If they are searching for letters, they will record the letter choice and vice versa for numbers.  This is a good way to see if your littles understand the difference between a letter and a number!!  This product is also $1 off for this week, and that means it is marked down to ONLY $1.00!!!!!

I hope you are able to take advantage of the amazing mark down deals at my store this week!!  You can get all four activities for LESS THAN $6.00!!!  Don't forget to hop back over to the linky party and see what else is marked down for the week!!

Peek at My Week

Hey all!!  I just found out about an AWESOME linky that the ever-fabulous Deedee Wills has been hosting for three years now, called Peek at My Week.  I had NO IDEA this linky existed for the past two years, and I'm so glad my new friend Jackie from Pockets of Preschool posted about this!!  In case you're like me and didn't know about this linky, teachers link up to share their lesson plans/schedules/routines/etc that they have planned for the week.  I can't wait to get all types of great ideas from this linky!!  Mrs. Wills' Kindergarten has even shared her lesson plan template this week!!!  SCORE!!

Can I let you in on a bit of a secret??  I don't get back to work until the 18th, and my kinders aren't coming to school until the 26th!!  Ssoo...I don't really have any lesson plans to share with you this week!  I should be able to share those in the next few weeks.  This next week involves me enjoying my last few days of summer as well as HOPEFULLY being able to get into my classroom some this week.  The hallway that my classroom is on has not yet been cleaned, so we're waiting.  

This is how I left my classroom in mid-June, and I'm thinking that this is how it still looks.  I did leave a hand-drawn map to show our wonderful custodians where I would like things placed, and it would be super awesome if things matched up when I go back!!  If you check my last post, you'll see some of the things I've been hard at work creating for my Extreme Classroom Makeover.  For those of you who are back in school already, I want to wish you a fantabulous year ahead!!!  Don't forget to go back over to Mrs. Wills' Kindergarten to see which other teachers have linked up with this!!

It's Almost Time....

Howdy all!!  I hope you have been enjoying this weekend, for many of you this is the last weekend of summer.  For others, you've already started back!!  I head back to work on the 18th and my kinders come on the 26th, so this week I've been trying to get a lot of work done for my classroom this year.  If you follow me on Facebook, you have seen pictures of the various things I've been working on for my classroom.  I am making progress, and even better my county has this AMAZING department called Print & Distribution.  The incredibly wonderful folks who work here print out my creations in color, on cardstock, AND laminate them.  WHAT!?!?!  I told you it was AMAZING!!!  :-)  Here are some of the things I have sent them so far!!

Classroom Decor

Since I am going through an Extreme Classroom Makeover this year and going with a theme of dragons, I have had to start FROM SCRATCH.  While this has been incredibly time consuming, it has also been amazing to be able to create things exactly how I wanted them to look!!  Here are a few several pictures of what I've done so far for my room!!

An alphabet line, with the vowels in red and consonants in black.  Also, each vowel as a picture that represents the long and short sound.  In addition, the C and G posters each have a picture that represents the hard and soft sounds.

I've made a year's worth of monthly behavior calendars.  My kinders will color in the box to show which color on our behavior chart they ended up on at the end of the day.

I created labels for my Daily 5 Book Bins.  The borders of the colors match the colors of the boxes (the blue card isn't shown in this picture).

Tags for our schedule board.  I use real pictures as often as possible to help my kinders understand what each one means.  These are still a bit of a work in progress because I'm waiting on some new clipart from one of my FAVE designers...more to follow!!

These are the tags I'm going to use on my Word Wall.  This year I am totally changing how I use my Word Wall, including its location in the room.  I am moving it to a much larger space, and am creating new word cards too.  I can't wait to share the pictures with you!!!  <I haven't set it up yet.>

My brand new number line, which features dragons along with the numerals 0-20 as well as the word, and the amount represented by gems inside of ten-frames.

These tags will go out in the hallway and be used to display student work throughout the year.

These tags will go on their individual lockers.  Their picture goes into the frame, and their name will be on the tag underneath.  

These are going inside of the stand-up book bins I use as their mailboxes.  Their last names are underneath the rectangle.

These are going on the outside of the front door to my classroom.

Dragon eggs to attach to clothespins to create the clips for our behavior chart.  Super cute, right??

Job wall tags.  I tried to include a picture to represent each job in order to help my kinders understand what each one was for.  Also, I will be putting Velcro into the white boxes to attach their dragon tags.  I realized I have A LOT of jobs...may need to rethink how I handle classroom jobs.  Just not this year!!  :-)

I will be attaching this little guys to the job wall tags.  This will show me who has which job, since they practically ALWAYS forget...and I do too!!

Prepping for Entry Conferences

Besides getting everything ready I will need for my classroom decor, I have had to prepare for the Kindergarten Parent/Teacher Entry Conferences.  In our district, Early Childhood students start school a full three days after grades 1-12.  During this time, Early Childhood teachers have a chance to schedule a brief meeting with the incoming students and their parents.  This is when we learn what our kinders are capable of as well as where they are coming from.  We are VERY LUCKY to have these days, and I am SUPER GRATEFUL for them!!  Here are some of the forms I have created for these conferences.

This is the front of the checklist I created to help keep me on track during each conference.  Ideally, they are only supposed to last 15 minutes.  I have learned to talk REALLY fast!!  There is a lot of information to go over in those minutes, so I wanted an outline of sorts to help remind me of what I needed to tell them.  

Here is the back of the form.  I'm not going to have a form for every child, just one that I'll keep out on the table to help me stay on track.

Here is the front of the Parent/Guardian information sheet I ask each family to fill out.  Once upon a time, I was able to just say 'Mom' and 'Dad', but times they are a-changing!!  Sometimes my kinders are being raised by grandparents, aunts or uncles, one parent, two men/women, or even foster parents.  I wanted to create a form that was generic enough to be used by anyone who might be taking care of and raising my little dragons.  There is a space for the parent/guardian's name as well as a space for their relationship to the kinder.  Also are spaces for their email, cell, work and home phone numbers.  I use the circles to have parents rank the way in which they would prefer to be contacted.

The back of the form is more specific.  I ask how their child will be traveling to and from school each day, if they can have their pictures taken and displayed through various forms of social media, as well as ask if they may want to help out this year.

My student information forms are a bit longer.  I ask for important information like allergies, medical concerns, family members at the school,

I ask parents to share with me what their littles are excited or nervous about, what they enjoy doing, how they feel about books and reading,

what their littles favorites are, as well as how they as PARENTS feel about their babies going to school.  I ask them to share their excitement and concerns with me.  I feel that having this information allows me to get a more well-rounded picture of where my kinders are coming from.

Finally, I created a Classroom Volunteer Form.  Each of the families that indicate an interest in helping out with the classroom this year will receive one of these forms.  It asks if they are able to help from home or able to come into school and help out, as well as a schedule of when they are available.

The back of the form lists different ways they can help support the classroom projects and celebrations, as well as a section where they can indicate an interest to participate in our school's Career Day.

SSHHEEWW!!!  I made more than I had realized!!  Thanks for sticking through and checking everything out!  Even though I did so much, I still feel as if my To Do List is still so long....  I have some more work to do before I am able to get into my classroom, which I hope to be able to do this week!   On the 18th I will officially be back in school!!

How did your classroom set up go?  If you haven't set up yet, do you know what theme you'll be using this year?  I would LOVE to hear all about it!!!