Back to School

Well it is that time of year! I am back in the classroom organizing, sorting, and then reorganizing, etc. This year I have totally switched up my room! Yay me. But then, the day after I moved everything around, I returned to the classroom and found that a new ceiling mounted projcetor had magically appeared in my room. Great news, right? Yup. Except that the projector is pointing toward the white board that I DON'T usually use. And it doesn't rotate. So now the room is a mess, and I CAN NOT figure out how to place the tables in a position I like. Bummer. Looks like I will have to go back down there again tomorrow and figure out what to do. Perhaps if I talk to him nicely, the hubby will go with me and help. :) I did have plans this summer to be completely productive. However, it turns out I really enjoy Big Brother..... I know. I'm lame. And I didn't get anything done. Ugh. And although this season of Big Brother is a bit of a bore, I have watched 3 entire seasons from the last few years. What an awesome show!! Dan was amazing last year. Too bad about this season though. Anyway, between episodes I was able to sneak a peek at Pinterest. I love Pinterest! And I was able to implement a few ideas for my room!! I now have a calendar with hooks instead of velcro. The velcro was a great idea initially, but after a while it has to be replaced because it becomes worn out. The other reason I really like the hooks is because I tend to become totally disorganized by the middle of the year. I can NEVER find all the little numbers/holidays/months that have to get stapled to the chart. I am hoping the hooks are going to eliminate all that hassle.

I also saw some really cute whisper phones on Pinterest. They were the simple phones made from PVC pipe, but some amazingly creative teacher put duct tape in the middle to make them look more appealing. I figured I could totally do the same! I like them. And it was SOOOO easy.

Gosh. I still have so much to do and our teacher workdays start back up on Monday! Yikes! I better get back to work! And for all those teachers that are going back to school soon (or have already started), the Teachers Pay Teachers website is have a great back to school sale at www.teacherspayteachers.com. Come check us out, we may have just what you are looking for! I will be stopping by myself to pick up some creative goodies for my class!! See you around!!

Doing the Science Thing with Landforms

My newest goal is to implement more hands on science in the classroom!  I always feel that we have too many paper and pencil assignments during our science block, so I am going to try my best to have one hands on science activity once a week.  I am very excited because I think the kinders will get SOOOO much out of these activities.  Plus I hope they will have some great memories to look back on in the future.

So I have been on a science experiment hunt.  I've been a pinning maniac and a total blog stalker.  (Which isn't that different from my normal self...)  I stumbled across a great blog at http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/.  This blog has a TON of science activities, most which can be performed in the classroom.  I would def suggest a little stroll over there to browse for a bit!

Last week, we studied landforms using my Landforms Unit that I recently created for my classroom.  I also have this unit up in my TpT store.

I made this unit to help my younger elementary students learn the different physical characteristics of landforms. It includes a reader, venn diagrams, thinking maps, etc.  If you are interested in taking a closer look at this item, you can view it here.

So what better way to complete a landform unit then to make mini volcanos?!?!  Thanks to the blog momto2poshlildivas I was able to make sure each student in the classroom had their own volcano.

I bought some cheap pans from Walmart and shared them between two students.  This worked great because I could use the lids too.  Each student was given a small clear cup filled to about an inch from the top with vinegar.  Then we added a little bit of food coloring to each cup of vinegar.

Next, I prepared the baking soda.  I gave each student a heaping spoon full.  Since they didn't know what was going to happen, I made sure they all held on to their spoons with both hands until I counted to three.  That way they all dumped the baking soda in to the cups at the same time.

How excited they were when all those volcanos erupted!!  It was pure magic.  :)  I wish I could show you their little faces!

I would really like to continue these types of activities throughout the rest of the year.  I am off to discover more science! 

Time for some changes....

I've decided to make some changes in my classroom!  I know, I know.....  We have already missed half the year, but it's never to late for improvement!

It all started the other night when I was cleaning my 5 year old daughter's room.  I put a lecture by Harry Wong on my iPhone, plugged it in to a speaker, and listened to him while I was working.  Boy is that guy a great motivational speaker!  By the time he was done, I was ready to revamp everything in my room and be one of those awesome Effective Teachers!!  Ready, set, GO!

I started out the school week practicing routines.  Most routines they are pretty good at, however, lunch time line up never seems to go as smooth as I would like.  I think this is due to some of my kids coming back in from the tutor, while the rest of us are cleaning up the room and stacking chairs on top of the tables.  This is my routine so far:

1. Make sure there is nothing on the floor or on the table.
2. When everyone is clean and quiet, they stand up and push their chairs under the table.
3. (Each table is a rectangle and sits 4 to 6 students.)  The students that sit on the right side of the table pick up their chairs and put them on top of the table.  The chairs must be facing the opposite direction of where they are standing.  The students take a step back from the table and put their hands behind their back.
4.  The students that sit on the left side of the table pick up their chairs and put them on top of the table.  The students take a step back from the table and put their hands behind their back.
5.  The line leader, door holder, hand holder, and caboose, line up at the main door when called.  (Yes!  I have a hand holder!)  Students are to line up quietly with their eyes up front and 'hips and lips'.
6.  When called, the room helper picks up all our cups (a red cup and a green cup to let the students know if they are being too loud) and lines up.
7.  Lunch boxers line up.
8.  School lunch Choice A line up.
9.  School lunch Choice B line up.

In the middle of this procedure my tutored kids return.  Awesome they get to see a tutor!  Not so awesome that they come in during our procedure for lining up.  I have had the hardest time reminding them to come in quietly, put away their materials, and join our procedure.  I'm pretty sure this is to due with them coming in at different times during the procedure.  Sometimes we're already lined up and ready to go, sometimes we are still putting up chairs, and other times we haven't even started.  There has got to be a more consistent way to do this!!  I'm going to keep brainstorming and I will post a solution if I figure one out!

Now, I would like to say, the last time we lined up for lunch, they were AWESOME!  They were sooooooo good!  Maybe it will just take some time for them to get used to it.

I've also decided I need better, more productive activities for students that finish work early.  Currently, I have the kids reading from the bookcase, or working with buddies on a sight words they keep at their desks.  I REALLY need something a little more hands on and a little more individualized.  I saw a picture on Pinterest this week of a homeschool teacher's work boxes.  She puts different materials in each box for her kids to work on independently depending on what types of skills they need to work on.  So I'm thinking about getting one of those big plastic tubs with the drawers from Walmart.  My goal is to fill each drawer with several sets of manipulatives for a specific skill.  Then, on the front the drawer, I'm thinking I might put velcro strips.  This way I can make velcro name tags that I can move up and down depending on which skill I would like a specific student to work on.  It's still in the works, but I'm really hoping it will be a good thing!  It would also really help with some interventions....  I will keep everyone posted on this as well. 

I have more ideas!  BUT it's time to take my daughter to ballet.  I will be back with more ideas and brain storming.....  :)  Happy days!

Penguins and TpT Super Sale!

WHAT a week!!  I am exhausted.  But in a good way.  :)

I sent home a penguin project last week which I discussed in a previous post.  I got the projects back on Thrusday, and BOY did I get some cute penguins!  I love seeing how creative my kids are, and they really enjoyed sharing their creations with the rest of the class.  I took a picture of a couple of penguins to share. 

Aren't they adorable!  I had more come in, but I forgot to take a picture I left for the weekend.  One of the penguins had a bikini made out of green penne pasta.  SO cute!  And- if you're interested - this penguin activity can be found in my Pretty Penguin unit at my TpT store.  Just click here!


I've been trying to plan ahead for the next month or so.  I had most of February ready, then I looked through my plan book and realized I completely missed next week!!  What?!?!!?  How does this happen?  Where did my brain go?  Oh well.  Looks like I am hitting the lesson plan books this weekend!

Speaking of fun weekends lesson planning.....  TpT is holding a huge site wide sale!  Participating stores have up to 28% off their products!  I have got my shopping cart full and ready to go!  Hop on over on Sunday and see some of the great lessons and activities from my creative TpT buddies!  Don't forget to use the promo code: SUPER!!!  Happy shopping!

January Activities are Snow Much Fun!

I can't believe it is almost the end of January!  This year is going by so fast, I feel like we only just started school yesterday!  But here I am, spending most of my teacher work day today holding Middle Of the Year conferences.  I love talking the parents about how much their little ones have grown over the last few months.  They are such little smarties!!  They make me SO happy! 

In class last week, we finished up talking about winter weather.  We talked about how we dress in when it is cold outside compared to how we dress when it is warm.  Then we charted on construction paper that were hot and cold.  Lots of cutting and lots of glue!  We made these cute winter tree cut outs with construction paper and chalk.  I really like the way they turned out!  My kinders are so creative and unique.

Next week we will start our Penguin unit.  Penguins are so interesting.  I remember watching March of the Penguins a few years ago, and I was absolutely intrigued!  I couldn't take my eyes off the television.  I don't know if my kinders are quite ready for March of the Penguins....  But it did inspire me to look up some penguin facts!  For instance, did you know that penguins can 'tell time' by looking at th sun?  Or that they can sleep standing up?  Cool, right?  Since I really wanted to get this great information to my class, I made my own little penguin mini unit.  I even thought up of a dice game where my kindergarteners have to mimic the movements of a penguin! 

If you'd like have a closer look at the unit, you can visit my store at http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pretty-Penguins-Informational-Mini-Unit.
I am really excited about sharing this unit with my students!  My favorite part of the unit is a take home project of Percy Penguin.  Percy Penguin is tired of the cold weather, and he wants to take a vacation.  The students a picture of Percy home, find items around their house to dress him up as if he was going on vacation.  I am really looking forward to seeing what they come up with!  How would you dress YOUR penguin for vacation?

Thanks for reading!

Belated Christmas Post

Hello all!  Thanks to a fellow blogger and TpTer over at www.zoomzoomclassroom.blogspot.com, I am able to post pictures again!  Yay!!  Turns out that to add pictures, all you have to do is switch to HTML mode.  So simple yet it took me sooooooo long to figure out.  Thanks again, Zoom Zoom, for your amazing help!  And to teacher blog readers, you should totally check out the Zoom Zoom blog for some awesome teaching resources and ideas!

Now back to the post I've been trying to write FOREVER!

I took a little break over Christmas and New Year's but I am back!  I had such a lovely time staying at the house and spending time with my children.  I got some Xbox360 time in with my son and some coloring time with my daughter.  Time used wisely!  :)

However, I have some pictures of my classroom I took right before the break that I would LOVE to share!  (even though Christmas is over....  lol)

Gingerbread houses!  Of course we had to decorate houses!  It wouldn't have been Christmas without them!  Plus, we totally ate them when we were done!  haha

We love playing Christmas Tree Number Bingo with M&M's!  In fact, we always have success with manipulatives we can eat!

Christmas tree popsicle sticks with glittery confetti!  We can put sticks in length order and challange any designer with our decorative skills!

I saw this idea on Pinterest.  It's Grinch juice to drink while watching having a Grinch Day!  I forgot to bring straws, so every Kinder in the class had red sugary smiles!

The teacher in the classroom next door made this super cute snowman out of marsh mellows and other snacks.  He was just too cute NOT to post!

Last, but not least, is out little classroom Christmas Tree.  We made paper chains in class to decorate it ourselves.  Wish it was still up.  It really made the classroom so happy!

Now we are in the New Year, and we are starting to talk more about winter and the weather.  My Kinder friends and I are happily slipping back into our routines and working hard on our assessments.  I am starting a new weekly homework routine next week instead of daily homework.  I have really high hopes that it will work out!  I will keep you posted!

As much as I would love to continue this post,I am afraid I must leave.  My poor little thumb drive and died, and I need to work on information recovery!  Be back soon!

My poor picture uploads

So I had this AMAZING group of pictures I wanted to share of all the Christmas stuff we did in my Kindergarten class!  But, the blog site has changed and now I can't figure out how to post pictures!!  Agghhhh!!!  But no worries!  I am off to the TpT forum to see if anyone can help me.  And to the big wide world web - I haven't forgotten you!  I may even some day get those pictures posted!  Happy Weekend All!!