ULTIMATE FREEBIE COLLECTION

 

I am so excited to be a part of Teaching Blog Addict's ULTIMATE FREEBIE COLLECTION!

Here are your freebies! If you take a freebie and use it in your classroom, will you PLEASE snap some pictures and send them my way?? I'll be posting some more freebies throughout next week, so stay tuned!

Here is the one I promised from yesterday RHYME GUY! To find out more about Rhyme Guy and how I use it in my classroom, visit yesterday's post Click on the picture to get your own

I have also posted BUILD math centers as a freebie on TpT 

Remember BUILD? They are choice based math centers that you can find all over Pinterest and my blog =) Click on the picture to snag your copy.

Lastly, I wanted to invite you all to a new blog that belongs to my friend, fellow kindergarten teacher and the one I swap many ideas with... Special Education meets General Education


 Adie is an amazing teacher with amazing ideas. At our school she is a super SPED teacher but she holds a SPED credential and General Education credential making her twice as good as me! Visit her blog and tell her I sent ya!

Happy Friday!
Vanessa

Plant fun!

Hi friends!
Ok, ok, I'm here, I'm ready, I'm setting my time aside to finally sit down and blog again! I feel like this time of year is my most stressful and therefore the best time to blog! What do we have, you ask? Well, we are currently on spring break (yippppeeee!) but after that we have...
1. Our school carnival- a school fundraiser on a Saturday where each grade level comes up with a performance based on a theme... Our theme this year is California Adventures so we are singing a California song... and we gotta practice, and practice, and practice, all in a week...
2. Annual Project- a school wide activity where we construct something giant, you'll see pictures soon
3. Student-led conferences- Anyone else do student-led conferences with their kindergarteners? I'm curious to see what other people do.
4. New kindergarten parents' orientation- fun, right? =/
5. Buddy day -where incoming kindergarteners come and visit our current kindergarteners for the afternoon
6. AAAAANNNNNDDDD in between all of this we will start doing Daily 5.... ahhhh!!!!
That's okay though, I'm ready! (at least I'm telling myself that)

Here's what we've been working on over the past month... PLANTS! I see all kinds of ideas on Pinterest and I can't wait to add my team's ideas to the mix! To introduce plants we start by making a plant and labeling it... Yes, that's a handprint! Super cute right? Well, when you don't have a sink in your classroom, it sucks out the fun a little bit... no too much though because look at how cute they are! We make our plants, then label their parts.

Handprint Flowers to teach parts of a plant

Handprint Flowers to teach parts of a plant

After we make our handprint flowers, we learn about how plants grow, what they need and how to plant them. We read From Seed to Plant and The Tiny Seed to help us with the concepts.
We then teach about how each part of the plant helps the other to grow. We teach that roots dig down deep to get all of the vitamins and mineral they need to push up the stem. The stem sucks water up like a straw to grow taller and takes it to the leaves and flowers. The leaves collect water and sunlight to make food and the flower makes seeds and feeds insects. Phew! That was a lot to say! lol... Next, we taste the parts of the plants! SOOOOO much fun! I couldn't get any pictures of that part without having all of their faces plastered on here. Just imagine 22 little faces being grossed out then excited then crunching away! Here is the sheet we did afterwards:

We taste the flowers- broccoli, stem- celery, leaves- spinach and roots- carrots. We also make our What a Plant Needs Flip book... (not all in the same day, don't worry!)

Needs of a plant flip book front cover

Needs of a plant flip book- sun!

Needs of a plant- sun, air, water, soil

Needs of a plant- sun, air

Needs of a plant bulletin board

Needs of a plant bulletin board

Cute right? Grab your copy here
Lastly, we do my favorite part of the plants unit... dissection! We all turn into botanists and wear our "multiple perspectives" glasses (part of the Kaplan's Icons of Depth and Complexity) and dig in! We have conversations about plants, ask questions about what we are seeing and get down and dirty with learning!
The scientists (we are called scientists during this time, not students) separate the parts of the plants they find: roots, stems, leaves and flowers... some find other things and make that a category! I gave the students some tools to use BUT they could only use them IF they were SCIENTISTS... we used a rake (fork) and a magnifying glass.

Dissecting plants

Dissecting plants

Dissecting plants

PIN ME Please! =)

I'm finally getting around to putting together my giveaway... stay tuned! If you're interesting in joining, email me!

Vanessa

A Saturday post? Yup!

Happy Saturday everyone! I rarely post on Saturdays but I here I am!

We continued our numbers through 20 centers this week and the kids are gobbling it up! (haha, since Thanksgiving is coming, haha) Harry Kindergarten's Numbers in the Teens video has been really fun and engaging for the kiddos, thanks Harry!

Here are some shots of my kid in action...

This activity is part of my UPDATED Number Books

Uh, oh! He got carried away with the dot marker!

Look at this kiddo... she decided not to go on the traditional route to the treasure.

He's going for the more traditional route.

WOW! Look at her go!

I loved seeing the variation of work with all of my students. Our centers are only 15 minutes long so for some of them, I had the ships pre-cut so that they could focus on the number part. Others cut in 10 seconds and were gluing away in no time.
Check out my updated products The Number Book now with 11-20 and The Treasure Hunt with the number sequencing activity shown above. They are both $4 for now but the price will go up next week!

Last thing...
I have been reading a new blog that I LOVE! She is a special education teacher and the way she talks about her students is amazing. I think she belongs at my school but she doesn't! She is so close to 100 followers... head over and check her out!

Ok folks! Enjoy your weekend, I am spending mine with my veteran hubby. Don't forget to thank a veteran this weekend!

Learning numbers through 20

Hi everyone!
We FINALLY got some rain today! Luckily, it only rained during classroom time and after school. The bad part of any rainy day (besides crazy kids locked in the classroom like wild monkeys) is that I don't have any closets so I have piles of backpacks. Ugh! Very disrupting to my OCD tendencies. Although today, one of my students, let's call her "I", did such a nice job of lining up all the backpacks and putting them in boy/girl lines. It was so cute! I'm sure my OCD is rubbing off on her a little. One student walked in and threw their backpack on the pile and "I" jumped up and said, "That doesn't go there, it's the boy's pile!" So awesome!
Here's a snap...

Ok moving right along... We also finally got to use my Treasure Hunt Pack!

Click on the picture to grab your copy!

The kids LOVED it! It was so successful!! Well, aside from the little meltdown that included throwing everything in sight. BUT, even with that going on, the kids we so focused on counting and matching the numbers. You could use them for what you want but we talked about being Pilgrims and looking for the Mayflower and using our maps to find America by finding all of the ships. SUPER CUTE!
Here are some shots of the fun...

 Sorry there are some blurs but you get the point. Now that I look at these pictures, I realize my classroom is quite messy. lol. Don't judge me.
I am giving away 3 today for 3 people who want the pack and comment!
Oh, one other thing... I reached 100 followers on my TPT store!!! I'm so excited about that!!! I'll have to do something special soon, any ideas?
Last thing, the elections were so exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. On Tuesday afternoon, the director of our school had a long conversation with us about what would happen if Prop 30 didn't pass in California. He said, "Don't worry yet but if the prop doesn't pass, we are getting a paycut, furlough days will come at the end of the school year and our school alone loses $700,000. But don't worry yet" So that wasn't an exact quote but you get the point. I went home and cried to my husband. One of my co-teachers and I called dibs on teaching summer school and I contemplated calling Red Robin to be a server again. When I went to sleep on Tuesday, I cried a little again because at 10pm, the Prop hadn't passed. My husband tried to lift my spirits and reassure that all would be fine but I was a mess. Then I went to school on Wednesday and found out that Proposition PASSED!! Woo Hoo! I don't have to be a server again. Phew. Our school budget is still a hot mess but it is out of hot water, for now.
Ok, I just wanted to share that because I didn't get to post yesterday. Let me know if you'd like a copy of the Treasure Hunt! I'm giving away 3!

If you need to know the seasons, give me a call!

Hey everybody!
So remember how I told you yesterday that I LOVE Harry Kindergarten? I realized today that I REALLY love him. I used 2 of his songs in just one day! So first, we discussed the seasons, our new Science unit. Moby & Annie taught us a little about fall and we read The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle AND we heard the Seasons Rap one more time! Oh, BRAINPOPJR is free all this week! You MUST check it out! I use this site all the time to introduce or reinforce lessons. Anyway, I like to read The Tiny Seed because of the beautiful colors in the text. We started making our seasons trees using just the colors we see during fall...

These are the simple supplies needed. Cut up "leaves" I cut so many, I have some for next year!

What some of them look like. Since we have only taught fall, the other trees are still bare.

This is what my sample looks like... Winter is with paint & glitter, spring is crayon & glue drops for rain and summer is tissue paper. Isn't it darling?? even better when it is student work... that will come, I promise!

We also made an anenometer to measure the wind speeds during our windy fall weather. So much fun! The kids were so excited to be the "wind"

And here's the song, "If you need to know the seasons, give me a call!" So clever, cute & catchy!


Then for Math, we started teaching the dreaded Teen Numbers! Today it was just practice counting, writing, counting & writing. This was such a cute song and basically guided my lesson.

Tomorrow we will start in My Number Book: 11-20! It is just like My Number Book available on TPT right now but with 11-20...

Wanna copy?? I'm giving 3 away today... just leave a comment below with your email! =) I'll post some pics tomorrow of the kiddos in action.

Thanks for stopping in friends!!

Friday Freebies??

Hi everyone!
Well... I kinda sorta have freebies... I have some new products up on TPT today and I want to give some away! So... FREEBIES!!! Freebies for those who would like to comment today =)
Here it is...
We just finished our Body unit and we talk all about the different things going on in our bodies and the things to do to keep us healthy and strong. I put together this little workbook to make it more fun & meaningful for our kiddos. I also made it so that those who are reading and writing already can use it too! Something for everyone (I hope). If you would like a copy comment below and say "My Amazing Body Rocks!" hehe.

 Here are a few shots of the students actually using it...

Next, I have one of my favorites to teach numbers 1-20... A TREASURE HUNT! We give students a paper towel tube and use it as their "telescope" then we post the ships all around the classroom and the kids have to use their telescope, count the ships on each page and mark it on their maps. It is so much fun! The kids LOVE it! If you'd like a copy leave a comment below and say: "TREASURE HUNT HERE I COME"

 I'm giving away 3 of each, you can get 1... which do you want?? Come on, they are free! lol.

That's all I got for you today... I've been in such a funk today that all I want to do is sleep and give away free stuff!

Get yours while you can!

HAPPY FRIDAY

Happy Tuesday!

Hi Everybody!
I feel so out of the loop, I've been missing from the bloggy world for soooo long! Well, just since Wednesday but it seems like forever!
I had an absolutely awful day yesterday but today was a new day AND guess what came in??? Yup! You guessed it, my interactive whiteboard!  See that big box?? It has all of my excitement just waiting inside for me! lol. Now, I need to get it up, get it on and start playing!
Oh, and look around my classroom, it may look a little different after the install! I'M SO GIDDY! I can't wait.

So that awful day? Oh my!! It... was... a... doozy!!!! I was such a mess that I left my desk looking like this...

MESSY!! I think my desk will look a little different after the whiteboard install also. It is a big jumbled mess!
I had a new para professional come in to my classroom yesterday to work with my students and, remember D? Yeah, he didn't think that having someone new was such a great idea so he decided not to come into the classroom. And he decided to take off his clothes, again. And he screamed for a long time. He has the strongest lungs ever! hehe. AND it was picture day which meant that our daily schedule was out of whack because we had be on standby for pictures all morning. To sum it all up, it was awful. BUT today was definitely a new day! Our new paraprofessional didn't get scared away and she did an absolutely wonderful job with all of the students today. I left school with so many successes!
We taught Left & Right today and, as you know, this is a tough concept for these little guys. I totally forgot to take pictures, I'm really needing to work on that. The whole class went on a scavenger hunt around the school to find all of the shapes on our list... We could only go on this hunt if we knew our Left and Right! (well, everyone went but I said this anyway to keep them on their toes!) We found one shape, stood in line in front of it and then found out how to get to the next shape.
Me: "Here is the pink rectangle! We need to find the green triangle next. To find the green triangle, we need to turn left!"
Class: "Left is this way!" (1/4 of them pointing to the right)
Me:"Ok everyone, point the the LEFT... no, LEFT... your other hand... YES! LEFT! Let's go!"
I carried my Left and Right signs with me and used them to help with the directions. You can find the signs in my Math Posters Set OR leave me a comment and I'll send you them for FREE! You can kinda see them in the first picture on this post but hey, if you don't like them, at least they are free! lol.
Next thing on the list? I have a new item on TPT! During our story times, or any time I pick up a book in front of my class, I ask the students about the front cover, back cover, spine, author and illustrator... Now I have some cute posters and cards to go with that! I plan to post the posters and use the cards to pull and ask students. I may call some kids up, choose a card and tell me about that part of the book... The set is just $2!

Do you like the font I used in this picture??? Rowdy in Room 300 has some adorable fonts available on her blog... check it out!

Dictionaries, Numbers and Freebies!

Hi Friends!
So if you read my post yesterday, you should know that today was a successful day with everyone keeping their clothes on!! Woo Hoo!! If you didn't read my post yesterday, you HAVE to read about my day.

Has anyone seen that new spot on TPT called New Product Requests? I find it on the My Sales page. Well I was looking at my TpT account the other day (because I track that thing like noone's business) and I started reading some of them. I was scrolling through and thinking, "Nope! Not an 8th grade teacher. Nope! Not a science teacher. Nope! I don't have any of my own clip art to sell. Nope! Can't do that. Hey! I can do that! That seems easy peesy!" So I emailed the person who requested it, told her my info, crossed my fingers that she didn't send me a virus and started creating for her! I asked her questions about specifics, she gave me an idea to go by and that was that. I created the Student Dictionaries for her and it was exactly what she needed! I was so excited that I could help her AND even more excited that I could sell it to her. She showed me what she was looking at purchasing and I saved her about $75 so we both scored. Thanks TpT!

Want one? I'll send the first 3 peeps to comment one for $ free.99. Just leave your name and email and tell me you want a dictionary... but wait! There's more...

I also wanted to show you all the number books we have been working on in class. 

These have been my favorite this year! We always work on numbers and number formation for a long time and these books have been wonderful! There is one for each number where they are counting, writing and saying the numbers 0-10 repeatedly. We broke the book up into pieces and started with 0-2 then moved on to 3-5 and now we are working on 6-10. It has been really great too because the students have the routine down on how to complete the task so I can really focus on the formation of the numbers. They love it and so do I! We use cute poems to go with the numbers and the Handwriting Without Tears formations. HWT is a great handwriting curriculum that really focuses on the fine motor movement of letters. Love it!
I have this on my TpT store as well.

 Want one of these? Be one of the first three to comment and this baby is all yours!

Ok one more time... Comment if you want a dictionary, comment if you want a number book or comment because you love me and my blog! lol. Let me know which you want!

You can also check out Sensational Seconds' giveaway... She's giving away a laminator!!! Head over a check it out...

Be back tomorrow friends!