Friday, January 31, 2014

It's the Last Day of January!

Where did the time go?  I don't think we had one normal week this month.  We started three days later than scheduled this month, a number of two hour delays, and just this week two more days off because of the cold.  Another possible Polar Vortex (or some other sort of cold weather nonsense) is forecasted for next week.  Yes, I know I live near in Indiana not too far from Lake Michigan, but this is getting ridiculous! But, maybe the groundhog will turn things around this Sunday!  :-)

But, it is Friday ~ and time for another Five for Friday linky!


State Superintendent of Public Education Glenda Ritz visited our school today because of our National Blue Ribbon status.  She was gracious and friendly ~ I was happy that she agreed to pose with me for my blog!


We worked on alphabetical order this week.  Here are a couple of cuties using cards from my Monkeying Around with Alphabetical Order set.

 Click HERE to purchase.


Sorting Shapes with my Winter Shapes Activities set.
Click HERE to purchase.  (On sale this weekend!)


 A winter favorite ~ Deanna Jump's Sneezy the Snowman activity set.

Click HERE to purchase.



I asked my Kinders if they knew what Sunday was...  Their answers were in this order: #1.  "My sister's birthday." #2. Super Bowl Sunday #3 Groundhog's Day.  I thought it was funny that so many kiddos replied "Super Bowl Sunday!"  I guess they must be the children of football fans!  We made these cute Groundhog puppets last year ~ the kids had so much fun with them, that we did it this year, too.  They had fun decorating the inside of their groundhogs' burrows - the one above is at "Groundhog school."  They also wrote Winter on one side & Spring on the other side.  

My weekend Dollar Sale!
These items are on sale for $1.00 this weekend:
Click HERE to purchase.

Click HERE to purchase.

Click HERE to purchase.

And finally ~ if you haven't yet followed my blog on Bloglovin, please do so ASAP!  I have an amazing prize package put together with donations from some wonderful TpT sellers.  Click HERE to see what is being offered to one lucky winner.  The raffle will go live when I reach 400 followers!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

An Awesome Prize Package!

I am so excited to offer this WONDERFUL prize package to celebrate reaching 400 followers on Bloglovin...  But, I'm not quite there.  Once I do reach 400 followers, I will be hosting a giveaway to win these great prizes in addition to $50.00 to "spend" in my TpT store:

   Writing Work Station for February   February Writing Work Station from Deedee Wills

 Wacky Rhyming Write the Room AND Wacky Hat Word Families Sort- Short Vowelsfrom Kinder Cakes

 Write the Room Write the room recording pages from A is for Apples

Friendship Unit – Literacy and Math Centers – Common Core Friendship Unit from Kindergarten Rox

-nk and -ng Glued Sounds Practice Pack - Fundations Grade -nk and -ng Glued Sounds Practice from A Teacher Mom

Winter Games Glyph and Writing Activities-Common Core Aligned!!Winter Games Athlete Glyph by Lauren Christianson

Addition Facts Practice & Assessments *Bundle* ~ Common CoAddition Facts Practice & Assessments by Primary "Teach" spiration
 
 Snow Day Winter Count and Clip Cards (Sets to 12)Snow Day Winter Count and Clip Cards from Kamp Kindergarten

Community Leaders and Good CitizensCommunity Leaders, Heroes, and Good Citizens from Cassie Thomas

Literature-based story problems for kindergarten and first grade  AND Reading Word Attack and Comprehension Strategy Posters from KT Teacher Tiff

Writing Personal Recounts with Learning Goals, and Success Writing Personal Recounts by Emmy Mac Shop

Word Problems for Kindergarten The Most Common Addition & Subtraction Situations Kindergarten by Where the Magic Happens


Winner's Choice from:
 n/a
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Amy-Lattin
 n/a
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Michelle-Scotese
 Leader Board Banner
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Differentiation-Station-Creations
 Exceptional Kinders
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Exceptional-Kinders (up to $10..)
 Second Grade is Out of this World
 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Second-Grade-Is-Out-Of-This-World
  Polka Dot Kinders
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Sara-Edgar

I want to thank all of these wonderful teachers who have so generously donated to my giveaway!   You guys ROCK! 

Friday, January 24, 2014

I am So Over the Cold!

Really ~ I am very, very tired of being cold!  We had two hour delays yesterday & today because of the extreme cold (wind chills way below zero).  Rumor has it that it may be so cold Monday that school may be cancelled.  It's not certain, but the forecast for northwest Indiana includes highs that don't reach zero.  UGH!  We already have to make up one day from earlier in the month.  What in the world do those of you who live in Alaska or other northern places do?

Well, for now I'm all toastified (granddaughter Isabella's word) at home in flannel PJs (and a scarf), and ready to link up with Doodle Bugs for Five for Friday.



 This week we started working on alphabetical order.  I don't spend a lot of time with this skill ~ but I feel it's an important skill to introduce.  I found this great freebie at Kinder Craze.  I am actually working on a product to help my Kinders to practice this skill, but it's not done yet, so this little freebie was a great find!





 Math Baskets, Tubs & Folders.  In the style of Daily 5, I am trying to incorporate more choice into our Math Block.  We begin our Math Block with group activities and guided practice.  I have set up Math Baskets, Tubs & Folders for early finishers.  By having a variety of activities available my little students are able to choose what they want to do while I work with strugglers and the slower workers.  These activities not only keep them engaged in learning while I'm busy, they offer extra practice on many skills.  Because this particular group of Kinders LOVES write the room, I always try to have clipboards ready for Math Write the Room.




 I am a big proponent of play in kindergarten.  It is soooo important for the littles to be able to engage in imaginative play.  The fact that about one third of my kiddos received tablets for Christmas, and the fact that most of them spend time daily playing video games makes "free play" all the more important!  I know that technology is a huge part of our lives (WHAT would I do without my beloved iPad??).  But, I worry that all that technology is getting in the way of creativity and being able to have fun without batteries. I have a group of Kinders who love to play restaurant in our Dramatic Play Center.  The puppet theater is the counter of their drive through restaurant.  They pull chairs up to it like a car and place their orders.  This week it was the "Brger Pallis!"  I am a frequent patron of their restaurant and am treated to lovely entrees and desserts only a six year old can create!


Snowy pictures.  These actually include a little bit of math ~ we made these as a final lesson on flat shapes.  We do a craft project on Fridays ~ the Kinders Work. So. Hard. all week long I like to give them a creative outlet Friday afternoon.  Last week the kiddos cut shapes and assembled houses onto light blue paper.  Q-Tips & white paint transformed them into Winter Wonderlands!  A great companion book for this project is Snow by Uri Shulevitz.



Finally, don't miss the Facebook Free-for-All!  Beginning tomorrow you will be able to grab some great freebies!  These products are normally paid items, but for this weekend they are FREE!  I am offering my Dr. Seuss - er Sss - inspired Nonsense Word Sort set.  This is one of my most popular products, so I thought lots people would like to get it for free!  Click HERE to get started at my Facebook page.  Like my page, and get my freebie (my link is working already, some won't be available until tomorrow morning).  From my page you will be able to click to the main page where you will find freebies for all grade levels.  But, don't wait ~ the freebies won't last!  On Monday the products will revert to paid items.

And, while you are hopping around the internet, please check out my Teachers pay Teachers store.  This weekend I have my Hoot for Place Value for half off!  (Several other items are on sale, too!)


Have a great weekend & stay warm!
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