Apples!

Our apple unit is already off to a great start! We have a ton of apple themed lessons going on. Here are a view that we are focusing on this week.

Today we started creating our schema chart about apples. Credit to Mr. Greg over at Kindergarten Smorgasboard for such a good idea! We gave it our own spin by using apple cut outs instead of post-it notes.

  

We will add to this chart throughout the unit. We will be using these books to help us learn as well.

 

One of our literacy centers this week uses my apple themed sensory bin pack. The pack includes differentiated recording sheets. We have already completed the page where students color a letter, so this week we are practicing writing the letters.

The pack also includes apple themed letter cards to place in the sensory bin. I switched it up this week with beans and letter magnets. 

I have also found some great freebies from some other awesome bloggers!

Check out Mrs. Albanese's Kindergarten Class for this bobbing for apples freebie.

 

 We will also be using a free interactive math book from Mrs. Kelly's Klass.

Hope you enjoyed this peek at our week! I'll be sharing more apple fun soon!

Fact and Fiction Cows

In the midst of grad school homework, I am coming to you to share just a small part of our farm unit from the past two weeks. Of course we have been reading a lot of farm literature! So I thought this would be a great way to introduce the concept of fiction and non-fiction.

I decided to focus on just one animal for this activity. I chose cows because most of the students in my class had some general background information.

Our librarian helped me find a wide range of books for our unit. Here are just a few of our favorites.

 

After reading each book, the students had to tell me if they thought the book was fiction or non-fiction. They also had to provide reasons for their thinking.

This part was completed over the course of the unit. We recorded our thoughts on a very simple T-Chart.

As you can see from the chart, the cow theme also went along with our nursery rhyme of the week: Hey Diddle Diddle. The students did a great job!

 

Today we also created a graph about our favorite farm animals. I love using Post-Its for our graphs! The horse was the winner.

Next week we are on to apples!

Humpty Dumpty Experiment

After a long week of MAPS testing, we were ready for some fun! We always start the beginning of the year with nursery rhymes. This week we focused on Humpty Dumpty, so we ended the week with an egg experiment.

  

You can download this free recording sheet that we used from I Heart Crafty Things.

Not only was this a lot of fun, it was also a simple way to introduce my students to the scientific process of creating a question, making predictions, and conducting an experiment.

I'm pretty sure the best part was my animated facial expressions ;) I was cracking up when I saw the pictures my paraeducator took! 

We conducted our experiment by wrapping the eggs in various materials then placing them in small plastic container. The students counted down and I dropped each container on the floor.

 

 

We thought it was so exciting to unwrap the egg and see if our predictions were correct!

We ended up with two eggs that didn't crack.

 

 

Next week we will move on to Hey Diddle Diddle and farm animals!

Five on Friday: Name Activities

What a week! We started school on Wednesday, so of course we have been very busy. 

The past three days we focused on learning our routines and working with our name. 

 Here are five different activities we did to practice our name.

1. First Letter Collage

We started with being able to recognize the first letter in our name. Students also learn how to use a glue stick properly and work on their fine motor skills by tearing the paper.

2. Name Puzzle

After writing the students' names on sentence strips, I allow them to practice their cutting skills by cutting the letters apart. We then practice putting them in order and naming each letter.

3. Rainbow Write

We use rainbow writing as a center throughout the year, so this is the perfect activity to introduce the concept. 

4. Self Portrait

This is our first piece of work that goes in the hallway. We talk about how to draw people and take our time with our art. At the bottom, students will write their name.

5. Shared Writing

We start this on the first day of school and complete it throughout the week. The students really get into it because I tell them that they can learn to read on the first day of school! Plus, they like using the smelly markers ;)

In just three days students can make considerable progress! Students who could not even recognize their name are now practicing writing the letters. 

I can't wait to see the progress they continue to make :)         

Five on Friday: Open House

I have been very busy this week preparing for my new class of kinder kiddos! Our open house is on Monday and they will start school on Wednesday.

These are five of my favorite things I have ready for open house.

1.Interactive Door Display

Each student gets an owl for their name and chooses where to put it on the door. Instant ownership of the classroom. Even if they all end up near the bottom ;)

2.Student Gifts

Each student receives a book from our resource center and a bag of Jitter Glitter! I don't know who wrote the original Jitter Glitter poem, but you can find many variations of it on Pinterest. It is so cute to look down at their little heads on the first day and see some of their glitter still stuck in their hair :)

3.First Homework Assignment

I give the students their first homework assignment at open house. It is a family project to help us get to know the students. I also send home the small poster boards with them.

4."Owl" About Me Form

I ask each parent to fill out an "Owl" About Me page giving us a little information about their student and family. You can download your own version for free on my TPT store!

5. Photo Booth!

So fun! I have this up for open house and the first day of school so parents can have a little photo op.

And it includes fun props I made with my Silhouette! 

I am so excited for my new students to get here! Kindergarten Rocks!

11 Back to School Read Alouds

One of my favorite parts of setting my classroom up is getting out all of the great books!

I have a set of books that I keep out for the kiddos in the library. I change these out every couple of weeks depending on what we are learning about. 

Right now it is all ready for the beginning of school!

I also have a special set of books that I keep just for read alouds. Reading aloud time is probably my favorite part of the day.

I LOVE being able to share new books with my kiddos! If you share them with excitement, the students will react to them with excitement. It becomes one of their favorite parts of the day as well. 

These are some of the read alouds I include at the beginning of the year.

1. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn

The Kissing Hand is a back to school classic, so I had to include it! I know most kindergarten teachers read this book within the first week. There are a ton of activities out there to go with this book and make a keepsake hand print. I refuse to get paint out on the first day of school so we just use it to discuss our feelings. 

2. Pete the Cat:Rocking in My School Shoes by Eric Litwin

I read this one of the very first day of school and the kiddos love it! We talk about the different places in school that Pete goes to before we take a school tour. We also make a graph later in the week showing our favorite color of shoes. I use a coloring page and first day certificate from Inspired by Kindergarten that you can download for FREE!

3. David Goes to School by David Shannon

We read about David on the second day of school to review our rules and expectations. Then we do a sorting activity as a class where we sort behaviors into good or bad choices.

4. If You Take a Mouse to School by Laura Numeroff

Laura Numeroff is one of my favorite children's authors, so I was pumped when Kohl's had her books and stuffed animals this summer. I grabbed the mouse to use as our class pet this year. My dad has named him "Colby". I am going to introduce Colby to the class with this book. Each student will get an opportunity to take Colby home throughout the year. We also revisit this book at the end of the year to write our own "If You Take a Mouse to Kindergarten" stories.

 5. Froggy Goes to School by Jonathan London

I love to incorporate this book because it was one of my favorites as a child. I usually use it towards the end of week one as students are becoming more comfortable with school. You have to read it with lots of expression! It is a funny favorite of the kiddos.

6. Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney

 This book is perfect for kinder kiddos during the first week of school! I read it towards the end of day one when they are starting to get tired, cranky, and wondering if their parents are going to come back to get them. 

7. Baby Bear Sees Blue by Ashley Wolff

 

 I use this book during the third week of school to introduce our color unit. It is a very calming book and the illustrations are awesome!! One of my favorite read alouds!

8. Dr. Seuss's ABC Book and 9. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Classics! No kindergarten class should be without these books. I use them, of course, to introduce letters.

10. Never Ride Your Elephant to School by Doug Johnson

Another great humorous book! After reading this book, we make a graph about how we come to school. 

11. How to Read a Story by Kate Messner

I saw this book last year and just had to have it! I can't wait to use it to introduce literacy centers. Many students coming into kindergarten have never sat down with a book. This story is the perfect place to start!

I hope this gives you some ideas about books to read aloud in your own classroom. 

This time is so important to kindergarten kiddos!

Show them your love for reading right off the bat! :) 

WWW Wednesday: First Day

Today I am linking up with the Kinder Tribe blog for What Went Well Wednesday.

Click on the button above to check out some kinder teachers' awesome ideas and join in on the link up!

Since we are gearing up for another school year, I thought I would share what went well on my first day of school last year. These are things that I will definitely be implementing again this year with my kinder kiddos.

Line students up with numbers. 

  

This trick works wonders for quickly teaching your students how to form a line. Each of my students is given a number on the first day of school indicating which cubbie is theirs and where they stand in line. 

We practice finding their number a couple of times and after that they are good to go! No arguing about who stands where or confusion when we get in our lunch line. This also works in specials classes that don't have numbers on their floor because the students learn who they stand behind.

Collect a Work Sample

 I collect a work sample on the very first day of school with a simple coloring sheet. This quickly tells me who can write their name and who has never held a pencil before. We complete these sheets again on the 100th day of school to see how much we have  improved. This students love showing their growth!

Ask Your Students What They Want To Learn

I did not take a picture of this, but last year I asked the students "What do you want to learn about?" I gave each student a chance to answer and we recorded their answers on a chart that we displayed in the room. This worked well for many reasons. First, it gave every student the opportunity to participate on the very first day. It also gave me insight into the students' special interests. I then referred to this list throughout the entire year when planning lessons and special units. 

Include Playtime

    This is an entirely new setting and experience for your students. Build in some playtime during those first few days for them to explore and interact. They will be very curious and will also need the break time during those long first days.

Thank you for stopping by! Please leave comments if you have any questions about our first day of school.

Don't forget to also head back over to The Kinder Tribe for the linky party! 

Monday Made It: Fishing Poles!

This Monday I am bringing you a cheap, quick, and fun project that is perfect for back to school. Fishing poles! 

We all have magnetic letters in our classroom and have a huge focus on learning letters at the beginning of the year. So, here is a fun way to engage your students in the process!

You will need a package of dowel rods, string, and circular magnetic stickers. I already had plenty of lacing string, so that is what I used. You can get the materials to make a set of these fishing poles for less than $5!

Here are what mine look like. Nothing fancy, but it works. Tie one end of the string to the end of the dowel rod. On the other end of the string, place two of the circular magnetic stickers back to back.

This is the fun part! Fishing for letters!

I had fun doing this as an adult, so I know the students will love it as well. Have the students stand over a bowl or bucket of letter magnets and go fishing. They have to identify the letter and sound of whichever letter they catch!

BONUS Monday Made It!

I also made these tactile number and counting cards from burlap stickers I got at the Target dollar spot. They will be great for students to trace with their finger to practice number formation and one to one correspondence. 

 

I hope these ideas give you some ideas for your classroom! Happy Monday!

Back to School Dollar Centers

I am so excited about all of the Dollar Tree finds I have grabbed this summer! They are going to be awesome to use during centers this year with my kinders.

Here is a look at my stash and how I plan to use them.

Chalkboards and Chalk

These chalkboards come with two pieces of chalk and an eraser. I got the  purple sandwich holder from the Dollar Tree to hold everything. I love using the sandwich holders to store just about anything! I grabbed a whole stash of them. I also grabbed some colored chalk from Michael's for a dollar to add some fun. I plan on having students use this center to practice writing letters, sight words, or write the room.

Double-sided Hero and Princess Crayons

I think my kiddos are going to love these! They are perfect for little hands and add just enough novelty to make rainbow writing super fun.

You can grab a Rainbow Write FREEBIE I made specifically for use with this center over at the Grow and Enjoy TPT store. It includes a recording page for super heroes and princesses.

Shape Storage Containers

These awesome storage containers come in one set, so you get all four for just a dollar! I immediately thought of a shape sorting center when I saw them. The pattern blocks shown are already in my classroom.

Small Plastic Containers

These small plastic containers come in a set of 10. I used six of them to hold dice and keep them off the floor, in mouths, etc. Last year I used plastic Gerber food containers and they did not hold up very well. Hopefully, these will work better! One easy way to use these is to have students roll the dice and practice writing the number it lands on. You can also have them roll and graph the numbers. I have a ton of roll and write activities that the kinders always love.

Coordinating Paper Die Cuts

I have to give Mr. Greg over at Kindergarten Smorgasboard for this awesome idea. The Dollar Tree has all kinds of different die cuts you can use for matching games. I did capital and lowercase letters with the milk and cookies and will probably do math facts on the lock and key die cuts.

Foam Counting Blocks

I don't actually have a specific use for these yet, but I can imagine lots of possibilities using them as dice, letter blocks, etc. If you have a good idea for using these, please share!

I hope you can find some of these products at your local Dollar Tree! I have also done some previous blog posts about Dollar Tree centers. Click on "dollar tree center" in the label cloud to the right for more ideas.