Let's Go Shopping and a Freebie

We finished our money unit last week, and keeping with tradition and fun, I set up a store in our classroom for some real life shopping.  Yeah!!!

I start out the unit by exploring the different coins.  We identify and learn about the penny, nickel, and dime.  One of the first things we do is identify the head and tail sides of the coins.  After shaking up their coins, and of course singing a crazy little song, they drop their coins on the table and sort.  Then we draw the coins on the paper, write in the correct amount the coin is worth, and then count.  Grab this little sorting freebie by clicking on the picture.

At the end of the unit it's time to shop!  This is also a great way to encourage and welcome my parents in to engage in their child's learning in the classroom.  It is so much fun and the kids love it.  All of them items in the store were donated by my classroom parents, and we use our classroom money to "buy" a bag full of goodies.

I also created this fun little store organization page for the kids based on the items donated.  They love to keep track of everything they bought, and it is a great way to work on tally marks.

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

Christmas Crunch Cereal Freebie

Do your kiddos love eating during a lesson?  Mine do and it keeps them sooooo engaged.  Here is a great little graphing activity you can do in your classroom to celebrate the Christmas season while enjoying a little snack too.  Just find a box of Christmas Crunch cereal, download this little freebie, and you are set. Your kids will be sorting, counting, graphing and completely engaged right before your eyes. 

Click on the pictures above to download this yummy little freebie!

Christmas Crunch Graph

The angels rejoiced singing the savior has been born today.

Teacher Appreciation Sale

It's time!!!!  Time to celebrate all the love, dedication, time, and energy the wonderful teachers around us put in for our kids year after year!!  To say thanks, everything in my store will be 

28% off June 6 & 7.

Click on the image below to find my store.  

I truly appreciate all of the teachers out there and their encouraging words, thoughts, and support. As a big thank you, I have a little freebie for you as well.

Click on the picture below.

"Thank be unto Go for his unspeakable gift." 2 Corinthians 9:15

Crossword Puzzle Fun Freebie

We did it!!!! We learned all 44 sounds in the English language.  Now we are ready to begin our 5 week short vowel review and our 5 week long vowel review.   We will focus on 1 vowel sound a week in phonics and build words centered around that vowel.

My kids love it when I give them a challenge, so why not do it with something that "big" people do - Crossword Puzzles.  This fun set, Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun Set 1, includes words for all 5 short vowels and all 5 long vowels.  Some of my kiddos are ready to spell the words out all by themselves, but some still need a little help.  Each vowel sound has a crossword puzzle with 5 words and matching picture clues in two different versions: with and without a word bank.    

To find the entire Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun set, click on the pictures above.

I thought it would be fun to celebrate with a freebie.  To download the Short A and Long A FREEBIE pages, click on the link below!  

Crossword Puzzle Freebie - Short A and Long A

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:31

FREEBIE!!! Thanksgiving Count, Roll, and Graph

I just finished my lesson plans for next week and make this fun little freebie!!  Thanksgiving Count, Roll, and Graph.  Click on the picture below.

Enjoy!!

"Give thanks with a grateful heart."

New Fan Freebie - Fall Find it Fast

Fall Find it Fast!!!

I have a new Fan Freebie on my Facebook page.  Be sure to follow so you don't miss out!

Click on the picture above.

"There is time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." Ecclesiastes 3:1

Classroom Decorations & Pinterest Fun

I had some extra fun getting ready this year.   I decided to recover my desk chair and well....... explore my Pinterest boards!  :)  I feel like a princess now, and I get so excited to sit at my desk.  (Not that I ever get too.  lol)

These cute tissue papers flowers are leftovers from a table I decorated for a cancer luncheon this past summer.  Don't they look so adorable in my classroom!!!!  I don't have the awesome balloon rainbow like I did for the luncheon, but I sure enjoy the rainbow flowers.

Luncheon Table - Soooo Cute!!

Now who doesn't like hiding a few things!!   Put up a little fabric and poof, the "clutter" is gone!! :)

And, finally a little gift.   I made these cute back to school gifts for my kiddos.   Fun little glow sticks.  Click on the picture to download the freebie tag.  I didn't think you would want my name on there, so I took it off!   :)  I also included sets that say .....year in Preschool,  .....year in First Grade, and  .....year in Second Grade.

I hope your Back to School is terrific.  I know I get sooooo excited!  And guess what, this year my baby gets to join me in Kindergarten!!!  Yeah!!   She will be right across the hall.

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."  Jeremiah 29:11 NLT

Getting Ready for Back to School and A Freebie

Well, it is that time again Back To School !!!!!  Are you ready??  Our first day is August 20th, and the planning has officially begun.  Yeah!!  Before I really start anything, I like to take some time to reflect.  I think about last year, the previous years, the good, the bad, the ugly, and everything in between.  lol

Two of the things I think that have worked really well in my classroom are our Line Up Song and our Quiet Signal.  (Classroom Management and Procedures)  I can't wait to share these with you.

This will be my 5th year teaching kindergarten, and I truly believe that we can learn something new every year.  Believe it or not, how to line up was one of the biggest changes/challenges I had when I moved from 6th to Kindergarten.  Wowwzers!!!  In kindergarten there is a line leader, a caboose, and a door holder.   So......... I figured out how to get everyone to the line, but now, how do I get them quiet and ready to walk in the hall.  Our kiddos walk with hips and lips - one finger on your lip and one hand on your hip!  This keeps our hands from touching others, the walls, or anything else.  So, with the help of a friend, we now have a fun little Line Up Song jingle to sing/say while we are getting ready to walk down the hall.   Click on the picture to download this great little freebie poster!!

Now, our Quite Signal!  How do I get the attention of 20 little 5 year olds who are busy at work??  Our principal uses a raised hand for our building wide quiet signal.  The entire building knows that when they see a teacher or administrator raise his/her hand, they need to raise their hand as well and get quite.  This can be a little difficult for 5 year olds with their attention going in every which direction.  So, I decided not only to give them the visual clue (my hand raised), but an auditory and kinesthetic clue as well.  It takes us a few days to really figure it out, and lots of praise, but when we do......it's great!!  I also made picture clue cards for our classroom wall.  (Which, once they learn all four letters in the word STOP, they are totally excited that they can actually read the word!  :)  I clap 5 times, say S...T...clap twice....say O...P  and we all end quiet with our hands in the air!!  YEAH!!!!!  (I had the blank cards up, but this year I decided to make them colored to match my classroom decorations.)  These STOP Signal cards are available on TpT in color and black and white. Click on the picture below to find them.

Click below to hear how our classroom Quiet Signal.  Click on the picture above to hear it on You Tube.  (Of course you could do any clapping rhythm, this is just what worked for us!)

And I am sure like almost all of us out there, there are areas that we really feel we want to change/improve.  One of the areas that I still need some help reorganizing/figuring out ...... is my 30 minute independent center time.  We are a Title 1 building, so this is also our Tier time.  I know what activities I want them to do, but it is the organization part I need a little help with.  Like how to rotate them, keeping track of who went where and who did what!!!  Help!!  If you have any great resources or ideas, please let me know!!  Thanks, and I hope you have a great year too.

"An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." Proverbs 18:15

How Things Move & a Freebie!

We just finished our "How Things Move" unit in science.  The kids had a blast.  We pushed and pulled, rolled, went back and forth, spun in circles, and went up and down for a week!  Whoooo,  I was a little tired by the end of the week. :o)

 I really do love this unit because we get up and moving.  I introduced force, and we were off.  We got to go outside and swing (back and forth movement), play with hula hoops and ribbons (circular movement), and blow bubbles.   Yes, we had to talk about why somethings go up and stay up, and why somethings go up and come down - gravity.  :o) We named "gravity" - Mr. Gravity - because I said it was like a little man pushing back down on your head.  We have already done our Earth and Space unit, so they knew that once something got high enough, it would stay up there and float.  They loved it because I picked them up and let them "run" in space.  heheheheh

Then we talked about how different things can change how something moves.  We went out side and experimented with a wall.  What would happen if we rolled the ball straight to the wall?  What would happen if we rolled the ball at an angle to wall?  Well, one of my little girls knew exactly where she needed to roll the ball to make it hit the wall and go to her partner!!  Yeah!!  The other kids were soooooo impressed.

Finally, we talked about how things move on different surfaces.  The boys where hooping and hollering when I got the cars out! For our experiment we rolled a car down a ramp and onto three different surfaces.  Which surface would it roll the furthest on?  Oh, this is so much fun to watch!!  I have them record their "drawings" on a record sheet.  (We draw where the car stopped.)

If you would like to download this fun little freebie, Exploring Different Surfaces, click on the picture below.  Of course I had to make it cute before I gave it away.  The paper you see in the pictures above was the one I used last year.  My kiddos had so much fun with this, so I wanted to share.

If you liked this little freebie, please remember to follow my blog or Facebook page. I hope your kids have fun too!

"You don't have enough faith," Jesus told them.  "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible." Matthew 17:20

 

A Bunny Blog Hop

A Tisket, A Tasket, Freebies for your Basket!

Several phenomenal teachers and bloggers are joining forces for an amazing bunny blog hop!  As you follow us along the bunny trail, you will visit some of your favorite blogs and discover a few new blogs too!  Each with a fabulous freebie just for you!

Thank you for hopping on over to my blog! 

Easter Egg Surprise
I hope you find some wonderful Freebies while you are hopping along.  We are graphing our "Surprise" Easter Eggs tomorrow.  I filled lots of plastic eggs with jellybeans and put them in a cute little basket.  Each child will get to pick one egg from the basket.  After opening the eggs, sorting and graphing the colors......guess what, we get to eat the jellybeans!  Yummy!  I love yummy lessons!  Have a great Easter.  Check back later to see pictures of my classroom having a blast with this activity. 

Click on the picture below to download this graphing freebie!

Thanks for stopping by and visiting!  If you are new to my blog and liked what you see, don't forget to follow me.  A Tisket, A Tasket, next up with a Freebie for your Basket is Renee from Fantastic First Grade Froggies.  Hop on over!

Just in case you didn't join us from the beginning, here is an ordered list of all the participating blogs.

Stephany from Primary Possibilities
Sally from Elementary Matters
Lory from Fun for First
Linda from Primary Inspiration
Nicole from Mrs. Rios Teaches Second Grade
Brian from Hopkins' Hoppin' Happenings
Liz from The Happy Teacher
Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers
Sarah from Learning is for Superstars
Teresa from Fun in K/1
Nikki from Teaching in Progress
Faith from Kindergarten Faith
Renee from Fantastic First Grade Froggies
Amy from Happy Teacher Heaven
Leah from Learn with Leah
Nicole from Teaching's a Hoot
Kristy from The Phonic's Phenomenon
Rich from Mr. Giso's Room to Read
Susanna from Whimsy Workshop
Amy from Motivate to Learn
Lola from Preschool Wonders
Kimberli from Mixing the Next Batch

A Big Sale & Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun

March is definitely here, and the madness has begun!!  :o)  Does your March schedule seem to be filled with everything?  Take kids here, take kids there, take kids everywhere!

Back in the classroom we are reviewing, building and growing.  After learning all 44 wonderful sounds, we go back through and review.  We are finishing our 5 week short vowel review where we work on one vowel sound a week and focus on reading words with that sound.  

My kids love it when I give them a challenge, so why not do it with something that "big" people do - Crossword Puzzles.  This fun set, Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun Set 1, includes words for all 5 short vowels and all 5 long vowels.  Each vowel sound has a crossword puzzle with 5 words and matching picture clues in two different versions: with and without a word bank.   Next week we start through our 5 week long vowel review, and I can't wait to see how the kids do.  

To find the entire Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun set, click on the pictures above.

To download the Short A and Long A freebie pages, click on the link below!  

Crossword Puzzle Freebie - Short A and Long A

In math this week we have been working on chance, probability, and graphing.  I introduced the kids to tally marks, and Nicole Lanier from Lanier's Lions has a fun unit that we have really enjoyed,  Little Kitty Kalculations.

It includes some great activities for counting, making tally marks, graphing, and chance or the fancy word "probability."  The kids have loved getting to spin, count and graph the little kitties.  We start addition next week, and we will be ready because this pack includes some fun addition activities too!

Now for the exciting news.......both of these great products will be on SALE this weekend.  YEAH!!  All of my products will be on sale for 4 fabulous days from March 9th -12th.

Nicole Lanier and several other incredible people from Kinderland will be having a sale too, from March 10th - 12th.  Check it out and enjoy the madness!!

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105