A Look Inside a few Classrooms in Louisiana!

Does this look like work to you? See why I love my job?! I recently worked in Belle Chase with the kindergarten and first grade teachers. So how did I end up there?….Well, Gina and a few of her friends had purchased some of my units on tpt. They went to Anna (next to Gina) and Trish to see if the Parish would purchase some of them. After using the Reader’s Workshop Units, they convinced Anna and Trish to bring me to their Parish to do some training. I did a two day training on Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop. Then, they all came to Baton Rouge for the Destination Common Core Seminar. By this time we are all feeling like friends, (with a little dollar store shopping) so when I went there a few weeks ago to do some modeling and unpacking of standards, it was like a family reunion! Then, Trish wanted me to do some 2nd grade Common Core Training. I told her that it wasn’t really “my thing” but I had the perfect girl for them…enter Kathy Griffin! They loved her, she was awesome and they are having her back for more work with their 2nd grade teachers. So while we were there, Lizzie (first grade teacher and tpt author) and her mom had us all over for dinner. Then, the next night it was dinner on the town with the first grade teachers! I was actually there over the weekend and attended the French Quarter Festival with several groups of teachers and then a special dinner on Sunday for my birthday! They sure do know how to show this girl a good time!
So now, back to work…Here are some of the things I saw in some of the rooms…

Loved these organizers for magnetic letters. She is going to put the letter on the plastic pocket for easy letter put away.

Loved the title on this behavior plan. This was in Gina’s room and I didn’t really ask her how she used it, but Megan’s looks very much like it but with jungle animals. You can read about Megan’s behavior plan (here).

I saw these in the hall and I love them, but when the teacher told me that she had put kids with buddies and they had done them with partners I loved them even more. These will go great with my All About the Number Bundle Common Core requires us to have children working and talking with their peers as they learn to defend and share their thinking!

They love them some Deanna Jump and Deedee Wills. Here are some things from the Writing Units! Love the “Don’t ask the teacher!” I am so going to do that one! So next post….I will tell you all about what we did when I was modeling in the classrooms!

Want to go to I Teach K or the Common Core Academy? Well then here’s your chance to go for free!!!!

It’s no secret that I love the I Teach K conference! I have worked for SDE for nearly 20 years—part time as a classroom teacher and now full time as a retired teacher! So, a few days ago while I was talking to my peeps at SDE, they agreed to give me a free 4 day conference to give away on my blog! Do you hear me…ALL FOUR DAYS OF REGISTRATION FOR FREE!!!!! (By some chance if you haven’t heard of the I Teach K, or want to read more about it, or see a video clip, click (here) or on the photo to follow the link.) So I told her that maybe the winner could choose between the I Teach K and the New Common Core Academy that is being held in Chicago.

Do you know what she said? She said, why don’t I give you one of both! Oh my word! Do you hear me now????  I get to also giveaway a FULL 3 DAY REGISTRATION TO THE COMMON CORE ACADEMY and to the I Teach K! The Common Core Academy is a brand new format and we are super excited about the possibilities. Click on the photo or (here) to see a video clip and read about this new exciting workshop! BTW, you may want to know that Deanna Jump, Kathy Griffin, Vanessa Levin, and I will all be presenting at this event!

So how do you enter? Just leave a comment below and I will randomly select the winner using an online generator. The first name selected will get to choose between the two events, the second name selected will get to attend the other event, with FREE registration! BUT, the winner needs to follow the kindergals blog and the kindergals facebook page http://facebook.com/kindergals so be sure you are a follower of both! The drawing will be held on May 19th and will have 24 hours to claim the prize once the announcement is made!

Keep Calm and Shop On! It’s Teacher Appreciation Days!

By now you have heard about THE sale of the year!

 

If you are impatient (like me) you can get a 20% discount on EVERYTHING in my store starting today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

TpT's sale officially starts on Tuesday.

Now, I like a plan of attack. Here are my plans as the sale approaches:

 

1.  Look at my past purchases.   Have I left feedback on these?   I love those points! Sometimes the TpT system slows down on big sale days, so I want to get those feedbacks in! I want to rack-up those beautiful points and turn them into purchasing power!  I am freely admitting that I don't NEED anymore clip art... but I always WANT more clip art!

 

This is also a great time to go back to those sellers and see what other treasures they have in their store.

 

2.   I move my items from my "Wishlist" over to my "Cart."   Seriously, I have this mental image of a puma ready to pounce on its prey.

 

3. Think ahead... As I think about my classroom instruction, what things will I want to implement for next year.   This is a great time to be reflective!

 

It is easier to "Keep Calm and Shop On" when you have a plan!

 

Is it almost (I mean already) May?

Oops...A little late on this post! Had it set for an automatic post and it didn't post. The first part has already happened, but there is more info below...By the Way, Tampa was great!

I can’t believe it is almost May! I only have a few more weeks of work before I take off an entire month to become a Gammy to my new grandson, Matthew! He is due to arrive June 13 and I don’t want to miss a minute so I have blocked off my schedule starting May 19 until July 5!
So here are the last few days of presenting for May! Destination Common Core is taking place in Tampa! Can I say I am super excited to be going there? I was in Tampa a year or so ago with the DI for the Little Guy and it was great! The teachers and the weather make for one happy Kim!

Then I head up to Michigan to finish the season with the DI for the Little Guy Seminar! I am hoping by May the weather will be spring like!

Then, May 15-17 I will be traveling to New Hampshire for a planning retreat. I am getting super excited about the new workshop, Common Core Academy.  We are using a new format and it is sure to be helpful and fun! I am meeting with the SDE team as well as some other presenters, Deanna Jump, Kathy Griffin, and Vanessa Levin, to put all the finishing touches on an event that will be very impactful in learning the common core all while networking with other teachers right on your grade level! Spaces are limited so be sure and register early if you are planning to attend!

Informational Writing: Charts, Rubrics, and Student Pages

Just finished up my second Writer’s Workshop Charts, Papers, and Rubric set. This set is all about informational writing. Read the write up and see a few slides of some of the items in the pack.
Ever asked a kiddo, “And, what do you know all about?” Well, this packet contains items to help your little ones answer that question. The packet contains:
4 anchor charts for informational writing
4 modeling anchor charts for demonstrating
Photo files, file folder photo labels, and color brainstorming card for helping students generate ideas
Several brainstorming pages for students to record their ideas…tree map, 2 webs, list paper, all about little book
Various types of paper for children to use for writing their informational piece
A Rubric based on the common core standards
A class spreadsheet of the rubric to compare and organize small groups
A student self-assessment rubric
A large anchor chart rubric
It DOES NOT contain the mini lessons.

Anchor Charts: There are anchor charts and modeling charts.

Student Papers: There are brainstorming tools, brainstorming recording sheets, planning sheets, and pages to make an All About book.

There is a rubric set: individual student, class rubric to use for grouping, a self assessment sheet for the students, and a class anchor chart rubric to keep the lessons on target, show the children what needs to be included in their writing, and can also be used during share time as a launching place for discussion about their writings.

What’s at the Target Dollar Spot?

When I go to Target with my husband, he drops me off at the door and then goes and parks the car. Now, you might be thinking, “How sweet!” (He really is.) But, this has nothing to do with being sweet….he doesn’t want to look in the dollar spot! So he drops me off so that I will be done in the Dollar Spot by the time he gets in the store!
So here are some quick pictures I snapped!
*Love the bug magnifiers! Great for science or as a novelty for reading!
*The cardboard magazine boxes are great for book bins.
*Old Maid and Go Fish are fun games for indoor recess.
*French fry holders to make a counting game by making paper or sponge french fries as counters.

Love these $1 non fiction books. The Family Fun books have some cute crafts but can also be used to show examples of How To writing. The “I can write” series is a little more advanced…probably good for 2-5 grades, but maybe can be used in the lower grades.

Who would have thought it? Chip clips! Here’s a fun way to do the Five Little Speckled Frogs in a center. Great for fluency, number combinations, addition, one more, one less…..Here’s the reproducible pages:
Five Little Speckled Frogs Reproducibles

These are sets of coasters. At first I saw the hamburger and it reminded me of that story elements idea that has been around for a long time. I did change the words I used just a bit to match the kindergarten common core standards. Then….I thought about that old game “Cootie”. In case you don’t know how to play, here’s how: Invite the children to roll a dice. Whatever it lands on, they get that part of the sandwich. The object is to build the whole sandwich. Why do this? This is a great way to practice subitizing (instant recognition of dot configurations)…a common core must do! Here are the downloads for the dots and the story elements:
Dots
Story Elements

This party garland is from Valentine’s Day, but I totally forgot to add it to the blog post I did earlier about Dollar Store Finds. So here goes….This is great for any of that party garland you see in the party section of the Dollar Tree. I used the sticky foam numbers to make a number line. Lay the number line in a straight line on the floor. Put a small counter, such as a candy heart, on each number. Give the children a game piece and a dice. Invite them to roll the dice and move the game piece that many spaces on the number line. Then, they remove the candy heart that is on the number they landed on. They continue rolling the dice and moving the game piece to try and capture all of the candy hearts. They can move forward or backwards!
Here are a few more pictures from the Dollar Tree. Love these gift bags! I know there has to be a fun way to use them! Love these dust pans, too! What would you do with them? So keep the game going….leave a comment about how you would use the bags and the pans!

How To Writing Pack

Just put up my new pack. This is different than my Reader’s Workshop pack. So read below and see what it includes….

Ever asked a kiddo, “And, what do you know how to do?” Well, this packet contains items to help your little ones answer that question. The packet contains:

3 anchor charts for how to writing

2 modeling anchor charts for demonstrating

2 brainstorming/prewriting pages

Various types of paper for children to use for writing their procedural piece

A Rubric based on the common core standards

A class spreadsheet of the rubric to compare and organize small groups

A student self-assessment rubric

A large anchor chart rubric

It DOES NOT contain the mini lessons.