K is for Kindergarten!

I am slowly thinking about the beginning of the year, and I have an idea to share for a back to school photo idea.  I've seen this on pinterest for different kids holding a number for their age.  I want the students to hold a "K" for their first day of Kindergarten.

Things needed to make the "K"-

-Giant K: from Michael's craft store

-Mod Podge

-scrapbook paper

-ribbon

Steps to make the "K"-

1.  Trace the K onto the scrapbook paper

2.  Cut out the paper and mod podge it onto the K

3.  I mod podged ribbon on the outside of the K to give it a clean edge

It takes a couple of hours to dry and then it is good to go!

This is my friend's adorable little girl.  We practiced taking back to school photos because she will be going into Kindergarten next year!  

I made this template "K is for Kindergarten" to use as a backdrop for the photo.  I will take a picture of each child on the first day of school, then glue it onto this little poster.  

Ways to use it:

You could make one for each child and make a back to school bulletin board, or use it as the cover of your yearly portfolios, or send them home as a back to school gift!

You can pick up this first day of school photo template for FREE in my TpT Store!  Click on the image below to pick up a copy!

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End of the Year: A Very Hungry Caterpillar Theme Graduation

It is officially summer and I haven't had any time to get organized enough to share photos from the last week of Kindergarten.  I love Eric Carle's, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and I decided to have this book be our Kindergarten Graduation theme.  

Here are the props from our graduation.  We did a reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar and while some of the students spoke lines, others carried props across the stage.  A very talented friend/co-worker/and parent of a student in my class painted these on cardboard.  They look real to me!

This was the rough schedule of our Kindergarten graduation ceremony:

~Welcome

~Pledges

~Reading of The Very Hungry Caterpillar

~My Favorite Things: each student took a turn in the mic saying what their favorite part of Kindergarten was

~Teacher says thank you

~Presentation of the diplomas

Each child dressed up for the graduation ceremony, and we didn't have them wear caps and gowns.  After the graduation, we had a time of refreshments back in the classroom after.  The snacks were provided by the 1st grade parents, as a tradition to welcome the Kindergarten students to first grade!  All of the snacks were the same food that was in The Very Hungary Caterpillar story.  Layla bought the snack labels and table cloths on Etsy last year for her daughter's first birthday.  She saved them and let me use them for our party!

One of the parents in my class saw these little caterpillars on Pinterest and helped make them for each student.  We made them slowly over a week's time, and they were ready for after graduation.  The kids ate their snack and then took a sharpie and signed their name on each other's caterpillar.  It was a precious little treat that they got to take home, having all of their friends' signature on it.

We made the caterpillars in several steps:

1.  Our room mom died the socks at home

2.  We stuffed the socks with batting and sewed them shut (parents did the sewing)

3.  We added rubber bands to segment the body

4.  We added buttons, eyes, and a mouth with a hot glue gun.  (I had parent helpers come in and do this one on one with each child)

*this was a wonderful treat that a parent donated to the class and prepared for us to do, but it was very time consuming.  I would only suggest it if you had extra hands and extra time!* ;)

That wraps up our graduation theme!  

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Dolch Primer Sight Word Printables

I finished my Dolch Primer Sight Word Printable pack that follows the Pre-Primer Dolch Set!  I am all ready to teach sight words next year, and these bad boys will help me teach the kids a new word each week (multiple words a week, actually).  I start teaching sight words the first week of Kindergarten.  Once the students have a couple of words under their belt, they can start reading sentences with our scaffolding.  For instance,  if you teach them the sight words: "I, see, a" you can form a sentence on the board and add a picture to finish the sentence.  They could read: I see a ____.  On the line, you can switch out different pictures (cat, dog, etc).  Before long the students are building their confidence and reading!  The first step is to teach them a few, simple sight words.  And here is a resource to help you...

Each page focuses on a different word from the Dolch Sight Word List.  For each word they will:

print

trace

color

find

cut and paste

The variety of skills helps the kids memorize those sight words that are commonly found in text.  Here is a sample of what each page looks like:

Pick a set up at my TpT Store.

To purchase the Pre-Primer Dolch Sight Word Worksheets, click HERE.

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WINNER!!!! MPM School Supplies Giveaway!

Congratulations to the winners......

And MPM has a special treat for all of us...

A 10% discount for a whole week to anyone who purchases an item using their promo code:

www.mpmschoolsupplies.com/redeem/1306BGMUCXLR

Have fun, and shop til you drop to prepare for next year!

And... maybe I went to the zoo today and had the best day ever.  Literally.  Here are a couple photos from the day!

Mr. Panda

Mr. Lion

Ms. Griffo and Mr. Fake Seal

I love how it's my first weekend off, and I find myself at a zoo... 

#KindergartenTeacherAtHeart

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MPM School Supplies GIVEAWAY!

Anyone already designing and planning their classroom decor ideas for next year?? Well here is a little giveaway that can help you get come goodies for your classroom for FREE from MPM School Supplies.  

2 people will win a $25 gift certificate!

You can enter until Friday...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Dolch Pre-Primer Sight Word Printables

I have been at a CCS training the past two days and my favorite part was talking to the other Kindergarten teachers about how we teach sight words.  (completely off topic of what the speaker assigned us to talk about..)  I originally made a Sight Word Pack, that I love and my students love even more.  I wanted to make another set that can be used specifically for the Dolch words.  This first set is for the Dolch Pre-Primer word list.

In the image below, you can see a sample of the dolch pre-primer sight word printable.  There are 40 words on the pre-primer list, and each page focuses on a different word.  For each word they will:

print it

color it

find it

trace it

cut and paste it

My students loved using these for seat work, center work, and homework.  They are great because once you teach them how to do the first worksheet, they can finish the rest of them independently!

Pick one up at my TpT Store!

Check out the Primer Dolch Sight Word Pack, too!

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Story Elements for Kindergarten and Comprehension Wands!

I am excited to share with you a new comprehension unit I made to go with any read aloud.  This "Story Elements for Kindergarten" pack includes 18 printables to use with any story AND some Comprehension Wands...

{Pick this up in my TpT Store}

This pack includes printables that focus on the story elements and comprehension questions. The students can complete the comprehension worksheets during and after a story is read. There are 18 printables total, and 5 of them are comprehension questions for kindergarten but the response sheets are for drawing pictures only. These are great to use in the beginning of kindergarten before the students are writing sentences.

Some of the comprehension prompts are:
-What was your favorite part of the story?
-Draw a picture of something real and make believe in the story?
-Draw a picture of the beginning, middle, and end of the story
-Draw and write about your favorite illustration.

The pack is aligned to the CCS!

My favorite part of this story element pack are the Comprehension Wands. This is a DIY project where you will print, cut, and laminate the circles and glue them onto popsicle sticks to make little wands. The students pick a wand(s) at the end of the story and answer questions about the book. 

I added some pages that the students can respond with pictures if it is early in the Kindergarten year and they aren't writing sentences yet.  If you don't teach Kindergarten, this is a good option for differentiation.  

I read a book to my students and printed out 5 different options in the pack.  They could choose which sheet they wanted to complete during literacy center time.  The kids really loved having an option to choose from!

The first three people to pin one of these photos and leave a comment with:

1. a link to the pin

2. their email

will receive a copy of the Story Elements for Kindergarten for FREE!!!  

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I am obsessed with SUCCULENTS... Parent Gift Idea!

I am fully obsessed with succulents.  But the problem is, I can't keep them alive.  They don't need any care or love, but they still hate me and die. ;)  I have this one little plant that has been living for about 7 months, and I check on it every day, so maybe my thumb is turning green??

I was at Home Depot and found 13 little succulents that I could use for my parent helper gifts and teacher aide gift.  They were $2 each and the source of my inspiration!

I found tin mini watering cans at Michael's and they were the perfect thing to hold my little succulents.  I made a little sign (after a discussion with my Instagram peers... with Cupcake winning the discussion) to use the phrase, "Thank you for helping our class grow!"

Each parent that had a designated weekly helper time received one of these succulent and watering can gifts.  It was a little way to say thank you for all of the time and hard work into helping our class run more smoothly.  I work at a private school, and we have lots of opportunities for helpers.  Here are some of the ones that I have:

-Library Helper

-Computer Lab Helper

-Homework Folder Helper

-Sight Word Tester

-End of the Year Memory Book Helper

These were what I gave my aide and Room Moms.  I found the jumbo sandal at Hobby Lobby and all of the gardening details in heaven the dollar bin at Target.  I couldn't tell if the sandals creeped me out or if I loved them... I still can't decide...

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Try it Free Tuesday!

Miss Kindergarten is hosting a fun summer segment where each Tuesday a different puts a product that is normally for sale, FREE for one day!  Head over to Miss Kindergarten to see my freebie for a day!

P.S...still Instagram all summer long using #teachertalktuesday on Tuesdays!

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Letter Sound Printables!

I have been working on this "Beginning Sound Printables" that I am going to use next year with my students.  Each page focuses on a different letter, and on each page they will:

-Print the letter

-Color the picture that begins with the letter

-Draw a picture that begins with the letter

-Print the letter to finish the word

Check it out in my TpT Store.

I was inspired to make a letter sound pack after making this Upper and Lower Case Unit, which my students were OBSESSED with this year.

Here are some samples of the printables.  I love them because once the kids have done one letter, they can do ALL of the sheets independently.  I use these for letter introduction and review, during centers or homework, and even for assessments.

I see these as an:

 Upper Case Unit

Lower Case Unit

Or Bundled Pack

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Five For Friday: Video Style

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs' 5 For Friday to share five photos of our week!  I am trying a new twist, and posting sort videos instead of photos!  I used an app called Vine.  It's like Instagram but with 7 second videos.  I know you are probably thinking, "ANOTHER SOCIAL MEDIA APP???!!!"  I kind of think that too, but I am enjoying using it to capture moments in the classroom to send to the parents, or to show little clips on my blog.  :)

This is a little sight word game I made out of popsicle sticks and french fry containers.

Sooo maybe I baked my first cake this week...I am going to post this weekend how it turned out!

Sunday, I got to see Mumford and Sons with one of my besties!

This is Mr. Crabby Pants.  He is not mine.  He is huge.  I am scared of him.

Friday was National Doughnut Day!

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French Fry Sight Word Activity!

Welp, the Dollar Bin at Target got me again!  I picked up some goodies that inspired me to make a sight word game, by turning popsicle sticks into french fries!  

I found some popsicle sticks in my cupboard and painted them yellow (it was cheaper than buying the ones that were already colored), then I wrote some of our sight words on both sides of the sticks.  

The students got to wear the apron, and pinch the french fries with the tongs to pick them up.  We laid the sight word french fries on the table, and if they could read the word, then they put it in their fry container.

We switched it up by having a friend read the word, and the student with the tongs found the word and picked that one up.  It has been fun watching the kids enjoy this so much. :)

After they picked up all of the fries, they recorded the sight words on this recording sheet...

Click on the image to download the simple recording sheet for free in my TpT Store.

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