Student "To Do" List Freebie

I am on a mission to get my students to embrace and learn how to be organized.  I feel like by the end of the week we have several different assignments that are due, and people are working at different paces.  I am constantly making lists of who needs to turn in what.  I decided I am going to start making my students be more responsible for keeping track of what work they need to finish...and that inspired this "student to do list."

I printed out a "to do list" on bright paper and laminate it for durability  so the students can write on the list with EXPO Dry Erase Markers  and then they can erase and modify their list as needed!  We have been using these ink indicator markers so the students can see how much ink is left in their EXPO maker.  #love

I let the students pick out what color list they wanted and then I gave a lesson on how and why to use "to do lists."  We talked about how they help us stay organized, keep us motivated to finish our work, and also allow us to feel accomplished once we finish our tasks!

My students have been keeping these on their desks or in their "unfinished work" folder.  You can even put velcro on the back and attach it to the side of the desk.  Their favorite part has been crossing out each task as they accomplish it and then erasing the whole list once they are done!

Grab this free printable in my TpT Store!

Be sure to grab a pack of EXPO Dry Erase Markers with Ink Indicator markers on your next Target run! ;).  You can also grab them on Amazon and other places that sell EXPO markers as well!  Please note that I am partnering with EXPO and am compensated for my work. I received product free of charge, but all thoughts and opinions are 100% mine.

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Llama Classroom Theme

Guys.  Llamas are my new obsession.  I haven't gone completely overboard but I do want to have a lot of llama decor in my classroom!  We started the year with a couple llama back to school activities and I want to share them with you!

First up is my llama bulletin board!  This llama bulletin board is available in my TpT store and comes with these llama school quotes:

Llama quotes that are included:

-This class is a llama fun.-A llama learning happens here.-Learning is a llama fun.

All you do is pick your phrase, print the letters on colored paper, cut the letters out, and hang on your board!  I also included little llama clip art that you can open in a PPT and type on!

We did a llama back to school "get to know you" craft that is available in Fancy Free in 4th's store.  This little llama craft is SO CUTE.  The students filled out about 10 different questions about themselves and we attached them to the llama!

We hung the llama craft up on our bulletin board around my llama quote.  This board is in the hallway and it is my FAVORITE thing to greet me in the morning. 

 We started off teaching Growth Mindset by using these Llama Growth Mindset Task Cards.  We are explicitly teaching Growth Mindset in our classroom to set the expectations that we are to never give up and to constantly try and have a growing mindset. We can always learn from our mistakes and weakensses! Use these 16 llama themed task cards to give the students an opportunity to reflect on each scenario on how they would demonstrate a Growth Mindset. 

The students pick a card, and reflect on each scenario sharing how they can have a growth mindset (instead of a fixed one!).

LLAMA HAVE A GROWTH MINDSET!

So get ready, your are going to be seeing a lot of llama activities from me this year!

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Kindness Task Cards

Kindness is something that I explicitly teach I'm my classroom.  We start the year off learning what it means to be kind and setting my expectations of how to treat each other in our class.  

I created Kindness Task Cards after being inspired by some "not so kind" behavior I witnessed in my class last year.  There are 16 different scenarios that actually happened in my class last year, in which I wish my students would have demonstrated kindness.

The students pick a card, read the scenario, and then respond by how they could show kindness instead of being mean.  I have three different recording sheets for you, as well as an editable PPT for you or your students to make your own scenarios.

We completed this kindness activity during center time.  Each colored container contained a set of the kindness task cards.  The students took a box of card and a reflection packet to demonstrate how they would show kindness.  

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Three Activities to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills

This summer we have been working on strengthening our fine and gross motor skills using Lakeshore Learning's toys and activities.  Twisting, buckling, and zipping have been difficult for Harry, so I assumed lacing would be as well....NOPE!  He did extremely well at lacing the giant alphabet beads and was super proud each time he added a bead to his string.

Lakeshore and I have partnered together to review some of their fine motor products that are perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and even kindergarten students. Please note that I am a blog ambassador for Lakeshore Learning and I am compensated for my blog post, but all ideas are mine. :)

The colorful blocks are chunky enough for his little hands to grip it and string but they also were fun for him to scoop and dump.  We practiced lining them in a row and counting, and of course mommy strung his name on a string and we practiced saying the letters.

Our second activity were Harry's favorite, Snap-Bots.  Harry snapped the wooden blocks together to create a robot.  He loved pulling the pieces apart and snapping them together to create new creatures each time!  

One thing I like about the Snap-Bots is that to snap two pieces together they need to have opposite pieces, so to create a robot, not every piece fits together perfectly.  The kids have to rationalize and think outside of the box to flip, turn, and manipulate the pieces to successfully build a robot.  It takes a little extra planning and thinking.

I would highly recommend trying "My First Washable Markers"if your little one isn't successful at coloring yet.  I thought Harry wasn't interested in coloring, but come to find out, his interest isn't the issue it's just that he has difficulty grasping the marker.  When we tried these easy-grip markers he was SUPER excited and didn't want to stop coloring.  The round shape fits perfectly into his hands and he can grip it perfectly to scribble his little hear out!

I taped the paper down so it wouldn't slip all over the place until he learns to stabilize his paper with his other hand.  I ended up covering the table in paper because he was so excited confidently color he was wanting to cover every surface area with marker! ha!

Now through September 3, shop 20% off the entire Lakeshore Learning store to celebrate back to school! Find your nearest store here. The offer is valid in stores only.

To all you parents out there, be sure to download Lakeshore’s FREE Parent’s Guide to a Successful School Year.

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