An Award -- You Like me!!!

An award, --for me??  !!!

A big thank you to Chelsey at 

The Wild West

for offering this to me.

This award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favorite", and is given to a "new, up and coming blogger."

Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

I hope this is as exciting to these new bloggers as it was for me!

Great Scavenger hunt here

Kindergarten Love


Detailed plans for first day of kindergarten

Lanier's Lions


Whole Brain Teaching ideas

Blessings of Teaching


Emergency sub binders

The Meek Moose


Love the ""I Can" charts here!

Sample's Superstars

So many bloggers -- so many good ideas!!

Picture Books I Love!

The Teacher Wife is having a picture book linky party!

        I've already written 2 blogs this week, and I was going to take a break.  But then I ran across this picture book linky, and I had to jump in.  I love finding new picture books -- I always have a wishlist going on at Amazon and a wishlist for our school librarian.  I have already found more books to add to those lists tonight.

       Here are some of our favorites.

After I read "Press Here" -- ordered by the librarian from my list -- it NEVER got back on the shelf because one of my kids checked it out every day for the rest of the year.  No other class in the school ever got to see it!

Abiyoyo is another book that flew off the shelf all year.  It's not a new story, but the kids loved to hear it again and again.  It has a giant and magic tricks and a song to sing -- I always know it will be a favorite every year.

      I know others have mentioned the Pete the Cat books -- they are my absolute favorite new books and I have shared them a LOT.  I really like this one even more because of the opportunity to talk about the subtraction equations as Pete loses his buttons.

      I got this book years ago when I sold Discovery Toys.  My own children about wore it out, so I was excited to find a big book copy in my school a few years ago.  The illustrations are wonderful and I use this as a mentor text for teaching about details during our Writer's Workshop.

       The Big Green Monster book is another one that I discovered from a blog list, and I'm so glad I did. It's great for retelling, even  those who can't read the words can read the pictures and tell the story.

    Thanks to all the teachers who have shared their favorites -- my wishlist is growing again!

Daily 5/ Word Work

Click Here

  

I like to introduce "Word Work" after the children have built up a good bit of "Read to Self "stamina.  It's pretty exciting for them when I start pulling out Play Dough and puzzles and fun things like that, so we have to practice a LOT before I am willing to turn them loose with Play Dough and ink pads!

1. Experimenting with words for learning and practicing 

a spelling pattern (brainstorm a list of ways you can '

do this).

At the beginning of the year,  word work is often more like "Letter Work" as the children do activities like matching capitals and lower case, sorting letters by "In my name/not in my name" and tracing over letters.  Gradually we will start working on word lists, and using everything from play dough to white boards to stamps to spell out the first words.

2. Memorize high frequency words (How often do 

you introduce new words? Do your students have 

their own lists of words  that they can work on? 

How will you keep track of words that they 

already know?  

 During Daily 5 Word Work time, we continue to use a variety of ways to practice reading, writing, and spelling the words on differentiated lists. We use a lot of Heidisongs to practice the hf words, and also work on them in small groups with white boards and "Mix and Fix" -- I spell the word on a sentence strip, then cut it apart and mix it up for them to "fix."  I also make a word ring with about 6 - 8 of their own words for some of them to take home to learn. They love to play "Bang!" -- pulling a word on a stick from a can and trying to collect the most words without getting "Bang!"

But after a while, I start sending a list of 10 words home every night. Every morning my assistant checks anyone who is ready to read their list.  If they can say all 10 words, they get to have lunch with the teacher -- woo-hoo!  I have a centerpiece that I put on the table in the cafeteria, and they enjoy sitting with me and chatting while everyone else has to be quiet. I don't know why it was such a great incentive, but some kids learned over 300 words this year.

 I hope we will have access to the ESGI assessment this year -- that's another great way to quickly assess their words.

3. Generalize spelling patterns (brainstorm a list of 

ways you can  do this).

 We don't do this right away, but later in the year we will "look for the chunks." This is often a pocket chart activity, but I also have some foam dice to make words with. We also make charts of word families that I hang around the room during the second semester for "Writing the Room."  

4. Adding to our knowledge and curiosity of unique 

and interesting words. (What is the best way 

to do this?)

I'm always keeping my eyes open for new words to add to their vocabulary. I have monthly word charts for them to read and copy, and several picture dictionaries they can use. I keep a dictionary handy for looking up words in our stories.  When we find a good one, I write it on a sticky note and stick it above the board on the alphabet letter that it starts with. Last year, we  talked about the word "devour" and wrote it on a sticky note.  About a week later, a little red-headed boy said, "Teacher, I DEVOURED that ice cream!!  I was thrilled to know it was now part of his vocabulary.

Other things to think about:

·       What materials do I already have?

I   I have everything I need -- except some fresh play dough.  I plan to use letter stamps more this year -- but if they can't keep from getting ink everywhere, I'll have to put it away again!  I have letters to string, letters on bottle caps, magnetic letters, alphabet puzzles, Lego letters, flash cards, wikki sticks, pocket charts, and a ton of TPT stuff.

·       What materials would I like to get?

          I still have a lot of things on my TPT wishlist...

     

·       How will I store them?

    Some of my activities are in drawers, on shelves, and all within reach of the kids. But I have more in plastic envelopes that I'd like to find a better way to organize.

·       Where will students work?

Messy word work -- like play dough, water colors, and stamps/ink will have assigned spots at tables.  But most of the other activities can be done on the floor.

I takes a lot of modeling before I am ready to let some of the children do Word Work independently -- it's the part of Daily 5 that is most likely to cause problems.  But when they are finally able to choose an activity and follow all the procedures, it is amazing and wonderful -- and a lot more fun and effective than boring flash cards or writing words 5 times each!!

A Look at My (polka dotty) Classroom

It's a Linky Party

                                                  

All the themed classrooms I've seen on other blogs have inspired me to try a little change in my classroom this summer.  It first started with the book barn that my husband built for me last summer.

I liked the splash of red, so I looked for some red valances to replace the shabby old ones I've had for 8 years.  Here's what caught my eye on ebay.

Now I was on a roll.  I saw some polka dotted curtains covering shelves on Pinterest, so I made some to cover my toy shelf -- not only because it looks pretty, but it covers the distraction of toys.  That will help keep the little brothers and sisters from pulling them all out and making a mess at open house.

I found the red baskets at Dollar Tree, so sorted my special books by monthly theme and put them on top of the shelf. I need some labels -- and luckily I found some red polka dotty ones on TeachersPayTeachers, but haven't added them yet.
Then I found more red baskets at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar, so I decided to replace my mismatched library baskets

And a few more red baskets at Dollar Tree!

The middle basket has some little tiny composition books that I plan to use for math journals for the first month of school.
By now, every time I went in a store, I was looking for red/polka dots, and look what I found at Hobby Lobby!

While I was taking pictures, I thought I'd add some of my other favorite things, like my rug from Donor's Choose.

And the ice cube tray that holds my white board markers so the lids don't get lost...

And from Deanna Jump and The Cafe' Book and the Daily 5, here's my leftover bulletin board from last year.  I have new polka dotted border to add this year.

My math stations go here, but this is still a jumble from the end of the year -- it's my next project to work on.  I will try to have 10 - 12 stations when I figure out how to merge Investigations, Common Core, and Math Stations.

Another new addition is this big wall unit that I was lucky enough to get when our principal wanted to get it out of her office -- and I was the closest room that had space for it.  All my professional books finally have a home, and there's room in the bottom for all the extra math and literacy stuff.

Finally, here are two more places that I find help...

                                                              TeachersPayTeachers

and my wonderful assistant -- who is taking a much deserved vacation this summer!

Classroom Management Questions!

One of my co-workers asked me to answer some questions for an education class she is taking.  I thought my answers might be of interest to others -- I've learned a lot since I was taking education classes myself!

Do you use more of an authoritative approach or an authoritarian approach with your teaching? Give specific examples and details.

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As a beginning teacher many years ago, I had a big paddle and I knew how to use it!! But years of experience have showed me that the authoritarian approach is not helpful to the teacher or the students.  Instead I like the old saying "You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."  That may not be true with flies, but it sure is true with people -- particularly little people. I try to have a positive behavior and discipline system -- I switched to the clip chart method last year.  I love how it gives the children opportunities to "clip up" as well as "clip down." And when they do sit in time out , I remind them that the reason they have to sit there is so they can practice following the rule -- I never say "Because you are BAD!"  I do insist that they listen to me and follow the rules, but I hope they listen because I have something important to teach them. I try to encourage them and help them to want to become life-long learners.

Do you use intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation when you teach? Give specific examples?

One word -- Skittles!  Actually, I used to give Skittles and prize box rewards a LOT.  Now -- not so much.  In fact, the reward for getting to the top of the behavior chart is a pencil that says, "My teacher is so proud of me!" 
and the reward for mastering a list of sight words is -- LUNCH WITH THE TEACHER!  WOW!!
But I want them to work hard to learn to read because they will love to read -- not for a prize.  Last year, one of my kindergarten girls wrote "The best part of kindergarten is "Read to Self" because I am good at it'" I want the whole class to feel that way and not even think about getting a physical reward .I encourage so they will feel proud of themselves when I use their paper as an example of good work or let them write the Morning Message for the whole class.

How do you nurture classroom community? Do you use rituals, rites, routines, celebrations, conversation, or play? Give specific examples.

We start the year learning about "teamwork' and together we write the rules of the classroom.  I also teach them about how to be a 'bucket filler' -- and to look for ways to help fill someone's bucket..  We have lots of songs to sing together, like Jack Hartman's "Ready to Read" that we sing nearly every morning as we meet on the carpet. We celebrate birthdays and academic achievements .  At the end of the year, each child wrote a letter to each of their classmates and we bound the letters into a book for them to take home. It took about 6 weeks to write all the letters, but the kids were so proud to get all those letters on their day.

What do you see as your strengths with your classroom management? Give specific examples.

Probably my strongest point is that I am always looking for new ways to improve  -- most of my good ideas have come from books and blogs and collaboration with other teachers.
I've learned to model, model, model the behavior that I want from "The Daily 5."  I adopted the "clip chart" behavior plan from another teacher, then found out more from teacher blogs.  I got some great ideas from "Whole Brain Teaching" website, and the Nellie Edge newsletter has also been very helpful. But each class is different -- each child is different -- and I've learned that I also have to be flexible and even with my plan in place, sometimes I have to try a different approach.
I also keep a notebook and time-out record of behavior issues so I can talk to parents about specific problems and work on solutions.
 And, of course, I love my children and I think they respond to that with respect. 
 

What have been the biggest challenges with your classroom management? Give specific examples.

When I first started teaching kindergarten, I had more to learn than the children!  My home/school communication was not very good and my noise tolerance was pretty high.  I had come from a little Christian school where I NEVER had behavior problems and parents were very involved.  When I start teaching in a school with high poverty, it took me a while to realize that I was going to have to change my ways. These children have parents who are working long hours-- or not working at all --or in prison -- or homeless.  So I have to work harder at getting parents involved in their children's education -- while realizing that they may not have time or energy or skills to help.
The other challenge is just the "getting started" part -- taking children who have never had to sit down and listen, never used a pencil or scissors, never been away from mom -- and gently introduce them to school and a whole new world!!  I have to blend a class of little children from all kinds of experiences -- some with a wealth of background  experiences, ready to read -- and others who are extremely immature and sometimes neglected.  That can be a big challenge, but the rewards are great when it all comes together.

The Daily 5

   I've been using "The Daily 5" techniques for several years -- I don't know how I ever managed a classroom full of kindergarten kids without knowing all the tricks in this book.
1. Establish a gathering place for brain and body breaks.  

Our gathering place is on a wonderful rug that I got from Donor's Choose.  It is divided into 20 squares and was great for my class of 17 this year. Looks like we will have more than that this year, so not sure how that will work. Only problem was one kid who cried if he didn't get to sit on the blue square -- but since there were 5 blues, I could usually get someone to trade.

2. Developing the concept of "good fit" books.

 I've used the shoe example from the book for several years, explaining the importance of choosing books that fit you.  The kids think it is hilarious when I try to put on a child's shoe or one of my husband's boots.  I also have a high heel shoe to use when I talk about finding a book that interests you. I ask one of the boys, "Would you be interested in wearing this shoe?" After the groans and laughter die down, I explain about choosing a book that interests you. This year I plan to add the Goldilocks story about Good Fit books, too.

3. Create anchor charts with students.

Just like we talk together to establish the rules of the classroom, we also talk together to create an anchor chart.  After the procedures are written down -- start right away, read the whole time, etc.--

 I usually make a poster with photographs of the children demonstrating the correct way to work on building stamina -- and ignoring me as I walk around taking pictures.  Sometimes I get a picture to demonstrate the WRONG way -- like one  I caught sleeping!

4. Short, repeated intervals of independent practice and setting up book boxes

I have several versions of the stamina chart and we like to chart the time that everyone is following all the procedures. And sometimes we only make it for 2 minutes at first, but gradually the time increases and before long these little 5 year olds are "reading" for 20 minutes!! Amazing!!  
I have about 6 big laundry baskets that I scatter around the room for readers to sit in,  It helps them choose a good place to read -- especially the ones who have a hard time with the "Stay in one Spot" rule.

 What will you use for book boxes?

I got these plastic totes from Dollar Tree and have used them for three years -- haven't had to replace a single one.  They hold lots and don't tip easily -- I just put a new name sticker on every year.


What are you going to put in those book boxes on the 1st day of school?

Probably won't fill the boxes until I've had a day or 2 to get to know the children.  Their first basket will have an ABC book, a number book, a "Ranger Rick" magazine, a familiar fairy tale or Disney book (for retelling) and a folder with page protectors containing the Letterland ABC chart, a short list of sight words, and a page with pictures and names of all their classmates.  I don't actually talk about Good Fit books until they are ready to choose their own books.

5. Calm Signals and check in procedures (Do you already have a signal? How will you handle check ins?)

I have wind chimes hanging from the ceiling -- the sound of the chimes means put your basket away and come to the carpet. But sometimes I'll say, "Leave your basket where it is and come to the carpet so we can talk about how you are doing, then we will try again."  I also like the Whole Brain "CLASS?"  "Yes!" because I don't have to get up and walk to the chimes -- it's a great way to get their attention. They know they are all supposed to answer and look at the teacher.

 I have a pocket chart with names/pictures of all the children and cards with the 5 choices plus "Work with Teacher." They can see at a glance what their schedule is for the morning.  I try to let them have choices later in the year, but honestly, I usually choose for them most of the time.  And sometimes I just say "Stop and switch" and they go directly to the next activity without a check in after they have been in school for a while.



6. Using the correct model/incorrect model approach for demonstrating appropriate behaviors. 

MODEL, MODEL, MODEL!! We practice following the  procedures a LOT during the first month or so. I always give the wiggly ones a chance to demonstrate the correct way to get the basket, find a good place, start right away -- so we all know they can really do it.  Sometimes I have to demonstrate the incorrect way to do it because they have trouble doing the wrong thing at first. As I am doing it all wrong, they are shouting, "No, NO!"

I am so thankful that I found the Daily 5 book -- and love all the teacher/bloggers who share!!

The Best Teechr Ever

     Well, school's out and although I am thankful for my days off -- 53 days, to be exact -- I hated to say goodbye to this sweet class. One of my favorite things to do is read journals. In the last month or two of school when they are really learning how to write,  you never know what you will get.  I love how this one sounded out the word "elementary" -- l-u-min-tre. And I am proud to be "the best teechr ever." But when I get one whose favorite thing  is NOT recess, but reading -- "because I am good at it"-- well, that just makes me do the dance of joy!!  That's my goal -- to see a whole class of boys and girls who love reading because they are good at it!.

     I brought my Kindle to school -- I found some free downloads of early reader books about ocean animals and let this little boy try it out.  From that day on, he asked every day to read more stories. And when we wrote about "The Best Thing About Kindergarten"  -- he said, "The best thing about kindergarten is the Kindle."  When we had a rainy day with recess in the classroom, he and 2 other boys spent nearly the whole playtime gathered around the Kindle, reading about jellyfish and sharks.
What a wonderful tool to get kids reading!  I wish I had a whole stack of them!
     It is an amazing and wonderful thing to be able to teach children to read and write.  They come to me like a blank slate -- and I cram as much learning into their little minds as I can from August to May -- and VOILA! This magic happens and a whole new world is open to them. Teaching kindergarten is the BEST JOB EVER!  (I will read this again when I get another roomful of blank slates in August and try to remember the June feeling as I am pulling my hair out during the first month of school!)
  
 

Letterland Day at Tweetsie Railroad

   This was an exciting day in kindergarten!! We went to Tweetsie Railroad in the NC mountains for Letterland Day.  Letterland is a wonderful multisensory phonics program that we have been using at Valmead for several years to teach our children to read, write, and spell. It was first written in England by Lyn Wendon nearly 40 years ago, but I started using it 7 years ago.  Since then, it has been adopted by my whole county and we have seen excellent results. So today when I got to see Mrs. Wendon -- and she recognized me -- it was like seeing a rock star!  Because our school was one of the "pioneers" of Letterland in our area, she and her son came to visit and take pictures a few years ago -- there are even some pictures of my students in the teacher's manual.  But today, when she kindly told me that my enthusiasm played a part in the success of the program -- well, I was floating for the rest of the day! It really had nothing to do with me -- I was just responding naturally to a program that I loved! But it sure made my day!

As for the rest of the day -- we all had a great time -- the weather was perfect -- and one said, "This was the best day ever!!" The kids were so excited to see the Letterland characters they knew so well -- running up to hug complete strangers because they were dressed like a letter of the alphabet.  It was a laughing out loud kind of day -- and I am thankful to everyone who helped the children have so much fun celebrating their accomplishments in reading. I love my job!!

Pete the Cat and his Buttons

 

  Our new "Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons" book came this week, and it is a hit!!  Every free moment today found a kid -- or group of kids -- reading about Pete and his groovy buttons. Too bad it's not on the reading assessment -- they would get a great fluency score!!And what a great way to incorporate some math into literature!  I love to introduce new books they will  read again and again.

The other new one last month was "Go Away Big Green Monster" and it's another favorite.  I learned of both books when they were mentioned in a teaching blog -- I am so grateful that I discovered  the blogging world last summer!

(I also found out about the Green Monster smoothie on a blog -- and I've had one about every morning  since then.)

Kindergarten Screening

   I always enjoy kindergarten screening -- well, as least some parts of it.  Yesterday was the day -- we had 44 pre-schoolers coming to give us a glimpse of next year's class.  The library was decorated with stars and balloons and the hall was full of parents and little kids, waiting  for their turn.  My job was to check their knowledge of letters and sounds and to ask a few questions to check thinking skills.  It is amazing to see the difference in kids, even by the age of 4 or 5, -- there can be a big gap that teachers will start trying to bridge next fall.  I always ask them to sing the ABC song, and I'll sing the first part to get them started if they need help.  Some very confidently sang the whole thing while there were a few who gave a blank stare at my request. Two stood out this time.

 One little boy sang:
"A-B-C-D-E-F-G,
How I wonder what you are."

Another sang --( I asked twice so I could write it down) --
A-B-C-D-E-F-D
 H-I way K-L-M-N-B
Do R-X  Y and C"
She said, "My mommy learned me how to sing it!"

I also had to ask them about what they would do if they broke something that belonged to someone else.  Here are some of the answers:
"Say Sorry"
"Get a butt whuppin'"
"Fix it with tape"
"Buy a new one"
"Hide it so he won't see it"

Other unsolicited information I got:
"My sister poops in the bathtub"
"I have money in my pocket to get chewing gum"
"Mama says NO when I ask her to read to me.  She is always sick and goes to sleep."

There were still many children who could not write even the first letter of their name, didn't recognize a single letter of the alphabet, never cut with a pair of scissors.  I hope their parents act on our recommendations and get out the pencils and scissors and story books this summer. They don't seem to realize that part of the class will be learning to read books and write stories while the rest will still be learning to hold a pencil, write their name, and learn what A-B-C means.  I will love and teach them all, but I wish all of them could be ready to learn when they step in my door. Looks like we will have a full house next year, and plenty of work to do!!

Another kid-written morning message

I love to see what my kids write for the morning message.  At this point in the year, I am surrounded every morning by several kids asking to write the morning message. Here's the translation for this one:
"Dear boys and girls,
This is Thursday.You will go to gym.  We will go outside but it depends on the weather.We will read about a leprechaun.
Love,
Nation Roberts"
When you consider that most couldn't even write their names a few short months ago, this is pretty amazing. And I love seeing them excited about writing. I love my job, especially in the spring!!

Penguins!!

One of my favorite topics in kindergarten is the penguin study.  Today, on Easter Sunday, this beautiful video was posted on Dr. Jean's blog.  Although we have already finished our penguins unit, I'm adding this to my blog so I can find it again next winter!! As Dr. Jean said, it will make your heart sing!!

My Dog is as Smelly as Dirty Socks

Last week I read this book to my class to teach them about writing similes -- using figurative language to make their stories more interesting.  Here are some of the results:

"My  bid (brother) is as snecke (sneaky) as a snayck (snake.)

"My dad is shrong (strong) as a ox.  He can pick up anything."

My sister is funny as a munce" (monkey.)

"My sister is lud (loud) as a lien (lion).  But we don't cell (care) we put her in tamat" (time out).

"Memu (her grandma) is sweet as the Lorax.  And a cotin (cotton) ball soft as a lamb"

"My dad is schong (strong) as a achinfiger (action figure).My mom is as sweet as a coockiey. (cookie)

and my favorite:

"My mom is as hot as fire."