GIVEAWAY at Comprehension Connections

Hi, everyone!!
Carla at Comprehension Connections is celebrating 300 followers on her blog with an awesome giveaway!! You can enter right here for a chance to win some great tools to get ready for the new school year :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Picture Book Linky Party: Character Education Books

Using picture books to talk about good character is a great way to teach these crucial skills, while still working on language arts. There are lots of awesome books out there, but last year, I found a new (to me!!) set that my kiddos loved!!

Howard B. Wigglebottom is a delightful character that your kiddos will love and emphasize with!! There is a whole series of books dealing with important issues, such as bullying, listening, telling the truth, good sportsmanship, and many others. The books are available on Amazon, plus there is a website with animated versions!! This became one of my favorite go-to websites when I need a few minutes of quiet!!

Click on the picture for the animated versions :)

 

Click on this picture to join the linky party :)

 

 

Beginning Sorts for Beginning Readers!!

I have been reading lots of posts in the Guided Reading Book Study Linky Party and I have gotten lots of great ideas!! I love the Finger Trace Alphabet Book offered by Kindergarten Lifestyle; I can't wait to add this tool to my early reading groups!!

After reading the posts, I tried to think of another idea that I use for my first reading groups... I thought about how important sorts are for beginning readers. Our brains look for patterns and sorts are a great way to help students see the patterns in letters and sounds.

This packet is a sampler of my Cut and Paste Word Work for kindergarteners; it begins with letter identification and some phonemic awareness, and then moves in phonics and word families. I hope you find these activities useful in your classroom :)

 

Thanks for looking and happy teaching :)

Word Work Wednesday Blog Hop :)

Hi, everyone!! I found a great "Word Work Wednesday" Blog Hop at Comprehension Connection. I linked my FREE Kindergarten Cut and Paste Word Work Sampler, and I see lots of great word work ideas.

Hop on over to check them out :)

Going on a Blog Hunt with Bloglovin'

Hi, everyone!! It is now July 2nd, one day after the end of Google Reader!! I dreaded this day wondering how I would find all of my favorite blogs:( But, I saw several posts about Bloglovin', so I decided to give it a chance.... and I LOVE it!! It is a great way to find new blogs and read all of your old favorites!! If you haven't taken the plunge yet, I definitely recommend giving Bloglovin' a try!!

Click here to follow me on Bloglovin'

Plus... if you sign up for Bloglovin', you can ALWAYS use new blogs to read, so hop on over to Corkboard Connections for a great linky party with some super elementary blogs.

Click on the picture to join the party!!

Picture Book Linky Party #2: Math Books

I LOVE using picture books in my classroom, especially when I can use a book for a topic in math, science, or social studies... so I am very excited to see all of the books that are mentioned in this linky party!!
1. My first math book features one of my FAVORITE characters: Pete the Cat!! Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons is a great way to introduce subtraction.

2. The Doorbell Rang is an old favorite that is a great way to introduce the idea of division, while also talking about sharing :)

3. I LOVE Mouse Count. This is a great book to practice counting and the kiddos always enjoying acting this one out!!

4. Ten Black Dots is a great counting book; it is also a great book to use as a springboard to an art/writing project where you give each child 10 black dots to make their own picture.

5. One more book with a fun art connection: The Shape of Things!! This is a great way to review shapes... then give your students a variety of shapes in lots of colors and see what they can make!! This is always a class favorite!!

These are just a few of my favorite math books.... I can't wait to read everyone's posts in the linky party and their comments.

I Can Emergent Reader :)

I am always looking for emergent reader little books to use in my classroom; it is so important to give readers books that they can read and it is hard to find books that are easy enough for the very first readers!! I hope you find this book useful for your classroom :)
Click here for this "I Can" little book.

   

 

If you like this booklet, you might enjoy my set of Emergent Readers posted on TpT... this set has 36 emergent reader little books, which a book a week for the school year!! Many of them are related to holidays or themes.

Thanks for looking and happy teaching :)

SALE- Celebrate Summer by Stocking Up :)

I know it is just the end of June, but I have also seen a lot of teachers who are already starting to plan for fall! Because of this, I decided to do a 3-day sale at my TpT store!! From Friday, June 28th through Sunday, June 30th, all items in my store will be 20% off. This would be a great time to clear out your wishlist!! I have added several money-saving bundles in the last couple of weeks, plus you will get an extra 20% off! Hop on over to my store to check out the savings!

Thanks for looking and happy teaching :)

Awesome Play-Doh Activities!!

So for the last several days, I have spent a lot of time looking for ideas on Pinterest, hopping from one blog to another, and watching my wishlist on TpT grow and grow!! A typical June day for a kindergarten teacher, right??? Anyway, today I came across a Pin that led me to Primary Possibilities. On this blog, I found awesome Play-doh activities to teach just about anything you can imagine!! My wishlist on TpT continues to grow :) Be sure to hop on over to Primary Possibilities to see all of the Play-Doh Possibilities!!

Just Add Clothespins!!

We are always looking for ways to increase student engagement and get feedback on student understanding, right??? Here is a super simple tool to enable each student to answer a question and show their answer to the teacher quickly. It is a VERY LOW-TECH version of a clicker system :) Each child is given a Multiple Choice Answer Card and a clothespin- in my kindergarten class, the kiddos call them a "clip strip". Then I ask multiple choice questions (I use PowerPoint slides to project the questions) and students show their answer by moving the clip to the correct answer. Students then hold the "clip strip" up in the air and I have a quick assessment of student understanding! My kiddos love them, and I love the information that this simple tool gives me :)
Click here to download your FREE copy from TpT.
OR
You can click here to download it from Google Docs :)
If you like this simple tool, I would love it if you would leave a comment, follow my blog, or follow my TpT store!

Thanks for stopping by and happy teaching!!

Picture Book Linky Party

I was jumping from one blog post to another tonight, when I found an awesome linky party!! It is about favorite picture books :) I can't wait to read everyone's list of books, although I know that means my shopping cart at Amazon will be filling up soon!!

There are soooo many great books for the beginning of the school year, but this year, my favorite (and my class's favorite) was definitely Pete the Cat!! If you have not discovered the Pete the Cat books, you have to!! And, there are new ones coming out, such as Pete the Cat: The Wheels on the Bus!

 

 

 

 

 

Please hop over to First Grade and Fabulous to link up!! I can't wait to hear more favorite books :)

Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM

This is a repeat of a favorite post from last summer :)

What kindergartener (and kindergarten teacher) doesn't LOVE Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Play Dough??

Here is a set of Counting Play Dough Mats with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom theme! Print , laminate, and add a couple of cans of play dough and you have a ready-to-go Math Station!! Students can roll small balls of play dough to fill in the correct area in the tens frame and practice counting; they could also roll the play dough to make the numerals.

Click on any picture to download this FREEBIE!!
Have fun and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom :)

Thanks for looking and happy teaching!!!

Learning Station Giveaway

I LOVE using songs and videos from the Learning Station in my classroom; my kiddos have enjoyed every one of them :) Some favorites are Boom Chicka Boom and Go Bananas... you definitely need to get on their YouTube channel and check out all of their super videos!! Here is the BIG news... The Learning Station is having a GIVEAWAY!! You can win 12 of their awesome CDs... follow the link for your chance to win!

Awesome Video Clips for Kindergarten #6

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Batman!! Who doesn't love that?? Vowel Bat by Shari Sloane uses that song to teach the short vowel sounds!! Your kiddos will love Vowel Bat and will learn their vowels and vowel sounds with Super hero speed!!

Click here for the video clip!! Share your favorite ideas for teaching short vowels below :)

Awesome Video Clips for Kindergarten #5

What kindergartener doesn't love a song from Greg and Steve?? All of their songs are great ways to engage kindergarten students... and when you add a video from Harry Kindergarten, you have a definite winner!! Number Rock is always a class favorite, and it is a great way to work on numbers through 20... get out the air guitars and have fun counting!!

Click here for the video :) Please share your favorite math videos in the comments; I can't wait to see them!!

Awesome Video Clips for Kindergarten #4

This clip was a favorite of my class this year!! It is a great way to get students active for a few minutes during the day. Of course, all kindergarteners love to "Go Bananas!"

Click here to go to the video on YouTube :) Please share some of your favorite video clips below!!

Common Core Math Cut and Paste Sampler

Here is a FREEBIE to help! I have been working on a Math Common Core Cut-and-Paste Practice Set... that bundle has 180 Common-Core aligned math cut-and-paste practice pages. I am posting a free sampler on TpT and here is the link! I hope you enjoy using these pages in your classroom :) Thanks for looking and happy teaching!!!

Awesome Video Clips for Kindergarten #3

All kindergarteners need to move, right??? This video is a great way to practice listening skills, while having a lot of fun moving and dancing. Your kiddos will LOVE it!!

Click here to see this awesome video!! Thanks for looking and happy teaching!!

Awesome Video Clips for Kindergarten #2

Here is another of my favorite video clips to use in kindergarten :) This clip is a great way to review/practice colors with your students at the beginning of the school year! My kiddos always love the Color Robot... I am sure yours will, too!

Click here to see the video clip! Thanks for looking and happy teaching :)

Awesome Video Clips for Kindergarten #1

I LOVE using short video clips in my classroom; with Youtube, a projector, and a screen in my classroom, it has become so much easier to use short clips to introduce, review, or excite students about our learning. I have found lots of great video clips, so throughout the summer, I am going to share one a day!! Here is Clip #1: This is a Classic Sesame Street clip- I even remember watching it as a child :) In this clip, the little girl is practicing her ABCs with Kermit the Frog, but several times in the video, she says "Cookie Monster" instead of the next letter. My kiddos ALWAYS love this video... in fact, at the end of the school year, when I ask the students about their favorite things in kindergarten, this video is always mentioned. So, enjoy!!

Click here for the video link :) Thanks for looking and happy teaching!!

Can You BELIEVE ....??

I can't believe that this school year has gone sooo quickly; we are down to our last 18 days of school!! It seems like we were just getting started with kindergarten screening and back-to-school night, and here we are nearing the end of another school year! I have neglected this blog sooo badly over the last few things, but I am going to try to get back on track :) Here is a FREEBIE to help! I have been working on a Math Common Core Cut-and-Paste Practice Set... that bundle has 180 Common-Core aligned math cut-and-paste practice pages. I am posting a free sampler on TpT and here is the link! I hope you enjoy using these pages in your classroom :) Thanks for looking and happy teaching!!!