Guest Blogger and Friend HoJo -- with FREEBIES!

Hey all! It's Heather - better known as HoJo - from HoJo's Teaching Adventures. Michelle has been a bit preoccupied lately with all things school (you can relate to that, right?) so I decided to step in for her.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet, but I want to share some amazing freebies with you! I currently have 58 products for Kindergarten in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, and 19 of them are FREE! I'm going to highlight a few of my favorites below. =)

Just click on any of the pictures below to get your free copy directly from TpT!

This product is one I created so student recognize a variety of fonts. It's perfect for centers, independent worksheets, and even for homeschooling parents!

This product with ask your Kindergarten students to differentiate between short and long A. They will cut the pictures apart and glue them into the correct column. This was a favorite of my Kindergarten students. {Heck - anything involving glue was!}

This activity was one my students used all year in centers. They had to cut and paste {I told you they loved glue!} the letters into the correct circles. Each circle ends up with the same amount of letters, so they're really easy for students to understand and to grade!

This is one of my Magic Square puzzles. Students match the correct short A word to the picture. The words around the outside are other short A words, but there are no pictures to match. These are great for gifted students or those who are ready for more of a challenge. 

If your students struggle with estimation, this is the packet for you! These six pictures allow you to have your students practice estimating the area or perimeter of each shape. They print great in color so you can laminate them and use them in centers for several weeks!

And finally here's another Magic Square product. This one has students match the lowercase letters with their uppercase partners. Again these are particularly good for your higher students.

There you have it folks! A few of my favorite freebies all located in one place! I'd love to hear what you think of them either below in the comments below in the feedback section on TpT.

Take care!

~HoJo~

100th Day has come and gone!

Our 100th day was last week.

We sorted beads (10 groups of 10 of different colors) and made 100 day necklaces.

We made 100 day masks and played "Race to 100" game.

We worked in our Zero the Hero books and he brought us a 100 day treat.

We also went to the computer lab and created 100 day art using a game found at ABCya.

We had a few more activities planned but ended up having a 2 hour late start because of the weather (which I can't complain about at all. . .who wouldn't love to sleep in 2 extra hours!!)

To check out lasts year's 100th day post click HERE

Numbers 11-20 (They are sooooo ready for this!)

After a LOT of number sense activities on numbers 0-10 my class is sooooo ready to move on to bigger numbers!  (To see some of our 0-10 activities click HERE.)

Now all our hard work has paid off and this next step has been easy breezy!

We start by singing this song at the beginning of each math lesson:

   

Then we practice writing, decomposing and find the number with this page:

Then the next day we sing the song again and then we do a circle map and practice writing the number again with this page:

Then we go to our math buckets and practice counting bigger numbers using our manipulatives and tens frames!
They are EXTREMELY independent with this!  All our number sense work has really paid off!

If you're interested in these pages they are on TPT for only $3.00!

Handwriting Practice (A fun way to practice)

Need a new way to practice writing the alphabet?  My class loves to practice while they sing! 

I laminated a practice (tracing) page for each kid.  They use dry erase marker to trace the letters while they sing.  We use old cheap gloves for erasers. (I confiscate the cheap gloves from lost and found at the end of each year.)

Once they get used to the activity I take away the tracer sheets and they write the letters on their small wipe boards.  

It's a fun way to practice (the kids LOVE it) and it saves me from having to print the sheets over and over and over.

I play a song on the smartboard and they sing while they write.  Here's the song we use:

You can get free printables of  the alphabet lots of places on the internet.  

Here's one that's free:  http://www.studenthandouts.com/01-Web-Pages/Lot-01/Printable-ABCs-Alphabet-Print-Practice-Writing-Sheet.pdf

Returning from the brink, Things that work... and a couple of FREEBIES :)

I am so happy to be part of this New Year's Linky! Happy New Year Peeps! I am Maggie from Maggie's Kinder Corner.  I have been teaching for 25 years, and most of the years have been with kindergarten--my absolute favorite age of little people! If you want to know more about me, follow my blog button to my blog and read more!

I have been contemplating things that really work for me and my students, so here is tip #1:

After having had the flu for going on two weeks, I have been contemplating how I will "battle the bug" in my classroom when we return to school on Friday.  What I have been doing seems to work very well, and that is:
Wipe each table with a Clorox wipe every day!

Keep a box of tissues and a trashcan at each table.  ONLY throw paper trash into the little trash cans! All tissues should go to the main trash can away from students.  By having little trash cans at tables, we avoid having to be near the germy trash can every time we have trash to throw away.

Spray down the interior of the little cans each day!
Sneeze into a sleeve!!!
DO NOT come to school with fever (a person with fever can infect everyone)

I can still say that I have not missed one day due to illness all year, though I really hated having those sick days during my entire Christmas break!

Another thing I do is drink lots of hot liquids, and never drink from a public fountain.  Sorry kiddos, but that is where a lot of germies are living!

Am hoping and praying that 2013 will be a healthy year for my entire class!

Tip #2:  Get those kiddos labelin! My class is really into labeling everything, and you can see the positive impact it has when you consider their writing, or when you hear them identify a word in a trade book they have seen during a previous labeling activity.  More power to the labelers of the world!!! Just click on the pic to grab it!

Tip #3:  Get them into math journaling! The added practice reaps nothing but great results! A definite KEEPER for me are the Common Core Aligned Math Journals that I created two summers ago.  They continue to be a top seller in my TpT store because they are simple, use minimal printer ink, and provide generic prompts that kids can make their own by drawing what they choose.  I allow my students to do up to three pages a day in their journals (which are stapled and kept in their chair pockets in folders).  We also have a bag of manipulatives in our chair pockets for use with our ten frames in the journals.  I can't wait to return to school and get my kids back to journaling! If you want to see an example of this journal, click on the picture below for a sampler, or follow the link to my TpT Store for the entire bundle. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-Journals-Bundle-for-K-1st-Grade-Common-Core-Prompts-No-CutPaste

Tip #4:  Bucket Seats are my absolute favorite new thing this year! For about 25.00, I was able to purchase five buckets from Home Depot, paint them, add embellishments, make easy to clean and disinfect seats for the lids, and add some terrific seating and storage to my classroom! Check out this top blog article from earlier this year.  Next year's new addition will be "Spots".  Discs that can velcro to the carpet for stepping stones, seating arrangements, and many other things.  I plan to use the round disc as on the top of my bucket seats for the discs, and I plan to construct them the same way, but will add velcro hooks to the bottom so they will stay in place on our carpet.  I love do-it-yourself projects, especially cheap ones! The best thing about them is how easy to clean they are--no fabric to wash! http://maggieskindercorner.blogspot.com/2012/07/just-in-case-you-crafty-teachers-missed.html


For more inspiration, be sure to follow this linky to the next terrific blog post! You won't be disappointed! And a huge thanks to Michelle at Inspired By Kindergarten for having me as a guest blogger! Be sure to tell her what you think, and by all means, check out her TpT Store!

Have a great day!
Maggie :)

Heading back soon and a blog hop!

Done with 2 days of inservice. . . one more to go and the kids come back to school on Monday.  Ready or not here they come! 

I haven't been blogging as much as I should have but I've needed a little time to regroup, regenerate and to be honest- hibernate and recharge!

Saturday there is a fun blog hop planned and I will be over at Krazy in Love with Kindergarten guest blogging.  My guest blogger will be Maggie from Maggie's Kinder Corner and she sent me a fabulous post I will be sharing with you on Saturday.  Make sure and stop back and check out all the great ideas!  There are 60 blogs involved and I'm sure the posts will be fabulous! 

Thanks so  much to the gals from Primary Possibilities for organizing this hop!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

December Rewind: How to Accept a Gift

This is a rewind of a post I did last December (2011).  It is one of my favorite lessons to teach this time of year.

  How to Accept a Gift.   

I first saw a version of this lesson taught by an awesome counselor a few years ago and have since modified it (a little) to work with my teaching style.  Here it is:

1.  I open a previously wrapped present in front of my class (I wrap up an ugly sock).  I tear the wrapping paper off without looking to see who it's from, I say mean things about it once it's open and then I go throw it away.  Reactions to this are priceless...some stare at me in shock and some laugh like crazy...that alone will tell you a lot. 

2.  Next comes the discussion.  I ask the kids, "What do you think was wrong with the way Mrs. Rist opened that package?"   Hopefully I will get a few clever kids who come up with the words "rude" and "mean."

3.  Then I open another previously wrapped package (it's the other ugly sock).  This time I model the "correct" way by using the High Five Rules:

 #1 Check to see who it's from (I say it's from one of my students and ask them to play along.)

#2 Show gratitude  (Thank you SO much for buying me a gift.  It was so kind of you to think of me!)
  #3 Open it nicely!

#4 Say thank you and mean it!  (I model again a "thank you" that looks like I mean it and a "thank you" that looks like I'm just saying it because I have to!)

  #5 Tell the person why you like it or how you will use it. (I think up all the fun ways I can use 1 sock: puppet, dusting mitt, etc.)

 4.  After my demonstration I will let a few kids try it also (I put random things into a Christmas bag b/c I just don't have time to wrap 24 fake presents!)  I'll use paperclips, scraps of paper, a single pencil, etc. and the kids have to use the "High Five" method to accept the present.

5.  Then we each get a "High Five" paper to color and take home so Moms and Dads can help their child practice.

6.  Each day I'll pick a few more kids to model for us so we keep it fresh in our minds right up to Christmas.

7.  If any of my kids bring me a Christmas  present I make sure I do all 5 steps b/c they will watch and check!  We also exchange coloring books at our Christmas party and we walk through the 5 steps when opening our presents.

That's it.  Hope you find it useful.  The handout is not cute but it gets the job done!  Click on the picture if you'd like a copy.

Priceless

The horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary has every teacher and parent around the word heartbroken and silent in their grief.

Explaining the events to my own children was, to say the least, heart wrenching.

I struggled with whether or not I should tell them but they saw me crying constantly so how could I not?

My first grader took it as most 6 year olds would   asking the question, "Do bad people like that live here too?"  My husband answered best (because I was too choked up to) and said, "Good and bad people live everywhere but the good out number the bad."

My fourth grader covered her ears.  Too much to take in for a 9 year old.  We kept the conversation simple and said that someone had gone in to a school to hurt kids and that some did not make it.  She wanted to know if he'd been arrested.  She covered her ears when we told her he'd killed himself.  Grief and horror, even for him.

They both wanted to know if the school did lockdown drills like ours does.  I was finally able to talk and told her yes and the lockdown saved hundreds of little lives.  

It makes me sad to live in a world where we have to train our teachers to hide the children and to train our children to hide.

It makes me angry that funding for education is a low priority and bonus pay is dangled in our faces.  

Sadness and anger aside, I am proud to be a teacher.  When my husband said the good out number the bad he was right.  In that building 100% of the staff protected and cherished those children, some at the cost of their own lives.

I know my coworkers would do the same.  Without hesitation, without regret.  We are not motivated by bonus pay or summers off but something much more priceless. . . the children.

Thank you Erica Bohrer for sharing this with all of us!

Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Pete loves Christmas

The kids listened to Pete the Cat Saves Christmas and they have been singing the song all week!  It is catchy!  If you haven't listened to author's sing it click here.  

Big Pete and all his little buddies are hanging out in our hallway.

Sorry. . . I don't have a pattern for project.  I just give them rectangles (1 half sheet of blue for face, 2 small blue for paws and 2 small yellow for eyes) and they "get rid of all the sharp pieces" and make ovals.  They are TLC  art experts so this is a piece of cake for them!  The Santa hat was a pattern from an old project that fit perfectly.

I do have the writing page to share (and a few other pages like the one below) you can get by clicking HERE.

Enjoy!

  

December This and That

Countdown Chains:

Might as well count it down. . . all they can think about is CHRISTMAS!

Trying to get SOMETHING academic in:

Notice how many of things we "know" about reindeer has to do with CHRISTMAS!

After a week of explaining that wild reindeer are different than Santa's reindeer we finally understand the difference (I think):

CHRISTMAS!

Wish I could take credit for these cuties.  I just draw them how my coworker Jill tells me to!

And still trying to get something academic in:

I got the shape posters FREE from the blog Guided Math.  Lots of great math stuff!  Check it out HERE!

More updates soon. . . if I survive CHRISTMAS!