Dr. Seuss Freebie (to accompany posters freebie from yesterday)

Yesterday I created some fun Dr. Seuss quote posters but wasn't sure what to do with them.  So my ah ha moment came today.  I created the page above to use with the posters.  I'm going to put the posters in protected sleeves and use them as a sight word search.  Everytime they find the sight word in one of the quotes they make a tally mark next to the word.  I jumped ahead a little on my word work packs (haven't even done February yet) but these Dr. Seuss graphics were so cute I couldn't help it! 

Thinking About Theodore....a Little Dr. Seuss on my Mind

I bought these adorable Dr. Seuss cliparts from Scrappindoodles with the intent to create some Feb/March word work.  Instead I started fiddling around with some of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes.  There are so many I love!  I made these with absolutely no purpose in mind....maybe I'll think of something....maybe I won't.  Either way, it was a nice theraputic afternoon of vegging and laundry.  Guess I'll have to work on word work another day!  : )  

SO SORRY EVERYONE...but Scrappindoodles was asked to stop selling their Dr. Seuss clipart because of copyright infringement.  Scrappin Doodles was also told to tell anyone who purchased the graphics to stop selling and/or giving away any products that contain the clipart.  I am a HUGE rule follower plus I adore Scrappin Doodles clipart and do not want to get them in any more trouble! So, sadly I removed the poster.  : (


Thanks for understanding!

100th Day....8 days away! (Freebie Alert!)

Our 100th day is getting close so I looked through my 100th day file today to decide what to bring to planning tomorrow with my wonderful co-workers!  Here's run down of what I "usually" do:

*Hundred day necklace:  I have them sort beads by color into groups of 10 and then put them on a string in those groups (good visual for 10 groups of 10= 100)
*Hundred Gallon hat:  Looks like a cowboy hat but it's divided into 10 sections.  The kids draw 10 things in each section (anything they want).  Another visual for 10 groups of 10= 100
*Writing:  If I had $100 I would.....
*100 Day Art:  This is the freebie (click on pic above for download).  Check it out...it's a lot of fun!

Last year I took them to the gym and we did 100 jumping jacks, tried to spin a hoola hoop 100 times (HILARIOUS!), and tried to keep 100 balloons in the air for 100 seconds.  Wore them out....loved it!

Transitions

This time of year my kiddos get "tired" of the same old classroom managment attention getters and transitional poems, etc that we've been using all year.  The first few months of school when I said "Spring a leak!"  I'd have a classroom full of kindergarteners sounding like leaking tires "SSHHH......"  They were so loud and proud that they knew how to get the class quiet quickly.  Now, it's a sad little leak I hear "sshh..."   It was new, it was fun, and now they're done!  


At the same time they need these oldies but goodies they learned on days 1-10 to keep things simple and consistent.  The poster above shows 3 of my consistent transition songs/poems that I could not get through my week without.  Click on the pic for a printable version.  


Another one of  my favorite quick chants for getting kids quiet for the hallway is: 

Big old ________ round and fat. 

(put arms in big circle to mimic a fat belly)

Ready for the hall, just like that.

 (We clap our hands on the words "just like" and then slap our hands on our legs for the word "that.")

The blank part above changes every month (you could use anything but here's what I use):

Sept/Aug:  apple

Oct:   pumpkin

Nov.  turkey

Dec.:  santa or snowman

Jan.:  snowman or penguin

Feb.:  heart or valentine

March:  leprechaun

April:   rain cloud

May:   We usually learn about the planets this month so I use a different planet name each time.

If you have any favorite transional songs or poems, get quiet quickly chants, or a management technique you could not get through your week without I would love to hear them!!  I am probably more ready for "new" than they are!!  : )

New Car and a FREEBIE to Celebrate!

My wonderful husband surprised me this week with a late Christmas present (complete with payments! ha ha!)  Isn't it cute??  It's my first brand new car EVER and I am so excited!  It put me in the mood for a "groovy" themed freebie.  Click on pic above to get a Peace themed Read the Room activity.

It was a long day...complete with 1 very upset kicking and screaming kindergartener.  This was THE perfect way to end my day!  Plus, tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!!  : )

This Says It All.....

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered.

Forgive Them Anyway

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motive.

Be Kind Anyway

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.

Be Successful Anyway

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.

Be Honest and Frank Anyway

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.

Build Anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.

Be Happy Anyway

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.

Be Good Anyway

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.

Give the World the Best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God!

It was never between you and them…Anyway!

My mother-in-law shared this with me recently and I love it.  No idea who the author is so if anyone knows please let me know!

Thank you Janine (see comment) for letting me know the author of this fabulous quote is Mother Theresa.   Makes the quote even more inspirational!

Report Card Procrastination

Should be working on report cards.  Don't want to.

Soooo...instead I am writing sight words on feet.  We walk the feet and say the words as we walk.  Helps promote fluency of the words as the kids do NOT want to have to stop.  I put a few velcro pieces on the back (2-3 pieces depending on the size of your feet...hee hee.) Of course make sure you use the scratchy velcro not the fluffy velcro. I love kindergarten teachers because you know exactly what I mean when I say that!  My husband would crinkle his nose and me and look perplexed. 

I used to tape these to the floor but they still slipped and the "Cleaning Powers that Be" said "no, no."  

I also used to have some fun slippers I let the kids put on while they did this activity but I have a new "issue" with stinky feet smell.  Ugh!  So, no more slippers.

Ok, sigh, back to report cards.

b and d Confusion

Don't have a whole lot to share tonight (pic above is from Really Good Stuff....in case you haen't seen it, it is a poster they sell.)  Back to school tomorrow so that's on my mind.  A little denial going on actually.   Here's a quick feebie...nothing hard to make but thought I'd share.  I love it when I see my kinders put their thumbs up to "make their beds" and check their b's and d's.

You can use this worksheet in lots of ways.  Pick which letter you want your students to find and have them use daubers to mark them,  fun markers to circle them, trace under the letters until you find the letter and then loop the letter without picking up your pencil (anyone remember that from VOWAC?s  It's good way to practice visual tracking), use see through colored chips to cover the letter, etc.

That's it for tonight.  Back to work tomorrow..... sob yeah.

Breaking the Rules for a Good Reason!

I know, I know, I know....I already posted once today but I just got so excited when I saw that Mrs. Egley From Mrs. Egley's Kindergarten nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award.  Thank you!   What a nice way to start the New Year!

So, the rules of the award are:
1.  Thank the person who nominated you with a link back to them.
2. Tell 7 things about yourself (see below)
3. Pass this on to 15 newly discovered blogs and let them know they've received an award!  (Well that part was easy because I am really new at this so every blog I follow is "newly discovered" to me!)

Here are my 15 nominations (it was hard to only pick 15!)

Kinder Kiddo

Live, Love, Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten

Busy Bees

Growing Kinders

Kindergarten Korner

Mrs. Bremer's Kindergarten

Really Roper

Heather's Heart

Crayons and Curls

Lil' Country Kindergarten

Ms. Kerri and her Krazy Kindergarten

Mrs. Greene's Kindergarten Korner

I Heart Crafty Things

Sea Bear's Kindergarten

Tales of an Elementary Teacher

7 Things about me (this is the hard part....I like to share my teaching stuff but sharing about myself is weird for me....who would want to know about little old me??  But I am a rule follower so here I go...)
1.  Only 2 of my friends know I blog...not sure why I don't share that...maybe it's because it would be sharing part of me and, again, that's hard for me!
2.  I like Sci Fi (not Horror) but things like Ghost Whisperer and Once Upon a Time (I think it's a reality break for me)
3.  I teach Faith Formation (Sunday School) classes for kindergarten at my church
4.  I love, love, love to read (again...reality break)
5.  I started dating my hubby in high school.  He's my one and only!
6.  I have 2 beautiful daughters who like to fight and are becoming drama queens (will I survive the teenage years?  They are only 5 & 8!!)
7.  I wish I was more organized! 

Sale and a fun idea!

I found this FUN idea on pinterest where someone took a collage frame, some adorable craft paper and made a message board for their house (theirs was labeled Sunday, Monday, etc.)  They used dry erase makers to write things to do each day, etc.  So of course my mind starts thinking...how can I use that in my classroom?  The one in the pic above I made for my  Holly Bloggy partner Rachelle from What the Teacher Wants.  I had 3 "thoughts" about how to use it in a classroom: 

1. Helper chart (like above) so that you can write the student's name on each frame and then quickly erase and change.  I used pics of her classroom and pics that corrsponded with the "job" b/c our little ones are so visual.    (click here and here and here to see these.)

2. Listing classroom rules (click here and here to see)

3. Word Work Choices (click here and here to see)

Rachelle has a food themed classroom which I why I used the food backgrounds for hers.

(Sorry about the 2 files for each but I had to save these each in 2 files b/c some where landscape and some were portrait.)

I couldn't decide which one to make for Rachelle so I made her cards for all 3 ideas but only took a pic of it as a helper chart.   Now I'm working on making one for myself (although that's not as much fun as making for others.)  Anyone have any other ideas on how to use this idea in a classroom? 

Oh yeah...and I'm having a sale at my TPT store!  20% off until January 4th! 

Happy New Year Everyone!

January Word Work Freebie

I enjoy this time of year in kindergarten because (most) of the kids are ready to move beyond basic alphabetic principals and really work with words.  Everything grows in the next 3 months:  writing, spelling, reading, sentence building...and on and on.  Now is the time of year the kids are more independent and are excited for some new/harder work,  Love it! 

As I'm sitting watching Kung Fu Panda 2 with my kids and it is FINALLY snowing outside I decided to finish my January Word Work pack and put it on TPT.  I probably won't print my own out until I go back to school on Tuesday but thought I'd put it in my store early.  (I had planned to try and go into work for at least a few hours...but it's just so nice being at home! I will suffer slightly for that as I have no specials on Tuesday and my January calendar is not ready.  Oh well!)

Anyhoooo......Click the picture above for a free mitten/glove making words activity and click here to see my January Word Work packet on TPT.

Let it snow...let it snow....let it snow!!!!!!

Thistlegirl Freebie

I am so excited!  Thistlegirl had a 50% off coupon so I used a little of my Christmas money and bought myself a reseller's license!  I can't share my DJ Inkers creations but now I can share my Thistlegirl creations! Click on the image above to get my first Thistlegirl freebie!

DJ Inkers Freebies

Tammy from Live, Love, Laugh Everday in Kindergarten posted today about a copyright issue with DJ Inkers and freebies.  I did not know we couldn't share DJ inkers projects.  I knew we couldn't sell them but didn't know we couldn't share them.  So sad.  A few of my freebies will have to come off.  So sorry.  DJ Inkers is missing out on a great market.  Love their stuff but won't be purchasing more if it means I can't share!

A few things I had to remove because they contained DJ inkers clipart and/or fonts:
ABC Posters
Thanksgiving Bracelet
ABC Writing and Drawing
SANTA

I will try to redo these projects without DJ inkers but it might be awhile before I get them replaced.  Ugh.

Flip Flap Resolutions

Anyone love Flip Flap books as much as I do?  They can be use for absolutely anything!  Here's one I used to do with my first graders.  They would write a New Year's resolution under every flap.  I might try it this year with my kindergarteners....if I can explain the word "resolution."  Hhmm....maybe I'll try it next year....

If you haven't made Flip Flap books yet here are the directions:
Fold on the solid line.
Unfold and cut the dotted lines until the reach the fold (stop at the fold!)
Fold again and your book will flip and flap! Lift up the flaps to write your resolutions.

Live, Laugh, Love Everyday in Kindergarten is hosting a linky party about New Year's Resolutions.  Here are mine:

Personal:  Spend more time with my family.

Professional:  Organize!!!

Blogging/TPT:  Increase sharing and thanking others for their sharing!

 

Holly Bloggy Christmas

Thank you Lindsay from My Life As a Fifth Grade Teacher for this awesome gift!  It's a Mini Organizer from Thirty-One (Love their products...have LOTS of their stuff!)  This is one I didn't have yet and it's my favorite color! 

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!  My house is a mess...I'm sure the floor is still there I just can't see it right now.  But BIG smile on my face because my kids have all day tomorrow to clean it all up!  Yeah, right.

Happy Holidays from my family to yours.  Here are my 2 beauttiful daughters after round 1 of Christmas at the first Grandma's house.  That's me on the floor looking exhausted...it's a lot of work to eat all day and sit around!  haha!

So Neat!

Head over to Teach On to find out about this very cool classroom management website called Class Dojo.  It is FREE so I signed up right away....love free stuff!  I can't wait to try this with my class.  Think I'll wait until after Christmas Chaos is passed though!  I jokingly told a non-teacher friend of mine that the kids are on Christmas crack right now and that they all need to go home for a week of detox and then they will come back sober and ready to function in society again!  I think only a teacher will understand the truth and humor in that statement!  1 more day....1 more day....1 more day!  I can do it!

A little perspective in a crazy week

The Dash 
Copyright 1998


I read of a reverend who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard,
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile?
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read
With your life's actions to rehash,
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Linda Ellis

What a Day!

It was just one of THOSE days....sigh.   Here are a few highlights:

***First greeting of the day from a student:  Mrs. Rist, I threw up this morning but my mom said it was ok to go to school      HUH???

***report card testing:  students are supposed to be writing dictated letters   ME:  on line 1 please write a capital M      First student paper I look at as I'm walking around has the number 40 written down!! WHAT???

***Each teacher signs up for a month to bring potluck for all the teachers....my group of 9 decides to bring appetizers and desserts...yum, right?  Guess not because we had 5 people telling us there were complaints that "that is not a meal!"   SERIOUSLY???  It's free food!   Who complains about free food???

***DIBELS testing is over and my scores....sigh again.    I want to cry and shout YES...I AM TEACHING THIS YEAR!!

***I thought all day that today was Wednesday...nope...only Tuesday.....and yes I have get to teach all week!

But all is not lost!  When I opened up to my blog today I found this waiting for me:

Thank you Chrissy from First Grade Found Me for ending my day on a high note! 

The Liebster Blog Award goes to blogs that have less than 200 followers so let me pass it on to these sites that I love:

    

Love, love, love your blogs ladies!  Thank you for all your sharing!

Christmas Gifts for Parents

An oldie but a goodie.  I make these every year with my class because when I married my husband his mom gave me his banner he made in 3rd grade.  It was an "awww.." moment and I decided right then and there that I was making one every year with my class.  Unfortunatly I don't think parents like them as much as I do: over the 10 years I've been doing them I've had 2 parents say they liked them....maybe that's normal???  Anyways, I LOVE them and when I get siblings in my class it's so fun to hear them say "My brother/sister has one of those!"

Here's how it looks at my house:  the 2 on top are my daughter's and the one on the bottom is my husbands from 1985! 

Elf Yourself!

Ever seen the site Elf Yourself?  It is so much fun and was the inspiration of this Elf project years ago.  This year, before we elfed ouselves we read the book Who Will Help Santa This Year?  (The cutie in the picture is my daughter.)

 My coworker Jill found an Elf Application on pinterest (don't have the exact site it came from but I've seen it on a lot of blogs and pinterest sites.)   And here is the display we ended up with (complete with 75 elf applications!)

So fun!