[teach] TPT

So I did this yesterday...

 

I created (finally) a Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) store online! This is a website where teachers can upload their self-made documents, assessments, organizational tools, anything that can be used in a classroom, and earn $$$! This is amazing because teachers can earn additional income from other teachers and help them in the classroom at the same time!

I create self-made documents allllllllllllll the time. I can't tell you how many docs I have on my home and school computer for school. Sometimes, you just have to make them yourself! I have been excited, nervous, and anxious to post my work online for others to see. Of course, if you use clip art, page backgrounds, downloaded fonts, etc, you have to give credit where credit is due, but that involves a simple link back to where you got them from. I only have a few downloads so far, but it is exciting to know that people want to use my stuff in their classroom! YIKES. 

So, here are a few things that I have uploaded in the past... 24 hours, I'd say?

First Day Portrait

Labels for Teacher Binders by Theme

Journal Covers

Back to School Info Form and Activities

Commitment Card Signs

Center Rotation Display Signs

[click on each picture to be directed to its site on TPT]

For those of you who aren't teachers, I am sorry that this is probably boring to you! I thought about creating a separate "teacher blog", but I like the thought of having everything in one place. Please do tell me though if it is obnoxious and I'll see what I can do. I will be mixing "lifestyle" with "teaching" more so in the coming months, so I apologize in advance!

Teachers: do YOU have a TPT store? Please tell me: I'd love to follow you!

Happy Wednesday!

[teach] It's Gettin' Crazy Here...

Y'all. School starts in 3 weeks and 2 days. Where did summer even go?!

One of my summer projects was to organize my Pinterest "School Days" board, the board where I "pin" all of the school ideas I find. As I went through this... wow. I realized I had a bajillion categories to fill! It was a bit tedious/time consuming, but it is so much easier finding what I need/want to make/want to implement in my classroom!

Here's an example... Instead of searching through ONE "School Days" board for that cool art project I want to make with my kiddos, I can go to my "School Days: Art" board and find it in a jif!

If you are interested in getting specific pins, here are the links to my forty-billion School Days boards: enjoy!

School Days: Reading/Phonics

 

 School Days: Math

School Days: Science

School Days: Social Studies

 

 School Days: Writing

School Days: Videos and Brain Breaks [my kiddos LOVE these!]

School Days: Classroom Organization, Helpful Tips, and Decor/Set Up [my favorite section!]

School Days: Documentation/Assessments

School Days: Art

School Days: Centers/Fast Finishers

School Days: Technology

School Days: Holidays and Themes

School Days: Behavior Management

Whew! I know, OVERWHELMING. But isn't it better to identify the specific thing you're looking for instead of having ALL of these ideas in one place?! Yikes. My heart likes organization, thank you very much.

Hope this helps, fellow teachers! And if you're not a teacher, maybe you'll find a fun idea to implement with your kiddies at home? No kids? Maybe your nieces, nephews, or even for you at your own workplace! You never know what you will find on Pinterest :)

Have a good weekend! Sorry for the lack of posting... we have been out of town, and then I have been prepping for our Vacation Bible School (I'm the director) and working in my classroom. Very very VERY busy week! Hopefully I'll have more to share soon, but in the meantime... have fun perusing my Pinterest boards!

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens." Ecclesiastes 3:1

[teach] If I Was On A Cruise Ship...

When I returned to school after the cruise, the kiddos were so excited to see me: they were full of hugs to give me and had big smiles to share! One of the many reasons I love teaching Kindergarten... They were so excited to hear all about my trip. They couldn't believe I was able to eat pizza and ice cream all day, along with watching movies on a huge screen!

To connect my trip to their level (and after I had talked about my trip with them), I asked them what they would do if they took a cruise ship vacation. Their responses were so adorable, I just had to share: enjoy!

"If I was on a cruise ship I drive the cruise ship."

[this student's aunt was on the Carnival Triumph: the ship that was a nightmare a few months ago... he was very excited to be able to help the captain!!! ha!]

"I like to look at the ship."

"I like to eat pizza"

 [love his detail of the people on the top deck with pizza slices in their hands!]

"I like to ride the boat."

I like incorporating parts of my life into my teaching because I feel like it makes a connection between my students and myself. They love hearing about "Mr. Johnson", our pups Chloe and Oliver, and all of our trips/vacations we go on. They were so excited to draw a huge cruise ship and they loved seeing pictures of my vacation too! Teachers: do you incorporate parts of your life into your teaching? How do you make personal connections with your students.

Happy Wednesday!

"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

[teach] 100th Day of School!

[this shot was taken five days after my wisdom teeth surgery... I couldn't smile yet... ha!]

Two weeks ago, my class celebrated the 100th day of Kindergarten, wahoo! It is a pretty big deal in Kindergarten and we go all out, taking a break from the scheduled curriculum to review concepts using the number 100! A few things on our agenda were...

Whole group writing of 100 things we would like to have
Whole group writing of 100 things we would NOT like to have
Independent writing of the 100 things they wanted
Counting, singing, clapping, stomping, dancing to 100
Brainstorming/illustrating what they will look like when they are 100 years old
Building a structure with 100 cups
Making patterns with 100 pattern blocks
Completing an I-Spy with 100 objects
Illustrating the number 100
Wearing a shirt with 100 objects on it {an at-home project]

And the best part of the day? A 100 cake!!! Here's how I made it!

Use a bundt pan and cut that cake in half! Two zeros, yes please.

Cut a skinny rectangle (for the number 1) out of the bottom portion of your large, rectangular pan... You and your husband can eat the leftover cake that didn't go to school :)

Funfetti frosting and cake, of COURSE, because it is Kindergarten! 

Isn't it fun?! I have more pictures of my class completing their activities and work, but my kiddos' faces are in the pictures: confidentiality restricts me from posting their pics. And I'm too lazy to blur the faces out :) Does anyone else celebrate the 100th day of... well, anything? I am on a countdown to a CRUISE in April (59 days) and to summer (107 days). Let's do this!

Happy Tuesday!

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16

[teach] Brain Breaks

Kindergarteners are antsy. There just isn't another word to describe it. They can't sit still for too long or be without something engaging. Gotta love the mind of a five and six year old!

To reign this in, we use "brain breaks" at our school, roughly every 20 minutes (or at least, we aim for 20 minutes), to give the kids a break from what they are doing. In college, it was called a "state changer". It shifts their attention and gives their brain a chance to rest and recharge. We use the Conscious Discipline program, which talks about this in further detail.

Brain breaks can look like a variety of things:
-Stretching (head/shoulders/knees/toes/change it up every time, the order and/or speed)
-Rubbing ears
-Breathing three times (we have fun, silly breathing techniques: the exhale should be longer than the inhale)
-Singing/dancing with audio only or audio plus a video
-Moving locations
-Many, many more

I wanted to share three fun videos I have "pinned" on Pinterest that have been used in my classroom: mainly so they will be on one page. These are YouTube videos, so click the link to go to their YouTube page to find more fun songs! My kiddos have so much fun with these. Enjoy!

 

 

Happy Tuesday!

"Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp." Psalm 149:3

[teach] Kindergarten Spring Outline

After Christmas, it seems as though the school year  d-r-a-g-s  by so so so SLOWWWLLYYY. Can I get an amen?! It is good to have a "big picture" plan so you can count down your year accordingly and make sure you get to all the good stuff. There will always be the "main" teaching: letters, sounds, blending, reading, writing, math, counting, patterns, adding, subtracting, etc. But I use my big picture plan so I can use the appropriate themes and units to integrate said teaching into instruction. Yay for fun!

Here is my tentative outline for the spring semester with my Kinder babies, along with some ideas (thanks Pinterest! the source is located at the bottom of each picture, and if for some reason it is the wrong source and/or it shows up incorrectly, please let me know so I can fix that!) that I hope to implement with the kiddos... and sorry about the varying sizes/alignments; Gotta love embedding codes...:

January:
Winter (Snowmen and Penguins)

Source: teacherspayteachers.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

MLK

Source: prekandksharing.blogspot.com via Evelina on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Abby on Pinterest

February:
100th Day of School

Source: teachingheart.net via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: lh3.ggpht.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: joyfullearninginkc.blogspot.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Presidents

Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com via Mica on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Karen on Pinterest

 

Valentine's

Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: bargerfam.blogspot.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

March:
Dr. Seuss

Source: printables.atozteacherstuff.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: simplegirlathome.blogspot.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: room-mom101.blogspot.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

St. Patrick's Day

Source: google.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: thoughtfullysimple.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

April:
Spring

Source: mrsleeskinderkids.blogspot.com via Cyn on Pinterest

Source: teacherspayteachers.com via Meagan on Pinterest

Zoo/Farm/Oviparous (come from eggs) Animals

Source: donkeyandthecarrot.blogspot.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: kinderkaren.blogspot.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Earth Day

Source: Uploaded by user via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: familycrafts.about.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

May:
Water/Summer

Source: Uploaded by user via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: allkidsnetwork.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

End of the Year

Source: larremoreteachertips.blogspot.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

Source: simplycenters.com via Chrissy on Pinterest

What does your second semester look like? For all my non-teacher friends, do you create an outline for each month you're at work... so you can count down the days til your next vacation or deadline? Do tell. You know I love organization!


"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11