Where I've Been

Hello friends!

This school year has been a wonderful year but I have definitely slacked with blogging.  I'm trying to get back into the swing of things.  Since I'm thinking of new ideas to share with you I decided to tell and show you what's been going since I've been gone.

1.  Master's Program
I am now in my second semester of grad school.  My degree is MS in Reading with an emphasis in Reading Specialist.  I'm taking classes online through a nearby college in Kansas.  Since August I'm finally starting to get into the groove of being a student again.  Methods of Research though I have decided it solely there to taunt me and get under my skin.  My action research project is being typed up into parts the next few weeks then I can wash my hands of it all.

2. Fourth year
My fourth year of teaching is winding down.  Granted it feels more like spinning.  Our events calendar is incredibly full with tons of events during the day and after school.  I have had a very small class this year...only 15!  I have come to realize that 15 a wonderful number for kindergarten.  I've had 27, 24, 22, and now 15.

We celebrated 100 days of school with 100 day stations.

We've been enjoying learning about nonfiction books and their text features during the winter.  We did a penguin and a polar bear unit and learned about blubber.

3. Flexible/Alternative Seating
In late February I slowly started to introduce flexible seating to my students.  I'll do a post about this soon but in the meantime, here is a teaser...

4.  Spring Break
I had a very refreshing Spring Break this year.  I spent some time redecorating my mom's house with her.  Last Wednesday-Saturday my boyfriend and I took a little road trip down to Texas.  We went to Waco for a day and Dallas for a few days.  Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE Fixer Upper.  I'm somewhat of an HGTV junkie and Fixer Upper is just amazing!

Drumroll...

I MET CHIP GAINES!!!

I REPEAT!  I SHOOK HANDS, TALKED TO, AND MET CHIPPER!

My boyfriend and I visited Magnolia Silos (of course) right when they opened last Thursday.  Afterwards we decided to go to Harp Design Co. (the custom furniture guy's store) and as we were leaving we saw Chip's truck pull up.  I immediately recognized the huge black 4 door truck as his when it pulled up next to the store/shop in Clint Harp's driveway.  Sure enough we circled the block a few times and it was Chip!  He got out and was talking to a family so we waited a few feet away and then he came over and introduced himself to us and we shook his hand.  He asked how Joplin has been doing post-tornado and thanked us for being fans and watching the show.  He then asked if we wanted a picture and afterwards went back behind the store to Clint's wood shop to film a snippet for season 4.

It's been a wonderful year and I'm excited to start devoting more time for blogging and creating some new things!

Thankful

Gobble Gobble! 

Whew, I have not posted in FOREVER.  Believe it or not I've been busy but this school year is amazing so far!

I thought I'd check in today and tell you a few things I am thankful for.

1. Family and friends- I feel like this is generally on everyone's list...but it is true.  They are rock.

2. Boyfriend- We are about to celebrate six incredible months.  I could go on and on about that man, but I won't bore you.

3. Teaching- My year has been just an absolute breath of fresh air that I needed.  I was coming off a very rough year personally and professionally.  Last year was my complete rock bottom in most aspects of life.  It's crazy to look back on it how everything has changed and for the best.

4. Teaching Community- I love connecting with others on Insta, TPT, and on blogs.  You all keep me motivated and inspired.

Lastly, I am throwing a Black Friday (& Saturday) sale in my TPT store.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy some time with family and friends!

What Worked Well Wednesday! - Math Tubs

Hey everyone!  Sorry it's been a few weeks since my last post and I totally know it is not Wednesday!  I was gone yesterday mostly all day so I forgot to link up.  I'm feeling the back to school tired also the ragweed in the air.  The struggle is definitely real in the evenings at my house.  Today was our 6th day of school and I'm getting use to this teaching thing again.  :)

Today I'm linking up with the Kinder Tribe.  Click that link to see Learning With Mrs. Langley's What Worked Well Wednesday and the other posts!

My What Worked Well Wednesday is....

MATH TUBS!

I am so very happy that I started math tubs this school year!!!  Where has this been the last several years?  I'm really not sure why I haven't tried it before.  I had blogged several times this summer about how excited I was for this shelf.  Well friends, here it is!

I was unhappy with how sometimes I had 15-20 minutes at the end of my math block with nothing to do.  We would end up playing SmartBoard math games, which were okay but not hands on at all.  Now that I'm in my fourth year of teaching, I'm realizing things I did my first year can change and evolve.  I had some great ideas then, but some I've realized I just did to get by being a new teacher (example...empty time after math).

My students would participate in the math lesson, do their independent work, and then sit for 20 minutes watching a math game.  Whomp whomp.

Finally I was inspired to do math tubs.  I've seen various forms and fashions of them around Pinterest and blogs.  I decided to buy the cubby shelf, the tubs, and print out my math station games that had been on my computer but were not being put to good use.

What you need:
* Math activities (printables or store bought)
* Tubs or some form of container to store
* Labels - I like organization and number labels just made sense.  Plus I teach my kids to grab a tub (but you can't put it back if you don't like it), if I labeled on the outside what it was, they may not grab it.
* A place to store the tubs - a cubby shelf, regular shelf, or any other space you can find...but shelves work the best.

How it works:
Students can get a math tub off of the shelf.  I tell my students they only grab one tub and they can't put it back until clean up.  Students go sit down somewhere around the room on the floor and get started on the math activity inside.  If they are with a partner they have to whisper.  When it's time to clean up the tubs have to be put back on the shelf in order.

Now, when my students are finished with independent work, they turn it in, get a math tub, and do the hands on math activity inside the tub.  I have a small class this year so they can work with a partner or by themselves.  I am using math activities from TPT and other resources in the tubs.

Currently, I have lots of number sense activities such as this building numbers below.

I am excited to see how this bunch with do with math now that I am adding more hands on practice!

Now go share on the Kinder Tribe blog what worked well for you and pretend it is Wednesday like me!

Sayyy what?!

Hey everyone!  I wanted to do a short post for you about how I'm feeling at this point in the summer. This GIF below basically sums it up.

Gilly (Kristen Wiig) is my favorite SNL character.  A close second would be Stefan (Bill Hader).

Anyways, yesterday I was walking out to my car after working 7 hours in my classroom.. I was trudging along due to feet being tired and climbing up and down a ladder the day before.  If I had the energy I would have walked out doing what Gilly is doing. ^

I AM DONE GETTING MY ROOM READY GUYS!  If the kids came on Monday, my room would be ready for them.  I have just a couple of random little printouts to hang up and a few book bin labels to stick on that I've added.  Other than that, I have less than 30 mins worth of work.

I won't give you a tour just yet, in a week or so.  :)  But here is the outside of my room.  Our hallways are camping theme for our PBIS theme this year.  I'm putting stars with the kids names on them on the bulletin board when I get the class list.

Out of four summers, I think this is the first one that I am finished cleaning, organizing, and rearranging before August!  This year I also changed out some bulletin board colors and purged and donated.  Whew.

My district goes back the 13th for teachers and 20th for the kids.  So I plan on using the next couple of weeks to relax, catch up on some more books, mentally prepare myself for my first semester of grad classes, and do some planning!  I should probably throw in the whole "not spending anymore money" part.

I'm excited for this upcoming school year.  I'm doing some new things in my classroom.  The few major ones are:

1. Math Tubs - students go grab one of the tubs after completing their independent work and working with a partner.

2. Close Reads - whole group close reads with my kinders.  I'm using Tara West's (Little Minds at Work) close read bundle.  I have put together a binder for her fairy tale close reads already because this year we are starting with retelling so I am doing the classic Gingerbread Boy, 3 Little Bigs, Goldilocks, etc. She has a bundle for that!  :)

3. A designated science/social studies time- 3 days a week in the afternoon for about 20 mins.  Before we tried to squeeze stuff in on occasion and mostly teach it through read alouds.  This year my grade level partner and I are going to do more! 

I'm feeling pretty great right now.  I had a nice and rejuvenating summer.  I needed it badly.  I was talking with a few people at the school yesterday and we all said we are just ready to see the kids again.  :)

I have also been so excited lately being a part of the Kinder Tribe and being an admin for the Facebook group and collaborative blog.  I've been introduced to lots of awesome people!  I now have almost 100 followers on Bloglovin.  A few weeks ago I had 11.  Talk about being shocked!  You all are awesome!

I hope everyone is enjoying their break, whether you have a few days left (that must be painful and somewhat hot to go back this soon!) or whether you have a month left.  Just remember to take things in stride.  Go at your own pace.  If you need another week or so to relax before getting in the school mode, so be it.  If you are like me and were just itching to get out of the house and get things done, then so be it.  I've been thinking a lot lately (and seeing a lot in the blogging community) about how we need to not lose ourself in everything. Continue making time for you and finding something to relieve the soon to be busy and stress that is looming ahead. 

Go do something fun with the little summer we have left!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Blog posts coming up:

Goals for the school year

Classroom tour

How to get your kindergarteners to be independent!

About This Kinder Teacher Linky!

Hey!  Today's linky is all about YOU.  Go link up at Kinder Tribe to get the image and link your blog post up!

I'm Katie, I'm the blogger and TPT author of Miss Kate's Desk.  I am one of the administrators of Kinder Tribe collaborative blog.  I've been in kindergarten for going on 4 years now (and I never want to leave!).  Here's a little about me.

Amanda from Polka Dots & Pals made this for me a month ago.  It's me exactly!  I have a scarf on and my iced coffee.  Also my favorite color is teal and I have on earrings (I feel naked without earrings!)  We are giving away a pal on the Kinder Tribe blog.  Go check it out yesterday's post with the giveaways!

My can't live withouts are a MUST. I wish on the school supply list I could only ask for Ticonderoga pencils, but it's a district list.  :)  I LOVE Pete the Cat.  I have two giant Petes in my room.  

I teach in the district I went to from K-12th.  I didn't apply for anywhere else and I was crossing my fingers for K.  This year will be year #4 for me.  Kindergarten has always been my ideal grade.  I just love the hilarity of it, the growth, the shaping of little people, the love for school, showing them my love of reading, being silly and they get me, and the fact that I don't have to teach multiplying and dividing fractions (can I get an amen?!?).

The thing that makes me cringe is the phrase..."Well my kindergarteners can't do _____".  A lot come in without hardly any learning/academic experience but weighing them down with "you can'ts" won't solve the problem.

I think collaboration is important.  I'm blessed to be in a K-2nd grade hallway that works well together.  I also love the teacher blogger, TPT, and Instagram community because they give you a kind of support that is different from talking about specific situations and kids at your school.  It's more of a "Look what I tried and it worked..." , or "Oh yes I have that much laminate to cut out too!"

I'm so excited to be a part of this Kinder Tribe and grow and learn together!

Kinder Tribe Collaborative Blog Launch!!! #kindertribe

The Kinder Tribe blog launches today!  I am one of the administrators of the collaborative blog!  Go check it out right now at http://kindertribe.blogspot.com/.  Seriously, tons of giveaways!

We have some great giveaways to check out so head over to the blog!  Click the image below to go to the blog post!

Melonheadz clipart, TPT gift card, a pal from Polka Dots & Pals, & resources from some awesome TPTers. Go enter to win now!

If you are a kindergarten teacher we want you to be a part of the Kinder Tribe.  Search for us on Facebook and join our Facebook group.  We share advice, giveaways, things about the blog, support, and more.  We will have original blog posts from the admins, What Worked Well Wednesdays (a linky), and Feature Fridays (featuring other Kinder Tribe teachers).  This blog is to connect and learn new ideas from other K teachers. 

When using social media, use this hashtag:

#kindertribe

Also here is my short bio from the blog under Meet the Teachers:

I really hope you guys find Kinder Tribe on Facebook and visit our new blog that launched today.  We are excited to share with you blog posts, What Worked Well Wednesdays, and Feature Fridays.  

I did not go to Vegas this year (next year my friends!) but a big takeaway that people were talking about was connecting and sharing with each other.  That together we are better (shoutout Lucky Little Learners and Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd).  If you are not a kindergarten teacher, I've been seeing other tribes pop up.  Use your grade level hashtag and go find your tribe!

New Stuff!

Flash back to the month of May.  I remember telling my awesome grade level teaching partner aka TBFF (teacher best friend forever) that I was not going to spend that much money this summer since I wasn't updating my theme.  I knew I was buying a cubby shelf and trays for it and other than that, I didn't plan on spending a lot.  Now, I've kept a few receipts because at my school we can turn in $150 worth teach year.  I know I've met that.  Haha.

So, here I am now when I think back to that statement I made to Bobbie.

Target Dollar Spot and Zulily are my weakness.  Enough said.

So today I want to show you some things I purchased this summer that I am super excited about and I'll tell ya what I'm using them for.

Boogie Boards

I LOVE whiteboards.  Don't get me wrong.  I have been seeing on other blogger's blogs how cool these ewriters are.

You use a stylus (it attaches to that black thing at the top) to write on the black board.  

When you are finished all you have to do is push the white circle at the top and the writing is gone!  There's no charger, no battery.  It's awesome.  It is also supposed to be scratch resistant.  I'm sure my five and six year olds will test that.

Sam's metal organization cart (aka IKEA knock off)

My mom picked this up for me all excited because she thought they were cool.  I found a spot to put it in my classroom next to my tiny desk and I'm excited for a little bit more storage space.

Cubby Shelf

I posted this before this summer, but I'm so excited to get it out of the box and assemble...well, not so much the assembling part.  

I bought similar tubs from Lakeshore.  They are having a back to school sale and the tubs were pretty reasonable.  

This cubby shelf will house my math tubs.  This is something new I'm finally trying this year.  Students will work independently or with a partner when they finish their math assignment until math is over.  I don't know about you, but some of our math lessons are pretty short and the assignments do not take very long.  So this gives them more practice plus me time to work with struggling students for math in a small group.  Before I'd pop something on the smartboard for them to do but still wasn't totally freed up to work with math groups.

I made little labels and I can't wait.  (Math Tub Labels coming soon to my TPT store)

Headphones

Male Kindergarten Teacher posted on his Instagram a couple of days ago about some headphones that came in that are made for younger students.  They are called Kidz Gear Headphones.  Mine should be arriving today.  There are lots of bright colors to choose from. I ordered 4 blue ones for my Listening to Reading station.

I have bought cheap Walmart headphones for under $10.  I've even bought some close to $20 or slightly more from there or Target and they never last more than about a year.  The sound either goes out in the headphones or they break.  I've also had the problem with some of my very small kindergarteners having them slide so much even being adjusted.  I've read lots of reviews and decided to give them a try!

These are the 3 bigger purchases that I'm excited for this school year!  Sorry if I just made you want to spend money.  ;)