Alphabet on Display

Today I want to talk about the alphabet.  More importantly how the alphabet looks to your students.

Displaying the alphabet
Students need to see the alphabet in your classroom.  For many kindergarten students, they are great at singing the ABC song, but they need practice being able to recognize letters and learn their sounds.  When you display the alphabet through posters, word walls, and classroom labels...students learning is reinforced and letters are easily accessible.

Posters
Alphabet posters are a great way for students to see the alphabet stretched out into a long line of posters.  Placement of alphabet posters should be in a spot where students can see the posters easily.  I catch many of my students using these posters as a reference when playing a word work game, during writing, and other classroom activities where they need to find a letter or sound.

 

Click on the examples above!

Word Wall
Word walls are a great resource in your classroom if students know the purpose, you add words with your students throughout the year, and you model how to use the word wall during your writing minilesssons. Since the word wall is a great reference for young writers, it should be be easy to read and easy to identify the letters.  Check and make sure that students can see the word wall from where they work at their table or in a flexible seating spot.

I like word wall headers that have the letter (upper and lower case) and a graphic that matches the letter.  Word walls are great with cute graphics that match your classroom theme, but if the graphic doesn't match the letter displayed, it is not helpful for young readers and writers.

These word wall headers show clearly the letter and a large graphic that matches the sound of the letter.  These are new headers I just posted this week!  There is also a D'Nealian set too.

Cohesive
I believe alphabet posters and word wall cards should be cohesive in your classroom.  If we want our students who are learning letters and sounds to remember, it helps to have alphabet posters and word wall headers that match.  Let's not make it harder on our little writers and readers who are making sense of the alphabet.  Matching alphabet posters and word wall headers are an easy way to reinforce letter knowledge.

Play in K

I am so excited!

WE CAN PLAY!

At an end of the year quick meeting the K teachers were told we can bring back a little time of play in our classrooms.

*cue huge grin*

Whether you are allowed to have the old-school center time or not, we all know the benefits of play.

• Social- kids need time to interact, practice sharing, using manners, and time to talk and interact with their peers on their terms.
• Behavior- we've all seen a rise in what's expected in kindergarten and a rise in behavior problems...that is not a coincidence.
• Literacy/Math- when students play they are using and learning vocabulary, building math skills, and sometimes writing while playing.

I will have a 15-20 minute chunk to have a free centers time this coming school year.  I am still trying to figure out how I want to do it.  I will have the students choose what they do but will probably have to put parameters on how many students in the different areas.  

For the rest of the summer I would like to share things I have found or ideas I have about play in kindergarten.  Once a week I will post an idea.

Here is my new Market Place!  I have play money, ordered some play food, I am making some felt food, and just need some chalk.

Today I'd love to share with you some cards that I made as a forever *FREEBIE*.  These world structure cards are a great addition to your classroom blocks.  You can print and laminate the cards and have students try to build the structures.  Each card has the sentence: Can you build ____ ? (with the structure name where the blank is).  Also, each card is labeled with the location.  I saw this idea on a blog but hers were a bit different and she didn't have a digital version unfortunately.  I loved this idea and so I used photographs I bought from TPT and created these cards!  Go check out Can You Build It? World Structures.  Click on the name or underneath on the picture.

 

I can't wait to see what they build!

Summer Goals

Hey everyone!  Things have been crazy town lately.  You know the drill, end of the year crazy.  Now that I've been settled into summer I thought I would let you all know what has been happening and tell you my goals for the summer (both professionally and personally).

What's Been Happening:
* I survived my first two semesters of grad school.  I'm going for my Master's in Reading- Reading Specialist.  Currently almost finished with one of my summer classes.  I have another in July.  Man oh man is it tough balancing classes and teaching, but I did it.  I'd rather do it now than when I have little ones running around.
* I am soon to be Mrs. Hadley!  I got engaged on the last day of school at the end of our school-wide talent show.  I had zero idea it was coming.  My mom acted weird in February pretending to see if I wanted a ring she got for her work anniversary and making me try it on...but other than that, I did not know when, where, or how.  I was completely shocked!

* I am getting married in early August!  I am just crazy enough to plan a wedding in 2 1/2 months.  I just got the dress yesterday!  Everything is mostly good to go other than one bridesmaid dress and catering.  Those are the biggies left.

Goals:
Professionally:
* I want to read 5 professional development books this summer.  I currently have almost 2 completed.
* Print and prep all my KinderMath & KinderLiteracy units by the amazing Tara West over at Little Minds at Work.  I have almost all of the math units printed and binded into unit books.
* Update my back to school information for Open House and first week of school.

Personally:
* GET MARRIED!  :)  My mom and Mr. Hadley have been amazing help!
* Read 10 just for fun books.

* Plan a honeymoon for Christmas break.
* Relax and enjoy the summer!

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!