Guinea Pigs and Snow Days

Theodora and I are cozy at home while we anticipate "the snowstorm of the decade".  As a former San Diego native... any snowstorm would  suffice.  Anyhoo... thought I would share a pic of my little gal.  Do you have a class pet?

Theodora... (AKA: Miss Pig)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...14!

Follow me during the next 14 days for daily FREEBIES!  Each day I will post a new gift from me to you!

Get ready... it all starts tomorrow!

Snowball Fight Math Station

My students love Shari Sloane's game BUMP.  I have adapted it for winter.  Help yourself!

Snowball Fights

Puppy Love Word Family Games

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E Puppies!

3 games in one! Tic-Tac-Toe, Memory Match, and DOGHOUSE!  Features the short vowel word families, 25 word families and over 120 word cards are included.

Puppy Love Word Family Games

Also Added Crazy 8 and Old Maid

Winter Word Family Game

100th Day of School

So today is our 100th Day of School!  I am pumped! 



We ordered these t-shirts from a local business.  I know you can purchase them through a large company, but we sure L.O.V.E. our shirts.  As a bonus... they were cheaper AND we can support a community business.

Our 100-year old self-portraits are up! 

This idea came directly from Deanna Jump's 100th Day Math and Literacy Fun

And we have been counting, counting, counting.

Writers Workshop

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Writers Workshop.  Here is a glimpse of how it works in my classroom.




I start my mini-lesson.  We have been working on storytelling to tell "more".  A student practices her oral story telling and the class helps to compose the message You can see we shared the pen on this writing.

The students are then released to write their own stories, while I meet with a small group of students.

Towards the conlusion of Writers Workshop, my small group students (4-5) share their writing under the document camera.



The remaining students share their writing with their writing partners then place their drafts in their writing pocket.

Students self-select a piece to publish every 2-3 weeks.  They are displayed under the white board.  A perfect place!







All of their drafts and their past published writings are added to their Kindergarten Writing books.  These are a favorite read for my students when they go to our classroom library.  It is fun to see them grow as writers throughout the year.  These books are sent home at the end of the year as a gift.  The parents love it!

This is how I keep track of my writers. Help yourself to a copy.

Writing Conferring Notes

How does writing workshop work in your classroom?





Kind Comments

We love to hear what people are saying about our writing.  Add this page (pages) to your student writing or class book, then let the Kind Comments fill the page!



If you worry about the book being lost, pass the book to some of the school staff.



You can download the page here.

Kind Comments

Valentine' Day Writing Practice

Hard to fit handwriting practice in?  This is my Achilles heel!  So... I created a fun way for my students to practice their handwriting as well as their number and color words.

Here is a sample:

Valentine's Day Sample

For a complete set, visit my TpT store:

Valentines Day Color and Number: Read, Trace, Glue, and Draw

Reading Levels-First Grade

I was asked if I had a first grade version of my parent brochure.  Here is what I put together.  I would love to have your feedback.   Please help yourself to a copy.

Parent's Guide to Reading Levels-1st grade

Reading Stamina-Buddy Reading

My kiddos love to read with their buddies.  We have been tracking our reading stamina...such a big word.

I start my timer once everyone is settled and started.

It is fun to see them coaching each other. 

We track our minutes on this form.

Click below for your own FREE Copy (if I loaded it correctly)...LOL!

Reading Stamina

Overhead Station

I had a few teachers from another school district visit and observe my class today.  They were interested in my overhead station, so I thought I would share how we are using it right now.

I put our sight/popcorn words on a word ring.  Then add magnetic letters to a container.  This is an empty Crystal Light container (perfect size).

Partners take turns shining the words on the white board, then tracing the letters.  They LOVE this!



Finally they write the words. "My mom went to the grocery store."  Nicely done Miss D!






Click below for a copy of the response sheet



How are you using your overhead projector?

Overhead Station

UNO! Penguin word study games

My students LOVE playing games.  Here is a sight word game that we have been playing in our small group.  We are now ready to turn this into a literacy station.

There are two ways to play.  The students can play a memory match game... but the one they ALWAYS request is UNO.  Who doesn't love UNO?

Penguin Sight Word Games

Winter Math Stations

I love math stations where the students can use their creativity while working with numbers.  Here are a few of the ones we are using this week.  Help yourself to the student response pages below.

Build an Igloo

Students build an igloo.

My students draw it then count the cubes.  The 10 frames help the students keep track of their counting.  I encouraged the students to make a pattern when they color the boxes.

Build an Igloo

Domino Math

The student selects a domino.  She counts all the dots then draws a picture.  Finally she writes about it.  "I had 12 scoops of ice cream."  Great job Miss P!

Domino Math

Reading Logs

Here is the reading log I send home with my students each Monday.  They return it to me each Friday... Easy breezy!

Reading Logs

FREE Winter Popcorn Words

This is an activity we do each morning as "bell work".  My kindergartners light-up when the realize they can read ALL THE WORDS!!!!
They also love being creative with their illustration.

I have a student helper add the smiles...with my smellie markers... HUGE honor in kindergarten!

Winter Popcorn Words-FREE download

Snow Ice Cream!!!!

Snow + Milk + Sugar + Vanilla = Winter Fun! 

Ok... to be honest I had not heard of snow ice cream until a few days ago.  As a former So Cal girl we just didn't experience it.  However, my teaching partners introduced me to it today!  Thank you Mrs. K, Mrs. G, and Mrs. D!!!!!

Listening Station Response Page

I thought I would share the Listening Station Reponse Page.  You can grab it from my Google Docs.  After the students listen to the book, they look for words they know and then respond.  Here is an example from earlier in the year.  Let me know what you think.

Listening Station Response Sheet

Parent's Guide to Reading Levels-Kindergarten

I created this tri-fold brochure to help explain guided reading levels to my parents.  Please help yourself to a copy.

Parent’s Guide to the Reading Levels

Parent's Guide to Reading Levels-Kindergarten

Word Explorers

We became Word Explorers today!  Using our new form (the students loved the little explorer pictures) we practiced writing , boxing, and cheering the words.

Their favorite activity is cheering the words. 



These sticks help us pick the cheers we will do each day...Good fun!



Students added the -at song to their poetry notebook.  Then then circled
the words in the -at family.  I believe there were 24 words.

 

Penguins! Penguins! Penguins!

Last week we started our Non-fiction unit on penguins.  We read numerous books about penguins and monitored our thinking. Books such as:

Penguins by Gail Gibbons

Penguins by Emily Townsend

Before reading our story, we charted what we already knew (in black) and wrote some of the questions we had.  As we gathered new information we added our new knowledge to our chart (in orange).

We also tried out the blubber hand activity from Deanna Jump's Penguins Math and Literacy Fun.

My kindergarten slips her hand into the blubber glove to test the icy water.

And then we wrote about our findings.




"I learned with the oil it felt cold. I learned with the blubber it felt warmer."  Well said, Miss K!