Let's Talk About Books! Linky

I am so excited to be linking up with Deanna Jump and her 'Let's Talk Books' linky!  Every Tuesday Deanna will host and everyone is encouraged to share a favorite book.  What a great way to find out about books, new and old alike!
The book I would like to share this week is One by Kathryn Otoshi.

This book is brilliantly written to include a message about bullying, the power to stick together and stand up for each other, instead of standing by silently.  Kathryn cleverly uses colors and counting to deliver her message to even my pre-k sweeties.

 

 

Here is the synopsis offered by Amazon:  

'Blue is a quiet color. Red’s a hothead who likes to pick on Blue. Yellow, Orange, Green, and Purple don’t like what they see, but what can they do? When no one speaks up, things get out of hand — until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up, stand together, and count. As budding young readers learn about numbers, counting, and primary and secondary colors, they also learn about accepting each other's differences and how it sometimes just takes one voice to make everyone count.'
I plan on using this book at the beginning of the year when we are establishing rules, routines, and what behaviors are acceptable, and which ones that are not.
I can't wait to read about all the other great books are out there and how people plan on using them.
Have a great day!  Thanks for reading.  :)

Currently~June

It's June 1st, so that means it is time to link up with Farley's 'Currently'.

• LISTENING:  I love it when the weather is warm enough to make the grass grow.  There is something so soothing about listening to the lawn mower and smelling fresh cut grass. (thank goodness I don't have a grass allergy) :)
• LOVING:  It's already June!  My last day of the school year was Friday, so I am officially on summer break.  Woo hoo!
• THINKING:  There are so many things I want to accomplish this summer.  I am a list maker.  I like to write things down so I can cross them off my list.  It gives me a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.  Guess it doesn't take much to make me happy.  :)
• WANTING:  I love naps, especially on a Sunday afternoon…..
• NEEDING:  I need to go to the store, but I want to take a nap…..there lies the dilemma.
• SUMMER BUCKET LIST:  There are lots of things I will have to do this summer, but this is the one thing I really, really want to do!  (It really doesn't take much to make me happy) :)

Link up with Oh' Boy 4th Grade with your 'Currently' list!

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

Top 10 Things…Linky

I am linking up with the fabulous Deanna Jump {my hero} for her Top 10 Things I Want to Do This SUMMER linky party.

I am not officially finished with school until May 30th, but it's close enough to almost touch.  Yay!

My list is not in any particular order.  Hopefully, some of these things will actually happen.  :)

{1}  Rest……Relax……Recoup

I think every teacher feels this way at the end of the school year!  It takes time to unwind and get rejuvenated for the next school year.

{2}  Travel……..

I have a few places in mind…….we will have to see what comes to fruition!  :)

{3}  Watch baseball……

My son will play ball again this summer.  This will be my 17th year watching my boy.  I love it!

{4}  Visit my daughter in Arizona

She teaches there.  I was secretly hoping she would move closer to home, but not this year.  I will have to just go see her!

{5}  Go to Vegas, baby!

Every year this is on my bucket list.  I haven't made it yet, but hey, a girl can dream.  :)  There are so many great teachers to learn from there…….some year!!!

{6}  Get up, out, and move!

Yoga and Pilates are my favorite.  I love summertime and being able to have the flexibility {and energy} to pick up some daytime classes!

{7}  Finish my +40 hours……ok, this won't be fun, but it is a necessary evil……..and…..

I really do love learning new things and applying them to my classroom.

{8}  Catch up with family and friends!!!!

My support system is invaluable to me.  There is nothing better than getting together and laughing so hard it hurts!

{9}  Spend time with my momma.  I am blessed to have her still in my life.  I want to take advantage of my time off to show her how much I really love her.

{10}  Plan and create for the upcoming school year.  It's kind of an obssession, but I love being able to create new things to use.  I am hoping to add a lot more products to my Teachers pay Teachers store and my Teacher's Notebook store.

What do you have in store for the summer?  Link up with Deanna Jump and let us know. 

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

Celebration of Success {a.k.a. Graduation}

Not only did my pre-k sweethearts celebrate their successes this week, my daughter also graduated with her Master's from Arizona State University.  I am so proud of her!

She has a lot of motivation and drive.  I know she will go far in life.  That's any momma's dream.  :)

This week was also graduation for my pre-k students.  We had a packed house!  Our celebration included performing a few songs, presenting diplomas, and watching a video of year in pictures with songs {intended to bring a few tears to our eyes} :).

 

Another of my favorite activities is having my little ones draw a picture of what they want to be when they grow up.  The parents have to guess which occupation was from their sweetie.  Amazingly, most of the time they get it right.

Here is the sheet I use.  It's pretty simple, but if you would like a copy for yourself click HERE or on the picture below.

Font is provided by A Cupcake for the Teacher.

I also put my Pre-K and Kindergarten Diploma Craftivity on TpT and TN. 

Click on the initials above to take you to my store, if you would like to check it out.

We are also continuing out bug theme this week.  I think I originally saw this idea on Teaching 2's and 3's, but when I went back I couldn't find the original post.  Please let me know if I need to credit someone else!  My kids loved this activity!

We started out with some play dough. pony beads, pipe cleaners for this fine motor workout.

We added lots of imagination!

They would have been happy to do this activity for hours!

Link up your Five for Friday with Doodle Bugs Teaching.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

A Freebie and Five!

We are preparing for our 'Celebration of Success' {a.k.a. Graduation}.  This is for any pre-k student going to kindergarten in the fall.  We made these 'Graduates' to hold a diploma.

I love how they turned out.  :)

I also love comparing pictures from the beginning of the year to the end of the year to see just how much my sweet ones have changed!

{This picture is from August}

 

This is always a bittersweet time for me.  I am so proud of all the growth my sweeties have experienced this year, but I am sad that I only have a few days left with them before they fly the coop.

 These are my afternoon graduates {minus one sick student}

This little sweetie is in my morning class and will also be going to kindergarten in the fall.

When we weren't working on graduation, we were learning about bugs.  :)

 First, the little learners had to sort circles by size.

Then, they had to start with the biggest circles and work down to the smallest, plus make an AB pattern.  :)

Last, we added wax paper ovals for wings, pipe cleaner antennae, and a face.  LOVE these.

We also used foam flowers and bee erasers to count using one to one correspondence.  

The older students also worked on greater than and less than and adding two numbers to 12.

Enjoy this freebie.  It's a listening worksheet with a 'Very Hungry Caterpillar' theme.

Click HERE or on the picture to download.

Link up your Five for Friday and/or read about others' week by going to Doodle Bugs Teaching Five for Friday weekly linky.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great weekend.  :)

Going Buggy!

This will be a short post, but I wanted to share a freebie I just made to use with my class as we begin our 'Bug' theme.  Hopefully I will be able to expand and share more with you at a later time.

Click HERE to download.

Clipart is courtesy of