A Colorful Week {And a Freebie}!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and 'Five for Friday' to showcase our week.

We started off the week reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?" Then, we went on a hunt to find the animals from the story.  Each little learner searched the room until they found a card.  To encourage language skills, they had to tell us the name of the color, the animal, and where it was found in the room, plus they had to do it in a complete sentence.  Afterward, everyone had to find the picture on their recording sheet and color it in.   

Another one of our 'Brown Bear' activities was with this story comprehension activity.

I was super proud with how well everyone did.

Each little love also painted an animal in the story to make our own class book.  Any class book we make seems to get a lot of read time.  I love the fact that my sweeties take ownership in their work.

These activities are from my 'Brown Bear Retelling Pack and Extension Activities'.

'Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes' was another one of our books this week. 

To help with colors, this emergent reader came in handy.  The little learners first matched colors, then colored the shoes the same color.

We then used 'thumbs up' and 'thumbs down' to answer questions about the story.

These activities are from my 'A Cat's Colorful Shoes Retelling and Extension Activities' Pack

We read 'The Day the Crayons Quit' and then answered questions about the story on our teamboard. You can get this freebie HERE.  

It's a PowerPoint presentation that can be used on an interactive whiteboard. 

We then wrote a story about being a crayon.  One concerned student said he couldn't write.  A short mini-lesson was conducted about different types of 'writing'.  After he finished and read his story, he proudly proclaimed he was an 'author'!  Boy, oh boy, did that make my heart sing.  :)

Speaking of crayons, each little one decorated their own color by adding a face.  

They were displayed in our circle time area.

 This super cute crayon pattern is from Cara Carroll.  You can find here freebie HERE.

Something new I am trying this year is to incorporate nursery rhymes once a week instead of a specific theme.  We started with 'Itsy Bitsy Spider'.  The little loves made this craftivity to go along with the rhyme.  By the end of the year, we will have a completed nursery rhyme book to take home.  You can find patterns for the book HERE.

I hope you had a fabulous week.  Link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to let us know!

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

A Whole Lotta Learning Going On!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to showcase our week with Five for Friday.  Here's a peek at our week…..

We started an 'All About Me' theme this week.  The little ones did a great job of listening and following directions to make this craftivity that showcases many of their favorites.

I really love how they turned out.

Our names were an important part of our learning this week.

We scrunched up tissue paper and glued it on the letters.  After they were completed, the littles figured out how many letters were in their names.  Then, we graphed the results.

We also graphed boys and girls in our class.

My sweetie pies LOVE art.  So, they were super excited to decorate their own person.  I have some really, really creative learners.

 We also did these body collages.  As you can tell, they had great fun expressing their creativity.  :)

You can find my 'All About Me' activities HERE.

Speaking of loving art and being creative,

check out what they did during free choice time…..

L>O>V>E!

Here they are finger painting and having the time of their lives!

I introduced ten frames this week.  They did amazingly well with the concept.

These little ones wanted to continue their learning during center time.

Did I say I love this class yet?!?!

To add some motor movement and fun to our learning, I had each one step on these "stepping stones" and say the color as they did to line up to go home.  They LOVED this!

Guess my post title could have been 'A Whole Lotta Love Going On While Learning"!

How was your week?  Link up to tell us at Doodle Bugs Teaching.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

Currently~September!

I am linking up with Farley for her monthly 'Currently' linky party.

LOVE my Royals.  If I'm not at the game, I'm certainly listening to my boys in blue!

School has started and there have been LOTS of changes.

My program has gone from two half day programs to one full day program.  I have been tweaking my schedule the past two weeks,  I think I finally have something I can live with. I have decided I really, really like the full day program.

There is SO much to do …ALWAYS!  We have to come up with a grade card, so I'm in the middle of figuring out assessments.  Being in an elementary schools really helps me appreciate what's to come in kindergarten.  No rest for the wicked!!!

I wish there was a magic wand I could wave to make me feel organized!  No such luck yet!

I REALLY, REALLY miss my friends from my previous school.  I need some time with them!

Three goals that are always high on my list….

Organize, especially in the classroom!

Patience to not always feel like it has to be done now.  I'm my worst critic.

Prioritize.  I tend to flit from thing to thing. Adult ADD?!?!

 Maybe someday I will get it right! 

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

A Peek at Our Week!

 I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday and a peek at our week.

We are getting used to our all day schedule.  My little ones are starting the year eating lunch in the room.  So far, so good!

My little ones also are going to special classes, another new for us.  They are doing amazingly well.  Here are some pictures from music class.

They are loving it.

Here they have finger lights on while singing and performing to 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star"

So much fun :)

While learning about colors, we 'colored the room'

The little learners loved walking around the room, finding, and coloring the pictures.

This activity is from my 'Colors Galore and Classroom Posters and More' pack.  You can find it HERE or by clicking on the picture.

My sweet ones are super lucky to have access to i-Pads at school.  It always amazes me at how quickly they pick up technology.  

It makes learning seem like a game!

Last Sunday I participated in 'Head for the Cure' to honor one of my students from last year who was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

This sweet boy has the most positive, uplifting spirit.

Here he is being honored for 'Keeping the Faith'.  This five year old has taught me so much about life.  Please keep him in your prayers.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)

Visuals for Classroom Routines!

The beginning of the year is such n important time.  It's imperative that rules and routines are taught and practiced.  This will help your year go more smoothly.  I began using visuals with my special needs students.  I originally made the classroom routine visuals to go with IEP goals, but quickly realized that all my little ones benefitted from them.  They help know what step comes next when completing a task.  It’s like step-by-step directions in pictures.  Using visuals helps students become independent, much more quickly.

I just finished my latest product and posted it on TPT.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Visual-Schedules-for-Classroom-Routines-2056187

This packet contains step-by-step instructions for the following routines:  arrival time {unpacking backpack} using the restroom, hand washing, face cleaning, and departure time {packing up to go home}.  You may choose to use all the pictures or just some of them.  More independent students usually require less prompts.  To make, simply print off the picture icons on cardstock (for durability), laminate, and cut apart.  Decide which pictures you want to use and put them in order.  You can either glue them on a sentence strip, bulletin board border, or a strip of construction paper in the sequence of the task.  You may choose to use Velcro instead to attach the pictures.  As the step is completed, the student removes the icon.  This is usually good for children who have difficulty following a sequence of events by breaking it down.  The ‘using the restroom’ routine has several pictures to choose from.  You can make it as simple as “pull pants down, sit on the toilet, pull pants up, and wash hands” or more complex with explicit instructions.  Tailor it to the needs of your little ones.  The ‘Clean Your Face” can be kept whole and displayed close to a mirror.  After snack and/or lunchtime, I usually tell my students to go check their face {especially if it’s dirty and/or I have an IEP goal for adaptive behavior} The ‘Wash Your Hands” routine can also be kept whole or cut down the steps to make it simpler.  For the “Arrival and Departure” routines, depending on the needs/level of your learner, either display it whole as a class visual near cubbies, hooks, or lockers or individualize by putting a strip on a student’s cubby, locker, etc.  If you like these and find visuals helpful, check my store soon.  I will be posting visuals for cleaning up after snack/lunch, cleaning up after centers, how to look at books, how to walk down the hall and more!  If there is an icon not in this pack, I will be more than happy to make it for you.  You can find this product in my store by clicking HERE or on the pictures above.

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day.  :)