The 4 Top Skills Your Students Should Master In January & A Learning Opportunity For YOU Too!

These 4 skill sets are on  SALE for the New Year...

Phonics, sight words, writing, & math:

My favorite 3 Language Arts sets, plus my huge Numbers 1-10 set, are all on sale right now and through this New Year weekend! What a great way to welcome in 2017 and be ready for your "Littles" when school resumes in Jan.

January is the perfect time to focus on foundational Language Arts skills AND to review the numbers 1-10 before moving on to those tricky teens. Help your students to develop true conceptual understanding and build a firm foundation for the numbers 1-10. That will make the teens easier to understand.

1. All About Numbers 1-10: You get all of this for each number 1-10! The different templates allow you to differentiate and focus on specific skills. Great for RTI too.

2. Seasonal Journal Pages with Rubrics: You get the basic "pencil" rubric plus four additional templates, one for each season. Your students will love returning to school to a new "winter" journal. You can copy & bind these into a daily journal or use them one-at-a-time as needed.

3. Sight Word Pocket-Lockets: This makes a FUN small group lesson and can also be used to create an independent center. Just copy on colored construction paper, add scissors, glue, and some yarn to help your students create a pocket watch or a locket to wear home.

4. Alphabet Picture Cards and a template for a cute alphabet book: You can do one a week or one a day. Each page reinforces initial consonant and short vowel sounds.

Have you thought of attending a conference this January?

I'll be presenting at the PK1 Conference in Santa Clara, CA on Jan. 14 & 15.

You can read about all of the speakers and sessions by 

CLICKING HERE. 

Click the image.

And if you're on the East coast, you can catch me at
The SDE Conference for Tennessee Pre-K Teachers by
CLICKING HERE.

CLICK THE IMAGE.

I hope you enjoy the sale and have a wonderful New Year!
See you all in 2017!

How to host a successful Christmas book exchange

Hi everyone, it's Cori from Mrs. B's Beehive!  I hope you are all resting on your Christmas break, and recharging your batteries!  Today I wanted to share a fun idea that we do in my classroom every year.

Every year when we get back from Thanksgiving break, I send out this note to my parents:

I ask them each to buy an inexpensive book to share and suggest that they try looking at Walmart or Target.  I try to stress the importance of gender neutrality as well, although I've had a few years where parents don't listen (shocking I know) and bring in a super girly or very boyish book.  When that happens, my kids usually just end up trading books.

I usually buy a couple of extra little books and wrap them, because I'm afraid that someone won't bring their books at the last minute.  I've actually never had someone forget to bring a book tho!  Here is a picture of what it looks like in action.  It's super blurry because it's a couple years old, and also because they move so fast when I say ready, set, go that it's hard to capture the moment! : )

This has been a hit every year, and I hope it's something you can incorporate into your own classroom!  If you would like to download a copy of the letter I use you can click on the link below:

Christmas Book Exchange Letter

Elf Fun

Hey everyone, it's Amanda from Mrs. Pauley's Kindergarten and I would love to tell you about my absolute favorite holiday activity that I do with my class.

It's called "Elf Yourself" and it is so much fun!  I take my students and turn them into elves.

To make these fun crafts, I take pictures of my students and then use the templates in my craftivity to make the body, hat, hands, and feet.

I like using Christmas themed scrapbook paper to make these unique for each student.  You don't have to use scrapbook paper, you could simply use red, green, and white construction paper as well.

Not only do these make an adorable display in the classroom, but my parents always love getting these to hang in their houses and keep too!  I had a former parent tell me that she loves getting out her child's elf every year when they decorate their house for Christmas.

If you would like to make these, click on the image below to grab this product from my TpT store.

EASY FREEBIE Christmas Ornament!

Easy Craft Ornament 

Every year when I unpack my Christmas decorations I get this overwhelming guilty feeling that I am not doing enough with my kindergarten students. It can be overwhelming! 
Here is an easy ornament idea that you can put in a center this week to send home before Christmas. They turn out really cute! 
You can grab it here for free if you need an ornament to send home! Just click on the picture:

Yes...I changed it to say 2016 :) 

All you have to do is print it on red construction paper and cut them out.  Cut a bunch of different strips of paper (I used a bunch of old scraps from my scrapbooking days) in the 4 sizes and I had the little star punch for the top but you could cut those out too.  I put it all in a bag so they didn't have to go grab anything....

I put a school picture on the back and that was that!  It was my stress free ornament last year and they turned out really cute! This year I am going to have a parent helper sit with my laminator and laminate them and cut them out as the kiddos make them and attach a little piece of ribbon. They will be tree ready as soon as they get home! 

Thanks for stopping in today to Kinder Tribe! 

Thanksgiving May Be Over, But You Can Still...

... use it to teach sight words and numerals!

Here are 3 ways to transition from Nov. to Dec.

#1. Thanksgiving Sight Words & Numerals:

1. Give each child a lined card with the word "see" on it and the numerals 1-5.

2. Give each child a copy of my Thanksgiving Counting Book.

Click the image to see this book. 

3. Students fill in the word "see" on each page, count the objects, and fill in the correct numerals.

This is a GREAT book to take home and read to their family too!

But That's Not All:

No, that's not all. 

#2.  I also made a Christmas Counting Book: 

Click the image to see this book. 

This book is filled with sight words for your students to learn and read as they count the objects and fill in the numerals 1-10. 

BONUS: Did I mention that ALL of the products in my TpT store are on sale through Nov. 29 and if you use the code CYBER2016, you can even save an extra 10% which will bring your savings to 28%!

#3.  Seasonal Writing Prompts:

Now that your students have just experienced Thanksgiving, you might also like to use the Thanksgiving writing prompt included in my Month-to-Month Writing pack. 

You get loads of other prompts that integrate science, social studies, and math with language arts. 

The Thanksgiving page looks like this:

Click the image to see the entire set of writing prompts. 

And the December page looks like this:

Click the image to see the entire set of writing prompts. 

And you can also make an entire math lesson around this question with my Class Graph Icons:  (So, I guess that's really 4 ideas!)

Click the image to see the set of icons. 

So have fun as you transition from Nov. to Dec. and remember to keep the FUN in the Fundamentals!  

Visit my Pre-K/T.K./Kindergarten blog:  JUST CLICK HERE

I'll see you all on Dec. 30. I should be all moved in to my new house by then! 

Palma 

Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

Hello Kinder Tribe friends!  It's Cori from Mrs. B's Beehive with a Thanksgiving art project to share with you!

I know that we all try to develop a sense of appreciation in our students for the many blessings in our lives, especially during this time of the year. This craft is a great visual reminder of all we have to be thankful for!

I start out the craft by printing everything up, and separating them into ziploc bags for each student.  Well, my students actually do all of the prep work, becuase who doesn't like to help the teacher in Kindergarten?!?! (thank the Lord)

We made a list of all the things we are thankful for, and I left it up on the board for them to copy on to the feathers. Warning: I am potentially the world's worst artist!!

We cut and glued our little hearts out, and tried not to loose any of the pieces.

And then boom! Easy bulletin board! One of my students handed me his turkey, and said, here's my turkey Mrs. B, but it looks terrible. : ) I told him it was beautiful, but that maybe if he glued the hat on the front, and added some feet or more than just one feather, he would like it more! Anyone else have kids who know that it looks horrible, but aren't willing to put in the effort to change it, or is it just me? : )

If you would like a copy of this craft, click on the link below.  I hope this is a quick and easy craft for you to use during this holiday season! Many blessing to you and your family this Thankgiving!

Thanksgiving Turkey Craft

Letter Recognition Turkey Trot

Every year I say the same thing. We are STILL working on letter recognition with a few of our friends. I don't know why I am shocked, it happens every year and I should remember that it will take a little longer for some of our friends. It still stresses me out though. 

A good way to take the pressure off is to mix in a game that makes it fun. We need more fun in our lives! Here is a run down on this simple and effective letter recognition game.  

 Click HERE to download for free!

Survive Halloween Week With This:

It's Halloween Week! Keep the "calm" with these ideas:

I created this cute little Halloween book that your students can make on Monday or even after Halloween!

This cute project is written in the the same pattern as Brown Bear and reinforces recognizing and writing color words.

It's filled with loads of cute Halloween "characters" who end up at a Halloween party.

It begins with the black cat who sees an orange pumpkin, who sees a white ghost....

There are several "characters" and each one is a different color.

The last page says, "I see a Halloween party!  That's what I see!"  All of the characters are printed on the lat page!

This would be a great project for this week or it can be a cute gift to give to your students for Halloween.  Here is the link to the:   Halloween Story.

Speaking of Halloween gifts.  I think the kids will be getting enough candy and don't need any more from me, so I always give students a toothbrush for Halloween.  I know it sounds strange, but I try to get really cute ones and the kids LOVE them!  After our costume parade and witch's brew (room temperature apple juice poured over dry ice that is encased in a cheesecloth bag so the pieces don't break off and get into the kids' cups), we sit at our tables and complete the Halloween Story book.  :)

So here is your question:  What do you give your students for Halloween?

See you all next month on the 30th!

Palma :)

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Fall Fun CGI

Hello Kinder Tribe Friends! This is Meghan from Meghan's Pad. Are you having a hard time starting your CGI groups?  Do your kiddos long for math group?  Do you Kinders want to practice CGI during independent time?  Well, I am able to answer yes to all of these questions!

Wait, what?  I for one was having a hard starting my math groups this year.  I wanted group time to be fun, engaging, and something that the children would want to come to.  After much thought, I came up with the perfect solution.....CGI games!

My kiddos now love math group AND ask to play this game during free choice!

This is how it works:

You have the choice of 3 different game boards AND 3 different levels of cards.  Since our focus this month was on addition, the game cards are only join result unknown (JRU), but each set focuses on different sums (to 10, crossing the decade, and to 20).

During group, I call the kiddos to my table.  Player 1 goes first by picking a card.  We read the card together and everyone solves the math story (I make sure to have cubes, whiteboards, fun counters, etc.).  Once everyone has solved the math story, Player 1 says there answer.  If someone got a different answer we talk about how we solved it, and then solve it together.  If Player 1 got the answer correct, they roll the die and move that many spaces.  The game continues with each player picking a card and solving the math story.

If you are interested in the game, you can pick it up for free here.

Here are a few pictures of the game.  I hope you all enjoy!  What do you do to engage and encourage problem solving in math?

 

Fall Math Freebie

This post contains affiliate links. I receive a small compensation if you purchase the below materials from the affiliate link.

Hello Kinder Friends. I hope you all are starting to enjoy some cooler weather! I have finally gotten to break out my sweaters, but it's still a little to warm for my tall boots and scarves.

Today, I'm here to share with you one of my favorite my games - Roll and Cover.

For this classic game, students roll the dice, count the dots, and cover it. Super simple and kids love to play it over and over again.

You can make it a partner game and have students race to see who can cover their board.

At this time of year, we are working with the numbers 1-10. I didn't want to do two dice and go to twelve, so I made a spinner to go to 10.  I LOVE how the kids are getting extra practice with the ten frames on this game. You can get all the game boards and the spinner FREE HERE.

{When you download it, yours will say spin and cover not roll and cover}

I bought these spinners off of amazon a few years ago. I found that when I stuck them straight into the spinner, they didn't spin very. So instead of directly attaching them to the spinner, I cut a square of leftover laminate, hole punched the middle, and added the spinner.

Then, you just lay the laminate on top of the spinner. It works for ANY SPINNER! 

LOVE IT!!!

You click above to buy 8 spinners to make your own spinners.

Are you looking for more Fall Math Games?

Check out my Fall Math Centers. 

(Yes, I used the same spinner for the 1 more/1 less game!)

I often get asked where I found my plastic pumpkins. I got them at Target a few years ago. I did find that they do have similar ones on Amazon, but as cute as they are, they are 7.99 for only 25!

Thanksgiving CVC Freebie

Hello Kinder Tribe friends!  It's Cori from Mrs. B's Beehive with a quick and simple freebie you can use with your students in November! 

Use this resource in a center, or as a whole group activity to help assess your students on their blending skills!

Cut up the turkey cards, and have your students match the words to the pictures.

Then have your students write the words on the corresponding turkey recording sheet:

Quick and easy assessment for this very busy time in the school year!  You can grab this freebie here:

Turkey CVC Word Match-Up

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Dollar Store Finds for Fall

Hello kindergarten friends!  Heather here from Learning with Mrs. Langley.  Is there anything better than getting kids engaged with some Dollar Store finds?  I love filling our math tubs with fun activities.  Today I will share some of new math activities I found recently at the local Dollar Store. 

First up: Ten Frames!
We use ten frames for just about everything in Kindergarten.  I introduced counting collections this week with these fun ice cube trays just in time for my pumpkin unit.  I got the colored pom poms at the Dollar Store too so they could have something festive to count.  

This group counted by color and sorted their tens into little boats from the cafeteria.  We are loving counting our larger collections by tens!

This group just wanted to count all of their collection before time was up so they just went for it!

These little cuties were counting their pom poms by size.  So many ways to differentiate with this activity! 

Next up: BIG DICE!

I love big dice!  I was really excited to find these big dice in the toy section.  We will be using these for some addition activities next week but we wanted to try them out in our math tubs just for fun.  I use dish pans to store all of our math tub materials in and they work wonders for keeping those die from flying all over the room.

Fun right?  Kids are racing to the math tubs every day to get their hands on these fun materials.  The best part?  I didn't break the bank!

Thanks for stopping by for some math fun today. Share your favorite Dollar Store finds in the comments below!