End of Days & A Linky Party!

Hi Friends! I have 6 more days to go & I am soooo ready to be on break! Woot, woot!! I love my class, but I am ready to let them move on up!

Thank you to everyone that responded to my last post about dinosaurs. I am putting some of your ideas into the plans for these last few days. My kiddos are having such a great time with the dino theme...don't they always?!

In other news...I am linking up with Sprinkle Teaching Magic for a fun little blog bonanza! I am looking forward to being able to be a better blogging best friend to all of you! We are besties, right? :)

Check out the questions below to learn a little more about me & my bloggy vision for the summer! Yay!

1. Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging as a way to connect with other teachers. I like that we can share ideas & connect with one another to improve the way that we teach! And, it's just nice to meet new people, especially all of the terrific blog-land folks! I have never found a group of people that are more willing to help a fellow teacher than I have here in blog-land! :)

2. What blogs do you stalk? What blogs inspire you? (These blogs can be teaching blogs, non-teaching related or both. Make sure to link them so we can check out your blog favs! Hello!?!?! We will certainly all need new blog reading material this summer).

I am such a blog stalker...it's hard to narrow it down! Some of the blogs that inspire me are Mrs. Wills, Kreative in Kinder,  Growing Kinders, & Mrs. Jump. I stalk LOTS of blogs though. You can see more of my favorites in my blog roll, too!

3. Blogging tips, tools, and great ideas you have learned along the way.

Ummm...I'm still kind of a newbie at all this. I don't know that I have any great tips or tricks. Heck, I don't even know how to put up a freebie on Google Docs or make those cute collage pages for my TpT units or how to get a blog button! I think that I need someone else to give me the tips, tools, tricks, etc! You can see how bare bones & simple my little blog is! ;) Ha!

4. Blogging and balance.

I think that I am balancing things okay. Although, I do want to blog a little more. It's just that I don't know that what I have to say is all that interesting sometimes. I want to have a blog that is concise & entertaining & that can be a little resourceful to my teacher friends!

5. What are your blogging goals for the summer?

I'm going to try to be a better blogger...puke! That sounds so corny, doesn't it?! Seriously though, I do want to post stuff that you guys can use & that will be of interest to you. No promises...I said I will TRY!

OK Friends! Now it's your turn! Hop over to Sprinkle Teaching Magic & link up so that I can stalk you back! Hee hee!!

~Jen

7 More & I Need a Little Help...

Well, I have 7 more days to go. This week we are re-testing, and at my school that means that we are in total lockdown...AGAIN! No recess, no specials, no leaving the room for anything but lunch. So, to get through this I am teaching about dinosaurs. That always seems to be a crowd pleaser. I am using my dinosaur unit for math & literacy stations. You can grab it by clicking on the picture.

This unit is great, but here's the thing...I need some crafty, fun things that my kiddos can do. Does anyone know of anything that I can do with them...minimal prep-work if possible! ;)

I really need to keep those little hands busy!!

Thanks Friends!!

~Jen



Am I the Only One??

I still have 8 days of school left! Am I the only teacher that is still in session? I am so jealous that so many of you are already getting to enjoy your summer.

 

Okay, I'll stop whining now! I am happy that I have ALL of my end of the year assessments, paperwork & report cards completed!

 

Woop, Woop! That will make these last few days a little smoother! I am really looking forward to sleeping in & relaxing.  :)

On another note...

LOOK what came in the mail today...

I am sooooo excited about the book study that Mrs. Wills will be doing in blog-land this summer! I can't wait to get started!

I need to send a special shout out to Laura over at Kinder Kraziness for spotlighting me on her blog!

 

I have warm fuzzies all over! :) Thank you, Laura! I just love all the kindness & support that there is in blog-land!! Hop over there and check out her blog! You will LOVE it!!

Happy Saturday!!

~Jen

Alphabet Songs!

If you have never heard of Have Fun Teaching you are really missing out! I use these in my class for the Alphabet songs, the counting songs and the fitness songs! My kids LOVE them!! Go here to check them out! Here is one of our favorites!!

I just love these groovy tunes! :) I love that they give the sounds & several examples of words that have the letter. PLUS~ these videos get those little bodies up & moving to get those wiggles out!! Go over there & check these out so you will have them ready to go for next year!!
They are having a great giveaway where you can get all the alphabet videos!
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
~Jen

Making Me Happy Monday

These are the things that are making me happy today...You know Mondays always need a little lift!

I FINALLY found Scentos!! Yay! My students (and me) went nut-so over them!!

I'm just loving my black, sparkly TOMS that I got for Mother's Day. They are so awesome!!

In other news, we started our ocean unit today & I snapped these pictures of some of my math & literacy work stations. My students were so excited that we were starting this unit!

sorting subtraction facts

spin, graph, & add

number & tens frames

roll, add, color

mixed up sentences

spelling

ABC order

(look at those cute shoes...they are always sparkly! Who wouldn't love that?!)

writing center

word unscrambling

 syllable sorting



rhyming

What else is making me happy?

Oh, I am so glad that you asked...

I am SOOOOO happy that my students are really rocking their assessments! Today they had a writing assessment & I was EXTREMELY happy with their work! :)  

Ok, I will leave you now! I hope that you have all had a great Monday! Only 12 more days left!!!

~Jen



Kindergarten Memory Book & A Decorating Theme?

Happy Sunday, Friends! I have a busy day ahead of me, but I managed to get this little Kindergarten Memory Book posted for you. It is on sale for today only for $1.00! So get over there & grab it! Let me know if you need anything changed to meet your needs. I am happy to help!

On a side note...

Does anyone decorate their classrooms with a theme? You know...frogs, monkeys, stripes, etc...

I have never really done this, but I have seen so many cute classrooms on blogs & pinterest that have me thinking of rolling with a decorating theme this next year. I absolutely LOVE polkadots, but I am afraid that they will get on my nerves after a while...

Can anyone sound off on this?!? I am interested in hearing your input...where is everyone getting the cutie pie stuff they are using to decorate? Are they making it themselves? Oh, the questions!?!?!?

~Jen

Whew! I'm so glad this week is over!!

My school has been doing EOG (End of Grade) testing for 3rd thru 5th grades this week. For K-2 it means that we cannot leave our room except for lunch...no recess, no specials, no breaks...

We have been locked in kinderjail ALL week. AARGH!!

 On the bright side, I did manage to get almost all of my assessing done. All I have left to do are my DRA's, and I like to wait to do those at the last possible second. I like to give them as much reading instruction as I can possibly muster!

Anyway, with that being said, I am hoping that I can be a better blogger this week! I have missed all of my bloggy friends! I am planning on posting the memory book that I am going to start working on with my class this week. I think that they will turn out really great this year because I have a class full of kids that LOVE to write! I am crossing my fingers that I get a group next year like the one I've had this year! They have been my best class ever!! :)

I will be back soon...Have a Happy Saturday Everyone!

~Jen

What I'm Pinning Wednesday!

I love teaming up with Laura at Kinder Kraziness for this fun linky party!

Yay for Pinterest! I seriously need to go to some kind of support group for my Pinterest habits! Ha! With that being said, here are some of my faves from this week...

How fun is this for an end of year gift?! I might change the wording to "First Grade will be a piece of cake!"

I am totally digging this idea! I need a serious bookshelf makeover & this may do the trick. I think my paint stirrers will have theme or genre labels.

I am really going to focus on character traits and being a good citizen next year & I really like these stickers from Really Good Stuff to promote positive behaviors in my classroom.

I want one of these so bad! I think they are so adorable!

Happy Hump Day Everyone! :)

Link up & share what you are pinning Wednesday!

15 more days for me...

~Jen

Linking Up!

I am linking up again with Mommy & Me Creations for the "All About Hoo? You, That's Who" linky party. This has been so fun getting to know other bloggers! Here is the blog button in case you want to get in on the fun, too!

This weeks questions:

1) What is your favorite color?

My favorite color is orange.

2) What is your favorite food?

My favorite food is anything Mexican...I could eat it everyday! YUM!

3)What is your favorite T.V. show?

My favorite TV shows are Once Upon A Time & 2 Broke Girls.

4) Do you have a lucky number? And if so, what is it?

My lucky numbers are 8 &12

 

So, there you have it! Link up & join the fun!!

:)

 

~Jen

Out of This World!!

Today we kicked off our transportation theme by learning about rockets. First, we read this...

Then, we made these & hung them all over the place :)!

Then, we wrote some great stories!

Pg 1: One time I was in a rocket & I was traveling in outer space & I saw the moon. The moon was big.

Pg 2: And then I was going to the moon & then I landed on the moon. The moon was pretty.

Pg 1: I went in the rocket.

It was fun.

My rocket went fast. 

Pg 2: I went to the moon.

The moon is big.

Pg 3: I was in space.

Space is my favorite.

A rocket have fire on the bottom of the rocket. I saw a rocket and I saw it far away from my telescope.

They were so excited to learn about transportation today! I was so happy with all of their hard work!

I hope everyone had a great Monday!!

~Jen

Happy Mother's Day, Next Week, & an AWESOME Giveaway

Hello Friends~
I want to wish ALL of you a Happy Mother's Day. Even if you don't have any children, you are a mommy to your students...so Happy Mother's Day to you, too!! I always tell my students that I am their "School Mama"! Ha!

Have you heard about this terrific giveaway? My sweet friend, Nicole at Rowdy in Room 300 is celebrating & wanted to have a fantastic giveaway! She even included something of mine in the prize! Stop by there & check it out!!

Next week is one of my very favorites...it's transportation week! YAY! The boys LOVE this one, & the girls get into it, too!
Here is a little peek at what my centers will look like...

The writing center is all ready to go! They were soooo excited when they saw me changing things out.

A fun labeling center...

Here is a fun little sorting center.

This is a magnet center this week. They will hang the vehicle pictures on my desk, make the words with the magnet lettters, & then they will record everything on the sheet.

Digraph sorting...they will sort the train cars according to their digraphs & then record answers on sheet. I love the way this one turned out!

This cutie will be in my book making center. They will have to fill in the high frequency words throughout the book. My class LOVES making these easy readers!

A little addition fun!

One More, One Less

Count & Color

Spin, graph, & add

This is a favorite...they have to find the vehicles around the room, measure their length with cubes, and record their findings.

(This one is not included in my TpT unit...sorry!)

That's what my crew will be working on! If you like the activities you can find them here...

...OR you can win them in Nicole's giveaway! Go there...now...get in on it!!
Good Luck to you!!

Have a great Sunday everyone!

~Jen