Monday Made it... a little late!

Sorry friends, I have been MIA! I had 2 baby showers, one of which I was hosting over the weekend and then we had to put my sweet dog to sleep on Monday so I was not in a happy place :( She was my first child and I miss her so much. I know she is in doggy heaven now though, and that she is not in any more pain! To take our minds off of our loss, we went to the beach yesterday...

Okay, onto happier things. Since I was a busy, busy lady, I didn't get anything done for school. This is causing me some major axiety as I feel the summer is slipping away and I am NOT ready!

For my Monday Made It, all I can offer are some non-school related items! I made 2 diaper cakes to match the shower themes. Check 'em out.

bee themed shower - love the stuffed bee from Kohl's

Moose themed shower. I added scrapbook paper to the G but forgot to snap a new picture.

little party favors. Hershey Nuggets covered in scrapbook paper with a topper.. my pictures don't do them justice, they were so cute. IMHO

banner for above the cake. Again, I really need to stop using my cell phone to snap pictures :(

 a close up of the banner

food tents to match the theme

I loved the labels I used with ribbon to add to the drinks

I had lots of fun making stuff for the shower. When the other person helping me through the shower sent me the invitations, I couldn't believe it.. they had the Scrappin' doodles moose on theme! Score - I knew I could make perfectly coordinated decorations!  So, not school related, but fun nonetheless! 

And the winner is...

Andrea P! Congratulations. I am emailing you right now!!!

Thank you all for making my first ever giveaway so amazing! I had over 1000 entries and made 75 more bloggy friends! I plan to post a little something on Monday to spread the love. I wish I could do it sooner, but I have a baby shower today and I am hosting a different baby shower tomorrow~  Until then, have a great weekend!

WBT

Do  you use pieces of Whole Brain Teaching? I used class/yes and the 5 rules last year. I also tried to talk less, use hand motions more and partner the kids up to teach each other the material. I want to go "all in" this coming year with my kindergartners. I know the importance of giving short chunks of information and having the students use that information in some way. I am so guilty of getting the kids on the carpet and talking WAY to long. Then they get frustrated and I get frustrated and no one is learning all that information at one time. This year I vow to talk less and really stick to doing mini lessons.... I know it will be hard for me, but it is my number 1 goal.

I read a blog post the other day by ?? (I am so sorry, I can't remember and couldn't find it. If it was you, please let me know!) she mentioned her principal told the staff to" do 5 things well" I needed to see/hear/read/digest that! I am the queen of having too many irons in the fire. I get really excited about what I am learning and I want to do everything right now! Is that a teacher thing? Anyway, for accoutnability sake, here are my 5 things I am going to do really well (at least I am going to try to do them really well!)
1. Implement Whole Brain Teaching
2. Daily 5 - scared to death about this one but I am committing myself to the process.
3. Daily 5 for math - I did lots of this in third grade but I want to get even better at pulling small groups in kinder.
4. Use pieces of Singapore math during my guided math lessons. I think it is SO important to really focus on number sense and S-L-O-W down where needed.
5. Blogging - I am going to try hard to really document my first year as a kindergarten teacher and write about what is working/not working for me. I am also going to try to create things for my classroom and share them through this blog.

I created a whole brain poster to match my classroom colors. I decided to make 2 different versions. One with the kindergarten rules as heard in this famous video below, and one with the "regular" rules. I made them in rectangles and circles for your displaying pleasure :) If you find any mistakes, please let me know!

Click here to get your copy

So, what are your 5 things? I would love to hear about them!

Daily 5 : Chapter 4

Well, since I have NO prior knowledge in working with kindergartners, I am going to take this as an opportunity to plan what I will do with my class this fall. So the following answers are my "plan" not based on my actual experiences. 

1)  How far into the school year do you think kinders need to be to be able to begin the process of Read to Self?  What is realistic?  When do you plan to begin implementation? While reading the chapter I keep wondering if this is doable. I think since we will be working on read the pictures and retell the story, we can start early in the year. I am not sure I will be ready to start day 1. I think I need some time to teach classroom rules/expectations. Teach them where supplies are kept, etc... I also want to start doing calendar math the first day and I believe that will take up a large chunk of time. Realistically, I would like to start on Monday of week two. 


2) How will you make sure that each child views him/herself as a reader (whether they are reading words or not)? I will just keep telling them and referring to them as readers. Since I have a kindergarten aged daughter, I think this comes naturally to me! See, I have been practicing, "Oh, my goodness, you are such a great reader! I love the way you told me what was happening in the pictures!" I will also send home a note that first week explaining this to the parents and encourage them to encourage their children! Update: Click here to see an awesome parent note I found on Google Docs. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the original author or pin.


3) What are some ideas you have about "Launching Read to Self" in kindergarten?  How will you go about it and what are some ways to make sure it is "kinder friendly"?  I like the way the sisters explain it in the book. I will use their strategy. I like the part about placing them around the room and making sure to put them in a different spot each time. I am guilty of giving too much independence too quickly so it definitely won' t be natural to me to physically pick a place for them to sit, but that is my plan!


4) How will you/do you build the children's belief that this IS important?  What can we do to encourage the ones who do not value it and create disruptions for others? I think this is where we are lucky as kindergarten teachers. Most kids come to us ready to believe anything we tell them. They have not had enough experiences yet to tell them they are not readers, or reading is not important. If we make it important and fun and we make it seem urgent, I think they will believe in it too. I can also see making an anchor chart where we brainstorm "why people read" We can refer back to this whenever someone is not taking reading seriously. I know there will always be disruptive kids, but perhaps if these children are shown a little extra love/attention/support they will thrive on the structure and choice provided to them in the Daily 5. 


5) How valuable is Checking In and Reviewing with kindergarteners?  How often will you do it?  When will you do it? What are some different ways to "check in"?I think checking in is extremly important with all grades. Students learn very quickly how to "play" the game if they see there is no accountability. We need to show them that we care about what they are doing during this time everyday. I also think this is a perfect time to review expectations and have class meeting to nip things in the bud before they get out of control. This is a perfect time for those teachable moments. Therefor, I plan to check in every day (at least for the first few months). It will probably be at the carpet most days and be very short. Maybe we can come up with some fun ways to check in after we get our feet wet! I am thinking a song or chant like, "my name is Heather, and I chose read to self" clap, clap. You get the idea!


6)What are some problems that can occur during this time (either that you anticipate with your kinders OR that you have experienced)?  How can we be proactive about these issues?  I think the biggest problem will be staying on task (even for 3 minutes) one thing I can do is continue to model, model, model (again, not a strength) and refer back to our anchor lessons. I will stop as soon as a child is off task as to not build the wrong muscle memory. I think making a big deal like class cheers and maybe a song/dance when we meet our goals will help them feel excited and happy to be a part of our "team." When we are team, everyone will work together to see that we are all successful! 
**Sorry, I am feeling all "everything is going to be rosy in my classroom", a sure sign of summer break! Let me try that answer again.**
I still agree with what I posted above. However, perhaps there will be a child or two that does not get to pick which daily 5 they are working on or where they get to sit during this time. Perhaps I will have to choose for them until they have earned my trust back. By picking for them, or having them work at a location away from other students, I can be proactive in keeping the rest of the class on track. 


Thanks to Krissy for hosting this chapter. Click on her button to take you back over there and read more about chapter 4. 








Happy Fourth of July! Be safe and have fun!!


If you haven't read about my amazing 100 follower giveaway, take a look at what you could win!

100 Followers and an Amazing Giveaway!!

Stop the presses (I may be a bit dramatic) I am at 100 followers!! I can't believe it - I just started this blogventure (I love me some made up words) in early June! I am having so much fun and learning so much at the same time. I can't imagine ever having the creativity to create whole units like some of my favorite bloggy buddies do! I hope that after I get my kindergarten feet wet so to speak, I will be ready to make some stuff that can help other teachers the way their blogs are helping me! Okay, enough mushy talk. On to the fun! To celebrate my 100 followers, I am having an awesome giveaway. Check out what you can win.

Kelly from Teacher Idea Factory will give away 1 item of your choice from her awesome TpT store. I just adore her watermelon back to school unit. What will you choose?

j

Crystal from Kreative in Kinder is going to give away her Zero the Hero pack. Be still my heart... I love teaching math and this ca-ute unit gets kids excited about making 10's!!

Krissy from Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Buisness is giving away her Numbers 1 - 10 pokey pin kit. What an awesome way to help our friends build their fine motor strength!

 
The lovely ladies over at Primary Possibilities are going to donate two items from their TpT stores. First up, Stephanie is giving away her Super Hero behavior and classroom management pack. Love it! As if that wasn't awesome enough, Stephany is giving away her Summer Fun Awards pack! 

On top of all that awesomeness, I will donate a $10 gift card to TpT to help with your back to school shopping! Can you even stand it???  To enter, just use the rafflecopter below.  I will pick one very lucky winner on Saturday!! "May the odds be ever in your favor!"  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Who's excited for Monday?

This girl (can you see my thumb pointing back at me?) So bizarre, right? During the school year I loathe Monday's but in the summer, not so much! If you are here for Manic Monday, here is a little number match game I made for you! I had a lot of Crystal Light containers laying around and I thought they would be great for holding game pieces. Here is an example of the before and after.

 To make the container, I peeled off the original label, printed a new one, and used spray adhesive to stick it on! You could also gently fold and put it on the inside if you'd prefer. I am thinking about putting a coat of Mod Podge over top or clear contact paper to keep it looking fresh!

Click here to grab it in Google Docs. Click here to grab it from my TpT store.

For Monday Made it I finished my Live, laugh love wall art, 

Original post with printables

covered some scrap metal to make a magnetic memo board and made some cute glass magnets to match,

Tutorial Here

Inspiration Here and Here

Inspiration Source

Then I covered some dollar spot baskets with matching paper to store all my markers and such! Umm, I got a little cray with the sponge and paint.. not my best work but those puppies are going in my room anyway! I used spray adhesive to get the paper to stick - I really wanted to use fabric, but the crafting Gods weren't with me.







I can't wait to see what everyone else made. I LOVED Tara's believe sign. I have had a classroom sign like that pinned forever.... Well, what are you waiting for? Head on over to Tara's and see what everyone else made!

Currently

I am so excited I can't even stand it! Why you ask? Because this is the first month I can actually participate in Currently! I have always read everyones and until tonight, I had a twinge of jealousy that I couldn't play along. Not any longer. Game on!

See Farley, I read your whole post and followed the rule! HA!

I know you are sick of hearing that I am moving from third grade to kindergarten, but I am so excited I can read Junie B. books again. I adore her character. I totally channel my inner Junie when I read. The kids think I am crazy and I don't know who has more fun.. them or me! 

As for the professional books, I am not sure I have a go to book though I feel like I will be referencing the Daily 5 and Guided Math books a LOT this year. However, I am always looking at, reading, rereading, and stalking anything WBT. I implemented parts this year and I am ready to dive in with even more next year. 

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my very first currently. If you are new to my blog, please consider following me. I am about to have my 100 Follower giveaway - come on, I know you want to help me get there! 

Now, head on back over to Oh' Boy Fourth Grade and read what everyone else is up to!