After much practice, we have started READING!

Wow!  I didn't realize just how long it's been since I have had the chance to post.  I've been going through a lot in my personal life on top of the beginning of the school year craziness and just have not had time to add anything on here from our classroom.  So I would like to jump back in by bragging on my munchkins in their reading portion of literacy block!

We are trying to embrace the Daily Five reading program by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser.  You can order the book from Amazon here.  And I highly recommend you do!!!  :)

The first of the Daily Five is Read to Self.  We talk as a class how this should look and what it should sound like.  My students have gotten up to 15-20 minutes of nearly (I do teach Kindergarten...) uninterrupted independent reading.  They take their book boxes and a carpet square to their own spot around the room (as far away from everyone else as needed), and get to reading right away.  This is such a beautiful thing, I almost start to cry every day because it amazes me how well involved these young children are in books.  But enough gab and sap...  Let me show you what it looks like in our classroom!!!  :)

 The second daily five we are working on is Work on Words - though I have not taught them that term yet, as I have been unable to be in school for the past two weeks due to my personal stuff.  But we have been learning how to work with letters so that we can transition into Work on Words.

 Students pull a stick out of a cup that has a foam letter stuck on it.  They then use these cute pumpkin beads to make the letter on a foam mat.

 This helps them with letter recognition, formation, as well as fine motor!  :)

 At this station, they had a tub of rice with different kinds of letters mixed in.  They had to pull a letter out using tweezers and write it on the board.  Now we're working on letter recognition and writing, as well as fine motor, still!

 How cute are these letter dominoes?!  Found them at the Dollar Spot at Target!!!  I bought two so I used a marker on the back of each and put a squiggle of one color or the other so they can hopefully keep them in the right group!

 I saw this on Pinterest here and loved the letter racing!  However, I wanted to add some beginning sound pictures, so I spent a little time putting them together.  Please feel free to email me at dbloh7chickk@aol.com and I'd LOVE to share this with you!!!  Also, I found the cubes at the Dollar Tree in a pack of 50, called "Foam Counting Cubes."  I was so excited because not only are they easy to write on - they're SILENT!!!  :)

Introducing the Number Four....

Our Kindergarten team of teachers are working together this year to try to make each other's lives a little easier.  We are each coming up with one math lesson, attached to a book, per week, and then passing the lesson on to the next alphabetical teacher.  :)  Less planning work = happy teachers!!!

Today, I did my own lesson, the introduction to the number four.  :) 

 I started by reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

 I then introduced the class to a blank tens frame (with magnets on the back to help it stay up).  We talked about which characters we had heard in the story.  As the students named a character, I put that character up on the frame (magnets also on the characters).  We counted the characters and decided that there were four.  I showed them the number 4, the word four, and also how to make a 4.  Then, I tried to "trick" them by moving one of the characters around and asking how many were on the frame now.  Some of them were tricked at first, but other students offered to show them how there were still 4 characters.  After moving them around into different boxes numerous times, I sent the students back to their desks with smaller frames and four rings.  They were given directions to show different ways to make four.  Below are some examples they came up with....

I'm telling you - geniuses already!!!!  :)  Next, I gave them even smaller frames and they had to color in four circles in their frames and glue into their math journals, then write the number 4 on the page.  I forgot to take pictures of this, but it really showed who truly got it and who didn't.  :)  Can't wait to see what they do tomorrow!

Letter Play

We start the year off practicing our Cluster Letters.  I get these by testing the kids on how which letters (and for some which sounds), they know.  I then tally up the letters.  I group them by 5-6 letters per "Cluster," starting with the letters most known and ending with with letters least known.  I then post the letters up, starting with Cluster 1.  You can find these letters all around my classroom.  We also do a lot of letter play with these letters until all of the students "own" these letters.  Our first letters we started with this year are B, O, A, X, and L.

 We make the letters with playdough and letter cookie cutters!

 We sort through letter tiles to find just our cluster letters and put them in the cups!

We sign along with the Fridge Phonics program for Leap Frog.

We "rainbow" letter our clusters.

 The more we play with letters, the better we will know them!

Hot gluing paper backed products without them tearing!

Ever had one of those moments that feels like a stroke of genius??  Here's mine!!  We do a lot of hot gluing to our walls, because that's basically the only way to get things to stay on our walls with this great Florida humidity.  The only problem with hot gluing, is you have to have things laminated before gluing so they come off of the wall without tearing the paper...  Well, the laminator is not always available, and something cannot be laminated.  So my stroke of genius?  Tape!!!

 I put a strip of tape on the back of the paper plates and other paper items I wanted to hang....

 Then I hot glued right onto the tape!  This way, it's LIKE being laminated, but you don't have to wait for when you can use the laminator.  Not to mention, you can't laminate paper plates!!!

Classroom Setup!

 One of the most difficult and exciting times of the year is the transformation of the classroom at the beginning of the year!!!  Since I am changing my whole theme, I started at the very beginning!!  Took EVERYTHING off of the walls and completely started over!!!

 The beginning stages....

 My calendar/math board.

 I got the idea of this calendar from this teacher, and am very excited for a new way to do calendar!

 This shelf was really ugly when I got it, so I invested in that special primer and some yellow paint, then mod-podged the fabric on the back board.  I'm in love!!!!  :)  The bright colors are awesome.  This is going to hold my math supplies for calendar and some center choices.

 

 My word wall.  :)  The letters are on plates with coordinating ribbons, we will be clothespinning the words to the ribbon to make it more accessible to students.  I will post more later.  :)

 My awesome sister came in and helped put the color word wall together.  We put up these great posters I had from years ago.  Then she used my BIG circle hole punch to punch out different colors from paint chips (and I had some leftover circles of construction paper from a past activity), and she hot glued them all around.  :)  So fun!!!

 My vowels plates - Filling wasted space and giving the kiddos a visual reference.  :)

When I graduated high school many years ago...  I was given a super comfy reclining chair.  This chair has been OVER loved in my classroom for all of these years!!!!  I have tried (and failed) to keep this chair clean...  EW!!!

 I finally have found a way...  Cover it up!!!!  :)

 I found this beach towel at Walmart for $4 on clearance.  I folded over the top and bottom and stitched them up the sides, creating a sleeve.

 Then I just slipped it on over the chair and voila!  A polka dot themed chair cover that can be WASHED!!!!!

 My book boxes for Daily 5 on the left.  I will be putting the alphabet cards on the pocket chart for the beginning of the year, and then move on to Phonics chunks,  The plates with ribbons are for Daily 5 sign ups.  :)

 My final Math board.

 I used bulletin border scraps with Index cards and dot stickers to make labels.  :)  I hung this clipboard by the door.  Inside that sleeve will be the dismissal lists with bus numbers and student names.  I put it in a sleeve so that I can use the Vis-a-Vis marker next to it to make any transportation note changes or whatever for the day. 

My classroom from the front door.

Along the back of the classroom...  Book Nooks for reading and lots of book bins!!!!!

My Daily Five anchor charts on the front board.

Trying a "deskless" space this year.  Only the computer desk and filing cabinet!  Please work!!!!  I hate the clutter of a desk!  The table to the left is for my volunteer.

Writing station area and behavior chart.  Used my teacher desk for this area.

Our classroom timeline for the year.  :)

I bought this frame at a yard sale for $1.  :)  Primed and painted it.  My friend added the words for the kiddos to use for the pictures.  These were my helpers for the day.  :)

My table tubs for shared supplies.  Magnetic Muffin tins painted white with Mod-Podged stickers.  I hot glued magnets to the bottom of the cups.  I will be hot gluing another magnet in the bottom of each muffin space to give just a little stronger connection, I think.  We'll see how they work.  :)  I got tired of the big bins!!!

I have decided to downsize classroom furniture.  Behold my reading table and student desk combined.  All set up for parent orientation.

 The outside door.  :)    Here's to a great year!!!!!