Happy New Year! It's not only a new year, but a new month and that means it's time for the Pick 3 Pins linky. YAY! Thanks to Pawsitively Teaching and Inspired Owl's Corner.
With FREEBIES this time- whoot
To be very honest, I really have a love-hate relationship with this linky. I LOVE posting to it because I love Pinterest and use it all the time, and I LOVE going to this linky as a teacher and finding new great stuff. HOWEVER, I HATE only being able to share THREE! Three?? I mean, com'on, I could share three hundred! sigh.
So, in the end I share two snow themed pins, because my class is all about snow in January, and one little diddy that I just have to share. AND I give you a freebie I made to go with the song. Actually, one of the snow pins leads to a freebie, too, so click away.
Do you know the short Lily and the Snowman video? I haven't seen it come across any pin boards yet, but it is so lovely. I can hardly wait to share it with my kiddos... it has similar themes to Puff the Magic Dragon, which we love and sing all the time, and it will lead to good discussion about growing up, like Puff did. But spoiler alert– it might make some of you cry! My own daughters just tease me and tease me... one day they'll know!
Okay, so there isn't too much new about sparkly playdough or making clay snowmen... but would you look at how it is set up! SO cute. SO inviting with wonderful choices. And see that little snowman factory sign?? Well, its a FREEBIE when you click through to the blog. I think after we've spent a day with playdough, I'm going to break out the air dry dough and let them create permanent snow friends. Love.
This is the CUTEST song. Found on YouTube, complete with sign language, you and your kids will have fun learning the song. My kids and I usually sing a goodbye song at the end of the day, so I typed up the words to put up in my classroom for the kiddos to read along. YOU can download my little poster by clicking on the pic below.
Well, that is all for today. I do encourage you to check out my Pinterest boards and the snow themed one in particular because there are so many great ideas on there and I am adding to it all the time.
Click to go to my Pinterest page!
I've been using my own student break count down on my fridge and it was a sad mark I made this morning. If you'd like to share it with students next year, you can download it by clicking on the picture. Now make sure you're ready for tomorrow's return to school because ready or not, here they come charging into 2016!
To find more great pins just continue down the page and you'll find tons. It is your lucky day! Thanks for stopping by.
I'm linking up as I LOVE to do with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday.
This has been SOME WEEK! But I'm not going to tell you about it because as I write this Thursday night, there is still one MORE day to GO! When I finally wrap this week up I'm going to need some entertainment, and I'm thinking you might, too. So here are some great videos. I've been saving these favorites, but it is time to share. Some cool, some for the kids, some funny! Hope you enjoy! Get ready to Pin!
1. I'm starting off with something funny! There are lots of parodies of the song All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor, but this one is just for moms! Love it! I'm putting a link to it in my parent newsletter this week.
2. Here's one for the kids! The Beatles help them learn the words yes, no, stop, go... This Beatles fan loves it. Totally worth adding to your classroom Pinterest Board... You DO know that one of the best ways to collect videos for the classroom is by pinning them, right? Then with just a click to your board you can watch 'em. Simple.
3. This is Amazing and Delightful! Irish kids singing and performing When I'm Gone in Irish. I thought about saving this one for you until St. Patrick's Day, but couldn't wait. You can save it until then to show your kids, if you like. Who knew plastic cups were musical instruments... would be fun to introduce that idea to the kiddos!
4. This is Hysterical! I laughed so hard. I have two younger, identical twin brothers and when they were growing up, O.M.G. the trouble they would get into. What one didn't think of, the other one did. Naughty, naughty. I think they are the reason I went into teaching... if I could survive being the big sister through the shenanigans of those two, I could handle anything a class could throw at me.
Now this guy and his friend are NOT my brothers. But this IS about being naughty, and if my two had thought of it, this COULD be a RobbieDave story. It makes me miss them way out in Colorado. Enjoy this chuckle!
5. I bet you wouldn't think that a kindergarten teacher from the Midwest would have an ounce of interest in the trends of NYC, but truth be known, I love The Big Apple, and I do have a couple ounces of fashion interest... remember I'm the one with the Hello Kitty shoes, the red fringe cowboy boots, and the monkey hat. Fashion statements, every one.
Ever since I was little, NYC held some big fascination for me. My first trip there found me moving in for the summer while attending Bank Street College. I remember walking On Broadway on the upper west side humming the tune and thinking I had really arrived. Upon graduating, and before kids came on the scene, we considered taking up residence. I still like to keep an eye on the city.
Watch what's happening in New York and you'll know all the trends. Whether it's animal hats, particular prints, or the latest accessory, if people are wearing it on the street there, you'll see it on the street of Small Town soon.
So I relish the almost weekly reports by Bill Cunningham. I love the man. I've never met him, of course, but he is just so full of personality and knowledge on his topic, how can anyone not enjoy him. He knows fashion like no one else. Who else has been watching fashion for well over half a century? I saw the documentary on him several years ago and he is a character, a true thread of the fabric that makes up the city, out on his bike in all sorts of weather, camera in hand, seeing people with that special eye.
A weekend treat for me is to catch his New York Times piece, On the Street. It is a video slideshow with commentary that only Mr. Cunningham can do. Just marvelous! I love his snaps of ordinary people as they go about city life, and how he puts those pictures together. I'm on my way to NYC in a few weeks with my daughters for a long weekend of Christmas shopping and as I always do, I'm keeping an eye on what Mr. Cunningham is up to. I'd love to catch a glimpse of him at work. This Michigan gal will never be in front of his camera, but I'd sure love to see what he sees. For my last piece of entertainment, click on his picture below and catch three minutes of his stuff. Love ya, Bill!
Scoot on back to Doodle Bugs and see what is going on with Kacey and the rest of your fellow teachers. And have a great weekend.
The post The Entertainment Edition first appeared on kidpeopleclassroom.com
I still have a month before school starts (I didn't get out until mid June, remember), but my mind is drifting toward starting school with my new kidpeople. Learning how school works is always so key in the early days, so I'm joining up with Five For Friday to discuss lining up. Look for lots of little tips hiding in here :)
1. Teachers have all sorts of ways to teach lining up, like talking about how cars go past the fast food drive-thru window in single file– this idea's from Leslie over at Kindergarten Works recently. It made me grin.
No matter how you transition your kids to the line, it is very important that instruction starts on the first day of school, the first time you line up. I tell my new kiddos that this is something we are going to do many times each day, so we need to become Line-up Experts. (The kids don't know it then, but they will be experts in all sorts of things by the end of the year.) Experts know three things– we line up quietly, we keep hands off friends and walls, and we take the next spot as the line forms and stay there for that trip. I allow time to practice getting into the line several times, even before we leave the room the first day. Practice and high expectations goes a long way in achieving a smooth running classroom later.
2. Part of my lining up instruction each year involves this friendly fellow!
Yep, the old Slinky Dog, who got a renewed following when the Toy Story movies came out. I use him to demonstrate how our line should move along. I show how there is space between the coils, but not too much space. And I show how his tail end slinkies up to catch up with the rest of him at certain points. Our classroom is on the far side of the building so we have several stopping points throughout the halls to allow for our tail to "slinky up" so we don't get too spread out. We have a Head of the line, and Arms (their job it is to hold the door open when we pass through.) These two kids wait until they see our Tail bringing up the rear before going past our stopping points. The Tail makes sure they're the last one at all times, with no one behind. Our jobs change weekly so the kids really learn it by the end of each week.
I keep Slinky Dog nearby all year so we have a quick visual reminder when needed. And while on the topic of Slinkies, don't forget to keep a couple traditional ones in your block corner to use when making ramps and stairs– they make for fun science related extensions. They come in several sizes, too.
3. Speaking of gaps in the line, I made a sign like this one to post near our classroom door as another reminder to watch our spacing as we walk down the hall.
I loved hearing and seeing this phrase years ago when riding London's Underground, and I started using it this way at school when I got back. People need to notice the "gap" between the subway door and platform when riding the Underground, and kidpeople need to notice the gap between themselves and the friend in front of them when walking in a line. I printed up this sign, too, to pull out mid year if we need a little refresher... mine has the little crown on top though, that is missing from pic... I tell them it's there because I am the queen– ha!
4. I have a musical wire wand like this one that I keep at the classroom door to help us get ready to walk in line down the halls.
I don't usually introduce it the first day, but as we need it. I give it one *ping* and we race the wand to see if we can become silent before it does. It works beautifully on the days when we are particularly excited about our activities and need a little extra prompt to be quiet. I posted about many sound maker transition helpers a few months ago, and you can read about them HERE.
5. We sing this great song I learned on TeacherTipster.com... I love Mr. Smith's sense of humor. We sing it as we line up at the door. We sometimes even whisper sing or mouth it as we move down the hall. It's easy to learn and worth a listen. Click on his button to hear it. Your kiddos will learn from it and love it, too.
Now that you know why we refer to our line as a Slinky, you'll get a kick out of a couple of kid stories that I posted just yesterday. Click on the button for a laugh!
Now head back over to Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday and find more good stuff!
The post Getting From Here to There– Learning to Line Up first appeared on kidpeopleclassroom.com
I have been accused of wanting life to be a musical... and well, I come pretty close to getting just that. In my class we sing our way to the carpet, to line up, to eat snack, to count, to calm down, to wait, to say goodbye... you get the idea. I do usually limit my song bursts to the classroom, only occasionally in the halls... and pretty much never at the grocery store or Target :)
But I better not lead you to believe that I have a wonderful voice. It is only average, with a flat note thrown in every once in a while to keep me humble. That doesn't stop me though. The kids don't mind my crooning, in fact they love it, and our music teacher says my kids are always good singers. We know that kids learn through song. The brain hangs on to songs, so it is just one more learning technique to utilize. I once got extra points in an ed class when I knew the words to the Preamble. And I only remembered the words because I learned it as a kid on Saturday mornings from Schoolhouse Rock!
But back to musicals... I love Singin' in the Rain, The Sound of Music, Camelot, South Pacific... So when I can sing them, I do. Not every song we sing in kindergarten needs to be sung to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, after all. Take the hand washing song I made up. It's based on "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of my Hair" from South Pacific. My words so lend themselves to the original, that I bet this little ditty is being sung somewhere already.
I'm gonna wash those germs right off of my hands.
I'm gonna wash those germs right off of my hands.
I'm gonna wash those germs right off of my hands,
And send them on their way!
In case you don't remember that song *gasp* enjoy this little snippet as a refresher. I keep coming back to my own post to watch it :)
It is so much fun to hear the kidpeople singing away at the sink!
Just for fun Jonathan drew up our four steps to hand washing and put in the words to the song. (Did you know that hand washing can be broken down to just four, one word directions? That's on the poster, as well.) It's a FREEBIE you can put up in your classroom, too. It comes in B/W and color, and in three versions– two with the song, one without. So whether you share my love of singing or not, the little poster will remind your kids to wash up. You can even use it as a shared reading– it's fun to explore the word, "gonna"– and make copies for the kids to color and take home during your health unit. To download from TPT, click on it below.
Just wait until I tell you what I do with Tea for Two... but that's another post!
Have fun! Let me know if you like it... please, please, please!
And now this is linked up with Teaching Blog Addicts Freebie Friday. You can click on the icon below or the one in my sidebar and find MORE great teacher freebies!
The post I'm Gonna Wash Those Germs– a Freebie for a Song! first appeared on KidpeopleClassroom.com
