I am inspired by Christina's Wordless Wednesday question over at Sugar and Spice. I haven't posted in weeks because at this ending time of year there is so. much. to. do. I admire those teacher bloggers who can blog now. I'm going to dash this little post out because it might be useful to some of you in your last week.
Christina asks, "What do your students just LOVE getting to take home?" Each year, although my kidpeople get to take home all sorts of stuff, their favorite items are the words from the word wall.
Yep, that's right. See those not at all fancy, handwritten on index card strips, words up there in the photo? Those become precious treasure in the last days. I hand them out very ceremoniously, taking one down at a time while asking, "Who would like the? Who would like with? All the hands shoot up.
I think the biggest reason these words are so popular is that they represent so much of the kids' learning. The word wall is a resource they look at and use every day. The kidpeople help me build it when we do our word routine each week. Those basic words were the keys to reading and writing and the world that opened up when the kids could do both.
I stumbled upon this idea quite a few years ago when I decided to incorporate the kiddos into the clean up/take down process in the room. I used to resist this, doing almost all of it after they left for summer break because I didn't want the room to seem empty and sad. I've come to realize that it is a way for the kids to say goodbye to the year, and to ready themselves for first grade that lies ahead. They ponder the idea that brand new kidpeople will be in their space next year... which brings up some mixed feelings. We share lots of memories and laughs. And it does have the added bonus of getting just a bit more of the room packed up for summer.
I ask my readers, What do you do to ready the kids for next year? Do you pack anything up with them? Give them things? I'll be happy to hear.
Click on the Wordless Wednesday button to find more ideas.
Well, can I post twice in one day?? Sure I can. It's been a crazy week with the arrival of a new ELL student who doesn't have any English yet, presenting district PD for K/1 teachers, and being flexible as our building is without guest teachers TOO often- the substitute teacher shortage is really peaking right now and we are all hanging on for the ride as we scramble to cover and lose our planning time. Yikes!
BUT the good news is today starts our spring break!. Bring. It. On! One of my favorite things to do is write and post and that's how I'm gonna spend today– I even have a third post started but I promise to wait until at least tomorrow to put it up ;)
I'm linking up this post with Pawsitively Teaching and Inspired Owl's Corner'sPick 3 Top Pinterest Picks. I've already tried two of my three Pinterest finds this week at school, so you can gain from my experience.
This one is a Freebie from Kindergarten Smorgasbord.
Greg explains how he uses plastic eggs to make a match-up word game. I didn't use plastic eggs with my version. I colored two sheets of these eggs by hand– imagine! On one sheet I colored just the egg outline, and on the other one I underlined the words. My two sets of eggs give me two center activities– just a little variation and it's a whole new thing for the kidpeople. Then I laminated both pages and cut out all the eggs. I buried a set in a bin of shredded paper and had the kids go digging for egg words. When they found one they used a marker of the matching color to write it on my word list paper. They were to star the words that they could not read by themselves, then figure out what it said with the help of a tablemate. When their list was complete with ten different words, they were to read the whole list to three different tablemates. Each table partner put their initial in a "read three times box" found at the bottom of the list.
My list paper is available for FREE in my TPT store. I have several versions of list papers in the set. The boxes for starring words and the prompts for reading the list three times are right on the paper itself. I use it all the time for all sorts of activities. At FREE, you really can't go wrong and there are lots of freebies at my TPT store.
Click on the photo below to go to the list paper, and click on the egg paper image above to go to Greg's original post to learn about his activity and grab his freebie while you're there. Thanks Greg!
This one comes from Liz's Early Learning Spot. She calls it Battling for Sight Word Treasures. You'll go to the post by clicking on the Pin photo below.
I saw this and instantly wanted to try it with my kiddos because I fondly remember the old Battleship game from when I was a kid. This version has dropped the war theme and added a reading component. Liz explains how to play on her blog post. I simplified it a bit for my kinders. To assemble the game I ran each copy on different colored paper and laminated with my home laminator to make it sturdier and completely encased in plastic. I hook two game boards together, back to back with paperclips– I found this cut down on cheating because it is a little less likely anyone gets a sneak peek while the boards are being moved around separately. We don't use the coins, but simply add up the number of words found. I write the word wall words on the bottom grid with a Vis-a-Vis pen before I give the boards to them, changing it up as I see fit. And I give my kiddos an Expo marker to mark their guesses on the upper grid– an X for an empty square, and the correct letter when they guess it right. This means they can erase the board in between rounds while the vis-a-vis words stay put.
Note where I put paperclips
at the bottom sides and at the top
All my kids love playing the game– so much so that one of my parents asked for the link to the game because her little guy talked about it nonstop. My better readers do a better job of playing, but even my lower readers enjoy guessing letters, though they find fewer words. I was most surprised when after just a few lessons with an adult they all got the hang of the grids and how they worked. When I got it out yesterday it was to a chorus of "Yaaay!" I recommend you give it a try. Oh, and did I mention it's free? Yep. Whoot! Click on the first image above. Thanks Liz!
My number three is one I'll do when I get back the week after next. In April I focus on taking care of the earth, which always includes the water cycle. I thought this evaporation activity would tie in nicely.
This little science observation comes from E is for Explore. You outline a puddle on the sidewalk with chalk. Then you come back later to see if the puddle has changed any. Where did the water go? Simple, yet powerful, I think. And unlike the experiments where you watch a glass of water over several days or weeks, you get pretty fast results if you make a puddle on the sidewalk on a sunny day. You can read the original post by clicking on the Pin photo above.
Well, that wraps it up for me. If you'd like to see what other goodies are on my Pinterest Boards you can click right on this Pinterest Profile button. You'll find lots of goodies and might even consider following. I like to follow teachers who follow me.
Now scroll on down to see lots more favorite teacher pins in the link-up below. And link your post, too. Hope you enjoy!
Ohhh, I am SO happy to be posting today! I am celebrating Spring with some blogging buddies in a link-up, giveaway, milestone celebrating, freebie giving, spring resource share! I want to thank Marissa at Inspired Owl's Corner for her work at putting this together.
Now lookee, lookee at all the fun stuff here, there, and everywhere!
First off, Kidpeople Classroom has some celebrating to do. I'm at the 250 follower milestone with bloglovin', google and email fans! And I hit 100 followers on Pinterest! I am so very happy to have this audience of teachers and friends for my little thirteen month old blog. As I sit writing away it is encouraging to know that somebody out there occasionally hears my voice. Blogging has been an incredible growing experience, as any blogger will tell you, and if you ever want to start one yourself and begin the journey, just send an email my way and I'd be happy to help.
Just saying thank you to my steady readers is not enough, though. I want to share some goodies at this little party, so...
I'm having a sale on my Spring cross-curricular activity resource on TPT.
My newly revised, April Showers Bring What? pack features a new twist on the old saying, April showers bring Mayflowers... and pilgrims. In my version April showers ultimately bring June bugs.
You'll get a copy of the poem to use in a pocket chart, several to use in poetry journals or as center activities, and a color or black and white bookmark. Directions and printed materials are also included to make a class manipulative that flips from being an umbrella to a flower, and then reveals a June bug– kids love making this and parents love when it comes home.
For a science connection, or for a bug unit specifically, there is a nonfiction reading passage and two brand new close reading sheets. I use close reading sheets in whole or small group with my kindergarten students, but they would provide individual response sheets for first or second graders.
All this for just one dollar! That's 66% OFF. And it's just in time to use as we turn over the calendar. Bon't delay as the sale is only TODAY through April 2! And don't forget to let me know how all the activities go over with your kiddos! Click on the cute June bug image above to see it.
And. one. last. little. gift. My kidpeople are into rearranging words to make sentences, and I am so happy about that. What good word practice they're getting. I give them words and they work and rearrange so the words make sense in a sentence. This time in the school year is just right for practicing this skill. It's also the perfect time to grab a set of those plastic take apart eggs that are on sale for cheap everywhere to make a new activity. I put together three sets of color coded sentences, at three varying levels of difficulty, and a recording sheet. Just laminate the sentences, cut the words apart and put them in the eggs. Kids choose an egg and are off!
Click on the photo of the egg search below to download the freebie activity. I'm hoping to raise my Bloglovin' numbers and would love it if you'd follow me that way, but you don't have to. I appreciate you being here today!
A little heads up while I have you here, though– I'm working on another resource to share with folks. Bloglovin' followers won't miss it... Just sayin' :)
And there's MORE! More GREAT things today! You can, right now, enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card, and $75 or $50 TPT gift certificates! Not too shabby. I could use those in a blink. Just follow the directions and enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway below, and I hope I see you added to my Bloglovin' list. Good luck to all!
Then, click around on all the other Blog buttons in the link-up to see what Spring treats they have in store for you at their blogs. It really is a Happy Spring! Whoot!
Well, here's another bitterly cold Michigan Friday link up with Doodle Bugs Five for Friday. I'm huddled under three blankets and thinking of you all in warmer temps. brrr.
1. I don't usually blog about fashion too much, but a month ago I got a pair of boots that have become my comfort and joy. I have this bum knee with issues that come and go. I've always been really flexible and apparently really clumsy, too. Take a look at this photo that my mom recently unearthed.
A looooong time ago
Yep, my brothers and I were cute... but note my KNEES. Bandaids and I had a very close relationship when I was growing up.
Jump to current day and it's not too surprising that I have sore knees now. During the summer I wear nothing but FitFlop sandals and they do me very well. They have this special patented sole that really works for me. I thought I should try a winter version of FitFlops and YIPPEE! YAHOO! I'm so glad I did. They felt good on my feet from the first minute and I noticed a difference in my knee right away. No breaking in period needed. They are every bit as comfortable as the sandals. They go with everything and I've gotten tons of compliments.
New favs
They're not cheap, but the best price I found was on Amazon. I'm a FitFlop kinda girl I guess. Check them out for yourself.
2. If you live in the snowy states I hope you remember that new fallen snow is great for playing games like pie-tag. I took the kids out to the front yard where few people walk. Then I had them line up behind me and told them to stay in my path– a rather large challenge for kindergartners. I made a BIG circle, and twenty pairs of little feet turned it into a narrow walkway.
Making the pie
Then I tromped across the "pie" to cut six slices, designated the first "It," and let the fun begin. Kids had to stay on the path as they chased. It was interesting to see them use strategies to figure out how to change direction to tag someone.
Playing pie tag
It wasn't too long before someone's excitement got the better of them, of course, and they charged their own path across the pie, but it was fun even then.
Tuckered out from pie, but happy!
I have to be truthful– these are pics from years gone by... I forgot to play this year! Duh. I hope we get just ONE more big snow dump so we can play this year. Thought I should share the idea so you don't forget like me.
3. I seem to have lots of activities to help kids sort words by word families once they are familiar with the particular letter pattern. What I needed were more ways to let kids practice making words in one particular family right after I taught it. So I got out the letter stampers, of which I have two sets, and put out the letters for just that chunk, and then some letters to make words in that family. To save on copying, I folded the paper into six parts so the kids had a specific place to stamp each word and an illustration to go with it.
Letter stamps and folded paper equal word family activity
I liked the easy set up, and the kids liked discovering all the chunk words they could make with the stamps I put out. Thought it was an idea worth sharing. If you have letter stamps, it's low-prep, low-cost, hands-on learning.
4. Have you seen this video? I found it SO inspirational! If you're fighting the Get Fit War and thinking it's a battle you'll never win, take heart because you're not alone, Sister! Here's 90 seconds of Pump Up!
5. I leave you with this little Valentine scene. All these Valentines around our classroom fireplace came from fourteen different states– note the little map in the display.
We loved sending our own Valentines off, then getting mail and reading the letters. I also loved all the new ideas for kid-made Valentines-- especially the heart peacock that is front and center. And this little project brought on all sorts of discussion about maps and climate. This coming week is a winter break for us, but I'm leaving the love letters up for our kindergarten round-up which takes place the Tuesday we're back. The incoming newbies and parents can see what's ahead. Check out this post at PAWSitively Teaching to participate next year.
Hope you have a terrific Valentine Weekend! Scoot on back to Doodlebugs and catch what's going on with everybody else. Thanks, Kacey, as always!
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