Kindergarten Word Wall

For a more updated post about my word wall, please click here!

End of the Year Memory Books for K-1

As every teacher knows, the last few weeks of school are a hectic time. They are packed with field trips, field day, assemblies, graduation activities and a whole lot of active children!

Being back in Kindergarten for the first time in ten years, I was a bit unsure of how I could go about keeping them occupied; while still writing, reading and of course, having fun!

I thought that a memory book would be our best bet. I wanted it to be a writing activity we could all do together - but I didn't want anyone to feel stressed or overwhelmed at the thought of making a book.

I decided to use a combination of graphic organizers and open responses. This would allow my students who loved to write the option of expressing themselves freely. The graphic organizer would give enough structure and motivation to even my most reluctant writer! (Or anyone who had a severe case of "summer brain" those days!)

I let my students choose which version they preferred:

They really enjoyed being able to choose the pages they wanted to complete and the style in which they could do it.

We did the graphs together and the class names made a wonderful morning work activity those last few mornings!

One of the parts that my class loved the most was the borders and black and white clipart. They liked coloring it in and I loved how uniquely different each book turned out.

This activity definitely made the last few days a lot more fun for everyone!

If you would like to see more, click here or on any of the pictures above!

I hope you have a wonderful last few weeks of school!

Money Games for K-1

Updated for 2022 with a new, clean look!

The time my Kindergartners have been eagerly awaiting has arrived...our money unit! They are consumed by all things involving money right now!

So, I created some fun games to fit into our centers that will help to reinforce the names, coins and their value.

This set includes:

 Money Puzzles

• 4 way puzzles matching coin front, back, name and value
• 2 way puzzles matching coin with its name
• 2 way puzzles matching coin with its value

Game boards

• What’s the Value? (name the coin and value you land on)
• Name that Coin! (read the value and name the coin)
• How Much Am I Worth? (read the coin name and state its value)

Bingo

• 6 boards (5x5) featuring front and back coin clip art
• call out cards featuring coin name or value for easy differentiating!

These games are excellent resources for math centers, summer skill packets or take home resources!  Click the pictures above for more information!

Happy Sunday!

Pre-Primer and Primer Sight Word Slide Shows

We have been working feverishly on our sight words in every way possible in Kindergarten! We have been writing them, coloring them, spelling them, searching for them in books and poems and building them in sand, with clay, magnets and so much more.

Daily Weather Station

One (of the many) parts of our Kindergarten morning meeting routine involves the discussing weather and the temperature. To simplify this process I created a weather station:

One helper comes up and chooses the weather card for the day. I laminated each card and added a Velcro dot to the back of the cards and to the front of the poster it attaches too.

Once they have displayed the correct weather card, they write the weather word on the line below.

After we return from February break, we are going to begin using the wordless weather cards. This will allow my students to challenge themselves to sound out, and spell, each weather word correctly using the strategies they have been learning this year.

Since we like to graph whenever we can in Kindergarten, I included weekly and monthly graphs for tracking the weather. We have been using the whole group larger graphs throughout the year.

However, I think they are ready for the challenge of their own weekly graph now!

Including the temperature has been the most interesting component of all. We use the internet to get the most up-to-date temperature. I have noticed that it has made them more congnizant of the weather and changing seasons.

Being in New England, we cannot go outside for recess if it is below 20 degrees. This activity has helped to give them a heads up as to when we will be staying in for recess - that is a lot more pleasant than me having to tell them! ;) It is definitely helping them to be aware of the world around them!

Click the pictures above for more information - or you can head over to my TpT shop to learn more!

How do you incorporate weather into your classroom? Let me know in the comments below!

100th Day of School

Updated for 2022 with a new, clean look!

We are rapidly approaching the 100th day in our class, well we were until we were stalled by two snow days. Nonetheless it is lurking around the corner!

I decided to spend my snow days (the first of the season!) creating activities that would be fun, yet still stick with the objectives we are focusing on in Kindergarten.

For Math, I wanted to focus on counting, graphing and patterns. There are 3 games:

Roll to 100, with one dice and two dice options. The two dice version allows students to add for an extra challenge. They also get to predict how many rolls it will take to reach complete a hundreds chart!

Graph It, where they will graph the number of times that they rolled each number on. This includes a one dice and two dice graph template.

Daub a Pattern to 100 - this has 3 options, AB, ABC, or ABCD. This allows your students to self differentiate based on ability and the challenge they seek.

Daub a pattern has the students explain the pattern they created, as well as write a number sentence to go with their pattern.

Each activity comes with samples!

For ELA, there are 3 writing topics: If I had $100, I would buy..., 100 Things I would like to do this summer and 100 School Moments.

Each writing activity comes with graphic organizers to help beginning writers gather their thoughts and generate ideas.

These graphic organizers can be used as a final piece. Students can also choose to write a few sentences about their favorite school moments, or what they hope to do the most this summer, on the writing template paper.

Now I just need 100th day to arrive so we can celebrate!

For additional information, click here, or on any of the pictures above!

How will you be celebrating 100th day? Let me know in the comments below!

New Year's Resolution Writing Activity

Click here to see the updated version!

Calendar Display - Easy to Read!

When I was prepping my room for the changeover to Kindergarten this year, I set out on the quest for the perfect calendar. I found a background that I loved!

Christmas Tree Number Bonds for K-1

My class and I began exploring number bonds last week. They have been having a lot of fun building them with counters and unfix cubes.

I always try to incorporate art into our math lessons whenever possible. You can never get enough art in Kindergarten!

We began by creating their  tree. I showed them the easiest three trees to draw, a giant triangle, three stacked triangles and a tree with branches that curve inwards.

Next they colored in their trees. I passed out a bunch of different choices for coloring: crayons, colored pencils, markers and oil pastels. I like to mix up our supplies whenever possible, it makes the bulletin board look more dynamic!

Then I passed out their number bonds. They had to come up and choose two colors of finger paints to decorate their tree. The top number of the bond is one color and the bottom was another.

After that, they just had to add all the ornaments together to solve their number bond equation!

The best part was how easy it is to assess, I just had to see if they painted the correct number of ornaments!

It was a great way to reinforce this concept this holiday season!  You can find this item in my shop!

How do you incorporate art into your classroom?

Thanksgiving Reflections in Kindergarten

Like all Kindergarten teachers, my class is on many different levels when it comes to writing.  I wanted to create a Thanksgiving writing set that would allow all my students to reflect with ease, no matter where they are in the writing process.

I included checklists, with reasons why both family and friends are important, to help them gather their thoughts.

This allows them to feel more confident when it is time to write.

Next, they can choose from one of three writing templates:

• This Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for....
• This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my family because...
• This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my friends because....

 Also included  are two different bulletin board display signs and coloring pages.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fuzz Bugs Fever

Our current Kindergarten obsession (for the past month!) is Fuzz Bugs!

Role Model of the Day Freebie

We are always working on improving ourselves in Kindergarten. Here is how we are achieving this goal.

We have a behavior card system in class - everyone starts on green each day, yellow for a warning, orange for a time out (one minute at recess) and pink for a visit to the office.

In order to be the Role Model you have to keep your card on green the day before, by following our three rules:

#1 - Be Respectful           #2 - Be Kind               #3 - Be Safe

Having those 3 simple rules has really improved our classroom behavior. Anytime anyone is off task, I remind them of the rule they are breaking and they are up to switch their cards.

Card changes are never permanent either, if you completely turn your behavior around it goes right back to green!

A few weeks into the school year we started having a Role Model of the Day! I waited until we had our behavior system in check to implement this new daily routine.

This sign hangs right above the behavior card chart. Everyday during morning meeting, I write a new name up there. It is laminated to make it easy to change up each day.

I alternate by girl and boy to keep it fair. After I name the Role Model, the class raises their hands and shares out why they think that person was chosen.  And of course, we applaud our role model! 

It is wonderful to see how each student lights up, not only when they are chosen, but once they hear what their peers have to say about them! 

If you would like to use this sign in your classroom, just click here, or click the picture above for this freebie!

How do you manage behavior in your classroom? Let me know in the comments below!

Counting Song Craze

We are in a counting craze in our Kindergarten class lately! Here are our top five favorite counting songs:

# 5  Numbers in the Teens (They Start with a 1)

# 4  Number Words Rap!

# 3  Count to 20!!!!

# 2  I Can Count to 100

# 1 Counting Super Hero

They are really helping to improve my students ability to count, and recognize numbers! The only downside is that I walk around singing them all day everyday!

The upside is that my kids walk around singing them all day too, especially #1. They are all obsessed with the counting super hero!

What songs are your students smitten with? Let me know in the comments below!

Sight Word of the Day Sets (Pre-Primer & Primer) - Daily Vocabulary Builders

I blame Pee Wee Herman and his Secret Word of the day, I really do! #80schildproblems

Easy to Read Classroom Decor

If you would like to see an updated post about how this decor looks in my room, click here!