And the winner is...

How lucky is this lady? She won a free ticket to the Southern California Kindergarten Conference. Okay get over it. You'll win next year. If you are still interested in hanging out with the bloggers at the event you can still purchase your ticket. Take a break from teaching... kids... the husband and join all of us for an event you will never forget.


You can even meet Deanna Jump. The whole conference is on Common Core and we are showing up at this party and rocking it out. Are you in? I know it's hard to get away but this is really worth it. Does Common Core scare you to death? Learn how to make it work in your classroom with 31 children. It will be a weekend you'll never forget. I promise. I will even be there. Come to my session and introduce yourself to me. The bloggers are taking over and you won't be sorry. Hang with us. There will be goodie bags too. Woohoo ! I am super excited. I have worked on my presentation for weeks and I am giving away a ton of freebies. Show up. That's it. Be there or be square.

Look Who Joined Our Staff!

After twelve years of watching teachers receive "pink slips" and leave our district we finally had the opportunity to welcome two new, male teachers to our staff. They have changed the climate of our school and bring so much passion and enthusiasm to their job. Both are upper grade teachers who cannot wait to get started on this wild and crazy ride known as teaching. 

Aaron was hired before school started so he joined me for the Common Core trainings. He participated in all the activities and the staff loves having him on board.

Why is this such a big deal?

Both of this young men were born and raised in this community. One even attended this elementary school and was dearly loved by this staff. They watched him grow and mature and now he is joining the ranks as a teacher. Talk about successes. It brings tears to my eyes. The second grade teacher brought him lunch for the first day and I watched his family help him set up his room. They feel so much pride in his achievements.

Mike was hired a few days later and I set up his room so he wouldn't walk into a mess. I cleaned it, set up the desks, loaded his book cases with the right materials and put up a few boards, just the basics. He came in with two friends and within hours the room looked beautiful and you could sense his excitement about starting the year. He is a product of our school district and loves the idea of making a difference in his community. Listening to him, sensing his passion, makes me feel so much hope for the future. 

How lucky is my school and my district to have these men? Both of them bring so much to the classroom. When I stand in the doorway and watch them teach I get a lump in my throat. They move around the room constantly, teach with passion, and talk to students using quiet voices, always validating who they are. They understand.

What changes has your school had?

Are You Full of Beans In Kindergarten? Grab this freebie!

Now that California teachers are implementing the Common Core our perspective has shifted and we are making certain strategies a part of our daily teaching. Many kindergarten teachers love to grow lima beans in baggies or in soil but now we want our students to record their observations (through drawings, labels, and writing) and to document this on a daily basis. This is a flip book that is generic since the students write in the day on the front. In my classroom I might start them off with guided drawing and label the parts as a group but this would be easy to differentiate depending on the skills of your children. Some teachers choose to plant their bean in soil (just one) and the entire class observes the same plant. You have lots of choices with this but I thought this little log would be useful for you. It is 2 pages and you run it back to back so students know where to put their drawing each day.

I worked with a team of wonderful,primary teachers on a unit of study for our district that reflects the CCSS and created this log for our district teachers to use. I hope they find it useful. Click on the picture to grab this item for your classroom. Be sure to check out the Greenhouse freebie posted too! I love comments if you can spare the time. Have a great Sunday friends.

Fran

What's Blooming In My Store?

I finally finished this packet but it was so huge that I split it up into two parts. Seriously. This has every trick in the book that I have learned to motivate students to work on blending cvc words.The theme is Spring even if it is still snowing where you live! April is here and this is when  I would go into panic mode over what my students couldn't do. Do you get crazy too? I am not interested in first grade teachers storming into my room wondering what I did all year. Right? You can relate to this. So I work on this skill with nutty intensity. It shows up all over the room, in the morning message, and even on the yard when the kids are "trying" to have some recess fun. I have been known to drag out sidewalk chalk to spell out words on the blacktop but the custodian ends up hating me! Oh well. A teacher has to do what it takes. 
These packets introduce just 25 CVC words and students practice using them through games, activities, and literacy stations. The second packet allows students to practice these words through cutting and pasting 
( hello- some have not mastered this even in April) and I even sneak in some letter writing practice known as handwriting. Can you imagine? Check these out if you are a desperate kindergarten teacher, an intervention teacher (aren't we all) or a Special Education teacher. It might help your students learn these important CCSS Foundational Skills and your principal will realize that you are truly  a super hero.
Click on each flower to plant those seeds of knowledge

 

Add More Sparkle to Your Life

Thank you for all the positive comments you have written about these emergent readers. The teachers in my district have loved having these little sparklers to add into their tool kit. I like the idea of using them in class, along with the pocket chart strips to build their fluency. Wait a minute... what fluency? Okay, eventually. I like when you work on concepts of print on a daily basis and a student on day 60 starts from the right, builds it in the chart and reads it all going in the wrong direction, touching each word. The best is when they turn around to look at you with a huge smile. It is too funny. So what does a teacher do? She models until she turns blue! 
These readers focus on the sight word "a" and are on the following topics: birthday, family, pets, and autumn. I have infused academic language, tracing letters, cut and paste, and guided drawing in these books.
They also align to the common core and reflect the 50-50 shift to non fiction that is being implemented. You want to remind children to look at the details in a picture to help them unlock the text  and try to give them "think time". By the way I am usually biting my lip for the ones who need this. Click here if you might be interested in adding these into your mix. Have a great week of teaching! I am doing a presentation on backward planning with 
Big Ideas and Essential Questions. Wish me luck!

Kindergarten Common Core... A Great Resource

Have you seen this resource? It looks like something I might have great use for as I help teachers in my district align to the Common Core State Standards. I have not seen anything quite like this and it might simplify our understandings. This book is filled with activities, worksheets, and even posters to help you wrap your head around these new standards. If your are curious about this you can check out this link and see a sample of the book to see if it meets your needs too. Click on Kindergarten Common Core and see what you think. Leave a comment because I want your thoughts.