Spookley!

The Legend of Spookley The Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano is definitely a favorite read in the fall!  It is a great book to use when teaching about tolerance and kindness!

This year I decided to have the kiddos create their own little Spookleys!

The students began by gluing the orange squares onto the big white square of construction paper.  First time using white glue this year, and they did GREAT!!!

I had them draw their own eyes and mouth (I cut them out), and then they glued them onto the pumpkin.  Then they finished Spookley with a rectangle of brown paper and a green leaf.

I absolutely love them!  Each one is unique!

Alphabet Posters

Well, after 9 years in Kindergarten, I was given the opportunity to move down to Pre-K (ETK in our district). I jumped at the chance and I am spending much of the summer preparing for my new classroom!

First on my to-do list was a fun, colorful set of Alphabet Posters! Our school adopted Benchmark Advance last year (K-5th) and I wanted to keep with the program for consistency. I created these posters with similar graphics (frieze pictures). They have a simple black border and a kid-friendly font.

You can pick them up in my TpT Store {HERE}

Can't wait to hang them in my classroom!

Making Spaceman Sticks

Every year I like to make a set of these spaceman sticks for my students.  It is a great help when teaching your class how to make spaces between words!  It is an essential writing tool in my classroom!

Simply print the spacemen onto labels (or you can use paper).  Then cut the labels to the desired size - I like to cut off some of the white area.  Put the stickers onto jumbo craft sticks and secure with a piece of clear packing tape.  I also like to add each students name on the bottom of the stick with a permanent marker.

Click below to get the labels.

Tops and Bottoms

We are reading one of my favorite books this week - Tops & Bottoms by Janet Stevens.  We just love how Hare tricked the lazy Bear!

After reading the book, we charted out the different vegetables that Hare got - the bottoms (beets, carrots, and radishes), the tops (broccoli, lettuce, and celery), and the middles (corn).

We recalled the events of the story and my students helped to glue the pictures on the chart.

Then everyone got to complete their own cut and glue worksheet.

Give this book a read.  I'm sure that everyone will love it!

You can find this in my TpT store.

#hellosummer Dollar Deals

I still have 9 more school days, but the #hellosummer Dollar deals sale is going on at TpT this weekend and I am excited to participate!

I have marked down 2 of my product to just a dollar!

Make a Lei {Dolch words}

Make 10 with Little Sharkie

Click on the above images to see these products.

And be sure to search #hellosummer on Teachers Pay Teachers to find tons of dollar deals from more sellers!

Decoding Words with a Blending Snake

I just wanted to let you know about my latest blog post at Who's Who and Who's New!

I am highlighting a popular center activity in my classroom - Blending Snake Cards!

Hop over and give it a read!

Guided Reading in Kindergarten

Be sure to head over to Who's Who and Who's New to read my latest blog post. Today I am giving you tips to get guided reading up and running in your Kindergarten classroom.

TpT Seller Challenge - Week 1

Well... school is out and it is the perfect time to create and update teaching products on Teachers Pay Teachers!  And I have joined the TpT Seller Challenge to give me the much needed motivation to work on my little store!  You can join in too!

Week 1 is Makeover Madness!

I looked over my products and first on the list was my High Frequency Word Leis!

Yes, this cover can definitely be improved!!!

So I got to work! And ta da!!!  The finished covers!

Dolch words

Fry words

CA Treasures words

I was on such a roll, that I decided to create a new version of the leis!  I teach with CA Treasures in my classroom so this will be perfect for my kiddos!

And all 3 are on sale through Sunday evening {6/21/15}!

You can find more details on making the leis {HERE}.

I can't wait for next week's challenge!  Bring it on!

Make an Aladdin / Arabian Nights Sensory Bin!

My class loves our Aladdin themed sensory bin!!!  I love combining a sensory bin with an academic activity, such as letter recognition or CVC words.  And this bin is a perfect combination!

Here is how I created it.

I started by layering in some shredded paper.  I had this left over from my winter sensory bin.

I added in some beads strings.  I purchased necklaces and then just cut them into different lengths.

I found these gems at the craft store.  I loaded the bin up with these.

I also added some sheer ribbon lengths.  These originally had wire in them, but I pulled the wire out after cutting the ribbon.

I headed to my local Halloween store for this genie lamp.  Luckily the store is open year-round!

Here it is!  All ready for my genie and magic carpet cards!

You can find 2 different versions of cards in my TpT store - CVC words and Alphabet letters!

Multiple Meaning Words

We are always working on vocabulary in my classroom and last week the opportunity came up to work on multiple meanings for the word trunk.  We have been studying plants so it was the perfect time!

Multiple Meaning Words - We call them m&m words and I promise my students a candy m&m when they finish filling out their graphic organizer!

I began by creating a tree map with the word trunk at the top.  They helped by brainstorming different meanings for the word.  With some teacher prompting, we came up with four different meanings for trunk.

Then they used my Multiple Meaning Words {graphic organizer} to create their own tree map using 2 of the meanings.

You can find this organizer in my TpT store.

Happy New Year Sale!

Let's ring in 2015 with a sale, shall we?

My entire store will be on sale December 31st through January 1st!

Here are some of my winter products that you might like.  Click on each product to learn more!

And for all year long!

You can also click on my picture below to access my store. :)

Click {HERE} to see more stores on sale!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!