Count the Room freebie

Hi guys!  If you're reading this, then you probably survived one more Monday at school!  Only three more to go for me! 

Today I did a fun little activity with my Kindergarten kiddos that they loved.  I've been seeing this "Read Around the Room" activity all over blogland, and I really wanted to try it.  So, I modified it for my K ELL's, and came up with this "Count the Room" activity.  I stuck sticky notes all over the place (some easy to find, some more challenging) and they had to find as many as they could, then mark them on their paper.  I stuck the gameboards in page protectors so I can use them over and over.  (Sidenote: this really isn't a game, but the second I called their pages "gameboards," I could see all of them perk up and think, "OHH! A game!")

 

These are some examples of the sticky notes I put up.  The different ways to represent the numbers was fantastic...for my kiddos that struggle a bit more, they could find the numbers written regularly (like the 3), and then just match.  For the kiddos who needed a challenge, they could do the simple addition problems.  They all loved searching around the room to find as many of the numbers as possible.  We did this for about ten minutes and no one finished.  I think I'll leave the numbers up tonight so they can try again tomorrow.

So this really is a simple "game," but it was great for us (especially since one of their goals in K is to recognize the numbers to 30).  I've uploaded my little "gameboard" to share with ya'll.  I'd love to know if you use it and enjoy it!  Click here to download it for free.

Happy Monday, friends!

Links I'm Loving

If you guys are anything like me, you are now terrified to use Pinterest because you think you may be jumping into a giant legal mess.  Now I have all of these links that are awesome, and nowhere to keep track of them.  Boo, Pinterest.  :[

Of course, I figured the best way to keep track of these links and share them with folks is to blog about them.  So, enjoy these great ideas and come back soon for more!

(P.S.- Update...I am getting so freaked out about the internet and copyright stuff.  Did you hear that there is a lawsuit from Seuss Enterprises because of Seuss-inspired clipart?  Stuff that is used by teachers on RAA day?  Crazy.  Seems like they are really picking on the little guy...but that's just my opinion.)

• I have been reading all about Conscious Discipline over at Heather's Heart.  I loved her post about cheerleaders and the END of tattling.  Oh, to end tattling...what a glorious day that would be!  :]

• Everyone loves a good freebie.  Throw in a dose of geekiness from our childhood and I'm sold!  Jeannie over at Kindergarten Lifestyle is sharing a Star Wars sight word game for free...love it!

via Kindergarten Lifestyle

So those are the two things I'm loving right now...the things I would pin if I wasn't afraid of being sued.  ;] 

Now...go enjoy your weekend!  Happy Friday!  :]

St. Patty's Day

I'm normally not much for St. Patrick's Day, but I do like to do a little activity about it at school.  Since it falls on a Saturday this year I don't have to worry about wearing green (or keeping the kiddos from pinching kids who didn't wear green)--hooray!  We are going to do a little writing activity though.  I found this from the Teacher Wife and I knew it would be perfect.  Since I only see my kids for ~45 minutes we are going to skip the craft part of it and just do the printable. 

Anyways, I'm so thankful to Lindsey for offering this free activity.  It sure did help with my St. Patrick's Day planning!  :]  Click the picture to head over to her blog and snag the download for yourself. 

image via the teacher wife

Happy Tuesday!  Did everyone have a great weekend?  Mine was great...because it was three days!  I motion that every weekend is a three day weekend.  Who's with me?  ;]  And does anyone have a great idea for St. Patty's day lessons?

It's magnetizing!

Just last Friday my 1st grade kiddos finished up a unit on magnets.  I love teaching science at this age because they are so curious about everything!  This magnet unit was a great way to bring in some hands on science practice.  None of these lessons are super intense--all I'm looking for is a way to teach the content, but still keep the main focus on learning English.  So anyways, enjoy these magnet lesson plans and please let me know if you use them!  :]



I hope you've all had a pleasant Monday.  My Mondays are never that bad...Tuesday is when the weekend hits me and I feel exhausted all of the sudden.  Am I the only one, or do any of you guys deal with that Tuesday sleepiness, too?

Random notes:

1) I bought a Kindle Fire a couple weeks ago and I really like it.  So far I've read three different books on it.  For a long time I thought I'd never get one, but I like that it's an eReader and a tablet.  Anyone else biting the bullet and jumping on the eReader bandwagon?

2) Today and tomorrow are parent/teacher conferences!  My first ones ever...can you sense the little bit of nervousness?  :] 

3) Moe's Monday is the bomb.com.  Five dollars for a burrito, chips, and a drink?  Score!

Ok, enough randomness.  Have a marevelous rest of your Monday!  :]



Valentine's Day Freebie!

In my personal life, Valentine's Day isn't such a big deal.  The man and I agree that if you only lavish love on your significant other one day a year, there might be a problem.  Why save it all for one day?  We choose to be loving every day.  But that's another post for another time... 

So anyways, in my personal life I don't really celebrate Valentine's, but at school it is a BIG DEAL.  I think that it is a 100% appropriate holiday for elementary schoolers.  It's a great time to teach them about love and acceptance of their peers--the world can only use more of that! 

I'm planning a little Valentine's lesson for my kiddos that focuses on some of the main tennants of the holiday.  Some of my kids are very new to the states, so they have never celebrated this holiday before.  We are going to talk about some of the big words associated with the day.  I created this little powerpoint to go be an intro to our lesson.  Nothing too fancy, but I wanted to share it with you guys.  :]  Let me know if you use it!  I'd love to hear about your Valentine's Day activities, too!

Valentine's Day Powerpoint

I'll be back soon to tell you about the rest of our Valentine's Day activities.  Random note: I just bought Valentine's for my kiddos at Kroger--super cheap and cute, too!  I got a box of Toy Story and a box of Disney princesses for $2 each!

Happy Friday!

Testing, Testing

So, I’ve been doing this job for three weeks, and right now we’re in the second week of testing.  Which means that I’ve seen my students a total of three whole times.  Goodness!  I am so ready for this testing to be over so that I can start really digging into our material.  Of course, the testing is very important, but I won’t be sad when it’s over.  :]

Here are some things I’ve been thinking about this week.  When testing is over, I am going to spend three days doing a review of two major topics: map skills and curiosity (in science).  I’m still thinking about how to do the map skills days, but I have curiosity down.  And I’d like to share with you.  :]

Back in college we did a project where everyone created a short science experiment that had an unexpected outcome.  We had a blast coming together as a class and checking out the really awesome experiments that everyone had found.  My friend Michaela did one called Dancing Raisins, and to this day it is one of my favorites.  Kids absolutely love it. 

To do this experiment, you need ginger ale (or another clear-ish soda), raisins, and a tall clear container.  Pour the ginger ale into the container and ask the kids for their hypothesis.  Do they think the raisins will sink or float?  When you drop the raisins in, they will sink at first, but then the bubbles will attach to the wrinkles, which makes them float back up to the top.  Once they reach the top, the bubbles burst, and the cycle happens all over again.  It will keep going for quite a while—for as long as the drink is still slightly fizzy. 

With my kiddos we are going to focus on one big word: hypothesis.  We will define it and talk about what it means.  Then after the experiment, they will complete this worksheet at their seats.  The statements are cloze statements.  I will provide a word bank on the board.  I have uploaded the worksheet I am using for you guys to “borrow.”  Let me know if you do this experiment!  I’m sure your kiddos would love it, too!