Fun in the Sun

I am busy watching the game (Let's Go Heat!!), so I am just going to give you a picture update of some of the fun in the sun we are having in our last 7 days of school! Whoop whoop!

So I went a little crazy at the Dollar Tree the other day, but as my kids went to centers today it was all worth it! They were so excited. It was one of those moments that you just wish you had a recorder capturing all their priceless comments. (I definitely got a "I should have wore my bikini." What 6 year old says that?!?!)

Practicing rhyming in ELA and making 10 in math!

True or false addition and subtraction sort and coconut vowels. 

Watching a little Magic School Bus and getting comfy during independent reading.

Some fun glasses for read around the room.

Writing a sticker story!

My kids are still driving me bonkers with their b's and d's. I can't tell you how many lessons, centers and activities we have done, for some reason this year the b's and the d's got us. I am determined for all of my little friends to go to first grade without confusing the two!

Who doesn't love fishing?!?! We are fishing words and 3-d shapes.

A pocket chart poem. I get a little teary eyed every time we read it together.

Grab your copy of the printables below! (This is my first time posting from Google Drive, so fingers crossed!!!)

Hope you had a great long weekend!

Five for Friday on a Saturday!

I was too busy last night watching the Heat game that I didn't get to post my Five for Friday. Did you watch the game last night?! Oh so sad!

I shared this picture on Instagram the other day, but I just had to post it here too! This is what a student wrote in his "Donut for Dad" Father's Day book! I was impressed with both his spelling and his illustration! :)

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A few weeks ago on pinterest I saw a picture of  kids writing on the desks with dry erase markers, it looked like fun so we had to try it this week! When I had the students take out their markers but didn't give them a board and then told them to write on the desk... it was pure INSANITY! They went bananas- giggling, shrieking and writing! At the end I gave each student a baby wipe and the desk cleaned right up! If you haven't tried it before you MUST! The kids will love it! :)

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We had a visit from a student's pet. It was a pet hen. :) This was so much fun!

We went bowling on Friday! This is my favorite field trip! I love hearing my kids cheering each other on and celebrating each other's successes. Just listening to them brought tears to my eyes!

I went to the Dollar Tree the other day and got lots of goodies! LOVE that place! My classroom has been turned into a Summer Fun Paradise! Pictures and FREEBIES coming soon!!

It is too gorgeous outside...time for some beach! 

Go link up!

    

This weekend may we all remember the amazing heroes who have sacrificed so much for us to live in this wonderful nation. 

Five for Friday

It's Friday! :) Yay! Time to link up with Doodle Bugs & *Teaching Maddeness* and share 5 things from my week...

We have been having all kinds of dino-fun this week! It's kind of sad that the kids have more schema about dinosaurs than I do. Pitiful! I butcher dino-names like no one's business, the kids cheer for me when I get the names right! Oh my! They don't care though, they are having too much fun and I'm learning SO much! Today we were measuring dinosaurs using cubes. This was  a hit for sure. The kids talked and recorded the dino's height, weight and length.

There are dinosaurs all over our room, even in our ELA centers!

This week my grade level had "In Awe of Authors". The kindergarten classes rotated among all the kindergarten teachers to learn about different authors. It was awesome! The author that I shared was Audrey Wood. I read Silly Sally and The Napping House. The kids had fun acting out the story The Napping House.

The teacher next door did Jan Brett. She was so cute- she read the Armadillo Rodeo. She was dressed up as a cowgirl and had these fun displays. I loved it! I have to remember that a tablecloth works decorating magic!!!

With 12 days of school left I am looking forward to getting familiar with Fountas & Pinnell Prompting Guide over the break. Have you used this Prompting Guide? I am hoping to get the language, vocabulary and questions from this tool in hopes of being even more effective during guided reading and read alouds. I have had it for a while, and I won't lie...it's been collecting dust. (shame)

Lastly, today we were working on updating our goal book, it is almost time to send it home! Just can't believe it! I snapped some pictures while the students were working. It is such an encouragement to see all the learning gains the students have made! How can I be discouraged when I see how much the kids have grown- either through reading, writing or even drawing! The best part though was listening to the kids reflect on how much they have grown and changed. They were proud of themselves!

I'm half asleep, it's time for cuddling in bed! I hope you had a great week! Head on over to Doodle Bugs & *Teaching Maddeness* and link up! 

Happy Weekend! :)

Top 5 Classroom Projects Linky

When I saw this link party, I just had to link up!

Ok...I'm going to warn you now- I cheated and just couldn't choose just 5! So here are my top 7...

#1- My students completed a "Jack-O-Character" as a Home Project. The students chose their favorite book character and created a pumpkin character. I know that the parent probably did most of this work, but the kids loved talking about their favorite characters and books.

Jack-O-Character

#2- We had lots of gingerbread fun in December! We read all kinds of gingerbread stories- so much fun!! We made real gingerbread cookies and houses, and then created these craftivities. During this unit I saw my kids becoming independent and really starting to be "team players". It was exciting!

Gingerbread Time 

#3- Presidents' Day was the first time I did a directed drawing with my class. I fell in love! This directed drawing was created by Kindergarten Planet.

Presidents' Day

#4- EVERYTHING Suess! 

Seuss Mania

#5- Our fairytale unit was so fun, and the kids totally got into it. I probably loved watching the kids act out the stories the best. 

Fairy Tale Fun

#6- Everything Cinco de Mayo was so fun. My kids wore their sombreros back to school for like 3 days after we made them. (That is huge considering most of them usually don't wear the hats we make for more than an hour!!!) We had so much fun with our pinatas and eating chips, salsa and tacos. My kids are still randomly saying "OLE!" and "Ay Caramba!" throughout the day. 

Cinco de Mayo

#7- Mother's Day was so special! I loved how everything turned out. Maybe I especially loved this one because my mom was here and helped out with it!

Mother's Day

Go link up! I want to see your top 5 (or 7!?! ;) ) Happy Wednesday!

A Mother's Day Five for Friday

I had the most fantastic week, and I can't wait to share it with you! :)

This week was filled with preparing for today, when we hosted Muffins with Mom.

We made special hats for our mom's to wear for the occasion- the hats were a HUGE hit and amazing for pictures! They were SO easy to make. All you need is coffee filters, construction paper, string, tape, scissors, a stapler, a water bottle and markers. The students cut out the hat template and used a marker to draw "band" on the hat. Then the students colored a coffee filter any way they liked and used the spray bottle to spray it with water. After the coffee filter dried the students crushed it together to form a flower and stapled it to the hat. Last with the tape we attached a string to use to tie the hat on...VIOLA! 

We made a little recipe card holder for a little gift for our mothers. We used medium size paper clips, a picture and a recipe card. Keeping the "muffin" theme, I took each student's photo and place it inside a muffin template. Each photo read "Happy Mother's Day 2013 From Your Little Love Muffin". Then The students created a "Recipe for a Great Mom (Aunt or Grandma)". We just attached the muffin photo to the paper clip and then placed the recipe card in the holder. 

My mom was such a HUGE help getting ready for this event and even serving as "mom" for a few students whose mothers were unable to attend today. She is the best mother EVER! :) I am so blessed to have her...she has always been my biggest cheerleader and in all my failings she is always proud of me! I don't know what I would do without her! Isn't she gorgeous! LOVE HER!

This week we did a mini science experiment. I was so fascinated by this activity! We took a head of red leaf lettuce and cut it off at the bottom. We placed the bottom root portion, in a cup of water. After just a few days, the lettuce started to sprout and regrow! Yes, the lettuce grows again! I have thrown away so many bottoms, who knew that I could have had lettuce growing!

This week I was so spoiled for Teacher Appreciation Week. I feel like I don't deserve all that I was given. My students are too much! I forgot to take a picture, but my favorite gift this week was a "Love Jar" filled with Love Notes from my students! I will treasure this ALWAYS!

Today we received our placements for next year and well, I am sooo happy! I will be teaching...

I hope you had a wonderful week! Only 18 more days for me...how many for you? Go link up!! 

Have a wonderful weekend!