Fire Safety Freebie

Fire Safety Week is next week, so we started learning about being fire smart this past week. Next Friday the Fire Department and SWAT Team will come and visit us! Woo hoo!

Here are some of the things the students have been working in...

 The Firefighter repeated text pocket chart activity. We use this text during shared reading. Using the repeated text daily helps the students so much. When the kids go to centers I see them reading each line, matching the illustrations to the correct text and finding the high frequency words within the sentences.

My kids are working on beginning and ending sounds. At the Sounds of the Engine center the students are working on identifying the beginning and ending sounds of words. This is helping so much during independent writing time.

Spots at the Firehouse is another way that my students are practicing their word wall words. My students are totally into dice this year...last year it was dominoes?! Who knows...but whatever works right?!!

In math the students have been working on sequencing numbers. In the activity the students sequence the number tiles to serve as a number line. Then the students rolled a dice wrote the number in the hose and then wrote the next three numbers after the initial number. All the students were so engaged, and even though it can be a difficult concept, it came easily to most! Love those kind of activities!!!!

The students are practicing sorting and graphing too!

Here is a freebie for you to use in your fire safety centers! Click the picture to get your copy! I hope you enjoy!

Tomorrow we will be making this fun little Fire Safety Dog! I can't believe it is already Friday...happy dance time!

 Looking for Fire Safety Activities? Check out this unit...hope you find it useful! Happy Weekend!

Happy Fall {Apples and We Are Scientists!}

Happy Fall! The other week I woke up so in the mood for Fall! It is my favorite season- I love the smells, the food, the colors...well almost everything about Fall! I was so in the mood for Fall, I tried to wear a cozy sweatshirt and well that is when I had my reality check! It is still in the 90s here, but hey a girl can wish! :) I decided I'd decorate the house instead! 

My best friend and I took a trip to Michaels and got our craft on! It was fun! :) I love coming home to the smell of apples and pumpkins and seeing signs of Fall, because here in South Florida we don't really experience the change of the seasons.

After decorating my house, it was only right to decorate my classroom, right?!?! The fall decorations came out...and the kids all got excited because to them Fall means Halloween! :/

They were super excited when they started our Apple Unit on Monday. 

Here are some pictures from the unit.

A Johnny Appleseed Craftivity. We will be completing this on September 26th.

As we learn about apples we will use this repeated text to develop vocabulary.

The kids are like sponges and I LOVE it! They are learning so many words, letters and sounds it is unbelievable! We use these pocket chart activities for fluency, word work and word recognition.

Here are some of the math and ELA centers the students are working in...

Find all these activities and more here!

Here is a quick update with our beginning of the year science unit. My absolute favorite!!! This unit inspires students to be scientists and to realize they already are scientists. This is a science journal entry from the first day of the unit...I love their responses! 

{I am measuring!}

{Looking at an orchid.}

{Looking at the rain. *It has been a rainy week! Indoor recess and snack= one unhappy teacher!*}

Tomorrow they will write about what kind of scientist they will be! I love it! Find lots of resources for starting science instruction off right in this fun pack!

Find it here!

Five for Friday {A Little Late!}

I don't know who has enough energy on Friday to actually post their five for Friday! :) Not me, that's for sure!!! I'm linking up with Kacey to share my Five for Friday.

1. One of my student's parents bought me a brand new color printer! HAPPY DANCE!! I am beyond excited. No more printing ten pages and having to refill the cartridges or having to print everything from home!

2. I am trying to implement more journals in my classroom this year. I didn't think that my students needed a entire journal for each subject- reading, math and science. So I took the journals to Staples and got the journals cut in half! By doing this I didn't have to buy extra notebooks and the storage space needed is so much less! They are perfect for my little learners! 

3. This past week we have been working on establishing learning goals in class. The students have goals for reading, math and writing. In my class my students record their learning in a goal book. We update this book 4 times throughout the year. The students love the book- they love seeing how much they have learned and how much their work has improved! I use this book during parent conferences to display specific learning goals and where the student is at. (This book is an awesome keepsake for the parents too!!)

 

 

As students master a standard, they get to sign our learning goal posters that are displayed in the room. These posters are motivation for the students to keep working hard- and it gives them a clear target to work towards!

Get your copy of the goal book and posters HERE!

4. You know the beginning of the year is SUPER busy, I have been wanting to post these for the past two weeks but haven't had a chance. We have been making lots of picture graphs in class. Get your {FREE} copy of these graphing materials HERE!

5. Last night my best friend made me dinner- vegetable lasagna! Oh so delicious! She's the best...and it was the best thing I had eaten all week long. I'm one lucky girl!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday! Enjoy your long weekend!

Back to School FUN!

I am now in the full swing of school, and man I am TIRED! I may be getting old or something because I don't remember feeling this "pooped" by the end of the day. I don't think I have made it up past 8:30pm in the past week. Oh man! So I've been wanting to share some pictures for a while and well it hasn't made it off the to-do list...that is until today! Whoop whoop! :) Here are some pictures of some of the fun activities we have been doing in class.

Pocket Chart Activity

The kids are excited that they are already reading! 

Find it HERE.

Letter Dominoes

I love seeing them working together already and their enthusiasm is so contagious!

Find it HERE.

ABC Spin It to Win It!

My AMAZING student teacher helped to teach this game. Having an extra set of hands this year has been a true God-Sent!!!

Find it HERE.

Shakin' Shapes on the Bus

Some students came to kindergarten with a solid foundation in math skills, while others need a quick lesson on the basics (colors and basic shape names). We are using some of these fun games to learn the concepts.

Find it HERE.

What's the Number on the Board?

Who doesn't love number play dough mats!?!?!

Find it HERE.

Super Student Number Spin

Find it HERE.

Mostly we have been going over lots of routines and procedures. I have students with unique challenges this year, and I am learning something new every day. I love a challenge, it just causes me to get more creative, right?! Or maybe more tired...hmm. Here are some pictures of our class pennant that we created on the first day of school.

Find it HERE.

I know I already posted classroom pictures last week, but I wasn't quite finished with my room. So I wanted to share just a few updated pictures. {My classroom is my home away from home...you got to love it!!}

The front door. We are Smarties!

Where anchor charts are already hanging.

The word wall, color pennants and shape pennants.

Smartie Work Board

Every classroom needs a little Bob! ;)

I saw a ribbon chandelier like this on Pinterest and really wanted to make it but thought it would be so expensive. That's when my mom came up with the idea to use plastic tablecloths and cut them in strips. The total project price was $10 compared to the $30+ I thought it was going to cost! Yay! This is hanging above my reading area. 

Alright...time for bed!!! :) I did it folks, the time is now 9:41 and I'm still awake!! I hope that you are either enjoying the end of your summer break or are having an awesome start to your year. I hope to be back later this week with some fun activities for you! Until then I leave you with this great quote I read. 

You make a difference!

Ooooo...almost forgot...do you love my new blog design?!?! Thanks to Parker at PJ's Design Laboratory, I do!!! He has been more than amazing and I recommend him to anyone! I am so picky and he was so patient! If you are looking for a blog makeover GO CHECK HIM OUT!!!