Awesome Easy October Idea

 

I've come to love the saying "work smarter not harder", so today I am sharing a super simple activity for Pre-K and K. It is easy and requires little prep. You will need:

Per Child:

3 white pipe cleaners

60 orange beads

1 green pipe cleaner

Begin by twisting your 3 white pipe cleaners together at the center, like the spokes on a wheel.

Children will add 10 pony beads to each spoke.

Then gather each end together and twist to form the stem.

Wrap a green pipe cleaner at the top and "curl" ends to form the vine by wrapping ends on a pencil. 

Directed Drawing in Kindergarten Bridges to Writing

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Welcome the the Bright Ideas Blog Hop!! Is your head spinning with great ideas? If you are new to my blog, I am a Kindergarten Intervention Specialist. I am a cross-categorical teacher, but I work primarily with students who have one or more learning disabilities in language arts, written expression or math. I also work with children who have social emotional and behavioral needs. My students are an amazing group of learners!!

For the last four days we have been researching the Emperor Penguin. I am going to try to compile all of the links, videos, games, and common core activities we used for a future post because it was FANTASTIC! The kids had a blast and learned so much! We are currently writing our own E-book that is nearly complete. The kids REALLY enjoyed creating it. I loved watching them work cooperatively together through the process. I will share the "how to's" for that next week.

I like to do directed drawing (aka guided drawing) with my students. I feel like this is an excellent activity for listening and following directions, fine motor and spacial awareness through a multi-sensory activity. We used our penguin art as illustrations in an e-book we are currently writing together. Below is the basic process I used for my lesson:

Step 1 For our emperor penguins I began by demonstrating the complete drawing and describing each line.
Step 2 I drew the penguin a 2nd time with the group. The children drew lightly with a pencil so they could erase if needed. We completed each step of the penguin together as a large group.
Step 3 The children traced their line drawings with a black crayon and added any other detail they wanted. Some children drew baby penguins, others eggs etc.
Step 4 The children painted their drawing with water color paints.
The entire process with clean up took us 30 minutes and the final artwork was unique and amazing!!


Below is a VERY rough draft I just drew up for the step by step to the penguin.

And look what I found in the hallways at school...more unique directed drawing! FaBuLoUs!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope this idea is useful in your classroom!! And now you are off to the amazing April from"A Modern Teacher" to hear some great tips about using Start Cards. 

A Modern Teacher

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

Introducing January Math Journals for Kindergarten

Home for a snow day and sharing my most recent creation. I have created a simple math journal packet that I will be implementing with my students. Many of my students struggle with writing numbers and letters using correct formation and size. I want them to be able to demonstrate what they know with increased independence. I love seeing all the unique math journals kindergarten teachers are using in their classrooms. I searched and searched for a math journal template that would be appropriate for my students. (Remember, my goal is independence.) I found some great stuff but it was either too hard, required too much teacher direction, or it was jut not appealing. So, I made my own to exactly address the skills my kiddo's need to work on.

January Math Journals

I have included a color and black/white version of each page. In the top section the students will trace each number. I used a dotted font for the numbers. They will then color today, tomorrow, and yesterday.

In the middle section the children will trace and write the day of the week sentence. They will write the name of the day beginning with a capital letter then lower case. 

The bottom section is where they will represent the date using tally marks and the 10 frames. I may tweak this a bit for February but this is what I am trying for January.

I like how many different skills are practiced on one page. This will nicely supplement the work we do with our math curriculum, and it will provide daily practice in the areas my students need help.

This product is currently free in my TPT store, so feel free to try it out. 

January Math Journals 

Stay Warm!!

Monday Clip Art Freebie

Come back each day this week to grab your colored pencils.  Tomorrow's color is yellow.  I have a one day sale today on TPT for my birthday.  Have a great week....and if you are back to work already have a wonderful time meeting your new kiddo's!!

Great News!! A New Set!! And...a bit of Randomness!

Guess What?? We had the follow up visit to the specialist......

 

And we got great news!!! Prince Charming's tests came back negative for cancer...his scar is healing great and we have no more doctor visits scheduled!!! Woohoo!!! What a relief!!! Thank you so much for you kind words, prayers and support!!! I LOVE my bloggyland friends!! 

Well I came up with another new idea.... I really think my clip art name should be the ADD Artist, I am constantly drawing new things that dont really fit together into any type of theme, but I like trying to draw different types of characters. I made a set of these crayons for another classroom label set.

Then I had an idea....so I am going with a new theme next year ....colorful crayons with bright polka dots and chevron labels in colorful primary colors. And then I thought I could make these little cuties holding the crayons.....what do you think? I am loving the rainbow theme idea and it goes perfectly with stuff I already have. My classroom tables are labeled by color and I have colored caddys holding all the supplies in each table.

How about you? Do you do a classroom theme or try to match everything using a color theme? I think the new set will look so cute!! 

What are your summer plans....reading?....vacations?.....classes? 

I plan to read the stack of books growing under the end table. I've been adding to the stack throughout the year. A lot of mysteries in the pile....that's probably my favorite read. We are taking a mini vacation in July...hopefully to the ocean...maybe Virginia Beach. I am going to take a few online classes and I am also hoping to join in on one of the online book studies going on this summer. Sounds like a fun idea....and you can do it in your jammies drinking coffee....what could be better??

Seriously, thanks again for your prayers and support!!! Have a great week!!

Insect Art Ideas and More

This week I took a lot of pictures around my building of all the springtime art decorations. We also had a great field trip to the zoo!!

Beginning at the top left and going clockwise....

1. The teacher made her door into a giant beehive and if you look really close you can see the paperplate bees that are hanging from the ceiling. The students painted the stripes and then their photo was the head of the bee....super cute!! 

2. (top center) Another cute paper craft...ladybugs with paint dauber spots. The ladybugs decorated the bulletin board on the bottom middle row. 

3. (top right) Colored strips of paper glued to a leaf shape cutout and voila...it's the very hungry caterpillar. The children then worked cooperatively to paint the wings. The center picture is our bulletin board in the hall. It's super cute and all 'kid-made'. We get compliments every time a class passes our room. 

4. (bottom right) You can't completely see it but those are 'word family' caterpillars. Each oval has a different word family. Super cute and colorful aren't they?

5 (bottom middle) Ladybugs and flowers made with colored paper and paint daubers.

6. (bottom left) Honeycomb cereal bee hives with a "BEES' poem.

I made a few more fonts this week and I will get them loaded onto my FB page as this week's Fan Freebie. Here's a peek at how they look.

You can grab a copy for free just by 'liking' my Facebook Fan Page.

If you are a fan of backgrounds I will have this freebie available on my Uniquely Yours Blog Design page.

Have a great week!!!!

Kindergarten Homework :)

Howdy-do!! I was all set with every intention to blog about my fab idea for making cute and inexpensive window coverings. But, I have not made it to the discount store to buy the materials. It is definitely on my 'list'. I will take pictures and post about it soon!! So instead I am going to share some ideas about homework. Homework in July?
As I prepare for my new group of students coming next year, new math curriculum, and a new co-teacher (who I am so super excited) to work with, I keep thinking about how I want to manage Kindergarten Homework. I have a few thoughts on homework and I wanted to share how I currently manage it with my students. I am a Kindergarten Intervention Specialist. I work with my students in the resource classroom and in their regular education classrooms. They cut an Intervention Specialist at our building for the Fall ( well luckily she got moved to another building and NOT cut) so I am starting with 11 students. In our district, that is a big case load.

Do you have your kinders complete homework?

How often do you send it home? Weekly? Monthly?

When do you start it?

I am in the process of creating monthly bundles of homework that align with the Common Core as well as with our school curriculum. This is a sample of homework activities I have previously created:

I send my homework packets home every Monday. I also send reminder notes home in the student's Communication Notebooks (they ALL have one, and they are sent home daily to be read, signed and returned). But, what about the students who do not return the packets? In my classroom the students earn stickers on a motivation chart. When they earn 5 stickers they can visit the 'treasure' box and pick something to keep. They also receive a certificate each week. The children who do not have their homework are always upset they do not have it completed. For my students who do not return their packet, no problem!! I have a homework center in my classroom. I feel that the concept of completing homework is important, it teaches responsibility. That said, it is really the parent's responsibility to complete it with their child and I feel strongly that the child should not be punished for it not being returned.
I begin my homework the 3rd week of school, after the children have settled into school a bit. The activities are quick and fun, aligned with the Common Core. However, one of the best components of having homework is that it reduced 'surprises' with the parents. Parents who complete the homework packets are always more 'in the loop' with their child's learning level.

Here's a sneak peak at one of my new classroom sets. It's about half finished! :)

Have a great week!!

:) Nancy

Freebie from Monster Classroom Set

Here is a little freebie from my All About Monster Classroom Design Set. It is two of the desk nameplates. You can also enter to win a free set by leaving a comment. I will need an email address if you win so I can email you the PDF download. If you already entered you do not have to do it again. :) I do appreciate when you follow my blog or store but there are zero requirements to enter. Monster FreebieYou can purchase this set here through my blog, at TpT or Teacher's Notebook. Have a wonderful weekend!

Nancy

New Classroom Design Giveaway - Monster Set

I finished the aqua and green classroom set and decided to make it a monster theme. I am giving away one set here on my blog on Sunday. I used the rafflecopter the last few times but then I got to thinking about making you follow me all around cyber-land to have an entry. That is not really my style....so while I am very appreciative if you follow my blog and stores your entry will just be made by leaving a comment below...sound good?

I had a special request for a 'bee' theme classroom set so that will be next. Then I will do a safari/jungle theme. I am also drafting out a year of homework packets for Kindergarten. Busy, busy, I'm just full of ideas, lol.

We have a brand new math curriculum for next year so I need to make sure the activities align with the lessons being taught. I went to an in-service today and I go back tomorrow. It is all about the new math curriculum.

I also spent 3 days cleaning out my classroom cupboards getting everything organized. My classroom is super organized and tidy but I had secret hidden stashes of clutter...shhh don't tell. Now every cupboard is organized too and my file cabinets are all cleaned out. My recycle bin was brimming! I think I had saved every extra copy of papers since dinosaurs walked the Earth, very outdated and things I will never ever use again! They are gone now! I also changed all my bulletin boards for next year.

What changes will you make to your classroom for next year?

Make sure you leave your email address if you are entering to win the Monster Set. I will email it as a PDF file attachment. Have a great week!

Nancy

Tomorrow's Alphabet

So for quite a while we have been working on books based on "Tomorrow's Alphabet" by George Shannon.

In the beginning the concept was a little difficult, but as we continued our discussion the kiddo's got better and better. Usually I picked a concept like seeds, or trees, or eggs and we brainstormed ideas. Well they really went to town on their books and they turned out AWESOME! As I was taking a few photos of some of their finished pages before they took them home, don't you know my camera battery died...UGH! These are the only ones I got.

Did you know a seal has 8 legs? LOL! But look at that cute little face she drew!!

I have 3 more days of school left. I have had such a great year I'm kind of sad it is ending. I'm getting ready for next year already though and have already started switching my bulletin boards over for next year. My class will be bigger next year so I rearranged the classroom to make sure I had enough seating room for the new bunch. My next item on the agenda is to organize my cupboards but I will wait until the kids are done so I can completely empty them onto the floor.
What's on your summer classroom agenda?
Have a great week!!


Nancy

Shhhhh....Don't Tell and New Set Giveaway!!

Shhhhh...tiptoeing to the computer and quietly logging on to my blog. Do I dare double post in one day? But, I have a Giveaway and if I don't start it today I may not be able to add it for a day or two because my week is so busy. The giveaway is for my new Classroom Design Set: All About Red. It turned out very cute and has a few ladybugs decorating several of the labels. I also made a black polka dot alphabet for decorating the pennant pieces. Here it is:

I'm trying rafflecopter again as I can't seem to find an easier one that is free.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It is available to purchase on Teacher's Notebook and TpT. If you prefer a different set please let me know. I will email you any one item from my store in PDF format. Have a great week!!!

Nancy

All About Yellow...Classroom Design & Labels

I felt bad about not making something for teacher appreciation week, but my daughter was very sick and in the hospital then my other daughter got sick too. I have that "day late and dollar short" feeling, lol. So....hope you like 'yellow'. I made this freebie. It is 32 pages long and contains bin/basket labels of assorted sizes, table tags and numbers,word wall, name plate tags...so many goodies. Get a head start on next year and brighten up your classroom too!!

It is available HERE!! Don't forget to sign up for my Giveaway too! It's my other design set...really cute, done in pink, green and black. Have a wonderful week!!

Nancy

I'm Having a Giveaway!

I am having my first giveaway and you have two chances to win.I am giving away a copy of my new Classroom Design set titled 'Let's Get Hoppin'. I am very pleased with how this set turned out. My teacher friends at work LOVE it! Here's what to do...
1. Follow my blog and leave a comment including your email (so I can email you the file).
2. Follow my store on Teacher's Notebook.
3. Follow my store on Teacher's Pay Teachers.
I am also giving away this set to one winner through the Teacher's Notebook site so you have an extra chance to win there. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I set this up right. Have a wonderful weekend and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Item Finished!! Yahoo!!

I found out last week that I am staying in the same building for next year and I am super-dee-duper happy! I love the people I work with!! Our enrollment is down so one teacher has to change buildings. Selfishly, I am glad it isn't me, but the teacher leaving is so nice. It's sad she has to leave. It appears I will start the year with more students than I did this year but I may not have to move between two grade levels...I think I am in K all day....which is A-OK with me. So for a while I have been working on a classroom set that has coordinated labels, word wall etc. Then I kind of stopped because I thought I was changing grade levels. When I found out I get to stay in K, it kind of gave me the kick to get it done. I think it is super cute!`I have it loaded onto Teacher's Notebook, and it is on sale....so is everything in my store. About a million moons ago when I first went to college I was an Art Education major and I still LOVE to make things and draw. Someday I hope to post some of my doodles as clip art...maybe this summer. Here is how the Let's Get Hoppin" set turned out....

You can also grab this freebie from the set...

Grab your freebie from Teachers Notebook. My friend wants a safari/zoo/wild set so I will post that as soon as it is done. Have a wonderful week!!

Puzzle Freebies Finished!!

Thought For The Day...."Every student can learn. Just not on the same day or in the same way."

I made two activities for my students to work on as we need to continue practicing the sight words and sounding out words. Both are "puzzle" activities. When the pieces are cut and glued correctly the CVC word page will be a space shuttle and the sight word matching page will be a turtle.

I found some goodies in the discount aisle when I ran for shampoo so I am about to make a new game for the kiddo's for tomorrow. I already had my Spring Break but my kids are on break the week after Easter. That always happens to us. I don't think I have ever been on break with them.
The two puzzles are available for free in my Teacher's Notebook Store. I have a few other freebies there as well as my common core math and two homework packets.


Have a great week!
Nancy

CVC Freebie and Happy Thursday

Thought of the Day... Refuse To Be Discouraged!

Have you ever had an idea in your head that you thought would be so easy to make but in fact it took forever? That is how I felt about my most recent project. I wanted to create an activity using CVC words but also make it fun and new. I came up with the idea of a puzzle. Match the word to the correct picture and when everything is in place it is a new picture. Sounds simple right? Well I could not get the pieces the correct size. I finally finished it tonight but I have not actually assembled it to be sure. I will make it tomorrow at work to be sure. It turned out like this....

It makes a space shuttle. Well, at least it is supposed to make a space shuttle if i have managed to resize all my square correctly. It seemed so simple in my head, lol. I'm afraid to put the download on in case it isnt correct, I guess I should wait until tomorrow. I will share as soon as I am sure.
Eight days until the wedding cake....we will start baking in 4 days. In case you don't know what I am talking about my daughter and I are making the wedding cake for my niece's wedding next weekend. It is a big one, the biggest we have made. I have complete faith it will taste great, but I need it to LOOK great too. She and I are a good team so I know we can do it. I will take pictures!! Should end up about 30 inches when it's done.
Have a great weekend!! Happy Friday!! Nancy

Kindergarten Homework Packet #2 Finally Finished

Thought of the Day...Believe In Yourself!

Good Morning Blogging Peeps! How are you this fine, fine day? I am enjoying my last day of Spring Break. Isn't that picture so cute? It's a bit cloudy here, but still warmer than the norm so I will happily take it! This is the mildest winter that I can remember, which is A-OK with me.
I should be cleaning again in the aftermath of my oldest daughter and her son moving out into their own apartment. Somehow the house is a mess again, EEK. Her apartment is very nice and in a good neighborhood. She is very close to the playground for Bryson. It is a bit sad for me though because I really did love having Bryson live with us. He is the sweetest baby ever....but it is a good thing for them to be on their own. And good for my other daughter because now she gets her room back. This is my all time favorite picture of Bryson. It's with our boxer Roxie. Isn't it the sweetest thing?

I finally finished my newest Kindergarten Common Core Homework Packet. I made a few small changes from the design of the 1st packet, and added a blank checklist to keep track of who returns it to school. I also included a B & W copy of every page for those unable to use color ink. I am very pleased with how it turned out. Here is a preview of the packet....

Head on over to Teacher's Notebook to grab a copy.
Sweet Sandi over at Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes gave me an award but I need to find some fellow bloggers to link up with so I will gather those and write about it later. Am I the only person that has a hard time creating links? I don't know why they are so hard for me but usually they don't work, ugh. Well, time to fill the coffee cup and go do some more exploring in blog world. I must say, I read about the best ideas! Sometimes I get so lost in reading I forget to follow people and then I can't find them again, I HAVE to do better with that.
Oh my, good grief Charlie Brown...I didn't realize I had written so much. Anyone actually read to the end of this, I should make an award for that....HA HA HA! Have a FABULOUS day!!

April Calendar Cards Freebie

I finished these yesterday and have them uploaded to my TpT store along with a few other freebies. I can't believe I live in Ohio, it's March, and today it was 80 degrees again...that just doesn't happen. Oh. and did I say I am on Spring Break to boot...can you say Y*A*H*O*O?!?
I am finishing up another homework packet for K. I will have it uploaded tomorrow. I am thinking of opening a Teacher's Notebook store. Anyone have one? Any benefits to TpT over Notebook? They look so similar but the cost to join is so much lower for Notebook. I just don't know, we are really pinching pennies at our house so I make do a switcheroo over to Notebook.
OMG, totally off teacher tidbit topic but.....did I ever write about the wedding cake my daughter and I are making. We are making the wedding cake for my neice' wedding in 2 weeks. It will be a 4 tier cake, with 12 total layers, probably 30 inches hign without the topper when we are done. That is our biggest cake yet. We are super...super super...super super duper bakers. Our cakes are S*O*O*O*O yummy. I will post pictures of the process and the final cake. I know it will be good....I hope...if it is straight, and the fondant cooperates...and we get it to the reception in one piece. Oh GEEZ!! YIKES!!
Have a great week!!
\April Calendar Freebie

Common Core Math Kindergarten Freebie

I have been on Spring Break this week, but my kids are in school. Did I get anything accomplished so far....well....nope. But I still have 4 more days right? Saturday my daughter has her first softball game and the weather has been in the 70's all week. Now that does not happen often in NE Ohio. Usually we still have some snow on the ground. I can't believe we are nearing the end of the 3rd quarter. This school year is flying by.
Have you ever made something that you thought would be so quick and easy to do and it took you FOREVER? That is how I feel about these story problems. The idea and layout in my head seemed so quick but it has taken me over a week to make, plus a week for a few of my teacher friends and I to try out in class. I am happy with the final product though. It ended up being 45 pages long. I will be adding it to my TpT store today.
Well that is annoying...in preview mode some of my words are in red and underlined....those blogger gremlins did it not me. Dont know how to correct it and everything else loaded so I am going to get this published. Have a f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s day!!

A freebie from the packet.
Story Problem Bee

Trying to Organize and a Freebie

I spent most of the afternoon trying to organize my stockpile of clip art into folders on my computer. I have so many things I want to use but I am trying to be careful that I have the correct permission. Took a break mid-afternoon and walked with the family to the ice cream stand for our first cones of the season. Today's flavor choices were banana and rasberry. It's the old walk-up style stand and they make two flavors a week plus chocolate and vanilla. It was quite YUMMY... I had the rasberry. I am working on a packet of math (common core) story problems as well as my weekly homework packets. Not all that sure my organizing did any good, but along the way I found these two old files I made a few years ago. This is my last week before Spring Break. That kind of snuck up on me a bit. I can't remember the last time I had the same break as my kids, more than 11 years for sure. Does that happen to you? Have a great week!!
Good Friend Award
Preschool Diploma