Tuesday's Teacher Tips

After the 20th time in just a few minutes that my kindergarten kids asked "What's next?" or "Now what?" I decided that picture steps would help my class learn multiple step directions. I wish I had used this with my 2nd graders.
So I made a flow chart with an arrow showing the direction to follow the steps then I use magnets to put the picture cues up on the board. One of my students has a matching chart using velcro at her seat. See the document by clicking HERE on google docs.



All the images are from Word Clip Art and then I took photos of the places to put their work (cubbies or turn in basket) and then pictures of what to do next ( book, literacy center, or math zones. Using picture steps kept my sanity and will help you keep yours!

- Lindsey

Supermarket

So last week we spent time learning about goods and services and this week our focus is on the supermarket! So I created a market in my room for literacy centers. I think pictures always tell the best tale! Before we began I sent a note home the previous week to send in empty and cleaned food boxes or containers. On day 1, we read a Barney's trip to the Grocery Store. We talked about different names for grocery stores/supermarket/market. We then identified the types of isles found in the supermarket. I had some cards made up to help with this talk. Then we took all the food from our "housekeeping" center and sorted into baskets on the carpet. We then talked about what needed to be refrigerated or frozen to help decide where different food items belong. Here's the finished product before the kids tear the place apart!

I have a tiny cart donated by a former student. The kids love it!

A view of our checkout counter.

Bakery on the left and the right is the frozen food section, the dairy section, bottom Meat and Seafood section.

A peek inside the fridge and freezer

One of the 2nd grade teachers had a cash register I borrowed. I created a check out counter by just putting some black paper over the "stove top". I also put out some paper bags and old receipts for the kids to play with!

Over the sink on the let it says Grains and Pasta. Middle is the Deli. Right Side is Household Items (toilet paper, tissues, box of ziplock bags, and baby wipes)

Left side says Cereal on top and then Produce going down. Right side says Cereal, Snacks, Drinks, Canned goods.

~Lindsey

Spring Art Centers

One of my teacher friends asked me to take photos of the spring art centers I have currently in my room to help inspire her. So since I have the pictures I thought I could share with you!

Forsythia Art

Cherry Blossom Art

Parts of a Plant

We're planting tomorrow so my beans are in water overnight and I'm hoping for the best tomorrow!

- Lindsey

So proud of my SPIDERS!!!

I am so excited and so proud! This week as been the first time since undergrad that I have been able to watch my college team on TV, with sound, and I have not had to fight for a TV at a bar to be able to even see them play!
I am a proud University of Richmond Alumni and I was also a spider student athlete, I swam for 3 years and played golf my senior year at Richmond. The athletes at UR were always very supportive of each other and especially the men's basketball team and the women's swimming team. There's nothing quite like the site of 10 or more six foot + basketball players walking onto the pool deck during a swimming meet. I became very close with a few of the guys because of our freshman core class.

Freshman Year at UR, Proclamation Night 1998

UR requires all freshman to take CORE, it's a small class of 20 or so students who engage all year in discussions that push boundaries and to "explore the perspectives on the meaning of life." We read a lot of books and had a lot of intense discussions. There were 2 football players, 2 basketball players, and myself as the athletes in our class of 20 and it was made clear early on that our professor did not like athletes and did not like our missing class because we had to travel to a game. Needless to say it was a tough year but I made lifelong friends and learned a lot about basketball.

Amy and I at practice in 1998.

I love my swimmer girls and have the best memories from our training trips to florida and from practice and conferences. I got mono junior year and our coach Hammer wanted me back in the pool. It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make but at the time I was worried about my heath and eduction. A lot of my team never forgave me from walking away during my junior year but for the first time in my life I got healthy and was happy I guess I just needed time to get well.

Spider swimming cheers! I'm on the far side of the circle
in the center in a black shirt.

I joined Alpha Chi Omega sorority during my sophomore year and I love my sisters. It's unfortunate that our chapter had to close this past fall due to some unfortunate circumstances. I took up golf in the spring of my junior year, I drove home to get the clubs my parents had always pushed me to play with and suddenly I came to realize after my first club golf practice that I was good, really good, I had just never cared enough to play. I'm glad I figure out this talent while I had time in school to practice and play it still serves me well now.

Our black conference shirts had a spider and read "That's all folks"
yes kind of morbid but appropriate for the loss of our men's team.

While swimming at Richmond my freshman year we had a men's team that unfortunately was cut due to Title IX decisions made by the university.  Not their best choice. So that's why some pictures have guys and some are all girls. It was so hard to watch half your team being told their college athletics career is over. They were my friends and my family! I owe who I am to my Spider swimming team and all my experiences I had with them.

Winter Training Trip Sophomore Yea

Back to my real point of this blog posting!

MY SPIDERS HAVE MADE THE SWEET 16!! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO PROUD!!

I have always known how good the spiders basketball program is but I guess the rest of the world didn't know. The past 10 years that I have been living in Maryland and any time I have had a chance to see my spiders on TV usually an ACC Maryland game is on and it becomes a battle to get a TV that has the channel to watch. UR never gets on network tv in the DC area unless they are playing GW (I'm usually at those games) so I have to find a bar to see them play. I watched the Spiders tear it up last week in the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament and was able to watch their last two games in that tournament on TV.

So exciting! Since Thursday when #12 Richmond knocked out #5 Vanderbilt while the St. Patty's day party was gong on suddenly I looked around the bar and realized... people were cheering for my school!! And they were excited about it!! Then yesterday Richmond did the unthinkable and knocked out #13 Moorehead State which had upset #4 Louisville. So now were on to the sweet 16 to play the #1 seed Kansas. I would like to point out at this time I had Kansas vs. UR in the sweet 16 in my bracket. So I've crossed my fingers and said my prayers to hope that the next round won't be a disaster. I'm also very proud of VCU another Richmond school for making the tournament and also progressing to the sweet 16. Let's Go SpidURs!!

St Pattys centers

I took a few pictures of my St Pattys day centers! Thank you so much to the blogging world for the great ideas!




Lucky Letter Writing





Pot of Gold Writing




Rainbow Word Wall Words




I Feel Lucky




Shamrock Person

- Lindsey

Opening/Morning Meeting

Every day and kindergarten we being with the same morning routine... Students come in, begin their morning work, and when tables are called they begin to unpack. When the unpack they turn in their take home folder to my basket, hang up coats and bags on their hooks and order lunch on the front of my desk. Ordering lunch doubles as my attendance so students who bring their lunch have that choice to choose from.

When everyone has unpacked, completed their warm-up, and has ordered lunch we are ready to meet on the carpet for our opening and morning meeting. Each day I have a helper of the day, this is the only assigned job I have in Kindergarten, and that student leads us through our plans for the day. Often they have to identify and write in beginning sounds, circle word wall words, add endings, or chunks of words we have worked on. We read the plans aloud as a class before moving over to our calendar routine. 

My helper of the day leads the class through our calendar activity.

This is everything we did for calendar in September.
(Oh it's not the first day of school just the 2 in the tens place
fell down in this photo.) It's the 21st day of school!

a. Flip today’s calendar number over. 

b. Add today’s pattern piece 

c. Put in the cards: Today is, Tomorrow will be, and Yesterday was. 

d. Get the dry erase marker and mark off the next number on our 100s chart or add  the next number on when greater than 100 days. 

e. Place Value: Add a straw to the ones place, count the ones, and flip the number card to match. Count the straws in the tens place, check to see that the number card below matches. Continue in the hundreds place. 

f. Dress Froggy to show today’s weather. Add the words to Today’s weather is.. 

A view from January Calendar routine. Patterns get harder, pennies
are added on plus counting students each day. This month we will
begin using the number of girls and boys as an addition problem
in our morning calendar.

g. Add a penny to the daily chart to represent what today is worth. 

h. Count the number of girls, number of boys, and number of students present today. The helper should add the magnetic numbers to show each amount. 

i. Student says “Go get pencils” kids will go get pencils from tables and return to the carpet. Teacher passes out the students calendars in the basket below the board kids will return to add today's date and the weather to their own calendar.

j. Movement Activity 

On the top are our short vowel posters to practice the sounds. 
Below is the daily calendar my students fill out as a part of our opening.

Also depending on what we are studying through out the year we identify letter sounds, vowel sounds, or even word wall words in poetry.

Want to see more from my room?
Visit my Room Tour blog posting from a few weeks ago!

In poems we identify word wall words, chunks, or punctuation marks.

St. Patrick's Day Fraction Headbands

My 2nd grade students loved to make headbands almost as much as my kindergarten kids now. It's probably because we only made them for holidays but still they loved them!  I found the file on my computer with the St. Patrick's Day Fraction Headbands that I used to do with my second graders and I'm glad I can share it with the blogging world.

We also made tissue paper shamrocks and wrote about why we are lucky. Depending on the year we also decorated cupcake treats and celebrated with chocolate gold coins. I hope this helps others with ideas for this next week!