Love Monster Freebie Included

LOVE MONSTERS

A  few weeks ago we read this adorable book: 
Love Monster by Rachel Bright. 
In this story the monster who doesn't look fluffy and cute like everyone else sets out to find someone who will love him. After searching and searching, he gives up hope that anyone will love his because he is "a slightly hairy, I suppose a bit googly-eyed monster."

This is where my students started creating the love monster new friends. My class this year LOVES to draw, color and create ART!

Once they had created their monsters my students handed me in the papers and what they did not know was their drawing were going to the local high school where they were going to be created into 3D stuffed monsters.  The high school students then got to work with felt, googley eyes, yarn, buttons--etc.  When I got a sneak peak at these creations before the big reveal I was BLOWN away with how accurate they looked to the drawings our students made. 

This week the HS students came to our school for a HUGE surprise. One of the cooking classes even made us the most adorable monster cupcakes as a bonus snack.

Each Kindergarten student at my school  -88-  to be exact got a personal monster friend that was made with love and creativity by the high school students.  The HS students were full of smiles and excitement as they delivered the monsters. 

Look at this one....it has a little friend!!!!

 If you love this book and this idea there is a packet to get you started. I have included a simple writing and design page for you and your students. Click Here for this adorable FREEBIE

Download this Free Resource

Download this free resource and other freebies by submitting the form below.  By doing so you will gain access to the FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY and other fun ideas for your classroom. 

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

March Magic of the Leprechaun

MARCH IS MAGICAL IS KINDERGARTEN!!

What do you do to bring magic into your classroom? I love sharing joy, excitement and magic with students.  This year, I am bringing a little more magic into my classroom with centers that are easy to create and FUN for my students. 

This center is super easy to put together. 
1. print the rainbow paper
2. add salt of sand 
3. add sight word list (rainbow ones are magical)

ENJOY

We are also using PLAYDOH!!! Not just any playdoh but GREEN to make it a little bit more magical. I also added some super simple and CHEAP  cookie cutters.

Rolling playdoh is SO great for fine motor skills. I love these cards, Students can use this a model on how to roll each letter. This is a great alternative to using playdoh stampers. 

I could not find green sand (hello small town)  Did you know you can dye salt?!?!?!  Look how beautiful it turned out! 

March Hands On Centers

click here for more information on this  product 

Summer of 2015= Swimming with the SHARKS!!!

I am very excited to join Kindergarten Smorgasboard with this online book club!!!!!!! I am currently teaching in Kentucky in a small town after living in a bigger town in NOVA for many years SO I jumped at the chance to be part of this book club!  Thanks so much for hosting this Greg! 

This summer has been the summer of the sharks! Every time we turn on the news there is another sighting or even worse an attach! EEEEk uhmmm did I mention our beach trip is quickly approaching? 

A few weeks ago, I took my 5 year old, soon to be Kindergartner, to see the Disney movie Inside Out. This movie could have been about learning instead of emotions and it would basically be a story of this chapter. The movie talked about the core memories and how important they are. In education we call that same thing back ground knowledge!

 I can imagine what it would be like if our students had little people standing at their educational memory control panel. Instead of emotions like the movie, the characters could a scientist, historian, mathematician ...etc to help them recall the information! QUICK he wants to know who is on the PENNY.......... makes me giggle just thinking about it! 

Frank Smith says, "We can only learn from activities that are interesting and comprehensible to use; in other words, activities that are satisfying. 

Well, that seems easy...SO why  don't we just to that?!?! Ok...now that I am thinking about it maybe it is not so easy. How do we get every student excited about every lesson to a level that they retain information and can apply it?

In this chapter,  it has many example of students doing the work. They are grouping the materials into displays, they are doing the research and deciding what is important, they are comparing the material, and they are choosing what books they use for the research.   Students need to be engaged at higher levels to make true connections! 

I know as I look forward to this new year,  I plan on giving my kids more opportunities to do the work...the hard stuff...the fun stuff....and I look forward to watching their files get full of new information that they have made new connections with! 

Back to School with the Cat in the Hat!

I have moved from VA to KY....we are very excited to be near family and to start our next adventures. I was not excited to set up my new room. I loved my old room. Picture this. HUGE storage closet, wall to wall built in storage and shelves, newer school and in a neighborhood 2.3 miles from my home AND my sitter was between the school and home (talk about dream commute)!

But change is great and with change comes growth... AND I am ready to grow. I am very excited to join my new team and start working at my new school too.  I was SOOOOO excited to get a job teaching kindergarten at one of the largest schools in the county!!! (really this was crazy luck and perfect timing with someone retiring)

When I went to see my classroom this is what it looked like:

 You know the look of chairs stacked and furniture pushed to the corner of the room? This is WHAT almost EVERY room in America looks like in the summer and each year teachers say HMMMM how will I ever get this put back together? And somehow with a lot of work and little magic it happens every year!

The lady that I replaced was SOOOO nice and left all of her materials. She left some pretty amazing things but it took time to look through them all! I was truly blessed with lots of materials and books by the teacher that retired. 

After a few days, my room looked like this

Then after several day and I do NOT want to know how many hours....it looks like this!!!!

This desk was looking sad...so sad...then I added my name with some vinyl and in the open spot I put a Thing 1 and Thing 2. 

I added their names to the little socks and balanced the line of socks up...oops!!! 

Once again you will see vinyl.....this is my line up number line. Each student will be assigned a number and that is where they will line up all year! No pushing no shoving and each student gets a chance to be line leader. 

This is my center shelf. I will put the items that they will grab and go with in these tubs! 

This is my ONLY storage....EEK. I have about 12 more TUBS like this at home but I only brought what I needed right away!~ 

I needed a curtain AND I need to learn to sew---- but not this summer....SO I just cut ribbon to make a curtain.

Student papers (lots of them for their parents to fill out)

Student welcome bags and parent welcome bags. 

The student welcome bags are free to download on my TPT store :)

My classroom did not have a carpet by the Promethean Board. I picked these very Dr. Seuss like carpets up at Ikea for only $14 dollars each!!!

My behavior chart!

Theme books and where my assistant will pull her groups! 

The library and what will soon become our wall of family photos.

Back of the room looking forward. 

Side of the room looking to other side

My adorable pennants clips that my friend designed for me!!! How lucky am I?  

This is my classroom....some things have already changed since I took these pictures on Thursday :) I am sure I will continue to make changes as I make this new space my new home away from home. I hope you enjoyed my little tour AND I would love to see your classroom. Please leave a link and I will check it out! 

New Year, New School, New State, New Goals

WOW!!! I really did not post at all last year. I am going to do a great job this year!!! Really, I am! Just typing it makes it a little more real.

My life has been in boxes for the last few weeks. I recently moved from VA to KY and now I will be teaching in KY. I will still be teaching kindergarten! Thank goodness! I can NOT imagine  if I had to teach another grade---I love my little ones so much!

I am excited/nervous/overwhelmed with my new job, school and COMMON CORE! I have not taught the Common Core before because VA is one of the states to opt out!

So.....here is to new adventures and CURRENT, UP to DATE  post from me!

Now, I have to go unpack a few more boxes and try and find the printer's power cord!?!? Silly movers must have packed it in a different box!