New Resources Available Today!

Hello Friends,
This year has whizzed by...many of you are beginning your summers already.  We have a much longer school year this year, due to our teacher strike, but I'm thankful for extra time with my precious Kindergartners.  I've used the long Memorial Day weekend to crank out some new products and will include a FREEBIE for you at the end of this post.  Feel free to drop me a line with any questions you may have.  

On to the NEW PRINTABLES!

Let's Go Visiting

I had no idea that when I created my I WENT WALKING activity, last year, that it would be so popular in my Teacher's Pay Teachers Store.  I sell it constantly, so my new goal is to go back to some of the classic literature I'm sure many of you currently own, or have access to in your school libraries.  I'm passionate about exposing my students to quality literature and making sure that classics are not lost in the shuffle of always being cutting edge.  To me, there's something magical about exposing my students to literature I remember being read to me at their age. I decided to work with another Sue William's text, LET'S GO VISITING to create another literacy printable.

Much like I WENT WALKING, the text follows a predictable pattern, while still challenging readers with new academic vocabulary,  including color words. This packet comes with pocket chart materials: poem and real photos of farm animals and an emergent reader.

In a Small, Small Pond 

This text, by Denise Fleming,  is one of my favorites for developing phonemic awareness and giving students a chance to listen for rhymes, play with words and see fantastic action verbs. This packet includes a rhyming activity and an emergent reader.

 Click on the pictures at any time to take you directly to the link to purchase.

CLOSE READS

Close Reads are dear to my heart this year, as I have witnessed the power of my students developing academic vocabulary, drawing conclusions, making inferences/connections and engaging in other higher-levels of thinking.  

Why should you do Close Reads?

I have created TWO new Close Reads based on National Geographic Kids, Non-Fiction Texts.

BEES

This resource is based on this text by Laura Marsh, which you can purchase HERE.

These books are the perfect length and hold my student's interest. We end up reading them at least 6 times during the course of the week, so my students begin to read along with my by the end.  Here's a peek into this new packet...and there's a craft, too!

Are you still with me???  Yahoo!  

 Elephants

This packet is based on the Great Migrations: Elephants text by Laura Marsh.  Purchase it HERE.

Here's a glimpse into my ELEPHANTS CLOSE READ PACK.

You made it!  Now for that FREEBIE I told you about!  Enjoy! Don't forget to leave your comments below.  I'd love to hear from you and follow your blogs too.  

Prepositions and Opposites

Whew!  The year has flewn by!  It's hard to believe summer will be upon us before we know it!  I get sad when I think about saying goodbye to my sweet children, but I know that they are ready to fly.  After testing them this last week, I am once again, AMAZED at how much they change from the beginning of the year. WOW! Kindergarten really is a magical place.  This week, be sure to stop for a moment and tell yourself, "Well done."  I am like you- always wishing that there was more time...always thinking about what else I can/want to do for them, but I need to recognize all the things I HAVE done already.  What an honor it is to be a teacher...celebrate you.

Here's a peek at some new printables I just listed at my TPT store.  Click on the link to hop on over!

PURCHASE it HERE!

Here's a preview.....

PURCHASE it HERE!

Here's a preview.....

Have a fantastic week!  

Be Blessed,

  

Close Reads and a FREEBIE

Who doesn't love a Kevin Henkes book?  My Kindergartners can't get enough of them so..... I have begun the process of putting together a CLOSE READS Bundle of many of his books.  As these things take time, I wanted to give a taste of what is to come.  Be sure to sign up and follow this blog to be the first to know when this is hot off the press!
Here's a sneak preview.....

Click here to grab your Chrysanthemum Writing FREEBIE!

Be Blessed!

Penguins and PLANBOOK, with a New Year's FREEBIE!

Whew!  I cannot believe that it's been so long since I posted on here!  The time flew by in a whirlwind of activity that I'm sure most of you can relate to.  The holidays were filled with opportunities to connect with family and friends, although the loss of my Grandmother continues to be an up-hill climb.  I cannot begin to express the intense loss of her not being apart of Christmas this year.  I've greatly appreciated the rest I have been getting and am looking forward to hitting the ground running come Jan. 5th.  
I wanted to share of the new things I'm excited about!  
First,  is PLANBOOK!  I saw that one of my friends, Marsha McGuire from A Differentiated Kindergarten uses it and I wanted to check it out!  I cannot believe how much I LOVE this gem!  You can upload pdf. files, videos, links, and any other resources, as well as create templates and attach standards right to your plans.  When I needed Emergency Sub plans, almost everything was right there, all I had to do was tweak a few things for the day and BAM...ready to go!  We all know how valuable time is and I was able to purchase two years for $22.00!  

Here's a glimpse into a day of plans.  Click on the picture to download the plans for a closer look!

Second, I've also uploaded new Penguin Resources and a Data Tracker for Student Goal Setting with Rainbow Sight Words!  Be Sure to head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store to check them out!  I even have a bundles available to save you some money!  And who doesn't like to save money? You can click on the picture below to grab the Rainbow Sight Words FREEBIE!

I'm super excited to show their growth and bring more color into my classroom next week with this cute resource.  It's only been listed a short time and over 250 people grabbed it already! It's my New Year's Gift to you from There's No Place like Kindergarten!

Here's a glimpse at those Penguin Resources too!

Click on the link above and it will take you to my store!

Or you can Grab this AWESOME

PENGUIN BUNDLE!  

But, Wait!  There's also a New ARCTIC ANIMALS UNIT TOO!

Happy New Year, friends!

Be Blessed!

Peek at My Week 2

A big shout out to my new favorite girl, Tami over at Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers!  She has such great FREEBIES on her blog that totally helped me create my plans this week!  Yahoo!  I love people who share!

Feel free to download the plans HERE and check them out! 

Have a blessed week and be sure to hop over to Mrs. Wills' Kindergarten Link Up!

Learning in Kindergarten!

Here's a peek into the last few days in Room 122!  We are a silly, energetic bunch!  I am definitely exhausted at the end of the day! Whew!
Here are some of my "couldn't live without" items as I embark on this new adventure with these precious children.

Spark is essential to my day!  Excellent for enhancing mental energy and focus*

• Provides support for long-lasting energy*
• Helps fight occasional drowsiness*
• 21 vitamins, minerals and nutrients
• Sugar-free and only 45 calories

If you are unfamiliar with ADVOCARE products, you NEED to check them out!

Voice Amplifier

This is also an essential piece of my teaching.  Last year, I was diagnosed with Vocal Nodules, which as a trained singer and "professional speaker"/aka a Teacher could have felt like a death sentence.  I was determined though, to not allow it to beat me and I was agressive about treatement with a Speech Pathologist two times a week.  I learned about vocal massage, pitch, voicing, protection, resonance therapy and overall vocal health.  It wan't my singing voice that was damaged, but my SPEAKING voice. On Feb. 28th, 2014, I was released fully recovered!It was one of the fastest recoveries they had ever seen!  Praise God!

Let me ask you these questions:

Do you lose your voice at least once a year?  Do you find your voice giving out every so often when you are speaking?  At the end of the day, is your throat tight or tired?  Do you have ways to manage the noise in your classroom besides calling out to your students "Give me five" etc?  Are you clearing your throat more often or afraid you have a cold or allergies you can't seem to kick?

These could be signs of vocal nodules.  If left untreated they can cause serious harm to your health and your profession.  

Find a reputable ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) Physician in your area and ask them to check.  Also, we all know how important water is but if you think that tea or coffee are helping you they are actually adding to the problem.  You MUST drink between 80-100 oz of water a day if you are a professional speaker!  No Excuses!  And yes, you will be using the bathroom...A lot!

NO YELL BELL: This is an awesome way to grab your students' attention WITHOUT voicing at all.  There are 7 different noises and when I tip the bell, they are to:

• Freeze
• Put their hands on their head
• Look at the Teacher

It's a cheap $26.00 and totally worth it.

Looking forward to next week...after a nap.....:)

Be Blessed,

NEW Classroom, NEW District, NEW Year!

I cannot begin to tell  you how happy I am working for the Pasco School District!  It's incredible to be working with such talented, heart- felt, compassionate people!  There are just not enough words to express my gratitude and love for my job and those I partner with each day to bless our beautiful students.  

To learn more about us, visit our District Webpage HERE.

Now, here's the moment I've been super excited to share with you....a peek into the magic of my new "Emerald City....."

Here's a look of what I started with:

Although I was thrilled for my new job, this room was a bit smaller than my last classroom.  So I needed to condense and be creative.  I also share a wall with another fantastic teacher, Mrs. Thorne, but it's covered with a carpet material, so I also had to add Velcro and TLC to whatever I chose to hang on it.

But, it was a challenge I enthusiastically accepted!!!

I decided that to go along with my Wizard of Oz theme, I would incorporate two of my other favorite things: gingham and polka dots...lots of red accents.  

I tried to back all my bulletins boards with white and then accent with red polka dots or red gingham.  I'm super excited!

 Leave a note and let me know what you all think!   Thanks for stopping by!   See you in OZ!

Be Blessed,