Come Inside the Magic...September

Welcome to Our Emerald City!

 I can't get enough out of the wording above the bulletin board.  I'd seen so many different ideas, but in the end, chose to use my favorite clip art and create my own.  Many thanks to my dutiful husband, Matthew, for braving the ladder and the picky wife telling him when it was straight enough.  To grab your own copy, click HERE.

I finally did this simple trick I found on Pinterest to hold all those pointers.  For years, I kept them in a tin can that had the propensity to tip over.  This is super easy and keeps things neat as a pin.

Focus Boards are a great way to keep me on track, as well, as help my students and parents understand our focus and direction.  Because I teach at a STEM elementary now, I made this board at the front of my classroom so it can be quickly visible.  I hang POST-IT anchor charts underneath the vocabulary portion, as the board slides from side to side, with materials stored behind.  To grab your own version of this board, click HERE and get it for FREE!  Don't you just love those?

 

We are Engineers!

Welcome to our Science Labratory!

You can grab this writing activity in my KINDER JOURNEYS Pocket Chart Writing Activities: FAMILY by clicking on the picture below.

Pocket Chart Writings are available in my TPT store individually or in Unit bundles for a bargain!

 Where would we be without GO NOODLE?

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.  

September Kindergarten Pocket Chart Chants and Activities

Isn’t teaching Kindergarten just magical?  I think so!  I LOVE to watch their little faces light up as they have success re-reading a familiar poem/chant.  I try to give them lots of opportunities for success and use fun pointers too!  There are real photos to enhance their reading process.  I use these poems during the first weeks of Kindergarten to set the tone for a love of reading and word work.  In this packet, you will find the following chants and word work/poetry journals:

•Goodnight (Use this poem by Linda Hoyt as a companion to GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown)

•Rosie’s Walk (Use with the companion book Rosie’s Walk by Pat Hutchens.  I adore this book because it’s a great introduction to the use of prepositions in writing.

•Hattie’s Friends (Use with the companion book, Hattie and the Fox by Mem Fox).

•Our Clothes (This is an independent poem sung to the tune of Mary Wore Her Red Dress).  My students enjoy interacting with this text and re-building it in the Poetry Center.

•Kindergarten (This is another independent poem taken from Fontas and Pinnell’s work)  It’s a super cute poem that students can use to consider action verbs involved in Kindergarten.

Here's a peek at some of the wonderful poems included...

 Because I can't wait to start this new learning journey, I have a gift for you!  Follow this link to download a sample of this new pack!  If you love this FREEBIE, be sure to leave feedback and grab the whole packet HERE to use for the new school year!