Saturday, August 16, 2014

First Week Back!

Hi everyone! We are back to school here in California. I am done with my first week of Kindergarten. Only one more week to go until my students are somewhat independent. I don't know about you, but it seems like the first two weeks just get harder every year! Once the first two weeks are over I can get down to some real teaching.

I have started using the DeeDee Wills and Deanna Jump Guided Math units. I LOVE them! I mean it. I LOVE them. If you have time, check out what they are on TpT. They are an excellent supplement to any Kindergarten math program. My students love them too. Math time is their favorite part of the day (except for dress-up.....)!

Here are somethings we did this week, along with some pics of my classroom this year. I like to change it up every year. Keeps it fresh for me.
Capital letter name page


 This our capital letter name page. Each child gets their own personal capital letter. I don't know about you, but I have many students coming to Kindergarten writing their names in all caps. It drives me crazy, so I try and emphasize that we have 1 capital letter in our name (most of the time anyway).  This year I had students put small stickers inside their letter. I had a million left over from last year and I thought it would be a nice way to use them. You could also have them glue tissue paper in the letter, small objects like sequins or beads. I wasn't ready to break out the white glue, so we used stickers.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByGesVUoE-jQenRQMHJQV2tjUWM/edit?usp=sharing
Big Head Self-Portraits
Aren't these adorable? These are self-portraits! Yep, this is how they see themselves. Amazing every time! Each child made one and practiced writing their name. I like to use a highlighter and have them trace it. In the beginning it is hard to trace on dotted lines. I also like to attach name writing practice to bigger activities. I think it makes it more meaningful. You can grab this cute template here so your students can make their own self-portraits.

Below are some pictures of my classroom this year. I thought I would share.
Rug area

As seen from the back of the room.

Objectives Board

My math board. I hang the cards from the Wills and Jump Guided Math units so I have them handy. I always lose things right as I need them. This way I have everything at my fingertips.

My reading board. The left has my Focus Board. This is for letter fluency. We read the letters (left to right, top to bottom) as quickly and correctly as we can. I have our alphafriend and how to write the letter of the week. The red rectangle will hold our weekly sight words. 

That is some of the classroom. I also have a writing wall (It has nothing on it yet) and an "Amazing Artists" wall (also, nothing on it yet). I will post pics of those soon.


8 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Nice! Love it! Thanks soooooo much for sharing :) Cute classroom!!!

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  3. I adore your classroom. It is obvious that you love what you do! Where did you get your number/ten frame on your math board? I love how the children can trace the numbers with their fingers and also see the ten frame,

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    1. Thank you so much! My students come back August 3 and I am sure they will love the self-portrait and my name is activities I pinned from you!! Have an awesome year!!

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    2. Thank you so much! My students come back August 3 and I am sure they will love the self-portrait and my name is activities I pinned from you!! Have an awesome year!!

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  4. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

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  5. Thanks for sharing the capital letter name page. It's nice that the children will have an opportunity to decorate the first letter of their name which will help with recognition.

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  6. Absolutely adore the vibrant designs of Inbloom Stickers! Their california stickers beautifully capture the essence of the Golden State. From majestic redwoods to sun-kissed beaches, each sticker tells a story. As a native Californian, I proudly showcase these stickers everywhere I go. Top-notch quality and unbeatable designs!

    ReplyDelete

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