Magical Product Swap

It's that time again! I love being a part of the Magical Product Swap! Not only do you get to meet some new bloggy friends, but you also get to review some great products.  This time around I was paired with Jennifer from Simply Kinder and Mary from Sharing Kindergarten in our own little "Ring-around-the-Rosie" three way swap.

I was thrilled when Mary sent me her Little Detectives Top Secret Number Files packet.  We have a Detective Station as one of our literacy stations and my kids are obsessed with it, so I think they're going to LOVE this one.

Mary has created the cutest way for the kids to to work on building, creating, and gaining number sense while learning their numbers. As Mary explains, the number itself doesn’t mean anything to a child unless they can use and utilize it properly. Boy, does this packet cover all of the above.  Using detective files like the one below, the kids are encouraged to show their number in a variety of ways. 

By using tally marks, tens frames, place value and 1 to 1 correspondence, there are a variety of ways to reinforce the concept of number sense.  By laminating and using with dry-erase markers, these could be used over and over again in a center. I plan on using some paper copies for morning work or homework.

To round out the packet, Mary includes a fun card game that is played like the classic game, Bang!  The students turn over a number and if they can read it, they keep it. If they get a hiding detective card they have give all of their cards back - bummer! When someone draws the "Solved" card, the game is over. Sounds like a great game to add to my numeracy station!

If you think your little detectives would like to "work the case" you can check out Mary's packet here.

Have a great night!

A Sandy Hook Update and Some New Year Goodies

Happy New Year, everyone! As I get myself ready to go back to school in the morning, I'm finding myself much more at peace than when we left school for the Winter Break. Spending time with my family, reflecting on the year gone by and making plans for 2013 have all really helped to refuel and re-energize me.

First, I want to take a minute to thank everyone who has gotten involved with our project to help the Sandy Hook teachers (see original post here). The response has been amazing - so much more than Karen and I imagined when we got started. Through the "Give Me 5" part of the project, we've had over 100 teachers sign up to adopt a Sandy Hook teacher and send them 5 items from their TPT stores. (Because we don't to to overwhelm the Sandy Hook teachers with too many choices right now, we've capped the project at 100.)  Through the "Honoring Angels" part of the project, we've received over 20 TPT gift certificates for the Sandy Hook PTO to distribute as well. If you'd like to donate, please see the original post for details. Being a part of a community that is so supportive and generous is truly inspiring and Karen and I are incredibly grateful for all of your contributions. You guys rock!

Now for some goodies that might help you ease back to school tomorrow. Here's a new set of calendar cards for January. We're launching our non-fiction reading and writing units this month, so I went with some cute little baby arctic animals, and the cards make an AABB pattern.

Download the Calendar Cards freebie here

If you're looking for a cute yet meaningful activity to do with your kids this week, take a peek at this craftivity I'm going to do tomorrow.  Baby New Year's hat opens up for the kids to write their resolutions inside; "In the new year, I will..." I think it will be good a introduction to the concept of resolutions and make a cute bulletin board to boot!

Check out this cute little guy here

I hope your new year is off to a great start!!

"Give Me Five" - A Way to Help the Sandy Hook Teachers

I haven't blogged since the tragedy in Sandy Hook. I've started to write a few times - to post my 12 in 12; to show a really cute craftivity that I can't wait to do with my class; to share a new set of January Calendar Cards. Each time I've tried, however, I've found that my heart just hasn't been into it.  At all.  I've been feeling almost guilty worrying about what I should add to my math stations next week when the Sandy Hook teachers are facing the overwhelming challenge of getting themselves and their new classrooms ready to welcome their beloved little ones back to school.  I've been stuck in a place somewhere between really wanting to do something to help, but not knowing what to do.

Then I spoke to my oldest friend, Karen, who I've known since we were about 10. Karen's also a teacher and she and I have been partners in crime for years. She's the one that I volunteered with at a special needs camp every summer growing up. She's the one I tasted my first beer with. She's the one my parents caught me on the roof with trying to sneak back into the house. She's the one who got me an interview at the school where I've been teaching at for 14 years now. She's the one I've cried with, laughed with and endured with. She's the one that just reminded me that sometimes the only thing that can comfort you when you face something this tragic is to do something good with it.

So we put our heads together to come up with a plan to help the Sandy Hook teachers.  (A plan which, I have to say, is much better that our infamous Food Fight of 1987 plan...)

The Sandy Hook community has been overwhelmed with donations, both of money and materials. Newtown is making plans on how best to use donations such as these to help in the near future. I think the long term is covered for the teachers having what they need, but what about the short term?  How can we help those teachers and their kids have the least traumatic return to the classroom?  The boxes of donated materials that the teachers have waiting for them are great, but were all selected by somebody else. Especially in a crunch, who knows what we need for our kids better then we do? If it were me, I'd want lessons, station activities, classroom decor, etc. like the ones I used before the tragedy to make things as familiar as possible - the shiny new textbooks can wait. For these teachers to get up and running next week and to just get through the first couple of days seems insurmountable, and having the things that THEY think will best help them do that is crucial.  How can we get materials directly to the teachers as quickly as possible?

After bouncing some ideas around in the TPT forum, we've came up with the "Give Me 5" project.  TPT teachers are signing up to "adopt" the Sandy Hook teachers that teach at the same grade level that they do. The Sandy Hook teachers can then choose any 5 items from each store at their grade level and they will be sent to them via email for immediate download.   Maybe Mrs. Smith thinks a Monster Truck Math game will make her returning first graders smile, or Ms. Jones thinks that turtle name tags will make her kids feel at home. With over 60 TPT teachers signed up already, each Sandy Hook teacher should be able to choose at least 20-30 new goodies for their classroom.  Since Sandy Hook is right down the road from where Karen and I live, we have some contacts in the district who are helping us to make the connections we need to, and we're looking into getting printing and/or laminating donated for the teachers as well.


We know it's not a lot, but it's something we can do to lighten the load of our Sandy Hook counterparts by just a little. By taking some of the prep work and planning off of their plates, we hope to give the Sandy Hook teachers the gift of what they need right now - time to be with their kids and help them heal.

If you're a TPT seller and you'd like to join the project, you can read more about it here or fill out the form to get involved.  We have mostly K-3 teachers signed up and could use some more 4th & 5th grade teachers as well as Specialists (Gym, Art, Music, etc).  We're hoping to get the list of donors to Sandy Hook by Tuesday so the teachers will have some time to choose materials before they start back later in the week. Feel free to grab the graphic if you'd like to pin, blog or post to social media.

Thanks so much to everyone who is getting involved - you guys are awesome!

If you're not a TPT seller but would like to help, we're putting together a way to donate TPT gift certificates. Check back for an update later tonight.

Update 11:30 pm
The number of people who have been emailing about wanting to donate gift certificates has been amazing!  I think we;re going to be able to send a lot of help to the Sandy Hook teachers. We're calling this arm of the project "Honoring Angels" If you'd like to donate a gift certificate, this is the plan we have in place:

Kim, another childhood friend of Karen's who lives in Sandy Hook, is serving as our liaison to the teachers. Kim's children thankfully survived the tragedy and she is very active in the PTO's efforts to get the kids and teachers back to school. She is thrilled about the project and will work with school officials to distribute the gift certificates amongst the teachers.

If you'd like to donate a certificate, you can do the following:
1. Log on to TPT and purchase a gift certificate in the amount of your choosing.
2. Download your certificate and email it to Karen at klmcteach5@gmail.com
3. Karen will send the certificates to Kim for the PTO to distribute to the teachers. (She will cc you so can be sure your certificate went through).

Please contact Karen at the above email address if you have any questions.
Thanks again for supporting this project!!

Silence for Sandy Hook

Sleep Tight Little Ones . . .

Today was Kindergarten Pajama Day in my school. We've been participating in Scholastic's Pajama Project and the kids have been bringing in pajamas to donate to children in need. We got to present our efforts at a school assembly, and all 87 kindergartners stood before the whole school in their jammies and sang a cute little song about pajamas. As I watched with pride as my adorable fleece-wearing kiddos sang their little 5-year old hearts out I thought, "It just doesn't get any cuter than this!"

We returned to our classroom and the kids cuddled on the rug for a special "Bedtime Story" and we all felt very warm, cozy and safe in our little kindergarten cocoon. Eager eyes and shining faces joined with good friends and a favorite story to create a very magical moment, full of joy and innocence.  All was right with our world and I thought, "It just doesn't get any better than this!"

And then the world shook.

Word started to trickle in about the horrific school shooting that had just occurred a few towns over from us in Newtown.  The details were slow to reach us, but as they did, tears were shed and hearts were broken for the victims of this senseless tragedy. How do you wrap your head around something so gut-wrenching? How do you acknowledge that there's an entire class of kindergartners, a class just like yours, that will never sing or dance or dream again?  Looking at my sweet, sweet babies, wearing their princess nightgowns and monster truck pjs, I just couldn't do it. I don't know if I ever will. I thought to myself, "It just doesn't get any sadder than this."

So we danced. A lot. I cranked up a little Carly Rae Jepsen and we twirled and bounced and spun and jumped. We held hands and sang loudly and off key. We danced until the kids all fell down laughing. As I looked around at the precious little ones that I get to love, laugh and learn with every day, I promised myself that I will always do whatever I can to keep them safe. No matter what. I promised myself that if needed, I would have the courage to be as brave as the teachers in Newtown were today. No matter what.

I hugged my kids a littler tighter than usual when they left today and I wished them all the sweetest of dreams. To our neighbors in Newtown - I wish you all healing and peace. To the shining lights lost today - Sleep Tight Little Ones . . .

This beautiful graphic is by Nikki at Melonheadz!

December Calendar Cards and a Review

How on earth is it December?  November was so crazy with Hurricane Sandy, report card assessments and parent conferences that it was such a blur!  Things are not likely to slow down in December, either, are they? Those visions of sugarplums are bound to pop up and make us all a little cray-cray.  Only 15 school days until Winter Break!

I got a Christmas present a little early this year when a big box arrived in my classroom. A few weeks ago, Kayla from mpmschoolsupplies.com asked if I would provide some honest feedback on the site in exchange for a store credit. Shopping on someone else's dime - how could I resist?

The website was super easy to navigate and I especially liked how you can sort by grade level. After I filtered for kindergarten, I was like a kid in a candy store trying to choose from all kinds of goodies. The prices were super reasonable and I ended up with more items than I thought I would. Take a look at what I picked:

1 Wipe-Off Chart Handwriting Paper
2 Roll & Learn Pocket Cubes (I've wanted these forever!)
3 Plastic Game Spinners (LOVE!)
4 Chart Rings (so I can hang two things on the same chart stand)
5 Homework Helper Alphabet Gr Pk-1

Checkout was easy and quick and followup emails let me know when my order was processed and when it shipped. Within days I had my goodies! The nice people at MPM are offering 10% off for the first 10 customers who use this link.  Happy Shopping!

If you've been using my calendar cards, here's the set for December. They use an ABB pattern and there are cards for the major holidays.

I'm also sharing a little number writing calendar activity I do each month with the kids. There are three different number writing sheets so you can choose the one(s) that work best for your kiddos. I have them glue the calendar picture onto the top half of a 12x18 piece of construction paper and then glue the calendar underneath. It's great for them to take home to hang on the fridge. Enjoy!

Comments make me smile,

Reading With the Stars

     For the past couple of years, I've been working on a curriculum writing committee in my school district. About once a month, I get together with a team of  kindergarten teachers from other schools to work on developing new units of study for our Readers' Workshop curriculum.  Since I don't get to see these teachers very often, it's a great chance to gossip share information, brainstorm ideas and do some meaningful work.  I'll admit, we wander off task from time to time catching up, telling funny kindergarten stories, complaining about assessments, etc., but we also stumble onto some great ideas together.
     The last time we met, we were discussing ways to put some new "umph" into our independent reading times. After three months of Readers' Workshop, we found that we had hit somewhat of a plateau in terms of increasing stamina and focus. We all felt that the kids needed something to give them a little inspiration so they could read "longer and stronger."  So, Louise, Cindy (my kinder-colleagues) and I put our heads together to find a solution. We talked about how much our kiddos LOVE to read to someone, especially someone special.  When they have some kind of special "audience" to read to, they seem to really stretch themselves as readers.  We've tried having the kids bring in stuffed animals from home to read to, but found that some kids just got distracted by their furry friends. So we kicked it around a bit and came up with a gimmick strategy that has been super successful in my classroom
     In my best Tom Bergeron voice, "Welcome to Reading with the Stars!" We brainstormed a list of celebrities, characters and other special people (the principal, the Art teacher, etc.) that the kids get excited about.  I found pictures of these special people (or cornered them with my camera to get one) and mounted them inside manilla folders. The kids pick a star to keep in their book box for the week, and then during independent reading, they stand up the folder in front of them and voila! - an instant audience. When I started Reading with the Stars a few weeks ago, my class was stuck at 7 minutes of independent reading before they would start to get a little wiggly. I am happy to say that Katy Perry, Justin Beiber, Cinderella and Darth Vadar have helped us increase our stamina to 10 minutes!  I've also noticed that the kids are also reading more confidently, wondering aloud about their books and are not as fidgety.  Take a look at my little sweeties in action...

     If you're looking for a little boost for your workshop time, grab some celebrity head shots and give it a whirl. (I would love to share my picture file but since I just found the pics on the internet, I'm not sure what copyright issues there might be. If you'd like to see the list of the celebs I used, I can post that - just let me know).  Reading with the Stars might not have a "mirror-ball" trophy like DWTS does, but with this plan, everyone's a winner!
I'm hoping to expand my A-list so if you have any ideas for some new celebs, I'd love a comment!
Have a great night,