Five for Friday (August 2nd)

Is anyone in shock that August is here? I am so jealous of all of you out there that start school later in August or even after Labor Day. I hit the ground running with preplanning on Tuesday and my kinders come back to school on Friday. I'm linking up today with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. I thought I would share with you some of the things I am planning to do in my classroom for the upcoming school year.

I started blogging after reading so many wonderful blogs out there with so many wonderful ideas. As teachers, we have always followed the beg, barrow, and steal mentality and blogging takes this to a whole new level. No longer can I only use the teachers in my building as a tool, but now I have access to so many new friends through the teacher blogging world. I have loved this!

~One~

Differentiation is such the buzz word these days in education, but it is also such a phenomenal idea for meeting the individual needs for each student. I am not a huge fan of following a strict basal series. Yes, they are excellent tools, but there are so many other ideas out there. Moreover, to think that every child in your class is going to be on one specific reading level at exactly the same time is ridiculous. It's one of the reasons that I LOVE Daily 5. Daily 5 is such an incredible framework for literacy instruction, allowing a teacher to tailor instruction to each personal child. And a huge planning benefit is that I never have to worry about center activities. I set up the framework of activities and expectations, and the kiddos take it from there. SO EASY!  I have used the framework in my classroom for two years in the upper grades and seen amazing success. I can't wait to give it a try in kindergarten.  I have to share my favorite success story. One child came to me in an upper grade reading less than 30 words per minute and on a pre primer reading level. By tailoring instruction for this child (we met daily and discussed different strategies- picking a good fit book was a big lesson topic for about two weeks- we aren't ready for Harry Potter when we are learning our sight words), this child left me reading more than 130 words per minute and growing five years in reading ability. I was a very proud teacher. Be sure to check out the "two sisters" at www.thedailycafe.com. The books (The Daily Five and CAFE) are easy reads and the website membership is so worth every penny. The resources are amazing. I can't wait to blog about my Daily 5 experiences in kindergarten. 

~Two~

Sight word recognition is a huge part of reading for our youngest learners. While looking for ideas, I stumbled across Marsha McGuire's A Differentiated Kindergarten blog and her ball words. The sight words have been separated into lists by sorts balls (Baseball Words, Football Words, Ping Pong Words...). The kids work at their own pace trying to earn each ball for recognizing all the words on the ball list. This is such a fun way to learn your sight words. Her ball word units on TPT are amazing and have so many ready to use activities. I have been a busy teacher, cutting, laminating, and putting together my ball word activities. Be sure to check out her blog. 

~Three~

A few summers ago, I read Math Work Stations by Debbie Diller. At the time, I was teaching third grade and wasn't able to implement the work stations into my classroom but loved the ideas in the book and tucked that knowledge away for later. Now that I am in kindergarten I am so excited to use math workstations in my classroom. Again, I started researching through my favorite blogs for how other kindergarten teachers have used math work stations. Marsha McGuire's A Differentiated Kindergarten blog and Erica Crowder's Sprinkles to Kindergarten were amazing resources. Be sure to check out these amazing blogs!

~Four~

I've been lucky to be raised by an AMAZING educator. My mother taught kindergarten in Florida for years. Then, we moved to north Georgia for her to start a preschool in a rural area. She is able to serve more than one hundred of our youngest (babies through state funded pre-K). I can not stress how important having a great preschool experience is. It makes such a difference. These kiddos come to school ahead of the game; they know their letters, they know how to hold a pencil, they know how a classroom operates and how to take turns. It has been so much fun to each year to see my gifted/high achievers list and see so many former students of my mother's preschool among them. We have one high school in our county; this  year at graduation two out of the three top GPA's were students of the preschool. My mom actually hates office work so she also teaches on of our Georgia State Funded Pre-K classes. This summer has been so much fun for me. We have done so much planning (and shopping) together. One thing that I love that she does is that she adds literacy and writing material to every center (dramatic play, blocks, etc.). I have been busy gathering cook books, building books, and more to add a literacy connection and learning link to every social center. I can't wait to share picture soon. 

~Five~

For number five I thought I would make it a funny, non-school related story. My four year old son cracks me up. He is so funny and has NO FILTER (we so need to work on this). When we brought Caroline home from the hospital last year he looked at her and said, "Is she a joke?" When we assured him that she was not his next words were, "Are you kidding me?" Fast forward 15 months, I really thought we were past this but listen to this conversation from this morning...

Eric "Mommy, I love you"

Me "Oh Honey, I love you too"

Eric "Yes, and I love Caroline because she is my sister"

Me "This is so sweet"

Eric "Yes but Mommy a question... I like her when she was in yours belly. When she going home there?"

His new phrase is "Mommy, a question" and let me tell you I never know what is going to pop out. 

I hope everyone has (or had) a fabulous Friday! Think about me next Friday. I will be busy with teaching new routines! T.G.I.F. everyone!

August Currently

I've been working non-stop trying to get my room ready for preplanning next Tuesday. Preplanning is so stressful and I always like having my room ready to go the first day of preplanning. I am going to spend my last summer work day up their tomorrow and then Monday the littles and I are going to do something fun (Cabbage Patch Land perhaps???)

I was so excited to find that I have been nominated by Miss Muir at Sprinkles for the Teacher for a Liebster Award. This is such an honor! I can't wait to post more on this. 

I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for the August Currently.

Listening ~ Currently I am listening to my littles play together. At four and one, most of the time life is a circus. My four year old is tattling on the baby because she is carrying a shoe, then he drags her down the hall by her neck, then she uses her high pitch baby scream at him... the list goes on... Rarely do I get to see them play together. Even though Caroline isn't talking much, it is so much fun to see them play together (when it actually happens). 

Loving ~ Currently I am loving my adorable classroom. I am having a honeybee themed classroom this year and I am loving it. A little background.. when I was pregnant with my first child, my two sisters (and best friends) couldn't decide what to be called. They settled on Aunt Honey and Aunt Bee ~ the Honey Bees. I love that Eric calls them his Honey Bees. Below is a picture from the day he was born (4 years ago). They made matching shirts with their aunt names for the day. They did cheers for my the whole time I was in labor. It was so much fun! Anyway, bees are kind of our things. I can't wait to post pictures of my big classroom revel next week. 

Thinking ~ Currently I am thinking that I have the two most adorable kids. My four year old completely cracks me up on a hourly basis. My one year old is such a princess.  I am also thinking that I am going to absolutely LOVE teaching kindergarten. Every minute I spend setting up my classroom I get more excite!

Wanting ~ Currently I am totally wanting a back to school shopping spree. I used to love going back to school shopping with my grandparents. It was always one of the highlights of back to school shopping. Maybe I can talk the hubby into a quick trip to Loft or Coldwater Creek for a first day of school outfit. 

Needing ~ Currently I am needing a date night. I love Cheesecake Factory and I think a trip there is totally needed before I start school on Tuesday. Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake is so yummy! 

B2S Must Haves ~ Currently I have two back to school must have items. The first is the Zero the Hero necklace. The original owner has retired but told me that creative mathematics would be carrying the necklace. Unfortunately, they don't have any. Does anyone know of another place I can get one??
I'm also wanting a new back to school bag.  I'm a HUGE Vera Bradley fan, and am in love with their newest prints. 

I can't wait to see everyone's August Currentlys. I can't believe back to school time is here!

Don't forget to follow my blog on BlogLovin. 

When I reach 100 followers I will give away a Scotch Thermal Laminator. 

What A Week! School Stuff and a Conference

What a week! I am officially in school mode- teachers in my district return on August 6^th. The kids start back on August 9^th. I’ve spent the last two weeks working in my classroom, organizing and sorting materials. I do not do well with clutter in the classroom and am a little OCD about everything (including baskets) matching. I have officially been put on basket restriction. Mr. Davis was not to thrilled about hauling tons of bright blue and green baskets home to store as I unpacked a new shipment of yellow and black baskets to match my bee theme. I can’t wait to post pictures soon when I get everything done. Everything is organized for the most part. Decorating and labeling is left.

When I found out I would be moving to kindergarten in the fall, I immediately started looking for professional development opportunities close to where I live. With my two littles at home, the I Teach K conference in Vegas wasn’t an option (maybe next year). I was able to go to the North East Alabama Early Childhood Conference held at Big Spring Lake Kindergarten School this past Wednesday. It was a great day (minus the long drive across state lines to get there). I loved meeting Deanna Jump from Mrs. Jump’s Class and Shari Sloane from kidscount1234.com. These two ladies are amazing educators with phenomenal ideas that I can’t wait to implement. Shari delivered the keynote address with such an uplifting message about all the fun things kids say in her classroom. What is the funniest thing that a kid has said to you?

With back to school in full swing at the Davis household, I’ve been purchasing things like a mad woman. Here are my favorite purchases from this week. Click the pictures for to be linked to the item website. 

Zero the Hero Necklace- I can’t wait to wear this every 10 days. When I saw it, I just had to have it. The original manufactuer retired, but creativemathematics.com has started selling them. They aren’t on the website yet, but you can order over the phone. So Adorable!!!!

Zero the Hero Puppet- I saw this on www.kinderteacher.com. It came in the mail yesterday and is so cute! I can't wait to order Zerona for the 100th day!

Shari Sloane CD’s- Shari Sloane has a wonderful singing voice and has recorded serveral CD’s for classroom use. They will be such an asset to my classroom. Be sure to check them out.

Kits for Shari Sloane’s songs- Katie and company has made manipulative kits for many of Shari’s songs. I ordered this Letter Pop one and can’t wait for it to arrive.

Lakeshore Learning Labels- I’ve got to start labeling and I’m all about not reinventing the wheel.

I hope you have had a wonderful week! 

Don’t forget to follow my blog on bloglovin. When I reach 100 followers I will give away a Scotch Thermal Laminator. This is a MUST for every teacher!

10 Things I've Learned From Teaching- Linky Party

Teaching is such a fun career, and everyday I learn something new. Today I’m linking up with Miss Kindergarten for the Top Ten Things I’ve Learned from Teaching. I hope you enjoy reading my top ten and reflect a little on all the things you have learned too.

1.  Be Prepared – Especially at the beginning of the year while you are trying to feel out your kiddos, always have more planned. You never know when you might need a little something extra to keep your kiddos busy.

2. Be Flexible – Things come up. I sometimes laugh that my lesson plans are the greatest fiction that I have ever wrote. I try to follow them each day, but we have fire drills, assemblies, teachable moments, and just the every day silly stuff.

3. Teach your kiddos that respect is important. Yes, I want my kiddos to be successful academically. But even more, I want to be proud of their character and the content of their hearts. Teach your kiddos to respect others.

4.  Differentiated Instruction- In college, differentiated instruction is the buzz word that everyone hears constantly. But… differentiating instruction is so important to meeting the needs of your kiddos.  I love checking out A Differentiated Kindergarten blog. She has the most amazing ideas of differentiation in kindergarten.

5.  Be organized- Your students will thrive in an organized and structure environment.

6.  Teaching is more than coloring. In college I couldn’t stand the people who said that the field of education was a coloring major. Teaching is so much more than coloring.

7. Never Stop Learning- The best teachers are the ones who never stop learning and never stop trying to learn the best practices in education.

8. Don’t try to be their friend. You are not there to be liked. You are there to be the teacher. The students will respect you for teaching them.

9.  Start a diary- Every night at dinner I have a hilarious story or two to share with my husband. Write these stories down. On the bad days, it is always fun to read through the funny things. Remembering the child who was thankful for cheese, starfish, and penguins at Thanksgiving or the child who asked Santa for deodorant for his daddy makes my day every time!

10. Teaching is an AMAZING career. It is a job that I can’t wait to get up and go to each day!

Student of the Week... More Themes

I've been working super hard trying to set up my kinder classroom. I have about two days left of hard work before it is ready to go. I will post pictures soon. I can't wait to show off my bumble bee themed classroom.

I've finally posted two more student of the week packets on my Teachers Pay Teachers account. The first is a circus themed packet. The second packet is a generic student of the week packet. Click the pictures below to be transferred to my TPT store. Currently I have the following themes for student of the week:  Jungle, Dog, Frog, HoneyBee, Owl, Apple, Pirate, Circus, and a generic theme. What other themes would be helpful???

I hope you have a wonderful week. Be sure to check back tomorrow for Made it Monday. I've been working on the most adorable things this week for my classroom.

It's Finally Here!!!

When I got home today, I was so excited to find a precious box sitting on my doorstep. When a box is this cute, you know what is inside has to be precious! I couldn't wait to get the little people to sleep so I could open my box. Inside was a adorable teacher plan book.

A few weeks ago,  I was reading some of my favorite blogs and came across a post about Erin Condren. She specializes in life planners and stationary products. My favorite item is her teacher plan book. It is AMAZING and completely worth the wait. Here are just a few of my favorite features in the plan book...

• I love the All About Me page ~ It has a place for all the access codes and passwords that we as teachers constantly have to keep up with. I can't tell you how often I have forgotten my passwords. 
• Absent Log ~ It has a great place to keep up with student absences- the log has a place for name, date, reason, and if a note was sent back. 

•  Graph Paper ~ The plan book comes complete with graph paper. I'm going to use it for graphing student progress but it could be used for seating charts, groups, grading... the possibilities are endless.
•  Monthly Calendars ~ The book has monthly calendars on a 2-page spread. I need this kind of space to keep up with my life. 
• Checklist pages ~ No more printing up rosters to check off forms, money, etc. Now I can keep track of it in one place. 
• Folders, Sheet Protectors, and Zippered Pockets ~ Great for storage

The teacher plan book has fabulous laminated tabs so everything is very easy to find. It is bound using a heavy metal coil- this will definitely stand the course of the year.  These are just a few of my favorite parts. Please be sure to visit her website for the guided video tour of the plan book. I was sold after watching the video once. Now that I have the plan book, I can't wait to use it. 

On a side note... YIKES!!! I went to my classroom on Monday. It is never a good sign when the custodians beg you not to cry as you walk down the hallway towards my classroom. Words can't describe how crazy it was when I walked in. After two full days and almost 100 boxes, it is finally getting a little better. I took today off to swim with the littles, and I can't wait to get back to work tomorrow! I'll post some pictures soon. 

Don't forget to follow my blog on Bloglovin ~ When I reach 100 followers I will giveaway a Scotch Thermal Laminator. 

Favorite Pin Friday

It is time for Favorite Pin Friday! I am linking up with Cara at First GradeParade today to show all of my fabulous pins from the week. I don’t know what I did before Pinterest! So here are my favorites for the week…

Sensory Boxes ~ While looking for ideas for my social centers, I came across the cutest blog with the best ideas for sensory boxes. I am making this bee themed sensory box for the first weeks of school.

Bumble Bee Aprons ~ I ordered these bumble bee aprons from etsy as soon as I saw them. I ordered 2 for my home center and one for me. They will be precious in my bumble bee inspired classroom.

Where do I live? Nesting boxes ~ Teaching the concept of where a student lives is so hard. When I saw these nesting boxes, I immediately pinned it. What a great way to teach a confusing concept.

Red Velvet Pancakes ~ Yum!!! I made these for my family this week and they were a huge hit. The original poster has the cutest blog, Little Baby Garvin. I’ve been following it for a while  and she always has the cutest ideas for kiddos and for the house.

Pink Hunter Rain Boots ~ I am in LOVE with these. Definitely on my Christmas list (or maybe it will be a back to school gift for me)!

I love my house. I love that we brought our babies home to this house. BUT… the bathrooms are so tiny with no counter space and there are tiny closets in each room. The master closet isn’t big enough to hold all my shoes. I love this idea for storage in the bathroom. I’m definitely going to have to talk the hubby into this. I could never make this pin work ~ I would just come up as an error. Please let me know if you have seen this so I can give the original poster credit. 

Car Storage ~ Having a little boy means I constantly have toy cars EVERYWHERE!!!! I love this idea to keep them all contained.

I can’t wait to see what everyone else pinned! Have a great weekend!

Don't forget to follow my blog on bloglovin. 
When I reach 100 followers I will give away a Scotch Thermal Laminator.