A Couple of Fall Ideas...

Hello! I have a couple of fall ideas to share with you today. I have an "October Fun" bucket of activities for the children to use when they are done with their work. Items include: October tic tac toe, ABC file folder games, and color word matching activities.




The next idea I found here. It is a pocket chart color word matching activity. I took the picture after a couple of the children matched the words, so they are not in perfect order, but you get the idea. : )

MORE homework bags!!!

The "I Spy" Bag
Hello! I have a couple more homework bags to share with you. One of them is the "I Spy" bag. It has some "I Spy" books to read, a magnifying glass, and an "I Spy" bottle activity. I filled a bottle with colored sand and several small objects. I took a digital photo of all the objects and made a chart with photos of the individual objects. The children can use a dry erase marker to 'x' off the items as they find them. This is a fun homework bag!



The Science Bag

The next couple of photos are of my "Science Bag." This is based on Dr. Jean's Scientist of the Week idea. The bag has several books with ideas for experiments. I have a journal for the children to record their experiment and results. I do not have them do the experiment for the class, we just read about what each person did as they return the bag. I also have a white men's shirt to use as a lab coat and goggles in the bag.

More homework bags!

School is keeping me busy....how about you? September can be a tiring month for students and teachers! I wanted to share a couple more of my homework/literacy bags with you. This is my "Feed the dog a bone" bag. The objective of the bag is to practice sight words. Each sight word is written on a dog bone. The children spread out the words on the floor. If a child can read the word, he/she moves it into the dog dish. Pretty simple, but a fun way for children to practice sight words. I got the cute dog dish at the dollar store! If you'd like to download the parent letter, click on the image below and save it to your computer. (I have updated this...so you can save the image vs. downloading it from google drive...for some reason, it just wasn't working well that way!!)

The next photos are of the "Sports Bag." The photo on the left shows the bag's contents: reading buddy, directions, class book (children write about their favorite sport), Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and opposites matching game. You can see the game in the close up on the right. The bag is sewn out of soccer ball fabric. Love it! I really enjoy putting everything together to make these bags! And the children love to check them out as "homework."

Birthday Bag

Every child has the chance to take home the "Birthday Bag."
The bag includes these items:
*Birthday Reading Buddy: Isn't this thing cute!! When you push the button on its hand it sings "Happy Birthday."




*Birthday books to read and share at home
*Class book--each child adds his/her name to the correct month. (For example, if my birthday is in September, I write my name on the Sept. page.)



*Class book: Each child draws/writes about how he/she celebrated his/her birthday

The bag is sewn out of red fabric and measures about 15 x 16 inches.

Line Leader and Birthday Vests

Hello! Today I'd like to share something I do to help children feel unique and special. : ) Everyday I have a line leader and calendar helper. I post a list of the children and we go down the list; for example, "Mary, John, Suzy, David, etc." When we come to the end of the list we start all over. It is predictable, the children know when their turn is coming, who will be line leader tomorrow, etc. As I mentioned, the line leader is also calendar helper for that day. The line leader of the day gets to wear this special blue vest. How fun is that! They love it! Other adults often comment to the child, "It must be your special day."



I also have a "Birthday Vest" the children get to wear on their birthday. It's purple/green. If they happen to be line leader on their birthday, then they can choose which vest to wear that day. It's just another fun way to make children feel special and give them a little *perk* for the day. I love to sew, so I made these 2 vests, but you could probably use any special kind of jacket or clothing item you choose if you don't have a vest.

Religion Learning Center

I teach in a Catholic School. I am fortunate to be able to have a Religion Center in my classroom. I keep Bible stories, Christian themed games, puzzles and activities in this center. I also put little projects in the center for the children to complete, like Noah's ark bookmarks.

Dramatic Play: Dress Up Suitcase

Hi! Today I am posting a photo of my dramatic play area "dress up suitcase." I have a very small classroom--I don't know for sure what the square footage is, but we are located in a high school. The elementary and high school classrooms are the same size. I have to be very creative about using every inch of space wisely! I put my dress up clothes in an old suitcase; the kids dress up and put all items back when finished. I have also posted a photo of the sign on the front of the suitcase. (Like many other teachers, I LOVE the D J Inkers clip art and use it all of the time.) I will post more pictures of the dramatic play area another day. : )

Felt Birthday Cake for Take Home Bag

Hello again! I have several "Take Home Bags" in my classroom. I thought this felt cake would be a fun addition to my "Birthday Bag." I sewed it out of felt then cut out a bunch of shapes with my Sizzix for the children to use to decorate the cake. I think it turned out pretty neat! I looked at several felt cakes on the internet and kind of used all of the ideas to come up with my own. It is pretty simple...and I think they will enjoy using it. I plan on sharing more of my take home bags in upcoming posts.

Dollar Store Name Badges!

Hello! Today I'd like to share an awesome idea for classroom nametags. I bought name badges at the dollar store, added some cute scrapbook paper and ribbon, and look at how cute they turned out! I am going to type my students' names on labels and stick them to the blue paper. I am hoping this will solve the problem of nametags that wear out quickly! Plus, these could be kept and used when there is a substitute teacher in the room. Thanks for looking! I am planning on sharing more photos of my classroom set up very soon! : P

Kindergarten Classroom set up photos

Hello! It's hard to believe we'll heading back to school soon. Here are a few photos of my room "before." During the next few days and weeks, I will finish setting up learning center areas and update you on what the room looks like "after." The photos are: writing/listening center, reading area, and dramatic play area. I have a lot of work to do! I have been inspired by other teachers who share their classrooms online--what a great way to get new ideas! I hope you will find some useful ideas as you watch my classroom come to life. : ) Enjoy and happy school year!!

Dramatic Play Area

Here is a picture of how the table is set for the children to begin playing. At the end of playtime, we try to make sure it looks like this for the next group of children who would like to play! Shari Sloane has some great dramatic play photos and ideas on her website.

Dramatic Play Area

I like to change my dramatic play area several times throughout the year. I start the year with a general housekeeping area, with dolls, dishes, and dress up items. I also set the area up as a grocery store, pet hospital, and it is currently a restaurant. I am posting pictures of the restaurant and hope to add more pictures of the other areas in the future. I use these items for the restaurant: plastic food, plates, cups, silverware, a tablecloth, napkins, menus (with picture of items and words), a cash register, fake credit cards, a stove for cooking, and matching aprons/chef hats. I also display adds from local restaurants. The children love this center. You can store items in a small container or bag, pull it out, and you're all set to start your center.