Bad Blogger???

Hello everyone! Just wanted to check in with a quick update....I spent a little time reading through my comments tonight. Apparently I missed a few of you who asked for files...like the circles for the counting mats and the sight word pointers, just to name a couple. Actually...someone originally was selling the files for the counting mats on TpT, so I don't feel right about sharing those. My sight word pointers were created a couple of years ago on a different computer, so I no longer have access to those.  I edited the word work post and added a template of stars and the word frames. I hope no one is upset or offended if I have not emailed you about sharing items....I'm so happy people like the ideas I've shared....I really didn't plan on anyone asking for the files. ; ) I use DJ Inkers clip art for most of my projects....and most of them are inspired by other great teachers who share their ideas; I just adapt them for my classroom and my students. I am thankful for all of the people who follow my blog and find something they can use as well. It helps all of our students! Have a good evening!

QR Code Color Word Practice

This is my first year with iPads instead of laptops in my classroom. I've been trying to find fun and interesting ways to use these great learning tools! I saw this post on using QR codes (this is a great post for explaining how to create QR codes) quite a while ago and was inspired to create QR codes for my students to practice reading color words.

The QR code reader is a free app. I made 8 codes for the students to scan and a response sheet. They scanned the code, read the color word, and colored the item correctly.

Here are my color word QR codes and the response sheets...freebies for you!

QR Codes 1-4

QR Codes 5-8

Response sheet 1

Response sheet 2

Hope you find this activity useful in your classroom! Thanks for checking in!

Noodle Necklaces

We focused on the sound of letter Nn last week and made noodle necklaces. The kids always love this activity! I colored some noodles with alcohol and food coloring.

Several of the children decided to make patterns with the noodles: bonus!  = )

I also printed out our sight words in BIG letters and taped them to one of our classroom doors for word practice. I love the way they turned out!

I used DJ Fat Chat for the font...it's hard to tell in the photo just how big they are, but most of them are about 6 inches high and 10 inches long, depending on how many letters are in the word.

Thanks for checking in on my little corner of the kindergarten world~   = )

Need a fun science experiment?

Hello! Well, we completed our first full week back after Christmas break! It was a fun week; I think the children were ready to come back to school. We did a fun and simple science experiment to start off the new year.  Our question was, "Can we grow crystals that look like snowflakes?" And the answer is "Yes!" Here's what you'll need: baking soda, water, yarn or string, 2 plastic cups, and a tray.
I had each table in my classroom set up the experiment.

Directions:
Fill each cup with lukewarm water.
Add baking soda...we didn't measure...just put about 3-4 teaspoons full in the water and stir it til it dissolves.
Put the 2 cups of baking soda water on a tray and put the ends of a piece of string or yarn in each cup, so it is draped across.
Let the cups sit overnight and observe the beautiful, snow-like crystals the next day!

I've done this one several years and it never disappoints! Hope your new year is off to a great start! Thanks for checking in!

December in Review!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I cannot believe I have not posted since November....all I can say is my little blog got lost in the Christmas rush! We spent December working on patterns, new sight words, practicing for our Christmas program, and creating Christmas surprises for families. I have a few photos to share with you, maybe you can use some inspiration for next year. I used many of the same activities last year, so I will try not to repost those, but you can check out them out here.

Since the Elf on the Shelf is so popular, we made Zero the Hero into an elf on day 60 of kindergarten. They turned out really cute! We also did an elf themed patterning activity. The children could create  patterns using red and green circles:

We made ornaments as family gifts...the children painted the stars and we added a little glitter for some Christmas sparkle.

Here are a couple of new centers I used this year. We practiced reading/writing color words with this pocket chart activity (Red angel, red angel, what do you see? I see a green angel looking at me. etc.)

 I made some Christmas "I Spy" bottles, similar to the ones I used for October and November. I made red and green rice and filled them with Christmas pictures...the pics were a freebie...I'll try and find the link and add it for you!

 My class LOVES to use the bingo markers....in this center they had to choose a letter and dot the ornament with the correct beginning sound.

 We read The Legend of the Candy Cane (love sharing that story!) and spent a day on candy cane activities. I found this ordering numbers freebie.

Well, that's a quick update on the December fun! Thanks for checking in and have a great day!

Need a fun math game?

Hello everyone! I hope you have time to relax and enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends! I will be with my family on Thursday and my hubby is in charge of cooking the bird! Yum...can't wait for all of the goodies!

 I really hope you are not tired of me sharing Pinterest inspired ideas...I mean really...I just think it's so cool that everyone shares their stuff and we can all benefit.  Plus, I think if I find a cool idea and share it, you may be able to use it as well. I saw this "filler-up five" idea and loved it!

Click here for the original blog post and source. 

The goal is to roll a die and fill each container with 5 "gems." 

I could not find the deviled egg trays, so I substituted these relish trays and they worked great. I put 30 "gems" in the middle. Each tray has six partitions to fill. It goes pretty quickly, so I can see where the egg trays would be good. But it's great practice for grouping by 5's. 

Thanks for checking in and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Time to "Binderize!"

If there's such a word as "binderize" I am doing it! I've seen several blog posts about using binders and there's a lot great info out there about using binders for planning, student data, etc. If you want to get started, you can read this post from Once Upon A First Grade.. I decided at the beginning of the school year to take one month at a time (so it's not so overwhelming) and put all of the items I use for that month into a binder. I started with September and have completed October. I collect the items as I use them and then put on the finishing touches at the end of the month.

I put all of our center activities, art projects, etc. into page protectors and put them into the binder.

 October binder

September binder

This process has helped me weed out duplicates and items I no longer use or need. I am hoping to have a full set of organized binders by the end of the school year!