ABC it's easy as 123!

It has been awhile since I have posted... still getting used to how this whole blog thing works! I wrote a check to someone today (yes, people still do that...) and politely asked the gentleman what today's date was. "July 21" was his response and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor before he did it for me. This summer has FLOWN by. Not having to keep track of what day of the week it is has been nice, but I'm afraid all of that is ending way too soon! With that being said, I started cracking down on some projects that I wanted to have completed by the end of summer..... let's just say I am not going to get to all of them!

The first project I worked on earlier this week is for my kindergarteners. For those who don't know, I LOVE Dr. Jean and all of her fabulous music that is so appropriate for our babies. In fact, I used to have her music playing as much as I could throughout the day... the kids absolutely love it and would sing along during their independent work! One of my FAVORITE songs is "Alphardy." This is an alphabet song that helps children learn letter/sound association, and it is quite catchy! We sing this song everyday in kindergarten until we have mastered our sounds and are ready to move on to blends, vowel/vowel teams, etc. To purchase some Dr. Jean CDs, click here! I promise it's worth it!

I found that as my students were singing along and definitely catching on, we were still having trouble identifying letters. SO, I created a book that goes along with the song and we flip through the book as the song plays. SUPER simple, super handy and super easy to put together. All you have to do is print the book out, laminate the alphabet cards [if you want it to last!], hole punch them and throw them in a binder. You will notice your students will start to grab the binder on their own and sing the song with friends during independent center time! If that doesn't warm your heart I don't know what will! To get this product, just click here! Here is a sneak peek of what the alphabet cards look like!

A great extension for this activity is having your students create their own Alphardy song! This is where it gets really funny because those kiddos come up with the silliest things! Click here to get the blank ABC book template and use it as a quick informal assessment, or just another fun activity that promotes letter/sound association! The way I used the blank template was I shuffled up my alphabet cards, flipped them over and had each child pick one card- the students had to come up with a word beginning with the letter they picked, check with me or my assistant, illustrate a picture and using conventional spelling, spell their word. The excess cards were put in my writing center for students to complete (which they did almost immediately!) and when the book was finished, we got to sing our silly song together as a class! I think my students liked our version just a tad better! :)

If you're looking for an easy way to build class community and get students eager to learn letters and letter sounds, this is the product for you! Visit my teacherspayteachers store at The Reading Palette for more ideas!

The "Back to School" Sign ALREADY?

Good morning, friends! So I was running some errands yesterday and of course found myself ending up at Super Target. Target is my best friend and worst enemy... it's a one stop shop for the most part and I love it/frequent there all too often. As I was strolling down the aisle, crossing item after item off my list, I looked up and saw THE sign... yep, the BACK TO SCHOOL sign is up already!!!  I think I stood in the middle of the aisle just staring at it- part of me thinking: "This can't be, it's just the beginning of July," and the other part of me saying, "GO" and wanting to raid every section picking out the newest pens, markers, binders, sharpeners, highlighters, I mean the possibilities are endless. I am convinced that school supplies are a weakness for every teacher... they are too hard to pass up BUT I am proud (and shocked) to say that I left Target without any writing utensils, crafting supplies, or silly erasers. SHANNON: 1 TARGET: 0. [that never happens...]

When I got home, I started thinking about the beginning of the school year and how close it really is. I decided to start making some products that I can use for Meet and Greet and the first couple weeks of school. Personally, being a kindergarten homeroom teacher, I think one of the most important things to have handed out at Meet and Greet is a "Getting to Know Your Child" questionnaire. Kindergarten is such a huge transition for kids, and some parents even, that any little bit helps! So I created a handout that I am planning to have out at Meet and Greet so it makes my first couple of weeks, and year, to be honest, a little easier... and most importantly, makes the students and their parents just a little more comfortable. To get "Tips for the Teacher" click here!

[This product has two versions of the first page- one geared towards kindergarten, and one generic for all grades.]

Let me know what your thoughts are on this product by posting a comment! If there is a certain question or questions you wish this product included, please leave them in the comment box and I will try and make some edits! Thanks!!

A Little Craftin' Never Hurt Nobody!

Okay, so Saturday was one of those days where you would look outside one minute and the sun would be shining, and then SURPRISE, the next second, it was raining. Those kind of days call for one thing in teacher world... c-r-a-f-t-i-n-g!

Recently, I was talking to a co-worker about ideas for PBIS [Positive Behavior Interventions and Support] and classroom management for this coming year. She was telling me, and I have heard it before, that she used to do 'warm fuzzies' with her kiddos and they loved it. What is a warm fuzzy you may ask? Allow me to inform you- a warm fuzzy is one of those pom poms that you find at craft stores... yep, that is IT. I know, I'm with you... I asked her, "Those little fuzzy things motivate students?!" *Disclaimer* Prepare to have your world rocked: apparently, yes. Those fuzzy little things motivate students to be kind AND to work together... winner, winner, chicken dinner! Of course, I am on board. Why not give our students one more thing to help boost our classroom community, especially when that 'one more thing' is a fuzzy pom pom that I have millions of stored somewhere in that lovely closet of mine?

So, I went to Michaels and picked up three glass jars, some paint pens [because of course, I left mine at school] and one large container to house all these fuzzy things. And then the crafting began and.... ta-da!

("Earn a warm fuzzy by doing something kind, fill up the jar and a surprise I have in mind!" I stuck with "surprise" instead of something like class party because then I get to decide what the surprise entails.. sometimes promising a class party can work against you! For the jars, I just wrote the label, let it dry for a few minutes and then just picked two colors to make the polka dot background! Last but not least, got some of those magical fuzzies and filled up my jar! Craft was complete in 30 minutes!)

SO simple and hopefully, so effective! So what's the plan for this? Well, since I teach three grade levels, each grade has their own warm fuzzy jar. Simple acts of kindness earn warm fuzzies- which is perfect, because I also use Class Dojo pretty diligently in my classroom, but our dojo is based on our school PBIS of Husky PRIDE [being polite, responsible, in control, doing your best and earning and giving respect.] Last year, I found myself rewarding students who were being kind to friends or teachers with dojo points, but there wasn't a category in my dojo that directly aligned with kindness, so this is perfect! Also, a little different than dojo because they have to work as a class to earn the special surprise! All about that collaboration in A111... and also, a little competition within classes never hurt no one! [HUGE MOTIVATOR!] Stay tuned to see how these fuzzy things make my teacher life just a little bit easier! 

Lions, Tigers and APPs OH MY!

Happy Monday, friends! As promised, I have been playing on my iPads and scoping out some apps that I want my kiddos to learn with in August, and I have found some REALLY good ones that I can't wait to share! For those of you that don't know, I work at a school that has an innovative schedule which allows me to specialize in reading and writing. The students at our school move through content band specialists in Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies/Science which means I teach one block of kindergarten, one block of 1st grade and one block of 2nd grade- sounds crazy, but it allows us to better personalize the learning that occurs and meet each child's individual needs as best as we can... kind of cool, huh? Anyways, that being said, my search has been geared towards ELA apps for students ages 5-8. Our school is also Title 1 with a heavy Spanish population - so the more I can expose these particular students to the English language, the better. And that's when I stumbled upon these apps that I love:

SO, these four apps are fabulous for kindergarteners and incoming 1st graders! No, they are not free, however you can purchase all four of them in a bundle for less than $5.00 at the iTunes App Store [22Learn is the program.] Each app has many activities within them including identifying letters, matching sounds, tracing letters, blending sounds, spelling CVC words, letter flashcards, letter puzzles, etc. which I love because students at all levels can feel confident in at least one of the activities these each of these apps have to offer. Check these apps out and let me know your thoughts/favorites! :) 

The Reading Palette

Summer Time and the Planning's Easy!

Hello, everyone! I am so excited to finally have a blog up and running where I can share some ideas that I use in my classroom. First of all, HAPPY SUMMER! We all know that teaching is one of the most rewarding professions, but man is it exhausting! Summer is just the time we need to regroup, relax and prepare for the next year. BUT, if you are anything like me, your teacher brain just will NOT shut off- whether it's pinning, visiting different blogs, creating products for TPT, somehow I am always thinking about what is next...Which brings me into my most recent purchase for my classroom: iPADS... two of them!
Earlier this summer I attended a conference where there were two electives on iPad apps and app smashing [which is the coolest thing ever!] As we all know, iPads/tablets/computers are a huge hit in the classroom. The things the kids can do on these devices are endless, and SO engaging! I couldn't help but leave the conferences wanting more technology in my room for next year. So what did I do.... looked online for some refurbished iPads and purchased two of them- yep, just like that! If this is something you are interested in as well, I purchased mine on Amazon [you'll learn that that's one of my favorite stores] from the "Limitless Product" vendor which I highly recommend (the cases are sold on Amazon as well by "FLYBRID" ... I wanted sturdy cases that would stand up, and these were the winners!) Anyways, the iPads are in FABULOUS shape... as good as new! $219.95/per iPad- not too bad! Especially knowing the impact they will have on my students' success... worth it in my book! Check back later for some of my favorite apps that you should download on your device!