A teacher needs tools and resources to be effective. Here are my favorite digital and printed paper tools to organize, think and teach your best in kindergarten.
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Teacher appreciation is something I value. Here is a teacher appreciation poem that I created in honor of teacher appreciation day and to say “thank you teacher” – to all of my readers! To my fellow teachers, post it where you can read it daily and remember that YOU MATTER! It hits me every summer…
Oh, how I love the things kindergartners say and do. There so many joyful {and hilarious} moments that are unique to working with 5 and 6-year-olds. Here is a collection of some of my favorite things teachers have shared on KindergartenWorks facebook page. The cute and funny things said by their own class of kinders. Because after…
A guided reading binder helps me keep lesson plans and guided reading group notes both organized and at my fingertips. Here’s how to create a guided reading binder in 4 steps and keep it organized with 6 simple recommendations. I hope you find these tips helpful as you teach your guided reading groups. Create Your Guided Reading Binder 1….
Playing fun math games is one of my key strategies in giving kindergartners the time to practice key skills. Here is a free beginning numbers game that uses a die. It’s called Coconut roll and cover. How I use it in my classroom This activity is an activity my students use during guided math. I…
Free fonts help me create my classroom resources. Here are 7 free teacher fonts that I’ve made, all collected in one place. There is a Zaner-Bloser style font, two handwriting fonts, and some funky, fun fonts. I’m also including a paid math ten-frame font as number 8 in this list since I made it. I hope you…
Set up and maintain a computer center in your classroom to support your math teaching. Let me show you how to set up a year-long center that is differentiated, open-ended and easy to maintain. If you want to have a computer center in your classroom, go for it! Let’s talk about why you would want…
Creating homework that is a vacation memory book just became as easy and hitting the print button! This vacation memory book was created because each year at least one of my kinders takes a family trip to Disney or some pretty fantastic place. While they’re absent from school, I want them to be able to have…
Ever want to snap a quick, cute photo of your brand new kiddos on the first day of school? Want to make it easy and something you can do during the few random minutes you encounter throughout your first day? Then I’ve got the thing for you. Whether you want to take a photo of…
Wondering where to begin in your back to school shopping? Here are my top 7 recommendations for KindergartenWorks products {outside of the freebies that we so dearly love} that will help you start off your year. These are items I created for personal use within my classroom and used for years before ever sharing them…
Be prepared for the first month of school with this easy-to-use handwriting booklet for kindergarten. Here is how and why I used this Rainbow Letter Writing Book in my classroom. Teaching kindergarten is incredibly unique – and that doesn’t begin to describe what teaching is like the very first days of kindergarten. It’s why I…
Welcoming students and their families back to school is now just a click away from being simplified! I made some welcome to school posters that are perfect for your classroom preview or back to school nights. I didn’t call these “back to school” since our kindergartners aren’t coming back – they are being welcomed to…
Ever feel this way about back to school time as a teacher? I know that I do. Which is why I’m totally writing this post. This is my collection of back to school posts and things I generally do each year to prepare my classroom. It does not include the list of 53 nitty gritty…
There is extreme value in teaching kindergarten students what you expect them to learn. Teaching expectations for procedures and behavior is a given since our students are so new… but I think sometimes we forget that they need goals for academics too. Say what? {You’re kidding right} Setting up expectations and goals look totally different…
Collect what you need to know at-a-glance from kindergarten parents so that you can quickly get to know your new incoming students. Here is a double-sided information collection sheet designed just for kindergarten. I hope that this form that is both parent-friendly and teacher-friendly can save you time and help you get to know your…
Kindergarten round up and registration is a great time for teachers within a school building to connect with new kindergarten parents and families. This printable Welcome to Kindergarten brochure can help you highlight important information about what kindergarten is like and relay it to parents in a meaningful, attractive way. You may have already read how we prepare…
Kindergarten round-up and registration is a great time for teachers and schools to connect with parents. This free printable and editable brochure can help you highlight important school information and relay it to parents in a meaningful way. It’s that time when we round up our new kinders in preparation for next year! My favorite…
Assessment in kindergarten is now a regular part of life. Finding ways to fit it in, can be tricky. Finding time to communicate results can prove difficult too. I regularly am taking notes and commenting to myself using my binders to keep my guided lessons on track, but this is much more personal and directly affects the direction of my…
Assessment in kindergarten is now a regular part of life. Finding ways to fit it in, can be tricky. Finding time to communicate results can prove difficult too. Here’s how I share that information in a parent-friendly format so that parents are up to date, can assist in helping their child and better understand what…
It’s finally here! The “Pirates Math and Literacy Centers and Small Group Materials” is available. It truly is the best games and activities we love to use in our kindergarten classroom to help you accomplish your Common Core standards and goals. I introduced this item with a few sneak peek photos before, but I now I…
When I began teaching with new math materials, like ten frames, my goal was to improve the number sense of my students. Here is a six step tutorial on how I created another math material to use with my students in small groups. This math material is called a math bead rack or a rekenrek….
What’s a teacher to do when her to-do list is outrageous? Here’s how I try to streamline super-busy weeks as a teacher using this free teacher planning to-do list. If you’re a reader of mine then you know how much of a sanity-saver my teacher planning binder has been for me! And I hope that…
Creating readers and writers that can rely on their own phonemic awareness haunches is something we work tirelessly at in the early grades. Here are two free and simple ways to help build it into kindergarten. I was never sure if it would be something that I’d enjoy, but I take delight in finding fun, new ways…
I wanted to lay down some of my favorite tool recommendations for teachers. My recommendations for things I use on a regular basis for work as a teacher and as a blogger that you can have access to as well. Let’s start with my most favorite digital life organization tool. This one tops my list…
Kindergarten Common Core Assessments can be made more simple for the teacher and administrator. Tracking data and showing evidence of growth is something we are all being asked to do and tying it into what we assess for report cards using Common Core standards only makes sense! If you’re using the Common Core standards and…