Are you gearing up for the end of the school year? No matter if you feel like you are gearing up, winding down or simply dragging yourself in with coffee cup in tow – here are some easy and fun ways to get a clever end of the year photo with your class. Capture those last…
Squeezing the life out of every bit of technology that I have in my classroom seems to be my goal over the past few years. Here’s how I organized my whole group teaching space when we finally got a document camera and projector. I’ll show you some photos of how I keep what’s most needed…
There’s so much to be said for offering choice in the classroom. Here is an additional way to offer choice to students using alternative seating in kindergarten. Yes, you can totally do this in kindergarten and it doesn’t matter when you start. I’ve started it on day one and also after the year was already…
Today was the day. Our last day of school! I am excited to have time to share ideas with you this summer from this past year and ideas for next year. One of our end of year duties that we pull together is what we fondly call a “kid sort.” What’s a kid sort, you…
This kindergarten teaching unit makes learning FUN for both boys and girls during the month of February. You’ll love having one easy place to start from to teach all of the skills you are currently working on! Familiarize yourself with the games and activities included and you’ll have a great set of lesson plans to cover…
I shared earlier this year on facebook how I’ve gone digital with all of my files. It’s been a game changer! Here’s the low down on how I did it and what I use my filing cabinets for now. If you like feeling organized, you’ll never want to look back. It’s a bit like going minimalist and…
Let’s get real about literacy centers. And more specifically, literacy centers in kindergarten. We all understand the need for “centers” because we want our students to be occupied and (ideally) learning on their own so that as teachers, we can meet with small groups of students. But when did “centers” become one of these things:…
Getting ready for kindergarten? So are we! Kindergarten registration (or kindergarten round up in our neck of the woods) is the time when we begin prepping parents and new students on what to expect for kindergarten. We like to include a kindergarten school supply list at the time of registration in addition to sharing our…
I learned how to do magic in the classroom. Magic? Yes magic – classroom management magic! I learned how to use things that my students were already excited about as rewards and incentives for my classroom. This simple tip came in the form of adding reward coupons to my classroom management plan. Here is how…
Here’s a great kindergarten math question that I posed to the awesome kindergarten teachers on facebook. “Is 11 a teen number?” Here is your answer straight from the source – what real kindergarten teachers have to say about 11 being a teen number. Plus, I’ll weigh in on the subject too with a pictured explanation. Teachers were…
Make an end of day routine for your kindergarten class that finishes the entire day off on a positive note. Here’s how I managed our end of day routine in kindergarten. The end of the day can often be hectic – which is the opposite of how any of us really want to send our kinders home!…
Connect, share and rock being a mentor to a first year teacher. Here are 3 things I think are helpful to starting and creating a good working relationship when you mentor a first year teacher. This question came from a reader: What tips do you have for mentoring a first year teacher? Today, I hope I…
Have you wondered what is the smartest way to differentiate your math instruction? In my opinion, it’s guided math. I’m excited to share the best features of the guided math pack for kindergarten with you today. You can get the instant download and start planning your way to teaching math successfully. And if you first…
How can someone start teaching guided math in kindergarten? Here are my top questions you should ask yourself to help you think through the process. If you’re willing to meet groups of students where they are and give them math practice that helps them progress – you’re gonna love teaching with a guided math format….
Make a morning routine for your kindergarten class that sets the right tone for the entire day. Here’s how I managed our morning routine in kindergarten. This topic came from a reader: I need help with my schedule- making it flow and starting the day off right. I have 25 kids and it’s my first year…
You asked about how we have alternative seating setup and I’ve answered lots of alternative seating questions! One I haven’t covered was where to put all of the students’ things… you know, their stuff. Because we have pencil boxes, workbooks, writing notebooks or journals, etc. Here is how I went about storing and organizing student…
I’m a big fan of teaching responsibility in kindergarten. One big example: you won’t find me stuffing folders – my students are capable of doing that themselves. Want to know my secrets? I think there are a few things you can do to make a daily folder setup successful and easy for kindergartners (and their…
I have a secret to share with you. It’s one little thing that took me a few years to learn – but when I did – it made all the difference in how I felt about and approached the first few days of kindergarten. It was such a relief to figure this out! And I’m excited to share…
More than once I’ve been asked with my classroom of alternative seating options, “Where do your students do a whole group activity?” So let me share where and how we complete a whole group activity in kindergarten. Before I lay out what we do – and it’s really rather simple – let me remind you…
Number sense and learning to write and use numbers 0-10 is a pretty big deal the first nine weeks of kindergarten. Here is a set of materials that helps me teach kindergarteners how to form the numerals and teach them how to count one-to-one all the way to ten. Because, let’s be honest. Lots of kinders…
This is my letter to you, dear first-year kindergarten teacher. Let me start by saying that even though you may be nervous as all get out – if you have excitement for being in kindergarten – then you’ve got this! Of course, there will be challenges, but that is something everyone has to overcome – so…
Literacy centers can be a blessing or a pain. I think it all hinges on the design, organization and effectiveness behind them that makes a difference. This is my philosophy on how to create literacy centers that are smart for me, the teacher, and effective for my kindergarten students. I think that literacy centers for…
I like working smart and one way I found to do that was by making sets of handy charts to use during guided groups. You can do this too – using your favorite materials! For my kindergarten classes – with a wide range of non-readers to second grade reading levels, that included working from the alphabet to learning…
As a teacher I set off to the Dollar Tree regularly in order to find good buys for my classroom. Here are my ideas on what’s worth purchasing at the dollar tree as a kindergarten teacher. These items may be used exactly as they were intended or I may have a creative classroom purpose for…