Phonics Dance and a Letter/Word/Sentence Sort Freebie

I just found out today that my request to go to a Phonics Dance Workshop in August was approved!  I am super excited!  I sort of used the Phonics Dance with my kiddos last year, and I really loved how much it seemed to help my really low students remember the letters and sounds.  Now I get to learn how to do it for real!

I made a letter/word/sentence sorting activity to share with you today.   All you have to do is print, laminate and cut, then it is ready to go.  Hope you can use it!

Click here to download.

Summer?

We have been on summer break for a little over a week, but I feel like I haven't been able to relax yet.  My new classroom for next year was a little (how do I say this nicely?) disgusting packed full of junk tons of furniture and thirty years of teaching materials.  I started working in there on our first day of summer, along with the help of a fabulous friend and some wonderful family members.  I am trying to get as much done now as I can, because we are not sure if we will be able to get into the building in July, and our building is the last on the schedule to be cleaned this summer - and it will happen in August.  I don't want to be scrambling to get everything finished last minute.  Many full trash cans and recycling bins later (not to mention the fact that the hallway outside my door is filled with the unwanted furniture and decent teaching materials that I am not going to use), I think we have gotten most of the unwanted stuff out.  We have also been cleaning all of the math manipulatives, magnetic letters, and all of the plastic storage containers.  This week we begin our first 2-week session of summer school, so I will be doing that until noon every day and then tackling the organization and storage of all the things I am keeping in the room.  Whew!

Anyway, I have found some fun beginning of the year ideas on Pinterest, and I thought I would share.  :)

Check out these adorable apples from Kindergarten Cupcake Crumbs:

Love this picture timeline idea from Science Notebooking:

 
I am loving this explanation of how she set up her math workstations - I have been thinking a lot about how I want to set them up for my K kiddos, and reading this last night really helped me to get a clearer picture of what I want to do.  This is from First Grade Garden:

I also love this post on classroom organization from First Grade Garden - love her labels!

ANOTHER thing I love from First Grade Garden (she has lots of awesome ideas - make sure you check out her blog!):

I also have to say that I love Kathleen from Growing Kinders.  I have bought a couple of her products from TPT for next year, and I can't wait to use them!

You can check out my Pinterest boards here.

What is your favorite beginning of the year find?

I Wonder...

A while back I read this book:

Click on the book to check out this book on Amazon.

Love it!!!  Now that I am thinking about setting up my Kindergarten classroom for next year, there are several ideas from the book that I am planning to implement. 

I created this paper this year when we were studying forest animals.

Click on the picture to download your copy.

 Here are some samples from my kiddos.

I wonder if opossums eat garbage.  I learned that opossums eat garbage.

I wonder if opossums have teeth. I learned opossums have teeth.

I wonder if skunks stab people.  I learned skunks do not stab people __ (?) spray people.

Click on the picture above to download your copy of this sheet.  Hope you can use it!

I really am still alive...

Hello!

I am so sorry for my long absence from my blog - this year has absolutely flown by!  I have still been blog stalking a bit here and there, but nothing like I was able to do last summer.
 
I was so excited to be able to go to the Cincinnati Blogger meet-up earlier this year and meet so many wonderful teachers!  To be completely honest, I felt kind of like I was meeting celebrities when I met Abby (The Inspired Apple), Michelle (Fabulous in First)  and Amanda (One Extra Degree) - these girls are just so amazing!

I recently found out that I will be teaching Kindergarten next year (I will be replacing my own Kindergarten teacher!), so I am very excited about that and I am already in planning mode for next year.  

I have so many things that I have thought about posting on here this school year - it may take me a little while to catch up!  Look for another post and some freebies soon!

Doubles Game and Doubles + 1 Game

Click on the pictures to download the games!

Doubles

 

 

Doubles + 1

Multiplication Games

Click on the pictures to download the games!

x 5

x 6

x 7

x 8

x 9

x 10

2 cute new blogs that are worth checking out!

 

http://wisewittyteacher.blogspot.com/ 

and

http://pirateslifeforus.blogspot.com/

Question - Advice Needed Please

I am thinking of creating my first unit to sell on TPT.  I have an idea that I think would work well, but I think I could make it even better by using some real pictures.  That is where my question comes in -- where can I find real pictures that would be legal to include in a packet?

I read a post by a fellow blogger within the past few days who recently experienced some issues with using a picture taken by someone else, and I don't want to have those problems!  Any helpful ideas?  I appreciate any advice.

Don't worry, I will continue to post free items on here as well.  I am still looking for a teaching position, and very few have been posted in our area this summer - it is so depressing!  I thought that making items to sell on TPT would give me something to do and possibly justify at least some of the clip art purchases I have made over the last 6 months or so!

Thank you for your help!

Subtraction and Multiplication Games

Hey all,

I would have had these posted earlier, but I started reading The Hunger Games and could not put it down!  I ordered Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) and Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3) from Amazon, and I am expecting to receive them today - I can't wait!!!  I can't believe I waited so long to read these books - if you have not read them yet, start now!
Or you can wait until after you download these games...  I have a few subtraction games (-2, -3, -4, -5) and a few multiplication games (x1, x2, x3, x4) to share today.  I am still planning on creating a doubles addition game, a doubles plus one addition game, multiplication games for x5, x6, x7, x8, x9, and x10, and division fact games.  Any other requests?
Click on the pictures below to download the games!  As before, if you download my games, please consider leaving a comment (I love comments!) and/or becoming a follower of my blog.  Thanks!!!

-2 facts

-3 facts

-4 facts

-5 facts

x1 facts

x2 facts

x3 facts

x4 facts

Addition and Subtraction Games

I have gotten good feedback on the other games I have posted based on "Bang!," and so I thought I would try making some math games that will be played the same way.  Click on the pictures below to download the games.  If you download my games, please consider leaving a comment (I love comments!) and/or becoming a follower of my blog.  Thanks!!!

+0 facts

+1 facts

+3 facts

+4 facts

+5 facts

+6 facts

+7 facts

+8 facts

+9 facts

+10 facts

-1 facts

Numbers - 10

Numbers + 10

Tens - 10

Tens + 10

+2 facts

That's all for now!  I have some more games in mind like this, I will post them when I am finished!