The Power Of Words!

If you have followed this blog from the beginning you know I hurt my knee while filming our Cinco de Mayo program. I finally had the knee fixed today... And if you know me, you know how I dreaded the arival of this day. I am a caretaker by nature and uncomfortable with being taken care of. And my worst fear has always been "going under." Which brings me to, the power of words... The spoken and written word or words can be powerful.

I love you

I believe in you

You can do it

You can count on me

We can do this together

Just do it

You are tough

I will take care of it

I got this

And so on...

These words come to mind in those wonderful "self reflection moments." Powerful messages of faith and encouragement leave lasting impressions and sometimes we rely on them in our weakest moments. Sometimes just knowing someone thinks we can "do it" makes us believe we can even when we really did not believe that before.

As I walk into the next school year, I will remember...the power of words!

The Counting Jar!

What's In The Counting Jar available at TpT.

Thank You!

Just a teeny tiny Thank You as I send you on your way,

I hope you know I am wishing you a very sunny day!

Free How Do You Get Home Form on TpT

Terrific Transitions!

Today let's switch gears and talk about transitions... You know, how you get from one activity to the next and make it look effortlessly and like you had it planned that way all along. I don't know about you but transitions can often times be tricky. When you are in the middle of cleaning up after a lesson and realize that it is time for lunch, it just does not feel like the time to whip out magic wands and recite some lovely rhyme. Many years ago I found the answer through music. I purchased a DR Jean CD and that really transformed my transitions. So here is the golden nugget of musical transitions... All of the songs that I used for morning transitions I loaded onto my computer, picked the songs I needed and put them in chronological order. So each time it was that fun transition time, I just walked over to the CD player and pushed the next song. I never ever had to say a word because the kids knew what each song signaled. For my teaching life, it was BRILLIANT!

My Morning Transition Playlist

1. Have a Seat

2. Give Me a Clap

3. Wiggle Them

4. (Theme related song)

5. Tidy Up

6. Lunchtime Round Up

This year I am going to try making a Math Playlist!

If you do not have all of the DR Jean CD's you can go to her website and download single songs and build your own playlist! So, what are your Terrific Transitions? Join the Linky Party and share in the fun!

Easel Binder!

Look at this little ditty! I found this easel binder idea at Primary Connections and I had to run with this one. I LOVE a tiny teacher made easel. Can you think of 1000 different uses for these? Add a fabulous Magical Math Wand and you have an instant mini station! Hop on over to Primary Connections for a great How To post! How many of these little numbers could you have around the room?

Stamp Boxes!

The boxes, stamp and stamp pad were all purchased at Michael's. The boxes were two for a dollar. The stamp was around two dollars and the stamp pad was a dollar. I like the small stamp pads because they fit in a container and they are only used with the one stamp, so the color stays the color, instead of getting mixed. I only let the kids use Math or Science stamps with that specific activity. When the activity has been used for everything I have had planned for it, I will let the kids use it as they wish but not until then. I usually have a coupon so the stamp pads are usually about sixty cents. It is worth it to me because those big giant stamp pads are messy and we make plenty of other messes...just not at Math Time!

Math Tip!

Here is a teeny tiny Math tip! We use stamps a lot in Kindergarten and if you know me, I have a real crazy obsession for Counting Jars. Stamps provide a fun way for children to represent quantities and make equivalent sets. When you have several activities and different stamps going on at all times, it can sometimes get confusing as to where each of them goes. These small containers are perfect for keeping

 one stamp and a small stamp pad with a particular investigation. What I love most of all is that your stamp AND your ink color never gets mixed up with any other color and what you need to accomplish the task is all together. It is simple, but it works! So, that's a Math Tip in a snap, so how bout that?

And if you are crazy for counting jars like I am, just hop on over to my TpT store and get yours for FREE! If you are feeling Kinder friendly leave feedback!

The Possibilities Are Endless!

Ok Kinder friends, my head is spinning with excitement. I just finished these 1-20 Counting Books. And as I was getting them ready to go in the back to school box, I realized the possibilities are endless. For one download of three dollars, let me tell you what you can make but you might want to grab some lemonade because this might take a while...

1. A super cute counting book to 5

2. A super cute counting book to 10, 15 and 20

3. Copy on colored cardstock for versions of all the above

4. Mix up the numbers and make a mixed up number book

5. A backwards counting book

6. Copy on paper to use with stamps, stickers, markers, dot paint

7. Laminate and use for playdough mats

8. Laminate and use with theme manipulatives
(did you notice I lost my last fish on #12... perfect opportunity to remind ourselves of counting strategies and counting strategies are a completely different post because I LOVE talking counting strategies)

All of the possibilities for three dollars available at my Teachers pay Teachers store! And while you are there make sure you grab your free copies of the popular Roll the Dice.

Saw these bags at Target and couldn't resist. The One Fish, Two Fish just kinda got the Kindergarten girl inside of me! Have fun with this make and take! I was able to print and prepare lots of versions of this download in a small amount of time. So, that's preparing for math in a snap, so how bout that?

What's the Buzz?

OM~gosh, I just could not help myself! I have changed the ever popular Roll the Dice freebie on Teachers pay Teachers! So, buzz on over and get your three free dice games! If you are feeling real Kinder friendly, leave me a comment! Best wishes, from my life's classroom to yours!

Game On!

Alright Kinder friends, what can we do with these fabulous finds? I found these for a dollar each at Dollar General and I bought them because I had seen a post several months ago about some similar ones. Can you imagine the fun we could have with these and Math games? It kind of reminds me of a game show button because it lights up when touched! who wouldn't want to smack down on these little buttons? So, that's a math tip in a smack, so how bout that?

We Teach Kindergarten!

Hey Kinder friends,

Have you joined We Teach? If you haven't joined you need to go and check them out! You will be excited to see all of the different We Teach groups there are to contribute to. With different areas of focus, I am sure you will find one or many different groups to join. I was instantly hooked! So, when you go there I hope you go and look for We Teach... KINDERGARTEN! You can use the button on my sidebar to get there. OM~gosh, can it get any better friends? Let's get started and have some Kinder fun... are you ready?

Pointers Oh My!

Well, you can hardly beat this deal at Dollar General! You get three (for a dollar)  very colorful and very cute fly swatters that any Kindergarten teacher can magically turn in to a reading pointer! I mean seriously friends, is there anything else to say?

PS Join that Giveaway below!

Ten Frame Fun!

Here is a fun crafty math idea that I love! I saw this a long time ago and loved it. The version I saw was made from a cookie sheet and colored tape to make a demonstration ten frame. I don't know about you but this time around I just had to kick it up a notch!  So what you see here is a cookie sheet and ribbon plus some fantastic glitter bugs found at Dollar Tree. You usually use this cookie sheet ten frame for demonstrating and reviewing so you will need to make sure the items you use are magnetic. And if the objects are not magnetic, just hot glue some small round magnets on what you want to use! And if by chance your glitter bugs don't come with enough glitter on them, get some glitter spray and go to town! So, that's a crafty math tip in a snap, so how bout that?

PS. Get in on that giveaway below!

Team Giveaway!

Meet my friends...

Primary Connections

Ed Link

Mrs. Simpson's Kindergarten

Mrs. Simpson's TpT

Little Miss Glamour Goes To Kindergarten

Little Miss Glamour's TpT

Barrow's Hodgepodge

The Accidental Teacher

Little Miss Kindergarten

Little Miss Kindergarten's TpT

So, let's all have fun blog hopping and getting to know new teacher friends and don't forget to stop back here and leave your comments for multiple chances to win!

READY

SET

GO!

BONUS! Nominate ANY one of these blogs in the Really Good Stuff Blog Contest and leave us a comment for ANOTHER chance to win!

Really Good Stuff Nomination!

OM~gosh a nomination! Now let the voting begin!

Really Good Stuff Blog Contest

Have you nominated a blog today? For every teacher you help out...you are helping out a classroom full of kids! Come on! Let's do it!

Fairy Godmothers!

I have been asked this question a lot lately... What is a Fairy Godmother? Take for example my new fairy godmother, my Science Fairy Godmother. A fairy godmother is a person in your teaching life who takes you under their wing and teaches you every hot new teaching technique, keeps you updated on the latest hot topic and gives you tools to make your teaching more effective and fun. A fairy godmother ALWAYS has the answers to your questions and you are ALWAYS amazed at what they carry in their bag of tricks. And no matter where you are or what you are doing, they can just magically whip up something so fantastic out of their magic trick bag, that it makes your head spin. You probably have a fairy godmother you just haven't told her yet. And if by chance you don't, just look around and I am sure you will find one. So look what mine brought today.

A handmade pocket chart in 120 seconds flat! I told you she was magic! This is brilliant because it is made out of poster board, sentence strips and staples. Best part is, you can crop or cut this and make it any size AND it is made out of the cheapest materials around. All it is is folded and stapled sentence strips on poster board. What about all the different colors of poster board and sentence strips...OPTIONS! What about small individual ones for children working on Mix it and Fix it? What about that odd space on your wall that nothing fits? What about the new teacher who has nothing? I bet she would think YOU were a fairy godmother if you whipped this little bit of happiness out the day before school starts! As you can see this idea has TONS of options and it is worth sharing.
OM~gosh, if you don't have a fairy godmother you just have to go and get one!

Are You In?

I am teaming up with Primary Connections to host our first giveaway! If you are interested in joining our team, please send us a line! Get in on the fun and meet some new blogging friends, swap ideas and uplift your spirit! All in all, it's a WIN/WIN!

Mathterpieces

This is my new favorite Math book. Actually, this has been a favorite for a while, I just have not actually done anything with it yet. I brought the book home for the summer to try and figure out how I am going to use this book to tie art appreciation and Math together. I am still in the brainstorming phase... I am going to a Math workshop and Greg Tang will be there so maybe I will get some ideas from Greg Tang himself! If you have used this book before, shoot me an email and let me know what you did!