Apples and ABC'S!

Hi!  It's Michelle from Apples and ABC's!  I am so excited to be a part of the Blog Hop, and even more excited to be posting on Little Miss Kindergarten's Blog!  So thank you for having me! :)  Today I want to blog about two things, both having to do with going back to school!  First is a banner that you can print for FREE and display on your wall, outside the classroom, whiteboard, wherever your heart desires!

Pennant flags are all the rage right now, and I have seen them used multiple ways in the classroom.  This year, I am going to have a new banner each time there is a special occasion at school: Open House, Back to School Night, Graduation, and in this case: Back to School!  I am going to hang this banner on the first day of school, welcoming all my new students and parents!  I want to show you some helpful hints on how to hang a flag banner...

First, print, cut, and laminate the flags.  I laid them out on my back table so I could get all of the words organized.  

My first go around, I just turned the flags over and started taping them to string... that left me with the words backwards. :/

 

If you are going to tape the banner with the letters face down, make sure you set them down backwards, so when you lift and twist, you are reading it going the correct direction...  

 

The next step would be to hang your banner.  I decided I would hang mine outside to welcome the students as they come into the classroom.  I started with my first layer and centered it to the metal frame of the window, then I added each layer.

 

As a last step, I wanted to trim the extra string and make little bows to put in the corners where I taped up the string.  I cut several strings and clumped them together.  I tied the whole group into a bow so it was thick!

 

And here is the final "Welcome Back to School" banner to kick of a new year!

If you would like a FREE DOWNLOAD of the pennant flags, click on the picture below! 

I wanted to share another back to school tip: introducing a Word Wall to Kindergarten.  When the kids enter on the first day of school, I already have my Word Wall letters up.  This is the wall we look at when we sing the ABC's and point out the different letters.  I also have an alphabet strip running across the wall in a couple of spots, but this is my interactive focal point for the letters.  I used the alphabet cards that go with our school's curriculum so the students will recognize the sound cards that I introduce to build phonemic awareness.

The first week the kids might not know that print carries meaning, but they will know that their name is made up of letters and looks like a word (lets hope they know that!).  So this is where I start: with their name.  I write out everyone's name on a small sentence strip.  As we preview each letter, their name gets to go on our word wall.  This way they will become familiar that words will start to be added to our wall...and they will be even MORE excited to see their name up there!

I hope you enjoyed my post and maybe there is something that you can use next year!  Please stop by my blog, Apples and ABC's and see the special someone (A Cupcake.....) that is blogging on my page!

Make sure you click on the image below to hop through all of the blogs to see the guest posts!  I love linking up! :)

Blog Swap and Hop Saturday!

Blog Hoppin Fun!

Hello Kinder Friends,

This coming Saturday will be a fun blog hopping day and I hope you join us as we blog hop around and learn and see new things. I am so darn excited that I will be guest blogging at Inspired by Kindergarten and my guest blogger will be from Apples and ABC's. What is exciting is that I know you are going to love what my fabulous guest blogger is going to share! I can't wait to get mine too. And I am working up something really fun to share with you at Inspired by Kindergarten. I hope you join us because we are all so excited to be able to connect and share. Lucky for the three of us that we are all Kinder teachers! I feel like we got so lucky on that little draw the straw game. I hope you guys support my new friends. It's so much fun when we all learn and share ideas and inspiration together. And if by chance you are new here, I welcome you to my blog and sharing all things Kinder.

 

Classroom DIY!

Hello Kinder Friends,

It is sweet summertime and we are all having fun crating and making things for the classroom. If you are interested in finding out how to turn 3 one dollar bandanas into a fabulous and fantastic DIY No Sew Classroom Curtains then I invite you to join me at Classroom DIY! I have posted step by step directions that will show you how. Come on friends, sometimes you just have to get crafty!

Daily 5 Chapter 3!

Hello Daily 5 Friends,

This book study has really kicked off! It has been nice to go back through the book and reread and rethink about what I have done in my classroom and what I could do better. I have enjoyed the pace of this book study a lot because it gives me time to think and reflect. Isn't it always true that when you read something a second or third or even fourth time that you take something new away? I have learned a lot from all the teachers that have linked up for this book study as well. So let's get started!

1. Do you have a gathering place and what is it called?

I have a gathering place in the front of my room. This is our central gathering place for almost everything. I have a seperate area for Math and Science. I have never called this anything but our "group." And now after reading all the wonderful posts, I am really thinking I need to change the name! It really never occured to me to officially name this space something fabulous. As I was talking to other teachers about this, the term "family room" came up and I really liked the idea. I let it just simmer in my head and kept trying to come up with something I liked better but I couldn't. I actually like the word family room because we are like a family for the year in Kindergarten. So, I might have just adopted this term. Some of my Daily 5 blog buddies gave me the idea of adding family pictures to this area and I loved the idea. I will just have to figure out a way to incorporate that.

2. Do you have a favorite Good Fit Books lesson?

I like the example that is in the Daily 5 book. I stick close to that. What I need to work on is having more available "just right" books for children to browse through. I am still working on that as I think about what my classroom will look like next year. What I am LOVING right now are the things that Tammy has shared with us for picking Good Fit Books!

I will definately be using what she has shared.
At the end of the post a link to her blog will send you to these fantastic freebies for you to enjoy too.

I need more of these for my book browsing.

3. Do you use anchor charts and how do you use and store them?

I think anchor charts are essential to the lessons. And I probably do mine a little different than most people but I can explain... First, you have seen all those wonderful looking anchor charts all over blogland. I admire those. I want those. I love those to pieces. In all reality I am not able to create those "with" the childdren. I do not have the physical space to put up a life size poster and I do not have the time to sketch out a perfect drawing while the children wait AND I am not perfect when I record their responses. To be honest, I don't want to be bogged down with all that worry of perfection when I am trying to teach something to a class full of five year olds.

My Compromise!

When creating anchor charts I use my white board or presentation station. Yep, old school style because (are you ready for this?) I have no Prometian Board... But let's not go there today, we can leave it on that note. Anyway, the children and I create an anchor chart together and I explain that I will take this information and create an anchor chart. Here is where it gets even better... I create the chart on the computer adding the infomation the class provided and then I print off a paper sized anchor chart. Yes, I said it. It is letter sized. Why you ask? Because this is more manageable for me. I use the chart for several lessons and if we need to add to it or change it, no problem. I just edit and reprint. Once I know it is final and complete, I laminate and tape it to the back of a child sized hanger. I can hang it anywhere with a thumbtack and it takes up just a little room. What I love about this? Since the anchor charts are smaller, I have space on the walls for MORE, more, more! And I have a pocket chart stand that these can also hang on. And the best part is... I can grab as many or as few as I need when I am ready for a lesson BECAUSE there is nothing WORSE than having to refer to a chart that is hanging on the ceiling, stapled to the floor or across the room! I need my stuff right where I TEACH the lesson not around the corner and down the hall. And what about the "authentic" writing? We have the authentic writing when we create the anchor chart together. The children do see that process and help with it.

4. What do you use for book boxes?

I use book boxes from Really Good Stuff. I have had them for years and I love them. I have seen similar boxes at the Target Dollar Spot but they are not as sturdy.

5. What do you use for a calm down signal or procedures?

I have used music for signals ever since I can remember. I have several songs copied from my own Dr. Jean Cd's that I made for transitions. When I burned the CD I ordered the songs accroding to our schedule. I play whatever song is appropriate and the children respond accordingly. I teach the expectations to the songs in the first few days of school. It does not take long before the children just know what is coming next and if they see me walking towards the CD player they automatically start doing what they need to do.

I have never really had a "calm down" signal but I found this when I was packing up at the end of school this year. I had forgotten I had it. I am going to use this as my calm down signal. Last year I found these at Mardel's during the Back to School sales. Mine was given to me from a sweet teacher friend and it makes a beautiful calming sound so it is perfect.

6. What check in procedures do you use?

After a work session, we come back to our group area for reflection. We talk about what went well and what we could do better. I use the system The Sisters talk about in the book because it works like a charm. Thumbs up close to your heart if things went well or thumbs sideways close to your heart if you could do better. What is most important is that this role of reflection is included as a part of each lesson.

 Now get ready and hop on over to link up your thoughts and grab your freebies!

Vote Kinder!



Hello Kinder Freinds,

There are over 80 blogs nominated for the Most Facinating Blog for 2012. I have looked at the list and I follow almost all of these wonderful blogs. Stop by and vote for your favorite Kinder teacher blog! 

Shut The Front Door!

Hey Friends,

You know it's Monday and sweet summertime. So what's a girl gonna do when the internet is down and everybody else has to work? Sometimes you just have to get crafty and that is exactly what I did. I have been so inspired by all of the wonderful posts and such creativity out there, that I had to get my hands into something this fun. Sometimes you have to switch gears and recharge your thinking. The inspiration for this hit me when I saw balloons on clearance at WalMart. I was able to get everything there. It's a pretty simple process...just pin and pin and pin. After the first ten pins I stepped back and looked at what I had done and started to second guess my rationale for getting crafty. I almost talked myself out of finishing. I just had to remind myself to enjoy the creative process and let it kind of take over and push away the worries. And sooner or later I had a finished product. And because it was a success I now want to make another!

In preparation for highlighting a few chapters of Playful Learning, I have been reading about the creative process and young children. I think this enabled me to just let go and enjoy the creative process of my project. Sometimes we are our own worst critics and our inner voice prevents us from moving forward and letting creativity move forward. I am excited to be able to share some of what I have learned as I have read this book. Please look for these posts in mid July. Also, there will be a giveaway as well from the author of the book!

I will be linking up! Hop on over for other great ideas and fun!

Daily 5 Chapter 2!

Chapter 2
From Management to Principled Habits
As we being to take a closer look at the Daily 5, we will be taking a closer look at:

Trust
Choice
Community
Urgency
Stamina

1. Do you trust your students? How do you build this trust? Are you able to trust them and allow them to be independent throughout all aspects of your day? Are you going to be able to stay out of their way?

Taking the time to build trust in any classroom is essential. Actually taking the time to devote enough time to this is critical. Trusting children is the foundation that makes teaching children how to become independent. When children learn how to be truly independent, the teacher is able to focus on instruction. I think the key here is explicit teaching with clear expectations, modeling and understanding that the role of reteaching and modeling is a critical step to teaching children to be independet learners that we trust as they are working independently. For me, this means sometimes I need to slow down. I struggle with slowing down... Also, I feel like young learners and ELL children need plenty of visuals as a reference for expectations when they are working independently.

2. How much choice do you give your students throughout the day? Do you go over your daily schedule with your students or is it just 'posted' in the room?
My daily schedule is posted in the classroom. In the beginning of the year we use it daily. I use it as a visual when we discuss different parts of our day or what we will be doing. At some point in the year this no longer is necessary to use on a daily basis because we all know the progression and parts of the day. If we have a special event or our schedule changes, we refer to the schedule. During the year when new children arrive, we use the schedule again.

I believe that choice can be motivating. I believe in choice within boundaries in kindergarten. My children have choice within the literacy and math blocks and I am working on how to give my children choice within other parts of the day.

3. How are you going to create that sense of community where students will hold each other accountable?

Creating a sense of community is very important to me as a teacher. I really think this is the most important thing for me and it goes along with trust. We all start a year as individuals in a new and fresh environment. We all want to belong and we all have to feel like we belong. I think of it as starting the story of "us." One of my favorite ways to begin to write the story of "us" has been using the How Full is Your Bucket? for kids book. To read my post on our Bucket Filler activity click on the image below.



I have seen different applications when using this book but what worked for me was filling a classroom community bucket. We started small and throughout the year our bucket got larger. We had many many talks about how it would take all of us to fill the bucket and how we each had to do our part. We looked at it as if we worked hard together we would celebrate in the end together. And each time we earned a marble to fill our bucket, we talked about it. Each time we sat down to add a marble and discuss it, it gave us a chance to revisit those expectations. To me this was a fair way of recognizing what was working well in the class and I could focus on the growth in independence of the group instead of just an individual. This is how we started writing the story of...us!



Once our bucket was filled, we decided as a class that we wanted to make gingerbread snails that we had seen in a book. It was simple, it was fun and we all were happy. The reason I even mention creating a story of "us" is because I think it is so important and the foundation that everything else is built on. One of my students last year heard me foundly talking about the wonderful class I had the year before and he questioned me. He thought if they were so wonderful then how would anyone else measure up? And it is true those kids were my vegetable loving, garden growing, no tattle tailing, love to read, hug me to death and happy go lucky class of kindergartners... And he asked what his class was. And I said that only time would tell as we write the story of "us" and it would be a different story than "them." And as the year unfolds to does "our" story.

4. Student ownership in learning? How do you instill this in every child?

It's been said that teaching with a sense of urgency provides the best quality of instruction for our children. As it states in the book, when people understand the reason for a task, that serves a the rationale or force to keep them working. And think about it, don't we all just want to know...why? Isn't that one of the very first questions a young child will ask? I believe we instill this in our children when we understand that this is a necessary part of each lesson and it's really that simple.

5. Stamina! How are you going to build stamina with reading? independent work? Will you use a timer? Will you set goals?

I think this is one of my favorite parts of Daily 5. I love the process of building stamina so call me crazy. I have used timers four a couple of years just because it helped make the stamina building measurable. I also know that I have a tendency to get off track at times and this helped me. I really wanted the children to be able to have an accuarate measure of time as we were building stamina. We did set class goals and that was an important part of our community building BUT I have some work to do on helping the children set independent goals...another post, another day.
Be sure to head over to Kindergarten Smiles to link up and share your reflections and read what other teachers are saying! And be sure to link up with your own thoughts.

Next week we are heading back over to visit Tammy at Live, Love, Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten for Chapter 3!

In anticipation of hosting Chapter 6, I created this beginning sound game! Click on the link if you are interested.

And just in case you wanted to ask... my class last year was the raisin loving, science loving, calendar chant singing, try anything once, poetry reciting, art inspiring, map creating kindergarten kids!

For more fun visit us here!