Must Have Monday!



Hey Kinder friends,

You know I am going to say it...better late than never. So here I go linking up with my friends at Freebielicious for Must Have Monday...on Tuesday. The truth is that I am obsessed with changing a lot in my classroom this year. Every once in a while you have to shake things up and do things a little different. Once I finally made the decision to make the change I have found myself obsessed with every little detail. Must Have Monday has given me a little late night minute to think of the supplies I need to add to my ever growing shopping and to do list.



On the tip top of my "must have" list are two things. First, I want every single color of these Sharpie Flip Chart markers. I need them and I want them and I want them bad. It does not matter how or why they do not bleed through the chart paper, it's just enough to know they don't that makes me want them even more. And go ahead and add to the list a case of black, fresh, fantastic old school Sharpies.

Second on my list but quite honestly should be first...Sit Spots! Oh my, I love these things. I will never teach again without them. For 14 years I taught Kindergarten and never used a rug, carpet squares, tape or anything for the kids to have a "spot" on the floor. Honestly I never once needed anything until...last year. One friend changed all of that for me. In 14 years I have never talked about "a spot" more than I did until last year. I met my match! I had no choice but to find something to change this situation and quick. I spent a lot of time looking at all of my options to create a "spot" without making it seem like punishment. I finally decided on trying Sit Spots after talking to a teacher friend of mine. She swore by them. I ordered a class set of red, yellow, blue and green to match our table colors. The spots on the carpet were mixed up and no names were written on them. The system was pretty simple. If you sit at the red table you find a red and so on. In just one use my problem was solved because we all had a "spot" that was clearly defined. I loved using them without names on them because although they had to sit on a particular color they could chose which spot to sit on and it could be slightly different each day as long as it was their table color. I was worried that these would come off the floor or wouldn't stay put but mine were perfectly fine all year. It didn't take me long to make my second order.

I am trying to figure out which ones I am ordering for the coming year. I love the shapes. Heck, I love them all. Before I order my new set I am trying to figure out what other problems can be solved by using Sit Spots! What are your "must haves" for the year? Hop on over and link up with me at Freebielicious!



 



Lots of Letters!

There is actually a craft organizer that fits all of the letters with room to spare. So, come on friends and wrangle up those letters, get those wiggle little s's and run away z's because this little organizer goes together like a breeze. Found at JoAnn Fabrics. And I didn't straighten all the letters for the picture because you know it is going to look more like this inside the classroom...

Organization Oh My!

As I was packing things up and putting things away I realized that my two month long teacher craft days are coming to an end... I kept looking at these Target number stamps that I love so much and I just kept thinking that I had to find a way to properly store these and get them ready to go in my BUILD boxes. I was at Wal Mart and found this craft organizer. I like it because it stores everything a child could need to complete tons of Investigations, the stamp and ink are together and a little more room for some penny stamps for a little variation.

PS If you have not entered the giveaway below I hope you do! You might be the lucky winner!

It's Getting Dicey!

So I have a little obsession with dice. I'm ok. I just love them. And this picture is just my new stash of dice. I was at a math conference last week and I had to get some dice I have always wanted. I am super excited that I now have dice that go up to 20! And I am totally intrigued by the dice with the crown on them to the left! I have no idea what the crown is for but I am sure we can come up with something, right? Considering this is just a small sample of my dice, I had to start thinking of a way to organize my dice. I have been looking for a dice jar but I didn't want the kids to be spending time digging through a jar to get the dice they need. What I am hoping for is that my children will be able to pick the proper dice they need for the particular task and find it quickly.

I found this craft organizer at Hobby Lobby for $8 but I had a coupon so it was 40% off! All my new dice fit and so do the small dice containers. This is perfect for self serve dice!

I have to give credit where credit is due... My husband saw these at Dollar Tree and suggested I use them for dice. They came in a six pack! It is perfect for a single die. When you turn it upside down you can see and read the die perfectly!

And this is what it looks like inside all organized and happy...

Just for fun I have added a dice freebie to use when I am teaching the kids how to self serve dice, what dice to use and how to put things back. I have made a Roll and Record page so the children can practice, getting a die, experimenting and becoming familiar with different dice and recording what they have rolled. Please feel free to get your free copy and if you have time please leave feedback. The I Love Dice Roll and Record game is only available at my TpT store for a limited time!

So if you are interested in more dice fun... Roll the Dice is back and ready for Fall! This download is available from TpT and it comes with 3 levels of play and a total of 9 game boards that include apples, pumpkins and forest themed boards! Get em while they are hot!

I have teamed up with Empowering Little Learners for more dice fun and I hope you hop over and find more dice ideas!

 

We really don't want the dice fun to end because we are having so much fun! What do you do with dice? How do you store your dice? What are your favorite games with dice? What creative ways do you use dice in your classroom? Come on friends, don't leave us hanging... join in the fun and submit your ideas to the It's Getting Dicey Linky Party!