Saturday, March 29, 2014

Last Minute Sale Anyone?

Flying by the seat of my pants this morning and throwing a sale!

Several of my blogger friends are doing it, why not do it too??

Shop in my store today through the 31st and save 15%


P.S. I SWEAR I'm going to get the April write the room finished for those of you who are waiting! I only have the color pages left to add to the product. Better late than never I suppose. Sorry for the delay!

Head to my store {here}
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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

It's that time of the year....

...for DINOSAURS!!


Or so it seems at least! My Dinosaur Roar Unit has been a popular seller these past two weeks. What a coincidence that I just did dinosaurs myself in the classroom this past week. Our pre-schoolers will only be there 2 days this coming week (Monday & Tuesday) so we will also be doing dinosaurs the following week.

I typically do my themes for 2 weeks each, if we have a full week.

Sorry for that tangent, back to the topic!



I snapped a few photos this past week of my students dressed as dinosaurs in our dramatic play center. I made the volcano in the background (that you can kinda see) that I hang up and found the hats, head bands, and tails at the Dollar Tree and Michael's. The walking feet belong to another pre-school teacher and I'm not so sure where they are from. They come in handy for a dinosaurs theme and a monsters theme!


I did a tutorial post in the past on making the volcano. You can find the directions {here} if it's something you are thinking about tackling. I use the word "tackle" but it really is quite simple. All you need is the fabric (or bed sheets like I used), heat & bond, and an iron! Super simple.

Do you do a dinosaur theme with your students? What are some of their favorite activities?


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Sunday, March 09, 2014

A {Bright} Idea! -- How We Line Up

Welcome! If you're hopping along and have come to my blog, thanks for continuing to read! If you're just starting out here, make sure you hop on to the next blog and keep going through the hop to get a wonderful collection of Bright Ideas for the classroom!


I'm honestly surprised I've never shared this idea before. It makes my life so much easier and I just love it. When we transition out of the classroom I use spot markers with each student's letter link on it. (Letter Links are part of High Scope Curriculum) They stand on their spot while we review our hallway rules and then we leave the room.


Now granted, we don't always line up this way, so my students are capable of lining up on their own without this, but it really helps with our transitions out of the classroom. Typically my students are doing something prior to leaving. As they finish they go line up on their spot. It helps them to know exactly where to be with this as their guide. Versus dancing around in the vicinity of where they are supposed to be.

For example, students were playing with table time toys prior to lining up. I turn on the clean up song. Students put away toys and then go and line up on their name. This works great for the child who cleans up quickly and is first to line up and then the others who take longer. I don't have students wiggling around waiting for others to line up. Instead, they are on their own spots!



(sorry it looks like I have a classroom of Walmart stickers!)
Of course, there were only 4 students when I took these pictures. I have more than 4 kids! Two were absent, and one student actually doesn't line up with the group. He has a one on one and makes immediate transitions at the moment. (i.e. no waiting) :) He's the one in the very very front following his one on one who is behind me on their way out the door.

I didn't photograph it ( I should have) but I have a visual strip of our line up rules. We review them in a call and response fashion. Like this...

Teacher: "Our hands are...."
Students: "locked"
Teacher: "Our eyes are...."
Students: "forward"
Teacher: "We have, walking....."
Students: "feet"
Teacher: "And our voices are...."
Students: "off!" 

We do this every time we line up and it works amazingly! I don't even have to use the visual with them anymore but keep it handy.

I hope this was a bright idea for you! I know it might be a lot to manage with a larger class size, but I find it works great for me. It also allows me to control who lines up next to who. Someone who struggles in line might be put in the middle to have someone in front of them to follow and someone behind them. Two students who shouldn't be next to each in line are easily split and anyone who needs extra teacher support is put at the front or the end, where teachers are located.

For more great ideas, keep hoping along! Up next is Allison from A First Grade Teacher!

http://www.a1stgradeteacher.com/2014/03/orton-gillighams-red-words.html



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