My Favorite Easter Read-A-Louds

hApPy SpRiNg!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of you are off this week or next week for Spring Break. I had mine last week with a three-day weekend for Easter this week. State testing is next week, BUT let's not focus on that.... Let's focus on happy thoughts, like spring and the Easter Bunny! I've picked out a few of my favorite books to read this time of year. I've also included (as usual) free activities with links to go along with them. :)

Happy Easter, Mouse!" is a cute story about our old friend Mouse. He leaves Easter eggs ALL OVER!!! It is a great story to read to your students before they go out to hunt their Easter eggs. You could also leave eggs hidden in the classroom for them to find as a special treat. The treat could be a coupon for a pencil or an eraser, or put a piece of candy inside it. I'm not a big candy-treat-kind-of-teacher, but each to his/her own. Here is a list by delicateconstruction.com that is useful to help you decide what to put in the eggs.

Pete the Cat books are everyone's favorites! In this book, Big Easter Adventure, Pete helps out the Easter Bunny. Making bunny crafts and directed drawing are great to accompany this book. This bunny craft is from Michaele Sommerville's blog Kindergarten's 3 R's. It combines an egg and a bunny! Directed drawings are very popular right now. There are several teacher/bloggers who have them but I especially like Jennifer's from First Grade Blue Skies.

Pinkalicious is a very cute story about an Easter egg scavenger hunt. There are sooooo many activities to do with this story. Coloring Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts and, of course, making an Easter egg craft. I especially like this one from School Time Snippets. The tissue eggs look 3-D!

I hope you enjoyed your Easter. I will be back in April to share about some spring books and activities I do with my class. Until then, enjoy!

March Read-A-Louds

March is my favorite month! I love St. Patrick's Day! Spring is on its way! ANNNNNNDDDDD, it's my birthday month! Very special! I'm lucky enough to have my birthday off every year from school because it falls during Spring Break! Yipppppeeeee! Happy birthday to meeeeee! I wanted to share some of my favorite books for the month of March. All of them are St. Patrick's Day themed, of course.

I love this book. I've been reading it for years. The little ones can really relate to "not being big enough" to get to do things. They also get to learn about a traditional St. Patrick's Day parade in Ireland. There's always lots of questions and oooohhhhh's and aaaaahhhhh's. Love it!

The "Old Lady Who Swallowed Everything!" LOL! I remember waaaayyyy back when she'd only swallowed a fly (and some other animals)! The kids really enjoy reading books about the Old Lady and making a craft to go along with it. There are several on Pinterest and TPT, so go take a look! Here's a link to a craft from Make Learning Fun .com. Super Cute!

Green Shamrocks is a great book to read before making lucky shamrocks with your class. You could also have a class parade and decorate headbands, bracelets, etc. to wear during the parade. :) Here is a list of 50 Shamrock Crafts from Penny at Meet Penny Save, Serve, Love.

The Night Before St. Patrick's Day is a great book! It's a great comparison to The Night Before Christmas. Kids really see the connection and love to point it out if you read both! Here is a really cute rainbow and pot of gold craft from Crafty Morning.

This is a super-funny book about Leprechauns and their antics! Here is a craft from Housing a Forest to do after reading. You can also can "trap" a leprechaun for your class. Cheryl from moms & munchkins has a whole blog post loaded with ideas to bait and trap a leprechaun.

This book is great for great for the little ones who are still learning their numbers one to ten. There are several number game options to use with this one. Here are some great ideas from Vanessa over at Pre-K Pages for counting and number recognition using play dough mats.

Last, but not least, The Luckiest St. Patrick's Day Ever! This is such an awesome book! You can really do some great activities with it. Here is a great writing assignment and craft from Cara over at The First Grade Parade.

I hope these are useful for you! Have a great rest of February! (Don't forget about Leap Day!) I'll probably post some fun activities about it this weekend. See you soon! Enjoy!

February Read-A-Louds

February is halfway over and I'm just now catching up with my blog posts! Yikes! That's okay because I've crammed put all of my favorites into this one post. :) Trying to be efficient here! Anyway... Here they are! Enjoy!

For 100 Day, I've always read these three books. I realize there are more out there now but since I've been doing 100 day since 1998, I stick with what I like, no matter how old - 100th Day Worries, Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100 Day and the 100th Day of School. All of them are available through Amazon in case you can't find them through Scholastic Books. I've blogged about 100 day before and all of the activities I do. I'll try to upload some more with pictures this weekend. (No promises! LOL)

Next are my picks for Valentine's Day. I LOVE all of the crafts and goodies associated with Valentine's!!! Yummy!!!! Okay, anyway... Here is the link to my Pinterest Boards to find TONS of ideas for Valentine's Day (or any holiday, for that matter!). I really love all of these but The Day It Rained Hearts has to be my favorite. I like to have 'raining hearts' in the room! So much fun!

And finally, my picks for Presidents' Day. Students really get a kick out of My Teacher for President! They've always told me that I should run for president, especially my kinders, LOL! My personal favorite is Abe Lincoln's Hat. It gives a different perspective into the life of our most famous president. Kid's love making his hat and filling it with 'important things'!

Have a Fabulous February! See you soon! Enjoy!

A Weekly Planner Freebie!

We all have so many "to do's" that it's hard to keep up with them, especially this time of year. I made a little calendar to keep up with what I have on my lists personally and professionally. I just print it out on card stock, laminate it and use a dry-erase marker to write down what I need to remember. I made one in black and white too so you can print it on white card stock, or use a fun color card stock. You can add a piece of magnetic tape to the back and put it on your refrigerator at home, or a filing cabinet in your classroom. And best of all, it's FREE! Just click HERE to get your copy. Enjoy!

January Read-A-Louds

As we're all trying to get through the last week before Winter Break, we (as teachers), are already thinking about January. I've compiled a picture of my all-time favorite read-a-louds. Some are fairly new, but some are what I consider 'classics'. There are so many activities to be done with each of these books from making snow like this activity from Momma's Fun World, to drawing a picture of Martin Luther King like this one from Kindergarten Monkey Business (and they're FREE)! You know I'm all about sharing with other teachers to help each other! "My Brother Martin" and "Back of the Bus" are super for teaching perspective too! "Snowflake Bentley" was a wonderful read-a-loud for my Kinders and 4th graders. I used it as a part of a fiction/non-fiction close-read at both levels which can spill over into science. I hope you have a restful and relaxing holiday break! Enjoy!

FREE Thank You Notes!

Hi everyone! I've been making things again.... (I'm not going to mention all of the things I've made and haven't even had time to prep and upload for TPT!) I've made some cute thank you cards in winter/Christmas theme ready to be downloaded, printed on card stock, cut, signed and sent home!

Just click HERE to get yours now! Enjoy!

Holiday Teacher Gifts and a FREEBIE!

Hello everyone! Just five more days until break! Yippppeeeeeeee! We have two half-days Thursday and Friday too! I just finished making my teacher-friend gifts. I made my own tags because I don't think teachers should have to pay for everything. ;) Just click below the pictures to get your freebies from me and Easy Teaching Tools.

Click here to download a copy of my gift tags

I print out these weekly planners from Kristen in color on card stock. I then laminate them with my Black and Decker personal laminator that I got for free from Amazon with my points :). I buy my pockets from SAMs in bulk (200 per box).

I use TAPE trendz from the Dollar General to attach the gift tags. I bought the glitter kind for more of a Christmas feel. I give each teacher a bag with Hershey kisses and mini candy canes. And there you have it! Inexpensive Christmas/Holiday gifts for all of my friends, principal and colleagues!

Enjoy!

Out with the old, in with the new!

Hey everyone! Long time no see... LOL! I've been busy jumping grade levels again! Yes, high school to grade school, then back to high school. I had taken a position for 2nd grade but was put in 4th grade the week before school started! Talk about scrambling! It was self-contained 4th also... Whew! It was fun but the hour and a half commute started to wear on me, so I took a position close to home in high school again. I've been having a lot of fun with the big kids but have been writing new K-1 curriculum. I plan to post several new lessons on TPT soon. I'm also going to include a lot of high school stuff I've made along the way for those of you that teach the bigger kids. I also had to buy a new pencil sharpener this week. My old one disappeared after having a sub... Go figure! I decided to get a fun color this time. Last time I bought one, the only color it came in was blue. If you don't have one of these, you really should consider it. They are amazing! Have a good week! I'll see you soon!

New Blog Design!

I really, really needed to change my blog design since Lou Lou's Blogs aren't free anymore. I actually designed my other blog http://coolteachadventuresinteaching.blogspot.com/ myself but I didn't have the time or the patience to do this one! I will probably come up with something this summer. At least it's not blank anymore! Off to do some grading... Whew! Only 2-1/2 more months!

Neglect....Training....New Year....New Class....

I know, I know... I've been neglecting this blog but since I'm teaching 4th grade this year, I haven't had much time to blog. I have started uploaded stuff I created while I was teaching high school though :). I figured I'd might as well, right? Who knows... It could help some poor English teacher during the year! I've been training a lot as well. Lots of district and school training.... Whew! My head is spinning!!!! Hopefully it will pay off... Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by all of the things required in 4th grade! I hope everyone's year is going well and I promise to start sharing more of my Kindergarten stuff from previous years! Enjoy!

Liebster Award!

I have been nominated for the Liebster award! Thank you to Rebecca over at Okie Teacher Tales!

1. Link back to the blog that nominated me
2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers
3. Answer the questions posted for you by your nominator
4. Share 11 random facts about yourself
5. Create 11 questions for your nominees
6. Contact your nominees and let them know you nominated them

 

My nominees:

 

Rachelle at teach, blog, repeat

Hillary at Adventures of Teaching

Susan at First Grade Friendly Froggies

Krazy4K

Mrs. Olson's Lucky Little Learners

 

 

My Questions:

 

1.      Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging to share ideas and create a network for other teachers to share their ideas.

2.     What is the crazy thing that has happened at school to you?

The craziest thing that has ever happened to me at school was when I let a student go to the restroom and he accidentally came back without his shorts!

3.     Where would you travel to if you could go anywhere?

I would travel to Greece (and I plan to!)

4.     What is your dream job/grade level?

I have taught K for 10 years and high school for 5 years. I’m starting 4^th grade next year and I’m extremely excited about it. My dream grade level is 1^st grade though!

5.     Why did you start teaching?

I needed a career change and was soooooo glad I did! I LOVE it and wouldn’t do anything else!

6.     What do you do for fun?

I love to camp with my family and travel.

7.      How many schools did you go to as a child?

I went to 1 elementary school, 2 middle schools and 2 high schools.

8.     Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

Ms. Menna was my favorite teacher because she was my Kindergarten teacher!

9.     What is your class theme or how is it decorated?

I have always used stars in my theme but this year I’m going to do a beach theme with lots of fish, surf boards and pink flamingos!

10. Does your school do a school wide theme?

If so, what is it for the next year?

Yes, we do bears.

11. Do you sell things on Tpt? If no, do you plan to in the future? 

What is your link if you do?

      Yes, my link is http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Cool-Teach-Adventures-In-Teaching  

 

Random Facts about Me:

My love scary movies!

I love Mexican food!

I eat Scholtzsky's every Saturday!

I grew up in Michigan.

I am addicted to blog hopping, pinterest and instagram.

I have a college student and a senior in high school.

I love dogs!

I love to be outdoors!

I love to camp on the lake in our home-away-from-home!

I have a sock monkey collection.

I collect flamingos!

I'm obsessed with perfecting my lesson plans!

Now Your Questions:

1. What is your favorite grade to teach?

2. What is your favorite time of year and why?

3. What was your favorite trip you have ever taken?

4. What was the last conference you attended?

5. What was the last book you read?

6. How do you relax during the school year?

7. How long have you been blogging?

 

8. Where did you go to College?

 

9. What is your favorite product off of Teachers Pay Teachers?

 

10. Do you use a smart board in your classroom?

 

11. How many children do you have? (furry or human :))

Blog Lovin It :)

Check out blog lovin... http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5737357/kindergarten-tales

Mystery Show & Tell

Welp! It's definitely warm here in Texas.... Rain on the way tomorrow though :) I've been sort of saving this for a while. I used it when I taught Kindergarten and the kids LOVED it! (Not to mention the parents!) It is really a versatile concept, it can be used with just about anything. I've seen teachers do something like it with What's in the Bag?, or their purse. (I don't know about you but my purse is a bottomless pit! We'd be pulling things out all day!) I came across this idea about 15 years ago. It just an idea that teachers could take and manipulate. I created the cards and the question marks for the outside for the bags to make it more of a game and to add a little spark to our show & tell. It had gotten a little bland and I didn't allow the children to bring toys unless it was a 'special' one. I hope you can use it in your classroom! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COPY Enjoy!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

I've been going through some of my old teaching boxes from my elementary teaching days. I found so many things about beginning literacy that I'd forgotten that I did and I wanted to share some of them.
This is Mr. Alphabet :). He helped my Kindergartners learn their beginning, middle and ending sounds. I would feed the items from the letter of the week into his mouth and (in his funny voice) would "spit" them out and ask them if the items started with, ended with or had the sound in the middle of the object. It was so much fun! It was great RTI as well. One of my parents made him for me out of a trash can. (How creative was that parent?)

Next, I had parents take home bags with a specific letter marked on them and had them fill the bags with items that began, ended and had the letter in the middle of the objects. I also had them put two or three items that did not to make that sound for Mr. Alphabet spit them out :). He would swallow and make "yummy" sound if the items corresponded with the letter sounds.

I would just store the items in bags and keep them in boxes in the cabinet.

 

 

 

This is the Kindergarten Star News. I started doing this in 1998 and stopped in 2007 when I went into teaching at the high school level. I know some of you have actually downloaded my optional cover from my TPT store and have made it your own. I'm a firm believer in taking things and making them suit my style of teaching. I'm also a firm believer in - if it's not an original idea, don't change it around and claim it's yours and sell it. Some of the ideas I use have been around forever! I just took them and changed them for my needs in the classroom.

Okay... this is two of the covers I actually made for my books. (Yes, my name used to be Nash but it's now Cummings for those of you who don't know me personally!)

 

I used to line 11x14 paper and make copies of it until I found this paper in a catalog somewhere. It had the perfect amount of lines and space for illustrations.

Students told a "story" each morning (usually the Star Student chosen for the math calendar). After they finished telling me their story, I underlined three words in red for them to illustrate at the top. Later, I would underline sight words in blue for recognition practice. The stories are funny and amazing! I plan to publish them in a book! :)

The name Kindergarten Star News is totally something I came up with... I guess from my Journalism background. I would display them in the room once the students illustrated them. I put past years books in the library for current students to look at them.  I hope this gives you some ideas for your own classroom!
Enjoy!

Kindergarten Bakery

Hello! I've been sooooo busy but I found time to sketch out my lesson plan for my Kindergarten Bakery. I did this lesson every year. It is actually very extensive and include community helpers, sink and float, weighing, graphing, counting, etc. It was always such a blast! The whole school got involved, especially parents of former students. It got so big, we started donating the money. Just click HERE and go to my TPT store. Enjoy!

Cool Teach - Adventures in Teaching: More Classroom Organization & Photos

Cool Teach - Adventures in Teaching: More Classroom Organization & Photos: These are my ID/Press Pass boxes by periods Add caption These are posters for the getthebearfacts.com and BearsOnline Pinterest ...

100th Day!!!!

The 100th day of school is fast approaching for most. I found this great idea on Pinterest! (Yeah, I know... go figure) ;) This is a modification of a photo-frame for the first day of school. It can be made for any grade level and any special day of the year. 50th day would be great too. Enjoy!

Phonics Freebie

Found a great freebie from PositivelyLearning blog. 24 pages of short vowel word families. Click here to download your copy. Enjoy!

Conferencing

I have lots of forms and reminders to help with conferencing... call logs, documentation logs, etc. But, I've found a really cute K-2 conference pack from Ketchen's Kindergarten. Click Here to get a free download. Enjoy!