Donors Choose

Happy New Year! I hope that you had a fun and restful break and are ready for the rest of the school year. The new year is a time for new beginnings & refreshing the old. I went into school over Christmas break to put away December stuff & tidy up for January. The new year is also a time for changing things up a bit. But, if you are like most teachers, you probably don't have a lot of spare cash to spend on your classroom. That's where Donors Choose comes in! Teachers create projects that donors can fund. It's a great way to obtain items for your classroom that are outside of your school's (and your) budget.

I recently had a project funded ~ an annonymous donor paid for two iPods for my class! My listening station had seen better days, and I really wanted to bring it into the 21st century. It only took about an hour to create and post my project. I was so excited when I got that email stating someone funded my iPods. My Kinders love using them to listen to books, and I love the ease of using them. 

 You can tell by the happy faces of these little cuties that they love our new iPods!

Mulitple books can be loaded onto each iPod. Kids now have a choice of several books in each bin.

After uploading the books' CD onto itunes I wanted to add covers so the kids could easily locate the story they wanted to listen to. To do this, click on the book title to open it on iTunes. Right click on the title & this box will open. Click on "Get info."

Once "get info" is opened you will see this box. Click on "Artwork." **Before doing this step, you will need to find & copy the picture of your book's cover ~ I got mine off of Amazon & saved them to a file on my desktop. (I deleted them once I put them into iTunes.)

In the Artwork tab you will find a button that says "Add Artwork." From there you locate your file with the saved book covers. Choose the one you want & click "Open." Your cover picture will now appear on your iPods. Students will be able to simply scroll through the list to find the book they want to listen to. Most kids are pretty techno-savvy, so they catch on really fast.

This last picture is actually a screen shot of my iPhone. I forgot to take a picture of the iPods. In order to keep the kids from opening up things I didn't want them messing around with during literacy stations I put the apps into a folder and moved them on a different "page." To do this, hold your finger on an app until they jiggle. Once they are jiggling, you can pile them onto each other and a folder is created. My school iPods look as if they only have music on them. I've had very few problems with students opening apps that have nothing to do with the task at hand ~ listening!

I hope the remainder of your school year is wonderful!

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Kinder Doodles
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Ticket to Good Behavior

When my daughter Gabrielle was a girl she had an ornery pony named Bailey. He was cute, but pretty difficult. Her trainer (in bottom picture) told me that you "need to try everything" when it comes to training horses. With her trainer's help Gabrielle was able to compete with Bailey in shows, take him on trail rides, and enjoy horsey fun with her sister and friends. 

By now I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with classroom management. Well, as I decided to write about my the evolution of my behavior management plan I was reminded of Mr. Sanjuan's advice. He didn't let Gabrielle give up when working with her pony (even when he cleared a jump at practice, but refused to jump at shows). And, I don't want to give up on helping my students achieve their best. Over the years I have tried a variety of management plans with varying degrees of success.

Gabrielle & Bailey in 2004.

I used a chart like this when I taught first grade. It worked for most students, but a few didn't care if they had to change their cards. Several teachers in my school still use a chart like this.

When I moved to kindergarten I used this stop sign chart. Again, it worked pretty well for some, not so much for others.

One year I had a little guy who was always in the red light pocket. It got to the point that he was just a "red" kid. I knew he was a good kid, and wanted him to feel a sense of redemption, so I made this clip chart. It really did help him to work toward making better choices so he could move back up the chart. Students who reached pink got a "diamond" to stick to their clothespins. I liked this chart, but wanted to try something else to see if I could reach those "Baileys" in my classroom. 

This year I am using tickets. Students earn tickets for making good choices, being kind, and following the rules. Conversely, poor choices will cost them tickets. They don't earn a ticket for every good choice, act of kindness, or rule following. I explained to them that it will take about two weeks to earn ten tickets, and so far my Kinders are doing well with this new plan. Because I don't hand out tickets left and right, they feel really special when earned. It also works well when praising a student who has changed his/her behavior. Knowing that I have noticed a change in behavior goes a long way in helping a student to continue making good choices. And, knowing that not-so-good choices will cost them tickets will hopefully help them to gain control over their actions. 

On Friday we count our tickets (which are stored in little food containers I purchased at Target). Ten tickets earns a reward coupon for things like "no morning work," "bring a stuffed animal to school," etc. I use my talented daughter's Reward Binder. Click HERE to purchase. 

We are twenty days into the new school year, and I think I am going to really like this new behavior management plan because it focuses on the positive, and downplays the negative. If you are up for "trying everything," I have a freebie for you ~ click HERE to get your own Ticket Ten Frame & tickets.

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Kinder Doodles

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"Eye" Can Edit My Writing!

I recently attended an amazing two day literacy retreat  presented by Kristina Smekens.  (If you ever get a chance to see her ~ do!  She is an awesome presenter.Check out her website HERE.)  

One of her ideas that really got me excited was her editing glasses ~ sunglasses with the lenses removed that are color coded to match a pen or highlighter.  Students wear a pair of glasses to edit their writing.  By focusing on one thing the kids can really "see" what needs fixing.  I love this idea! My Kinders love highlighters & fancy glasses, so I'm sure they will be a great tool.  I plan to find some glasses for myself to wear so I can model the technique before handing them over to the kids. By the time they are ready to edit their own work they should be very comfortable with the color coding process.  

I found these glasses at Party City ~ 6.99 for a pack of ten.  The highlighters are from Walmart (.88 for three).  To use, pop out the lenses and place in a basket or bin with matching markers.  Use my free posters to help your students know how to use each set.

I created three posters to share based upon Kristina's idea.  Get them HERE for free.

My set includes three posters for spaces between words, ending punctuation, and capital letters at the beginning of the sentences.  

Happy editing!

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Keeping the Piece

My Kinders enjoy working with scissors and glue.  But, if you have ever worked with Kinders, scissors, and glue you know what a messy endeavor it can be.  Pieces fall on the floor, get mixed up with the neighbor's pieces, get thrown into the recycling bin, etc.  Finally I have come up with a simple solution to these woes!  (Why did it take me so long??)

The solution is as simple as mushroom containers and dish tubs!  We eat lots of mushrooms at our house, and one day as I was cleaning some for our salad I thought that the container they came in seemed too nice to just throw away.  (The teacher in me is always coming up for a way to re-purpose things.)  So, I started saving them.  Well, because we eat SO MANY mushrooms it didn't take very long to collect a class set (or two).

These little blue foam containers are the perfect size for holding small pieces of just about anything. Whenever the kiddos need to cut out small pieces they grab a blue tub.  By putting their pieces into a tub there are far fewer lost pieces!

But, it still wasn't totally fool proof.  Plus, there was a constant march to and from the recycling bin that sits just outside our classroom door.  (My husband is in the paper recycling business and we RECYCLE EVERY SCRAP OF PAPER!  I used to bring paper home to recycle before our school started the recycling program.)  There was also the occasional piece that got mixed in with the recycling.  In comes the dish tubs!  Each table has a pink scrap tub to collect scraps as the kids cut.  If a piece is accidentally mixed in with the recycling it is so much easier to find in the pink tub!

The solution was so simple ~ and inexpensive ($0.00 for the mushroom containers, and a couple dollars for each tub) ~ I can't believe it took so long to come up with this idea! 

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100th Day

Today was day #89 for me ~ just 11 more school days 'til 100th Day!  Depending upon when you began your school year, and how many snow days you've had (3 for me), you are probably getting close to your 100 day of school.  In the past few years our celebrations have included lots of fun activities that made the day a memorable one for my little Kinders.  Here are some pictures of my past 100th Days. 

 Last year my teaching partners & I had fun dressing up as 100 year old ladies. (I'm on the right.  And, wearing a gray wig.) 

Even some of my little kiddos dressed up as centenarians! 

The kids brought in 100 small items.  With the help of a parent volunteer they counted them by ones, fives, and tens.  The mats ~ ten circles on on a large piece of paper ~ helped them to keep track of their little items.  It was interesting to see their collections.

The past three years we made collaborative 100 item craft projects.  Pizzas with 100 toppings, cupcakes with 100 sprinkles, and bowls with 100 fish.  Parent volunteers helped the kids with these projects.

100 piece snacks, counting to 100, and 100 "written" with crackers.

100th Day writing & pictures.  Get this freebie HERE.

I'm looking forward to 100th Day 2015 (even if it is three days later than it should be...).  I've been pinning some new ideas.  I think we'll be building 100 cup structures, and making 100 "gumball" gumball machines.  What will you do to celebrate the big day?

Please check out my blog, Facebook page, 100th Day Pinterest board, and TpT store.  Thanks!

Teaching With Pinterest

I am a superintendent of the 4-H Decorations project.  In this project 4-Hers create a decoration of their choice within certain guidelines.  Over the years I've seen some very creative items entered by the kids.  When talking to the kids about their projects this year I learned that many of them were inspired by Pinterest.  ...which got me to thinking about my own obsession enjoyment of the world of digital pin boards.

If I need a new recipe, ideas for baby shower decorations, or instructions on how to tie a scarf I know that I can find tons of great pins linking to tons of great websites & blogs.  How did we ever live without Pinterest???

As every teacher knows, Pinterest isn't just a place for quinoa recipes & photos of J Crew clothes.  It's the new Professional Development!  Professional Development that is free & available 24/7!  Even my district has recognized Pinterest as a valuable resource for teachers because they unblocked last year ~ yup, we can look at Pinterest on our school computers. :-)

I thought I'd share a few of my many, many pins.  If you want to see more, you can follow me HERE.  Enjoy!

  I love this idea for sight word practice!

 

 

 



This would be fun for the beginning of the year.

 

 

A fun, interactive way to teach number sense.

 

 

 

Great ideas for teaching math.

 

 

Here's a pin from my blog that I recently spotted!

 

Visit me!

 

 



Summer Reads

Ahh, summer.  Summer is the time for teachers to catch up on all the things that get pushed to the side during the school year.  For me, one of those things that gets pushed aside is Reading For Fun.  I do read for fun during the school year, but it takes so long to finish one book.  About the only time I have to read during the school year is once I go to bed.  Well, you can imagine how that goes...  After about two pages I fall asleep, and need to reread one of those pages the next night.  I've been out of school for less than twenty days and have already read FOUR WHOLE BOOKS!  I went to the library today and checked out another four.  I am so excited! 

My favorite summer hangout ~ my front porch!  The bird feeders are blocking the view of the awesome rocking chairs.  Click HERE to read about one of my lazy summer days.

My summer reading list thus far:

Stay by Emily Goodwin (my daughter)  MY daughter ~ yes, my daughter!! wrote this book!  This is the current ranking (as of 6/24/14): #87 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense  YAY!  It is a gripping tale of a young woman who is kidnapped and forced into human trafficking. 

Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella  This is another hit by one of my favorite authors.  Sophie Kinsella's writing makes me laugh out loud. 

Antiques Con by Barbara Allan  This is the first book in this series I've read.  It was a fun & fast front porch mystery read.

Alice's Tulips by Sandra Dallas  I usually don't read historical novels, but I do enjoy Sandra Dallas's books.  This book is told through letters written by Alice, a young wife of a Civil War soldier. 

I'm currently reading something schoolish, but do have something in queue for when I finish.

Current read

Next up!

What are you reading?

Kinder Doodles