Classroom Organization. KindergartenWorks From Our Classroom to Yours Classroom Organization New? Start Here! Latest setting kindergarten goals {the easy way} simple chart for teaching students when to use the restroom Read More On Related Reads Guided Reading Organization Guided Math Organization Teacher Organization Freebies – Free Printables Reader Feedback Best Sellers Also Found on Teachers Notebook | Products Teachers Pay Teachers | Products Teacher T-Shirts | Designer Teach Junkie | Author Teaching Blog Addict | Author Recommend on Google *free downloadable thank you gift Latest Freebie Return to top of page. Castles and Crayons: Small Group Fun *Updated!
Happy October friends! I am super pumped for the cool weather headed our way in Bama...67?!? Yes, please! :) I just started my reading small groups last week. The first thing I always do with my small groups is introduce the Alphabet Chart with my lower groups, and the Blend and Digraph Chart with my higher groups. Click on the pictures to download an Alphabet Chart and a Blend and Digraph Chart for free! I am also loving these Roll and Read Fluency Phrases! I just uploaded a Consonant Digraph version, as well as a Bundle Pack of all three sets {short vowels, long vowels, and consonant digraphs}.
I would LOVE to hear your favorite small group kick off activities! Have a great week!!! Kindergarten Rules and Routines: Lunch - Kindergarten Kindergarten. Teaching School Routines is Essential! The first few days weeks of school, I go over every single routine I can think of and explicitly teach students the expectationsregarding those routines. Never take anything for granted!! Trust me--if you just assume that five-year olds know how to sit at a cafeteria table with 20 or so of their new friends and quietly eat their lunches--you're going to end up with 20 or so kids running around the cafeteria with chicken nuggets in their pockets and peanut butter in their hair!
On the very first morning of school, well before their their little bellies start rumbling, I take the kids down to the empty cafeteria (this is actually a school-wide expectation.) We go over everything--step by step. We go to our table and I show them exactly how to sit. And then I show them what not to do--stand on the benches, crawl under the table, run around, scream, yell--they love that part. Then I show them exactly how to clean up. The next day, I print these out. 12 tips to start a successful kindergarten year. 1. Have a classroom management plan in place. Even if you think you may want to tweak it later on.
Get it down in writing for yourself, come up with short phrases you think you can use to refer to often and decide what language you want to use so that when the time comes day one, you’ll feel prepared and won’t be searching for the right words. Example (“Make a better choice.” “You chose to…” “This is your warning for…”) 2. Be prepared to explain the why behind procedures and choices in short, concise terms. Think Cards from Behavior Plan and Parent Notes 3. 4. 5. Alphabet Learning the alphabet is what we do! {See how easily you can use the /a/ as a “frightened” motion to always refer to for your kinesthetic learners} Using Names Starting with student names is a classic way to begin working on letter recognition, sight words and sound production. 1. We started with abc all on one page to kick it off, and then it left us with 23 letters left. 2. 3.
Basics Social stories to consider creating: Classroom Jobs for Kindergarten {Free Printable} Classroom jobs for students is a popular way of structuring tasks within a classroom. Kindergarten classroom jobs can take on a life of their own depending upon the teacher, teaching style and school building. What types of jobs should a teacher have in her classroom? Well, I may not be able to answer this exactly for you and yours, but I can hopefully give you some ideas by sharing mine and what works {and doesn’t}. Elementary classroom jobs are a classic way for teachers to involve students in creating a sense of community, give them a sense of pride and teach responsibility. Plus, it can also alleviate the amount of work {truly} for a teacher.
Student jobs in the classroom can also be a source of frustration for the teacher when students are paired with jobs that are not a good fit. Mostly I like them, LOVE them, when they work as intended but dislike figuring out the most sensible way of following through with jobs when not performed or completed. What didn’t work Why it didn’t work. 6 Fun and Simple Hallway Transitions {Printable}
Fun and simple ideas for classroom management are often found from the best resource available to teachers: other teachers! I’ve asked my facebook fans to share their hallway transitions to help make your classroom management even easier. Here are their top hallway procedure transitions and ideas. You’re gonna love these ideas. I’m sure you’ll find that these have been passed on from teacher to teacher and from friend to friend, but you might find something new to try!
I’m going to include a printable and let you know who shared these with us where applicable. Eyes, Feet Hands Poster This first one was shared by Joanne. Magic Finger Poster This cute saying works when you like to have students place their finger over their lips when walking in the hallway. Ninja Feet Poster Now this one is already a favorite of mine, thanks to Staci!
Spanish Hallway Procedures I’m not one to speak Spanish in the classroom, but this one may come in handy for many of you. Ready for the Hallway Poster. Mrs. Jones's Kindergarten: Top 10 Read Alouds for the first day of K. I know, I know... there are SO many amazing books to choose from! Which ones will help start your year off right? I am here to share my favorite read alouds for the first day, and hope you will share yours too! Without further ado... 1. The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn This is a must read for me. It's the first book we read every year. 2. I love this book too. 3. This is a fun read aloud to lead in to talking about the rules of your school and classroom. 4. A familiar classic that many kids know and can participate in reading. 5. This is a sweet story that talks about acceptance and the importance of being proud of who you are... great for 1st grade and beyond. 6.
I love to use this book to lead in to discuss how we get to and from school. 7. Show the kids how WE get ready for school! 8. A fun interactive read aloud that your kids will all know and love to help you read! 9. Predictable and familiar! What is your favorite First Day Read Aloud? Mrs. Wills Kindergarten. A Kindergarten Blog: Tweaking Daily Five.
Now that I have one year of doing the daily five behind me, it is time to start thinking about this year and what worked last year and what I need to tweak or change up. Last year I placed baskets with markers and crayons around the room for students to use when working on writing. Obviously, I did not have enough baskets for everyone so my students would share. I felt like this distracted them from their writing. This year I am giving each student a plastic cup of markers for them to keep in their cubbie. If they go to work on writing then they can go and get their cup and find a place to work. This is a picture of what I did last year. Last year I waited awhile before allowing my students to have full choice in their rounds and when I did start I did not keep track of where they were going.
Last year I only did two rounds and I did not do a very good job of teaching in a mini-lesson format. Last year I tried having my students shop first thing in the morning. A Kindergarten Blog: You Get What You Get. I think I need to stay away from Amazon. I am in a book buying frenzy! I bought this one this morning. About the book: Melvin throws fit every time he doesn't get what he wants. Not only does Melvin learn how to deal with disappointment, he teaches his family the lesson too. And after all, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit.I know a lot of us use this phrase throughout the day with out little ones and now we have the perfect book for talking about it! I purchased this book from Amazon but it is temporarily out of stock. I checked Barnes and Nobel and their site says the book is usually available within 1-2 weeks. Growing Kinders.
A Place Called Kindergarten. Organization. Welcome! Here is the view of our first grade hallway at Wayland Bonds Elementary! This year we decided to go with a camping theme. We made our doorways look like log cabins by making logs out of butcher paper. We all bought a pine tree from Mardels. I also had my mom sew red and white checker curtains for each of our windows. Each one of our doorways has our names on them out of the wooden letters you can purchase from Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Here is the camping welcome sign as you enter the first grade hallway. We each took laminated scrapbook paper and glued it to the wall with a cloths pin. My Classroom Pictures Here is a look into my classroom! This is my teacher desk. I have each pod of desks labeled with group signs.
Click HERE to download my group signs from my TpT Store! The baskets on the shelf are each student's individual book basket for their independent reading books. I use this pocket chart to store the student's library and lunch cards. Weekly Activities and Worksheets Centers. CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION. August 2013. My wonderful kindergarten class just finished their 3rd week of school! I can't believe how fast it has gone by! We have been working hard, having fun, and learning so much each day. They have really started to build their stamina at being at school all day long. (They were very sleepy the second half of the day for the first 2 weeks of school.)
Here are some highlights from week 3 of kindergarten: Sight Words: this week we focused on the sight word 'the' We traced the word 'the' with fruit loops! I passed out large letters to the each student: 't', 'h', 'e'. I displayed our sight word book of the week on the pocket chart. Once we have done lots of practice reading on our pocket chart: modeled reading, finding sight words, reading strategies, choral reading, echo reading, I give each student their own book which is the same as what they have been practicing on the pocket chart.
Click on the picture for this FREEBIE! This is our classroom Pete the Cat that we love! First Week of School! Just finished our first week back to school! I had such a wonderful week with my class! They are all so cute and did so well on their first full week of school! I have full day kindergarten and I was really proud of how well all of my students did for being at school all day long. I must first say that this week was also wonderful because the last two years of teaching I had between 29-32 students in my class!
This year our school hired another kindergarten teacher before the school year started and I have 20 students in my class. What a difference my week was compared to the last two! It was just so much better and beneficial for the students with the smaller class size! (First Day of School): -Students played with playdoh at their seats when they came into the classroom. -We got to know each other by playing a game with a beach ball. -We talked about sitting on the carpet and used our friend to help us remember how we are supposed to sit and raise our hand if we want to talk. July 2013. I am giving away my very first FREEBIE!! Star Letter Necklaces: FREEBIE!! A very important part of kindergarten at the beginning of the year is making sure the students know their letters.
A fun activity that I do with my students after I introduce a letter to them is determining which students names in the class has the letter that we are focusing on that day. I write their names on index cards and we decide as a class if they have the letter in their name. If they do, they place it on my pocket chart that says 'yes'. If they do not, they place it on my pocket chart that says 'no'. **I need to get into my classroom to take a picture of this pocket chart activity I have to go with this. At the beginning of the year, we decide together one name at a time who does and who does not have the letter in their name... yes this takes time.
If they DO have the letter we are learning that day in their name, they get to wear a STAR LETTER NECKLACE for the day. The First Week of School and Classroom Pictures. We did it! I survived the first week of school! I am so lucky to be working with the best partner teacher on the planet :) And we absolutely have the best class in the whole entire world! Here's a peek at our room and some first week of school fun! We are so lucky to have such a nice sized room! Here is one of our bulletin boards.
Our calendar wall: This year we are going to count the days in school using base ten blocks. Here's our word wall. We set up a supply station for the first day of school. The super adorable labels are from Laura Martin's TpT store. And I made these sweet treats for my teammates to celebrate our first day! We meet our adorable class on Tuesday; they were so eager and ready to learn! We took our first day pictures with the cute little "K" {huge thanks to Michelle from Apples and ABCs for this adorable idea and tutorial!! Then we read Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten and then brainstormed some ideas on how we get ready for kindergarten!
Dear New Kindergarten Teacher, Please Read This. Dear New Kindergarten Teacher,It is now August and school is just around the corner. Do not feel terrified. Don't. I am here to help you. If you are new to this grade level I have some suggestions for you that might make your first few weeks go a little easier. These packets are only five dollars each and can be customized with your student's name. Kindergarten kids love, love, love to help their teacher and this will show you how to implement a management system for this without wanting to shoot yourself.
You are going to want to set aside one bulletin board in your room for just writing. This will provide you with a systematic monthly writing form for each month of the year. You will be introducing the alphabet using your reading program but your students will need lots of opportunities to see those letters and manipulate them in centers. This is the perfect alphabet book for you to buy.
Are you still reading? Have you discovered the Target Dollar Spot? Advice: Read to them often. Erica Bohrer's Classroom. Classroom management. July 2013. My Classroom. My Jungle themed Classroom Decor! First few weeks, Pete the Cat & Stick a fork in me-I'm done!!!! Jungle themed Noise Level Freebie. Pumpkin Investigation. Math Centers This Week. If You Take A Mouse to School:Rules and Procedures.
If You Take A Mouse to School:Rules and Procedures. DIY: File Crate Seat for the Classroom. It's a Jungle Out There! A Kindergarten Blog: I-Pad Apps You Can Use in The Classroom! It's a Jungle Out There! A Kindergarten Blog: Lots of Classroom Theme Ideas.... It's a Jungle Out There! A Kindergarten Blog: Awards Galore!!!! It's a Jungle Out There! A Kindergarten Blog: Kindergarten At A Glance Data Organization Notebook. Kindergarten Kindergarten: Reading Workshop. Kindergarten Kindergarten: Math Problem-Solving. Kindergarten Kindergarten: File Folder Games.
Kindergarten Kindergarten: Position Words. Kindergarten Kindergarten: Shapes. Kindergarten Kindergarten: Classroom Management. Kindergarten Kindergarten: Sight Words. Math Problem-Solving Week 1: Getting to Know our Notebooks - Kindergarten Kindergarten. Kindergarten Kindergarten. The Kissing Hand (Mrs. Fischer's Kinder~Themes) Teaching With Z: First Day of Kindergarten Linky Party. What the Teacher Wants!: Management Monday - Behavior Linky!!
Right from the Start: Managing Beginning of the Year Behaviors. How to Organize for the First Day of Kindergarten: A Guide For New and Veteran Teachers. Behavior Bingo. It's a Jungle Out There! A Kindergarten Blog.