Classroom Elf & Cyber Monday & Tuesday Sale

If you are like me you love breaking out your classroom elf each year. My kiddos are going to be so excited tomorrow! Our classroom shelf elf is packaged up and ready to be delivered...before placing it in the freezer that is to assure it arrives nice and cold from the North Pole!

Last year my class voted on the name Jingle Bell Rock..I can't wait to see the names my class comes up with this year- Kids are so darn creative!

I created this unit to go along with our classroom elf. There is a journal that is to be used daily until your elf makes his/her way back to the North Pole in time for Christmas. I have also included tons of activity pages, math prompts, graphic organizers, elf letters, an elf craft, plus much more!

Check it out by clicking on any of the pictures.

 

Don't forget about TPT's Cyber Monday and Tuesday sale. Everything in my store is 15% off plus an additional 10% off at checkout by entering the promo code Cyber. That is a savings of 25%!!!!!!!

Don't miss out!!!

Click below to link up with Farley for her monthly Currently...Here is my December Currently

Veterans Day Craft and Unit

I made this Veterans Day Craftivity unit to use with my kindergarteners. So far..they have loved every page we have done and they absolutely LOVED making their veteran/soldier. Click on the picture to check it out.

Frankenstein & Dracula Craftivity

I read the cutest Halloween book to my kiddos last week. They LOVED this book. This book is great to teach a wide variety of skills; Compare and contrast, main character, setting, problem, solution, and much more! I created this craftivity to go along with this book. The activities include labeling pages, math journal prompts, graphic organizers and more!

Check it out by clicking on any of the pictures below. Happy Halloween Everyone!

Halloween 10 Frame Flash Cards FREEBIE!

Download these two adorable 10 frame flash card sets. Just click on the picture to download.

Fire Prevention

Check out this fire prevention unit- This unit is great for Fire Prevention Week!

 

Jonny Appleseed

I just finished up on this cute Apple Unit! Check it out below. Click on any picture to take you to my TPT Store.

 

Kindergarten Back to School FREEBIE!

Click the picture below for this cute back to school FREEBIE! It contains a coloring page, headband for the first day, and mini booklet.

Currently July & Common Core "I Can" Statements

I am linking up with Farley for her Currently July.

I just finished up on my Kindergarten "I Can" statements. These cards cover every Common Core Standard for Kindergarten.

The beauty of these cards is that every standard is listed on the top right hand corner of each card along with the standards description (kid friendly where applicable) and each card is FULLY ILLUSTRATED to go along with the standard.

These cards are going to make my life much easier this school year. I won't have to write the standard on the board as I previously did. Also, these cards will help students take ownership of their learning.

I am currently working on the First Grade Common Core "I Can" Statement cards and then I will move on to Second Grade. My mom teaches second grade and I promised her I would make these cards. Be on the look out for these cards!

I have made these cards in various colors and themes. I am adding more this week. Check them out by clicking on any of the pictures below.

 

 

Throwback Thursday- Mini Writing Offices

I am linking up with First Grade Parade for her Throwback Thursday Linky.

 

A few years back I made these cute little writing offices. They are small enough to fit into a pencil box. My kids love writing time. They get to use their Mr. Spaceman and mini writing office. Check out this throwback below:

Last summer, I created a mini writing office for my kindergarteners to use during independent writing time. These mini offices are a great resource and aid in students writing success. I have spruced up the mini writing office since last summer and have now made writing mini offices for advanced Kindergarten, First grade,  Second grade and Third grade.

These mini writing offices are small enough to fit into a pencil sized school box. Included in each pack are 21 cover options, dimensions of the writing folder, two sets of writer's toolbox labels, and all the files needed to make each mini office.

I store my students mini offices in pencil boxes in which we call our "Writer's Toolbox". In addition to our writing mini office, we store our writing pencil (any pencil that has a design on it- They love these and take well care of these "special" writing pencils), eraser, Mr. Spaceman (spacing stick from Really Good Stuff), post it notes, and mini dry erase marker and eraser.

Check these mini writing offices out at my Teacher's Notebook or TPT store.

Bloglovin & Monday Made It

Please be sure to follow me on Bloglovin. You can follow by clicking on the Bloglovin icon on the right hand side of my blog.

I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics from Monday Made it to share what I made this week.

I made business cards that I will stick a magnet on the back to give to parents. I made these on the Prints Made Easy website. It was very simple and their prices are not bad at all. I purchased round sticker magnets to place on the back of them at Wal-Mart.

Classroom Library Labels

Hello everyone! I am super excited to share my library organization with all of you.

This will be my eighth year teaching, all of which have been in K. I feel very lucky to be able to teach at the same school as my mom. She teachers second grade. Although I barely get to see her at school (we teach in a very large and still growing elementary school in northern Florida) I am still excited to be able to share our teaching experiences together.
I absolutely love teaching Kindergarten and could not see myself teaching any other grade-level. My heart definitely belongs to K! I love watching my students grow as readers &  writers.

Since I  have a passion for instilling a love of reading in my students, I thought I would share some tips/ideas with all of you on how to organize your classroom library. Having a well-organized library that is not only easily accessible but also kid friendly is essential for young Kinders just learning to read. An organized and inviting classroom library leads to a love of reading books!

I spend quite a bit of time at the beginning of the school year going over the rules for our classroom library; how to pick "just right" books, proper book care, returning books to their correct basket, etc. It is very important to have a system put in place that will ensure the classroom library stays organized. Here are some excellent books for teaching book care.

A SNAPSHOT OF MY CLASSROOM LIBRARY:

A NEW CARPET- PETE THE CAT!

SORTING BOOKS:
I believe it is a personal preference on sorting books. I will share with you how I sort mine. I have leveled baskets A-K all in one section of my library. I also have various baskets throughout that are sorted by either author or theme. Within each author or themed basket, I try to have the reading level listed on each book.

I have chosen to NOT separate my books by fiction & non-fiction. Since I do have a large library this would be somewhat difficult for me. I also like for my students to know that texts on the same topic, such as Fire Safety can be fiction as well as informational. I do however, label all of my non-fiction texts with a label that my students can easily see when choosing books. You can snag these non-fiction sticker labels here!

I do not contain books to just the classroom library. I have various sections around the classroom where books are readily available to students. I place Kindergarten readers (levels A-E) in baskets above their individual book boxes, books at their table seats and books in an additional reading space located in the middle of our classroom. I also store monthly themed books and books on CD in storage bins.

GETTING ORGANIZED:
I am fortunate to have a large built-in bookcase in my classroom. I also purchased stand-alone bookcases to house additional books. These bookcases were purchased from Staples- There is usually a half off sale on bookcases during the summer. Many of my co-workers have similar bookcases that were purchased inexpensively at Target.

But..who says you need a built in bookcase and a large classroom to have an amazing organized library? Here are some pictures of my mom's 2nd grade library. Her classroom is in a portable (which she loves) and she has a pretty snazzy library for such a small space. She purchased her bookcases inexpensively from a church.

BOOK BASKETS:
Ahhhhhh....So many choices. I often get asked the question "Where did you get your book baskets from"? I actually purchased them from the Dollar Tree six years ago when I first started teaching. Every now and again I will see them pop back up in the store. These bins have lasted me for years and are the perfect size for all of my books. I did purchase my students individual book boxes from Really Good Stuff. All of my mom's book bins were purchased from Target in their dollar deal section during the summer months.

BOOK LABELING:

Every book basket with the exception of the table seat baskets contain a colorful kid-friendly label on it. These book basket labels help make book shopping faster and easier! Each individual book contains a smaller label that matches its basket label (printed on small mailing labels). I believe that this is a key component to any organized classroom library. This is essential, especially in Kindergarten. These small sticker labels have been a time saver for sure! My students know just the right basket to return their books to. If you are interested in learning more about these classroom library basket labels and stickers a link will be provided at the end of this post.

ATTACHING LABELS:
To stay organized, it is important to have labels that will stick! I often get the question "How do you attach your labels"? I simply use the tape that can be purchased at the teacher store. I have had these library labels on for the past few years and they are still "sticking" strong! Other ideas to attach labels are using double sided tape, using hot glue, metal rings, and Velcro.

TOOLS FOR ORGANIZATION:

GETTING STARTED:
Ready to start organizing your library? I made a variety of labels in different colors and themes that can help you do just that! I have included 220 labels. These labels are a great way to spice up your classroom library. It is also a great way to keep your library neat and organized. Matching Book bin stickers are also available. There are many other options available on my TPT store. Click here to see all available options for Set 1. Click here to see all available options for Set 2.  Check out Set One and Set Two below: