Mornings Matter: Daily News

One of the routines that happen every day in my classroom is Daily News.  This format of Daily News came from my dear friend, Traci.  I was in a slump with my morning messages, and she showed me how she does her morning message.  I haven’t looked back since!

I love so many aspects of our daily news time….

1. I love how it builds community in the classroom – we all work together to complete the daily news chart.

2. I love how I can reinforce SPECIFIC skills that the children need to work on.  If I find that Johnny and Jane are struggling with rhyming, I might add a rhyming section to my daily news the next day.

3. I love how it sets up our day – we often write about special events that are happening during the day. I love how it lets those anxious kiddos know what is in store for them.

4. I love how SIMPLE it is.  5 minutes at the end of the day (or sometimes in the morning before the kiddos come in) and it’s done. 

5. I love that it is interactive, and the children get up and down – participation and engagement is at a HIGH level.  We sing, clap, tap, and so on.  Sometimes, I even let the children have their own white boards to work right along with the child that is coming up to the chart.

6. I love that it is a PREDICTABLE part of our daily routine.  Kids know what to do, and they feel SUCCESSFUL!

Here are some examples of our Daily News charts and some of the skills that we may be working on:

Here are my tips for Daily News:

My biggest tip is to LISTEN to your students! Write your Daily News based on what YOUR students need!  If you are struggling in the beginning, set up a daily schedule as a guide to what to write.  I’m not gonna lie – sometimes I feel like banging my head against the wall because I can’t think of anything to write!  Sometimes it’s short, sometimes it’s long, that’s okay!  We all know we need to be flexible as teachers, right?!

I always try to include a little sampling from 2-3 subject areas.  I almost always include something language arts (in addition to the phonics, punctuation, etc. portion in the body of my message) and math. 

So, are you going to include Daily News this year in your classroom? What questions do you have? Tell me what works and what doesn’t work for you!

Beginnings Matter: Morning Routines

Ah, the first few minutes in the classroom.

Combine that with the first few minutes in the morning of the first few weeks of school, and it’s enough to drive a person crazy!  I wanted to share with you something that I do to help my kiddos learn the routines of the morning.

It’s super simple – if you know me, I’m all about simple, practical, and easy.

Enter the Morning Jobs I Can Cards. We don’t start the year with all of the job cards hanging up.  I start with the most important one.  In the fall – it’s simply hanging up our backpacks.  As the days go on, and I introduce the other jobs, I add the other I can cards.  The children always refer to these job cards to make sure that they are finishing all of their morning jobs.

Here are some of the morning jobs that I do…putting their folders in their mailboxes (after they check for notes).

Signing in…

Sometimes I will have them sign in on the IWB by answering a question.

They will choose their lunch.  The larger picture is mine, the other two were unfortunately dead-end pins.  If you know who those belong to, please let me know, so I can give them credit!

I love this interactive check in from Pink Cat Studio!

If you would like these morning job cards for your classroom, you can download them for free {here}.

Sight Word Fun! Christmas in July!

Today marks the LAST day of my Christmas in July sale!  I have discounted all of my sight word units.  These are some of my favorite units, and some that I use ALL the time!

Let’s start with Sticky Sight Words:

There are easy to prep worksheets where children can cut, color, and stamp!

 

 

 

 

 

Sight word cards and stamping mats for playdough:

and some fun games!

My kiddos love these fun activities!

Next up is my handwriting packet.  We work through this packet quite slowly, and in Kindergarten, I generally start it in January.  Next year in first grade, I’ll start it at the beginning of the year. We practice correct letter formation in isolation and then combine all the letters and practice them in a sentence.  Why is this a sight word pack too? Because I ask the children to read the sentence and draw a picture!

My fix it up sentences, are one of my very first products, and continue to be a best seller because of their simple, practical, daily practice. The children LOVE them, and their favorite part is having a friend check their work!

I usually start the above back towards the spring in Kindergarten, and I wanted something for the beginning of the year, so I created Fix It up Again!   Same concepts as the first pack, but this one has a bit more of a focus on sight words.

I have this little oldie but goodie as well! 

and my Scoopin’ Up Sight Words unit! 

My kiddos LOVE building their ice cream scoops when they learn their sight words!

(ABC cards NOT included)

If you’re interested in any of these activities, grab them while they are on sale today!! Just click the banner below!

My family are I are enjoying a fun weekend in NYC this weekend!  We’ve explored the Time Square area, saw Wicked and are heading to a soccer game today.  It’s been a fun weekend!  Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Word Work! Christmas in July

Oh friends, I’ve been busy! There were about 150 boxes delivered to my new school, and I’ve been slowly and steadily unpacking and sorting trying to get my new room ready.  We don’t start until after labor day, but I know I’ll feel SO much better when all my boxes are unpacked!  I picked up some FABULOUS new fabric yesterday, and I can’t wait to start decorating!

My Christmas in July sale for today and tomorrow is kind of a hodge podge of a few items:

First up, my CVC kits.  These are PERFECT for small group, whole group, centers, or independent work.  There are so many different types of activities included in these jam packed units.  U is on the way, I promise! It’s been put on the back burner for WAAAYYYY too long!!

   

 

These FANTASTIC sliders are also included for each letter.  I use these in both whole group and small group lessons.  The children LOVE these! They are great for a lesson or if you only have a few minutes and need something to fill the time!

I include some sort of game in each pack as well – slap jack (short a) is a proven favorite!

Here is some of what is included.  The games are different each pack, but the foundational activities are all the same.  Lots of hands on, FUN learning!

The next set of units that are on sale are my word work packs.  I LOVE to do sorts in my classroom, and I LOVE easy prep, and these packs include BOTH of those.  I DO plan to complete the series and have one for each month!  I will also make them for first grade!

   

Yes, February is missing…here’s the story….my dad was diagnosed with bile duct cancer last September.  (One of the reasons why I wasn’t posting so much last year).  He had surgery to remove the cancer and was doing well with his chemo.  He went in for  a routine heart check in January, and then proceeded to have TEN heart attacks.  Oh boy.  Thank goodness he was in the hospital, otherwise he would not be here today.  Fast forward to yesterday.  He went to the Mayo Clinic to go through all the checks and scans, and he is CANCER FREE.  SO HAPPY.   So, here’s to hoping that this year is SO much smoother than last year!

and finally, I have put my dramatic play packs on sale!  I know so many of you have told me that you have been forced to take our your dramatic play centers from your Kindergarten rooms, and that makes me SO sad. I am so fortunate that I am still able to have 30-45 minutes of FREE CHOICE play everyday!  However, I know some children still love to learn during play time, so I started making these dramatic play packs, and they LOVE them! 

  

There are SO many things included in these packs: math and literacy games, vocabulary cards, emergent sentences to read, recording sheets, and so on.  I hope you check them out!

Click the image below to see the word work packets, and click the image above to go to the dramatic play packs!

My family and I are off for ONE MORE last minute vacation this weekend .. we are heading here:

to watch this:

We are SUPER excited to bring the girls to their first Arsenal game!  Looking forward to a great weekend!!