Fantastically Fun Fall!

I wanted to share with you some of the centers and games we did in my Kindergarten classroom last year.  Maybe you’ll find some fun ideas!

We LOVE to count and write the room! I ALWAYS have these centers each week – kids love to get up and move around and it separates the children a bit more.  More separation = less talking!

I differentiated this center for each kiddo – those that were ready to write number words did that, and those that weren’t quite ready just wrote the number.

I always had some sort of patterning center as well.  There are two different spinner for the children to choose from – AB, and ABB – some kiddos aren’t quite ready to move on from AB patterns yet :)

This center was a bit challenging for some kids, but I think once they get the hang of the multiple steps it will be a bit easier!

This was our first time playing “Flip Five” - -the children LOVED it.  There are NO numbers in this version – just pictures to count.  I have a few other versions of Flip Five in my TpT store if you’re looking for number versions.  Again, for the kiddos that were ready, they wrote their equations on the response sheet.

We’ve been practicing adding 1 more during our calendar time, so this game was perfect for some independent practice!  Dice + candy corn = FUN!

I love incorporating fine motor skills during centers whenever I can.  At this center, the children used a clothes pin to clip the beginning sound and flipped it over to check it (the answer is designated by a sticker!).

Ooh! This was SO fun!  The kiddos wrote the beginning sound of each picture to figure out the scarecrow secret code!

This game is GREAT for beginning sound practice! We spun the spinner and moved the candy corn piece down one leaf.  The first candy corn to the bottom is the winning letter!

Fun with rhymes!  The children rolled two dice – when they rolled two words that rhyme, they covered up a crow with a candy corn.  HINT – If you own this center, print two copies of each rhyme.  Choose 3 rhymes to focus on. The children will be more successful rolling two words that rhyme!

This was a pocket chart activity – sorry I forgot to snap a pic of the pocket chart.  The children put the words in the correct order to make a sentence that makes sense.

This center is one of my favorite ones – I’ve been doing it for years! It’s from my It’s Fall Y’all pack.  I die cut different color leaves and sort them into baggies. The children then sort them and graph them and complete the graph.  Each kiddo gets their own set.  It’s so fun seeing the gigantic graphs on the floor!

Here is the response sheet for our acorn count the room (the photo is above!)

At our listening center, we listened to Firefighter Ted!

If you’re interested in these centers, I have them in my Fantastically Fun Fall pack!

First Grade Math Workshop

As I’m learning all about a new grade, one thing I wanted to accomplish was a math workshop.  Another goal of mine this year, is to work SMARTER, not harder.  I’m working on that
balance issue.  It is hard to have balance when you are learning a new grade level, but it’s a great opportunity for me to have a fresh start. 

So, here is what I’ve come up with for my math block. 

• 15 minutes: calendar journals (I AM working on a first grade calendar, but I really want to test and tweak it this year before I offer it to you.  I NEED to know that it works for first grade!)
• 15-20 minutes: Math warm up, number talks, and whole group math lesson
• 15-20 minutes: math rotations
• Meet with the teacher
• Math with technology
• Fluency practice
• Math boxes
• Partner games

We do ONE rotation a day.  I WISH I could do more, there just isn’t time in the day!  However, with this management system, I really only need to change the activities ONCE a month. *insert cheers of joy here*

So let’s break it down – each student will visit each center once per week.  I would love to incorporate more rotations (ala Daily 5), but I just don’t have the 90 minute block to fit it in.

1. Meet with the teacher: aka – MOI.  During this time, I will meet with a small group of students to work on what THEY need or to reinforce what we have taught whole group.  Sometimes it will be center type activities, sometimes it will be partner games, and sometimes it will be a mix of activities!

2.  Math with Technology: we will use our ipads or laptaps (more on this later!)

3. Partner Games:  We use the Everyday Math curriculum, and new games are introduced every few units.  It’s important that the kids play these games because they build on them through the grades.  AND, the kids LOVE playing them.

4. Fluency Games:  the blue basket houses our fluency games. Right now, we are practicing basic addition facts. Some of these are played with a partner, and others are played independently.

5. Math Boxes:  these are what are MOST familiar to me! I had so much fun creating these centers based on what the children need, the common core, and what our math curriculum is working on.

Here is what I have in the drawers for October:

Everything is housed in the green drawers.  I love these drawers.  I purchased them from Ikea about 3 years ago.  The children just grab a drawer and find a quiet workspace in the room.  Only one person at a time will work in the drawers.  I am letting them manage these on their own.  The activities are SO fun, that I know they’ll want to try all of them.

I don’t have every activity in the drawers right now, some I will use during my small group time. 

If you’re interested in grabbing these centers, you can find them in my TpT shop.

What questions do you have?  Post them below!

Let’s Take it Waaayyy Back!

Way back to September 2nd and the first day of school.  In case you haven’t heard….

Yep, I graduated.  I am in a brand new school and I’m teaching first grade!

The beginning of the school year was a little bit difficult because of a tiny organ in my stomach.  My gallbladder.  Two weeks before school started, I found myself in the emergency room with pancreatitis.  After a couple of nights in the hospital, I had surgery to remove my gall bladder.  Needless to say, having surgery right before school starts is quite stressful!

But, the good news is, I’m all good now, and I am loving first grade!! So, here’s a quick flashback to a post that should have went up a while back!

Here is a peek into my new, LARGE room! I am spoiled with this HUGE room, and the amount of storage space.  Our classroom is definitely “lived in” now, so these are NOT perfect, organized clean pictures of my room.  This is real life :)

From the back of the room:

Also from the back.

This photo is from the doorway.  I LOVE this big countertop and the storage underneath!  The children love to sit here and work.  You can see their mailboxes, and the books that they check out each night to read at home.

This is our carpet space, where the magic takes place :).  

See that gray cart in the corner? That’s my laptop cart.  I’m super lucky to have access to a class set of laptops AND 6 ipads!

Looking back from the front of the room.  See those cabinets? LOVE. 

I LOVE our classroom library, and so do my kiddos!  They are so cute when the pull up the yellow stools and put their feet up while they are reading in the comfy chairs! 

Our Daily Focus board is my favorite part of our room. It really helps to focus my teaching and the children refer back to it constantly!

The children’s book boxes are stored here.

Our specials schedule and our rules against bullying.

I hope you enjoyed my little tour!

Teacher Week 2014–Meet the Teacher!

It’s Teacher Week 2014 over at Blog Hoppin’, and I’m excited to join in on the fun!  Take a peek at the linky’s we have in store for you!  (I’ll actually get some blog posts done this summer! haha!)  I still have 2 weeks until school starts, but I am happy to play along – or at least TRY!

So, up first on the agenda is meet the teacher.  This is me! (You can see a cheek of my amazing niece who is starting college in just a week!)

This is my family:

My husband and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in Las Vegas this summer.  We dined at the Eiffel Tower in the Paris Hotel – it was AMAZING! I highly recommend it!

We did A LOT of travelling this summer.  Way more than we were planning on! We went to Florida, Las Vegas (just the hubs and I), and New York! It’s been a whirlwind summer, but we made LOTS of memories!

  

 

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

My kids.  My husband.  My family. 
Movies. Target. Brandi Carlile. Traveling. Watching my girls dance. The Beach.  Pizza. Ice Cream. Being at home. 

IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

I would probably be a stay-at-home mom!  I was lucky enough to be able to spend a year and a half with my oldest daughter and it was amazing to spend that time with her.  I would love to own my own business – like a tea shop or a bakery.  Love those things.

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Quiet. Hardworking. Dependable.

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

“Yes, I would love to go to another meeting!”

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

Hands down, my daughter Nora.  Birthdays have always been hard since she passed.  Wish I could spend another birthday with her.

Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

The power to go back in time.

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

I love the Brave Girls club.  They always know just want to say at just the right time. This is one of my favorites right now.

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Oh boy, that’s a hard one…

Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

Definitely a night owl! I get my second wind around 9:30!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

Although I won’t be using them this year (since I’ve moved to First Grade), I LOVE my ABC Centers for the Frugal Teacher alphabet centers pack(s).  The activities in this pack are all super easy to prep and you most likely have some or all of the items in your classroom.  They are perfect for the beginning of Kindergarten and for RTI groups throughout the year! I hope you check them out!

 

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU!

I’m a pretty private person.  I don’t often share a lot about myself on my blog.  I am quiet and often keep to myself :)  I suppose you could call me an introvert! I am happy cuddling up on the couch and watching a movie!  Most people don’t know that I’ve been documenting every day of my family’s life on my personal Instagram page.  This is a daily “journal” of sorts for me that I call “Pedersen Project 365”.  My kids affectionately call it the “picture of the day.”  I love looking back and remembering exactly what we did each day of the year! I  can’t wait to look back on everything we did in 2014 at the end of the year!

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Now it’s your turn!  Share your Meet the Teacher post and link up with Stephanie @ Falling Into First and at Blog Hoppin’!