tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48088205084984797242024-03-18T22:06:43.751-05:00Growing KindersKathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.comBlogger464125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-6994635669414614092018-02-25T15:46:00.001-06:002018-02-25T15:46:14.925-06:00March CentersOh, these centers were some of my favorites when I taught Kindergarten!! Browse through the pics for some whimsical fun!And a little twist on that station using real life objects:and math centers…These activities came from: The graphics in the “I Can Learn” pack are slightly different from the photos pictured above. I wish we could use the likeness of “that cat”, but Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com368tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-2667884643405332242018-02-04T13:39:00.001-06:002018-02-04T13:39:50.473-06:00We Love the 100th Day of School!Isn’t there just something magical about celebrating the 100th day? The children are so very excited, and it is so fun to reflect on all of the learning that has been accomplished in those 100 days.Here is a little glimpse of some of the activities that we like to do in our classroom:Here’s a quick preview of some of the fun we had today!I love to put up door decorations for the kids – theyKathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com64tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-13881152768425269212017-11-18T22:55:00.001-06:002017-11-18T22:55:34.489-06:00Thanksgiving Fun! I started writing this post last week, and then the week got crazy and I forgot all about it! Here are a few fun things that I have done in my Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms over the years.This is a FAVORITE in our classroom! It’s a super fun way to practice those tricky sight words! Click on the image to download for FREE!I LOVE to read these books during the week of Thanksgiving! The Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com191tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-89718573572566722112017-11-04T23:17:00.001-05:002017-11-04T23:17:25.422-05:00Phonics Fun! CVC WordsWhen I was teaching Kindergarten, I spent most of the year teaching CVC words. Now that I am teaching first grade I spend about the first quarter of the year teaching and reviewing CVC words. When the children are more secure on their CVC skills, we move on to blends, then digraphs, and finally vowel teams. I use Words Their Way to differentiate my Word Study groups, and within Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-42611258207819687602017-10-29T19:48:00.001-05:002017-10-29T19:52:40.347-05:00First Grade Stations!Our literacy workstation time is such an important time in our day! Like most teachers, this is the time when I pull small groups for guided reading. The children have to be able to work independently, rotate quickly, all while practicing skills that have been taught whole group. I thought I would give you a quick peek into our Workstation Time so you can see what my kiddos are Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-23160976520918126522017-09-13T20:20:00.001-05:002017-09-13T20:21:44.067-05:00Learning the Alphabet {Part 1}Back when I was teaching Kindergarten, one of my favorite things to teach was the alphabet. I loved the daily routine of practicing letter sounds, letter identification, and letter formation. I strived to find a way to make letter learning fun and interactive.Here are some of my favorites!This letter learning game is from a collection of learning games that I have in my TpT shop. Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-31714525630655369342017-08-26T22:42:00.001-05:002017-08-26T22:42:45.169-05:00Meet the Teacher Night!In our school district, we hold our open house/meet the teacher night before school has started. Families have a time frame of 2 hours to come to school, look around, meet their new teachers and drop off their supplies. I like to make it as quick and easy as possible for them!When I first started teaching, I would have parents fill out ALL the paperwork. I did this for many Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-54825308694282549882017-08-15T12:02:00.001-05:002017-08-15T12:02:23.088-05:00The Old Kid On the BlockWhoa. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’m not going to apologize for the lack of blog posts. Or not posting on Instagram. Or even not making TpT products. I took some time off. A LONG time off. I needed a social media break. This whole blogging thing just got to be too much for me. But, I want to rewind a bit – way back to 2010 when I first Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-91160166988915902692016-03-03T21:54:00.001-06:002016-03-03T21:55:59.882-06:00Have You Heard About This EPIC Tool? If you haven’t signed up for an EPIC account, you need to do it NOW! We have been using EPIC in our first grade classroom all year this year, and the children are OBSESSED! EPIC is subscription based, however, it is FREE to educators! Yes, you heard that right – FREE! I have the app downloaded on our class ipads (I have 6) and the children use it for listening to reading or read toKathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com164tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-26912218706162829692016-02-28T17:45:00.001-06:002016-02-28T18:52:59.000-06:00It’s the Little ThingsSometimes getting kids to do the little things is the hardest, right? They manage to tackle difficult math problems, write amazing stories, and bust out STEM creations like it’s nobody’s business. But, neat writing and punctuation? Man, that’s hard! I wanted to share with you a few things that I use to help my kiddos work on these skills. When I taught Kindergarten I taught Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-86905505846058034962016-02-26T16:55:00.000-06:002016-02-26T17:14:05.366-06:00Favorite March Activities!Since moving up to first grade, I have been absolutely horrible at taking pictures of the day to day action in my classroom! I know I have also neglected this old blog too. So sorry! I wanted to share with you some of my favorite math and literacy centers from when I taught Kindergarten. Some of these could also be used for small group RTI (or MTSS as we now call it Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-40508612243839892442015-11-19T22:59:00.001-06:002015-11-19T22:59:45.027-06:00Gobble! Gobble! It’s Turkey Time!Oh! It’s turkey time already! This year has sure flown by for me!   I have a couple of fun things that I’m planning for our short week next week and thought I would share them with you! I don’t usually do word study during a short week, but I will focus on a sight word review.  I plan on playing this fun game that was a tried and true favorite in Kindergarten!  You can Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-9443440502415895632015-10-07T22:44:00.001-05:002015-10-07T22:44:31.897-05:00Global Read Aloud–#GRA15I am SO incredibly excited to be participating in the Global Read Aloud this year! What is the Global Read Aloud? Watch the founder, Pernille Ripp, explain it below: There are selected chapter books for intermediate and middle/high school students, and picture books for younger students. (BUT – these can also be used with older kids as well!) In our first grade classroom, we will be Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-74748943164755966612015-09-27T12:44:00.001-05:002015-09-27T12:44:30.709-05:00My Favorite Apple ActivitiesI LOVE fall.  We are having an exceptionally warm fall this year, and I am LOVING it!  The trees are slowly changing to beautiful shades of orange, yellow, and red.  The mums are blooming beautifully, and the nights are cool and crisp.  When I taught Kindergarten, I always loved kicking off the year with an apple study.  Our science curriculum in first grade is a bit Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-50364767207071617962015-09-16T21:32:00.001-05:002015-09-16T21:32:37.386-05:00It’s Calendar Time {First Grade Edition} So these little diddy has been a work in progress.  I dabbled with it over the past year teaching first grade, but I didn’t feel confident releasing it until I had spent a whole year in first grade so I could truly get a feel of the scope and sequence of first grade math skills. This summer, I sat down and polished it off.  I think I sat on my duff for a solid week while I got it Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-27312800196226814392015-09-14T22:49:00.001-05:002015-09-14T22:49:07.952-05:002015-2016 Classroom TourThe school year is off to a great start! The children are adjusting well and we are having a blast so far! I am teaching first grade again this year, and I do have to say I LOVE it!  I do love so many things about Kindergarten, but I also love first grade too! This year, I was fortunate enough to be able to open a brand new school! The process has been so FUN, yet SO exhausting.  We Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-5432760304903229692015-08-03T00:01:00.000-05:002015-08-04T19:37:26.624-05:00BTS15–It’s a Sale!!Ah, I can’t believe it’s that time of year already!  We are headed back to school and it’s time for TPT’s biggest sale of the year! I have everything in my store on sale at 20% – use the code BTS15 at checkout for an additional discount!! I’ve been working frantically to get this done for you all: It’s an Interactive Calendar Journal for FIRST grade! (You can also use it in second Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-53739875096825805422015-07-30T11:15:00.001-05:002015-07-30T11:15:47.818-05:00What I’m Reading this Summer and a Fun Linky!I am usually able to get a TON of reading done this summer, but this summer has already gone so fast!  We are vacationing in Norway right now (visiting in-laws), and I’m finally able to get something read!  The first part of my summer was spent working on curriculum for my district, then it was on to Las Vegas for the Dance Awards, and finally we are now in Norway.  When we come Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-73493195704170812922015-07-27T09:25:00.001-05:002015-07-27T10:32:46.195-05:00Writing Center in First GradeA favorite center this year in first grade was our writing center.  My students LOVED to write and they always wanted to sit at this table! The table fit 2 people, but they always tried to squeeze in more :) During Daily 5 Time (or center time), the children had the option to work on whatever genre of writing they chose.  They might write in their journals (our first unit of studyKathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-17097929607033486742015-07-26T06:38:00.001-05:002015-07-26T06:38:28.343-05:00CVC – Getting to It!Waaaay back in Feburary 2013, I blogged about a new CVC Intervention Resource that I put together.  Well, it has taken me TWO years to complete this whole set (which is why I don’t do growing bundles!), but all of the sets are finally done! (just a little update on the covers) I use the activities in this bundle not only for Intervention, but for guided reading activities, center Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-48802526393123867022015-07-14T11:50:00.001-05:002015-07-16T13:50:11.272-05:00It’s All About the Alphabetic PrincipleOkay, wait. Hold up. The alphabetic principle? What’s that? You all know what it is, you just may not say to your student’s “Today we are going to learn about the alphabetic principle.”
The alphabetic principle is made up of the basic understanding of the alphabet and using letter-sound correspondence.
We all teach the alphabetic principle. There are different schools ofKathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-3702654805940234112015-03-16T22:33:00.001-05:002015-03-16T22:42:57.854-05:00Do you Moby Max? We do in my first grade classroom, and let me tell you that I LOVE it.  But, that isn’t all that matters in first grade – the children love it too!  They look forward each day during our math rotations to spend some time on Moby Max. What is Moby Max you ask? MobyMax is an outstanding online resources that offers a free math, language, and reading curriculum for K-8 teachers.  Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-8012645607769890112014-12-06T12:11:00.001-06:002014-12-06T12:11:43.794-06:00Gingerbread ThrowbackThis year in first has been quite an adjustment for me!  I really hope to be back with some new content for you, but for now, here is some fun activities that we did in Kindergarten for Gingerbread week! All of these activities are from my Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice Gingerbread unit.    I am almost finished with my first grade December math centers – I HOPE to Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-8465679461584995262014-11-02T17:31:00.001-06:002014-11-02T17:31:00.829-06:0050th Day of School–Throwback!I know that some of you are approaching your 50th day of school soon! Ours is a little bit later this year because we started school after Labor Day.  Even though I’ve switched grade levels, I still plan on incorporating all of these fun things into our 50th day celebration!! I am so excited!!  I thought I would post a little throwback to last year’s 50th day celebration tonight!  Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4808820508498479724.post-75467923737051707652014-10-12T22:04:00.001-05:002014-10-12T22:04:34.203-05:00Phonics Fun! Short eSomething new for me in my first grade curriculum is spelling tests.  I’m slowly figuring out the best way to practice our spelling words in a way that is meaningful, hands-on and fun for my kiddos. I think I’ve found what works for my kiddos -- So far, so good. Here’s what we do.. Each week we have a new list of words – we are currently working through the short vowels as a review from Kathleenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10364050196576460037noreply@blogger.com1