Reading is “Oh So Sweet!”

Do you have a backpack reading program at your school?  At my school, we allow our students to check out a book every day to bring home.  We encourage parents to spend 15 minutes each night reading to their child. 

This year, I decided I would put a new twist on my backpack reading program – hoping to get more children excited about reading at home!

Introducing the Reading is Sweet Lollipop Tree! I got this idea from my dear friend Michelle of Fabulous in First (we were roomies in Las Vegas, and she is just as sweet as you think she is!)

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I used my lovely Silhouette Cameo to add the vinyl lettering to the pot! 

Here’s how the program works.  Each morning, the children will check out a new book.  They will take it home and have their parents read it to them, and fill in the reading log.  When they return their completed reading log, they get to pick a sucker! Now, some of these suckers have black dots on the ends of the stick. If they are lucky enough to pull out one of those, they get to pick from the treasure box.

(Or maybe I’ll use some of the sweet reward cards that I bought from Laura Martin on TpT.)  You can also get free reward cards from my pal Amy Lemons!

I don’t give out a lot of candy in my room – hardly any at all – really, once in a blue moon.  But, I thought a sucker once a month would be okay – that’s probably how long it will take most families to fill a reading sheet.  Some will fill them up faster, some will fill them up slower.

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If you would like to use my reading log and parent info sheet, just click on one of the images to download.

How do you encourage families to read to their kiddos at home?

I {Heart} a good Sale!

It’s that time of year again! Is your cart full? Mine certainly is! I can’t wait to share with you all the goodies I am planning on buying!

I’ve been working like a maniac (like everyone else!) to get my room ready.  I’ll be sharing some sneak peeks soon! Everything is coming together well.  It’s a nice feeling to almost be done and there is still a week before we go back. Phew.

So, if you have the urge to shop, click on the image below to head over to my little shop. I have lots of great goodies for back to school!

Remember to use that coupon code for the EXTRA 10% off!

Thank you Amy Lemons for making the adorable graphic for the sale!

ABC Come Learn With Me ~ Lakeshore LOVE!

abc come learn with me

Who doesn’t love Lakeshore Learning?  The closest store is about 4 1/2 hours away from me, but I sure stock up when I am there! I also wait for sales like this online…

Buy one, get one 50% off through 8/12/12.

I got this one for being on their mailing list – if you haven’t signed up, do it right away – so you can get the coupon code! (The sale is this weekend!)

Here are a couple of ideas of what you might buy…

Lakeshore Letter Builders

I love these Alphabet Letter Builders to get the kiddos thinking about the different lines that are in each letter.  I have the lowercase set, and they are great for beginning of the year literacy centers.

These games are also SUPER fun!

Pop & Win Letter Sounds Bingo

Pop and Win Letter Sounds Bingo

Those poppers are just SO fun! They have a whole set of games with poppers. After some small group practice the kids will be able to use this in literacy centers as well.

What fun alphabet games are on your Lakeshore wishlist?  OR what do you already own that every teacher needs? Leave a comment below!

I {Heart} My Cameo!

cameo blog hoppin

Raise your hand if you have a Silhouette Cameo?! I LOVE mine!  I actually have BOTH a Silhouette and a Cameo (the bigger version!).

The Silhouette CAMEO® is an electronic cutting tool for personal use. Like a home printer, it plugs into your PC or Mac® with a simple USB cable. However, instead of printing it uses a small blade to cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric and more up to 12" wide and 10 feet long. The machine also boasts a quiet motor and the ability to register and cut printed materials. 

I am a crafter at heart, and when I have the time, I love to get my hands sticky!

I knew I wanted to make a name sign for my classroom, so I loaded up the kids and took off for Michaels.  It’s a good thing that I have very patient kids who love to shop (especially in Michaels!) because it took me a while to find inspiration.

I picked up a wooden plaque, some paint, and some ribbon.  I had plenty of mod podge, brushes, and paper at home.  And vinyl…

I have had some vinyl on my shelves for over a year now, and have been a little afraid to give it a go. 

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I browsed through the Silhouette Store and found a great chevron background. {Did you know that you don’t have to buy ANY cartridges for the Silhouette?}  The download store is HUGE – and most downloads are only 99 cents! I have been able to find everything I need over the past year – spiders, ice cream cones, lollipops, busses, cars… the list is ENDLESS!!

Here is what else is cool – you can you ANY font that you already have on your computer!

I painted my wooden plaque white (a couple of coats), and set to work on Silhouette Studio.  I used my Chevron Background and the ruler tool to mark out the size I needed.

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I inserted my blue vinyl, and the Silhouette did it’s magic!  (Note: You could also use the negative part of the design for a stencil!)

I used Silhouette Transfer Paper to transfer the chevron design to my painted plaque.  Could you imagine moving over each one of those chevron stripes by itself? Ugh.

 

I had a nice frame already in my library so I used that for my background and formatted the lettering.  Cut and stuck on my lettering again! Easy peasy! (I did separate the frame and letters when I cut it since I wanted to use 2 different colors of vinyl).

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I made some sweet ribbon flowers, and I have a beautiful classroom sign! I LOVE it soooo much!!

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So, do you want a Silhouette Cameo now???!!  Is it your lucky day?? You could WIN one!!! Head on over to Blog Hoppin’ to see all the other projects that the Blog Hoppin’ authors have created and link up with your own Cameo craft!

Blog Hoppin

Psst….one more secret….did you know that Silhouette has an educator’s discount?!

Click the link below to find out more!

Stay tuned, I’ve got more Cameo projects to share with you over the coming weeks!

In Pictures and In Words–Ch. 11

 

Can you believe we’ve made it to the end? Thank you for joining us on the journey through this book!  Hope you are glad you followed along with us!

On to chapter 11: Layout and Design

Technique #41: Using Word Layout to Convey Meaning

Do you know Catalina?  Dr. Jean also has a song that you could use with this!  The refrain in this book is super fun and sing-songy.

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Technique #: 42 Size and Color Convey Meaning

Take a look at the red bold letters on the page…what do you notice? It’s an alphabet book!  If he wouldn’t have made the choice to make those letters bold in his illustrations, the reader might not have realized that this is an alphabet book.

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Technique #40: Designing the Placement of Words on the Page

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Bruel used a different font on these two pages spread across two pages.  It appears that the font is coming from the space just outside of the page conveying a different meaning to the reader.

Be sure to stop over at Megan and Kim’s blog for their thoughts on this final chapter!

Remember to comment or link up while you are there for a change to win!

August Calendar Song

Here you go friends! Enjoy!  The end is kind of dorky, but the kids will love it, right?!?!

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I also wanted to share this picture from Debra Truster. She homeschools her children, and made my Daily Calendar Kit magnetic and put it on an oil drip pan! How smart it that?!

It looks adorable too!

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My pieces are all cut and laminated I just need to get into my classroom to get it hung up!

If you’re interested in my Daily Calendar Bundle, click {here!}

In Pictures and In Words–Ch. 10

I’m a little late to this party! It’s been one crazy week! Better late then never, right?!  But, it’s going to be short and sweet!

 

Chapter 10 is all about tone.  How the color, light, and shading in a illustration provoke an emotional response in a reader. 

I’m going to show you an example of the easiest technique (I think!), Technique 32: Crafting Tone with Color

The book The Way I Feel, illustrated by Janan Cain, helps children to learn to express their emotions and understand the way they are feeling.

The colors used in this book evoke strong feelings, and certainly evoke a certain tone for each page.

Can you guess what feeling the colors on each page are expressing?

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{happy}

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{angry}

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{bored}

See, short and sweet.  Head on over to Deanna’s blog to see some other ideas for books for this chapter! 

The Inspired Apple

ABC Come Learn with Me! Environmental Print!

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Raise your hand if you do some fun stuff with environmental print during the year?
Why not combine environmental print and alphabet fun!
Here are a couple of fun ideas I found via Pinterest.
mtsofan 5009170911 in photostream from flickr
It is from a flickr photo stream.  {HERE} is the original source.


 
I LOVE this display!  I tried to do it last year, but it was a bit of a flop!  I couldn’t get my parents to send in any labels! (Tips?!) I think it’s a fantastic time filler while you are waiting at the door.
I whipped up a sheet that your kiddos can do during free choice time or center time to SPY letters.
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My friend and co-worker came up with this awesome idea for the kiddos to use when they are “spying” letters.IMG_4136
All you need to do is die-cut some O’s, attach a little handle to it, and run it through the laminator.  Trim around the outside, but leave the film in the middle of the O.  Brilliant!!  I cut this one on my Silhouette Cameo – I am going to make them in all sorts of colors and make a BIG one for whole group I Spy games! Fun!
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WARNING: Don’t buy these Berry Burst Ice Cream Oreos---they are DANGEROUSLY good!
How do you use environmental print in your classroom?

VersaTiles– Product Review

ETA Hand2Mind recently contacted me and asked if I would take a peek at one of their long-popular products – VersaTiles.  I had heard of VersaTiles before, but I had never had a chance to play with them.  My husband’s company actually did some programming for VersaTiles, and he TRIED to explain what they were to me, but I never really understood.
So, I was excited when they told me they would send a Readiness Starter Kit my way.
I put my 5 year old to work on them…
IMG_3735Here’s what you do…open up the tiles, and place the tiles numbered side up on the lid, and the “open” blue section on top of the answer key.
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The top 8 boxes have the questions…(see the balloons)…So for number one, she needed to figure out the letter that comes next..(D) – she would find the D on the answer key, and place the number 1 tile on it.  See the R there?  She would put the number 8 tile there.  Make sense?
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Boy, was she focused!!  (She did catch her mistake, by the way!)
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After all the tiles were in place, she closed the lid, flipped it over and checked to see if the design matched the one on the page.  
This is a great independent activity, but does take a little time to master.  She was easily confused with the activities with numbers.  However, I do think with continued practice it will be a cinch for her.
I really liked this readiness pack because it had many many skills that kids at the beginning of kindergarten could use such as vowel sounds, rhyming words, beginning and ending sounds, colors and shapes, numbers and counting, and so much more! (You can even make your own activities!)
I would like to purchase a few more of the tile sets so I can use them as a morning center for my kiddos! I know they would LOVE them!
Here’s a video that shows a bit more about Versa Tiles


THIS GIVE AWAY IS NOW CLOSED! THANKS FOR ENTERING!

ETA hand 2 mind would like to give away a Versa Tiles Readiness Starter Set to one lucky follower.
To enter the giveaway...
1) LIKE Growing Kinders on Facebook!
2) Check out ETA's hand 2 mind Facebook page and "like" them.
Please leave only ONE comment for both of these items.  Extra comments will be deleted  :(  (Be sure to leave your e-mail address – if there is no e-mail address, I can’t contact you to send you your prize!)
(Please be honest, and actually do these 2 requirements before you enter, I do not check, but there have been incidences in the past when people don’t follow the contest rules)
The giveaway ends Tuesday night July 31st at midnight. Thanks for entering and good luck!


PLEASE leave your comments on the BLOG, NOT on Facebook. I read them all, but can only count the ones on the blog! Thanks!!

Christmas in July Sale!! Be Quick!

When it is hot and humid outside, sometimes you have to think cold!
So here is the deal:  Seasonal items have been placed on sale for JUST ONE DAY!  Grab some Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter fun!


A huge thank you to Babbling Abby for making this adorable picture!