Spring is Here!


   Ahhh! Finally Spring has officially arrived. I am hoping for more days with some warm sunshine. Some snow may still be  on the ground, but I refuse to let it get me down.  Spring is such a great time to watch students really begin to blossom as they develop all those skills that you have taught them throughout the year. Personally for me, it is especially exciting to watch my kindergartners shine as they begin to read books with several lines of text on each page and write more than one sentence about a given topic using inventive spelling. I've been busy designing some new Spring themed products for my stores that will get my students excited about showing off some of their skills. If you are interested, the best part is that they are all high quality items that are priced $2.00 and under. This is amazing!  Check out the many positive reviews on these products. I have kept them priced low so you can take full advantage of the savings. I also have many Easter products that you may be interested in. 
     Now that most of my students have really started to take off with their writing skills as they  use their knowledge of high frequency words paired up with inventive spelling, they can respond to lots of writing prompts. This week I'll be introducing my new Spring Writing Fun packet as we say "Goodbye to Winter" and "Hello to Spring."
     During literacy center time and RTI, my students will be busy with lots of short vowel practice. Next week, we will be introducing our final short vowel sound which is short u. My last year's class just loved my  "Umbrella and Raindrop Short u Word Sort"  activity in which they sorted raindrops under the correct short u  word family umbrella. They also loved reviewing all their vowel sounds with the "Spring Chickens Short Vowel Sort."
    In math, I can't wait to introduce my latest "Spring Time Addition and Subtraction Number Stories," and review those tricky teen numbers with " Spring Teen Fun."  I've been super busy uploading new products to my stores just in time for spring.  I would love for you to check them out and let me know what you think. This is just a small sampling of some of the Spring products you will see. I hope you can find that special something that will enhance your classroom or lessons you teach.





http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Chickens-Short-Vowel-Sort-Common-Core-RF-K3-569702


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teen-Numbers-Spring-FunPrint-and-Go-1101328  

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Addition-and-Subtraction-Spring-Number-Stories-Word-Problems-KOA1-10A1-1067738

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Umbrella-and-Raindrop-Short-u-Word-Sort-576851


New Year's Sale and Goal Setting Ideas for your students


I want to wish each of you a happy and blessed new year! May your upcoming year be filled with magic and dreams and personal growth. I hope you find good health, happiness and lots of love. To kick off the New Year, I will be having a sale in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. Everything, including my bundle sets will be 20% off. These past few days I have been busy updated a few things and creating more products. You can check out some of my latest creations and this special sale here:  


As I create new products I always keep my own students in mind and work diligently to fulfill their individual needs. I look forward to tomorrow as I can't wait to see their smiling faces and I know they will be eager to share about all their holiday adventures. After a much needed winter break, I hope my class will be eager to come back and show me that they are ready to learn. It is a time to start out fresh and feel invigorated as we set personal goals for ourselves and our students. Starting off the new year is the perfect time to re-establish classroom expectations and procedures. Over the winter break I took a look at some of the data I have collected on each student and I made some changes to my RTI groupings in order to best suite the individual needs of my students. 

The second half of the year with kinders can be exciting as the student's skills really start to take off. Students love showing off their reading skills as they conquer simple text in books all by themselves. As weeks go by, students become more fluent and have a great sense of pride. The kiddos begin to write sentences about a given topic using inventive spelling and their knowledge of the high frequency words introduced. Students are learning many strategies to solve math problems and are beginning to write number sentences to go along with number stories. Keeping all this in mind, during my winter break I did work on creating and updating a few products to continue to strive forward and build upon these skills to enhance student learning. If you are interested you may want to check out my teacher store to see my latest creations.
This is the perfect time of the year for students to start thinking about their own learning and what it is that they need to improve upon. Kinders do need some guidance with this as they start composing goals. They may not have the language skills to put together their ideas on their own. Begin by discussing with students some of the things that they feel that they are really good at and some of the things that they find challenging.



Students need to know that setting goals without a plan is only a dream. They need to be thinking about how they plan on attaining their goals. What types of skills do they need to practice to reach their goal and if they get stuck how can they seek out help?



Teaching youngsters to learn how to set goals is an important lifelong skill that is sure to bring your students some success. You can check out the charts I prepared for the students so they will be able to set goals and track their success.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Goal-Setting-In-Kindergarten-1033431
You will receive charts for the months of September through June to track letter naming, letter naming for upper and lowercase letters, letter sounds, counting objects, writing numbers up to 20 or 30, and high frequency words. You will also receive Goal Met cards to laminate and attach to lanyards so students can proudly let your whole school know that they reached their goal and can ask about it.