What Worked Well Wednesday with Kinder Tribe



I'm joining in with Kelly from My Fabulous Class to our first "What Worked Well Wednesday"  Linky Party. 

I am excited to share something that worked well for me last year and I can't wait to implement it into my classroom this year!  

Have you tried Interactive Notebooks in your classroom? I gave it try last year with my Kindergartners and it was a  HUGE SUCCESS.  Interactive Notebooks is a fantastic, fun way for students to learn and interact with new information as well as a great way to practice and review skills introduced. By adding an interactive feature, learning becomes more meaningful and will spark interest. This type of learning involves so much more than just simply listening to the teacher and then filling out boring worksheets. Keeping interactive notebooks in the classroom helps kids to be more responsible and take an active part in their learning. Unlike worksheets that go home and often don't ever get looked at again, interactive notebooks stay in the classroom as students work in them to build upon and review skills. It is also great for all those paras and incoming teachers that come into the classroom because they will have a better sense as to what topics you are learning about and what needs to be reviewed and taught. 




Interactive Notebooks provide a way for students to think and plan and use their creative side while they write, draw,color, cut, and glue. You can use different interactive notebooks in so many ways in all subject areas at any grade level. You may think that all this cutting and and gluing might be a little scary especially for the little ones. However, if you plan things out right while thinking about where your students are developmentally and let the students work at their own pace, it can be done!  

When creating my interactive notebooks for kindergarten, I thought about being sure that my activities did not require a lot of complex cutting skills. I made sure that there was not any complex folding or the notebook did not contain too many flaps. I also thought about not having lots of lose pieces that can easily become lost. I've seen some really cool interactive notebooks with pockets to keep pieces in, however I think that this may cause a problem with little ones, as pieces will just fall out and get lost. If you teach kindergarten, then you know how upset students can get if they lose something. They can cry so easily. 

So far, I've created five interactive notebooks.  Last year I introduced my Alphabet Notebook and Number Sense Notebooks to my students. Students used them in small groups during either literacy center time or RTI time. At first, you need to slowly show students where to cut and fold. My interactive notebooks are very simple and easy for students as they are asked  to cut only on the dotted lines and fold on the solid lines. After they fold, there is a large enough area for students to paste down in order to make simple flaps. lt is so important to provide an example of what your expectations are before the kids get started. Once they get the hang of it, they can work more independently. Once they finish a page, they can work on the next one until literacy or RTI time is over. "NO MORE, I'M DONE, NOW WHAT DO I DO NEXT." I love interactive notebooks because it keeps students busy in a meaningful way while you are able to give your attention to other students who may be struggling. You also get a chance to run a small group for guided reading or RTI instruction. My groups are never more than four or five students to keep things manageable.








https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Alphabet-Interactive-Notebook-Fun-1370942

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Number-Sense-Interactive-Notebook-Fun-1377018

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teen-Number-Sense-Interactive-Notebook-Fun-1968062

This spring and summer I've worked hard on creating Interactive Notebooks for Kindergarten Literacy and Science. In these notebooks, I've tried to be creative and include many things that students need to know by the end of kindergarten.I worked very hard these past few days putting these together and I can't wait to share them with you and the students in my classroom. I plan on making more Interactive Notebooks and continue to update them as needed. 

Please check out some other great tips on "What Worked Well"by clicking here.





My Best Back To School Tip


I've teamed up with the latest #littlefishteacher Blogger Linkup hosted by Hanging Around in Primary  and Pop Into Primary to bring you some fabulous Back to School Tips. 

        With back to school right around the corner for many of us, we are all looking for ways to keep our parents well informed. Communication with your parents is vital to the success of your students. A great way to do this is to put together your own website. I started one a couple of years ago and it was much easier than what I thought it would be. Parents can use our classroom website as a learning tool, a source of information, and a way to stay connected. Yes, as teachers we all stay connected with notes, logs, newsletters, emails, phone calls and conferences but by creating a website can also bring a whole new level of communication to your parents.


     I used Weebly to get started. It is free and very user friendly. You can have your site up in no time. Several teachers across the country have found success using Weebly.  There are several other sites to help you get started but I thought Weebly was pretty easy to navigate through with tutorials that can easily get you started. You can post all those newsletters that you send home, classroom rules, word lists, and so much more. One of the  benefits of having a website is that you can post direct links to helpful educational websites or video clips for your students.  I do usually give a hard copy of my monthly newsletters to my students but they do sometimes get lost. Now, parents can simply log in and check on important information that they might have missed. There is no excuse for students claiming they do not know the classroom rules when they are posted on the site. You can post lots of helpful hints for parents on your site and not worry about wasting massive amounts of paper. I even set up a separate Pinterest account just for my classroom. This set of boards has tons of video clips that are categorized to help support learning at home. Parents have access to this special Pinterest account through my Weebly Website simply by clicking on the P which is a direct link to these special boards. You could also post some photographs of your students busy at work in class. Parents would love to see what they are doing. I even posted an end of the year slideshow I put together on Movie Maker and posted it to my sight. My parents were ecstatic as they were overjoyed to see their child and the friendships they made throughout the year. Be sure to clear it with my principal and make sure you have permission from all my parents through the photo and internet forms that were sent home. 

      At the beginning of the year, it is helpful to send a questionnaire to your parents and be sure that they have access to the internet. This way you will know which students need a hard copy of certain documents. If it is really important, I would definitely send home a hard copy to your entire class.

     You may already have lots of older newsletters and documents that you send home and just tweak each year to accommodate the needs of your students and classroom already saved on your computer. Simply copy and paste your documents from Microsoft Word or wherever you store them and add to your site. It is really that simple. You can easily fancy things up with some clip art and you have a professional looking website. Do you have a classroom website? I would love to check it out. Here is a link to my website:http://mrsfrazierskinders.weebly.com/  My website is quite extensive as you will see lots of tabs across the top. I especially love my literacy tabs with built in word lists for each vowel sound, high frequency word lists and more.   

      ****Be sure to check it our soon as I will need to many of the postings down for the start of the new year. The best part about Weebly is that you can hide certain tabs and tweak them as needed from year to year. Now that my website is up and running, I only need to tweak just a little from year to year.      

If you are thinking about starting one, I hope this site can inspire you with some ideas. I am hoping to check out some of  your classroom websites and find some new fresh ideas as well. Please leave a comment with links to your site or if you found this post helpful to you.  


Now head over to Hanging Around in Primary or Pop Into Primary to see what other tips have been shared!



 

All About This Kinder Teacher


Today I am linking up with the ladies from Kinder Tribe to share all about this Kinder teacher.  

Here are a few fun facts you may not know about me. 


This is going to be my 15th year of teaching kindergarten. Prior to this I have taught 3rd grade for one year and PreK for about six years.  I just LOVE teaching Kindergarten. It marks an important milestone in a child's life as they enter the primary grades. I am proud of being part of that journey as I help navigate students into a life long commitment of learning. 

    Each day I begin with a fresh cup of coffee. My absolute favorite is Dunkin Donuts. { other brands are just too bitter}  I love spending time on my laptop and not a day does not go by in which I spend some time on Pinterest. I admit that I am an addict. There is just so  many cool things out there. I need to get better at setting a timer so I just don't get lost with clicking in and out of different ideas that I find. 

Each morning I leave the house with my utility tote bag from Thirty-One. It has eight outside pockets and plenty of space for storing my laptop and all my school gear. I have a black and white poka dot one. This print is no longer available but there are plenty of other really nice looking prints. I also have a lunch bag from them as well. I just love the high quality of these bags. You can find them here. 
I love anything CRAYOLA and I find that using FAT pencils and crayons work best with Kinders. They don't break as easily and the kiddos have a better grip when just learning to write and color. Ticonderoga pencils are way better than the cheaper pencils. They seem to sharpen better and don't get eaten by the pencil sharpener. 

"Have You Filled a Bucket Today?"
You will love this book. The book describes how everyone has an invisible bucket. And throughout the day, things that you and other people do will either fill their bucket, or dip from their bucket.Students learn the importance of treating others with care and respect and they begin to realize that being a bucket filler makes the world a happier place and they will feel good about themselves. You can grab this book from Amazon here.

I look forward to hopping through many kindergarten blogs and making new connections with Kindergarten Teachers. 

The most rewarding thing ever is watching students progress throughout the year and the HUGE smiles on their faces makes it all worth while.

I hope you hop on over to Kinder Tribe and link up with us for this fun linky. I can't wait to learn more about you as well. Please be sure to follow this blog
and leave a comment. I will be happy to follow you back.  

INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOKS IN KINDERGARTEN



Kindergarten Interactive Notebook Literacy 
Have you tried Interactive Notebooks in your classroom? I gave it try last year with my Kindergartners and it was a HUGE SUCCESS. Interactive Notebooks is a fantastic, fun way for students to learn and interact with new information as well as a great way to practice and review skills introduced. By adding an interactive feature, learning becomes more meaningful and will spark interest. This type of learning involves so much more than just simply listening to the teacher and then filling out boring worksheets. Keeping interactive notebooks in the classroom helps kids to be more responsible and take an active part in their learning. Unlike worksheets that go home and often don't ever get looked at again, interactive notebooks stay in the classroom as students work in them to build upon and review skills. It is also great for all those paras and incoming teachers that come into the classroom because they will have a better sense as to what topics you are learning about and what needs to be reviewed and taught. 


Interactive Notebooks provide a way for students to think and plan and use their creative side while they write, draw, color, cut, and glue. You can use different interactive notebooks in so many ways in all subject areas at any grade level. You may think that all this cutting and and gluing might be a little scary especially for the little ones. However, if you plan things out right while thinking about where your students are developmentally and let the students work at their own pace, it can be done!  



When creating my interactive notebooks for kindergarten, I thought about being sure that my activities did not require a lot of complex cutting skills. I made sure that there was not any complex folding or the notebook did not contain too many flaps. I also thought about not having lots of lose pieces that can easily become lost. I've seen some really cool interactive notebooks with pockets to keep pieces in, however I think that this may cause a problem with little ones, as pieces will just fall out and get lost. If you teach kindergarten, then you know how upset students can get if they lose something. They can cry so easily. 



So far, I've created five interactive notebooks. Last year I introduced my Alphabet Notebook and Number Sense Notebooks to my students. Students used them in small groups during either literacy center time or RTI time. At first, you need to slowly show students where to cut and fold. My interactive notebooks are very simple and easy for students as they are asked to cut only on the dotted lines and fold on the solid lines. After they fold, there is a large enough area for students to paste down in order to make simple flaps. lt is so important to provide an example of what your expectations are before the kids get started. Once they get the hang of it, they can work more independently. Once they finish a page, they can work on the next one until literacy or RTI time is over. "NO MORE, I'M DONE, NOW WHAT DO I DO NEXT."  I love interactive notebooks because it keeps students busy in a meaningful way while you are able to give your attention to other students who may be struggling. You also get a chance to run a small group for guided reading or RTI instruction. My groups are never more than four or five students to keep things manageable.





https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Alphabet-Interactive-Notebook-Fun-1370942

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Number-Sense-Interactive-Notebook-Fun-1377018

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teen-Number-Sense-Interactive-Notebook-Fun-1968062

This spring and summer I've worked hard on creating Interactive Notebooks for Kindergarten Literacy and Science. In these notebooks, I've tried to be creative and include many things that students need to know by the end of kindergarten.I worked very hard these past few days putting these together and I can't wait to share them with you and the students in my classroom. I plan on making more Interactive Notebooks and continue to update them as needed.  
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Literacy-Interactive-Notebook-1968891

Smile~ Kids will love pretending to take pictures and learn short vowel words.




Smile~ Check out these camera sliders to learn about short vowels. I was just going through my camera role and as I was looking through pictures of some of the fun activities we did this year, this particular activity really stuck out.  My students loved practicing short vowel sounds while inserting film through these mini cameras. This activity was a BIG HIT in my class and each time we worked on a new vowel sound, the students would ask if they could make a mini camera to go along with it.  In the late fall, my kindergartners begin to blend with the short a sound. The first vowel sound is always the hardest as the kids just need to get experience with blending. We then start working on short i for a few more weeks and by the end of the winter we move on to short o. In the early spring, we work on short e and u. I have found that it is important to take lots of time with each vowel sound especially at the beginning.  By the end of kindergarten, most students should be easily reading and writing CVC words. By the end of the spring, I am introducing long vowels only to those students who I think are ready for more of a challenge.  To make it easy to organize and find the vowel sound you are looking for, I've designed it so each camera has two color coded strips to match which include 16 short vowel words. In a small group, I like to use the color version as we practice the vowel sound. There is also a complete set of the cameras in a black and white version for students to make their own cameras to practice and take home. This product includes a camera with mixed vowel practice. This set includes 96 words in all. Students will simply pull the strip through the lens hole and read the short vowel words. Included in this packet are 14 recording sheets. Two for each vowel, two mixed short vowel sounds and one last page to include writing sentences using the words that the students have learned. You can choose which worksheets work best with your students and differentiate instruction as needed. Here is an example of what one of the recording sheets looks like after the students put together these fun cameras. 



When I create products with using different vowel patterns, I like to color code them to make it easier for both the teacher and the student to store. You can check out my Short Vowel Flash Cards. 

 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Short-Vowel-FlashcardsColor-Coded-for-Each-Vowel-1046161


How do you introduce vowels to your students? Do you teach vowels in this order (a,i,o,e,u) along with several consonants in between. How do you find success with teaching kids to blend? Do you have a fun activity that your students are really excited about when you teach vowels that you would like to share.  I'd love to hear from you. 

I've linked up with some other great K-2 teachers at   http://primaryinspiration.blogspot.com/ Check out this linky party going on to see some other fabulous products. 





Great app to help keep you organized for Back to School Shopping

     
    Do you do a lot of shopping for your classroom before the beginning of the school year? Does your school reimburse you for some of your purchases? Do you have trouble finding all those receipts you need when preparing your taxes? If you are like me you probably have receipts all over the place and have difficulty finding them when you need them. I  just discovered a great app that scans your receipts and keeps them organized. This is perfect for tax season. Here is a link to the free app called Expensify  This app is also helpful in tracking time or mileage, creates business reports and can help you with making travel plans.  

Fabulous Time in Las Vegas!


I'm linking up with the Elementary Entourage to tell you about our trip to fabulous LasVegas. This was my first time in Vegas and my experience was nothing but spectacular. When my husband and I  arrived after a six hour flight we were tired and eager to check in at our hotel. We stayed at the Palazzo. At check in we were informed that they mistakenly overbooked and did not have the room available so the attendant graciously upgraded our room to a Sienna Suite. WOWZA!! The room was amazing. What a great way to celebrate your 25th Wedding Anniversary!  





The next morning I attended the conference and met up with some amazing teachers at morning kindergarten. grade level gatherings.This was my first time at the TPT conference and I was so impressed by entire experience. I was able to meet so many fabulous teachers from all over the country and was also able to meet up with a few teachers from New England. I had enough nerve to introduce myself to Deanna Jump and was able to take a picture with her. This was one of the big highlights of my trip.
  
At the conference I met up with some of the fabulous girls from the Primary Pack. I entered their contest on line and met up with many teachers at Primary Pack Blogger Meet Up. There were so many teachers at the Bourbon Room and I enjoyed spending time meeting up with teachers and enjoying conversations.  I couldn't believe it when they actually called out my name as a prize winner. Oh My Gosh! I won prize #4 which contained an amazing teacher planner by Jayne Teach, a $25.00 gift card to Easy Teaching Tools, a $25.00 gift card to Creative Playground (I just love Cara's Clip Art) and and adorable bracelet from Hardcore Teacher.!! A BIG SHOUT OUT to this amazing giveaway and all those who donated fabulous prizes. I am ecstatic.


 The conference was so informative and I learned so many valuable ways to help me create products, expand my networking and many awesome marketing tips. The presenters at the conference were awesome as they were willing to share so many of their secrets on how to become successful. This would never happen in any other industry. My husband and I celebrated our 25th Anniversary in style as we explored many nice restaurants on the Vegas strip. While I was at the conference my husband got a chance to attend the NBA Summer League and meet up with an old friend of his. He even won some money playing poker. How many of  us can say that we left with more money than what we started with and stay in a luxurious hotel that you can only dream of.  Amazing things really do happen in Vegas!  


Check out the following link to see how other teachers enjoyed the conference and what they experienced and learned. VIVA Las Vegas Linky Party. 

Las Vegas~Here I Come!

      I'm going to Vegas! It will be my first time going to Vegas. I'm not big on gambling but I can't wait to see all the glamour and glitz of this buzzing city with endless entertainment possibilities.  I decided to surprise my husband for our 25th Anniversary. Can you believe it ~25 years. It will be my husband's first time visiting the west coast. In fact, we have not left the East Coast since we have been married. We don't get a chance to get away often. Especially since we were busy raising our three boys. Two of my boys are now in college and the bills can be astronomical. Teachers Pay Teachers has helped me with some of these bills.
      During my visit I plan on attending the Teachers Pay Teachers Conference to learn how to create products for my classroom and my store. I can't wait to meet up with some of these amazing teachers whom I've admired. They have inspired me in so many ways and have helped to spark some of my own creativity. This summer I plan on creating more high quality  products for my store and being well prepared for the upcoming school year. I am hoping that some of these products will save you precious time and engage your students in hands on activities that will help master their skills.