TPT Challenge Week 1-Makeover Madness

I am participating in the TPT challenge that will take place over a four week period with a new challenge each week.  This week the challenge is called Makeover Madness.  This is something I had planned to do this summer with many of my products.  I choose to makeover the Polka Dot and Chalkboard Alphabet Posters.  My classroom theme last year was polka dots and chalkboard and this was one of my first products I created for TPT.  I used this in my classroom this past school year and realized some changes needed to be made to this product.  When it was originally created, the product consisted of 2 alphabet letters on each page.  This was a great size for word walls, but I felt that it would have been nice to have them on a full sized page.  I also noticed that some of the vowel pictures as well as one consonant picture was slightly confusing.  The vowels used the long vowel sounds rather than the short and the letter G had a picture of what should have been a glove, but actually looked like a mitten.  I wanted all the vowels to be uniform in their long vowel or short vowel sounds.  Initially, the sounds that we teach for vowels are short vowels, so it made sense to have all short vowel sounds on the cards.  Also the cover on the initial product was boring, not colorful, had no pictures, and did not accurately describe the product.  

The revamped version contains a bright, colorful, picture filled cover.  It also has two sizes for posters-half sized alphabet and whole page.  There is a preview of the different sized pages available below the cover picture.  This product is on sale for the next four days.  Check out product makeover's from other teachers here.  

Five for Friday

I am once again linking up with DoodleBugs Teaching Five for Friday linky party.  

This has been my first full week home since being on summer break!  It has been great to have a chance to get the house in order and to sleep in my own bed after a week on vacation.  

On Sunday I linked up with hundreds (maybe even thousands) of other TPT sellers for the TPT Seller Challenge hosted by  Third in Hollywood, Sparkling in Second, Teach Create Motivate, and Peppy Zesty Teacherista.  I have loved meeting new teachers via social media and learning new ideas.  One of the first things that this challenged asked us to do was to record our stats at the beginning and again at the end(which will be 4 weeks later).  Here are my stats...

The first challenge was to revamp products to make th more appealing to buyers. This is something I had been planning to do this summer so it was a nice "nudge" to get moving. Check out my before and after pics below.  Hopefully I will have a blogpost up about this today or tomorrow.  This product can be found here in my store.  

This is our first official week being home during summer. We spent last week on vacation. We have gotten the chance to catch up with friends and have play dates. My child has loved playing with all her friends toys that she does not have. 

                                               

My baby got her first haircut Wednesday. She does not like to leave the ponytail on her hair in order to keep it out of her eyes, so it was time for a haircut.

                          

On Wednesday night my phone started displaying messages around 10pm that a church in our downtown area had been the victim of a shooting.  9 people were killed while attending a prayer service that evening.  I still can not grasp the awfulness that took place in such a holy place.  Luckily the shooter has been arrested.  I am proud of the way the people of Charleston came together in this terrible tragedy in prayer vigils.  Please keep the families of the victims in your prayers.  

Teaching with Intention Chapter 3 Book Study

I am once again joining in on the book study, Teaching With Intentions put together by Kindergarten Smorgasboard.  You can find Chapter 1 here and Chapter 2 here if you missed them.  This week host's are Sassy, Savvy, Simple Teaching, Surfing Through Second, and The Learning Chambers.

This chapter talked about Classroom Environment.  One of the key points that Debbie Miller made was that classrooms can always be changed throughout the school year.  I am constantly changing up my classroom in little ways throughout the year.  I generally keep the set up the same as far as furniture from year to year.  This past year I did rearrange some shelfs to make more space for the blocks center and to provide a bigger shelf for students to store their materials on.  I also created signs for centers that hung on ribbon.  This helped me to organize materials more precisely and also helped students know where to go for specific centers.

I like her idea of "clearing the decks" and getting rid of things that we do not need.  I moved schools 3 years ago and still feel that I am throwing random stuff away each year that I discover the previous teacher left.  I am also going through my own teaching materials and getting rid of items that I have not used in a while.  This past year I shifted to using centers more than anything else.  I plan on creating a system to organize them all this summer.  My ideal organization system would have the centers categorized by standards so I can easily meet standards that are presented within our units.

I love the way Debbie Miller closes this chapter "Classroom environments are organic-they grow as we do.  The best of them reflect the hearts and souls of those who inhabit them.  They're never really finished.  They're never really "done".  How could they be, when every day students and teachers learn something new?"  I love this idea of having the environment grow throughout the year to accompany my own needs as well as the students needs.

Check out what other teacher's thought about this chapter by clicking here.  Have a great Wednesday!

Five for Friday

I am joining with Doodle Bugs Teaching again this week to sum up my week in their Five For Friday weekly linky party.  I have had a relaxing first week of summer vacation with my family and our friends in Destin, FL. We rented a cute house just two blocks away from the beach.  Here is a snippet of how we spent our week....

The house we rented had a pool in the backyard.  It has been a wonderful thing with a one year old!  She has enjoyed climbing in and out of the pool, swimming in her floatie, collecting the rocks around the deck and playing with her toys outside of the pool rather than in the actual pool. 

Being two blocks away from the beach was a lot of fun and allowed us to walk there daily.  The baby enjoyed playing in the sand and burying her toys.  She spent a long time building sandcastles with us.  

It rained all morning on Thursday.  After breakfast, we went exploring to see what else was around the area and discovered an outlet mall with a Vera Bradley Outlet Store.  I had heard of these stores but never been to one.  I was so excited to go in there!!!  All of their products were 50% off and some were even 70% off.  Much to my husband's dismay, I left with 2 purses, a wallet, lanyard and 2 pairs of sandals.  

Spending time with our friends was so much fun!  Each night after the baby went to bed we would eat dinner then play games.  Two of our favorite games were Bananagrams and Cards Against Humanity.  Bananagrams was so much fun!  Cards Against Humanity was hysterical and disturbing all at the same time.  

 

The guys went deep sea fishing on Monday morning and caught a huge amount of fish.  We froze several pounds to take back home but also cooked some throughout the week.  It was nice to have such fresh fish.  

I hope that everyone had a great week!  Check out Doodle Bugs Teaching Post to find out what other teachers did this week.  See you next week!

Theresa 

Teaching With Intention Chapter 2 Book Study

I am once again linking up with other teachers in this book study put together by Greg, from Kindergarten Smorgasbord.  This week's chapters are hosted by The Primary Gal, Mrs. Dailey's Classroom and Flying into First.  Check out their blogs to link up and/or see posts that others have linked up.

This chapter made me seriously think about what my vision and beliefs on teaching truly are as well as how they look in the classroom.  The hosts have come up with some great questions that will help to further your thinking and reflection of this chapter.  

I feel that I have always had the same general vision for my classroom: that all children will feel they are in a safe nonjudgmental environment where they can learn at their own pace.  I love the idea of this vision and often reflect on how I can maintain this environment in my classroom on a daily basis.  During this past school year, I created new resources that I eventually began selling on TPT.  While creating these resources, I spent a lot of time gearing them towards where all my students were, which meant differentiation when possible.  My students really thrived this year due to the fact that lessons were truly differentiated for them and were often hands on and engaging.  While I still have ways to improve in this vision I feel like I am on the right track.  

I have to admit, I really struggled with this question. Even though my school year just ended last week, it is difficult for me to reflect what my ideal classroom beliefs would be.  I love how Debbie Miller stated "Whether you're a beginning teacher or a veteran teacher, the time is right to trust yourself and begin the process of defining your beliefs and aligning your practices." While I truly do have beliefs that are shown in my classroom, I need to refine their definition and guidelines.  I appreciate how she suggests collaborating with other teachers by trying new ideas as well as doing research when clearly defining your beliefs.  I hope to reflect on these more while reading other teachers posts about this chapter and to deepen my own beliefs and visions to reflect more personally in my classroom.  

I am looking forward to developing my own personal set of visions and beliefs in my classroom in the next school year.  

Tips to a Kindergarten Teacher, from a Kindergarten Teacher

I was very excited when I discovered this blog post linky party led by Sharing Kindergarten!  There are so many GREAT tips from kindergarten teachers.  These blog posts are excellent for new kindergarten teachers as well as kindergarten teachers who have been teaching for a while.  It is always great to learn new tips and tricks that are successful from other teachers who have already tried them out in their classroom.  

I always have to remind myself at the beginning of the school year that teaching procedures and modeling how I want students to look and act in every situation is KEY to having an organized classroom environment and students who know what to do in all situations.  Some students that I teach have preschool experience while others have never been in a classroom environment.  I have found you can talk and talk and talk about how you want students to line up, sit on the carpet, walk in the hallway etc. but until you make them practice they will never fully understand.  One of the first procedures I teach students is how to sit on the carpet.  I expect them to sit on the carpet with their legs criss-cross and their hands on their lap.  Will they fidget and not always remember to keep their hands on their lap? Sure, and that is ok.  However  if I don't set the expectations the first day of school students will set their own expectations.  I have students practice walking in the room and then sitting on the carpet quietly, going to their tables then going back to their spot on the carpet and sitting properly.  The first two weeks of school are basically spent modeling the behavior and practicing it.  

Planning activities all throughout the year where students are allowed to play is important.  I find it particularly beneficial the first few weeks of school.  There will be plenty of time and opportunities for students to learn all the standards in Kindergarten throughout the year, but they need time each and every day to learn and explore through play.  I made home made play dough from a recipe I found on Pinterest for the students to play with when they first came into the classroom on the first day of school.  It was the best idea ever!  It kept the kids busy while I talked to parents and gave the kids who were having a hard time saying good bye to their parents something to play with instead of being sad.  I also give students opportunities to play in blocks and with various games, these work well throughout the week as well.  Block centers and the games are fun for students and also can be great learning opportunities.  

Movement is SO important for children.  This year I discovered GoNoodle.  We LOVED it!  There are so many fun interactive songs that guide the students in dancing.  It is great for even the most introverted students.  I also love to have the students move around during Word Work Centers in our Daily 5 Reading block.  

There are so many fun lessons that can be done through read a louds and songs.  I have found it is important to plan these kinds of activities for the first couple of weeks of school.  These kinds of activities keep the students engaged and active.  They also give students (and yourself) a chance to learn about each other.  

I hope that these tips have helped you and provided ideas.  

Return to Sharing Kindergartens blogpost to see the tips that other teachers have to offer.   

Five for Friday

I am excited to link up with Doodle Bug Teaching for their Five for Friday Linky Party! This week has been a busy and fulfilling week!

I joined Kindergarten Smorgasboard in his book study on Teaching with Intention this week and posted my first blog post. I am excited to participate in this book study and to learn and grow with other educators.

We reached our 180th day of school yesterday. The kids were so excited to see this number on our day count that is part of our calendar time.

 

To celebrate reaching the 180th day of school my assistant turned on Kids Bop. My kids loved dancing and singing along.

Today I completed my eighth year of teaching. It's always bittersweet to see an empty and bare classroom.

Due to the fact that it is a work day today I have a later start and am able to take this cutie to daycare for her last day before spending the entire summer together. I can not wait to relax and spend my days playing with her.

Check out what other teachers Five for Friday posts at the bottom of Doodle Bugs Teaching Post. 

Teaching with Intention Book Study Chapter One

I am so excited to be joining Greg at Kindergarten Smorgasboard in his book study this summer! This is the first book study I have participated in as far as writing a blogpost for each chapter. I followed along with bloggers last summer on a Daily 5 Book Study where I learned a lot from reading different teacher's blogs. I am excited to participate in this book study and learn along with other educators.

I loved the flow of chapter 1 in this book. It was an easy, quick read and immediately had me imagining what my dream classroom environment looks like. In 2 days, I will be finished with this school year. I always find myself reflecting at the end of the school year how my year went and what I could have done differently. This chapter fits into my reflections because it allowed me to dig deeper by asking me to visualize what ideal classroom looks, sounds, and feels like. Just today, while I was putting away my leveled readers, I realized that I would like to make a book hospital where students can place books that are broken and need to be fixed. I started visualizing this "book hospital" in my head as I finished placing all the books in the proper bin. Debbie Miller talked about how "Two children carefully tape the torn page of a well loved book, another matter of factly fills the stapler." in the third grade classroom that she was observing in. I would LOVE for my students to be able to fix a book with no help from me. I don't know if this is ideal for the beginning of the school year expectations in a Kindergarten classroom, so for now I will stick with my "book hospital" and model for students how to fix a book.

In order not to make this post extremely long. I will stick to the questions that Mrs. Plemon's provided to guide the discussion.

As I stated above, I think the end of a school year always makes teachers reflect and think of ideas to make their classroom better. When I first began this chapter and was asked to envision what my ideal classroom looks, sounds, and feels I immediately thought of a classroom where the students were engaged in learning in small groups, individually and in pairs. Student work hung throughout the room on clothes lines. In my visualization students were engaged in Daily 5 centers. I love teaching reading so I think I always imagine my students engaged in reading activities. My ideal classroom would have a HUGE library filled with lots of fiction and nonfiction books. As well as a decent sized couch, chair and pillows for students to sit or lay on while reading.

In my ideal classroom the students would of course know the routine and be able to function with minimal help from me. I would love for students to lead discussions and learning with each other. It thrills me when I overhear students sharing knowledge with each other like they are experts. I would be working with a small group of students or individually with a student teaching them key concepts. Whole group instruction would of course take place but it would take up minimal time and would be straight to the point teaching towards a specific goal or standard.

My principal encouraged us to implement Reading using Daily 5 centers. Last summer I followed a Daily 5 Book Study where I read along with the chapters each week. Following this book study allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of key components of Daily 5 and brainstorm ideas of how I wanted it to look in my classroom. I feel like I did a good job implementing Word Work Centers, Writing and Listening to Reading Centers. I created engaging and interactive centers for Word Work where students worked individually or in pairs in order to master standards. My students were great writers this year. I feel that this was because we practiced writing daily and students were given lots of example of what good writing looks like through morning messages, modeling of journal entries and sharing their own writing with each other. We used the document camera for students to display their writing and had whole group discussions about what was good in their writing and how it could be improved. Students loved sharing their writing and seeing it displayed on the SmartBoard. Due to the fact that my classroom was a Kindergarten classroom some adaptations had to be made during the Listen to Reading time of Daily 5. Our district subscribed to TumbleBooks, so my students were able to listen to a fluent reader read stories to them where the words were be highlighted. I feel that this helped my students become better readers because they were able to follow along on the computer screen making a one to one connection with the words being read.

I always feel like there is such a long list of things that I could work on in order to better my classroom. Following along with the ideas I listed above. I need to work on obtaining more fiction and nonfiction books in order to build my library. I have found that my boys are always drawn to nonfiction books rather than fiction books. I also need to create a more welcoming library sitting area. I currently have rocking chairs which the students love to read in but in order to make it more comfy feeling I need more pillows form them to sit and lay on.

Thank you for following along and reading my first ever blog post. I hope you gained some insight reading this post and that you will check back in next week for my chapter 2 reflections.