Saturday, August 30, 2014

Stations and Rules: Will we EVER get there?

Whew! I always forget how exhausting the back to school season is! We have been super busy the past couple of weeks learning new stations and working HARD on following the rules. It has been very difficult for some of us, but we'll get there! 
Here are a few of the things that we have been working on the past couple of weeks:

Name Writing


Learning how to use play dough BEFORE it is put into a station

We LOVE Starfall.com!

Have you tried Hot Dots yet? If not you should! Check them out here.



We are loving DeeDee Wills' Writing Work Stations!


Stamping our letters and names


Building letters and sight words with play dough

Focus letters and vocabulary 

 I love how she lined up her buttons!
counting, counting, counting

LOVE the number word watches from The Moffatt Girls

more shape people from Primary Press



To wrap up our week and our discussion of "talent", we created a self-portrait and wrote about our talent. Sorry but I forgot to snap a picture of one that was completely finished....I'll post about these again with better pictures. :)

Hope you enjoyed seeing what we have been up to!
 Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!


Friday, August 15, 2014

Squares of Blue & Red Circles too! Welcome to the first FULL week of school!

First full week is in the books! 
WOW! Just WOW!
My class this year is going to keep me on my toes! So far I have 18 darling kinders. Eleven boys and seven girls. Yes, you read that right - ELEVEN BOYS and seven girls!
WOW! Just WOW!

OK now that I have that out of my system.....here is a look at some of the things that we accomplished this week!


Our Name Buses from Deanna Jump's Name Unit


We painted red circles and listed things that are red.
{We also painted blue squares and listed things that are blue, but I forgot to take pictures.}

We learned these four "super words" from our Three Little Pigs Close Read from Tara West (LOVE LOVE LOVE her!).
We then chose our favorite word and illustrated its meaning on our pigs. (Notice the blue fire and blue dollars.)

We also worked on these "popcorn words". I was very impressed with how fast my kinders caught on to these words and were able to use them in sentences. One activity that they really seemed to enjoy was "Sentence Mix-Up". I would call four students up to the front of the room and give each one a card - either one of the sight word cards seen above or a picture card. They would then have to place themselves in the correct order for the sentence to make sense. They LOVED it! 


We learned about circles and squares by using Vickie Plant's You Better Shape Up! Unit. 
My kinders LOVED making the shape people!

We wrapped up our week by reading Square Cat by Elizabeth Schoonmaker. You can find a copy of it here. We did our own version of some of the activities that you can find on First Grade Blue Skies.
I thought our cats turned out SUPER CUTE! Whatcha think?

Let me just say that we (I) would not have made it through this first week without Deanna Jump's All Set? You Bet! pack! We used the Jukebox section AT LEAST three times a day to help us (them) get our (their) wiggles out. It was (and will continue to be) my sanity-saver. To check it out for yourself, you can click 

We had so much fun this week! I can't wait to see what next week holds as we dive into numbers, counting, and letter formation!

How did your first FULL week go? I would love to hear about some of the things that you did, so please leave a comment!


.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's off to WORK I go!

Well the day has finally arrived. The day I have to leave my darling three year old and precious almost 4 month old to return to the teaching trenches. :(  

Yes, I am sad
Yes, I know that I am blessed to have a job. 
Yes, I am excited to meet my new little darlings tomorrow night.
Yes, I know that the BACK TO SCHOOL Sale starts TODAY on TPT

Can I get a WAHOOO???  

WAHOOOO!!!

I know I have been adding things to my wishlist like CRAZY! Have you? Hope so! I hope that at least one of your items is from my store. ;) 
Lucky for you, I am feeling very generous today. If you purchase something from my store during the sale,  just send me your receipt and I will give you any item of equal or lesser value for free! 
Call me crazy...it must be the PD! Happy shopping!

Link to my store: Daisy Days for Learning


Sunday, August 3, 2014

Facebook Fan Giveaway!

So we did it! My facebook page has surpassed my goal of 100 followers! Yippee!!!!! To celebrate I am giving away a $10 TPT gift certificate just in time for the BIG SALE. All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter below. I will announce the winner Tuesday! Tell your friends and good luck!


Saturday, August 2, 2014

OGAP Training, the Bead Number Line, and a FREEBIE!

Number lines. We've all seen them. We've all used them. We all probably have at least one in our classrooms. I know I do. I have three! There are all different types of number lines that you can use.
traditional number lines

 number paths

 ten frames number lines (I guess that is what you would call them)

 All are GREAT resources to have in your classroom because there are SO many things that you can do with each one. Adding, subtracting, number identification, patterns, the list goes on and on!

This summer I attended OGAP training. OGAP is an acronym for On-Going Assessment Project. It is a project that began in Vermont and is making its way around the United States. All is it in a nutshell is a way to use formative assessment in the classroom effectively. (For more information on OGAP you can click {here}.

While at the training this summer, I learned about a new type of number line: the bead number line. 

I had heard about the bead number line previously from AMSTI training but wasn't sold on the idea until this summer when I saw everything that it can be used for. It is a MUST HAVE for any elementary grade! It is a great hands-on tool that can be easily accessible to students. It can be as long or as short as you want/need. The one that we made at the training had 100 beads. Depending on your standards though, you could do more or less. The first grade teachers that were at the training discussed putting 120 beads on their number lines because of the first grade standard of counting to 120. Great idea, right?

My thought for using this type of number line in my classroom this year is to start off with 20 beads. I want my students to become comfortable with using the bead number line without becoming overwhelmed with 100 beads. Even with only 20 beads on the line, there is so much that you can do! Here are a few ideas:
1. Have students practice one-to-one correspondence by simply counting the beads
2. Have students find the distance between two numbers (EX: Find 7. Now find 16.What is the distance between the two numbers?)
3. Skip counting (5's, 2's)
4. Compare numbers
The possibilities are endless!
Once my students are comfortable with using the 20 beads, I will increase the bead line by 10 beads until we reach 100 beads. I CAN'T wait to start using this with my new kinders!

Want to make your own?
All you need are different colored pony beads and a shoelace!

Now to make a bead number line:

The first thing that you do is tie a knot at one end of the shoe lace.


Next, begin stringing the beads, 10 at a time, alternating colors.


Once you have the number of beads that you want for your number line (20, 100, 120, etc), tie a knot at the opposite end.

After you have built your number line, you have the option of dividing your line into groups of five by simply coloring the end of every 5th bead with a black sharpie. (This step is optional, but it really makes the number more user-friendly.)


Now you have a bead number line! 


A clothespin may be used to help manipulate the number line. For example, if you were wanted your students to find the distance between two number, a clothespin could be used to mark the location of the first number.



Now because you have stuck with reading this somewhat lengthy post, I have for you a Bead Number Line FREEBIE!
Click on the picture to download the Bead Number Line Task Cards. This FREE pack includes 56 different tasks that you can use to help build number sense in your students! 


I hope that you enjoyed learning about the bead number line and will consider using it with YOUR students!