Hooray! Today was my first 100th day!

Today was 100th day! I was oh so excited.

As promised, I made my Pinterest T-shirts for myself  and Miss M.We looked  cool:)

( If you want to know how to make these shirts, please see my previous 100th day post!)

As you can see, we  also made the 100 strip hats that I had previously blogged about.

So..... because we are half day kindergarten(AM and PM) there was just no way my kiddos could possibly a)cut out 100 strips, AND b)glue/tape them onto a strip of paper, AND c) then create a hat, AND d)still have time for 100th day centers!

However, being the crazy person I am, (and obviously not so great at math) I insisted that we must do these fabulous hats. 

BUT HOW YOU ASK???

Well, I have been cutting strips for the last two weeks. That's 3000 strips(plus two teacher hats).

 The hats were a HUGE success! The kids loved them, I loved them, everyone loved them! The kids felt so special walking around the school. No other grade or class had cool hats like us! It was worth every strip I cut! 

• We also had a wall of 100 items(each child brought 100 things from home to display)

• We did 100 day centers that included the following:

-The kiddos completed a 100 item scavenger hunt(for example 10 crayons, 10 teachers, 10 chairs)...this required them to go outside our classroom. WE even had to go into the teacher's lounge to find those 10 teachers! They loved it!

-They drew and wrote about what they would do with 100 dollars. Then they each received "100 dollars" to take home!(this was a huge success by the way)

 

-They played the dice game "Race to 100"

-They found out how many times they could write their names in 100 seconds, how many jumping jacks in 100 seconds, etc.

• ZERO THE HERO CAME TO VISIT!
• Oh and did I mention our door even looked kinda cool when the kiddos walked in?

We finished the day off with a special treat.....100th day cookies!

I am exhausted! What a day! I am so happy our 100th day fell on a Friday.... I will definitely need two days to recover!

My first Groundhog day!

Thursday I celebrated my very first Groundhog's day as a teacher! It was so much fun! We predicted if the groundhog would see his shadow and then made our own little groundhogs, which I then posted on a class bulletin board(I actually got this idea from Mrs. Lee's Kindergarten blog). 

(Again, I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures... remember I dropped my phone in the toilet so this is my temporary phone with the not so good camera! UGHH!)

 The students chose to hang their groundhogs above either the home that stated, "HE WILL SEE HIS SHADOW" or "HE WILL NOT SEE HIS SHADOW." As you can see, most of my class predicted that the groundhog would not see his shadow!

I pre-cut the parts of the groundhogs for my students ahead of time because we are half day kindergarten(always short on time!) They then glued the pieces together and added their own "flare."  Each one was different!

SO I dropped my phone in the toilet.... and some giveaways I just must mention!

Yesterday started out promising. It as my first Groundhog day and I was SUPER excited. I taught a fabulous lesson(Pinterest inspired of course), I took a ton of pictures for my blog and overall, things were going really well. Good class participation. Good listening.
Then I had to go to the bathroom. I am so embarrassed to admit this, but I actually dropped my phone in the toilet. My DROID phone.
After I had gone to the bathroom.(Let me just tell you that after this happened, the day pretty much went down hill). 
So, now I am stuck with a temporary, ghetto, turn- of- the - century cell phone for the next couple days until my replacement phone arrives. I also am stuck with the residual trauma caused by my NON- HYGIENIC experience. You see, when one's phone drops into the toilet, one instantly reach for it. One does not  think what they are doing.  Because its your phone. (You know, the phone that cost like $200.00 dollars with all the cool "apps," the Words with Friends, the GPS and the Facebook, and my pictures and MY LIFE ON IT.)  Then you realize that maybe you should have probably gotten maybe some rubber gloves before reaching into the bathroom toilet. I think I scrubbed my arm for a good 20 minutes.  I have this thing about germs sometimes(you should have seen me when the class next to us had a LICE outbreak... I was ready to shave my head.)
UGHHHHHH!  Note to self, put phone down before using bathroom!


Anyways, I will be posting my Groundhog pics  but I had to take them today again on my temporary phone which doesn't seem to have that great of a camera. So I apologize.


On a brighter note, I couldn't help but notice the blogs have lit up with giveaways. And you know I love free stuff.

Here are just a few fabulous sites you need to go check out!

1)Busy in Kindergarten is celebrating her 150th follower! She is giving away 3 prizes(to three different winners). Prizes include a teacher bucket, a gift certificate, and custom made cards from an Etsy shop! Ends 2/7

2)Buggy for Second Grade is celebrating 200 followers! She is giving away a magnetic board that is super cute! Check it out and be sure to enter her giveaway too! Ends 2/5

3) Heather's Heart is doing a really awesome giveaway too! She is giving a CD and a custom T-shirt from Sewing Sassy Etsy shop to a lucky winner. Ends 2/10

4)Paste and Pearls is giving away a special TPT Valentine math, literacy and craft unit. Ends 2/5(?)

5)The Resource(ful) Room is having a big give away too! She is giving away a bunch of breast cancer inspired goodies from the pink ribbon line at Kohl's. Items include a bag, a pink scarf, and coffee mug. She is also including an Eric Carle book and stuffed animal for your classroom! Ends 2/5, after the Superbowl

6) Ms. Solano's Kindergarten is having a huge giveaway to celebrate her 40th B-day! Tanya is giving away TWO $50 gift certificates to Erin Condren.com. Check it out.... ends Feb.17th!

Very Hungry Caterpillar Sequencing Lesson

It was 55 degrees and sunny today! I cannot believe the weather lately.  Crazy!


Today in class we created  butterfly life cycle posters based on the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle. This was a great way to discuss story sequencing and get some science in too!

First, we read the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle (Kindergarten is just not complete without a little Eric Carle action, right!)

The students then began their sequencing project!

First we folded a large piece of construction paper into four quadrants(4 stages of the butterfly life cycle) and numbered each quadrant.

1) In quadrant 1, the students drew a caterpillar egg. The students glued a leaf(pre-cut) onto this square and colored a small caterpillar egg onto the leaf, just like in the book.

2) Next, in Quadrant 2, the students drew their very best caterpillars.

3) In quadrant 3, the students made a log and glued a cotton ball onto it, which represented the caterpillar "chrysalis." 

4)Finally, in the last quadrant(4) the students drew fabulous butterflies!

 The finished projects looked awesome! The students took turns retelling their stories to a buddy in the correct sequence.

 

The entire project took approximately 20-30 minutes(for planning purposes). Another successful day in the classroom:)

I've been Tagged

I've been tagged by Shawna from The Picture Book Teacher's Edition 

1. You must post the rules.
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself on the blog post.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.
4. Tag 12 people and link them to your post!
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

12 Fun things about me!

1. Teaching is my second career... my undergrad degree in is Public Relations and Communications! 
2.  Family is a huge part of my life... there is nothing better than spending time with grandma:) Believe it or not, I have 32 cousins on just one side of my family!
3. I am 32. I am divorced. I live with my parents while I'm finishing school. (I know, just slap a huge L on my forehead!)
4. (Continuation from number 3....)Sometimes I feel like such a loser because it seems like everyone else has everything figured out(career, family, kids....) and I am just finishing grad school!
5. I have two dogs(Jack Russells) named Baylee and Josey.
6. I have lost 20 pounds since May! I spinned, zumba'd and bootcamped all last summer! I just started back up and hope to lose another 15-20 pounds by summer.It's not looking so good. LOL (Probably shouldn't have eaten that chocolate cake!)
7. I am addicted to the Real Housewives of.... Beverly Hills, Atlanta, New Jersey,  and OC! I like my reality TV! 
8. My last name is 13 letters. 
9. My mom is from Finland. Her entire side of her family still lives there. 
10. I have just one sister, named Ingrid. She just had a baby(named Evelina) in April!
11. I love the outdoors. My family has a cabin in northern Wisconsin and I try to get up there as much as possible.
12. TJmaxx, Target, Barnes and Noble, and Hobby lobby are my favorite stores:)

Shawna's questions for me.....

1. Are you a reading workshop school or do you teach using a reading series? We use the Harcourt Series

2. What are your school hours? 7:30-3:30. School starts at 8:30.

3. What is your favorite subject to teach? So far I like phonemic awareness the best!

4. What is your favorite picture book to read to your class?  I haven't read too many picture books yet to this class(I just started student teaching) however, I would love to read "The Pout Pout Fish!" It's one of my favorites and kids love it too!

5. Why did you start blogging? I started blogging because I wanted to document my teaching journey. Also, I always see so many good teaching ideas, I figured what a great way to organize my thoughts and collaborate with teachers I'd normally never speak with!

6. How many students do you have in your class? 15 am kindergarten, 15 pm kindergarten

7. What is a typical lunch that you bring to school? Salad, yogurt, snapple

8. Do you watch the presidential debates? not normally. I read the papers. NY times, Tribune.

9. Coffee or tea? Tea! It has to be orange spice with Honey! But then again I do love my non fat, no whip, iced white mocha latte from starbucks:)

10. Who is your favorite Sesame Street character? Why? I have always loved Bert and Ernie. I'm not sure why. Probably because I loved that they were best friends. 

11. Would you rather get roses or daisy's? Roses. There is nothing better than getting flowers when you don't expect it!

12. Salty or sweet? Both? This made me think of those yummy kettle chips called sea salt and vinegar!

Now for 12 blogs to tag.... (hopefully you guys haven't gotten this yet!)

1. Jamie at 2nd Grade Stuff
2. Amy at The Resourceful Room
3. Tammy at Forever in 1st
4. Karen at A little Kinder told me so
5. Lori at Conversations in Literacy
6. Teresa at 2nd grade Pig Pen
7. Melissa at Dilly Dabbles
8. Christine at Hopping into First Grade
9. Kelly at From Kindergarten with Love
10. Diane at Hopelessly Devoted to Teaching
11. Mrs. G at It's Grow Time
12. Mrs. McKown at Little Literacy Learners

And Finally....

The 12 questions for my 12 picks...

1. How long have you been teaching?

2. Has your school ever had anyone famous visit?

3. What is your favorite subject to teach?

4. What did you want to be when you were growing up?

5. Where was the last place you went out to dinner?

6.  Do you work out?

7. Does your school have art class?

8. Coke or Pepsi?

9. Have you ever been to Wisconsin?

10. Driver or passenger?

11.  How many siblings do you have?

12. What is the ratio or male to female teachers at your school?

My first award!

I'll be honest. This morning I woke up feeling let's just say not so good.  I have my first cold from my Kindergarteners and I was just praying to the heavens for strength to get me through the day with a big smile on my face( After all, student teachers CANNOT miss school!) THEN I CHECKED MY EMAIL. I could not believe my eyes! This very blog had received an award!  All my cold symptoms went away instantly. Woohoo! I felt like I won an academy award I was so flipping excited!

The award was given to me by Ms. Shawna Devoe (bless her heart) over at The Picture Book Teacher's Edition.

Her blog is loaded with information on children's literature,  reading strategies, freebies and more. She also has a TPT store that I highly recommend. She is just... awesome:) Thank you so much Shawna. You made my week!

Reading with Monster Fingers?!

Today, as I was sorting through Miss M's goodies,  I came across these awesome monster finger pointers that our class uses during guided reading centers.What a great idea!  Anything to keep the kids engaged and interested!

 

(I of course had to try the monster fingers on!!!!)

Inspired by our monster fingers, I decided to find some other items you could use as props to keep the kiddos interested in reading during centers or to assist in word tracking. Here is what I found:




 From Tunstall's Tidbits blog:

 This tracker is a Popsicle stick with googly eyes!

How about a fake nail on a Popsicle stick?

 "Magic" reading glasses anyone?

From Lesson Plan SOS Blog:
These kiddos put on a fancy headset and they feel like superstars!(Headsets are from WalMart and cost $2.00!)

From Primary Graffiti's Blog:
Encourage students to read to self with whisper phones!(This blog has a very thorough tutorial on how to make your own whisper phones for very little money).

What does your classroom do to keep the kiddos engaged during guided reading?

Tasty Tuesday!

 IT'S TASTY TUESDAY EVERYONE!

Every Tuesday I will feature my favorite  recipe(s)! Now I have to let you know that 1) the recipe may be from Pinterest AND, 2) I can't honestly tell you I have tried every recipe I will post, but the ladies at school like to cook(ALOT). FROM PINTEREST. So I will do my very best to post tried and true recipes.


My first recipe is straight out of my mom's 1970's RED Betty Crocker Cookbook. This is my favorite birthday cake. Well, one of them. I like to eat.
An oldie but a goodie and it tastes DELISH!

BROWNIE MOCHA TORTE

Ingredients:

• 1 package (15 oz.) fudge brownie mix
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I use chocolate chips because I do not like nuts too much)
• 1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon powdered instant coffee or espresso
• Shaved chocolate for garnish

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix brownie mix, water and eggs. Stir in the nuts. Grease and flour 2 8-inch cake pans. Divide the brownie mix evenly in the pans.

2.) Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and let them cool completely on a baking rack.

3.) Chill a big metal bowl and your beaters in the freezer for a while. Pour the whipping cream into the cold bowl and beat with an electric mixer for 2 minutes. Gradually add the brown sugar and powdered coffee. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.

4.) Put one cake down on a serving tray, flattest side down. Top with one cup of the whipped cream frosting. Put the other cake on top of the frosting, so the flattest side is up, and use the rest of the frosting to cover the top and sides of the torte. Grate or shave some dark chocolate over the torte and chill for at least an hour before serving.

Here is my two sense on this recipe... like I said, do chocolate chips rather than nuts. Also, the longer this cake sits chilled the better. This gives the coffee time to "marinate" the whipping cream. This is one of those cakes that tastes even better the second day! So it wouldn't hurt to let the cake chill maybe 3-4 hours, or maybe whip the cream ahead of time and let this sit in the frig for a while before adding this part to your layers. Also, this cake is super rich(Ohhh...yeah) so we serve ours with raspberries and raspberry sauce on the side to just add a little something extra. Because I love berries too.

Enjoy. 

The Green Giant- A Visualizing Lesson

Today we worked on "visualizing" in our class during Language Arts. We used the poem Green Giant by Jack Prelutsky(below). To prepare, I wrote the poem on sentence strips and displayed it where the class could see.

 During the lesson, Miss M. read the poem several times as the class closed their eyes and "visualized" a Green Giant using descriptive clues the poem provided.
After discussing each descriptive piece of the poem, the students had the opportunity to draw their own Green Giants! I cannot believe how awesome these little guys turned out! The students really embraced the idea that everyone's mental image is different and took the time to create unique and independent pieces! We decided to cut the giants out and hang them around our poem for all to see! This was a great lesson!

Compare and Contrast Lesson

I recently came across a great book by Laura Rankin called Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie.

Book information:

Theme: Honesty, friendship, feelings

Reading skills and strategies: Strong thought, cause and effect, sequencing, beginning, middle, end, plot, problem & solution, story elements, connections, characterization, compare & contrast, and leveled questions using Bloom’s.

Genre: Realistic fiction

Vocabulary: Imaginable, treasures, twirling, startled, mumbled, and guilty (I have added “guilty” not because it is a word in the story but because it is a feeling that Ruthie experiences.)

Writing: Letter writing, personal narrative using dialogue, journal entry

Students can use this book to Compare and Contrast 3 ways!

• Characters:Compare Ruthie to Martin
• Student to Characters: Students can compare themselves to Ruthie or Martin
• Book to Book: Students can compare this book to another text

Visit Shawna Devoe's TPT store(click here) For a FREE DOWNLOAD of the following Venn Diagram example and bonus worksheet! This TPT site has some good stuff!!!!!
(P.S. Shawna Devoe has an awesome Blog called The Picture Book Teacher's Edition, which I highly recommend. Did I mention she is giving away a $20.00 Amazon Gift Card right now! Hurry up! The contest ends 1/23/2012!)

To replicate this image, simply go to the TPT site mentioned above and download this plus more, for FREE!