Happy Monday Freebie

I LOVE Mondays - during summer vacation...
Don't you? !

I've just finished a cute printable for my classroom and will be offering FREE in my Teachers Pay Teachers Shop until September 1.

If you print it, please follow my shop and/or like the GrowinginPreK Facebook page.  I have over 900 likes...please help me reach 1000.

I have long admired the "In our classroom ..," signs all over Pinterest, but wanted a version that my young students would be able to "read" early in the school year. As much as I love the "we do" phrase in many of these signs, I want to model correct grammar for my ESL learners.

I have included 5 of my classroom rules (We are good listeners; We try our best; We follow directions quickly; We are kind friends; We take turns) and two optional signs:  We pray together and We love books. I also couldn't decide between "In Our Class" or "In Our Classroom," so I included both.

Also, you may need to choose "landscape" when printing this file.  When I printed it without choosing landscape, I ended up with a small version on portrait.

I love to read your comments!

Hugs,
Eilis

Another Dollar Store ABC Center

I have just returned home from a wonderful week in Key West with my husband.  It was a week of firsts for me.  First jet ski ride, first trip on a sea plane... I also got to snorkle, which I love to do!  Can you believe that when my suitcase was ripped badly while checked, Southwest Airlines replaced it with a new suitcase on the spot?!  I have to say that was some pretty amazing customer service!

Back to my new ABC center activity...
I am just crazy enough that I stopped in a a Dollar Tree in Florida to see if they had any different stuff.  I picked up this package of alphabet letters on a train.  Of course, this is intended to hang on a classroom wall. I will be laminating it and cutting the cars apart.  I can use it in a whole group activity where the kids take one letter each and put themselves in the right order.  Later, it will be an abc order puzzle in a center. I may also have the kids put an item that starts with the correct letter on each train car. Simple I know, but it costs a lot less than a commercially made puzzle or printing something similar with color ink...

Hugs,
Eilis

Little Critter Books from Kohl's

I picked up two Little Critters and three of their books at Kohl's yesterday.  They were five dollars each in the current Kohl's Cares for Kids promotion.

This is NOT a sponsored ad.  I was happy to find two more adorable "reading buddies" for my plush character collection.  I was also happy to add these  lift the flap hard covers of classic children's stories. Love that the wolf is hiding under the blanket until you pull back the flap. The characters and wording of these fun adaptations make these books less "scary" than some versions.

There were also plush versions of the wolf and a bear (to go along with a Little Critters Bed Time Story Book) but as you can see... I do have some self-control.

Hugs,

Eilis

Dollar Store Day

If it's July, it must be time to start haunting the dollar store for classroom bargains....

Here's what I found at the Dollar Tree today.  (Target, if you are listening....please load up my local Dollar Spot with classroom goodies soon....)

A pack of 20 foam circles (about 6 inches).  I wrote the numbers 1-20 on them in Sharpie marker.  I will pass them out to students to put the numbers in order (as a whole group activity).  I will also have the kids put the specified number of manipulatives on each circle in a math center.

Five (one dollar each) frog bath mitts for acting out Five Green Speckled Frogs at the beginning of the school year. Who can resist those grins?

I have walked by these foam puzzles before, but plan to put the letters in a bag and have kids pull them out of the bag and place them in the frame as a beginning of the year ABC center.  The kids could color this oldie but goodie printable from GrowinginPreK.com for accountability (and fine motor skills).  Click HERE for the free printable:

The original post is HERE

And... happy dance to find lots of the primary lined journals with room for pictures for a dollar each!

Last but not least... These plastic flip top jars were two for a dollar.  I think they will do double duty.  I will use them to hold smelly items for science during a Five Senses unit.  The kids will also count items in them for a beginning of the year math activity.  I need to stop thinking about it or I will go back for more than I have already bought!

Have you found any great bargains yet this summer?

Hugs,

Eilis

Harry and Rosemary Wong

Yesterday, I had the good fortune to attend a conference by Harry and Rosemary Wong.  I was familiar with their classic The First Days of School, but not their new book, The Classroom Management Book.

 This is an affiliate link to Amazon.com

We were given a copy of the book as part of the conference registration.  It may look a little dull on the outside.... but it is engaging, practical, and full of good resources. There are loads of photos from real classrooms. The Wongs were inspired to create this book by Sarah Jondahl.  Sarah is a teacher who had a very successful first year after writing a detailed classroom management plan for herself.  Basically, the Wongs reminded me that whether you are new to teaching or have done it for years, you should have a carefully prepared plan for the first weeks of school.  A major point that the Wongs emphasized yesterday was the importance of modeling every school procedure for students so the classroom will run smoothly for the rest of the school year.

I did not have this opportunity last year, since I came into an existing kindergarten class in January. I tried to leave as many of the previous teacher's routines in place as possible, not wanting to disrupt the students any more than I had to.  Fortunately, her style and my style were pretty comparable.  Still, I am looking forward to "starting from scratch" this year.  I will be referring to this book often.  It even has 40 QR codes that you can use to "visit" amazing teachers and resources.  The conference and book have even reminded me of little things I used to do at the beginning of school that I had forgotten about over time.  That is a great reason to make myself a first day of school script (as they recommend).

Hugs,
Eilis

Student Rekenreks

Happy dance.....I have been looking for a frame to make my student rekenreks on. I wanted something sturdy, that I wouldn't have to drill, without sharp corners, kid proof, etc.

Target came through again!  I found these sand toys in the summer section for 99 cents each. They stack. They have handles. They come in fun colors (blue, green, orange, and pink).  Does it get any better? Well, I guess if they'd been on sale that would have been better. But I'm still as happy as a teacher on summer vacation!

Hugs,

Eilis

Soccer Odd and Even Number Freebie

Do your students love soccer as much as mine do?  I hope they will enjoy this fun freebie. You can download it at my TPT store.
Two players take turns pulling the numbered soccer balls from a bag.  If the player needs the number, he places it on his mat.  If he does not need the number, he returns it to the bag and his turn is over.  The winner is the first player to fill all five spaces on his mat. There are also game mats without numbers for children who already know which numbers are odd/even. This could also be made into a file folder type activity for independent practice.

The cute clipart is by Kate Hadfield.

I am working on more soccer themed activities, so please follow me here, on TPT, or on Facebook for updates.

Happy Summer,

Eilis