What we have been up to (photo dump)

So I have meant to do blog posts on each of these events, but every time I found time to my camera card was at school, not home, or I even lost my camera at one point. But all is good now and I have time while the oldest is at dance and the youngest is actually playing by herself:) So here goes: Enjoy!

So this is the bulletin board I created after my evaluated observation. We had been studying numbers 6 and 7, prior to my observation and it was right before Halloween. So I decided to do a ways to make 8 with a spider. The students had to show eight different ways to make an eight and record it on one of the 8 legs. They loved it and I scored well on my observation, so it was a win/win. 

Here are a few closer looks at their creations.

Here is a picture of the last minute poster we finished the day before they were due. It was for Fall Festival and during report card testing, so I really didn't want to do it. But came up with this super cute idea and the kids did a great job with it. We won a pizza party from it!

This is a picture of my daughter who is in another kindergarten class. They dressed up as nursery rhyme characters and she was the little old woman who lived in a shoe.

Here is what happens when you send your daughter to the classroom and a chart is on the easel. She writes a message. 

 The turkey jumped with a thump. The banana fell with a thump. REd! (yelling she says) blue! yellow!

We turned out housekeeping area into a Restaurant complete with a Thanksgiving Special. We worked together to sound out the items for our menu then each student had to illustrate an item. They enjoyed working the tables after it was up!

We are currently working on changing it to a candy shop to go with our gingerbread we are studying now!

These last pics are posters my wonderful art teacher drew for us. I have implemented Marsha over at A Differentiated Kindergarten's Ball lists to encourage students to learn their dolch words. I have been super impressed by how well they have done. We have only been working on them since the middle of October and they are doing great. I have 13 out of 19 who have already mastered baseball words the 1st list. They mastered Top Banana a letter recognition incentive the week before Thanksgiving and earned a banana split party which they LOVED! 

They are so eager to learn the words. I have them placed on rings on one of my bookcases and have to tell them to quieten down because they play while they practice and get so excited they become very loud. 

So that's it for now! 

~Heather~

Currently

I can't believe it's December already. I am teaming up with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for this months Currently.

We had our city Christmas parade today and the weather was amazing. It was in the middle 60's and extremely nice. My girls got more candy today at the parade than they received at Halloween. Something is wrong with that picture. Needless to say hubby's coworkers will love it because we pick out a few pieces of candy for the girls and he gets to take the rest to work and share! Therefore no nap for the 2 yr old and now very whiny and tired. Bedtime in the very near future.

LOVING: My hubby and I were able to pay off my student loans this past month and his truck. I am one very happy girl. We now only have utility bills and a house payment! 

Wanting: I would love to get more organized at school. Every time I try, it just doesn't work. I hope to work some over Christmas break to get closer to where I want to be.

Needing: I need to go away for a weekend! We didn't go anywhere this summer, so it has been since last October that we traveled anywhere. I don't care where, just out of my little old town for a weekend.

RAK: The hubby and I have talked about doing this for some time. The next time we are out at a nice place to eat, we want to pick a table and pay for their meal. Pay it forward. 

Don't forget the rule of 3! And be on the lookout for bloggers from the same state. I love meeting new TN bloggers. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

~Heather~

A look at what I am buying....

So I don't have a TPT store, and honestly don't intend on it. I dabble making creations for my classroom, but my theory is that I would rather pay for things others have made, than take the time to create myself. I honestly don't see how many of you do it! But I am happy you do!

So I am joining Shuna over at Pocket Full of Kinders for a fun linky just in time for Cyber Monday and Tuesday. My wishlist has 43 items. I would love to get them all, but here are what I am looking at right now.

 Chit Chat Morning Message Set 1: Aligned to Common Core. By Deanna Jump

 Writing Through the Year Unit 1: Deanna Jump and Deedee Wills

 Blasting Off with Reader's Workshop: Kim Adsit and Michele Scannell

 Powerful Partnerships Reader's Workshop: Kim Adsit and Michele Scannell

 Kindergarten Common Core ELA Pacing Guide Checklist: Marsha McGuire

 Kindergarten Common Core Math Pacing Guide Checklist: Marsha McGuire

 RTI: 125 CBM's for Progress Monitoring Foundational Literacy Interventins: Jennifer Jones

I am also looking into the Chit Chat Set 2, Writing Unit 2 & 3, and Reader's Workshop 3,4 & 5. I am worried about purchasing all of them at once and them not being what I am looking for. The reviews are amazing as I would except from these amazing teachers!

So if you have any of these, can you please let me know your thoughts on them? 

~Heather~

The Reading Corner

I have a fellow teacher and blogger who absolutely loves The Reading Corner blog. She has told me numerous times about it and that I need to follow it, but I always forget and never have UNTIL now! Funny thing her blog is The Reading Corner, but she does  a ton of math things and she is having a math giveaway. Renee shares a lot of ideas for Daily 5 Math, which I am very interested in going back through her posts and learning more. She has only been blogging 6 months, so if you don't follow her you need to. She is a grade 1 teacher from Canada!

Here is a pic of her giveaway click on the picture to take you to her blog. You can follow her for a chance to win a copy OR better yet, blog about her and she is going to send it to you for FREE!!!!!!!

So I am heading back over to check out her previous posts. Come join me! 

~Heather~

Wordless Wednesday

Math Journals

I am super excited....well.....maybe.... that I was asked to be one of the presenters at the UETCM or Upper East Tennessee Council of Mathematics meeting coming up on Monday, November 12th @ our local high school. Each county in the area gets to host the meeting one month a year. I was part of the team who presented last year and loved it and was honored to be asked to do it again this year. 

Last year my coworker and another kindergarten friend in the county did the K-2 group and we presented on math stations. I enjoyed it because in the process we made new things to implement into our stations and the people who attended seemed to enjoy it. They were not familiar with Math Stations so it was good.

This year, my kindergarten coworker who did it with me last year is doing it again and so is my 1st grade friend who blogs over at First Grade Rocks! I am super excited to hear her part because she is showing us an introduction to Daily 5 Math. She loves it and honestly I have no clue what it is except that the sisters started it and they are wonderful so it has to be good! I am eager to learn about her part. 

My kinder friend is going to share some new ideas on math stations that we didn't cover last year.

And now on to me...... I am going to share about math journals. I LOVE them. I don't know what I did prior to using math journals and math stations in the morning while my kiddos are coming to class. 

I use the notebooks that I have had cut in half because we don't need a whole sheet of paper for a little math journal. I purchased Deedee Wills's Math journal prompt bundle while it was on sale a few months ago and absolutely love it. Click on the picture below, sorry it is blurry to check it out on TPT.

All I do is print out the prompts at the beginning of each month. Cut the strips and put each sheet of prompts into a baggie and each morning, place the strips into a cup beside the journals and read the prompt. The students them illustrate the problem and have an answer. 

My kiddos are already doing addition and subtraction and we haven't really talked about it in class. You can review any topic you have covered in class and it takes all of about 5 min. 

So I am just curious what do you do for math journals and if you were to come to my presentation, what would you want to know about them?

Thanks!

November Currently

I can't believe it's November already. We have already celebrated the 50th day of school, and with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner it will be January before we know it. Anyways I have sadly been neglecting my little blog with so much other things I have needed to do. My goal is to post at least once a week. Start small and maybe I can do it. I have loads of things to post, but no time to do it. So here is to November.

So we get a fall break super late. But at least we get one. We needed it about 3 weeks ago.

I love Cades Cove. It's just past Gatlinburg, TN in the Smokey Mountains. I went all the time when I was a kid and am hoping to start taking my girls more frequently. You drive through and see deer and sometimes bear, and all kinds of other animals. There are numerous hiking trails and old cabins. It's a really nice place to get away to for a few hours. If you ever get the chance go!

I earned Rising Star in the Visalus company, so now I need to help the people under me help get more people to join the Visalus Challenge. We are helping people get healthy one person at a time. Whether they want to lose weight, gain energy, get more lean muscle, or just to eat healthy for a cheaper price. I love the shakes! 

Skyfm is an online radio station type thing. It has all kinds and genre's of music. I love to put it on during class, and when I am alone in class I can listen to my country and not have to fight my radio to find a signal.

So What are you currently up to? Hop on over to Farley's blog and link up!