First Grade Common Core

A few weeks ago I posted about the free Kindergarten Common Core Workbook. I have already used it many times in my classroom and can't wait to teach new concepts to use even more things from it. 

I am very excited to post for all my first grade followers that they are now giving away the First Grade Common Core Workbook for free to you if you follow the directions. You must hurry though because the free giveaway ends Sunday, September 30th!

I looked at the first grade sample and it has amazing things as well. I loved the sentence sheets that students must underline the capital and circle the punctuation. I like the math word problems and counting on activity! I think I am going to use some things from the first grade book with my advanced kinders! 

This is an amazing resource, so if you have a blog head on over and get your free First Grade Common Core copy!

That Horrible Moment When.....

So this weekend I have been crazy busy preparing materials for my math and word work stations. I have printed, laminated, searched blogs for more ideas, downloaded new ideas, and then it happened!

That horrible moment when..............my jump drive(8G) is full! Are you kidding me? I mean, I know that it should be getting full, since I have a TON of stuff on it, but really? Full? Today? 

AAAARRRRRGGGHHH

So I guess I will be purchasing a new one, in the very near future! But then how on earth do you keep up with what is one which jump drive? Oh my! I don't know what to do.

So how many of you have already filled at least one jump drive? And were shocked when you did so!

Have a great week! 

Fall Basket Auction Ideas Needed

So my school is having a Fall Festival in a few weeks. PTA is helping provide ideas for games. I will be doing a fishing game. I am very excited about that part.

I have been involved in basket auctions at my previous achool, but I have never had any baskets that have been a big hit. Teachers will get 60% of the sale of the baskets for their classroom. Therefore I would like to produce at least 2 baskets. I will be asking parents for help, but would like suggestions as to what type of baskets do well. 

 So what kinds of baskets have you had made up that have done well in auctions?

Have a great 1st day of Fall!

Need a Laugh?

So here is the funny of the day!

We were singing and moving to Dr. Jean's Letter Aerobics. We were on the 2nd verse clapping the location of the letters and one of my little girls says. "I didn't know p had a tail", since we had bent down to clap at our feet for p. We finish the verse and I pause the song to discuss what she had said. I ask her "Where does p go?" and without hesitation her response............."in the toilet". 

Yes Mrs. Shelton loses it as does the entire class once they have figured out what she said. When I finally am able to regain control of myself and my class, a little boy figures out my true question and says "it has a tail so it goes underground". We then discuss which letters go where, before we continue with the song. 

Don't you LOVE the answers you get to questions sometimes.

I just had to share.

What Are You Reading Now?

As I am reading tonight and wanting to create a blog post, I decided to combine the two. 

I am reading In Pictures and Words by Katie Wood Ray. 

I first became aware of it when the book study happened this summer, but I didn't get the book ordered till later in summer, so I missed it. I am enjoying it and can't wait to read more, so I guess I will go back to reading. 

So what are you reading?

Kindergarten Common Core

Take 2

So I completely apologize for swiping a post straight from another blogger. I was so excited to have a chance to get the Kindergarten Common Core Workbook for FREE, that I quite honestly didn't completely read the directions. I was really confused about how to write a review for the preview when I thought that I was getting the preview. I didn't realize that when you do the blog post you get the 600+ page book via email! I thought I was getting the preview for free, so I had no idea what to write a small description about because I looked over the specific part that says Download a Small Sample Click here. So I have felt terribly bad all day and decided that I wanted to do a repost with my thoughts on the workbook this time, since I did go back and find the sample and do it the correct way.

So with this being my first year implementing Common Core, I am always on the lookout for new ideas. If you are doing Common Core this is a resource you HAVE TO HAVE in your classroom! It has a wealth of activities and pages to use in your classroom to meet the common core standards. The Workbook retails for $39.99 so if you have a blog you can complete a post just like the one I am doing and get it for FREE. 631 pages of math and literacy activities. 

The book is broken down into each of the common core strands. It gives you a sheet with each standard on it which is perfect if you have to post your standards like I do. 

I love that it includes small stories with a few questions to ask your students. I can't wait to you some of them to challenge my high fliers right now. It includes tons of thinking maps. I love the question cards specific for particular authors: Eric Carle, Mo Willems, Robert Muncsh, Dr. Seuss, etc, 

For math it has plenty of cards to show the different ways to show numbers. Addition and Subtraction problems, games, etc. My favorite is the butterfly positional cards. Students pick a card and tell where the butterfly is in relation to the other object in the picture. 

Scrappin Doodles did the clip art.....need I say more:)

Trust me you will want this!

So please, if you are a kindergarten teacher and you have a blog, go check out the Kindergarten Common Core to get your FREE workbook . CLICK HERE!

Hurry the free giveaway ends September 16th!

Missing in Action

Hello blogging friends! I am surviving at this point. We are 2 weeks into school and everything is going amazingly well! I have 19 kids (11 boys and 8 girls). I have a very excited and eager bunch of kids who mostly know their alphabet already! So as I have tested and found this information out it has made me rethink how I intend on teaching my alphabet this year.

I had planned on doing a letter a day and focusing solely on a single letter each day and basically any and everything we did that day HAD to have something to do with the letter we were studying. The problem with that is I want to do them out of order because I don't think it really matters if you teach A, B, C, or if you go random, M, R, D. As long as you teach them. 

But then I received a newsletter from NellieEdge about learning 26 letters in 20 days! You do multiple letters a day and continually do songs, finger spell the letters, and read the sound card all day! So I am trying to decide on which way I feel more comfortable with more than likely the first.

How do you teach the alphabet?

In other news I have been chosen by my wonderful colleagues to be the K-1 representative for BEP school funds committee AND also found out today I was chosen to be one of the 4 from across the county asked to be on the Kindergarten Response Team. We are suppose to take the new Common Core Standards and produce a VERY needed new report card for kindergarten. The one we use now is extremely outdated and practically useless. The students I retain on the report card look like they know enough to go to first grade. So I was thrilled and actually excited to be chosen to voice my opinion. We will see how well I like it once I get into it. 

Well hopefully I can get in a schedule and will have time to blog more frequently. I am missing reading all the blogs. I feel like I am trying to keep my head above water as we all feel like the first 4-6 weeks of school, until everything gets established.

I do want to share my favorite activity for the beginning of the year. 

I send name homework home and ask parents to talk to their child about how they received their name. I get them to write it down and send it back to school and I let the students share their stories about how they got their name. They love it. I love it. It is truly amazing some of the stories. Of course you have the ones named after family members or because it was just a name mom and dad both liked. Some of my favorite are the ones where a sibling was able to pick a name, or I had one who was named after the queen and she proceeded to share that her sisters where also named after queens. It is just amazing hearing or reading their stories. 

So my challenge to you is ask your student's if they know why they are named what they are and send it for homework. See what unique stories you get.