Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

Go Puzzlers!

We are working so hard to learn teen numbers! I'm trying really hard to focus on the understanding behind everything -which isn't easy, but definitely worthwhile!

With teen numbers, we are breaking down the number into tens and ones, counting that many objects, drawing that many objects and matching objects to numbers. My class has been playing "Can you Catch Me?" - a freebie that you can grab by clicking on the picture below. This helps with number recognition.

To continue learning about numbers, we learned how to play "Puzzler". 

Don't be jealous of my creative game names...haha.

Puzzler is simple - give each student a piece of a puzzle. Have students study their piece (we did it quietly - and didn't tell other people what we had). The object is to find your match and complete the puzzle. Once completed, students display their puzzles.

We displayed ours on a cookie sheet - I added magnets to the back of the cards so they could use cookie sheets but also so we can use these puzzles in calendar. We only did numbers 1-5 - mostly so they could practice the procedures for Puzzler. :)

Want to check out the puzzle pack? Click the pic below. Each number (1-20) has a 4-piece puzzle.

Little Red Hen!

Last week we had a great time reading different stories about the Little Red Hen (or chicken or turkey or rooster...depending on the day!). 

My kiddos were really upset with the dog, cat and mouse in Paul Galdone's story. They were so mad that the animals were mean to the LRH! Love it!

It led to some great discussions about the character's feelings and emotions - yeah for making connections throughout the text!

We are working on building comprehension skills
and prediction was our focus last week.

We predicted what would happen after the hen took the pizza out of the oven.
Would she share or not? Would she drop the pizza? Would she make another one?

It was fairly split down the middle of sharing/not sharing.

Some were very creative.

When we finished up last week, we voted for our favorite story! I didn't get a picture of the ballots we used - but I just put a quick copy of the three covers on a small piece of paper. They were so excited to vote!

 This is one of my favorite stories to read - and there are so many good versions.

Tricky Teens

We are in the dreaded teen number phase! Okay, it hasn't been so bad. My kiddos are doing fairly well with teen numbers - especially identifying them.

::Teacher yells "Yeahhhhhhhh!!!!!"::

My team and I always start teaching teen numbers around the last week of November - so we carry the lessons right up through Christmas Break.

Today we worked on the number 16. During our small group mini-lesson, we practiced writing the number, drawing tally marks, and filling in a ten frame. We then drew 16 Christmas Lights on the whiteboard and labeled them when we were finished drawing.

Bonus: If you call them bulbs, the kiddos love it. Mine were so excited to say the "funny" word bulb...haha!

For individual practice, each student drew their own set of Christmas lights - complete with 16 bulbs! I love how easy it is to differentiate this activity. I had kiddos drawing 10 frames and tally marks - just to practice.

::Teacher yells again "Yeahhhhhhhh!!!!!"::

Here are some pics of our drawings:

This activity hits two Common Core standards:


K.CC.3: Write numbers from 0 to 20. Represent a number of objects with a written numeral 0-20 (with 0 representing a count of no objects)


K.CC.5: Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1–20, count out that many objects.

December Math Journals

I'm so excited to hear from all of you about Math Journals. I receive so many emails and positive comments in my TPT store. It's encouraging and uplifting. :) So thank you!!!

When I started doing them last November, I honestly had no idea how my kiddos would do. Problem solving is a difficult skill to master - let alone teach to Kinders!

Even with all that said - I cannot tell you how impressed I've been with my students. This is my second year using Math Journals - and both classes showed tremendous growth in both number sense and problem solving skills. Yeahhhh!!

It's not always easy to find an extra 10 minutes to fit these in. Time is precious to us during our hectic and busy days. I encourage you to try and find this time somewhere though - and guarantee it will pay off in the end.

12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop

On the first day of Christmas, my bloggy friends gave to me...

A 12 Day Blog Hop! 

This 12 day hop is full of all kinds of goodies, so be sure to visit all of the different blogs featured each day. These are a group of fabulous bloggers and people that bring so much to the "teaching table"!

It's our way of saying Happy Holidays and thanks for being such great blog friends.

Day 1:

26 Picture Cards and Letter Cards are included in this freebie.
Grab yours by clicking on the picture above.

Hop on over to Time 4 Kindergarten to pick up more Day 1 Freebies!

              

Time4Kindergarten	Ketchen's Kindergarten	Sharing Kindergarten	Rainbows Within Reach
Joy of Kindergarten	Mrs. Hoffer's Spot

InLinkz.com

Cyber Monday - Get Your Game Face On!

Graphic by Ashley Hughes

Get your game face on people. Black Friday has nothing on Cyber Monday and Tuesday at TPT. Load up your cart now - the big sale goes on November 26 and 27. Many sellers are having sales on top of the 10 percent off that TPT is giving itself. 

Simply enter "cmt12" when you checkout to save some moolah!

I uploaded a new December Math Stations Pack. 10 Common Core Aligned centers perfect for December!

What's in your cart? Here's a peek at mine:

Clipart from Ashley Hughes

DeeDee Wills Poetry Stations Pack

Kathleen Pederson's Calendar Pack

This isn't all...I just keep adding to that wishlist! 

What's on your wishlist? Load up your cart now. 

No waiting in line or having to push people out of your way to get a bargain. 

(Witnessed this on Black Friday. True story.) 

Bad, Bad Blog Author

Ugh! I feel terrible that I’ve been neglecting my poor little bloggy. October came and went – and now we are 4 days into November! Wowza.

I’m trying to be better about writing – but it doesn’t always happen. Life happens. Then you realize it’s be forever and a day since you posted. Anyways.

I updated November Math Journals – so they align with Common Core and wanted to share. I receive so many emails and comments about these – and it really is fabulous that so many people (and kiddos) benefit.

Still have some kiddos that need help with letter recognition? Check out my Letters Mega Pack Freebie. It’s a throwback. From 2011. Ha.

Happy November Bloggy Peeps. I promise I’ll attempt to write more often…

Slow down October!

October is my favorite month - but I'm sad that it flies by soooo quickly! We have Parent Teacher Conferences, Quarter 2 Transition, Assessments, and I'm sure a bazillion other things to do that make this month cray cray. Right?!?

I haven't been able to post as much as I like - mostly because the life a teacher leads is insane hectic and it becomes hard to make time for everything. Ugh. 

Here's a quick freebie for you - October Find it Fast. If you haven't read my previous post, check it out here. It will explain the directions/how to set up Find It Fast games. 

http://ketchenskindergarten.blogspot.com/2012/09/find-it-fast.html 

Like these but don't need letters? I added a version that can be EDITED to my TPT store!!! You can select any skill that you are working on and program the template to fit your needs. 

Interested in that product? Click on over. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Find-it-Fast-October-Themed-Customizeable-Product

Front, Back, Side to Side

We are working hard at learning all of the concepts of print! My kiddos are doing really well (which is good since I feel like we've been talking about it for years!) with all of it - and are actually applying what they have learned when they partner share about reading books.

These anchor charts aren't anything new - but I've made one for the past 3 years and they really do help. Last year, we did Eric Carle's VHC. Please excuse my hand drawn illustration (can't draw for the life of me). 

This year, I decided to go with one of our favorite books for the theme. I made it a tad bit snazzier too - since I'm all about fonts and digi paper backgrounds at the moment! 

I think it's really important to use a book kids are familiar with. 

We've read Chicka Chicka at least 10 times this year (sometimes it feels more like 100 times haha!).

I found a copy of the cover online and printed it out. 

 I also found a picture of the inside and printed it out. 

I have the pieces for the anchor chart in the file below - click the pic to grab your copy!

October - My Favorite Month!

I love the month of October - seriously. December comes in at a close 2nd. October is just so fall-y. Pumpkins, leaves, hoodies, fires, etc. Love.it.! 

Part of me can't believe it's October already (well technically tomorrow). We are moving right along at school - but my kiddos are having trouble with letter and number recognition. 

Not picking up as fast as I'd like - but I know they will. How are your kiddos doing this year?

October Math Journals are ready - I love getting emails about them. You all are super sweet. :) 

I've been working on my October Math Activities too - and have a pack up in my TPT store if you need some activities to add to your math stations.

Are you a font junkie like me? If so, please check out Nicole over at Rowdy in Room 300. She has some to die for fonts - can you tell I am obsessed with the one above?!?

http://rowdyinroom300.blogspot.com/p/fonts.html

Find It Fast!

I am forever trying to think of cutsie titles that will work for our classroom activities. I think I finally found one that I like and will use for all of these types of activities!! Yeah for thinking on the weekend right?!?

These games are pocket chart games - and review just about any skill you can think of. I make them around a theme and then we review the skill that we need the most (right now it's number recognition). 

For this month, it's the Johnny Appleseed edition! The idea behind these games is that you hide an object and students have to identify whatever is on the cards before they can check for the hidden object.
Nothing new - but a great review game. 

This works in whole group, small group and even centers. I've put these at my pocket chart center before and my kiddos love hiding their eyes while their partner hides the object. 

Want to grab your freebie? Click the pic below! Enjoy!

Kindergarten Common Core

Remember that one time that the states switched to Common Core and you were super prepared? All of your activities, vocabulary cards, lesson plans and more were printed, laminated and really you were just waiting for the kids to show up? 

Yeah? Me neither. Ha. CC is here - and I have a feeling it's here to stay! If you are familiar with them, you know how much of an undertaking it is to try and get a grasp on both the standards and the activities required. 

Think.no.more. (Well, maybe a little! We are teachers. Do our brains ever shut off?)

Kindergarten Common Core

Have you seen this baby? It's the CC book that you need!

Reasons: 

1. It's 600+ pages. What an incredible resource!

2. It is not just worksheets - 

there are activities, prompt cards, picture cards that can be used in games and centers and more!

3. It includes both Math and ELA standards. 

How awesome to have both subjects together right at your fingertips!

Get a jump on CC now - check it out!