When did January get here?!?

Wowza these last few weeks flew by! I can't really even believe it is January - much less the 2nd week of January.

I really tried to do nothing related to school for my Christmas break - and succeeded until the Saturday before I had to return - yep - rockin New Years here haha.

I was super surprised and excited to see an award when I logged in! How sweet of these ladies - if you haven't visited their blogs - please do - lots of good ideas!











I have posts coming this week with math journals, 3D shapes, etc. but wanted to share some pics of our last week before break - you know - so I can pretend I'm still on break!

Polar Bears are/have/can Chart

Polar Bears Schema/New Learning Chart

Soup for Parent Gifts

Whisks for Parent/Teammate Gifts

Thanks for being a Souper Teammate/Volunteer! Whisking you a Merry Kissmas!

Can't draw for anything!!!

Writing Workshop Board with December themes

Gifts for Students to give Parents - thank you Fran Kramer for the awesome idea!
Kindergarten Crayons

To Make a Grinch Smile we would...

My favorite...invite him to school. :)

The Polar Express is Coming...

Am I the only one that wishes it were coming sooner?

Thought process=if we watch Polar Express then it is the last day before break then break.is.finally.here. My kiddos might be a little stir crazy - so we are just going with the flow in Ketchen's Kindergarten. Ha.

We have an awesome Auditorium where we watch The Polar Express every year on the big screen on the last day of school before break. The kiddos earn pennies (our reward system for this lovely month - can you tell that today may have been a little bit rough?) and must have 20 pennies to buy a ticket to the movie.

We give tickets for following directions, being kind, walking nicely (What? I'm not allowed to bounce down the hallway?), etc. We (enter Scrooge) also take away in the event that not so great choices are being made...

Here is how I'm keeping track this year - the "Pennies for Polar Express" chart. Each child starts with 10 pennies - and I adjust the total throughout the day. I added the number line at the bottom right - and it has helped my kiddos to see how many more they need to get to 20.

Kiddos with more than 20 get a front row seat - whoohoo!

After the movie is over, we come back to the room and have hot chocolate and candy canes. One of my favorite days (not just because it is the last day...)!

Teen Numbers Practice - Gingerbread Style!

Ahhh, one of my favorite topics to teach - mostly because I get to hear so many new number names - including but not limited to:

1-teen
forty-teen
12-teen
11-teen
one-two-teen
thirteen-teen-teen

I guess I'll be happy that they at least have the teen part down!! If anyone has any great ideas, please share. My kiddos always seem to struggle with this set of numbers.

I did pin a few ideas:


Anchor Chart


Teen Number Twister

Since it is Gingerbread Week, I made a Teen Numbers review game. I told the kiddos about it today - and they seemed excited! Hopefully it helps with my gray hair stemming from their number recognition. :)

Enjoy. As always, if you use this game, I'd love to hear about it or see pictures!

Pin It