You can snag the freebie brain break cards from Jennifer by clicking below….
When taking a little survey on my facebook it was brought up about me explaining what I’ve been up to in writing thus far and I need to do that SO bad. Just like I mentioned above I like to come back and read this “diary” to know what worked and what I need to try over. Writing has actually been FUN and exciting time in our classroom. As a building we transitioned to Lucy Calkins writing units and I have really found an excitement for them. I promise to explain more in detail on writing SOON! However, I just had to share this brain-ac idea I came up with. Well, because the kiddos are not yet writing their dates I was spending precious time during writing to place the date on their papers as I was conferencing. So, for September I said no more and typed the dated in! This has saved me a lot of time and the kids think that it is pretty cool too 😛
If you would like to try these out in your classroom as well you can grab this September freebie below! Not sure if I will still need this in October, but if I do I will pass it along to you as well!
How about a little discussion on KinderPhonics! Whoop! Whoop! Here are my little darlings watching the introduction to the Leap Frog Letter Factory!
I believe I mentioned it during my classroom tour…I purchased a DVD for each kiddo in my classroom to use at home! I placed a little note on the dvd for parents to know they could keep the dvd as long as needed and then to return it once their kiddo has mastered their letter names and sounds!
Letter Bb day! I have really emphasized the difference between rainbow WRITING and coloring! We’ve got it down now and know that we use our crayons at the top and pencils at the bottom. That darn teacher has so many rules 😉
One of my favorite things about KinderPhonics is the dedication to handwriting! I know that I stunk at this in the past, but this year we are going to be pros!
Also, the word on the street is Unit Two is straight off the press! You can check out Unit Two and snag it for 20% off through Sunday evening!
I also posed a question on facebook regarding a need for a home/school connection piece to KinderPhonics! I received an overwhelming YES that there is a need for parents to connect with their kiddos on the phonics instruction. I am working on getting this piece added. It has just posed a few hiccups when it comes to now knowing what letters you will be covering in your classroom at a certain time. I am hoping to make it generic enough to work for all!
A quick little blurb about number sense! I have an extensive posts that I will link to below…but people there are my two favorite current number sense routines! An organic number line and dot card match up! We just had the best math “talk” on Friday using the dot card match up routine!
Friday was also our first day to meet Zero the Hero! We had a blast meeting him and he just might have brought us a zero-shaped piece of sweetness..trust me I really don’t feed my kids sweet stuff everyday hhah!! This adorable little guy and the below mentioned “craft” is from Crystal’s Zero the Hero packet!


Also, while you are there, be sure to check out what the other Freebie-ladies are giving away. Be prepared for some AMAZING prizes. Take a peek at some of them below!
Thank you for posting your weekly peeks. I am really enjoying them. I have been implementing your whole group guided reading, KinderPhonics and Close Reading, so it is really helpful to see how you integrate it all and what your daily schedule looks like. I don't see a time for science and social studies on your daily schedule. Do you have a time for that? We have lots of hands-on experiments that we have to do and I'm having a hard time trying to fit everything it, especially when you add library, computer, recess, etc.
Hi there Shauna! In my schedule we don't dedicate a certain amount of time each day to science/social studies. However, we have integrated science and social studies into our close reads! I just didn't want to do "busy" work and call it science/social studies….it sounds like you are doing fun and engaging activities that are worth that special time! 🙂
Tara
I so wish we worked together! Your ideas are fabulous!! I wish I had a self-contained class so I could do so many of your wonderful lessons with my class. We have a strict schedule that we follow as we rotate classes and I never have enough time to get to everything I want to do. We also have a 45 minute block for science/social studies, and I have to follow the other teacher's plans for that time as we sometimes combine our classes. Thanks for sharing your plans.
I love reading about what u r doing in your classroom. Thanks for taking the time to share it all.
Thank you for a fabulous giveaway! You ladies are amazing and your blog is so stinking cute!! Thank you for sharing all your creativity with us!
Melissa
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