Getting to Know My Kiddos

My first two weeks  month is over and we have had a wonderful time getting to know each other. (wow it has been weeks since I started this draft and have not visited since.)Yikes - I wish I had a funny quip to explain myself!. I have been extremely busy - as you all have - but I am glad to be back posting.

One of my class' favorite books this year is Press Here by Herve Tullet

This book is full of surprises. As you follow the instructions pressing, tapping, blowing, and clapping the yellow dot changes colors, multiplies, and grows.

We have read this book so often in my class it is getting worn.

As a compliment to this book I wrote two interactive books: Tickle  Monkey and Building Jack.

Both books require the reader to press, tickle, blow kisses, rub, stretch, clap, tilt, and shake the book.

Click here to get your Tickle Monkey book.

How do you build a jack-o-lantern? By pinching, swiping, clapping, and shaking the book among others.

Click here to get your Building Jack book.

I hope you all are enjoying your year so far.

PS I still haven't thought of anything clever.

First Week down.

Wow my first full week of school is over and I am exhausted. So glad to have 2 days to regroup and relax. 

I just have to ask my whole two followers out there... am I the only preschool teacher who feels totally inadequate at the end of the first week? No matter how much I tell myself and intellectually understand that my class at the beginning of the year is NOTHING like my class at the end of the year I always forget how large that difference is. I did remember to take it slow, do lots of modelling, do lots of modelling again and laugh a lot but those small (feels like huge) behavior problems just knock me for a loop. I know it will all get better - it will won't it? :-)

Another reason for my exhaustion is the week prior to school we had our all school inservices. I was totally honored to be asked to give a full day inservice on Literacy and Math workstations for our preschool teachers. I worked so hard preparing all the workstations and my 6 hour session and then was so nervous I almost made myself sick. I was so relieved when it was over and all my friends/co-teachers enjoyed it and were totally excited to get a stack of workstations and my interactive big books ready to go for Monday morning. 
Also during the summer I did a book study of Debbie Diller's book: Math Stations. One of the best ideas I got from the book was using assessment cards for quick and easy assessment. Debbie uses index cards, adds the children's names to the bottom and then arranges them on a clipboard. This is a picture I got off Pinterest that shows an example:

I made some of my own and pre-programmed them with upper and lower case letters so it will be easy to mark each child's progress.

To celebrate the success of my workshop and the end of the first week of school I am offering an assessment pack with two easy and fun-to-play games for you all! It contains literacy assessment cards (cards have upper and lower case letters as well as letters to mark for sound knowledge with space for comments), math assessment cards (numbers 1-20 on each card with space for comments) PLUS 2 games that can be adapted to any objective! This pack fulfills several CCS. Click here for yours.

Hope to hear from someone...........anyone.... 

Back To School

Hi all,
I have been gone from the blog world for a long time I know but I have been so busy (just like the rest of you) decorating my room (and recovering from a ton odf dental work but that's another bloggin' story). I also gave my preschool a day long inservice with make and takes and plenty of ready to go workstations. The inservice was well received and all my fellow teachers taught me things by sharing their ideas. It was a wonderful day.
In celebration of the successful inservice I am offering Pete The Cat's Colorful Shoes Pocket Chart Game. Scroll down to see more on this fun game.

Here are some pics of my room. Our themes is Pete the Cat.

Our bulletin board which will hold their art work throughout the year. I love the buttons which I hot glued to clothespins to hold their papers.

This is my "We Know All About Numbers" chart. I have the 10 frame and tally part covered for now. We will do this part of the chart later as we learn about 10 frame and tally marks.

It doesn't show to well in this picture but I also made a Pete The Cat job helper chart. Pete says, "Helping is groovy!"

These hearts will hold all our weekly Bible verses as we learn them. Stickers are put on the front of each heart as they recite the verse at week's end.

This game was previously named Pete the Cats Colorful Shoes. Same great game- just new name

This fun game can be used with your preschool class to help them learn and review their colors. Ten colors and the repetitive poem make this a fun game for all. It is also an easy assessment tool for you! The game was meant to be played on a pocket chart but can be just as easily used on a flannel board.

Click here to get your game.

I wish you all a wonderful first day and successful year! Happy Teaching!

GOLF PANTS COLOR SCHEME

Well we officially start school next week but I went into my room today to start setting up. Of course I started with putting paper on my walls. I actually love putting up paper although I don't know why since I am level challenged and I am always having to take out a staple and readjust. That is until last year when my assistant suggested I use push pins to position the paper until it's just right, or in my skewed vision straight enough, and then go crazy with the stapler.
I went with a dark blue and yellow paper scheme. My class is the Bears so on two of my walls I used the colorful bear paws border. Then I guess I was bored with bear paws so I went digging into my large tub full of borders and found a red polka dot border that I thought would rock with the yellow paper and red polka dot letters I have (this is going to be my word wall.) I was having a great time - singing and dancing while I subconsciously congratulated myself on being a designer of the Martha Stewart kind. Oh yea - it's a good thing!
 I was very excited when I finished and was loving the bright colors. That is until I left the room to get some supplies and walked back into the disaster. What happened to my (in my mind only) awesome color scheme? And how did red polka dot border turn into hot pink polka dot border? I swear I heard a thump similar to what Martha sounds like when she faints. Yea, Martha, your job is secure.
Here is my wall. Check it out while you can because tomorrow I have an emergency appointment at the teacher supply store for some new border.
Any suggestions?

Worse than golf pants (no offense, Tiger)

I'll post more pics tomorrow. Ya know, before and after. 

Have any of you ever hated your color scheme? Please post and tell me about it.

Happy decorating!

Birthday Rocks

Birthday Rocks

Ha ha I just read that title and thought, yea birthdays sure do rock! But I didn't mean that kind of rock- I meant this kind:

For the past 2 years I have given these out as birthday presents to my students. My daughter used these rocks as part of her centerpieces at her reception and I have tons in the garage. Great way to reuse them and I probably have enough till retirement.

All you need are smooth floral rocks (for those of you that are garage-full-of-rocks impaired you can buy a bag for $1 at Dollar Tree), some stickers (these are scrapbook stickers), mod podge and sealant.

I use my thin permanent marker to write "Love, Mrs. Drake and Ms. Lisa" on the back of each rock.

Then place a sticker or two on each rock.

Mod Podge both sides and spray with sealant. 

I have to admit this is very little effort for big time return. My kids LOVE getting to choose their birthday rock and use it as weapons on their friends lovingly save it to show their mom.

If you decide to make some of these send me some pics! I would love to see yours.

Leave me a comment below on how you celebrate your students birthdays.

Pete The Cat

I bet you all are just like me and my class and just love Pete the Cat and all his adventures. 

Last year for teacher appreciation, one of my awesome talented parents painted a rockin' Pete the Cat and his shoes for our door display. 

Too cute!

My assistant and I decided to save Pete and use him as the main decoration to this year's room. We wanted our classroom theme to be Pete the Cat. But in shopping for bulletin board, borders, and other classroom decorations there are none!

So I decided to make some Pete the Cat bulletin board borders! And I'm happy to share them with you all! You can download the pattern for the shoes, buttons, and shoes and buttons at the end of the instructions.

Completed Border

First gather your supplies: print off the border, your choice of commercial border (I choose this border because it had a center that I could add my border to and the black and white fit my classroom color scheme), scissors, and glue. There are 3 printed borders to choose from: shoes, buttons and combo of shoes and buttons.

Carefully cut out the printed strips along the bold lines. It takes one sheet of printed border per commercial border.

Glue the cut our printed border to the commercial border.

I carefully glued the printed border between the pink lines of my chosen commercial border.

I laminated my completed Pete the Cat borders so they would last through the years (thus the glare- sorry bout that).

The printed border works on plain scalloped border too:

I hope you all enjoyed this post cause "it's all good!"

Download your free Pete the Cat border here.

Pics of the border in use in my classroom coming soon!

FREEBIE

To celebrate my new pre-k blog I am excited to offer my first freebie!

Back To School Stepping Chants!

Stepping chants are simple poems that use numbers and gross-motor movement. Simply put, the children have fun jumping on each set of footprints as they recite the simple poem.

Research shows activities that necessitate using both feet help develop the neuron pathways within the brain for reading and mathematics.

The performance of poetry promotes kinesthetic learning through large-motor activities. ESL children learn the English language faster when their whole body is used. This fun, rhyming stepping chant will engage and entertain your students. 

I hope you all enjoy this stepping chant. I use them in my classroom every year and the children love them. 

Print out the chant and then securely tape it to the floor and let the fun begin!

Get your free Back To School Stepping Chant here.

Rock on..........

Hello Blog World!

Well hello blogging world. I have finally decided to join the hard work fun and start a blog of my own.
I named the blog after my Pre-K class - I know they will be thrilled.
As my first blog entry I am sharing a couple of Dollar Tree finds. Don't you just love Dollar Tree?!

This is a dish drying mat I found in the kitchen utensil isle.
I cut it in half lengthwise for easier handling.
I think my kiddos will love weaving some ribbons through it.

And another find in the kitchen utensils area is these cutting boards. Say what? No way - they are answer paddles! Got a class set for less than 20.00. Sweet!

And check this out!! The packaging says coasters but actually they are sequencing tools to add to my housekeeping area. I'm going to let the kids "take orders" for the sandwiches and then the cooks will make them to order. Look out Top Chef - the Bears are in the kitchen.

That's it for my first post. Feels good to have the first one done. Hope and plan for many more.