'Twas the Night Before TK... (+ a discount code!)

 Classroom Set Up Post 2 of 3:

 Here is a little poem I wrote to give you a smile before your 1st day teaching T.K.

'Twas the night before TK...
When all through the school,

The work's on the table,
These hats look so cool...

Work is on the tables... 1st day star hats.

The centers are ready...

Keyboard with headset & listening center.

 Bunny's in his seat...

Library chairs

The Discovery Center 

Looks kind of neat,

Discovery Center

The light on the desk of this cute TK room,

Will light up the faces from morning through noon,

 When, what to my wondering eyes should appear?
But Clifford, the dog...

But Clifford the dog,

Clifford will stay in our pet shop until we need it for our chickens.

 And a cute, cuddly bear!

A soft bear and tissues just in case we have criers.

Home center labeled.

With a little, old playhouse so charming and sweet,
I knew in a moment we could cook up a treat...

With the career outfits,

the children all played...

Bookcase on its side makes a closet.

 And later they stopped,
to make lemonade...

Our lemonade stand

The message was written,

that morning with care...

Lined dry erase contact paper on an easel and
a magnetic cork board.

 And the rules at the front,
told us all to beware....

Front table

 The new ten frame numbers look like Common Core,
And the new Splash letters left us begging for more....

The money pig helps us to count each school day,

while the abacus counts in a different way...

And ESGI pre-tests are ready to go,

with charts showing skills children still need to know!

Another dish rack for testing files.

Then the last thing I did was to make this cute sign,

I'm exhausted, wiped out, now please bring me some wine!

Look through the frame and say, "Cheese!"

And here is a discount code for you:  
Use the code KFUN for:

    $60 off of your 1st year 

    (when you sign up for your FREE 60 day trial of ESGI)

Quickly & Easily assess all of your incoming students so you are ready to make groups, plan lessons, and drive your instruction so it meets EVERY child's needs.

ESGI is the only assessment software 

that will make 

your students BEG to be tested!

CLICK HERE to see more info and start your FREE trial.

Visit my TPT store and have fun setting up your classroom!
  :o)

Do You Wonder About This Too?

What's the least known letter, least known sound, or least known high frequency word in my class?

I gave my students Fun Foam Letter Stickers to make these cute trees, but each child was given only the letters they did not know.
How did I quickly find the letters
each one of my students did not know?

I used ESGI's "Student Detail" report to quickly see which letters each child knew and didn't know. 

Now Is The Time To Try ESGI For FREE:

Sign up for a free trial 

with the Promo Code KFUN 

at 

 http://www.esgisoftware.com/ESGI/?promo=KFUN 

And Here is a Bonus:

If you sign up for a FREE 60 day trial, you also get over 20 classroom FREEBIES from National Educators, like me! 

And... an entry to win prizes like:

Click the image to get the link
for over 20 freebies and prizes!

And... ESGI will donate to Dolly's Imagination Library!

Click the image to get your FREEBIES,
prize entry, and your FREE 30 day trial!

But, best of all, you will get to use ESGI for FREE for 60 days & if you choose to sign up after your trial, you will receive $60 off of your 1st year! 

Enjoy Playing With ESGI:

So, You Know The Letters Your Students Don't Know. Now What?

Try these resources:

Students who needed to identify the letters B and b, located all of the uppercase Bs and lowercase letter bs on this Alphabet Chant page. They traced them with a marker and then they counted how many there were! Thanks to ESGI, I was able to target the specific letters they needed to practice.

My chants can be found by clicking HERE.

After they traced their letters on the Bb page, if they needed to practice the sound of /b/, they illustrated and labeled 3 items that began with the sound of /b/ on their Phonics Dictionary Page.

Students illustrate and label to create an alphabet book.
Click the image to see the set.
They come in color and in B&W.

This set includes 3 labeled images for each letter.I added more images by using graphics from old workbooks or old reading kits. Click the image to see the set of
Dictionary Pages and graphics.

During Small group instruction time, I used individualized RTI targeting specific skills for small groups based on the data I got from ESGI.

I am meeting with TK and K students on the skills
this group is ready for. I got my data from ESGI.

I used ESGI to track my students' skill progress so I was able to create small groups and target the specific skills that group needed. And groups changed according to the needs of individual students. 

And, the individualized data that ESGI created helped me to make quick RTI kits for each student that targeted the specific skills each child needed to practice. (I just used the flashcards generated by ESGI to make little RTI kits.) 

Just place each child's flash cards in a plastic bag.
Volunteers, cross age tutors, & paraprofessionals
can all practice skills with each student by using
their individualized RTI kit.

I wrote TK tests for ESGI and you can find them by clicking HERE.

And did I mention that ESGI is so much fun that my students actually begged me to test them! 

YOU can get a FREE TRIAL of ESGI (with NO credit card required) and you will receive over 20 digital FREEBIES & be entered to win one of these prizes!!!

Click the image to get the link. 

For more info about ESGI

CLICK HERE.

Have You Grabbed Your FREE Classroom Files Yet???

 There is still time!

You can grab over 20 FREEBIES and you will be automatically entered to win:

This Week’s Giveaway: 

Time Savvy Teacher Essentials

a $100 Amazon Gift Card

A GoPlanner

 Clipfolio and Tumbler 

a stylish bag 

pencil pouch  

and $10 gift card to Berteau & Co 

Bonus: 

ESGI will donate to Dolly's Imagination Library!

Just click on any of the images 

above or the one below, 

sign up for your FREE ESGI trial

(no credit card is required),

and enjoy a 60 day free trial, 

$60 off of your 1st year, 

and entry to win prizes (above),

and all of the classroom freebies from the 

educators below delivered to you instantly so you can use them this week!

Click the image above.

It's Clean, It's Neat, & It's All NEW!

 All of the Features You Want:

The NEW ESGI dashboard is here!

  

   ~Modernized Look and Feel: A clean and welcoming interface awaits.

   ~ Upgraded Graphs: Including a rubric graph for a better understanding of student

      progress.

   ~ Improved Organization: A smoother, more organized workflow.

Click the image to get started for FREE!

You will LOVE it!

But wait, there's more!

If you start a FREE trial, YOU will automatically be entered to win...

an iPad and FIVE winners will receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card!

Sign up now for FREE with the code: KFUN. 

(NO credit card needed, NO auto renewal, NO SPAM!)

CLICK HERE 

to get your FREE trial & enter the give-away!

What Do The Other Kids Do While I'm Teaching a Small Group?

 I See This Question All The Time. Here is the Answer:

While I'm teaching a small group of students, the other children are working on their "Table Work*" at their tables. (*Meaningful work they can do Independently.)

Here are some examples:

MONDAY: 

Alpha Chants- Students trace ONLY the letter we are focusing on that day (or week) with a fine-tip marking pen. Then, they glue it to the 6" pocket created by folding a 12"X18" piece of construction paper into a 12"X12" square and stapling the 6" flap at the sides. 

CLICK HERE for the chants.

We use the pocket to make an Alphabet book
that holds all of our other work about this letter. 

You get 2 on a page so you can easily copy a class set. 

TUESDAY:

Pocket-Lockets- We create a pocket watch or a locket with a hidden high frequency word inside. 

This set comes with Dolch Words and blanks to create your own Pocket-Lockets! 

• CLICK HERE for the set. 

The 1st time we did this, ALL of the girls wanted to make the locket & ALL of the boys wanted to make the pocket watch, but after that 1st time, they chose a differently every time!

WEDNESDAY:

One of the activities from this "All About Numbers" Math Set- (It also comes in 2 smaller sets of #s 1-5 and #s 6-10.) 

CLICK HERE for the set.

Once you introduce these activities in a small group,
 they can do them independently at their tables. 

THURSDAY:

ALPHABET PICTURE CARDS & PHONICS PAGES- This set comes with 3 pictures for each sound, but I also put additional pictures from old workbooks or magazines on their tables. Students draw & label 3 pictures. Younger students can cut and paste the graphics included in the set. 

We put the entire page into the pocket we made on Monday. 

CLICK HERE for the set.

FRIDAY:

Rime Time: (Yes, "rime" instead of "rhyme" because we are working on Onset Rimes.) Student create a spinning word wheel with onset rimes by changing the first letter of each word to create a new word. 

CLICK HERE for the set

These were my "go to" Table Activities, 

but you can substitute 

any independent activity you like. 

You can find more independent activities 

plus OVER 20 FREEBIES 

on my TpT Store. 

And speaking about FREEBIES, 

grab a FREE 60 day trial of ESGI

by CLICKING HERE

and you will automatically earn an entry for 

A FREE iPad

or one of several $100 AMAZON GIFT CARDS!

Use the code KFUN 

HERE.

Did March Come in Like a Lion???

Roar Through Assessments Quickly & Easily With THE TESTABLE MOMENT:

You have heard about "The Teachable Moment," but what about "The Testable Moment?"

1. Quickly assess your students on their progress to make sure they are on target.

How??? 

"Chuck" your testing into small, quick sessions. That's the Testable Moment! Here is how:

     ~In small groups, while students are illustrating what they will be writing about, test each student on a just 3 or 4 sight words. (I used ESGI.)

Here I am with a group of 5 testing each child on the next 3 sight words that come up on their individual sight word assessment.

  ~While your students are browsing books in the library, grab your iPad or laptop & click on "untested students" in ESGI and test a student or 2, or 3.
   
You can do this quickly and easily with ESGI. Start a FREE trial today and discover ESGI's new dashboard & how to save hours & hours planning, teaching, & assessing.

ALL of the data on 1 student or your entire class right at your fingertips with ESGI! https://www.esgisoftware.com/sign-up/?promo=KFUN

HOW to get your FREE trial of ESGI 

and be entered to win an iPad 

or one of several Amazon Gift Cards? 

Just CLICK HERE 

and you'll be on your way to saving time!

Try ESGI for FREE and watch your classroom GLOW right through March!

 

How Do You Explain LEAP YEAR to Kindergarten Students?

Plus, Leap into ESGI This Year & Win!

The best way to simply explain why we get an extra day every four years is this:

~It takes approximately 365.25 days for Earth to orbit the Sun.      

  That's called a solar year. 

~We usually round the days in a calendar year to 365. 

~To make up for the missing partial day, we add one day to our 

  calendar about every four years. ~And That is called a leap  

  year!

Now, Let's Leap Into ESGI & Win Some Prizes:

With ESGI, prepare to LEAP into your assessment process like never before!       

Get your FREE Trial & prize entry by CLICKING HERE.

It’s designed to make your life EASIER, leaving you more time for what really matters - teaching and connecting with your students. 

Toss out all that paper clutter and shine with efficiency & instant reports. 

Reports, like this Item Analysis, tell you WHO knows each and every skill and WHO DOES NOT!!! Instant R.T.I. 

Take the LEAP and use my Promo Code 

KFUN 

for a free 60-day trial. 

Plus, you'll be entered to win the ultimate prize- an iPad, 

& five lucky educators rewarded with $100 Amazon Gift Cards.

 

"Hey, Teacher Friends! Are you ready for a classroom Glow Up?

EVERYBODY Wins With ESGI! 

Click the glowing image to enter.

I won because ESGI made me glow in my classroom by helping me to target the specific skills each child needed. 

How?

~I used the "flashcards" as "skill cards" and I put each child's skill cards into zipper bags to create RTI kits to take home or to use in class with an adult or a cross-age tutor. 

Here is a sample of the skill cards that reflect the incorrect skills for this child. We cut them apart, put them into zipper sandwich bags, & we chose 1 skill card to work on with an adult or tutor. 

YOU can glow too with ESGI. Here is how: 

Try ESGI for FREE and use the code KFUN and you will receive:

a 30 day, make that a 60-DAY FREE TRIAL 

& 1 lucky registrant will win an iPad 

& 5 will receive a $100 Amazon Gift Card!

You must sign up by 3/24 

and you must use the code KFUN.

Sigh up HERE 

or use the QR code below.

Either way, you will be entered to win.)

Use the QR code above.