I Don't Know How I Survived Without These 3 Teaching Tips + a BONUS AT THE BOTTOM!!!

My Most Pinned Idea:

This idea gets re-pinned on Pinterest several times each day!  I use these every day in my classroom.

Each child gets their own mat and cup filled with dry erase mini markers and a mini eraser.

You can find lined dry-erase contact paper online or at educational supply stores.

Last year I found lined dry erase charts and just cut them into quarters.

Click HERE to see an 8 pack at a pretty good price or HERE to see a poster size you can cut into 4 pieces.  

Attach one to each laminated sheet of construction paper.  To keep the edges from coming up, I tape them down.  

Even the teacher gets her own mat
with lined dry-erase paper attached to it.

Now, when I'm working with a small group, I can model a letter or write an entire word for a student to copy.  All I have to do is pick up my dry erase marker and I can help a student with a math problem or anything else I might need to write down for that student.  When we are done, we just erase it!  

Last summer, I grabbed these cute little erasers at Target's Dollar Spot.  They were 2 for a dollar!

My Next Best Idea Is...

... not my original idea.  :)  It's from Rick Morris' web site.  I tried this idea and my students love it:

I hang my "Ringing Pen" on a hook so I can always find it.

You just tie a bell to a dry erase marker.  (The square bells work better than the round ones because the round ones tend to swirl the clapper around in silence.)  Then, each time you want your students to really listen and watch what you are writing on the board, you use the marker with the bell.  You don't have to say a word.  They hear the bell and they know that whatever you are about to write is super important. 

You can find square bells by clicking HERE. 

My Last, Best Idea:

Take each child's photograph when you first meet them.  This might be at their pre-test time before school begins or it might be on their first day of school.  

I smudged out her name, but you would normally see it at the bottom of the photo.

I use the same tablecloth for the background so everyone's picture looks somewhat uniform.  

I create a template in a word processing document with a place for a 5" X 7" photo, three 2" X 3" photos, and two 1.5" X 1 " photos.  I type their names into a text box which is placed at the bottom of each photo.

Now, I can use these great pictures all through the year.  I laminate the larges one and place it in their cubbies.  

Photos inside the cubbies before adding the names.

  

The red checkered background goes perfectly with my
picnic bulletin board and with my farm theme later in the year.

I place one of the the smallest ones on their record folder where I keep all of their ESGI flashcards, testing results, and work samples.    If you haven't checked out ESGI yet, do yourself a favor and try it for 60 days for FREE.  This is the perfect time to explore their website, their ready-made tests, or try your hand at creating your own custom tests.  And if you teach T.K., you can grab the tests I created by searching my name, Palma Lindsay.   Then, if you like it, use my discount code, KFUN, for $40 off of your 1st year.  I guess this is one more thing I can't live without! See the BONUS below :)

I use one of the medium size photos for our classroom graph by laminating it to card stock and adding Velcro to the back.  

Photo on the front, name & Velcro on the back.

Sticky-back Velcro holds this on our graph. 

I attach one to a copy of their name for our writing center.  Then, other students can find the picture of their friend and quickly see how to write their name. 

I stapled a couple of page protectors together. 

 That leaves me with 2 more photos to use throughout the year.

That's it.  3 (or 4) ideas I simply can't live without.

Come back tomorrow for more classroom tips.

Bonus:

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 Must use code: PALMAWISHES

(This code is only good through 12/30/2021. 

After that, use code KFUN for a 30-day FREE trial & $50 off your 1st year.)

Discover more FUN:

kfundamentals.blogspot.com

facebook.com/kfundamentals

pinterest.com/KFUNdamentals2

twitter.com/KFUNdamentals

teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kfundamentals

Instagram: kfundamentals2

Check out my:
FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)
PiNtErEsT:  Click Here to see my Pinterest Boards.  (Oh, the ideas on these boards!)
TeAcHeRs PaY tEaChErS:  Click Here to see my TPT Store (Did you say, "15 freebies?!")

Palma :)

1, 2, 3, Classroom Set-up: Year-round Bulletin Boards That Will Change Your Life

The Same Board That Keeps Changing:

If you are tired of putting up new bulletin boards every month, but you want your classroom to stay fresh, new, and updated then read on!

These boards can be set up at the beginning of the year and, with very little effort, they can be quickly and easily updated so your classroom always looks seasonal, fresh, and new.

Board #1:  (The secret to this board is in the binder clips.)

Each child has their own writing board.  Their name plate is below their writing samples.

This board goes up before school begins and stays up.  You just laminate construction paper (12"X12") and add a binder clip to each one.  You can find these at office supply stores like Staples and Office Depot.  

Click the image to grab the Instant Writing pack.

Each time your students complete a writing page, just double hole punch it & add it to the top of their writing stack.  The current theme is always displayed &, at the end of the year, all you have to do is pull the pages off of the binder, staple them together with a cute cover sheet, & you have a progressive sample of their writing & a great take-home book.  

I created an Instant Writing Pack similar to the one pictured here.

You can grab it by clicking HERE.

You can also add additional art projects around each child's writing board.

Board #2:  (The secret to this board is to just "let it go" for the entire season.)

We made our little trees with
toilet paper tubes and sticky-backed Fun Foam letter.

I have one tree trunk and 4 tree tops (1 for summer, fall, winter, and spring) that I put up each year. 

We start with the palm tree and the students make "Chick-a-chick-a-boom-boom" trees that we pin up under my big palm tree.

We also made flat trees which fit nicely
 in their memory books.

When fall rolls around, we take down the palms and put up the brown branches which stay up the rest of the year.  The students make fall leaves (that have a fall poem on them with a dotted font so they can trace the letters) that are quickly pinned up to the tree.

Our fall leaves were copied on red, orange, yellow, and brown.
Then, we added them to our memory books with their fall photo.

When winter arrives, we put their fall leaved into their memory books and I pin a little bit of snow made from cotton balls that I stretched across the branches.  The students make little snowmen after "buying" the parts during a small group math lesson and we pin them up below the winter tree.

You can find cute receipts for this project and more shopping activities by clicking HERE.

Each student was given 20 cents and they got to "buy" hats, scarves, eyes,
a carrot nose,coal for the mouth, snowflakes, arms, and even a bell.
This guy lost his eye!  Oh, no!

You can find out how to make the butterfly life cycle
out of pasta by clicking on the image above. 

Fast forward to spring.  The cotton snow comes down and I pin little pink squares (2"X2") of tissue paper pinched to look like cherry blossoms.  The students place their butterfly life cycle (made out of pasta) leaves on and around the tree.

You can always change out the seasonal are during each season, but I just leave the projects mentioned above up for the entire season.  

Click the image to find out how to create this life cycle out of pasta. 

Board(s) #3:  (The Secret to these boards is to use it as a tool all year long.)

Your alphabet and word wall stay up all year, but consider numbering your alphabet either with small calendar numbers or, like I did this year, match the numbered ten frame to each letter.  This not only helps to teach letter order, but often students recognize the numbers 1-10 before they learn the names of the letters.  This is especially true for most of our English Language Learners.  Then, all I have to do is say, "Look at the letter below (or above) the number 3."  

I just used calendar numbers here.

As for your word wall, jazz it up with t-shirts.  I have a letter on each t-shirt, its Zoo-Phonics animal, and any sight words we need to master hanging from each t-shirt.  The word wall stays up all year, but we can add any words we might be using during the year to any of the t-shirts.

Last year I hung the t-shirts from a clothes line by the window.
The fire marshal did NOT like that so....

This year, I hung the t-shirts below my front board.  

I liked them better hanging from a clothes line.  

I hope these bulletin board ideas help to make your life easier.

Check out my:
FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)
PiNtErEsT:  Click Here to see my Pinterest Boards.  (Oh, the ideas on these boards!)
TeAcHeRs PaY tEaChErS:  Click Here to see my TPT Store (Did you say, "15 freebies?!")

See you all tomorrow with more 1, 2, 3 Classroom Set-up tips.

Palma :)

1, 2, 3 Classroom Set-Up Part 1 of ??? "Before The Kids Arrive" (& a FREEBIE)

1, 2, 3 Classroom Set-Up Series:

This is part 1 in a series of awesome tips for setting up your classroom for the new year.  Each day I will post 3 tried and true "Classroom Set-Up" ideas that have evolved over the past 35 years (OMG, have I REALLY been teaching that long?) all here in one place just for you.  Come back each day to see more tips that will help you save time and help your new school year run smoothly.  

Tip 1:  Before The Kids Arrive:

I remove the laminated graphics and replace them with
seasonal graphics for more photos all year long!

I found this white frame at a flea market and I added the graphics for their First Day photo which will look great on the bulletin board for Back-to-School-Night AND it will go in their memory book too!

Tip 2:  A Note For The Parents:

This photo includes the comfort note and the laminated name tags for each student.
The color of the name tag tells them their color on the rainbow rug
and which colored table to sit at.  

I prepare a comfort note for the parents and I attach a cotton ball to each one.  Last year, I printed the note on colored hearts.  

You can grab one version of this note by clicking HERE.  

Click the image to grab this Giving Tree for FREE.

Tip 3:  The Giving Tree:

I print this "Giving Tree" and laminate it for use all year long.  I add apple Post-its (but the square Post-its work just fine) and I write on the tree and on the Post-it the item I need, how many I need, and when I need it.  Parents grab and apple and sign their name to the apple on the laminated tree.   Then I know who is bringing what and when.  

You can grab this Giving Tree FREE by clicking HERE.

Check out my:
FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)
PiNtErEsT:  Click Here to see my Pinterest Boards.  (Oh, the ideas on these boards!)
TeAcHeRs PaY tEaChErS:  Click Here to see my TPT Store (Did you say, "15 freebies?!")

See you all tomorrow with more tips.

Palma :)

Have You Seen This Yet??? It's Good, CLEAN, Fun!!!

This is NOT Moonsand:

Nope, it's nothing like it at all!  Think soft, moldable, CLEAN (nothing left on your hands), and won't dry out!!!  Amazing, right?

First, I Discovered Sands Alive...

You will fall in love with this!

... at Jo-Ann's Crafts a few days ago and fell in love!  It was soft, moldable, and my hands were clean after playing experimenting with it.  It felt like really soft cake mix combined with cornstarch, but you can squeeze it into an object and it will hold together.  

Then, I Discovered Kinetic Sand...

1 lb is $17.99 or $14.99 on sale.

... at Michael's and, although it felt a bit more "sandy" it worked the same way as Sands Alive when I played experimented with it.  It also came in colors so I bought some in blue and red, which is really pink.  I think my students will enjoy mixing them to create purple.  

Kinetic Sand right out of the package.

So, What's The Difference?

As I said, Sands Alive does feel softer, but I read a review on Amazon that compared the two brands and they said that Sands Alive had a slight chemical smell and left a slight residue on your hands.  

I didn't play experiment with it long enough to feel a residue or smell anything.  I was simply mesmerized!

Here is a link to a Youtube video demo about Sands Alive:

Click Here

The part I like the best is that it doesn't dry out.  There is no water in either of them, so you can leave it out without worrying.  

This is Kinetic Sand.

So, Which One Did I Buy?

I bought some Kinetic Sand (with my teacher discount) because Michael's had some in stock (they told me it's hard to keep it in stock & that they always run out before getting the next shipment) and Jo-Ann's didn't have any in stock.  However, I do plan to buy some Sands Alive because I liked how soft it felt.  :)

And How Will I Use It, You Ask?

Besides having it out as a center for free choice exploration, I also think that this would make a great tool to teach a small group MATH lesson on 3D shapes.  Don't you agree?  

Creating 3D shapes.

It's fun to cut your creations with a plastic knife.

And for SCIENCE we can pour it into a container and compress it until it takes the form of its container to spark a discussion about whether it's a solid or a liquid.  I plan on sharing this when I present my Science Hands-on Workshop at I Teach K this July.  (Use discount code Nat10 for a 10% discount when registering.)  

We can weight it, mix two different colors of the Kinetic sand, and we can form it into letters or numbers.  

My mind is spinning with the possibilities

Have you used this in your classroom?.  

What are your ideas???

Check out my:
FaCeBoOk:  Click Here to see my Facebook. (Tons of FREE ideas.)
PiNtErEsT:  Click Here to see my Pinterest Boards.  (Oh, the ideas on these boards!)
TeAcHeRs PaY tEaChErS:  Click Here to see my TPT Store (Did you say, "15 freebies?!")

See you all tomorrow.

Palma ;)

Classroom Set Up 101 or My BEST 3 TIPS for the Beginning of the Year

I know, I know...

We just started summer vacation and I'm already thinking about setting up my classroom.  

Here are the first 3 things I plan to do to set up my classroom:

The room looks so bare and sad.  

Tip # 1:

I can't wait for them to clean the carpet and get rid of my rainbow rug so I can switch to using SitSpots instead.  These colored velcro shapes are amazing.  You can find them by clicking right HERE.  

These SitSpots mark the purple centers in my classroom.

These SitSpots mark the listening center as an orange center.

I have 6 hexagons (that new kindergarten Common Core shape) in each table color.  I plan to place a row of hexagons down in color rows.

Tip # 2:

The tables will also be color coded.  The red table will get red laminated construction paper placemats with the student's name plate taped to it.  These mats help to keep the glue off of the tables.  

Can you tell this is the "blue" table?

And this is the purple table.  The orange sign on the table tells the children
that they may go to an orange center today.

Each table will also have a popsicle tray for crayons.  3 large or 6 small crayons fit perfectly in each of the 8 (Hey, that's how many colors come in a box!) crayons.  The colored table tote will hold pencils, markers, glue sticks, and scissors with handles that match the table color.  

Kids get to practice their sorting skills every day as they put their crayons away. 

Tip # 3:

I picked up a white frame at a flea market last year, attached laminated graphics of crayons, scissors, a glue bottle, lined paper & pencil, and a sign that read:  "My First Day In T.K."  The kids looked so great holding this sign up around their little faces as I took a picture of each one of them.  

The frame worked perfectly at graduation too.

Hope these tips helped.  Stop by again and I'll post about setting up centers so you don't go crazy with messy centers.

See you all tomorrow.

Palma :)

The Best Field Trip Was FREE!!!

We walked to the shopping center:

Yes, 105 students walked about 4 blocks to the local shopping center.

What We Saw:

We got to walk into the freezer at the the grocery store!

We sat inside the vault at the bank.

We mailed a postcard to our families.

Time for Neon Bowling!

We found Corduroy at the laundromat!

We visited a real barber shop...

And a hair salon.

The nail Salon was fun.

The florist gave each child a flower.

And Del Taco gave them each a taco.

Then it was time to head back to school.

If you have a local shopping center near your school, you might want to visit it too.  

See you all tomorrow.

Palma :)