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Currently...

Life as I "Currently" know it!

Spaghetti, Meatballs, Plate!

Have you ever heard of this?  One of my first grade teaching buddies did it with her kids yesterday and I L-O-V-E!! it.  Being Kindergarten, I have always gone with the traditional "criss cross applesauce" method of sitting on the carpet.  THIS version...we can do it at our seats!

Here's how it goes:
Teacher says "Spaghetti"--kids wiggle "spaghetti" (fingers) in the air.
Teacher says "Meatball"--kids clasp hands in the air,
Teacher says "Plate!"--kids put clasped hands in lap.

HA!!  Why haven't I heard of this?!?  Speaking of spaghetti...tomorrow is white day.  I bet you a dollar to a box of donuts it will be spaghetti/tacos/ravioli day in the lunchroom.  Guess who won't be wearing "clean" white for long???  C'est la vie!

Still alive...barely!

The Deep Blue Sea

Summer School is winding down and we have fallen in love with Audrey Wood's The Deep Blue Sea.

Do you know this book?  If not, you NEED to have it.   As we were doing our activity today, I was thinking of all the CCSS  we could hit with just this one book!  Here's what I came up with:
K.RL. 2--retell familiar stories
K.RL.10--actively engage in group reading (Can I find a Big Book?)
K.SL.1--participate in collaborative conversations (after reading...what would you see if you were in
             the deep blue sea?)
K.L.1e--use the most frequently occurring prepositions
Not to mention colors, reading for enjoyment and following a pattern.  :)

So, all that to say...here's what we did!

After reading the story, I asked the students to retell me the story one part at a time.  As they did I handed them a pre-cut piece (most I did freehand...the tree, parrot and butterfly I used clipart and ran it on the correct colored construction paper) and they glued it down.  With each new piece we reviewed what we already had on our picture.  Here's how it turned out!

Font fanatic!

Is there a 12 step program for obsessions with fonts and clipart?  If so, please take me to the nearest meeting!
I just ran across this site....

And OH MY WORD...her fonts are too cute and free!  Click on the button to take you there.  She just posted her TOU.  Thanks Jen for your creativity!

Chapter 3...Daily 5

I feel a bit better after reading Chapter 3.  Chapter 2 was rough...gave me a lot to ponder.  But as I tell my kiddos, when you think, you stretch and grow and growing is part of learning!
Here's my reflection on this chapter:
1. Establish a gathering place for brain and body breaks:
      Gotta love the good ol' carpet!  Room to move, a place to gather.  A lot of learning happens on that carpet.  I am lucky that I have one corner of my room that's carpeted...it's big!  I'm always saying "Let's go to the carpet."  I'm so used to saying it that I think my Summer School kiddos think I'm nuts.  (I'm not in my room for it and I'm always saying "Go to the carpet." when there is none!)  
2.  Developing the concept of "good fit" books:
     I spent a lot of time on this section.  I love the shoe mini lesson-it's something I think my kids would get.  I did panic a little at first because I was thinking "How can I make sure the book is a good fit if they can't read?"  But then I reread the section and saw the part on focusing on purpose and interest.  That is so doable with my little guys.  I can focus on the comprehension part later.  
3. Create anchor charts with students:
     Key word here is WITH.  I'm all for making it pretty, but if you take the time to make with the kids, it's more meaningful than if you "redo" it again later.  We make some anchor charts but I used to make a lot more.  Our school is  a PBIS school and we have a weekly focus lesson that we have to make an anchor chart for and hang all week.  My wall space at eye level is pretty limited after that but I have heard about and saw on the pin board about making a reference binder with a picture of anchor charts that you've taken down.  

L*O*V*E it!
4.  Short, repeated intervals of independent practice and setting up book boxes:
      I touched on this in my Chapter 2 reflection.  I've been building stamina all along so I feel pretty confident in doing it.  I like the stamina charts I've seen...planning on putting one of those into use this next year.  As far as book boxes, I use cereal boxes...cheap and easy to come by and replace if needed.  I haven't ever used them from day 1 though.  My kids include the little emergent readers we make in class and then eventually their guided reading books.  Something to ponder...
5.  Calm signals and check in procedures:
    I've used chimes, call backs, clapping, hands up...a myriad of tricks.  It usually ends up being whatever pops out of my mouth the very first day of school.  I've used the thumb method too...just never with self-checking.  Adding to the list!
6.  Using the correct/incorrect behavior modeling:
    I've always done this and I LOVE modeling the incorrect behavior!  They watch open mouthed every time!  And, as suggested, I always use the little angel I think may have the hardest time to model correct behavior.  That one station....they are always so good after that!

Join the linky at Live, Love, Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten!  Chapter 4 will be hosted by Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business!