Social Studies at Western!

Once again I had the pleasure of sharing information with teachers at WMU! The information shared in class is available here and here !

Three Things on Thursday

Three things to help with your classroom at the beginning of the school year...

1.  Make nametags from plastic folders from the dollar store. Theses folders are available in LOTS of colors, and are very sturdy--they even hold up after being chewed on!  If you use a corner rounder, the kinder will not poke themselves!

 

 2. Put dice in small see-through containers.  When the kinder are using them, they just need to shake and flip the container like the bubble in  the "Trouble" game.  No more dice bouncing across the floor or "accidentally" going home in pockets.

 

 3.  To help teach the kinder the passwords that they  need to logon to computer programs use paper keyboards.  The students can color in the keys they will use, and practice tapping them.  This will save time in the computer lab at the beginning of the year.

 

Using Technology to Enhance Social Studies

Today I was able to present to a group of pre-service teachers.  Anyone who thinks teachers don't work in the summer should talk to these summer-class-taking students!
click here or the WMU Bronco to access the presentation.

ISTE!

Off to Atlanta tomorrow for my annual big technology fix!  
I am hoping to get lots of information on using technology with early elementary students, do some networking, and collect some swag! 

MACUL materials

I need to stop editing my presentation and just post it already!!  I just keep finding more resources, and more that I want to say--THAT is the problem with presenting on Friday--too much time to think :)

Here are the links for my presentation and my list of resources......for now!
60 Sites in 60 minutes - MACUL 2014

60 Sites in 60 Minutes - resources

MACUL!!

Getting ready to attend MACUL in Grand Rapids in 3 days!  It is a different feeling NOT having to prepare lesson plans for the days I will be out of the classroom.  I think I am prepared to present--but I am nervous about being assigned to a room for 450 people!

College Kids? College Kids!

Today I am presenting to a class of pre-service teachers at Western Michigan University.  I am really looking forward to sharing some (hopefully) good and useful links to use when teaching Social Studies to elementary school students.
Click on the bronco to access the power point presentation.  Once in the presentation, click on the illustration to access the website.

Using Blogs to De-Clutter

Most of what I post is about how to use technology with Early Elementary students, but today I am going to write about a terrific blog that can help other teachers.  
You know that friend/colleague that we all have that has a super organized room and is always on top of everything?  
The Clutterfree Classroom is just like that friend.  She has started a project to help us become more organized, with a task and an assignment each week.  This week I needed to take [and post--eek] pictures of my classroom to show its "before" state.  Did you ever notice how things look worse in pictures than they do in real life?  anyway, here they are.  My room:

Even if I don't tidy up all the spaces that need it, I will (hopefully) become more proficient at posting pictures!  anyone want to come along for the ride?

Second Grade Common Core

I usually talk about using technology with kindergarten students, but I also work a lot with the first-third grade teachers in my building with how to integrate technology into their curriculum.

While on one of my favorite sites (www.havefunteaching.com)  recently I came across a FABULOUS resource for second grade teachers!!!!!!  The Second Grade Common Core Workbook is full of worksheets, activities, posters--all the stuff you need to address the Common Core Standards.  You can download a sample to check the quality--I did that for the kindergarten book--very impressed!  It is a digital download, so you won't have to lug around another big, fat TE!   Check it out :)

Common Core and Math

I know that this year we are going to be focusing more on the common core State Standards in our instruction at my school.  I have put together a chart of the first couple of standards and some websites that the children can use to practice those objectives.  
My plan is to come up with some websites/online activities for the children to use in the computer lab for each of the reading and math objectives.
Hopefully this will be helpful to you :) 


Websites to support K.CC

I long to be "Clutter-free"

The "Clutter-free Classroom" is a fabulous blog!  I started following Jodi last Spring when I stumbled across her blog in an effort to organize my classroom (and my "real life").  She has great organization ideas and tips that are easy to implement NOW.  This summer she has been putting on two series (I am in awe)--one called Classroom 360 which shows how she is decorating/organizing her classroom for the upcoming year (!) and the other is Teacher Tips in which she provides tips and FREE (for a limited time) printables to get organized.  Love it!!  Be sure to visit her blog and be inspired.

New Year's Resolutions

As a teacher, I always think of September as the start of a new year rather than January.  I have been following a lot of blogs this summer and I am resolving to do a better job of keeping my blog updated.  Hopefully I will do better with this resolution than with my exercise and diet resolutions!!

Counting Songs

I am loving the "Have Fun Teaching" website.  I have used the alphabet videos with my class, but I recently discovered their counting songs and videos!  My class has struggled with learning to count by 2s all year--but now they are really getting it!  I guess monkeys make everything easier to learn! :)

Next year I will definitely introduce my students to these songs and videos sooner.  Be sure to visit the website to discover TONS of helpful resources!

Alphabet Songs

A great resource for teaching letter names and sounds are the
Alphabet Songs and videos form Have Fun Teaching.  They are colorful, lively, and fast paced.  My kindergarteners LOVE them!!  Even this late in the year (8 more days), they ask to watch them--and they "sing" along
WARNING-You will find that the tunes get stuck in your head.  Check it out:

MACUL 2012

I am presenting at MACUL this week.  Now that it is upon me I am super nervous!!!
I am sure I will get some new ideas to share :)

Keyboarding Cup Stacking

My kindergarten students are very familiar with how to use a mouse, but not so much with the keyboard. I don't expect my kinders to be able to type--I can't type without looking!!!!--  but I know they need to start to become familiar with letter placement on a QWERTY keyboard.  A fun way for them to practice is to play the cup stacking game from Learning Games for Kids.

My friend Sarah ( check out her blog!) is always finding great resources online and sharing them with me.  Her latest? The free teacher resources at www.lakeshorelearning.com .  Today I made flashcards and a name writing practice sheet to send home with one of my students at Parent-Teacher conferences.

Did I already say FREE and EASY?

A Lucky Find!

I found a printout that had been left behind on the network printer at school and it led me to this wonderful site to help children with beginning of the year kindergarten skills.

Once the children mastered cutting on lines, I had them make a "skinny book" to help them practice following directions, cutting, sight words, and color words--phew!
You can download a copy here.  To make the book, the children color the pictures, cut on the dotted lines and staple. 
The children really seemed to enjoy making a book to take home.

Daily Routines

Jill from the Kinder Korner Yahoo group asked if anyone had an interactive home page for a SMART board.  It sounded like a challenge, so I created one that I will most likely use with my class this year.  I have added it here--I hope someone else can use it too  :)
SMART board daily routines

Hot Dots!

When I was at ISTE at the end of June, the technology that I was asked the most questions about was my "Hot Dots" pen.  These pens have been around for a very long time, but they are still a good way for the children to practice skills independently. 
In a nutshell, when children select the correct answer on a card the green light flashes and a happy sound is heard; the wrong answer yields a red light and a cranky buzz.  The children always seem to like the "wrong" sounds better when they are first using the pens :) There are commercially available card sets, OR (my favorite) you can get extra "hot" and "cold" dots to make your own so that your children are practicing the skills that you know they need.
I did some quick (ha!) searching online and found the pens and dots are still available.  The best prices I found were at Amazon and Education Insights.

http://educationalinsightscatalog.com/hot_dotsreg_extra_dots-p-21819.html (dots $5.99)
http://www.amazon.com/Educational-Insights-Talking-Hot-Dots/dp/B000GZAD24  (pen $8.05)