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.