What's Working...

November already?!? This year has been flying by and here's a peak at some things that we are loving in KC.

Colored Duct Tape!!! Are you hooked yet? I've been jazzing up almost anything that stays still in my classroom. Just kidding...not my kinders. Everything from clipboards to small dry erase boards to pencil cups are getting a makeover with fun and colorful duct tape.

I also began using Growing Kiners ,It's Calendar Time! unit.

Let me just say...LOVE. I had been getting super bored with my old daily calendar routine and didn't actually feel like my students were getting much out of it. My kindergarten teacher buddies and I came across this calendar pack and decided to give it a try. I think Growing Kinders was also having a Flash Sale that day so it was a little extra incentive. ;) Anyway, the prep time on my end took a bit, but it was totally worth it and my students are really enjoying our new calendar time!

Each student has their own notebook. I model with a laminated, blown up version of the page to help those who get off track. I will admit that the whole process seemed painfully slow at first, but after only a few days they had the hang of it. It is not taking any longer than our original (boring) calendar time routine. I got a very exciting package at school last week. My FREE Elf on the Shelf came in!!! It was a too good to be true moment. The nice folks at Elf on the Shelf gave away 5000 of these babies and I was lucky enough to snag one. Thank goodness for Teacher's Market for alerting me to this sweet deal. I plan to get started right after Thanksgiving! Visit thenorthpoleplayground.com for ways to use The Elf on the Shelf in your classroom!

I'm just about to FINALLY post my first few items onto Teachers Pay Teachers. They should be up by the end of the week!

Hello friends! Have you checked out the best new blog around Freebielicious? It is my new favorite teacher blog! If you aren't already following you are missing out! The blog features lots of wonderful FREE resources added daily by a variety of bloggers and the second best part (other than being completely free) is that all of the items are geared toward Pre-K through Kindergarten. Love it! I've been snagging tons of Halloween centers the last few weeks. Visit once and you'll be addicted also!

iPads in the Classroom

I was lucky enough to receive 2 iPads last year to use in my classroom. One was through a grant that my kindergarten colleagues and I wrote and the other was gratiously purchased through our school's PTO. I am still beyond thrilled to have them!!! So far I have mostly just used them as a center. I stumbled accross a really cool iPad directions and managment tips from Two Fulbright Hugs. If you don't follow her blog you really should. You'll find lots of wonderful freebies and great ideas! I printed up the student direction cards and placed them in a binder at our iPad center. This allows the students to be able to see which app I would like them working on that day and saves me from having to help them get started. What apps or iPad management tips are working in your classrooms? I would love some feedback!

New year, new classroom, new blog design!

One of my many goals for this school year is to dive back into teacher blogging. Last year was a crazy one for me. My husband and I had our first baby. Any extra time that I had was spent preparing for her arrival and then snuggling my sweet girl when she finally got here. :) This paired with the super annoying fact that our school's internet filters were blocking ALL of the good stuff including teacher blogs (even my own) lead to my deadbeat blog! We have a new internet provider this year and so far there is better access. Fingers crossed that it stays that way. Any other teacher friends have this problem at your schools? In an attempt to get back into blogging I purchased a new blog design from Dreamlike Magic and I love it! They have a variety of design templates that are really reasonably priced and she will have it installed in 24-48 hours. You can't beat it! I've moved rooms over the summer and have been busy organizing, labeling, tweaking, reorganizing, and finally feel like I'm settled in the new space. It's a good thing because we are on day 16 of school today. Ha! I have much more room this year and I love it! Kindergarten is doing a monster theme this year...MonSTARS to be exact. Here is a look around my room this year...

We found some great monster activities in Deanna Jump's Back to School Unit. These Monster Gylphs were a perfect way to decorate our hallway.