Kindergarten Kiosk: May 2014

Letter Buddies Books

Hameray has thought of about everything when it comes to their “Letter Buddies.”

These books are great for small hands as they are the perfect size. Each book has tactile letters on the cover, and an adjective the accompanies each letter on the back cover such as “Meet Happy H.”

Inside the book, you will find seven pages that each contain a picture that begins with the letter and the label for the picture written in nice large font. The last page of the book is a search for the picture the does not begin with the letter.

If you love the “Old” books of Rigby and Wright Group of the past, or if you are new to teaching, you will LOVE these Letter Buddies books.

And here is the best thing, you can enter to win a classroom teaching kit valued at $370.
Enter today!

Summer Vacation To Do List

One of my favorite songs of all time from my own childhood is "Oh What do you do in the Summertime?" To me, this is summer in a nutshell! A Time to slow down, relax, enjoy, and create!

I am linking up with Deanna Jump's Top 10 Things I Want To Do This Summer, and adding my list of ten things I want to do during my summer break.

1. Go to Hawaii and RELAX for a bit!

2. Enjoy my wonderful family.

3. Cross off the 163 things that are currently on my "Must-Do" list.

4. Enjoy some of the local beauty: Hike Negro Bill and Moonflower Canyon, take our Jeep out on some of the great trails that are minutes from my house.

5. Take a midnight trip into the desert and look at the beautiful Night Time sky.

6. Clean up and organize my house so that it can last through yet another school year.

7. Do Water Aerobics and/or swim laps each day that I can.

8. Work on my genealogy and family histories.

9. Attend two great summer conferences!

10. Clean, organize and prepare my classroom for a new crop of kindergartners!

What is everyone else doing? Check out other plans here:

Kindergarten Has A Fairy Tale Ending

I have ended the kindergarten year many different ways, but probably my most favorite is to end the year with fairy tales. Besides being a lot of fun, fairy tales are filled with great examples of bravery, persistence, problem solving, ways to react to adversity, and much much more! We then list what we have learned from fairy tales to help us find our "Happily Ever Afters."

We sell a great unit filled with fun and learning that is, as all of our units are, strategically linked to the Common Core Standards.

Parent Volunteers

I never can say enough about parent volunteers! Parent involvement in school benefits everyone. I had two parents each day ALL YEAR LONG, volunteering during our 1 1/4 hour learning center block, can you believe it!!

And look at these great parents! I am so lucky to work in a community that is so completely supportive of not only their own child's education, but the education of all children!

Dinosaurs at Kindergarten

We are digging for dinosaurs in our kindergarten classroom! Our playhouse has turned into a dinosaur museum and our science center has become a paleontologist dinosaur dig.

Today we studied illustrations of dinosaurs by researching books that have been written by experts. Then we created our own illustrations that will accompany our "research paper" on dinosaurs that we will write tomorrow.

If you are looking to add some dinosaur fun to your classroom, check out this cross-curricular thematic unit that is strategically linked to the common core standards.

Note: This unit will have an update posted this weekend,

so if you have previously purchased it, look for the update! It will be packed with new offerings!

If you are looking for a FREE option for summer homework or a monthly homework packet, check out our free offering this month!

Jungle and Zoo Thematic Units

Today we sang one of my favorite songs, "I am a Zebra." And then we made zebras.

It is amazing what good artists kindergartners can be! Here is Geneva's Zebra that she made today.