Our reindeer study!

We are learning all about reindeer!!  Being as we live in Wisconsin, we started Monday out with deer!

Monday

We started out with a KWL chart on deer.....  Love the comment "deer eat cookies"...   So cute!  I read these two stories:

   (Kiddos were amazed to hear that a deer looses it's antlers every year!)

Then we wrote about one new thing we learned about deer.

Tuesday

We went on National Geographic to learn about "caribou".  I love saying that name, doesn't is sound fancy!?

and tomorrow...

Wednesday

We will learn about Santa's helpers, the reindeer!

A fun filled day with...

 

finding rudolf

seeing reindeer live!

 

 a little Frozen trailer with a reindeer!!

 a reindeer at the zoo

 santa and reindeer!

and even a little bit of rudolf!

Here are some of my favorite bloggers reindeer posts too! 

 I hope you are having a great week!  Tomorrow is Wednesday, which means... hump day.....three days to go... half way there!!  We can Do it!!!!

All I want for christmas...

I love giving Christmas presents!  It's so exciting to share things that you want others to have...  MY favorite part of Christmas is just spending time with love ones...  It's the best!   As for my list here is what I love:

Love Favorite Family Recipes online website, so....

I use a backpack to haul my teacher laptop and other things home, and my current one is so ready to be replaced:

Batter booster for my iPhone!

 

I love better life bags, and would love another:

Love this one too:

  

My favorite comfy flat shoes:

So soft....

 

Link up with Hope & share your wants from Santa!

Peek at My Week!

Fast week coming up!  I hope everyone has a wonderful, quick school week, and slow Thankgiving break.  Enjoy your family time!

Linking up with Dee Dee!  Love her weekly plans!  Check them out here if you already haven't!

Here (click here for the google doc) are my 2 and a half day plans!   On Wednesday K-2 will be celebrating with a "feast"!  We are making butter and cornbread... Can't wait!

 We have been working hard on making our Thanksgiving books check those out here:

TGIF! TGIF! TGIF!!

Hello all!  Linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday, because I am so ecstatic it's Friday!  That was one LONG week...

 

1.  Snow on Monday...  (Do you know what that does to 22 kinders?!?!)

2.  Tuesday our power and heat went out for 2 hours....  (again do you know what that does to 22 kinders?!)

3.  Wednesday - no drama!  So {here} is my freebie to you!!   These turkey legs go with Mr. Greg's turkey shake me literacy center.  So cute!  Cut out, put into a jar, shake it up literacy center is done!  I used candy corn instead of corn :-)...

4.  Thursday we practiced our safety drill, yay for no crying!   Sitting in a closet with kids quietly for 15 minutes is always interesting...

5.  And today is Friday!  Whoo hoo!  Friday's we always go to the computer lab, and I found this awesome website for the kiddos!  It's called "Teach your monster to read".  The kids had a BLAST.  The only negative thing is that the website is based from Europe so there is a slight accent, but I think the kids liked that!   Enjoy the site!  I LOVE IT!

Adios friends!  PJs, a glass of wine, pizza, and DVR are calling my name.  Ahhh....  I hope you all have a fabulous, stress free, relaxing weekend!!!

Freebie! Parent - Teacher Conference Forms!

Parent/Teacher conferences are right around the corner...  I cannot believe how fast September went and October is going!  I use a pre-conference form with my families.  It's a great way to survey your families, as well as remind them of their time AND get their input.  15 minutes goes by SO quickly and this is a great way to reduce any extra ?'s...

Don't be nervous and remember the sandwich method:   Start with good, then talk about the improvements needed and then end with good!

Friday FLEW by so I am trying to catch up with Five For Friday!

 

 It's the weekend and that makes me sooo happy! I love having the time on the weekend to relax, regroup and refresh my teacher self!  Plus GO PACKERS tomorrow!   Love me some Packers football!

 We went on our first field trip to the pumpkin farm on Thursday and the kiddos did such a nice job.  Of course it would not be complete without a nose bleed, a tooth falling out, bee's swarming us, and a pricker in a finger!  But still a very fun day by the kiddos.

We did this freebie mini pumpkin unit with the kiddos.  It was a lot of fun!

We did this freebie mini pumpkin unit with the kiddos.  It was a lot of fun!

Here is a cute little Fall video for you by one of my faves Harry Kindergarten:

New Design!

I really am in awe of my fellow bloggers.  Especially Kinder Loves!  Check out my new blog design!  Look up, down, and all around.  She is truly awesome!  I was blown away. I cannot thank her enough for putting this together.  Check out her blog here!

I am working on a lot of things.... but most importantly routines!  We are on day 15 of our days in school for my kinders.  I am loving it!  We have a trials but they make every day so exciting!  I can always say "I love my job!"  How lucky am I?

I wanted to tell you about my goodbye routine.  For a couple years I would just give my kiddos high-fives and say "Have a great day, see you tomorrow my friends!" (I call all my kiddo's my friends, I feel it helps form a connection...)  but now I am letting the kiddos choose an H for the day!

H?  What the H?  haha... opps, had to!!! Sorrryyy....

Handshake

High-Five

or

HUG!

So when my kiddos line up for the end of the day they choose their H for the day!  I love tht 90% of my kids want a hug at the end of the day.

How do you say bye at the end?

I hope you are having a great Tuesday friends!!

Five For Friday!

I have completed my first FULL week of school, and man was I exhausted every single night.  YAWN!  Is it 8:30...can I go to sleep...puhhlease?!

1.  I finished my first full week, as I stated above, haha... but I am so happy!  It was a rough start, and I forget that every year how much work it truly is.  I hate to sound like a broken record but, whoa!  They come a long way!!  Kindergarteners are very dependent on their teachers...but I have so much faith that they will go to the moon and back by then end of the year.

2.  I loved (this letter) that a Mom from Sandy's Hook terrible tragedy wrote.  Kudos to her.  Thank you.

3.  Fall is kicking in here in Wisconsin!  I am wearing socks, pants, and a hoodie!  I love this weather!

4.  I loved having all my forms for open house in a folder with a checklist on the front of what parents should have ready at the beginning of the year.  Must. Do. Every. Year.

 

5.  We live very close to a little waterpark in a park...  At the end of the year after the kiddos have swam they allow any and every dog to come in for the doggie swim!  Our pup Max LOVED it!

I hope your weekend is filled with relaxation, recuperation, fun, family, and sleep!  Ahh!!  Goodnight everyone!  (Go Packers!)

September Currently

I have spent the last couple weeks prepping, cutting, hanging, laminating, moving, packing, unpacking....  Getting ready for tomorrow.  Here is my September currently!  Linking up with Oh' Boy 4th Grade

Listening:  To my hubby catch up on Breaking Bad, Gold Rush, etc.  He is enjoying his day off...  Hopefully I can watch my RHOC after, haha :)

Loving:  That I have today off and a 4 day week with my kiddos...

Thinking:   Tomorrow is our first day back!  EEEK!   22 Kinders.  That's the smallest class size I have had in 5 years!  Last year it was 26, four less is a lot!!  Then after school I have the Mumford & Sons concert to go to!  I hope I can stat awake, oh dear!

Wanting:   New clothes please!  I went yesterday but I was disappointed in the sales and the clothes.  Maybe next weekend!

Needing:  need I say more?

<3:  I really want to stick to my workout schedule, eat right, and live healthy.  I had been doing so well, and then vacation happened.  I am back on track and need to stay on!

Family Vacation = Learning New Math Games!

Hey Friends!  Happy August!!  Every summer my family and I rent a cabin in "Up-North" Wisconsin.  It is a blast....  Laying out, sleeping in, eating great food, family time, water sports, boating, fishing, biking, you name it!   

One thing my Mom has always been fond of is playing games after dinner....  We love playing and of course a little competition.  This year I thought a few of the games I played would be great to use in the classroom during small group time!  So here is what we played:

Pass the Pigs

So much fun!!  I was so confused at first but after seeing a couple people play I caught on fast...  Math! Skip counting!  Pigs!  What more can you want!!

Instead of dice, you roll two cute pink piglets, and you gain or lose points depending on how the critters land. For example, if both land on all fours, called a "double trotter," you get 20 points; if they land lying opposite each other, called a "Pig Out," you gain no points and cede your turn.

Farkle

Roll the dice and try and get alike rolls add up your dice depending on what you rolled....  Get up to 10,000!  Fun game to play.

I loved thinking that I could easily implement this games with my higher level kiddos...  I think this is great!  Add this to your wish list teachers! :)

Favorite Pin Friday!!

I am linking up with one of my favorite blogs.... First Grade Parade...

Love this idea for guided reading seats in my classroom:

How about some fruit loops?

I have loved this pin since day 1.  I use it now every day in my guided reading groups.  Goodbye magnetic letters, shuffling through bags, etc., time for post it notes!!

Random Home:   Love this organizing idea for tank tops!!

Lastly....

my first pin=

Check out my pins here!!   Later dudes!