tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48275077148160619742024-03-13T22:59:38.594-07:00Kindergarten CraftinessTeaching early education is my passion as is anything crafty. Hence... Kindergarten CraftinessRandom Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-84347999066034984672016-06-30T21:40:00.001-07:002016-06-30T22:07:36.685-07:00Leveled ELA CentersOh my, I'm almost embarrassed by how long it's been since I've posted. Almost... I think I would be more embarrassed if it wasn't for what I am posting today. I am so excited about this pack and it has been a LONG time in the making. <br />
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Because I teach Pre-K at a charter school, I have the unique challenge of teaching Kindergarten level material to a classroom full of 4- and 5-year olds. Anyone that has ever been around kiddos this age will agree that they need lots of hands-on activities to keep them engaged but they also need to be challenged on their level. In the past, I have made the mistake of doing a scope and sequence for my ELA activities where I had a letter of the week and a few sight words each week. I was never really happy with this set-up because a) I would always have a handful of kiddos that would know their letters and sounds but none of their sight words so they would be bored out of their mind because they weren't being challenged, b) there would be some kiddos that would need much longer to learn certain letters and letter sounds and I'm horrible about reviewing throughout the year, and c) there were always a few kiddos that just weren't developmentally ready for anything but letters and sounds and would fall behind very quickly when we would start introducing our sight words. My solution? Leveled ELA!!<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Leveled-ELA-Packs-Beginner-Level-2620373">Level B Pack</a></div>
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Like I said, I'm very excited (maybe a bit too excited but we'll just call that an occupational hazard of being a teacher). The lower grades in my school (K-2) just agreed to changed over to the Fry sight word list. We were using one that was put together by some teachers in our school and it worked great but it was so difficult to find resources online. I took the Fry First 100 list and split it into 10 lists of 10 words and there I had my first 10 levels.<br />
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However, this posed a problem. I am not a fan of teaching a sight word to a kiddo if they don't know or aren't working on the letters in that word. So, if the word of the week is "at", it just doesn't make sense to me to teach the word if the kiddos don't already know A and T or if we aren't working on those letters while learning the word. The first 10 words of the Fry list use a combination of 11 different letters. 11 letters plus 10 sight words for the first level? I think not!<br />
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What I ended up with is a "Beginner" level (Level B) and then 10 more levels (1A-1J). This way, Level B is simply 6 letters and name writing practice. Levels 1A-1D have 10 sight words and 5 letters each. Levels 1E-1J work on CVC word blending and another 10 sight words per level. <br />
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The great thing about this is that, before going to Kindergarten at our school, we like to have the kiddos know all their letters and letter sounds plus about 33 sight words. This means, if they get through Level 1D, they've met our basic end of the year goals. <br />
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The way I set the Levels up was with lots of differentiation and easy lesson planning in mind. Because I teach Pre-K, I have to have lesson plans posted for state licensing purposes so, rather than having to put a Bingo game for one group, Go Fish for another, etc., I made sure to include each and every game in each and every level so I can simply put "Bingo" on my lesson plans, pull out my Bingo Games binder, and have 11 different versions of the game ready to go for each kiddo regardless of the level they're on.<br />
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Alright, enough rambling... on to the activities!<br />
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I have the pack kind of split into 2 sections: Level-specific activities and Materials for All Levels. As you'll see below, there are activities, like Bingo and Go Fish, that have the specific letters/words from that level included and others, like Building Mats and Rainbow Writing, that can be used with any letter or word list. </div>
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In each level, I included a portable word wall that can be put inside file folders and made easily accessible to students for journal writing, story writing, or other independent writing activities. Sight words will be added under each letter as they are introduced in each level so Level 1A will have 10 sight words, 1B will have 20, etc.</div>
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Each level also has a Word Tent. I simply laminate them and keep them in a bin next to the Word Walls. They are really handy to put in the middle of the table for a lot of the writing activities in place of the fluency cards.</div>
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Fluency cards with the focus letters/words are included. I print 3 copies on cardstock, laminate them, and cut them out. This way I have enough copies for each of my groups in case they are all on the same level and are needing fluency cards at more than one center. The cards can be used in games or even as simple flashcards for review. *Note: the cards with double letters (Tt, Oo, etc.) are meant to represent the letter's sound.</div>
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There are also instruction cards for multiple fluency card games included. These games are great when you have a few extra minutes and want to get in a bit of extra practice. Also, once you have the fluency cards printed, you basically have a handful of different games ready to go!</div>
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Like I said before, my kiddos really need hands-on games to keep them engaged and make learning meaningful. The Card Games with Props are basically card games the use objects that can be easily found in a kitchen (plates, bowls, a spatula, etc.). I like to keep the directions on a ring so they are all in one place and then I keep the cards with the props split into a bag (one for each level) to make them easy to find and put away.</div>
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Having these games pre-made is super helpful. I print 2 copies of each Bingo card so I have 6 cards total then laminate them and cut out the caller cards. I put the caller cards in a baggie and clip them to the Bingo cards then store each set of games in a sheet protector in a binder so they're nice and organized.</div>
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I also print 2 copies of the Go Fish game so there are 2 of each card. Then just play the game like you would normally play Go Fish</div>
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There are also blue, red, and yellow Guess Who cards included in the pack. Just print, cut, and put in a Guess Who game. The kiddos can ask questions like "Do you have a picture card?", "Is your letter uppercase?", or "Does your letter have all straight lines?".</div>
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The Candyland cards are a favorite in my classroom. Simply print the cards and use with a traditional Candyland game board. </div>
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An I Have, Who Has game is included in each level. Again, just print, laminate, and cut and you're ready to play!</div>
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The Feed the Gator game takes a bit more time to prep but the kiddos love feeding the letters/words to the gator.</div>
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I printed 3 copies of my Bump! game so I had enough for 6 students. I then hole-punched them and clipped them together before putting them in a binder holding all the Bump! games.</div>
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This fast-paced game is a definite favorite in my classroom. Just print the one page of letters/words and attach each word to the underside of a Dixie cup. Stack all the cups up and kiddos take turns identifying the letter/word under the cup. If they get it right, they get to stack it up and try to make the tallest structure.</div>
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In my teacher-directed center, I like to incorporate exposure to reading even when the kiddos only know letters or a few words since it helps with tracking and proper use of books. Each book has an introduction page with the letters/words included in the book, reading pages where students can practice looking for the focus words/letters and work on their fluency, an activity page, and a handwriting practice page. </div>
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The reading wheels are great for informal assessment or just simple practice. I even like to let my kiddos use them for "quiz a friend" where they work with a partner to test each other the letters/words.</div>
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It's always good for the kiddos when they can get up and move around so I have 4 different versions of write the room activities included.</div>
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The Type and Write activity is one that the kiddos like to think of as play without realizing they're learning. They just pick a "monitor" card, practice "typing" what's on the card, then write it on their recording sheet.</div>
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Kiddos use a magnifying glass to find the tiny letters and words in this activity then record it on their recording sheet.</div>
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This simple activity is great for independent centers. Kiddos just cut the letters/words off the bottom and match them up to the picture on the top.</div>
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I love being able to incorporate math into my ELA centers. Students look for the letters/words, count them up, then graph them on the second page to see which ones they had the most of.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IREeDcMijyc/V3WAjEY8LeI/AAAAAAAADSE/qRKtO2DC0xwPViTC0qatjX87a9ikTlfZQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0376.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IREeDcMijyc/V3WAjEY8LeI/AAAAAAAADSE/qRKtO2DC0xwPViTC0qatjX87a9ikTlfZQCLcB/s320/IMG_0376.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This activity can be used one of two ways: kiddos can cut the letters off the right side and glue them in order on the left or they can use the letters on the right as a sort of word bank, crossing them off as they write them on the left.</div>
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This is another activity that takes a bit longer to prep but the kiddos love it because they think it's an art activity. I print the letter card page on cardstock then trace the letters with Elmer's school glue. Let the cards dry and then the kiddos put them under their paper and rub with the side of a paperless crayon to make a rubbing.</div>
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I usually have tons of newspaper that we use to cover tables for art activities so it's super easy to use that same resource for this activity.</div>
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Have some letter stamps in your classroom? Read stamp and write is another great independent activity where kiddos stamp the word/letters and then write it with markers, crayons, etc.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t7aQbSNP1vM/V3WAnqkUHjI/AAAAAAAADSg/l-PlMa-TVt8d7lKsdkV6t2bnKGOKFO6pgCLcB/s1600/IMG_0382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t7aQbSNP1vM/V3WAnqkUHjI/AAAAAAAADSg/l-PlMa-TVt8d7lKsdkV6t2bnKGOKFO6pgCLcB/s320/IMG_0382.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Give kiddos a mirror and encourage them to use it to find what word/letters is written backwards.</div>
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Another great assessment, speed read lets you assess kiddos 4 times and show growth over that time period. I like to color code each time I assess by using a different color each time. I use the color to make a star by the items they need to practice and then record the date, time it took, and the amount they got right. </div>
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Directions for some gross motor games are also included. I printed these and put them by my large group area so we could grab the cards and pick a game whenever we had a few extra minutes.</div>
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Another great way to practice when you have just a few minutes. The cards give instructions on movements to do to practice spelling.</div>
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This game can be used with any set of fluency cards. Similar to Candyland, kiddos pick a card from the stack, read the card, and spin to move if they read the card correctly. I assembled it in a file folder so the spinner, game pieces, and board were all kept together.</div>
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To play this simple game, put a fluency card on each of the 6 spaces, then partners take turns rolling and reading the card in that space. If they read it right, they keep it. I like to take all the fluency cards and split them between the 6 spaces so there are multiple cards on each space. This helps to make game playing time a little longer.</div>
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This is one of my all-time favorites: building mats. Again, this can be used with any set of fluency cards. The kiddos pick a card, put it in the space at the top, build what's on the card, then write it on the bottom. What I love is that there is such a huge range of what they can use for building materials, we actually use this each Friday and simply change out the building materials. We use anything from playdough and Wiki Stix to snap cubes or Scrabble Cheezits.</div>
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Because I teach Pre-Kers, I usually don't include the Tic Tac Toe activity in centers because it's a little more appropriate for Kinder or 1st grade. However, I do make it accessible to the parents in my class as it is a great way to practice writing and spelling at home.</div>
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This is a simple activity where kiddos roll a die to determine their writing color, then write one of their letters or words with that color. Then they roll again and repeat. I encourage them to end up with three different colors for each letter/word so they are essentially writing each letter/word three times.</div>
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If you have ever used smelly markers with your kiddos, you know how much they love them! This super simple activity asks the kiddos to write their words using a different smelly marker for each word.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q54wighRpr0/V3WAw4TtkVI/AAAAAAAADTg/J7_fTd7cGIkQPmo6AJhh1c1D_LExbIJUACLcB/s1600/IMG_0394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q54wighRpr0/V3WAw4TtkVI/AAAAAAAADTg/J7_fTd7cGIkQPmo6AJhh1c1D_LExbIJUACLcB/s320/IMG_0394.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Similar to Spell and Smell, kiddos are given fun pens to write their words in a fancy or silly way.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7-xVE7PU3sQ/V3WAx--TSMI/AAAAAAAADTk/xKi3qsmdF7kq5FV0-f9tkX0oigzSomFdACLcB/s1600/IMG_0395.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7-xVE7PU3sQ/V3WAx--TSMI/AAAAAAAADTk/xKi3qsmdF7kq5FV0-f9tkX0oigzSomFdACLcB/s320/IMG_0395.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Provide kiddos with blue and red markers or crayons. Encourage them to write the vowels with the blue and the consonants with the red.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oZnSVmH5YkE/V3WAz8IbwQI/AAAAAAAADTw/7V29I-eew88j-3ZLfdrC72ua3VHKuVaxQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oZnSVmH5YkE/V3WAz8IbwQI/AAAAAAAADTw/7V29I-eew88j-3ZLfdrC72ua3VHKuVaxQCLcB/s320/IMG_0396.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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My kiddos like to pretend they are detectives with this activity. I write their letters/words with white crayons in the blank space. They use broad tip markers to color over the white crayon revealing the mystery letter/word and then write it next to it.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6gI2Hht-lEU/V3WAzv45aLI/AAAAAAAADTs/2KDYbD3K8XMhL1NhuRcXqWgkn1H-KQ21wCLcB/s1600/IMG_0397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6gI2Hht-lEU/V3WAzv45aLI/AAAAAAAADTs/2KDYbD3K8XMhL1NhuRcXqWgkn1H-KQ21wCLcB/s320/IMG_0397.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a great activity for both readers and non-readers. The kiddos write their words/letters in the spaces provided then look through a book to see how many of their words/letters they can find. Each time they find one, they make a tally mark underneath to keep track. </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7FgSRF1Edc/V3WA2CIhCjI/AAAAAAAADT4/dnidNGHG-AYqedBCy1AsEJugKNtq9XNGQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7FgSRF1Edc/V3WA2CIhCjI/AAAAAAAADT4/dnidNGHG-AYqedBCy1AsEJugKNtq9XNGQCLcB/s320/IMG_0399.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yay! More math! With this activity, the kiddos get to roll a die to determine which word they write. The first word to get all its spaces filled wins.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LtqQUH8-nx4/V3WA2AnROxI/AAAAAAAADT8/M0kBBu7_714XIk6qoSs5XZFcY0I_vQFbACLcB/s1600/IMG_0400.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LtqQUH8-nx4/V3WA2AnROxI/AAAAAAAADT8/M0kBBu7_714XIk6qoSs5XZFcY0I_vQFbACLcB/s320/IMG_0400.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Each level (with the exception of Level B) has 2 assessments, a short one that assesses the current level and a cumulative one that assesses the current level and the ones before. I use the shorter one weekly so parents can see how they are doing. The longer one is for when I want to see if they are ready to pass a level and move on or if I need to keep them on that current level. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIAHD3RXZ8g/V3WA3WhyJXI/AAAAAAAADUE/4XR6wSe5OmcBJikna5ffkfP4_yenW1I7ACLcB/s1600/IMG_0401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fIAHD3RXZ8g/V3WA3WhyJXI/AAAAAAAADUE/4XR6wSe5OmcBJikna5ffkfP4_yenW1I7ACLcB/s320/IMG_0401.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A data chart is included to easily track which level each student is on. I simply mark off the level when they complete it but you could also write in the date.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sgZ6muiRcZE/V3WA4FSEnhI/AAAAAAAADUI/umgnKqqXrGka3ysM4xUXKZjrP5xsvNXPQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0402.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sgZ6muiRcZE/V3WA4FSEnhI/AAAAAAAADUI/umgnKqqXrGka3ysM4xUXKZjrP5xsvNXPQCLcB/s320/IMG_0402.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I have a binder for the assessment masters, the data chart, and the certificates the kiddos get when they complete a level. I have the certificates pre-cut and in with each level's assessment so they are ready to go. This way I can mark on the data chart when they pass and also attach a certificate to the assessment that I send home so their parents can see when they pass a level.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PH7GZX1uc-A/V3WA5MEDM6I/AAAAAAAADUU/QbGzklD7HI0mY9HKllxFda8FZT91w8-KACLcB/s1600/IMG_0403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PH7GZX1uc-A/V3WA5MEDM6I/AAAAAAAADUU/QbGzklD7HI0mY9HKllxFda8FZT91w8-KACLcB/s320/IMG_0403.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Whew, nothing like a novel for my first post in almost 2 years. So sorry about that! If you click on the preview file over at TeachersPayTeachers, you will find a few of the above activities for free. Enjoy!</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-54333088628185133882014-08-15T00:01:00.000-07:002014-08-16T21:07:52.322-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://kindergarten-craftiness.blogspot.com/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="HopStop10 photo Slide12_zps18e28e04.png" border="0" src="http://i1283.photobucket.com/albums/a555/happytchr35/The%20Vegas%20Dozen/th_Slide12_zps18e28e04.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hi friends!! :) Thanks for participating in our little blog hop!! :) You're at Stop 10 and I can't wait for you to see what I have for you! :)<br />
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My most wishlisted item is my Rhyming Unit Mega Bundle! It has 17 different activities to help your students hone their rhyming and word family skills. You can click the picture to check it out on TPT! :) </div>
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<img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Unit-Mega-Bundle-17-Rhyming-Activities-931014" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZNgsxa5UHjg/U-wRUD2Ca_I/AAAAAAAACjY/sF21SVGtRfg/s1600/Presentation1.png" height="640" width="640" /><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Unit-Mega-Bundle-17-Rhyming-Activities-931014">Rhyming Unit Mega Bundle</a></div>
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You can grab a FREE preview of the pack by clicking the picture above and downloading the preview!! </div>
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Now...let's keep going! :) Hop over to Cheryl's amazing blog over at Crayons and Curls! </div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-35264436059491815602014-06-22T09:04:00.000-07:002014-06-22T09:04:07.803-07:00Transitional Chants and Songs<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;">Oh my, where did June go?!? It's about time to start thinking about the beginning of the school year... at least it is if you work in my school district. We start back to school in exactly on month and I'm currently at the "classroom management" planning stage. I decided that I should focus on some transitional songs as my kiddos tend to respond to singing the most. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uaduwwsUntY/U6b9F4fKrZI/AAAAAAAACc4/VRrDRSGf1ME/s1600/Slide1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uaduwwsUntY/U6b9F4fKrZI/AAAAAAAACc4/VRrDRSGf1ME/s1600/Slide1.PNG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Our "To the Carpet" song is one of my favorites as it gets their attention quickly and requires them to repeat each line as they are quickly finishing what they are doing and heading to the carpet for the next activity. When I first start using the song, I tell the children that the goal is to have everyone to the carpet and in their seats before they repeat the last line in the song.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fL9bWGD91NQ/U6b9FzL6E5I/AAAAAAAACdA/BzUW5sOQBW8/s1600/Slide2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fL9bWGD91NQ/U6b9FzL6E5I/AAAAAAAACdA/BzUW5sOQBW8/s1600/Slide2.PNG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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"Open, Shut Them" is one of those classic attention getting transition songs that are great if you are waiting for all the children to focus. Typically I will use this one if we are starting an art or science activity where they are all seated at the table with the materials in front of them but have not received instructions yet.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t6Yf0A9HZoc/U6b9FwTTaCI/AAAAAAAACc8/dWpcxhmIrY0/s1600/Slide3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t6Yf0A9HZoc/U6b9FwTTaCI/AAAAAAAACc8/dWpcxhmIrY0/s1600/Slide3.PNG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The "Thank You" song is one that one of my students actually taught me. We sing it before lunch and snack as a way to make sure all our friends are at the table and ready to eat. </div>
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I know I will use these each and every day in my classroom and I hope you can get some use out of them too. They will definitely help my school year go smoother. </div>
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I have also teamed up with Educents with some instant downloads for you! Loaded with great products to work with your kids the years before kindergarten! </div>
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<a href="http://www.educents.com/preschool-curriculum-bundle.html#poyzerkatie"><img alt="http://www.educents.com/preschool-curriculum-bundle.html#poyzerkatie" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S-VkfGIQUS0/U6Jh5H9BRuI/AAAAAAAAKVE/OYLJfO-SNoc/s1600/Slide1.jpg" height="640" width="636" /></a></div>
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My products included will surely be loved by your students! </div>
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My "What's Magnetic" pack includes 4 fun activities to introduce students to magnets and what type of items are magnetic. Activities include: magnetic/not magnetic sort, magnetic write the room activity, Is It Magnetic activity with prediction and outcome, and magnet comparison activity (comparing the strengths of various magnets).</div>
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My "A to Z Alphabet Posters and Booklet Set" is great for students learning the alphabet. It includes a printable poster for each letter of the alphabet. These posters are perfect for displaying on a wall or even making into a book for introducing each letter or to place in your class library. The set also includes a printable booklet that can be reproduced for each student to use as they learn their alphabet (printing instructions are also included).</div>
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<a href="http://www.educents.com/preschool-curriculum-bundle.html#poyzerkatie"><img alt="http://www.educents.com/preschool-curriculum-bundle.html#poyzerkatie" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ioSIaAT7wZc/U6JhHZUjC0I/AAAAAAAAKUo/rkcAXMzFM1g/s1600/Slide6.jpg" height="320" width="318" /></a></div>
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These two products are just a few of the great products included in the Preschool Curriculum pack over at Educents.</div>
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For a limited time the pack is $9.99 from Educents which is about 64% off! Six products for early literacy, math, and science with over 250 pages of materials ready for you to use! </div>
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You can also take peek at some of the other products included in the bundle at any of the links below!
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-82091320910052413382014-05-28T07:33:00.001-07:002014-05-28T07:33:14.745-07:00Chores, Chores, Chores<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hd8FLeGZ7GU/U4XzmMl376I/AAAAAAAACa0/ezE31OT--Kk/s1600/chore+chart+image.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hd8FLeGZ7GU/U4XzmMl376I/AAAAAAAACa0/ezE31OT--Kk/s1600/chore+chart+image.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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In our home, (like many others I'm sure) we have difficulties getting our girls to consistently do their chores. We've tried bribery. We've tried allowances. We've even tried work contracts (which actually work really well but are only good for a short term). </div>
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Our end goal was to get our older daughter to form a chore routine and we decided to go with the classic chore chart (I had to, of course, use some cute fonts and clipart to make it cute!). </div>
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Now, a chore chart is not a new idea by any means and, the spin we put on it is probably not new either. </div>
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We had our daughter help us think of chores that she could do on her own or learn pretty quickly. We had her choose 10 chores that needed to be done on a daily basis. This is what we came up with...</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1l798j9V4M/U4XuMxEAg3I/AAAAAAAACak/nnBRlQymYTQ/s1600/chore+chart+example.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1l798j9V4M/U4XuMxEAg3I/AAAAAAAACak/nnBRlQymYTQ/s1600/chore+chart+example.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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We had her start out with really fast simple chores that would help us out a bit but also wouldn't take her 20 minutes for each one. We were hoping to help build her confidence and her sense of responsibility rather than having her clean the whole house on a daily basis. </div>
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The nice thing is that we can go in and change the chores to suit her (and our) needs. For example, the first time we did the chart, we had homework as one of her chores. Now that we're on summer break, homework is no longer applicable. So we were able to not only take that out and substitute it for something else, but we could also make the chores a bit more challenging. </div>
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We also learned from our mistakes the first time around. The original chore chart had the chores down the left and days across the top. Sounds simple enough but, for a 7-year old, having to follow the chores across and fill in under the right day (Friday for example), she would sometimes fill in the wrong day and chaos would ensue. So, the second time around, we put the chores in gray so we could still read them but it was still easy enough for her to check off the chores when she was done with them. </div>
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Now, once the chore chart was printed, we simply put it in a cheap $1 frame since the glass of the frame acts as a dry erase board. Once the week is up, we pay her said allowance, erase the chart, and start all over again on Saturday.</div>
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"But what happens if she doesn't do all her chores?" Well, I'm glad you asked! When making the chore chart, we explained the basic idea of how to use it and promised that, if she did all of her chores each day, she would earn $5 at the end of the day on Friday. However, for every chore she didn't do, she lost 10¢. Now, like I said before, she has 10 chores each day for 7 days. A little simple math tells us that that makes $7, not $5. That's part of the deal that we made very clear to her. If she did all the chores, she got $5. But, if she did no chores, she would OWE US $2. So not only would she lose the $5, but she would also be in the red to make up for the other chores she didn't do. </div>
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Finally, as an added bonus, we put a "bonus chore" section on the bottom. These are the chores that we know she is fully capable of doing but they take longer and really only need to be done once a week. This way, if she wanted to earn a little extra money and she didn't have anything else to do, she could do the bonus chores and earn an extra dollar for each one. </div>
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Does the chore chart work? So far, she has yet to ever owe us money for doing too few chores. However, she also has yet to make $5 or more in any given week. She hasn't gotten to the point where she does all her chores every day but, the fact that she will do chores with little to no argument is blessing in itself!</div>
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Want to try the chore chart yourself? Just click the picture below to find an editable version of the chart we used!</div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-130YZJKhAebFlHZE9ZLThmSFU/edit?usp=sharing"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-130YZJKhAebFlHZE9ZLThmSFU/edit?usp=sharing" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1jYu_zJdJu0/U4XuMeBywqI/AAAAAAAACac/zcOD7IvPSqA/s1600/chore+chart.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-29489667089772077702014-02-24T06:33:00.000-07:002014-02-24T06:33:12.275-07:00A Sale, A Hop, and A FREEBIE!!<div style="text-align: center;">
I am so excited for this!! I'm participating in my first Facebook hop starting today! We're doing what we call a "Preview Hop" where each of us have taken a portion of a paid item and made it a fan-only freebie. Think of it kind of as a Black Friday preview only you don't have to get up at 3AM to shop the sale!! There are 28 of us in all and you can start out by clicking over to my FB page and checking out the Facebook Hop tab that looks like this:</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/kindergartencraftiness"><img alt="https://www.facebook.com/kindergartencraftiness" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WxuyL2Hc3d0/Uwp57MlvPTI/AAAAAAAACIs/2BoTtRATVmA/s1600/preview+hop+tab.jpg" /></a></div>
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Also, if you haven't already heard, Teachers Pay Teachers is having a HUGE sale at the end of this week (Thursday and Friday) where lots of stores will be on sale and you can use the TpT code (TPT3) to take an additional 10% off. You'll be able to take a total of 28% off at a lot of stores (including mine)!! </div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kindergarten-Craftiness"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kindergarten-Craftiness" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zceS8GZADtU/Uwp7LAzcfCI/AAAAAAAACJA/6ghwgP2fW8c/s1600/KatieBut-1.png" /></a></div>
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So start building that wishlist and, while you wait, enjoy the hop by clicking the image below:</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/kindergartencraftiness"><img alt="https://www.facebook.com/kindergartencraftiness" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Fh_zwXldy4/Uwp57E6l1bI/AAAAAAAACI4/sJ6cPO9SU9E/s1600/fan+hop+for+blog.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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Happy shopping!!</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-42997847942849484612014-01-25T22:36:00.002-07:002014-01-26T17:26:26.006-07:00What should my child know to go to Kindergarten?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is the time of year where the parents of my Pre-K kiddos start asking me if I think their kiddo will be prepared for Kinder and, if not, what do they need to work on and, 9 times out of 10, my answer is always the same... INDEPENDENCE!</div>
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I always seems like a difficult thing to tell parents to work on. "Let your child do more things on their own so it boosts their self-esteem and they are able to take on more challenges without being discouraged." </div>
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I see it a lot at conference time. Parents want to know if their child will be academically ready for Kinder when, in all actuality, their child being independent and able to work on their own is just as, if not more, important than some of the academic skills that they may have been working on at home. </div>
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So when parents come up to me and say "What do I need to work on with my child so they will be ready for Kindergarten?" I almost always give them one of the following suggestions:</div>
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~Give them some simple chores to do at home without being supervised so they build a sense of responsibility</div>
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~Let them help you pick food to put in their lunch box to encourage good choices</div>
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~Take them to the park without setting up a playdate so they can work on making friends with new children</div>
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~ Help to make their at-home space more child-friendly in terms of organization to encourage them to keep it tidy</div>
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~Set up a rewards system to encourage them to make good choices without being reminded</div>
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~Take them to a class or story time where they are required to sit quietly and listen to a book or instructions without you sitting right next to them to keep them focused<br />
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To help with fostering independence and growing self-esteem, I usually read this book to my kiddos.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kiHLqs61cmw/UuWnZcZsocI/AAAAAAAACBk/NvWw_SibO_I/s1600/wemberly+worried.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kiHLqs61cmw/UuWnZcZsocI/AAAAAAAACBk/NvWw_SibO_I/s1600/wemberly+worried.jpg" height="320" width="293" /></a></div>
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It's all about being brave and facing challenges (like the first day of school) on your own!</div>
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Need more wonderful book ideas and ways to get your kiddo ready to move up to the next grade level? Check out the awesome linky party over at Smedley's Smorgasboard:</div>
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<a href="http://www.thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/2014/01/a-kindergarten-smorgasboard-schedulin_26.html"><img alt="http://www.thekindergartensmorgasboard.com/" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PG_9mLM_G8o/UuSePpAlVzI/AAAAAAAACBM/rkQ32VkyfmE/s1600/untitled.png" height="153" width="320" /></a></div>
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And take a look at this great pack of preschool/Pre-K/Kinder activities that your child can do at home!</div>
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<a href="http://www.educents.com/#poyzerkatie"><img alt="www.educents.com/#poyzerkatie" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aD9s_rv9df4/UuSeau3EJuI/AAAAAAAACBU/gK2rKagaKb4/s1600/group+bundle.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lots of great activities for only $29.99. Plus, if you enter the code SALE10, you save 10% off site-wide for this weekend only! </div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-837174263080644672014-01-25T09:52:00.001-07:002014-01-25T09:54:37.240-07:00Assessments, assessments, and a Freebie!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for their Five for Friday party! (yes, I know, it's Saturday but, better late than never, right?)</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2014/01/five-for-friday-linky-party-january-24th.html"><img alt="http://www.doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2014/01/five-for-friday-linky-party-january-24th.html" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jC2RfLvBoDs/UuPhH92JXfI/AAAAAAAAB-w/tMs0-MqgMs0/s1600/Five+For+Friday+Linky+Button.png" height="228" width="320" /></a></div>
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There was just so much going on this week that I thought it would be easier to share using this amazing linky party! So, here we go!<br />
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1. My kiddos are learning about bug nursery rhymes this week (specifically spiders) so I made up a little sight word game for them! I just used some leaf clipart and added sight words to them to make word cards then cut out a little spider to hide behind them. The kiddos took turns coming up, pointing to a word they knew, reading it, and then checking behind to see if they found the spider!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qjyhYTW3h28/UuPiCNDLJHI/AAAAAAAAB-4/sAv7DBnMRRg/s1600/IMG_6341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qjyhYTW3h28/UuPiCNDLJHI/AAAAAAAAB-4/sAv7DBnMRRg/s1600/IMG_6341.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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2. I also wrote the Little Miss Muffet rhyme on the board for us to discuss. We are talking about rhyming (obviously), patterns, prepositional words, writing sentences with uppercase letters/word spaces/punctuation, and, of course, sight words so we used different colored markers to kind of label our poem. We started by finding the rhyming words and underlining them which helped us label the AABCCB pattern of the poem. We then circled the prepositional words in blue and drew red rectangles around the sight words we have learned so far. We then talked about when to use an uppercase letter and circled them in green. Finally, we finished up by talking about periods and exclamation points, when to use them, and reminded ourselves to use a finger space between words so our writing doesn't look like one big long word.</div>
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3. This week has been all about assessments. (yep, it's that time of year) So, to make my assessments a little easier (and much more motivating for my kiddos!) I made up a little skills tracking set. It's designed to assess early skills like handwriting, letter and number recognition, phonetic reading, and even behavior!!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I actually laminated the assessment pages and bound them into a book so I can reuse them over and over!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plus, I put the record sheet inside the front cover to make it easier to record when one of the kiddos makes it into a "club".</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Once a kiddo passes an assessment, they get their name on a little tag that goes up under the club poster for all to see! They get so proud!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plus, for each club they get into, they get a little membership card that they get to keep with their name and the date they made it in!! Makes for GREAT motivation to keep working!</td></tr>
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4. This is an example of the writing assessment that I use for the Writing Rockstars club. I simply have them write each uppercase letter, lowercase letter, and single digit number in the blanks and, when they are able to do so legibly, they are in! Although I have this one laminated and in my assessment booklet, I still copy it off for each child. Having it in the book just helps me remember where it is ;)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AIsqC5cdoWo/UuPiM4shL_I/AAAAAAAAB_M/wLQaRJBxwrY/s1600/Slide19.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AIsqC5cdoWo/UuPiM4shL_I/AAAAAAAAB_M/wLQaRJBxwrY/s1600/Slide19.PNG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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5. If you want to check out this assessment set for yourself, you can find it in my store or you can check out the Educents bundle that it's in right now with 27 other amazing products!!<br />
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-80161589159839481052014-01-19T23:48:00.002-07:002014-01-20T09:27:38.380-07:00A New Name, a New Design, and a Giveaway!<div align="center">
Yep, if you haven't noticed, I got a new blog design (from the AMAZING Barbara at <a href="http://www.rubyslippersblogdesigns.com/">Ruby Slippers Blog Design</a>) a few days ago and have changed up my name from Random Craftiness to Kindergarten Craftiness. To celebrate these changes, I thought I would throw a little giveaway with some help from some of my incredible friends!</div>
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The giveaway will run until midnight on Friday, January 24 and I will announce the winner Saturday morning. Be sure to check out all the great prizes below!!</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-9135480129305620712014-01-19T00:30:00.000-07:002014-01-19T11:16:41.027-07:00More Craftiness and 2 FREEBIES!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
As if I wasn't getting crafty enough with the <a href="http://kindergarten-craftiness.blogspot.com/2013/12/craftiness-double-whammy-pickle.html">Rekenreks and Listening Phones</a> last time, I thought I would throw out another little tutorial for you all. This time for a number-line made from a paint stir stick. It's a fast one, I promise :)</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4GirCzySIs8/UtG2ko43KZI/AAAAAAAAB18/NNzY4KDr0Lw/s1600/IMG_6226.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4GirCzySIs8/UtG2ko43KZI/AAAAAAAAB18/NNzY4KDr0Lw/s1600/IMG_6226.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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So here's what you'll need for each number line you'll be making:</div>
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~a paint stir stick (you can usually get them for free at Lowe's or Home Depot if you ask the paint counter)</div>
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~a drill with a 1/32 drill bit</div>
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~craft paint in whatever color you like and a paint brush</div>
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~my number line <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Number-Line-Printable-1055446">template</a> (or you can just write your numbers on there when you're done if you would rather)</div>
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~Mod Podge (I used the gloss finish Mod Podge)</div>
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~a pipecleaner</div>
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~a bead</div>
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~a strong glue (I used E6000 glue)</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2z5kXOKXHRU/UtG2lUlYm9I/AAAAAAAAB2A/mi5eH5Aud-M/s1600/IMG_6228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2z5kXOKXHRU/UtG2lUlYm9I/AAAAAAAAB2A/mi5eH5Aud-M/s1600/IMG_6228.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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First of all, drill a hole in each end towards the top. Just be careful to not drill too close to the corner or your stick will split.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fuNaBb6cQtw/UtG2mNI6PnI/AAAAAAAAB2M/NFajvpM8Gu4/s1600/IMG_6229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fuNaBb6cQtw/UtG2mNI6PnI/AAAAAAAAB2M/NFajvpM8Gu4/s1600/IMG_6229.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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It should look something like this.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JKSWoTljvuU/UtG2oUf4elI/AAAAAAAAB2g/H6MDn9Njktc/s1600/IMG_6232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JKSWoTljvuU/UtG2oUf4elI/AAAAAAAAB2g/H6MDn9Njktc/s1600/IMG_6232.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then paint the stir stick whatever color you want. I had to do two coats of paint because, as you can see, the print on the stir stick was still visible after one coat. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xpUyz52POG8/UtG2oRIe4DI/AAAAAAAAB2k/SNYn1u1NMNw/s1600/IMG_6233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xpUyz52POG8/UtG2oRIe4DI/AAAAAAAAB2k/SNYn1u1NMNw/s1600/IMG_6233.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then, simply cut the template, paint some Mod Podge on and stick the template to the Mod Podge (since it acts as a glue). I also did a second coat of the Mod Podge to seal it up so it would last a long while. Then I just added the bead to the pipecleaner, put the pipecleaner through each hole, glue each end of the pipecleaner to the back to secure and done!!</div>
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We actually used these in my class when we played our Count Your Stones game. Some of the kiddos had difficulties with counting on so, when they drew a card, they could move the bead to that number on the number line and it helped them see where to start.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y1IU-h4UGeI/UtG-_ScKfiI/AAAAAAAAB28/POJ02oDEjQQ/s1600/IMG_6266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y1IU-h4UGeI/UtG-_ScKfiI/AAAAAAAAB28/POJ02oDEjQQ/s1600/IMG_6266.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Want to try the game yourself? You can find it here:</div>
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17 rhyming activities that can be used as small group activities or even as assessments! And that's only one of the great packs included in this Educents bundle!</div>
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<a href="http://www.educents.com/#poyzerkatie"><img alt="www.educents.com/#poyzerkatie" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QAWQfihgyeE/UtNEtq-VpUI/AAAAAAAAB6M/MjtKZCzN-CA/s1600/group+bundle.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">For a limited time the whole bundle is $29.99 from Educents which is over
70% off!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;">It also includes these other great products so there is sure
to be many things you love! (They even have $10 off for first time customers…
so it can be even cheaper if you have never bought anything from
Educents!)</span></div>
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As always, let me know what you think and enjoy!</div>
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<br />Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-20239284789024775682014-01-18T20:52:00.002-07:002014-01-18T20:52:58.787-07:00<div align="center">
Notice anything new? I sure hope so!! I just got an amazing makeover! A blog makeover that is! It was a special gift from an amazing friend and I think it looks great! To celebrate, I plan to have a little giveaway happening in the next few days so, keep your eye out! </div>
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In the meantime, I thought I would share a little freebie with you all, just in time for Valentine's Day! We happen to be working on CVC word reading for the next few weeks and, as a part of that, we do a lot of real and nonsense word reading to encourage actual sounding out rather than just memorization. To go along with my Valentine's unit, I made this simple little color-by-real-word activity where kiddos simply read the "word" in each box, decide if it's a real word or not, and, if it is, color in the box! Nice and simple!! I hope you enjoy it!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Color-by-Real-and-Nonsense-Word-1063910"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentines-Color-by-Real-and-Nonsense-Word-1063910" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7WMYMV2edFI/UttL_NY12pI/AAAAAAAAB7c/eE4Em5zkTy4/s1600/original-1063910-1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-5223624374229092842014-01-02T12:10:00.001-07:002014-01-02T12:10:42.360-07:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Yep, that's right... 2 posts in 2 days! I think that's a new record for me. This will be a short one though. </div>
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I got some wonderful advice from a fellow blogger. She suggested that I change my blog name a bit to something a little more... "teachery" but still "crafty". Hence, "Kindergarten Craftiness". The content will stay the same, but the name changed. Plus, to complete the transition, I'm getting a blog makeover at the end of the month!! </div>
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Through the course of this transition, I didn't realize that, if you followed me with Blog Lovin', you might have to re-follow me to continue to get updates. So, if you would like to continue to read all my adorable, witty posts, be sure you have me followed!</div>
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<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/11503569/?claim=sb5ef642suz">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a></div>
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Thanks!!</div>
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Katie</div>
Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-28353880820517931312014-01-01T21:54:00.002-07:002014-01-01T21:54:26.375-07:00Out with the old, in with the new... 2014!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Wow, I cannot believe 2013 is over already! It seems like the year had just started and now we're in 2014. It was such a great year with my brother getting married, our family vacation to Denver and California, and, of course, lots of time with my hubby and kiddos!</div>
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For the first time in a few months, I'm linking up to <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2013/12/january-currently.html">Oh Boy 4th Grade's</a> monthly Currently link up to share a bit about what's been going on with me.</div>
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The majority of the things above are pretty self-explanatory... my daughter wanted a treat, hence the root beer float, what better way to spend winter break than in your jammies, having no motivation to do anything over break (who does?!?), needing a maid so I have one less thing on my crazy long to-do list....</div>
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However, there are a few things that obviously need some more detail. My goals for next year being one of them. As I was thinking about resolutions yesterday, I had pretty much decided to not make any so I didn't have any disappointment down the road (yeah, I'm not so great at keeping up with resolutions). But then I got to thinking about the crazy long to do list I mentioned above and realized something... Does it really need to be that long?!? So I have a whole ONE resolution this year... prioritize!</div>
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Instead of trying to do a million things at once, feeling overwhelmed at the long list, then feeling guilty when I don't get anything done, I'm going to get better at prioritizing. So, instead of a long list of resolutions, I'm going to instead make a list of priorities... and stick to it!</div>
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1. God (finding some way to improve my daily worship)</div>
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2. Family (making sure to spend *meaningful* time with my hubby and girls every day)</div>
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3. Friends (setting aside time with friends at least twice a month)</div>
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4. Work (using my time effectively so I am able to spend more time on the first of my 3 priorities without my job suffering while still being as good of a teacher, if not better, than I am now)</div>
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5. Online work (I have very lofty goals here like blogging 4-5 times a week and creating 2 new products a week but I'm not going to stress myself out by trying to do that and ending up neglecting one of my higher priorities)</div>
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6. Housework (yep, this is on the bottom of my list because, frankly, I have a wonderful hubby that helps A LOT with the daily work like dishes and laundry so, thankfully, that helps immensely!!)</div>
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Now, on to the memory for 2013... my first AZ Blogger Meet Up! </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kqcx93VR5lw/UsTwZqHhgOI/AAAAAAAAB1M/OY1ceJADbLY/s1600/Dec+13+blogger+meetup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kqcx93VR5lw/UsTwZqHhgOI/AAAAAAAAB1M/OY1ceJADbLY/s320/Dec+13+blogger+meetup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This was so much fun and I met a lot of truly amazing ladies! They set such an incredible example of leadership and success. I am so proud to be part of such a great group. Now we just need to set up our next meeting!</div>
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Have a wonderful New Year's Day!</div>
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Katie</div>
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<br />Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-22772032150730947732013-12-29T17:00:00.000-07:002014-01-08T22:01:14.746-07:00Craftiness Double Whammy!: Pickle Listening Phones and Chalkboard Rekenreks<div align="center">
My winter break is half over *sigh* and I was finally able to do a few crafty, productive projects for my classroom for when we return in a week :'( So today I'm linking up with Preserving Life's Awesome Things blog hop:<br />
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<a href="http://jessicabooth.blogspot.com/2014/01/awesome-things-tuesday.html"><img alt="http://jessicabooth.blogspot.com/2014/01/awesome-things-tuesday.html" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BsLZJA05kdU/Us4tBhDs8BI/AAAAAAAAB1s/lU_lml-s4Ak/s1600/awesome+things+blog+hop.jpg" /></a></div>
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I have been meaning to make both of these items for a while but, being both OCD and ADD (or so I think I am), I had to think for quite a while about how I wanted to do both of them and came up with the following results.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6ExpbBBauc/UsCsV3A8gdI/AAAAAAAABxM/neRP6RseSVs/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6ExpbBBauc/UsCsV3A8gdI/AAAAAAAABxM/neRP6RseSVs/s320/1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Voila! My Pickle Listening Phone and Chalkboard Rekenrek!! I'm so super excited about how these turned out that it almost makes me excited for winter break to be over so I can use them with my kiddos. Almost...</div>
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Anyhoo, Pickle Phones first...</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ne2_Mo1NBuM/UsCsejGpuII/AAAAAAAAByY/_UJF4A8Yzl8/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ne2_Mo1NBuM/UsCsejGpuII/AAAAAAAAByY/_UJF4A8Yzl8/s320/2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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These were so insanely easy that I was tempted to just post the pictures and leave it at that as they kind of speak for themselves but then I thought "Why deprive you all of my witty and clever commentary?!?" ;)</div>
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So, all you need is 4" lengths of 3/4" PVC pipe, 90 degree PVC elbows, and some duct tape. I was so excited when I found this adorable pickle tape. It's actually what got me motivated to make the phones to begin with! Plus, it helps that the guy at Home Depot cut the pipe into 4" pieces for me. </div>
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*Note: I chose to get my supplies from Home Depot because they actually had a professional plumber's pack of the elbow joints. It had 25 pieces in a bag so, to make 25 phones, I just had to get 2 $5 bags of elbow joints and one 10 foot length of pipe totaling a whole $15 in cost!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHUBMNitudw/UsCsnjg4XqI/AAAAAAAABzk/0xsnSMF5fNo/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FHUBMNitudw/UsCsnjg4XqI/AAAAAAAABzk/0xsnSMF5fNo/s320/3.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Alright, first thing's first. Shove an elbow piece onto each end of the pipe piece. It takes quite a bit of elbow grease and I won't lie, my arms hurt a bit after assembling 25!</div>
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Check to make sure the two elbow pieces are even (I just eyeballed it).</div>
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Ta da! It's a phone! But kind of a boring looking one.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6RLIfc3J0u0/UsCsqv_kEEI/AAAAAAAABz8/Vp_vKJGl-KE/s1600/6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6RLIfc3J0u0/UsCsqv_kEEI/AAAAAAAABz8/Vp_vKJGl-KE/s320/6.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Plus the majority of my pieces had print on them. The solution? Super cute duct tape!</div>
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Simply put one end on, wrap, snip, and smooth! And yes, the pickle is saying "Dill with it!" hehe</div>
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And done!! Easy peasy!</div>
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You gotta love the look of a completely finished project! Especially when it only takes an hour or so for a set of 25. And they only ended up costing about 80 cents a piece!!!</div>
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Now on to the rekenreks. These are MUCH more time consuming than the snap-together phones.</div>
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I used all the items in the picture above: hobby wood from Home Depot, a miter box saw, power drill with 1/8" drill bit, sandpaper block, rekenrek template (link below), green paint, chalkboard paint, paintbrushes, pipecleaners, and red and white pony beads (not pictured).</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qSMePcNiIhg/UsCsV12cJsI/AAAAAAAABxI/FoU67V0m9pM/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qSMePcNiIhg/UsCsV12cJsI/AAAAAAAABxI/FoU67V0m9pM/s320/11.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I thought I would give you a shot of the tag on the wood since I was able to get 4 perfectly sized rekenreks out of one board. The one board measures 1/4" thick and 2/5" by 2 feet long.</div>
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Also, the paint is all available at local craft stores. I've even seen it at Walmart!</div>
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The miter box is probably not a necessity as I'm sure the wonderful guys at Home Depot probably would have cut this for me too but I wasn't sure of how big I wanted them until I got home and did some more thinking.</div>
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I ended up cutting the board into fourths making each rekenrek 2.5"x6". </div>
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Set it in the miter box and saw away.</div>
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Once you're done, you'll probably have a rough edge on the end. </div>
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Just attack it with the sandpaper block and it will take care of that in no time.</div>
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Next, cut out your template (or you can just wing it but my OCD brain would never go for that). I just used a hole punch for the big holes. If you would like my template, you can find it <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rekenrek-Template-1033687">here</a>. I included two versions, one with a space for an answer box like the one I made and one with just the 4 holes.</div>
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Put the template on the wood and mark the holes with a marker.</div>
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Then use your drill to make the 4 holes.</div>
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Grab that trusty sanding block and clean up the holes on the front and back sides.</div>
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Then you get to paint! I started with the sides and back then the front.</div>
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Once dry, I chopped the answer box portion off the template and cut out the middle to use as a stencil. (I was going to use a teeny tiny paper punch I have but left it at work and I'll be darned if I'm going to work for a paper punch!)</div>
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Once you're done with all the painting, you're ready for the beads. Simply add 5 of one color and 5 of another (I chose the traditional red and white) to your pipecleaner.</div>
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Thread the ends of the pipecleaner through your drilled holes as evenly as possible.</div>
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Twist and wrap the ends together.</div>
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And you're done!</div>
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And my kiddos will love that they can write an answer in the space on the right and still be able to erase and change as necessary!</div>
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Enjoy!</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-61302052208233874632013-12-26T00:01:00.000-07:002013-12-26T00:01:00.187-07:00Another great giveaway!<div style="text-align: center;">
Tammy Ferrell over at Dots of Fun Clipart and 1, 2, 3, Teach With Me has hit her 1,000 follower milestone and, of course, to celebrate, is having a giveaway over at her ____ blog. To check it out, click the picture below:</div>
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<a href="http://www.123teachwithme.com/"><img alt="http://www.123teachwithme.com/" border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NvPrJRX5JLM/Urir9BNGdPI/AAAAAAAABwg/89l1wRvUVUI/s320/1000+follower+dec+26+to+29.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Plus, if you've been eyeing my Rhyming Bundle, you'll find that included in the pack!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Unit-Mega-Bundle-17-Rhyming-Activities-931014"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Unit-Mega-Bundle-17-Rhyming-Activities-931014" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Os5wTah0FJ8/UrisC4ctToI/AAAAAAAABwo/hJWzzFZbHyI/s320/Slide1.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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So, take a second and head over to her blog to enter to win!</div>
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Katie</div>
Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-71389252716022156762013-12-20T20:04:00.001-07:002013-12-20T20:29:23.702-07:00Christmas Craftiness<div align="center">
We had such a CRAZY busy week this week but, as usual, it was so much fun! We used every spare moment to work on making gift bags with goodies for the kiddos to take home to their parents.</div>
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The first thing we made were cinnamon applesauce ornaments. These are my absolute favorite ornaments because they are ridiculously easy and cheap to make, especially when I have wonderfully generous classroom parents that ask to bring in supplies. All we needed for these was a bit of applesauce and an equal amount of cinnamon. Simply mix them together and they turn into a dough that you can use as playdough in a center or, like we did, roll them out and cut with a cookie cutter to make an ornament. Two tips though: 1) Use a straw to make a hole in the top while it's still wet so it will be easier to make into an ornament later and 2) make these at least a few days before you need to have them done. They do take a while to dry and I would HIGHLY recommend flipping them every day or so. </div>
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When we made these, we were doing them with a class of 16 kiddos so we did them as one of our centers on Monday, put the ornaments on cookie sheets to dry and labeled them by putting their names on masking tape on the cookie sheet. They were dry by Thursday so we could tie ribbon on them!</div>
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The second project we did was a snowflake frame. We started by making a VERY simple backdrop so we could take a picture of each of the kiddos for in their frame. We have a very culturally diverse class so we strive to make things winter based, just in case.</div>
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The first part of the project was done on Monday afternoon since, of course, it needed to dry before we could do the second part. All the kiddos did was to paint popsicle sticks (4 per child) and puzzle pieces (about 8 per child) with white paint. Unfortunately, we were out of regular wood colored sticks, so we improvised and used these colored ones instead. </div>
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For part two, I simply printed out their pictures in 3 1/2" by 5" size, trimmed them so they were 3 1/2" square, and glued them in the center of a 4 1/2" square paper. This gave them a nice 1/2" border around their picture to glue the popsicle sticks onto. Then, once the sticks were one, they glued as many puzzle pieces on as they wanted and they were done! (I actually kind of loved them with the colored sticks!)</div>
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Our third project was also a multi-parter and I think it was the kids' favorite. We started out by making some microwave snow playdough. Super easy! I just used the recipe below:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xHzpcV2zpkw/UrUJi8UlLgI/AAAAAAAABtQ/kToMlbVLwlU/s1600/microwave+playdough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xHzpcV2zpkw/UrUJi8UlLgI/AAAAAAAABtQ/kToMlbVLwlU/s320/microwave+playdough.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The big difference with our dough was that I put glitter in it instead of food coloring so it had a sparkly white look. Plus, instead of heating it for one long time period, I found it turned out MUCH better to do 30 seconds at a time so it could be stirred and it wouldn't get over-cooked. Plus, the kids loved to see it after each 30 seconds to check on its progress. Once it felt doughy, it was done!</div>
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As I was doing the dough with half the class, my aide was making these adorable snowmen jars out of baby food jars with the other half. It's seriously just black and orange construction paper with Elmer's school glue. Just use a regular ol' one hole paper punch for the eyes and mouth and free-hand cut some little triangles. I told the kiddos that the black circles were for the eyes and mouth and the triangle was the nose. Where they put them was totally up to them.</div>
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Once the dough was cooled, we put it in the jars and they were ready to go!</div>
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Finally, each kiddo got a brown paper bag to decorate with some of our random crafty supplies. We just put out sparkly confetti, glitter glue (which we like to put on plates with Q-tips so they can "paint" it on), markers, and crayons. </div>
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We then wrapped the applesauce ornaments in tissue paper and put everything in the bags so they were ready to go! Nothing like super cute (and cheap!) gifts!!</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-66928738115937128622013-12-17T19:16:00.001-07:002013-12-17T19:16:17.969-07:00You won't find Santa at our house!When I was a little girl, I remember laying in bed trying to hear reindeer on the roof, going to sit on Santa's lap each year to tell him what I wanted, and the excitement I felt each year on Christmas morning when I would run downstairs to see what he had left me. However, I also remember being told to be good or I would get coal in my stocking, singing songs like "You better not pout, You better not cry, You better not shout, I'm telling you why...", and writing a letter to Santa in school each year telling him everything I was hoping to find under the tree on Christmas morning only to find something completely different under the tree. <br />
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I was always a bit puzzled when I didn't get exactly what I wanted and tried my hardest to be extra good the next year and to be super detailed in my letter only to be disappointed year after year. <br />
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Now I know what you're thinking... getting what you want for Christmas is not what Christmas is about. As an adult, I completely understand that. However, as a child, when all you hear is "Be good so you get gifts", it's kind of difficult to think of anything else. <br />
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Sure, we went to Catholic Mass with my mom's family (is an 8-year old really going to pay attention?). And yes, we knew that Christmas was supposed to celebrate Jesus's birth. But, how does the idea of a man in a red suit watching you to make sure you're being good an accurate celebration of the nativity? <br />
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Don't get me wrong, I am NOT anti-Santa. I love the traditional idea behind Santa... the spirit of giving and generosity. However, it seems like it's been distorted into something that is more about getting children to behave at this crazy time of year rather than the joy of giving a gift to someone that may not otherwise get one. It's more bribery and threats than magic and making wishes come true. <br />
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Then there's a certain elf that's supposed to be watching to make sure your child is behaving when they themselves are causing all kinds of mischief... (but we won't get into that)<br />
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Now, I'm not saying that our Christmas traditions are perfect or even novel by any means. We go to church Christmas Eve. We have stocking by our fireplace and gifts under the tree. However, we have family traditions that have been in our family for generations and that have meaning behind them other than getting our children to behave. For example, one of my favorite traditions is our hide-the-pickle-ornament tradition. I have a beautiful hand-blown glass pickle ornament that I got from my parents and, on Christmas Eve, after our girls have gone to bed, we hid the ornament on the tree and, the first to find it, gets to open the first gift. It's a very old German tradition and, being half-German, it is one of my favorites.<br />
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Also, perhaps the best tradition we have in our house is to make a baby Jesus birthday cake on Christmas Eve. It's not a tradition that has been handed down for many generations but, because we had decided to not do Santa, we wanted something that, in our Christian household, would support the true meaning of Christmas. There are lots of ideas online for a Jesus birthday cake but we decided to combine a few that had great symbolism behind them.<br />
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We start out with a chocolate cake (representing our sin) and frost it with white frosting (representing how Jesus covered our sin by dying on the cross). Then, we have little angel figurines that we add for the angel that spoke to Joseph and for the angel that declared his birth. We also add a star to the cake for the star that guided the wise men. Then we put a few evergreen trees to symbolize his everlasting love. And finally, we add candles and light them because he is the light of our world.<br />
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Now, the cake has taken on various forms over the years because the girls like to get creative with their ideas. One year we did chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and frosted them as if they were a sheet cake and added our toppings. Another year we did a very traditional round two layer cake. Yet another year, we decided to use our cookie cutters to make angel, tree, and star cookies to frost and add to the tree. No matter what we do, we make sure the message is still there and we make sure the point of the activity is to remember that it is Jesus's birthday and not just an excuse to eat cake (although that is a bonus!).<br />
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Don't think that it has been easy by any means to skip Santa. Last year Noella begged to do Santa. And trust me, it was VERY tempting to give in because it can be very fun. However, we had our reasons for not doing it up until that point so we stuck to our guns. So, we asked her if she would believe a gift was from Santa if she found one from him under the tree. When she said "no" we explained that the point of Santa is the belief in the spirit of Christmas. Then we told her that, if she were to believe in something, we would rather her believe in God and Jesus who can gift you with everlasting life rather than Santa who would bring you toys. Then, once we reminded her that she wouldn't get any additional gifts if we did Santa, that we would only take a gift from us and label it "from Santa", she got the point.<br />
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Then the kicker came... We asked her to remember her last birthday and how she felt when everyone came over to celebrate with her. She said she loved it. Then we asked how she would feel if some of her friends forgot her birthday and decided to go to someone else's house just because they were going to give them a toy. She said she would be crushed. Then she got that "lightbulb" look in her eyes and she hasn't asked to do Santa again.<br />
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So yes, we do gifts, we do stockings, we do Christmas lights, but we also do Jesus, birthday cake, and faith! There may not be Santa here but we're OK with that!<br />
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-8430774791403841112013-12-10T00:30:00.000-07:002013-12-10T00:30:00.019-07:00Everyone loves a giveaway!<div style="text-align: center;">
Everyone loves a giveaway, right? Well, be sure to check out Tina's Teaching Treasures to enter her 1,000 TpT follower giveaway. Products from 25 TpT sellers plus a $25 TpT gift certificate!! Can't beat that!</div>
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<a href="http://www.tinasteachingtreasures.com/tinas-blog/1000-follower-giveaway/"><img alt="http://www.tinasteachingtreasures.com/tinas-blog/1000-follower-giveaway/" border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BQ5duCtCNVQ/UqaQqG6a8MI/AAAAAAAABoo/b8VOLxCEbV4/s320/ttt+1000+tpt+giveaway.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-70891568825909254022013-12-07T10:59:00.003-07:002013-12-07T11:03:02.624-07:00Winter Product Swap<div style="text-align: center;">
I am SO excited to be participating in a Winter Product Swap over at <a href="http://t11w.blogspot.com/">...and they all fall down...!</a></div>
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I get the honor of swapping with Blair Turner over at One Lesson At A Time.</div>
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<a href="http://one-lesson-at-a-time.blogspot.com/"><img alt="http://one-lesson-at-a-time.blogspot.com/" border="0" height="161" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mW2QYQOxq-4/UppoM-z9CsI/AAAAAAAABiE/7xpNyR2VAww/s640/header3_zps57b4cbff.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Although I work with Pre-K kiddos, Blair's Holiday Grammar Pack was still a very useful pack as my older daughter is in second grade and working on grammar as we speak! Nothing like perfect timing... and a perfect pack!!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Holidays-Grammar-Packet-974128"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Holidays-Grammar-Packet-974128" border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BEPNxohLouM/UppqOoawbjI/AAAAAAAABiQ/oBXslRT9KaM/s320/original-974128-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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My daughter loved the variety of activities in this pack!! It includes pages for various kinds of grammar including parts of speech, present to past tense verbs, etc. and the content of each page covers a different winter holiday like Diwali, Hanukkah, and lots of others! So not only did she work on her grammar... She also learned about winter holidays celebrated by various cultures! The best part? A key is included for each page! </div>
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She said her favorite pages were "Trim the Christmas Tree" (a color-by-parts of speech activity) and "Chinese New Year Noun Search" (circle the singular nouns with red and the plural nouns with yellow). Anything where she can use markers or crayons is right up her alley!!</div>
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Blair also offers a variety of freebies on her page including her "Holiday Coupon Book" which my class is going to do in a couple weeks as part of their holiday gift to their parents!!! Not only is it ADORABLE, but it also has a blackline version which my crayon-inclined kiddos are going to love!</div>
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Be sure to check our Blair's store for more great goodies...</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Blair-Turner"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Blair-Turner" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gHtZ19NfJro/UppsJTUm2KI/AAAAAAAABic/Qu0KKlPFPqw/s1600/421486.jpg" /></a></div>
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and the rest of the product swaps over at ...and they all fall down...:</div>
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<a href="http://t11w.blogspot.com/"><img alt="http://t11w.blogspot.com/" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yR0XVQ0DGGM/UpptB7-9aEI/AAAAAAAABis/Jz91AKlLHXQ/s1600/linky+button.png" /></a></div>
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Have a wonderful holiday season!</div>
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Katie</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-16898971431496710202013-11-30T16:04:00.000-07:002013-11-30T16:04:01.541-07:00Wonderfulness in the Works!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I am so excited to be a part of the winter product swap going on over at ...and they all fall down...! I get to review an amazing Holiday Grammar Pack by Blair Turner and, although I teach Pre-K, it is actually a perfect pack for my 2nd grade daughter! {Goodness knows she could always use a little more practice with her grammar!}</div>
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In the meantime, be sure to check out Blair's store here:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Blair-Turner"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Blair-Turner" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gHtZ19NfJro/UppsJTUm2KI/AAAAAAAABig/Z3zx0JEcC20/s1600/421486.jpg" /></a></div>
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And her Holiday Grammar Pack here:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Holidays-Grammar-Packet-974128"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Holidays-Grammar-Packet-974128" border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BEPNxohLouM/UppqOoawbjI/AAAAAAAABiU/MAxWV_F6KxQ/s320/original-974128-1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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And don't forget to mark Dec. 7th on your calendar so you can stop back and check out all the other awesome Holiday Product Swaps!</div>
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Katie</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-58543075609595188942013-11-27T01:30:00.000-07:002013-11-29T15:06:37.956-07:00Good news and even better news!<div style="text-align: center;">
With Thanksgiving and the winter holidays approaching, there is always a lot going on. Of course, being done with Thanksgiving planning and prepping, I am looking forward to December plans and, as usual, our week of family traditions right before winter break. It's always a tricky unit to plan because our class is so culturally diverse. My solution? A take home project of course! ;)</div>
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I don't even begin to put on the front that I know a lot about other holidays besides for ones we actually celebrate in my home. Being the only blonde-haired, blue-eyed person in my classroom, it doesn't leave a lot of holidays that I know anything about. So of course I decided to have the parents to a project with their kiddos to bring in and share. This way we could all learn more about our classmates and their families. </div>
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What is this project you might ask? It's very simple. Each child takes home a paper to fill out talking about their favorite winter holiday tradition. I actually made two versions of the paper since I'm encouraging the parents to find the picture first and then to choose a page depending on the orientation of the picture (landscape or portrait). Then they simply put the picture on the page and help their child fill in the answers to the questions. Having Pre-K kiddos, we work a lot on handwriting so I used the line-dash-lines instead of just a blank line and told the parents to encourage their child to sound out and write the answers in. If they didn't feel their child could write all the letters on their own, they were to write the letters with a yellow highlighter or marker so their child could trace them and still get handwriting practice. Then they bring the pages back the week before our traditions unit so I can laminate them and bind them into a book before using it to introduce our traditions unit the following Monday.</div>
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So what is the good news? I've made the pages with a blank cover and a note to send home with the pages available in my store for FREE! Just click the picture below to find it!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Family-Traditions-Class-Book-Pages-994885"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Family-Traditions-Class-Book-Pages-994885" border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xv-YUDRj9Rc/UpUCJFs51BI/AAAAAAAABhY/4tf7htCV-1M/s320/Slide1.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And now for the even better news: TpT will be having their annual Cyber Monday Sale on December 2 and 3!! Everything in my store will be 20% off plus you can use the TpT code to get an additional 20% off making it a total of about 28% off everything in my store and many other stores! So be sure to start working on that wishlist now so you can take full advantage of the sale in a few days. Just click the computer screen below to go to my store!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Random-Craftiness"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Random-Craftiness" border="0" height="245" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5hbuSXlzgBY/UpkP2L2NecI/AAAAAAAABh0/ZE1hkluVdoo/s320/black+friday+2013+flyer+with+code.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Enjoy your nice long weekend!</div>
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Katie</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-68236741162991123302013-11-12T20:08:00.000-07:002013-11-12T20:08:03.384-07:00Feed Pilgrims and Santa!<div align="center">
Oh my, I cannot believe it is November already! We're already in our 15th week of school... almost half done with the year!!</div>
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Plus, yesterday being Veteran's day, we didn't have school. However, I paid for it today! Longest... Day... EVER! The upside is that I did get a couple new things made for my TpT shop, one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas (yes, I know it's November). </div>
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I am so excited about these sets that I actually wish it was Thanksgiving already (and not for the food and shopping). I just cannot wait to use these in my classroom!</div>
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Both packs have the same basic idea behind them: assemble the box in kind of the same manner as you would a die and cut out the cards you need to practice the skill you're working on. I usually laminate mine since I use mine with my Pre-K kiddos and they tend to get kind of rough with materials. </div>
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The completed boxes look like this:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iAPf2TG5H9E/UoLsDXrZMKI/AAAAAAAABcQ/cXW70pHUP7U/s1600/IMG_5922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iAPf2TG5H9E/UoLsDXrZMKI/AAAAAAAABcQ/cXW70pHUP7U/s320/IMG_5922.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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(Only a little better because I actually ran out of color ink and had to print in grayscale and color them with my daughter's markers *sigh* Nothing like teacher problems)</div>
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Anyhoo, both sets are available in my shop and you can find them by clicking on the pictures below:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Feed-the-Pilgrim-Math-and-Literacy-Thanksgiving-Center-963748"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Feed-the-Pilgrim-Math-and-Literacy-Thanksgiving-Center-963748" border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--Acbm26RNAc/UoLsCVHoL4I/AAAAAAAABcI/rnnKwNlDnPs/s320/Slide1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Feed-Santa-Math-and-Literacy-Centers-974389"><img alt="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Feed-Santa-Math-and-Literacy-Centers-974389" border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yoQE3C3YOps/UoLsC5rcWAI/AAAAAAAABcU/abI2IRs8Hqg/s320/Slide1.PNG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Make sure to check out the rest of the awesome Monday Make It posts here:</div>
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<a href="http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/2013/11/monday-made-it-november.html"><img alt="http://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com/2013/11/monday-made-it-november.html" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Dt5n-e8pUlk/UoLsDJ8H8NI/AAAAAAAABcY/n_z7BzzdPeM/s1600/monday+made+it.png" /></a></div>
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Thanks for reading!</div>
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Katie</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-69140842780814009952013-10-20T12:05:00.001-07:002013-10-21T07:51:29.981-07:00No Tricks, Just Treats Giveaway!<div align="center">
An amazing blogger friend of mine has just hit her 1,000 follower milestone on TpT and Facebook so she is celebrating by having 5 days of giveaways! The first day is all about teacher style. Make sure to head over and check her out. You'll find one of my Infinity Scarves in amongst the goodies! Just click the picture below to see what she's giving away and be sure to check back over the next 5 days to see what else she has!</div>
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<a href="http://www.cotesclass.com/2013/10/no-tricks-just-treats-giveaway-day-1.html"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kx4lzQ8NseU/UmQpWNUZENI/AAAAAAAABQQ/x86afsoxQKM/s320/100giveawayBUTTON.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Have a great rest of the weekend!</div>
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Katie</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-86512996660832084902013-10-18T08:09:00.002-07:002013-10-18T08:10:11.571-07:00Pumpkin Five For Friday<div style="text-align: center;">
Yay for Friday!! Be sure to check out the other Five For Friday posts here:</div>
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This week was our first week back from break. Thankfully I was able to enjoy a bit of our break by going to a Kid's Museum with my girls. They loved it!! This was just a tiny bit of the awesome wonderfulness at this place!!</div>
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Now that we're back and it's fall, we started back with talking about the life cycle of a pumpkin. I found this great dry erase contact paper on clearance over break and decided to put a chunk on one of my cabinets so I had extra writing space when teaching. LOVE IT!!</div>
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One of the science projects we do every year is to cut a pumpkin open, fill it with dirt (don't take the seeds out!), and watch pumpkins grow inside of the pumpkin! My daughter helped me out by filling it with dirt this morning.</div>
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We're also talking about the parts of a pumpkin so my class made these super cute diagrams of a pumpkin with all the labeled parts!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rhyming-Unit-Mega-Bundle-931014"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v1vyk8Y1uzc/UmFNj1X5sOI/AAAAAAAABNU/d98M8dc0zhY/s320/IMG+5779.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Finally, although it took me a couple days, I was even able to make a little something this week. The Kindergarten team at my school is wonderful and I tend to go to them when I have questions (I teach Pre-K so it only makes sense to ask the grade my kiddos will be moving up to). So, when they started talking about needing some new rhyming activities, I jumped on it and created my 72 page rhyming packet! In fact, it will be on sale until tomorrow night! Just click the picture above to take a look at it.</div>
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Enjoy your weekend!</div>
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Katie</div>
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Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-8727768523846105212013-10-12T14:16:00.002-07:002013-10-12T14:25:57.142-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2NiSp0ux9iQ/Ulm-WRENk3I/AAAAAAAABM4/RdIWZfZM_nE/s1600/100K+flash+sale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2NiSp0ux9iQ/Ulm-WRENk3I/AAAAAAAABM4/RdIWZfZM_nE/s400/100K+flash+sale.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Gotta love a good sale! To celebrate reaching 100,000 fans on Facebook, TpT is having a flash sale until tomorrow night! Just enter the code FB100K to get 10% off your total purchase. Plus, to help celebrate, I have everything in my store on sale for 20% giving you a total savings of 28%!!</div>
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Be sure to check it out before it's over!!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Random-Craftiness"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MHiwxYJRbRE/Ulm8Ij9LJKI/AAAAAAAABMs/CbshpJ3mu2g/s1600/facebook+logo.jpg" /></a></div>
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Katie</div>
<br />Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4827507714816061974.post-67411254001443324502013-10-06T15:31:00.001-07:002013-10-14T07:14:46.490-07:00Make It Monday and Currently (a little late)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Alright, I'll give you all a little fair warning... this might be a bit of a lengthy post. After all, Make It Mondays are only once a month now so I have to put a month's worth of "Make Its" into one post!</div>
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<a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2013/10/currently-october.html"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kVYgdaCdqdM/UlHee9z-ymI/AAAAAAAABLw/iNL5AQ2j7NA/s640/currently.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Listening: My girls are absolutely obsessed with the Disney Channel right now so that's about all they watch when the TV is actually on and, of course, they are hard of hearing and love to argue so they like to keep it nice and loud so they can hear it no matter where they are in the house ;)</div>
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Loving: Our school district does a modified year round schedule so, although we only get 6 weeks off in the summer, we get 2 weeks in the fall, winter, and spring. Not bad when you live in the desert and it's nicer in the fall anyway!</div>
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Thinking: Of course being the OCD type of person I am, I cannot fully enjoy break unless my house is clean, lesson planning for the next 3 weeks is done, groceries are bought, bills paid... you get the point. So, although I am on break, I'm kind of not...</div>
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Wanting: Being on break you would think I would be very well-rested... Not with 2 little girls in the house. We purposely let them stay up past their bed time during break with the hopes that they will sleep in. Nope! They still get up at the same time and then they're just cranky all day. *sigh* You would think we would learn!</div>
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Needing: Like I said, I have lots of things to get done and my break is half over. However, unless the task requires me to sit in front of the computer and search for cute craft/teaching ideas on Pinterest, it's not going to get done unless I get a serious dose of motivation some time soon!</div>
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Trick or Treat: I know this is probably a pretty obvious trick but I just discovered it recently and it has proven to be a HUGE lifesaver so far! I, like so many teachers out there, have an extensive collection of teacher resource books. Ones like "Sight Word Mini-Books" and "Math Card Games". Resources that would be wonderful to use in my classroom. And what do I do with them? The books sit on a bookshelf making it look like I use them and am a super awesome teacher when, in fact, they haven't ever been opened more than once when I looked at them in the store. They were bought with good intent but then, once it came time to plan my lessons, seemed like a huge waste of time to leaf through a hundred teacher books for one activity that was suitable. My solution? I took all my spare time over the past few weeks, looked through and marked any appropriate activities, and made copies of them. Then I took said copies and actually sorted them into the file folders that house all my resources for each unit. This way, if I come across an activity that reviews numbers 1-10, I am able to put it in with the rest of my Fall activities since that's when we'll be reviewing 1-10. Once I go to plan that unit, I'll have the activity already in the file and won't have to search through a stack of teacher books! Makes my planning so much easier and now I can bless one of my fellow teacher with a big stack of teacher books!!</div>
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Now for a few Monday Make It items. I stumbled upon a new method of knitting that is much faster than regular knitting and doesn't require anything but yarn and your fingers. In fact, it's much faster than regular knitting too! It's called "finger knitting" and I am addicted. I started making these scarves and fell in love instantly! Plus, I made cute little clips that can be used as an accent on the scarf or as a clip in the wearer's hair! The best part is that they can be looped 2 or three times for an adult or loop it an extra time to fit a child!</div>
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Green and purple</div>
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Gray and gold with a gold bow</div>
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Bow clip</div>
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Back of bow clip</div>
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Purple blue and gray with bow</div>
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Purple blue and gray bow</div>
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Back of bow</div>
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Maroon and gold</div>
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These are all available in<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/randomcraftinesskp?ref=ss_profile"> my Etsy shop!</a></div>
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After all, fall is finally here!!</div>
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Plus, I am bound and determined to use Lite Brites in my classroom so I decided to make a set of papers with uppercase and lowercase letters on them so I could use them in small group centers. Now to just invest in the Lite Brites!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Lite-Brite-Papers-with-Label-FULL-SET-878804"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rtgWkdq63zs/UlHq63gmFUI/AAAAAAAABMU/-TBAy5yd8xg/s320/Slide2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Have fun!</div>
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Katie</div>
<br />Random Craftinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07661012738872712557noreply@blogger.com3