Body Spelling with Dr. Jean & Friends

I was looking at all the AMAZING blogs (that I am stalking ~ again…thank you for all your ideas) for more activities to help my kiddos/friends/students learn to recognize and write their letters…I found the cutest idea on Dr. Jean's blog (www.drjeanandfriends.blogspot.com).  Instead of getting my report cards finished (by Friday) I had to make clip art and sorting/writing sheets to go with her BRILLIANT idea to use in my classroom.  Sometimes…I get an idea in my head and I have to do it now because I can’t focus on anything else…Do you ever feel that way?  Now...it is my turn to share with you!

Things you can do with body spelling are:

I     Sing the alphabet slowly saying the alphabet as they touch the appropriate body part

I     Spell out friend’s names

I     Make high frequency words

I     Practice spelling words

I     Sort letters ~ I have attached some a sorting and/or writing sheet to use. 

Tall letters (b, d, f, h, k, l, t)  - touch your head

Tummy letters (a, c, e, i, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, x, z) – touch your tummy

Toe letters (g, j, p, q, y) – touch your feet

PRINT ME FOR SOME "BODY LETTER" FUN!

Please leave a comment and/or share any other ideas that you would use "Body Letters" for in your classroom!

Sunshine Award ~ Thank You!

Here are the rules for accepting this award:
1. Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.
2. Answer the following questions below.
3. And pass the award to 10~12 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs and let them know you awarded them.

ThAnK YoU, Laura (Kinder Kraziness), so much for thinking of me.  It was so sweet of you!  Am I able to give the award back to you???  I really enjoy reading your blogs and love all your ideas. 

My answers to the questions:

• Favorite color? Red
• Favorite animal? Giraffe ~  I can't wait to take my son (Cayden - age 3) to see one this summer at the zoo in Green Bay. 
• Favorite number? 10 ~  I love top 10's and Zero the Hero!
• Favorite drink? Diet Dew and Coke Zero Vanilla.
• Facebook or Twitter? Facebook.  I do not have a Twitter account.  I do not think I have time to fit one more "tech" thing in my life right now. 
• Your passion? Simple...teaching kindergarten!  It is not only my job...it is also my hobby.  = Jobby!
• Giving or getting presents? Living is Giving!  I wish I had more money to give even more each day! 
• Favorite day? Saturday. I get to wake up with Cayden, Kelsea, and my husband.  My husband leaves Saturday afternoon to go to work and comes back on Tuesday.  Tuesday through Friday...Kelsea and I leave for school before the boys get up. 

Amber

Now to the hard part of choosing 10 blogs!





 

  

 

 

  

 

Teach~Teach As Much As You Can!

We will be working on Gingerbread Centers in the next couple of weeks.  I took some quick pictures of each center to share with you before Thanksgiving break.  (Just in case you want to spend your break making the centers ~ HE HE HE)

Guess Me If You Can
The students will look at the picture on the right and circle the correct vowel sound.  When the students finish both sides of sheet, he/she will have to put 5 of the words in order by sounding them out. 

Catching Beginning Sounds
The students will use a magnetic net to "catch"a gingerbread man and say the letter sound.  Then the student will dab/color the matching beginning sound on their recording sheet.

Gingerbread Rhymes
The students will match all the gingerbread boys and girls together.  Then the students will complete the worksheet by glueing the correct rhyming word on the gingerbread girl.

Gingerbread ABC'S
The students will put the gingerbread cookies in ABC order and write the letters on the recording sheet. 



How To Make Sure He Will Not Escape
The students will read the sentence on each page and tear that body part off of the gingerbread man.  When the student is finsihed illustrating the book he/she LOVES to read it back to the teacher.      



Sweet Patterns
The stduents complete the patterns by following the AB, ABB, AABB, ABC pattern on the candy. 

Gingerbread Addition House
The students will drop 10 Gingerbread Men onto the house.  Then the students will write how many fell on the gingerbread house and how many fell off the house.  Yes...they will all add up to 10!

"AN...FAMILY"  word search
The students will walk around the room and search for the "an" word family words on the gingerbread man.  When they find a gingerbread man they will write that word on his/her recording sheet.

You guessed it...if you would like a copy of any of the masters you see, you will have to go to my teacher website   www.luv2teachk.shutterfly.com
That is so "SWEET" of you to understand!

I am hoping to get my first "Rockstar" idea on Teachers Notebook over break.  Wish me luck!

SHAKE OF THE DAY!

YIPPEE~YUPPEE you heard me right....we have "Shake of the Day" in kindergarten!
The special student of the day gets to shake the bucket when they arrive at school to see if he/she can make a CVC word.  If the student makes a CVC word we will share it with class, and he/she gets a packet of Smarties.   Because you know...if they eat Smarties they are going to be smarter!  HE HE HE

What are some other "Shake of the Day" ideas:

• Shake all vowels
• Shake 2 words that rhyme
• Shake a picture and the letter of the beginning sound of that picture
• Addition or Subtraction
• 3 numbers in a row / example 4, 5, 6
• 3 dots / 3 / three

Teaching Kindergarten is so much fun!

Amber

FE-FI-FO FLUENCY FUN!

Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently.

Children who do not read with fluency sound choppy and awkward. Those students may have difficulty with decoding skills or they may just need more practice with speed and smoothness in reading.

Here are some fluency charts that I use in my classroom.  The students will read the chart individually and together out loud during calendar time, free choice time, and any spare time we have in our school day.  I will leave one of the charts up for a day, a couple of days, or a week.  Some of the charts I use in my classroom are; letters, letter sounds, sight words, word family words, and numbers.    

Fluency is also important for motivation; children who find reading difficult tend not to want read!

To find out what a kid can do to help themselves, what parents can do to help at home, and what teachers can do to help at school...check out the resource listed below. 

http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/fluency/

Have you ever wanted something soooo bad?

I really want to "PIN" on Pinrest and I am still waiting to be accepted.  I have been waiting for months.  What does a teacher have to do to be able to start pinning?  Any suggestions!?!

I hope this picture makes you smile!  Isn't he the cutest thing you ever seen?