Don't miss these Adorable Kindergarten Worksheets for May. Get the math and literacy practice with the fun of flowers, bugs, and gardens.
No bucket dippers here! Just fun and free ways to fill up buckets every day.
Flowers, insects, and sunshine! Just in time for the month of May, and these Transitional Kindergarten May Worksheets! These printables have been a life saver for me! In the midst of distance learning, I have been sending these electronically to my parents to help my TK students continue their learning at home. You can also...
We will be starting measuring when we get back from spring break. Yes, our spring break is NEXT week! So, so early! I am super excited for the break, but it will be a long stretch from the middle of March to May! We do not get any days off for Easter. Since we spent...
Don't miss these Adorable Kindergarten Worksheets for May. Get the math and literacy practice with the fun of flowers, bugs, and gardens.
Flowers, insects, and sunshine! Just in time for the month of May, and these Transitional Kindergarten May Worksheets! These printables have been a life saver for me! In the midst of distance learning, I have been sending these electronically to my parents to help my TK students continue their learning at home. You can also...
A fun painting activity to do after reading the classic Eric Carle book The Mixed-Up Chameleon!
Panierte Kohlrabischnitzel sind ein Hit für Kinder und Familie. Hol dir das vegetarische Kohlrabi Rezept und probier es aus:
I've had lots of requests over the summer to share what I do for the first day and week of Kindergarten. I'm always a little hesitant to do these kinds of posts. Each school, team and community as well as the kids are so different. And although this will be my fifth year teaching FDK, I am no means an expert. I make mistakes, and I am tweaking and trying new things every year in hopes of making my program more meaningful and effective for the students I teach. But I do understand how anxiety reducing it is, especially for new teachers to see exactly what another teacher who has taught the grade before does/has done. So I have decided to share, but as you read this, please keep in mind that this is just one way of many many ways you could structure and run your first day and week. FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL: >> Arrival/Entry: 25 min. << Even if you don't have duty first thing in the morning, you'll want to be outside at duty time to meet and greet your new students and parents for at least the first day if not the first week of school. Show them where they can put their backpacks as they enter the Kindergarten pen. When the bell rings, show students how to line up with their backpacks and follow you into the classroom. As you come into the classroom for the first time, introduce the entry routines. Have students hang their coats and backpacks on their hooks, take their outdoor shoes off and put their indoor shoes on. Some of our parents send extra clothes on the first day so we help the kids take them out and put them in their bins. As students are done their entry routines they pick a learning centre to explore. Here is a view from my teacher table before we went out to greet the kids on the first day of school. >> Learning Centres #1: 20 min. << Always start with simple and self-explanatory or open-ended centres on the first day! You and your partner will most likely be busy helping students with entry routines and even possibly helping a few upset friends calm down. Don't make it even more stressful by putting out centres where they are going to require instruction or help! Some examples of things I put out during this learning centre block: Lego Centre: Play Dough Centre: These alphabet play dough mats can be found in my TPT store here. Writing Centre & Creation Station: My linking chart can be found in my Step by Step: Kindergarten Writing Plans unit here. Some other centres I open on the first day are: blocks/building, puzzles, whiteboards & dry erase markers, dramatic play (with minimal furniture and props), bookshelf, iPads and sandbox. If you want to see more centre examples from Learning Centres #1 you can check out my these blog posts: - Classroom Reveal 2016 - Classroom Reveal 2017 - Classroom Reveal 2019 >> Carpet Time #1 - Procedures & Routines: 25 min. << At the end of centres I say "Hands on top, that means stop" and have the students stop and put their hands on their heads. Then I say "When I say go, please put centres away and come to the carpet, go!" We then go around and show students where to put items away. Once most students have made their way to the carpet, I sing this song to reinforce carpet rules: Carpet Song (to the tune of Frère Jacques) Are you criss-cross? Are you criss-cross? Eyes on me. Eyes on me. Hands in your lap. Hands in your lap. Quietly. Quietly. Then I add: I like the way that ________ is sitting, ________ is sitting, ________ is sitting. I like the way that ________ is sitting, Oh so very quietly! (fill in names of students who are modeling great carpet behaviour in the blanks) Then, I introduce myself and my partner and welcome the students to our classroom. I also hand out name tags (usually just their name printed on sticker paper) to help me and my partner remember their names. Then I tell them that we are going to practice a name song to learn each other's names and also learn a few important rules about the classroom. We start with the "Name Song". I usually start by singing my partner's name and have her demonstrate the actions. If I have a big class, I start with 5-10 kids and then tell the students we will do the rest throughout the day. Then we go over the bathroom procedures. We have a bathroom that doesn't lock so we talk about only 1 person in the bathroom at a time, and turn the stop/go sign to "stop" when you enter the bathroom and change it to "go" when you come out. You can grab the stop/go templates for FREE here. Then we start an "At Centres" anchor chart. We put the title "At centres, super students..." and have students brainstorm what super students do during centre time. Usually the SK's will already know some things super students do at centre time (e.g. try different centres, use materials gently, share items with others, put things away when you are done, work on something the whole time etc.) so ask them to share what they know and write them down. Throughout the day after each centre block you can ask them if they have any other ideas to add until the anchor chart is full. Now I know this sounds like a lot and if you can't fit it in I would do the "At Centres" anchor chart before the next centre block instead, because you do want to go over any snack procedures you want them to follow before snack! >> Snack: 15 min. << In our class, I pick a couple of students at a time to line up in a straight line and remind them to wash their hands in the sink and dry their hands on the towel. Then we ask them to go and get their lunch bags and sit at a table. I don't assign seats so they can sit wherever there is a chair at a table. I set a large timer for 10 minutes. I love this timer because the kids can see the red part getting smaller as the time gets less and less. If they are done snack and the timer hasn't gone yet they are asked to put their snacks away, make sure the spot they were sitting at is clean (I have 2 mini brooms and dust pans they can use to clean up their space if needed) and then pick a book from the bookshelf and read on the carpet until the timer goes. When the timer goes I have students put their books and snacks away and come to the carpet. >> DPA: 10 min. << I introduce GoNoodle and I have a student who is sitting nicely come up and pick a song. While that student is choosing a song, I remind all students to be looking at the screen and thinking of what song they might like to choose in case they are chosen next. We do 2-3 GoNoodle dances. I review GoNoodle rules as needed after each song (stay in your space, hands to yourself etc). My partner usually supervises GoNoodle while I set up the next set of learning centres. >> Carpet Time #2 : 20 min. << We get going on creating our co-created alphabet line from the first day! This is what we did last year and what we are planning to do again this year. I start with talking about how we are missing some important things on the walls in our classroom. What are some things we should put up on the walls that would help us with our learning at school? I have the kids share what they think and we talk about the importance of an alphabet line and how it helps us with our learning (it helps us learn our letters/sounds, it helps us know the order of the letters etc.) Then I show them the plan I have in mind (the picture above). Then I say "We need to brainstorm some things that start with each letter so we can take a picture for each letter with things/actions or people that start with that letter!" Then we start brainstorming for each letter. First we add all of the students names under each corresponding letter. Then I have them tell me any item they want to see in our co-created alphabet line and what letter it begins with (if they can). We continue this for a few more days until all of the letters have at least 3-4 things. >> Learning Centres #2: 30 min. << We review our "At Centres" anchor chart quickly and students are invited to explore simple centres again. We mix in literacy-based centres in the morning. We circulate and talk to the students, help wanderers find centres and if I have time I pull kids and take head shots so that I have photos to use to make name cards for the word wall and to add to the cover of their writing portfolio's. FREE name card templates can be downloaded here. The templates for writing portfolio's can be found here. >> Prep: 30 min << Last year I had a prep period every day at this time but if not I would continue centres until lunch. Be sure to tidy up at least 10 minutes before lunch and review lunch time rules and routines (both for while they are eating and for playing outside)! >> Lunch & Lunch Recess: 60 min << Eat lunch! But also remember to do any important first day routines. At my last school parents filled in dismissal forms after they dropped their child off and we had to pick them up from the division chair and go through them quickly to familiarize ourselves with dismissal permissions. Touch base with your teammates if you have any too, they will remind you of any important first day procedures you may have forgotten! >> Entry / Book Box / Carpet Time #3: 30 min. << As students come in, I remind them of entry routines and invite them to grab their book box. This is a good way to see who can recognize their name. Have them sit on the carpet and read/look at their books quietly until everyone is reading from their book box. I keep this super short on the first day and have even done a story from Storylineonline.net instead (I highly recommend this site for indoor recesses too!) when we had staggered entry (the SK's came in the morning and JK's joined in the afternoon) so that the kids were engaged while we were helping the new friends that just joined. You can grab my FREE editable book box labels here or by clicking on the image below: >> Learning Centres: 75 min. << Especially if you have any new students joining in the afternoon, review the "At Centres" anchor chart. Quickly introduce the afternoon centres. I mix in numeracy based centres in the afternoon. Then we choose a few friends at a time to pick a centre until everyone has picked somewhere to start. Here are some centres I put out in the afternoon on the first day: A Number Provocation: Number Locks: Sorting & Shapes Sensory Bin: Some other centres I put out/have open in the afternoon on the first day are: blocks/building, dramatic play, creation station, puzzles, iPads, snack, a simple shape provocation, a simple patterning provocation, bookshelf and sandbox. Once everyone has picked a space to start in and are playing at centres, I pull any kids that I didn't get a picture of in the morning and small groups to do their September writing piece (only if I can!). You can download this first guided writing sheet by clicking here or on the image below (September to 2025 is included in the file.) This will be going up on our writing wall as our first piece of writing and it helps me see who can write their name independently. I make note on my clipboard who can recognize their name, who can copy their name, who can recognize letters in their name etc. so that I can make name bags for students who need more practice with their name. These name bags will be our first guided literacy groups eventually. You can grab name bag printables from my TPT store for FREE here. We have a snack table in the afternoon so students are invited to eat at that table when they feel hungry. For the first week or so I stop and ask students who have not yet eaten to go to the snack table about 15 minutes before centre time is over, to make sure that they eat what their parents sent with them and to remind the kids to eat. >> Carpet Time #3: 30 min. << Have students practice clean-up routines and come to the carpet. If you have time, have students share what their favourite thing from the day was. Then talk about dismissal routines and outdoor play rules. Make sure you are specific and clear about what is and isn't allowed so the students know the expectations before you get outside! >> Outdoor Play & Dismissal: 30 min. << Get ready to pack up and go outside. I have a bin with their agendas/zippys so I pull them out one at a time and call the student to get ready. Remind them to show their agenda/zippy to their parents when they get home and bring it back to school every day. Be sure also to tell students where you want them to line up after they are ready too! Once all students are ready, review the outdoor rules one last time. Tell students where to put their backpacks when they get outside. Also review what to do when the bell rings. I have students put their backpack in a line by our gate and then come to their backpack and get back in line when the bell rings. I remind students that it will take a little longer on the first day because I am still learning their parents and to wait until I call them to come to the front to be released. Remind them that they must wait until you call them so that I know they have been picked up by a safe adult and how important that is. I show them my dismissal clipboard and tell them I check each student off as they leave to make sure everyone left safely and if they leave out another gate without letting me or my partner know I would think they are missing! The kids seem to get it when we tell them why we don't want them leaving through another gate, especially without telling us first, when you tell them why it's so important. Also, make sure you check what the dismissal rules are at your school is as well. Can you let them go 5 minutes early if the parents want to take them early? Some schools are very strict about not letting anyone out before the bell unless they are signed out at the office. Check these things before the first day so you know what the rules are and can explain to parents that it is a school wide rule! We have all walkers so we get out early and let the kids play. As the parents arrive we make sure to go and greet them so that we can learn who the parents/pick-up people are for each child. When the bell rings, students line up at their backpacks and I call one student at a time to meet their pick-up person. Once everyone is picked up you can go back into the classroom! Phew! That was a lot. There is so much to remember to do on the first day. People often say if the kids all come, have fun and leave safely at the end of the day it is a first day win and it is so true. Don't stress too much about your centres or any guided work you wanted to do. Always focus on the rules, routines and procedures and only get to the the guided work (like the September writing page I mentioned) if you have time! The rest of the week is much of the same so I'm just going to post my week plans from last year, in case you want to take a look. You can download it by clicking here or on the image below. If I had previously written a blog post about an activity I have linked it in the PDF. If you open the PDF and hover your mouse over the page you will see the clicker change into a little hand where there are links on the page. Kelso's Choices is a social-problem solving program that the school's I have been at have used since my first year of teaching. It introduces a lot of Kindergarten friendly ways to solve social problems independently. You can learn more by going to their website: http://kelsoschoice.com I hope you find this helpful and it gives you some ideas on what to do on the first day of school/week. Good luck on the first day! - Yukari UPDATED 07.14.21: This post was written in 2017 and since then I have made lots of updates to my program. I'm not going to rewrite the whole post right now (I hope to do so in the future!) but I wanted to quickly highlight some new first day/week resources that I now use: The name poem I use during the first week of school can be found in my sight word poem pack here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fill-in-the-Blank-Sight-Word-Poems-for-Kindergarten-5914838 The read alouds I now use (and the corresponding lesson plans and printables can be found in my "Kinder Read Alouds - September" pack here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/KINDER-READ-ALOUDS-SEPTEMBER-4266690 Here are some photos from the lessons: I also shared my centre plans for September to March in my "Kindergarten Centre Plans for the Entire Year!" last August. However, it is a growing document and I only have up to March completed. Other projects took priority this past year and I don't know when April to June will be added.. but hopefully you can use and enjoy September to March for the time being! If you download the file, most of the images are clickable and it will either take you to a product, a blog post, an Instagram post or an Amazon page, depending on what the centre is! You can download these here: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/-FREE-Kindergarten-Visual-Centre-Plans-5848330 I hope you find some of these resources/ideas helpful! - Yukari
May Round Up No comments Directed Drawing, End of Year, Freebies, Monthly Round Up, Mother's Day Who's ready for a new monthly round up? This teacher is! May is always a busy month. It's not only the last full month of school, but it's also when I start looking ahead to see how I can get a head start on the upcoming school year. Directed drawings are awesome. They make the students really focus, listen, and to think before they do. Once the drawings are done, students can color them with crayon, oil pastels, or even paint them with watercolor paints. We've done several directed drawings this year, and they have been a hit with the parents. This got me thinking, why not have the students make a special drawing for their mom (aunt, grandma, whoever) for Mother's Day? To make this a little more gift worthy, we will frame the drawings using 8x10 frames from the dollar store. If you plan to frame your drawings, just be sure to trim the paper to match the size of the frames you purchase. I would recommend cutting your paper to size before the students do their drawing. To help cover the cost of the frames, I ask the students to send in one dollar. Even if some students don't contribute, it helps to cover the cost when you are buying so many frames. I like to use card stock when we do our drawings, especially if they paint them afterward. It just holds up a lot better than regular construction paper (and it's usually cheaper than investing in watercolor paper). To present the gifts, simply wrap the frame in colorful tissue paper and tie some yarn around it. You could also let your students make a card. You can grab the free step by step directions for this drawing HERE. May is research month in my classroom. More specifically, we research various American symbols and put together an impressive project. It gets sent home at the end of the month, and parents are always so impressed with the final product. I love that this project keeps us busy, but with meaningful learning material, addresses several of our social studies standards, as well as a few writing standards. It's high interest and the kids take a lot of pride in their work. You can read more about this project here. And, you can check out my Celebrating America unit here on TPT. The end of the year is a crazy time. The students get super distracted, challenging behaviors might become even more challenging, you're trying to teach those last few standards, and you're also likely thinking of the next school year. Wait, that isn't just me, is it? Ok, so let's talk next year, shall we? This time of year, my brain goes into serious "plan for next year" mode. I can't help it. I just always think if there is something I can do now to save myself some time when reporting back in late August, that I might as well do it. For example: Sharpen pencils for next year and store them in a zip top bag. I do this every year and it saves me a ton of time and hassle when I'm more worried about reconstructing my classroom that was dismantled when I checked out in June. Copy any and everything you know you will use. For example, I know that I will set out my Meet the Teacher letter at Meet and Greet. I also know that there are specific back to school forms I want/need parents to fill out. If I copy them now, I don't need to worry about fighting my way to a copier at the last minute next year. Laminate your nameplates and cut them out. This job is perfect for parent volunteers, and again, saves you precious time when you are worried about making your room presentable for meet and greet and attending various staff meetings at the same time. TIP: I laminate the nameplates now, and write the students' names on them with permanent marker in the fall. This has worked well for me over the years. Each week, choose one thing in your classroom to "spring clean." Go through things, get rid of what you don't need, consolidate what you can, and label things for easy reference next year. For example, tackle those math manipulatives in your storage closet. When I did this recently, I noticed that I had a bucket of tangrams. They weren't sorted into individual sets. Why and how did this ever happen? Who knows, but I had a parent bag them up and I found out I had enough sets for two classes and ended up sharing half of mine with another teacher. For even more end of year ideas and tips click here. Also, check out my End of Year Pinterest board for some fun classroom ideas! Thanks for stopping by today, friends! DON'T FORGET IT: PIN IT! Share It:
The popsicle stick creations of NDSU architecture students scrape the sky in the Museum atrium. On display April 7 - 12.
Printables for toddlers and preschoolers. Alphabet games, Scissor skills pack, Pre-writing & more!
Gefühle für Kinder erklärt mit Wilma Wochenwurm: Du bist gut so, wie du bist! Ein Mitmach-Buch für Kinder in Kita und Grundschule.
I can't even believe May is almost here…. time flies in the spring! This might just be my favorite time of year to teach kindergarten.
Dieses Material beinhaltet Karten. Darauf stehen immer Aussagen (in Silbenschrift), die auf einen Teil der Kinder zutreffen, z.B. "Alle Kinder, die gerne Schlit
How to draw animals for kids~ Grab these fun printable step-by-step drawing pages for kids to draw and write the animals.
KINDERGARTEN MATH - UNIT 3 I am so excited to have my new Measurement and Data kindergarten math unit posted and ready to share with you. So far this year, my sweet kinders have learned so much in math. We have mastered 1:1 correspondence, reading and writing numerals to 20, counting to 10
This family theme preschool all about me printables includes activities, family worksheets for kindergarten + family tree worksheets too.
Dzisiaj chcę Wam pokazać nowo wykonaną huśtawkę ogrodową dla dziecka (i nie tylko). Oczywiście nie zamierzam jej tylko pokazać, ale też wytłumaczę jak ją budowaliśmy oraz ile kosztowała. Mam nadzieję, że tak jak domek ogrodowy Gabi (link tutaj >>>) , tak i hu
You can teach preschool at home with FREE printables! There is every kind of printable that you can think of. Check these printables out!
Printable 3D shapes for kindergarten are an excellent tool for young learners to grasp the concept of geometry in a hands-on way. These printables allow your child to cut out, fold, and assemble 3D shapes, making abstract concepts tangible..
I can't even believe May is almost here…. time flies in the spring! This might just be my favorite time of year to teach kindergarten.
The Hai No Ki collection from Belgium brand Quax transforms your nursery into a tranquil, relaxing space both you and your baby will love. **Please 2-3 weeks for the delivery of this item MDF veneer Ash wood, door in solid Ash Extension (optional) : as changing table function Dimensions : 100 cm x 25 x 65 H Colour may vary due to screen resolution, please check all photos and mail us if in doubt Does not include changing mat Please note, Quax delivery is doorstep drop off only. For large items assistance is recommended. About the brand Quax is a Belgian brand that follows kids from their first dreams to their first steps. Clever and adaptive, the brand’s furniture grows up with children and can be personalised to fit their needs as they get older. With their combination of contemporary design, quality, and coziness, you know you and your little ones are in good hands.
