No David by David Shannon is a classic book to read in kindergarten. Here are free No David activities, videos and book ideas listed all in one place.

Work on recognizing numbers and putting numbers in order this summer with these fun and free printable missing number popsicles!

In this resource, you will find 10 literacy centers to be used in small group or placed in your literacy centers during the month of February. Recording sheets are included with each activity. The following centers are included: 1. Sleepy Groundhog Sort (real or silly words) 2. Groundhog Shadow...

10 fun and easy hallway songs to prepare students to go into the hall quietly!

Set up question of the day for your preK, kindergarten, first grade, and homeschool students. Build expressive language, incorporate journal writing topics and math skills. Great for morning routing, morning meetings, transition activities, and more!

Fun Language Learning Activities, play and learn! Your students will love learning language with these preschool speech therapy activities. Learn vocabulary, concepts, simple sentences and following directions. All instruction sheets in this packet are written in a manner suitable for providing to parents. All early language goals and targets covered. This packet contains all 8 packets in my bestselling printable language activity pack series AND 20 BOOM Card Decks (digital/on screen activities).

Super Easy Science Activities that are perfect ideas for home or in preschool classroom. Kids will love learning through play with these activities.

We've got 15 fun ways to teach patterns to preschoolers -- plus free printables!

These STEM challenge cards make measuring fun and easy. Students will love discovering whether one pile of objects is heavier than another.

A collaborative blog by Pre K and Kindergarten specialists. Child growth and development, information, free printables.

If you're teaching your preschooler or kindergarten about community workers, you'll love these free sorting mats!

Let's explore air pressure with kids with these fun and easy science experiments that work for kids of all ages, even toddlers and preschoolers. Here are

These cards are bright, colorful and clear in showing children what type of behaviour they are engaging in at a specific point in time. The cards are designed to be cut out, bound by a lanyard (or ring) and worn by teachers, parents and carers, so as they're moving through the day, they can easily access the cards and show individual children where their behaviour lies. When I created these initially, they were to support children with Autism, who require a visual cue to understand whether their behaviour is great, needs to change, or is inappropriate. But they have also been enormously popular with parents and teachers of children who don't have special needs, but find it helpful to match a visual cue with a behaviour and consequence. This set comes written in the 'first person' to suit the language you use with your child. Check out my listings for 'Transition Reminder Cards' and 'Time Countdown Cards', as these are all the same size and can be placed on the same lanyard/ring and used to support children in various situations. ****************************** This listing is for an INSTANT DOWNLOAD of a PDF – no shipping costs, no waiting! You are making a DIGITAL PURCHASE and no physical item will be mailed to you. There are no returns or refunds on digital files. ****************************** PRODUCT DETAILS SIZE: This file has been designed on an A4 page (297mm x 210mm or 11.7in x 8.3in), although by changing your printer settings or taking the file to a printing centre, you will be able to print successfully onto a larger or smaller sized page if you wish. FILE: You will receive a PDF in your download. COLORS: Please be aware that computer monitors display colors differently: take this into consideration when placing your order and note that the colors may vary slightly once printed. Taking your file to a printing centre will provide the most vibrant and accurate color representation. DOWNLOAD: Your purchased file will not have a watermark or props included. PRINTING: This printable is designed to be printed on smooth, non-textured paper or printing card. ASSEMBLY: This product will require pieces to be cut out and assembled. I recommend that you laminate all pages before cutting anything out – as it will both maintain the quality of your product for longer and stop the laminated edges from peeling away from the paper. **************************************************** HOW IT WORKS: * Purchase this listing and within minutes you will receive an email from Etsy stating that your order is ready for download. * If for any reason you are unable to download the file, please contact me and I’ll send it to you via email. * You can then download the file and print either at home, or at your favourite print shop. * Then display and enjoy! ************************************************ IMPORTANT COPYRIGHT TERMS These designs are for PERSONAL use only. Printing for your own personal use in your home, individual classroom, for gifts and enjoyment is allowed. Commercial or non-profit use is NOT allowed without my express written permission. • Sharing or forwarding of this digital art (PDF file) is prohibited. • Copying of this digital art (PDF file) is prohibited. • Altering of this digital art (PDF file) is prohibited. • Selling of this digital art (PDF file) is prohibited. • Selling of the printed items from this digital art (PDF file) is strictly prohibited. All designs, text and products are the property of ©Kate Dedic LittlePeopleLove 2014. All rights reserved. *** If you wish to use these designs in a large capacity eg, across a whole school, throughout a child care centre/s, in a speech therapy or occupational therapy centre etc. I would appreciate you sending me a convo and I will put together an individual listing that includes both the product you wish to purchase, a license that allows large copies of the product to be printed and the appropriate price. ************************************************** ADDITIONAL INFO More designs available here: www.etsy.com/shop/LittlePeopleLove Thank you for shopping at LittlePeopleLove! I hope you enjoy your products and find them both lovely to look at and supportive of the special little people in your life! Kate xx

Teaching science in the special education classroom can be one of the most interesting but challenging topics for our students. Hop over to find some ways to present it and document progress for alternative assessment.

With our hands-on blocks color-coded by short vowel sound, kids create simple CVC words! Children use letter blocks to spell the simple word illustrated on each roof, building 20 houses as they go. Each roof also shows the correctly spelled word on back—so kids can check their work! You get 70 wooden blocks covering 20 words; roofs measure 3 3/4".

I have been patiently waiting to show you my classroom pictures when my blog face lift was complete! Thank you Kerri from Cutest Blog on the Block for the makeover. My blog needed a little 'blogger botox' to perk her up, and I think we definitely accomplished the "fresh" new look! So without further ado... Welcome to my room! This year I decided to change it up in my classroom. I was over the neon and Rockstar theme and needed a change. My goal was to go for a more preppy nautical look this year! With a few details missing, I like how it turned out! And I apologize in advance that some of the pictures are blurry, it took me a while to get a hang of the new camera. Classroom Hand signals: Student Mailboxes: Read to Self Book Bins: Word Wall: AR Quiz Line and Math Tubs: Classroom Library: Writing Work Station: Pocket Chart Station (which is missing a lot): Student desks: Listening Station: Poetry Station (ignore the poems, I just hung something up for the picture): My small group/ desk area: Student Work Board: Behavior chart, rules, and portable work stations for literacy (which after looking at this picture I realized I hated how it looked and needed to make changes): So glad this blog post is finally up! Now hopefully I can start posting more often! Cheers to the start of a new school year!

Welcome! Here is the view of our first grade hallway at Wayland Bonds Elementary! This year we decided to go with a camping theme. We made our doorways look like log cabins by making logs out of butcher paper. We all bought a pine tree from Mardels. I also had my mom sew red and white checker curtains for each of our windows. Each one of our doorways has our names on them out of the wooden letters you can purchase from Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Here is the camping welcome sign as you enter the first grade hallway. We each took laminated scrapbook paper and glued it to the wall with a cloths pin. Now we can easily hang the student's work in the hallway without having to use a lot of tape! This awesome idea came from my teammate Ms. Fleming! My Classroom Pictures Here is a look into my classroom! This is my teacher desk. I got rid of the traditional desk I had in my classroom. I never sat at it and it took up a lot of space. I love using this table as my desk! All my office supplies are stored in the drawers that are located behind my desk. Pictures of the drawers are below. I have each pod of desks labeled with group signs. Click HERE to download my group signs from my TpT Store! The baskets on the shelf are each student's individual book basket for their independent reading books. I use this pocket chart to store the student's library and lunch cards. Weekly Activities and Worksheets This is how I organize the week's worksheets and activities. Sharpened Pencils When my students need a sharpened pencil they just come get one from the drawer. This prevents the students from interrupting my lesson using the pencil sharpener. To keep sharpened pencils always on hand I have my student helper help me at the end of the day sharpen all the pencils. I found this storage container at Wal-Mart. Need a Color/Found a Crayon When there are crayons found on the floor, the students simply put them in the bin. Then whenever someone needs a color they can just come to the bin and get the color they need. This helps prevent a big interruption when a student needs a certain color crayon. I purchased this storage container at Wal-Mart. Click HERE to download my pencil and crayon system labels on my TpT store! Centers In order for the students to know what math or literacy centers they go to each day they look to the center wheels. Each section of the wheel has 2 to 3 names written in it. Each day the students go to the center that their name is located. When that center rotation is over (about 20 minutes later), the students follow the arrows to their next center. I have a total of eight centers. The students do two centers each Monday through Thursday. Then, Friday is used as a day to finish any unfinished work. I found the storage containers that I put the worksheets and games in at Mardels. Each center tub is labeled with a sign. Click HERE to download my literacy and math center signs from TpT! Each student has a math and literacy center folder that holds their center work for the week. They take these folders to their centers each day. All center work stays in these folders until it is due. Anytime a student has extra time they are to check their center folders and finish any unfinished work. These folders are stored in the pocket charts to prevent a desk full of folders and paper. FREE Centers! The writing center has many different supplies for the students to be creative in drawing, coloring, and making stories for their writing. I have included stencils, colored pens, stickers, markers, stamps, shaped scissors, etc. for the students to use. In the Science center I have scales, measuring tapes, magnifying glasses, etc. for the students to explore with. Morning Work Drawers Planning morning work can be so time consuming and also take a lot of copies - so I needed a new system. My teammate Mrs. Fletcher from Fletchtastic in First came up with this awesome idea! Each morning the students come in and get their morning work drawer for the day. The students know which drawer to get for the day because they have a folder with a morning work calendar that is labeled specifically for them. Each day on the calendar has the morning work drawer number they are to complete. The drawers are filled with file folder games, worksheets, and activities. Each activity is meaningful and reviews the skills that have been taught in class. After morning work time is over, I go around and check each worksheet and activity the students completed for the morning. If they missed any problems they get immediate feedback. Also if they complete their morning work on time they receive a small sticker on their morning work calendar. I couldn't believe it when my first grade students learned the morning work system and got it down so quickly! I bought the drawers from Michaels. They were so much cheaper than the drawers Mardel's sells! Click HERE to download the Morning Work Calendars and Teacher Planning Pages from my TpT Store! Files I have organized my math and literacy worksheets by skill. This makes pulling a worksheet for a center or activity really easy. Click HERE to download my Math File Folder Labels by Skill on my TpT store! Click HERE to download my Language File Folder Labels by Skill on my TpT store! I also use these boxes to store my files in. I got them for free using my Scholastic points! My themed worksheets and activities are stored in my unit binders. Using these binders to store all my unit stuff makes it so much easier to find and pull the things you need. I can't even imagine how many file cabinets and what a big mess of paperwork I would have if I didn't use these binders! Click HERE to download my unit binder covers and spines from my TpT store! Construction Paper/Fancy Paper All my construction paper, writing paper, border paper, etc. is stored in my file cabinet in hanging folders. Teaching Carpet Area Each of my students have an assigned square they come to each time we meet at the carpet. This prevents many problems like students sitting by other students that they talk to, sitting far away, fighting over where they sit, etc. Cubby Boxes Each student has their own cubby box. I use these cubby boxes to place each students graded work in. I placed it right behind my desk, so I can easily turn around and place their work in their cubby box! I got these cubby boxes at Sam's. Read Aloud Books To keep the books I use as my read aloud books separate from my other books, I have organized them into these magazine holders. Each holder is labeled with the unit or theme of the books. I got these holders at Mardel's. This holder has all my fall themed books that I use during my read aloud time. Click HERE to download the labels I use for my book holders from my TpT Store! Organizing Books I have the books that the students read organized by reading level. I am really particular that my students are reading books that are within their ZPD range. By organizing my books by reading level it really helps the students be able to easily find and read books that are on their level. Click HERE to download my leveled book bin labels from my TpT store! Organizing Supplies To prevent my students from playing with scissors, glue, etc. when they are not supposed to- I do not allow them to keep their supplies in their desk. Instead many of the supplies are kept together in certain parts of the classroom. Each one of the bins has the different supplies stored in them. I bought these bins at Lakeshore and they came in a package of four. Click HERE to download my supply labels from my TpT store! Each one of these supply tubs are assigned to a certain group. This has a group supply of red pens, glue bottles, scissors, etc. in them. This is a fast way to pass out the supplies when needed! I bought these tubs from Target for $3.00 each. These numbered bags are used to place different student materials in that you might need in the middle of a lesson. Instead of having to pass out each of the supplies you can have what each student needs in their bag at all times. They just grab their bag and come to the carpet or to their desk. It makes things so easy! I bought these bags from Oriental Trading. I cut the numbers out of material and then had my mom sew them on. Organizing Manipulatives My manipulatives are stored in these storage containers I purchased from Mardels. It is very nice having the storage containers with the lids. It prevents the manipulatives from spilling out when bumped into. I can easily pass out manipulatives or have the students come get what they need from the bins. Click HERE to download my math manipulative labels from my TpT store! Storing Games I had my husband make this cabinet for me. Inside the cabinet I have many storage boxes. Each storage box is labeled with a specific math or language arts skill. For example, one of my tubs is labeled rhyming. All my rhyming activities and games are stored in that storage box. I can easily find and pull out games for centers or activities since they are organized by skill. Keeping Desks Together I was tired of my desks looking like a train hit them by the end of each day, so I found a great and cheap way to keep them together. I use medium and large sized zip ties to keep them together. I place the zip ties on multiple places on the desks. It works really well! Here is a look from under the desks where the large zip ties were placed. I used the medium sized zip ties on the legs of the desks. I bought these from Lowe's. Here are the actual zip ties I used. My husband is really good at fastening the zip ties really tight...so he's the one that puts them on the desks for me. :) I am getting to borrow these awesome table tops from one of my teammates that went on maternity leave this year. She had them made to fit a group of six desks to hold them together. I am not going to want to give them back next year!! I've had a lot of people ask how the table tops were made. Unfortunately since I just borrowed them I don't know exactly how they were made. I think they were made like a countertop. Here is a picture of what they look like underneath. Hopefully that will give you a better idea... Keeping Items Organized Inside Cabinets The best way to keep my things organized inside my large cabinets is by using baskets. These baskets can be found at the Dollar Tree for $1.00! Here is an example of some of the baskets I have. Here are all my large books stored together. Inside this cabinet I have my anchor charts hanging up. See my blog post Storing Anchor Charts to see how I did this. Here is a look at my other large cabinet. I used more baskets, storage containers, and boxes to store my items. Keeping Items Organized Inside Drawers To keep my office supplies inside my drawers organized I used baskets and storage containers to keep the items grouped together. Since I don't have a traditional desk in my classroom, I use these drawers to hold all my office supplies. Inside Cabinets This cabinet holds my monthly bulletin board bags. Each bag holds monthly supplies, decorations, activities, etc. I have a free center and inside recess game cabinet. This prevents me from having to pull from different places to get out games for the students to play. My students can easily find and get out the games they want to play with during indoor recess or free center time. Free center games and activities cabinet. Inside recess game cabinet. Bulletin Boards Changing out bulletin boards during the school year can be very time consuming and expensive - so I came up with bulletin boards that I can keep the same during the school year and also ones that are good to have. Here are pictures of my different boards. Birthday Board Each student receives a birthday certificate and bag full of goodies on their birthday. This makes celebrating each student's birthday so much easier and a good way not to forget. Classroom Rules Board On the first day of school we sit down as a class and make our own classroom rules. These rules are created during a discussion by the students, while being facilitated by me. Surprisingly, student created rules are often the same as – or even tougher than – rules a teacher might create. The rules the students create become the standard for expected behavior by which all students agree. When students actively participate in establishing rules for the classroom and agree to them, they are more likely to follow the rules because they take ownership and know the importance of them. In turn, this leads to a more conducive learning environment with fewer classroom disruptions. These classroom rules, also known as our Classroom Constitution are signed by the students and posted in our classroom for all to see! Accelerated Reader Board Visit my blog post on Accelerated Reader Rewards to see what I do to keep my students motivated to read and take AR tests! Click HERE to download my AR Rewards from my TpT store! Star of the Week Board Each week one child in our class is chosen as the "Star of the Week." This is a special opportunity for that child to be highlighted throughout the week and share some important parts of his or her life with our class. Each student will be asked to fill out some information and collect some special items to display on our "Star of the Week" bulletin board. Calendar/Schedule/Behavior Management Board This bulletin board used to have all my calendar stuff on it but I have now begun doing my calendar routine on the smartboard. There are tons of great smartboard calendar lessons on the internet and on TpT that you can use! Click HERE to download my Daily Schedule Cards from my TpT Store! So instead this bulletin board has been changed to display many different useful tools that we use each day. First, we have the calendar with important dates listed. I also have our schedule posted for all the students to see. I think it really helps the students when they can see what is planned for the day. It also prevents questions like, "When is lunch?" or "Do we have PE today?". I have a tree made out of butcher paper. This tree gets changed out each season to reflect what a tree really looks like during that season. I also have our behavior management pocket chart posted here. Restroom Break This is a picture of the restroom break system I use. When the green sign is posted the students (one at a time) may move their number next to the restroom sign and take the pass and go. If the red sign is posted, then they may not leave the classroom to take a break. (Unless of course it is an emergency.) This prevents students from raising their hand and asking to go to the restroom in the middle of your lesson. Eventually the students catch on to when is an appropriate and inappropriate time to leave the classroom. Click HERE to download my restroom break signs from my TpT store! Outlaw Word Wall I don't have a traditional word wall. The words that we post on our word wall are words that cannot be sounded out to spell. That's why our word wall is called the "Outlaw Word Wall." These words are outlaw words because they break the traditional spelling rules. Anchor Chart Wall I use many anchor charts during my lessons. I found that I needed a place to display them so the students could refer to them if they needed to. I hot glued clothes pins on my back wall. It makes it so easy to hang and switch out the anchor charts when needed! Numbered Chairs Weeks into the school year the nameplates I place on each student's desk begins to take a turn for the worse. So I eventually tear them up. The students just rely on their numbered chair to find their seat. Click HERE to download my chair numbers from my TpT Store! Keep checking back year to year as I continue to update and add more things to my classroom each year! ...

Sorting is such an important skill for early learners and they will LOVE using this shapes sort printable in your math center!

Hu? Yet another math tool for your Kindergarten and first grade classrooms to practice basic understanding of numbers and addition/subtraction with out the algorithm? Yes! Look at the pictures first: Some say..is that an abacus? Actually, it is the same idea just a much smaller scale. This tool is can be used as a whole group lessons, calendar time, interactive carpet time, and center renforcements. We created them at our school w/ card stock, a hole punch, pipe cleaners, and two different colored pony beads. Great parent volunteer activity. The best example I've seen of the use of this tool is for the teacher to have one and all students to have one. Teacher asks "How can I make 4?". All students use their own think time and build "4" on their rekenrek. A student may have slide over four beads on the top OR bottom but they might have also slid over 3 on top and 1 on bottom OR two on top and two on bottom OR one on top and three on bottom. This leads to the conversation on how to decompose the number '4'. For a DEEP explanation of how Rekenreks came around and more activities please visit the K-5 Math Teaching Resources. Want to see something cool! Look: A fellow coach of mine made a big one! This is my version on her genius work (that is also my adorable daughter playing with our kitten!) This will be great for demonstrations for whole group but also for centers time. From across the room, the teacher can see what the students are doing in that center. I also added the dimensions incase you wanted to make one yourself. All you need is a 10' pole, the joints listed above, a PVC cutter (totally worth having one on hand), and two different colored pool noodles. Cut, stick together, and go! We chose not to glue the pieces together because over time the pool noodles may need to be replaced. You can make that choice. Please, let me know how it goes if you dive in to Rekenreks! Lastly, for more classroom examples and deeper understanding on the Rekenrek. I suggest getting your hands on the teacher book Number Talks. It comes with a DVD that shows a classroom at work with the Rekenrek.

Helping K-2 Teachers Like You Save Time, Grow Instructional Skills, and Teach With Confidence!

These ideas for games to play in your classroom are perfect for teaching academic skills and getting your students engaged in their learning.

Looking for hands-on printable number sense activities that you can use in your math centers or guided math groups? These math activities build number sense and cover things like counting, composing and decomposing numbers, reading and writing numbers, ten frames, number bonds and place value to just name a few!

Download FREE printable math mats for fall.

Do you use Interactive Notebooks in your classroom? I used them for the first time this past year. I really liked using them but found it overwhelming to get started at first so I rounded up some posts that helped me when I first got started using them. How to answer the critics of notebooking Why Should I Use Interactive Notebooks in My Classroom? Get started with Interactive Notebooks Resources to Get Started with Interactive Notebooks Left Side Versus Right Side for INBs What do you do when a student is absent? Tips to make Interactive Notebooks work for you Laura Candler's Page with a link party filled with FREE foldables for your Interactive Notebooks How to use the "Cutting Corner" method with Interactive Notebooks How do you grade Interactive Notebooks? For anything relating to interactive science notebooks, you need to check out the Science Penguin. She is my favorite! This was the bulletin board in my middle science classroom last year that displayed for the students how to set up the input and out pages of their notebooks. Printable Left and Right Side Ideas for Interactive Notebooks Not sure of the source for this picture but it is a great way to demonstrate how to apply glue to the notebook. Do you still need more ideas? Check out my Pinterest page... If your idea was featured in this post, please grab an "I've Been Featured" button and display it proudly on your blog! You can get the html code for the button on my Buttons page

I bought a great storage contraption with plastic bins at a garage sale last weekend. Here are the labels I made to go on the bins if anyon...

Why I Took My Behavior Chart Off My Wall!

Several lesson ideas and anchor charts to use when Teaching Kindergartners How to Write a Sentence. Uses the gradual release model to full implication.

You will love this hands-on syllable and phonological awareness activity for your preschool, pre-k, or kindergarten classroom. The syllable counting clip cards activity provides opportunities for syllable practice, syllable segmenting, and syllable counting fun. Better than a worksheet, these syllable counting clip cards can be used over and over again.  This is a fun way to work on phonological awareness and early reading skills with your kids. Perfect for your ELA centers, literacy centers, and literacy workstations and assessments. ✅ SAVE TIME! - The syllable counting clip cards are easy to prep and can be used over and over again. ✅ EASY TO DIFFERENTIATE! - 3 color-coded sets of syllable counting cards to use for kids at different levels. ✅ KEEPS KIDS ENGAGED! This is a fun and motivating way to teach kids how to count syllables and practice phonological awareness. ✅ EASY TO USE! Identify the picture on each card Determine the number of syllables (claps) Place an arrow clip on the correct number on the card. ✅ VERSATILE!  Use as an independent, small group, or whole group activity Bind the sets into clip card books The clip makes it a great fine motor activity ➡️ THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THE SYLLABLE COUNTING CLIP CARDS SET: 81 syllable counting clip cards - 3 leveled sets Printable arrows (attach these to clothespin clips) Cover (bind the sets to make clip books) ➡️ THREE COLOR-CODED SETS FOR EASY DIFFERENTIATION: LEVEL 1 - Orange Set 27 Clip Cards compound words - Begin with compound words because kids can identify multiple syllables more easily in compound words.  LEVEL 2 - Green Set 27 clip cards 1 syllable and 2 syllable words LEVEL 3 - Purple Set 27 clip cards 1 syllable , 2 syllable , and 3 syllable words Children enjoy using clip cards in literacy centers, work stations, as a RTI activity, or in a take-home bag. ❓ DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? Are you looking for some answers before making a purchase? Or maybe you have some questions about an activity you've already bought. Whatever it may be, feel free to reach out to me HERE. I'd be more than happy to assist you in any way I can. WHAT ARE TEACHERS SAYING ABOUT THIS SET OF SYLLABLE COUNTING CLIP CARDS? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "The students were having a hard time with syllables this year... I used your cards and can not tell you what a difference they made. PERFECT!!!" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "My kids have been so successful in counting syllables - thank you" Related Products ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “These make great centers for my kiddos. They think they are just playing a game when in reality they are working on syllable and fine motor skills.” -Jamie B. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This resource allowed me to introduce the concept at circle and carry it over to small group learning. My students were very engaged and enjoyed the activity.”  Becky P. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I was needing something to teach syllables to my prek class and I was being observed.  My students liked this activity, understood what to do and had a successful lesson for syllables.”  - Tabitha Hewitt CHECK OUT THESE ADDITIONAL SYLLABLE COUNTING & PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS ACTIVITIES • Syllable Counting Activities & Phonological Awareness Games for the Whole Year BUNDLE • Syllable Counting Activities & Phonological Awareness Games- Winter Theme • Syllable Counting Activities & Phonological Awareness Games- Spring Theme • Syllable Counting Activities & Phonological Awareness Games- Summer Theme • Syllable Counting Activities & Phonological Awareness Games- Autumn Theme WANT TO KNOW WHEN NEW HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR PRESCHOOLERS AND KINDERGARTENERS ARE AVAILABLE? Do you want to be the first to know when I add new hands-on activities to the store? CLICK HERE to follow me

Do you look on Pinterest for Anchor Chart ideas and give up at the thought that your Anchor Chart could never look that amazing? It actually doesn’t have to be that difficult to make an amazi…

Adrian knows his pets very well but it's still fun for him to talk about them. Every time, he learns something new. For example, while working with the cat whiskers this week, we discussed how important they are for the kitties. Little facts thrown in here and there make it captivating and educational at the same time. Fine Motor Skills - Pet Lacing Cards Beautiful lacing cards with pets (made by Melissa & Doug). Adrian laced a new one every day. We tried these when he was younger (3 years old) and it was very difficult. This time, it was no trouble at all although the "under-over" pattern is something that sometimes causes trouble. Science - Water, air or land? I really wanted to make better looking water-air-land cards for this but Adrian was sick this week and as such, time was mostly spent disinfecting and laundering so his little sister and us wouldn't catch the little bug that upset his stomach. In the end, simple construction paper had to do, along with a Toob of Pets to sort into their right category. We purchased this Toob on Amazon for about $10 a few months ago. Outdoor Play - Sifting "cat poop" from the "litter box" As yucky as it can seem, it's kind of a practical life activity if you ask me. If we had a cat, Adrian would now be able to sift through the box to scoop out the pees and poops! :) And being that he is a little boy, anything poopy-related is hilarious. So I cut 2 brownish pipe cleaners, and tried to shape them like cat poopies. I then buried then in the sand and asked Adrian to "clean the litterbox". He loved it and repeated the activity. The pipe cleaners (aka cat poop) in the sandbox (aka litter box) Outdoor Play - Doing tricks like dogs can do The outdoors is where, ideally, Adrian would spend all his time. If it's nice out, I try to do an activity outside. He really liked this one. I put together a quick obstacle course he had to complete and the LOVED it. We discusses how dogs can be trained to do tricks, watched a short video and then, Adrian went though the circuit I prepared. He had to catch the ball, walk across a piece of wood while keeping his balance, jump into the hula hoop, walk in between the ladder steps and finally slide down the slide. I modified the course too to make it different because he kept wanting go through it. Math - shortest to tallest cat whisker Yeah...about that one. I think I need to make more "whiskers" next time. This was definitely the easiest activity this week. Math - Adding spots to the Dalmatian A well liked activity. I printed a "spotless" Dalmatian (Color-Your-Own) and then asked Adrian to throw a die so we could get this poor creature some of its famous spots. He then had to draw the number of spots he rolled. He really likes our colorful dice (found at a dollar store) and decided he would throw each one once and do the quantity of spots required by each. This is the final version after rolling each die once. The most difficult part for for him to draw small circles. He can draw circles but not small ones so I ended up drawing the small circles (he'd count for me) and he filled them in. Staying within the lines is also difficult for him so this was good practice.

This chart shows the steps for getting from one place to another. Create charts that get kids helping themselves right from the start! No matter what grade you teach this year, whether you looped o…

FREE Math centers for young learners- perfect hands-on learning for Kindergarten!

Practice writing and reading blends with this super cute and free printable Color & Trace BLENDS Book. Fun phonics activity for grade 1 & 2

Encourage kids to listen closely to sounds in words and help beginning readers build the skill using these fun to play, self-checking syllable clip cards!

Do you use writing folders with your students? If you don't, you are going to want to now - here are some ideas and 30 pages of writing folder freebies!!

Hello, everyone! I am Lori from I've been a blogger for about a year and a half and I cannot imagine my life without my blog. Blogging is the reason I have "met" literally hundreds of teachers from all over the world. Teachers are such special people! I feel especially blessed to be a part of Freebielicious. I am happy to call all of the authors of this very special blog, my friends. I often wish we all lived near each other so we could teach in the same school! A girl can dream, right? I've been a teacher for a really, really, really long time! 20 years to be exact! I got my teaching license when I was 15! Just kidding! I wish I were that young! I've always taught primary students because they are good for my ego. They think I am the BEST singer, artist, and writer. Truth be told, I can't carry a tune and my artistic ability is very limited. I am a great writer though! I'll give them that. LOL! If you asked my students to describe me, they will definitely say I am...funny, forgetful, and clumsy. And smart, beautiful, and the best teacher in the universe! And, they will tell you that I cannot find people in a crowd and that I am really bad with names. All of it is true! ;) I am a super duper doggie lover! I am owned by two yorkies and I love them dearly. Don't be fooled by their cuteness though! They are spoiled rotten. If only the clip chart worked with them! I have a wonderful family, but they are all too shy to appear on the internet. I actually work with my sister. She teaches in the room right next to mine and our classrooms share an office. During the day, we often swap funny stories with each other. She is one of my BEST friends! Here are a few more facts about me... -I am a hoarder of school supplies, bins, baskets, cute notepads, and educational activities. I don't think I'll ever be able to use up all that I have in this lifetime! Thankfully, I have a HUGE treadmill that holds a lot of my obsessions! -My favorite musical groups are... and -I always, and I mean always, wear my hair in a ponytail. The only time my hair wasn't in a ponytail, for the past few years, is when I posed for the picture in this post! Really! I can't stand when my hair falls into my face. And I always want to brush other people's hair off their face! I try hard not to, though, because people think that's weird! -I LOVE to eat! I am a BIG foodie! I don't love to cook, but I just adore eating. Thankfully, teaching, and life, in general, keep me busy and moving around! -I also love to watch comedies. There are some really GREAT new comedies this year. My favorites are ... Comic relief is invaluable after a long day teaching! So, that's me! I adore teaching. I adore blogging. And I adore chatting with all of you! As a thank you for listening to me go and on about myself, here is a present for all of you! My students LOVE to write the room and here is a generic write the room template that can be used any time of the year. Click here to download it! Enjoy!

Do you look on Pinterest for Anchor Chart ideas and give up at the thought that your Anchor Chart could never look that amazing? It actually doesn’t have to be that difficult to make an amazi…

Use these pictures and ideas to create and use these awesome Classroom Management Anchor Charts. Teach rules and procedures for all classroom supplies.

Children will practice rhyming words (phonological awareness) with this set of 20 picture cards. Children will look at the cards and find the one picture that doesn't belong in the group. On each card, there are 3 pictures that rhyme and one that does not. Children will mark the picture that does not belong. Use with a manipulative, such as bingo chips, Unifix cubes, flat marbles, or clothespins (something to cover the picture on the card). I teach Pre-K and design all of my activities with Pre-K students in mind. Other popular sets in this series include: What Doesn't Belong: Letters and Sounds What Doesn't Belong: Colors What Doesn't Belong: Shapes Level: Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten Skills: Rhyming, Phonological Awareness

Morning meeting is one of the most asked-about topics here at TKS so we wanted to spend some time explaining morning meeting. This is an overview of the how and why of morning meeting. Make s…

Have a chatty class? Do your talkative students get louder and louder during small groups until it feels like chaos? Do they talk when you'r...

I just love this color changing flowers science experiment! It is really easy to do and the kids love watching the flowers change color. We think it is the perfect science activity for spring! I even created printable recording sheets that kids in preschool and early elementary can use to show their observations.

Weather is always a fun science topic to explore! Bring the weather inside with weather sensory bottles. Students can explore the different types of weather and how they look and sound using these weather sensory bottles. To make them even more amazing, tape a real photo of the weather to the top of the bottle (a freebie I made for you)! Now, let me share with you how I made each one.