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Teaching behavior expectations in kindergarten is important, especially in the first few weeks of school. This often sets the stage for your class for the entire year. For students to fully understand what is expected of them, it is important that teachers address and teach these expectation. I usually spend a lot of time during the first weeks of school teaching student expectations and classroom behaviors. We complete sorts of good choices and bad choices in the classroom and discuss what makes them good and bad choices. We complete these sorts whole group and students also complete individual behavior reflection sheets. These work great during the first few weeks of school or when students may need a review. These include different levels of difficulty beginning with students simply deciding if an actions is a good or bad choice, to a student sort of good and bad choices (this is a freebie at the end of the blog post) to finally illustrating or writing good or bad choices. Also we color an emergent reader reviewing some of the classroom expectations. These can also just be used as little coloring pages when a classroom expectation is introduced. In your classroom, you may want to challenge your students to focus on a certain expectation for a week. Included are posters that would work great for this: These provide a visual and focus for students when expectations are being taught. You can make it a game and provide an incentive if students can meet this expectation a certain amount of times in a week. Once these expectations are taught it is important to keep students accountable to their actions. I have been using a visual think sheet in my classroom that is perfect for this. It is very appropriate for your early learners in pre-k or kindergarten or special ed because it includes pictures for students to show what they did. Students simply color in the choice they made and a better choice they can make. These are great reflections for students, communication for parents and documentation if necessary. You may also want to post these cool down methods where students can reflect on strategies to cool down, instead of getting upset. You can find this entire Behavior Think Sheets and Activities in my TPT store and the Free Good and Bad Choices Student Sort here:
Well… Friday was our last day of school! It was exciting and bittersweet all wrapped up into one ball of craziness! I had a last minute inspiration on Insta from the sweet Ashley from JustReed, so I spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning all in flurry trying to finish these adorable picture and letters for […]
A great way to start off the year or term! Adaptable for all year levels. The 3 different picture boxes help students focus their writing on more than 1 idea.
What a CRAZY week and weekend!!! We are finished with our state testing and school fair. Yahoo!!! This past week consisted of ...
From food to decor, these amazing garden party ideas will ensure your summer party is the one everyone will remember!!
End of the school year activities for students to reflect back on the year with their class community leading up to the last day of school.
One of the many great (and, yes, challenging!) things about teaching is that, each fall, the 'reset' button gets pushed. Fresh faces, fresh challenges, a chance to do things a little bit better, etc. While this can be a wonderful opportunity to grow, it can also be a little nerve-wracking because you never really know what to expect until you show up. We're thinking specifically of the classroom dynamic that can change dramatically from year to year. Each of your new kiddos comes with their own personality, abilities, and set of interests - and they all play an integral part in creating a cohesive community and a successful learning environment! It's important to help your new students understand this very concept and we love the idea of using the first day of school to work on a collaborative project. Here are a few ideas that celebrate each student's unique talents and abilities, while also visually demonstrating how each child plays an equal and important role in the classroom community. Puzzle Mural Find a puzzle template online and use your classroom projector system to enlarge and trace the image onto bulletin board paper. For easy assembly, number the back of each piece, then cut the pieces apart. On the first day of school, provide each of your students with a puzzle piece to decorate with pictures, magazine clippings, and other illustrations that show their personal interests, abilities, goals, etc. Arrange the pieces on a bulletin board to display and enjoy during the first weeks of school. Class Quilt Similar to the puzzle idea, provide each of your students with a quilt square. Again, have your students create a unique piece that tells about them. Consider letting them have free reign over the design or provide them with key elements to include. For example; Create a border in your favorite color. Draw a box in the center of the quilt square and write your name in the box. Divide the remaining quilt square into four sections, devoting a section to family, interests, favorites, and future goals. Once the squares are finished, use a single paper punch and yarn to tie the individual squares together and create a quilt to display in the classroom. These are just a few first day of school craftivities that, not only make for great ice breakers, but also provide great back to school bulletin board ideas/decor!
Check out how to make preschool portfolios with your students. They make great end of the year keepsakes. Included is a free printable poem for your kids.
Stunning senior pictures of Emmie Brockhouse
Here are a few more pictures from my Rainforest Open House, although these are from last year. The sloths have a report about sloths on the back, and the monkeys have a report about monkeys on the tummy. These are some of my favorite projects to teach with. I used a lot more green tulle this year, and had it coming out from the tree, but in these photos it was just hung on the ceiling.
Making a Self-Portrait is always a fun and enriching activity. I am going to describe today's learning experience in doing a self-portrait. First I showed the paper the students would use and I projected it on a white board. You can use a smart board of course or just chart paper I recommend having something to model drawing yourself. We defined self-portrait and thought about which shapes we have in our bodies. I asked a volunteer to come to the front and asked the kids to help me draw her face. I add all details the children suggested. We were happy with the results. I modeled using a mirror to look at my face and draw it. After I finished my self-portrait I asked for the students input. They were fantastic. They asked me to add my hanging little camera purse, earrings, glasses, my toes showing because I was wearing sandals, patterns from my dress, and more. I then handed a mirror and a paper to each student. The kids had a ball looking at their faces in the mirror They could work sitting or standing. And look how this girl is so focused on her drawing. Even the younger ones did an amazing job. Princesses did a great job too. After they were all ready we shared them with the group. I have different ways of sharing work. We had targeted our audience. It was our friends and our parents as we thought that this would be a great portfolio piece. The way we chose to share today was for me to hold each drawing and ask the class to tell what they liked about the self-portrait I was holding. And here are some more self-portrait samples. You can download the self-portrait template by clicking on the picture below. If you are doing portfolio with your class I have made two templates that can be useful. One to be used at the beginning of the school year and another one for the end of the school year. This way we can see the progress of drawing a self-portrait. Click on the pictures below to download the templates.
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One of my favorite projects of the year is our End of the Year Memory Book. It's a special keepsake for students and parents that features photos, drawings, writing samples, and more. It's a project the class works on periodically throughout the year. I love it because it shows how much the kiddos change over the year. It gives parents a memento to remember the year by, rather than trying to save everything the child brings home. #guiltyofthat This is Ellee. She was in my very first class. She just started 10th grade! Her Mom sent me these pictures of her looking back on her Kindergarten Memory Book before school started last month. It made me so happy to know that she was reliving all of the fun we had in Kinder. Crazy to think 10 years has come and gone! You can see in the photos that Word Art was all the rage back in 2007. LOL. I've made some updates to my Kinder Memory Book since 2007, and I've also created a Preschool and 1st grade version. I have some tips for creating these Memory Books that will make them manageable. 1. If you have active parent volunteers, find a parent that will head up this project. My first year in the classroom, I had 26 kids in my morning class and 25 in the afternoon. 51 memory books! Thank goodness I had an amazing aide and some super parents that helped out. 2. Two options for binding the memory books... You can copy all of the pages you need and bind them over the summer/at the beginning of the year. However, I think it's better to wait to bind them until the END of the year. To keep it all organized, I have a file folder for each student. As we complete a memory book page, I file the completed page away in the child's folder. Then at the end of the year, all the pages are in order and ready to be bound. 3. Print extra copies for potential new students or for "Uh Oh" mistakes. 4. If you forget to take a photograph of a student for a certain page, they can draw a picture instead. The combination of photographs and illustrations will make it extra special. 5. You can send a page home for "homework" every now and then if you just don't have time to get to it in class. Be sure to tell your students how important these pages are so they come back in good condition. I would recommend sending them home in an envelope or file folder so they don't get ripped, folded, or destroyed on the way home. :) 6. I've included extra pages at the end for photographs. Students can personalize it, color it, add stickers, get autographs from friends, etc. The teacher can write a special note to the child in the back of the book as well. These Memory Books will work great for Homeschool Kiddos and for the crafty Mamas out there. Just print and use the pages you need. I'm thrilled to be making one with my preschooler.
Short hair styles use short cuts as their base to look catchy and playful while being easy to maintain. Discover our trendiest ideas!
Teach your four-year-old more than ABCs and 123's. Make sure they are ready for kindergarten by teaching them these 8 essential life skills!
Product Description Printable thought bubble template for students to color and create. Easy, no-prep lesson with only copies of templates, printed photos of students, and crayons or markers as materials! Get to know your new students and let them get to know each other with this fun project. Create a fun bulletin board of all the students thought bubble portraits when finished. Prompts are: Your name Favorite color Favorite book Favorite activity or sport Self-Portrait Avatar Favorite food Included: Teacher instruction sheet with pictures Student Directions/Idea sheet with how to make bubble letters & examples of common items to use as reference Thought Bubble template with instructions for use with student photo Thought Bubble template blank for use with student photo Option to use as Thought Bubble only with instructions and blank I appreciate any feedback on my resources and am always looking for ways to make them more useful! ©2018 ©2019 A Space to Create Art, LLC. All rights reserved.
Wondering how to spend your cruise port day in Katakolon, Greece? Check out the best things to do in Katakolon for a perfect independent day of exploring.
One of my favorite parts of the school day is reading aloud to my students. It allows me to share my LOVE of reading and instill a love of books in my students. It is a time where we can connect, share experiences, and build a classroom community. I pause often throughout the reading to ask […]
