Have a Blessed Summer!

Here is my little princess who has just graduated from Kindergarten.  We are going to spend our summer together, so I won't be blogging this summer.  But, I will be creating lots of new things for next year.  So, when August rolls around---there will be lots of new posts.  Thanks for following along!  Have a blessed summer!

Joke Books for Fun Fridays

 Such a simple way to make kids enjoy writing!  I started this at the beginning of the year, and it has been a huge hit.  I have a joke on the SmartBoard every Friday morning for them to write down in their joke books.  They cannot wait to see what it is.  I started out just letting them write them on big lined index cards for writing practice, and they were able to take them home to share with their families.  Then, after Christmas, "because their writing was so beautiful" --the students were able to get their own Joke Books.  They love writing the jokes, reading the jokes, and decorating their books.  It is a fun way to start every Friday!

Writing Stories Anchor Chart

My students helped me come up with this anchor chart to put up in our room.  I just LOVE anchor charts!  They are so much fun, and they make it so simple to understand what your students have learned about any topic!

Happy Birthday...for next year!

 I have made a new way to recognize my students for their birthdays!  I bought a magnetic white board with a pretty black frame to make it look fancy.  Then, I used those magnetic picture frames.  (I found these at Bed, Bath, and Beyond back in the picture frame section.)  Then, I printed out the months and laminated them with a black border to match the frame.  I stuck them on the frames with mounting tape.  I am going to take pictures of my students next year for their birthday months and let them hold up their birthday number.  I just love this idea that I totally borrowed from someone on Pinterest.

Organizing My Stations

 I knew at the beginning of the year that I was going to have to find a way to organize my stations.  I wanted to make sure that most stations had some type of concrete proof that my students were actually learning during this time each day.  So, I made a notebook.

 I have some different sections.  The above section shows a fun sheet that I use on Fun Fridays for a Word Work assignment.  My students love it just because they get to use highlighters which is such fun for little Firsties.  This sheet and the following two were my own creations.

 This is another Word Work station that we use on Writing Wednesdays.  I use it for a Write the Room Station.  My students still love just using the clipboards for Write the Room, but adding real magnifying glasses or fake ones made from pipe cleaners always make this idea a little more fun.

I also love this idea that I am using as a writing prompt.  I used to be a 4th/5th grade teacher who knew a lot about the writing assessment test.  So, I am using that knowledge to guide my young students down the right path to writing well.  I use these sheets to nudge them along.  I write the first sentence at the top of their paper, then I encourage them to use some of the words to write their stories.  Plus, I also get them to describe the pictures in their stories.  You would be amazed at how their stories are chocked full of wonderful description just because they are looking at what they are putting in their stories.  I just love this!  It is one of my favorite little creations.
   
I have lots more tabs throughout the notebook for magnet stations, other writing stations, word work stations, and math stations, too.