New Blog Design!

Well welcome to my new home!

When I first started out with this blogging journey, I bought a blog layout pretty quick. I wanted to look the part with a cute blog. And I did love the look....I just didnt like that there were a few blogs that were the same look as mine.

I have been thinking about a change for a while and when some of my blogging buddies started getting a do-over, I knew it was my time too.

Enter Christi Fultz.

I know know how this lady does it! She has a store, she designs blogs.....Do you ever sleep Christi?

But here is the new blog and I love it!

If you are thinking of a change, I highly recommend Christi! Go and visit her by clicking on her button below.



And while you are at it, grab my new button too :)

Making CVC words

When your students have the basics of sounds of letters, the next step is making those CVCs. Some kids click....some kids don't. To help out my kids I made these activity cards. I haven't blogged about them yet but when I made an update for a friend today, I thought it was time!

This is what I started with. A magnetic white board, my cards, and a set of letters I bought at the $2 shop (and a horse! But please don't ask). I like them because the vowel is a different colour to help the kids find it. I know some sets have blue consonants and red vowels too. But you could do this with any magnetic letters or with a white board marker.

Choose a card. The boxes tell the students which kind of letters they are looking for, tall, short or long. They build the word in the bottom boxes and then push it up, letter by letter. The sounding out of the letters helps the students build the word.

Another example. I have just updated the file to include cards that have the vowel already written in the middle to help support those students still learning the concept of building a CVC. Both sets of cards come in black and white as well as colour.

Click any pic to find these activity cards in my TPT store.

You can support this activity with the CVC stamping pack (also in my store). Write the word, stamp the word, colour the picture! Lots of hands on, engaging learning fun!

Click on either picture to go and grab this in my store. I will soon be making the same update to this pack (hopefully over the next week).

I love you comments so let me know how you teach CVC's and don't forget your email. I will pick one comment to receive my CVC cards and one to receive my CVC stamping pack. I'll give you just over 24 hours....

Currently August!

Wow, it is just coming around faster and faster! We are closer to the end of the year than the beginning! And that means...I am closer to finishing my first year of Kindergarten than I am to beginning!

Currently time. Go link up!

Listening - I have every Friday off and we just take it easy before taking my daughter to school and my son to swimming lessons. But the prob with taking it easy is the whinging that goes along with it....

Loving - I handed my program in to my principal yesterday. I have put a lot of effort in to this one and I actually felt a bit like it was an assignment! But now I can relax a little get some prep done (and go back to creating for TPT too)

Thinking - Yep. Make ninja turtle costumes for 13 boys in my class! I have plans (and will definitely be blogging about it!) And also about my baby going to school next year. I filled out his enrollment form to take in today but do you think I can find his birth certificate anywhere??

Wanting - Chocolate! 'Nuff said

Needing - Cleaning is definitely at the bottom of my list priority wise....

B2S - We are in the middle of the year...but for a brand new year I love Post its in lots of colours, coloured pens in lots of colours and lots of cold diet coke!

Weekly Maths Programming

I shared a pic of my Sunday afternoon work on Instagram and on Facebook over the weekend - my maths programming.I was quite chuffed at how many people commented on it - to me it is just my program. And I know a lot of you don't use NSW outcomes or Best Start....but I thought I would share it here as it might give you some ideas of how to adjust your own programming.

Someone asked me how to get started doing something like this - I'm not sure if it was the design on the content, so I'll just comment on the design first. It is simply a table I created in ppt and merged and added cells to where needed. The font is Hello Doodle Print (one of my all time faves from Jen Jones) and the cute shapes to define the groups are from Krista Wallden.

Anyways....moving on to the content.

This is a view of my whole week. The top page is probably my most important page - reporting wise. The categories listed are

• Strand - tells what what broad topic it is. This one is Whole Number
• Outcomes - Similar to Common Core, these are the statements that drive teaching in NSW. In the next 2 years, we will be moving to objectives similar to the rest of Australia.
• Best Start Focus - Best Start is an assessment tool to help teachers of students in K-2 (soon to be K-6) to monitor and assess what their students can do. You are able to place students in clusters in each aspect and the program tells you what they need to be able to do to move to the next cluster.
• Key ideas - tells me what I am trying to achieve with the activities in the lesson, for all students 

The other boxes have debeloped over time.

• Language - I find this one very useful to make a note of the specific language I want my students to be using throughout the lesson
• Modelled teaching - I take time at the beginning of every lesson (sometimes at the end!) as well as a small group teacher focussed lesson to do my modeled teaching, focussing on whatever topic each group needs, as determined by Best Start.

Groups

I currently have 5 groups who move through 4 rotations. Some activities are similar but some are very different as different groups need to practice different skills to move through the clusters.

My activities for last week are a bit hard to read but essentially each group moves through 4 stations

1. Teacher focussed lesson - this week we are looking at (from the lowest groups) teen numbers - as these groups need this skill to move on, and doubles for my higher groups.
2. IWB lesson - we used TopMarks and we used the caterpillar number games
3. and 4 were independent work activities based on the group need. Some of the wonderful games that I have used were found on TPT:

Serving Up Numbers by Stef Galvin

Back to School Math Pack by From the Pond 

Bug Bingo Set (we used the teen number bingo cards) by From the Pond 

The bottom part of the plans are all about concluding the lessons

• Concluding activities - I also find it nice to do a whole class activity and a reflection of the lesson. My current activity we have been doing every day is my Interactive Ten Frame flashcards
• Resources needed - I sometimes do a much more detailed list than this to make sure I list everything each activity needs.
• Assessment - how am I going to assess the lesson. I usually am jotting notes each lesson, plus I use the reflection the students give me, and any concrete recording such as a sheet or writing on the whileboards.
• Evaluation - now I am not going to lie. I suck at evaluating my lessons each week. It is something I know I need to improve on. But the box is there.....

I hope you have enjoyed a look at my maths programming proforma :)

Monday Made It!

This is my first time linking up with Monday Made It...hopefully not the last!

This is what my project started out like...a sad, beat up (slightly dirty) table that my kids have used and abuse. It used to have matching chairs which have since bit the dust.

All I did was sand it slightly before I started. I didnt take progress pics, but it was a 2 step process. Firstly, I painted the legs and under side of the table. I ended up doing 3 coats to cover over the darker colours on the legs. The I painted the table top with black board paint (2 coats)

And.....

The table being tested out.

My kids think its pretty fun to draw on the table. I see this as an option for some kid of literacy or maths group activity down the track - I actually bought a second table from an op shop for this very reason.

What do you think?

Word Family Sliders

You might have seen the little seek peek on my Facebook page. But it finished and I can't wait to laminate it for groups for next week!

Graphics from Graphics from the Pond (of course!)

So what is it?

It is a fun, interactive way for kids to play with making words by using the same word ending (word family).

I'll let the pics explain.

Here it is in action!

You get four word families per page and the matching strips on the next page. You also get a fun flip book to get students to record their words in. This is blank and the students write the word families on the front and words under the flap.

Here is Miss M testing it out!

She started out with -at...her handwriting is getting better :) She loves Kindergarten

You get two 'inside' templates, one with lines and one without, for your students to record on. It also then becomes something for them to read to themselves or at home with their families.

Would you like one of these? Comment on how this will help your kids and leave your email. I will pick one random number in 24hours. Click on any of the pics to go and grab it from my TPT store.

Washi Clipboard tutorial

Ahhhh....

Sickness be gone!

I was sick and then my son was sick too. I need to go and spray some Glen 20 around the house and banish the germs!

But I'm here...and I have what you want!

A washi-tape clipboard tutorial.

Some asked for a video but I honestly couldnt face my own snotty voice being recorded.

So its just pics for now :)

 Assemble your supplies - I used a small clipboard (A5 size, but you could easily do this with a larger one - just make sure your roll of tape is long enough to cover it all!), the washi you are using and a sharp knife,

 I found it easier to start at the top, right under the metal clip as it gave me a straight (enough) line to work from.

 You need to take this slowly, especially if you are matching up a pattern like with this tape. You will need to slightly layer the tape on top of each other to preserve the pattern.

 As I worked down the board, I was slicing off the excess tape at the finishing end so it was flush with the board. I actually left the beginning end alone until the end because I felt it helped me with the pattern.

There you go! Flapping in the breeze.

Once I  had covered the board I went back to the top and covered the small spaces on either side of the metal clip, still maintaining the pattern and following the exact steps from above.

When my board was finished, I flipped it over and cut the excess of my starting side.

This is a board I ripped tape off - you can see it was quite easy and not a lot was left behind in the way of residue. I thought I could use it to cover another board, but this time in a vertical fashion to see if it was any easier or faster.

I have to say it was a bit faster, difficulty still about the same, but I think I preferred it the other way. Of course, if your pattern runs this way, it is still quite effective and cute! 

And there you have it - washi-tastic!

So what do you think?