Kinder in Pictures and a REALLY GOOD STUFF GIVEAWAY!

I have now made it through *almost* three weeks of kindergarten! 

In case you just read that and was like..."ummm this called the first grade jungle?" I moved from Louisiana this summer and took a job in Texas teaching kindergarten! It is just too much nonsense to change the name of my blog so I will be posting ideas that could work for either grade level!

In kinder this week we started Daily 5! We went to read to self starting last week, and my oh my! My kids blew my mind the first day! We are already at 5 minutes! 

We also are using this awesome phonics technique called zoo phonics! It is so precious. Each letter has an animal and an action to help kids remember their sounds. Today, we did this cut and match activity that will be their first word work station. 

Give it a google search and let me know what you think!

Now.... you have waited through all my pictures,

Really Good Stuff (the best teacher store) has asked me to do a giveaway of one of their products! YAY!

They were so kind to send me four-compartment caddies in neon, with label holders! 

 They are great for my kindergarten tables! This is my first year with tables, so these are great to put all the crayons and pencils and erasers. It is organized with compartments so you can easily find a place for everything. I have put two of the same color on the tables, and then that is the name of that table! It is great since it is a great visual cue!

 I also got these awesome label holders with it! They clip on the caddies and ANY basket! I knew my kids would mess with them, and then I needed some way to label my social centers and TA-DA I put them on here. The come with the border to write and a plastic square to keep it nice. They stay on the basket really well too!

Love these, and the great news is you can WIN your own set! Here is how:

Post a comment for each!

1) Follow my blog!

2) Follow my TPT store

3) Like Really Good Stuff on Facebook

4) Follow Really Good Stuff on Twitter

One entry for each! Make sure to put your email address in the comment! :)

Giveaway ends on September 19, 2012 at midnight! I will announce the winner after that!

First Day Check!

SORRY! 

I feel I should say that since I have been MIA! I started two weeks ago and since I am in a new district, I had A LOT of stuff to learn. I am so glad I did though, because my district rocks! I would know that already because a VERY popular first grade blogger used to work here before she moved to Houston...wink wink. :)

So this post is all pictures! 

First, my baby Penny

She makes getting home SO much better!

AND now my classroom!

The Reading Jungle! My mom made that tree for me! It's made of pool noodles and brown paper bags!

So lucky to have a bathroom in my room!

Home center

My desk and area

Small group table, with word wall and daily five/CAFE wall

Good work wall and math wall

Front of the room

My door and word work station storage

View from the door

Yee-haw! My kindergarten picture! No clue why I am on a horse

? Those bangs are killing it too.

Cubbies with birthday wall above

We don't do clips here so I blew up my WBT rules and put it on my tree.

Lunch choice wall, they will have clothespins with their names.

My outside display

YAY!

WBT classroom rules

So that's my classroom! I had my first day with my kiddos this morning. It was great! We do a kindergarten camp at my new school, where we have a new class everyday. Whew. But it is great because we really learn a lot about the kids before we put them in classes. 

Stay tuned for a giveaway from Really Good Stuff.....because it is!

Animal print makes me feel sassy :)

So, I got my baby girl Penny!! She is actually laying on my lap right now fast asleep. :) Since I have been hanging at home with her, I have realized some other signs I needed to make for my classroom! I am loving animal print, because it's sassy and I like that. 

I just finished making these two sets of signs and they are up on TPT! I made a set of signs that have the months of the year and the days of the week:

And the next set is for colors:

I realized I needed to display these for my kinder kiddos. I also plan to make a set to put on my word wall. 

I am off to see if I can get this potty training thing down....when they say you should have a puppy before you have kids they were right!

Good luck to those who go back tomorrow! :)

Class? YES!

So, the last few days I have been in my classroom...sweating. Gross, I know. BUT the AC has been off. :( I have been waiting till the afternoon to go up there and in the mean time I have been watching Grey's Anatomy from the beginning. I forgot how amazing that show is! McDreamy...mmm.

Anyway, teaching stuff:

I am a HUGE lover of Whole Brain Teaching. I discovered it last year, since I had a rather rambunctious class and needed something new. I watched SEVERAL videos on YouTube of how it worked and fell in love. This was the first video I watched:

I found it so amazing how the kids are all into it, and I knew that I needed something to get my kids in gear! So, I went home and typed up all the key points and then the next day put it in motion. I started with the rules. Here are my kiddos doing it last year:

After we had the rules down, I taught them the scoreboard which I LOVE! It was such a great way to provide rewards and consequences quickly. I also used the Class? YES! response which is a great way to get attention quickly. After, I started using the Teach! OK! during whole group time. I LOVED this too. It was a great way for my students to do peer teaching quickly. I would have them discuss sight words, spelling words, or math skills. It was such a treat to watch them during this time. 

This video is also amazing! It is a lesson on compound words, completely using the WBT method. I was so impressed!

So, for my new classroom I made this set of posters with my version of the WBT rules! I just put them up in my TPT store. 

The first THREE to comment get them for FREE!!

Also, my fab teacher biffle Morgan is doing an amazing giveaway with Lakeshore! Go check it out! One of the ways to enter is follow our new blog! {note: there is nothing there yet :) we want it to be a big thing and since it is August and she just got married we are working on it HA}

Happy Friday!

Getting there!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! I did for sure! Mainly because I am going to be a pug mommy!

I met her on Saturday and get to bring her home on this coming Saturday! I am so excited! I have been waiting for YEARS to get my own pug. My family has two (three for a while) and I love them. They have such a great personality, and I need some good company here in Texas! So, this is my new BFF, Penny!

Besides puppy news, I got in my classroom and today and got some stuff done! I really wonder how I got my room done before without my mother. She is such an amazing help, and she is a children's librarian so she has great ideas! 

So, I got the walls all done with fabric, and what not. Please excuse any mess you see in these photos, it is still a work in progress!

My "Born Wild" birthday board

My board to hang fun things! It is tiger print of course.

Reading jungle! Do you like those leopard print curtains? I have plans for a big tree in that corner.

Three back walls. I LOVE that I can staple in this wall.

Front of the room. This is where our class names will go and storage for supplies.

And, the palm tree is back up!

These jungle themed behavior signs are in my TPT store!

I am up there for the rest of the week getting everything else organized. I am about to get some signs for the room done while laying in bed. Be on the lookout for some WBT rule signs!

Also, she will kill me but I LOVE this picture of me and Morgan at her WEDDING! She looked drop dead gorgeous and it was such a great time! Congrats muffin! More info on our blog coming soon!

Happy Sunday!

So fresh and clean classroom!

I got into my classroom today! And this is not just exciting because "yay it is time to start decorating", it's because it is a NEW classroom! Woohoo!

Here it is:

built in cubbies? YES please!

So big, and the Texas flag makes me smile

Bathroom inside the classroom and a HUGE window!

So now I am ready to start decorating! My teacher biffle Morgan wrote an amazing post on decorating a classroom. She really is good at it, I was so envious of her and her cute post-it note mock-up last year. I am organized, but also a mess. Ha. It is true. I am trying to take it one step at a time for this classroom. 

I am keeping my jungle theme! I am super excited because I just got leopard print curtains. swoon. 

I thought I would share these photos so you can see what a difference I made! 

So, now you tell me what do you plan on doing with your classroom this year, that you didn't last year?

Updates and a Sale!

I have been sooo ignoring blogging. Please forgive me! My life has been nuts the last week or so! I moved from Baton Rouge to Dallas!! It was a whirlwind, and now finally the last box is unpacked and I now have to decorate!

So needless to say, my mind has not been on school and my classroom. :( Here are some things coming up though that I plan to accomplish: 

1. A new blog!!! Ms. Simoneaux and I are starting a little blog together!! Since we won't be next door anymore, we just had to have something to keep connected as if we are! The design is almost finalized and then we will be launching it! Check back here or at First Grade Fresh to see it! We have some things planned, like Fashion Friday (a way to show everyone that teachers can be fashionable, and that Morgan and I spend our money way too much). 

2. I am decorating a new classroom! I can't wait to put updates of the progress and how it comes along. 

3. I am in talks with a fun teacher company to do some product reviews, and to maybe give stuff away! :)

4. I am working on a few TpT things! FINALLY. I have a fun welcome to kindergarten pack planned! 

So, quite a few things coming up! 

Since I have been so MIA, EVERYTHING in my TpT store is on sale! 20% off until Thursday! 

If you have a jungle themed classroom check these out that I posted towards the end of the school year:

My TpT store:

Happy Tuesday!! Hope your July 4th is full of fireworks and BBQ!