Little Minds at Work

Updates :)

2013-05-19T11:04:00.000-05:00

Hello friends! I know it has been an eternity since my last post- -sorry! I promise to share more things we've been up to in the classroom as well as new ideas and packets I will be implementing next year! Tomorrow starts our last week of school! It is always so bittersweet....you are elated to see what a difference you've made for these little ones, but I am also very excited to start the journey all over again! Thursday is our last day of school, but the week is pretty jammed pack with some awesome fun!

Other than school I've been busy with life......

This is my adorable niece, Vaida! She was waiting for her mommy to finish the race!

I have almost been spending endless hours...like 6 hours a day clearing out trees at our land!
This picture is from inside the land looking towards the road.
We are getting our lane put it soon!

The biggest thing on my mind here lately....would be the very exciting news that my husband and I are taking the next step in our infertility journey- - IVF. We start our medication on Memorial day and should have a egg transfer within the first couple weeks of June! I promise to keep you updated on the process. The Dr. insists it will be one of the most stressful times of our lives. We are keeping up the faith that this will be our miracle baby!

Teacher Appreciation Sale!

2013-05-06T11:15:00.001-05:00

Oh yes I am excited! Something about teacher appreciation week.... first off, we are getting acknowledged for all the heart and soul we put into our career and students each and everyday...second, it's in May so that little ticker is quietly ticking down the end of the school year....and last but NOT least, teacher appreciation week equals one big ol' sale on Teachers Pay Teachers!

I will be participating with a lot of other sellers on TpT and offering 20% off my store. Be sure to use the checkout code Tad13 for an additional 10% from TpT {Tuesday & Wednesday only}. My 20% off sale will actually run through Friday, May 10th. That way if you find out later you just have to have more ...it will still be on sale!

ALSO, because it is teacher appreciation week and I DO appreciate each and every teacher I will also be offering a special sale for all of my blog followers! Here it is; for every 5 products you buy receive a free product $3 and under. So if you buy 10 items you will get 2 free $3 and under products. All you need to do is send me a quick email after your purchase your items. Include your TpT username and your choice of free item{s}.

Also, to get your biggest bang for your buck this sale, be sure to leave feedback on all of your previous purchases. Remember, feedback equals free TpT products!

Click on the shopping bag below to head over to my store!

Keep them learning over the Summer! {and a giveaway!}

2013-05-04T16:50:00.001-05:00

Clipart from TeachersScrapbook

Well, here in Missouri the end of the school year is near! At my school we have 14 more student days! I noticed that several states go up to June or near mid-June! This year the only long break we had more than a couple days was for Christmas. Anyway, I was all prepared to get this post out yesterday, but this is what my view was all day.....

Yes....it is SNOW joke...it's really snow! They said it was some kind of record 5.3.13

Anyway, today is a little dreary but I know Summer will be here in no time! I am already planning the folder I will be sending home with my students over the Summer. Last year I sent home my Summer Review Packet, but this year I planned out a complete folder!
The folder I am using was the kiddos Daily 5 writing folder so I am just repurposing them!

I actually have so many great ideas for my folders that I am fretting about what to include and what to leave out.....So you make your own decision! If you are in the market for a kid and family friendly packet to send home with your kiddos over Summer break I have just the thing {or things if you would like}! Be sure to read on for a chance to win a packet!

Here is a snap shot of the folder...These are the items I have selected.
Like I said still not 100% sure!

Here are the items that I've included....

Summer Writing
Summer Common Core Math Review & Calendars
Writing Picture Starters
Blank Writing Paper

The first up is this super awesome packet I just finished compiling- - Summer Writing!

Product Description:The Summer is near and the little ones have just met or are just about to meet their end of the year writing goals. So, you send them out the door and wait for them to return the next year as writing authors. Only, what we don’t expect is that these fantastic writers get busy having fun over the Summer and sometimes forget those skills they learned. So, fix that problem! Send the students with writing practice that is FUN!

Common Core Aligned: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.1, W.K.2, W.K.3

Included in this packet:

Informative Writing
Opinion Writing
Narrative Writing
Procedural “how to” Writing
Fiction Writing
Persuasive Writing

Each writing type is 3 pages {1 page of prompts/instruction and 2 templates}.

Print students pages 3-22, staple, and send home with students over Summer Break.

This packet is versatile...if you don't want to send it home with students over Summer break, then use this packet within your classroom! The templates can easily be used over and over again!

This is a snap shot of the persuasive writing prompt page for parents and the writing template for students to complete their story on. There is also blank writing pages within the packet. Which is what I will also be sending home with my kiddos!

This packet is $3. Click below to view on TpT!

I will also be sending home the review of Kindergarten Common Core math standards! This packet comes with a 3 month quick daily math skill checks, practice pages, and incentives for completion.

math calendars

practice pages

Product Description:

Common Core Summer Review/Homework Packet {Kindergarten}
This packet can be used as an end of the year classroom review or be sent home with students at the end of the school year for summer review!

Consider this- - Research has shown that students lose approximately 2.6 months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation over the summer months.

Inside the Packet:
Teacher instructions
3 Summer Calendars with daily common core review topics (Standard listed daily)
18 Common Core practice sheets
2 sheets of incentives/reward coupons

Practice Sheets: (standard listed on each page)

Starfish Count K.CC.1 Order the Turtles K.CC.2
Write Them in the Sand K.cc.3
Count them Up K.CC.5
Leaping Lizards K.CC.6 Number Compare K.CC.7
Grab your Shades K.oA.1
Floatie Trouble K.OA.2 Number Bond:5 K.OA.3 (2 pages)
Water Balloon Fun K.OA.4
Addition/Subtraction Timed Practice K.OA.5
Place Value Fishies K.NBT.1 (4 pages)
Ship up or Set Sail K.MD.1
Help out Mr. Crab K.MD.2
Shorts or Suits K.MD.3
Mmmm a Shape Shake K.G.1
Shading the Shapes K.G.3

This packet sells for $6. Click below to view in my TpT store!

Additional ideas......

Writing Picture Starters {pack of 20}

Inside the Packet:
20 Writing Picture Starter Templates

It sells for $2.50. Click above to view!

Common Core ELA Summer Review Packet {Kindergarten}
This packet can be used as an end of the year classroom review or be sent home with students at the end of the school year for summer review!

Inside the Packet:
Letter ID Practice (26 pages) RF.K.1
CVC/Vowel Practice (5 pages) RF.K.2
Rhyming Riddles (1 page) RF.K.2
High Frequency word cards (6 pages) RF.K.3
Letter Names/Sounds cards (3 pages) RF.K.3

This packet sells for $4.50. Click above to view!

I L-O-V-E this packet! However, I handed it out at conferences to my parents. So, I will not be placing it in their Summer folder.

Product Description:

Ready, Set, First {an introduction to first grade ELA & Math common core standards}

This packet is designed as a reference for Kindergarten parents. It is an overview of the important standards that will be expected of their soon to be first grader. I am more than aware that the transition from Kindergarten Common Core Standards to First Grade Common Core Standards is quite a task. So, why not help prepare these little Kinders?

A majority of the ELA and Math standards are covered in this easy send home packet. I have 25 students in my classroom so I made this packet quite condensed so it would be manageable to run a copy for each student in the classroom.

This packet would be great to send home at Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences or for Summer Break! Simply print pages 3-17 and you’re done!

Standards covered in this packet: key details in text, long & short vowels, phoneme segmentation, manipulating beginning, middle, & ending sounds in words, sight word recognition, addition problems with multiple addends, addition & subtraction problems solving for more and less, missing numbers in equations, rote counting, counting on, place value, more than/less than/equal to, time to hour & half hour, and fractions.

This packet sells for $3. Click above to view in my TpT store!

Now for your chance to win one of these babies.....

**** Pin this <> image from above ****

**** Comment below leaving your email address. ****

I will select three winners Sunday evening! Happy pinning to win!

Short Vowels {and a freebie}

2013-05-03T19:59:00.001-05:00

As the year is winding down we are completing our final review of the vowels! Be sure to read on to grab a freebie!

Here are some of our favorite short vowel videos!

and games....

We will also be working on these practice sheets!

These practice sheets come from the packet below. It sells for $2

Grab this short vowel freebie below!

Also, check out these adorable ABC journal pages! We've been using them for our ABC countdown to summer, but they have so many uses! :)

Have a superb weekend!

What's under the bowl? {and a freebie}

2013-05-02T19:31:00.001-05:00

This week we wrapped up our subtraction unit with some fun hands-on games! This little easily to implement game needs only; recording sheets, bowls or cups, snap cubes {or any other small manipulative}.

How to play:

Students get a set number of snap cubes {we were working on combinations of 10}

First, One students closes their eyes

Next, The other student places some of the snap cubes under the bowl

After, the work through the problem and solve to find out how many are under the bowl

Finally, they record their answer on the corresponding sheet

10-3= 7

10-5=5

Grab these recording sheets along with multiple versions for $2. Click below to view!

I have also compiled several other quick simple packets for subtraction! They are $2!

Now, grab a new subtraction practice freebie! This practice sheet has subtraction within 10!

Have a great Friday! Wooooohooo!

Grammar 1.0.1 {and a freebie}

2013-05-01T19:13:00.001-05:00

We are well on our way to the end of the year! I assume a lot of my teacher friends are like me and already thinking about next year! Well, if so how will you be teaching grammar to your little ones at the start of the new school year?

Since starting with our reading series, Journeys, we have had a set time for grammar each day. It is about a 10 minute block of time right before we move into our writing time. This year and last I taught the grammar lesson on the Smartboard and then we went about our writing lesson. I often times go back to the grammar lesson within our writings, but the students were not getting actual pencil and paper practice. Read on to see how I fixed this problem!

This is a picture of our parts of speech posters! They come from THIS awesome packet from the Teacher Wife!

As I introduce a new part of speech we add the poster and learn a new dance!

I will do my best to describe our little jigs! :)

A NOUN is a person {point thumbs to chest}, a place {hands on hips}, animal {use to fingers to pretend they are walking like a dog}, and a thing {point to a thing}.

A VERB is an action word {throw up arm like a superhero}.

An ADJECTIVE describes a noun like pretty {touch hair} and cold {shiver}.

Below are also some great videos we like to watch for practice!

So now back to how I am fixing the problem of the no pencil and paper practice.....Grammar Practice Sheets! I am only kicking myself that I didn't start these earlier. With these practice sheets I am able to identify immediately who is and is not getting the concept.

Be sure to see below for list of the activities and a FREEBIE to get you started!

Click below to preview the document!

This packet contains 180 grammar sheets! It sells for $12.00. Click below to view on TpT.

Be sure to grab this freebie to get your kiddos practicing grammar!

Have a great evening! :)

Career Day FREEBIE Writing template

2013-04-28T16:44:00.001-05:00

A few day ago we celebrated Career Day! We had some great presenters and the kids learned a lot! To get the kids excited for career day I sent home a quick career day writing homework assignment. This could easily be done in the classroom too! :)

Here are a couple of the stories.....

I want to be a doctor because you get to help people with their problems.

Teacher: I want to be a teacher because I like daily five. - - -don't you just love the guided reading group? So, glad I don't have 10 back there at once though! :)

Click below to download the freebie template!

Have a great start to your week!

Hot off the press: Literacy Centers Super pack 3

2013-04-27T21:44:00.002-05:00

Hello! Hello! I have been searching high and low for a literacy center packet that covered all of the areas my Kinders are currently at. I found lots of awesome packets, but I would have still needed to piece together additional activities. So *light bulb* I created my own packet!

This is the third set of my literacy centers! See below the first two!

In this SUPER PACK is 20 activities and over 300 pages.

These activities are great for Literacy Centers!
Activity Titles:
-Contraction Match-ups
-CVC Word Puzzles & Recording Sheet
-Nonsense Words Game & Recording sheet
-Stamping Names, Words, Alphabet
-Write the Sentence
-Sound Boxes
-Alphabet Tree
-Letter Sorts (multiple fonts)
-Letter Caterpillar Alphabetical order
-Rainbow Writing
-Letter Tree
-Letter Sorts (tails/no tails, upper/lowercase, tall/short)
-Ready, Set, Go Fluency Practice
-Letter Name Practice Pages
-Word, Build, Write
-Letter Name & sight word Memory Game
-Sorting Names
-Handwriting Practice Pages
-Rhyming-O game
-Build a Letter Mats

Word Work SUPER pack 2 {Literacy Centers}

Sentence Decoders CVC Words: 5 pages

Build a CVC Word: 4 pages

Missing Vowel- CVC Words: 4 pages

52 Sight Word Mats: 52 pages

Alphabet Practice Sheets: 26 pages

Digraph Picture Sorts & response sheets: 11 pages

Sentence Detectives- mixed up sentences: 10 pages

Long Vowel Bee Sort: 11 pages

Runnin' Over Word Families & response sheets: 15 pages

Short Vowel Sort & response sheets: 17 pages

And now for my new packet......

Literacy Centers SUPER Pack #3

This literacy center packet includes 11 activities!

Inside the packet:
-ch, sh, th, wh digraph sort & recording sheet
-Silent e sort & recording sheet
-Write in middle sounds & recording sheet
-L Blends Sort & recording sheet
-Manipulating Sounds {beginning, middle, & ending}
-Double Ending Consonants {ll, ss, ff} & recording sheet
-Making New Words & recording sheet
-L Blends Roll & Record sheet
-Antonyms
-CK Endings & recording sheet
-CVC Words & recording sheet

Here are some of the centers in action!

Manipulating middle, beginning, and ending sounds

Sh, Th, Ch, Wh Digraph sort & record

L Blends sort and record

Write in the middle sounds and record

-ck ending sort and record

Roll a blend & record

Antonym match-ups

Silent e sort and record

Click below to check our the Preview!

This packet sells for $8 in my TpT store!

Have a nice rest of your weekend!

RTI & Guided Reading {Nonsense Words Activities} and a FREEBIE

2013-04-22T19:32:00.002-05:00

As part of our district assessments our students are assessed using AimsWeb on Letter Naming {LNF}, letter sounds {LNF}, nonsense words {NWF}, and Phoneme Segmentation {PSF}. I plan to make RTI & Guided Reading packets for all 4 subtests. I have already blogged and posted on TpT my RTI & Guided Reading {Phoneme Segmentation Activities} packet. If you have not yet check those out click above on the links to view!

Anyway, this post is all about nonsense words or called by some "silly words."

Nonsense Words- - A Definition:
Measuring a student’s ability to decode individual phonemes and then blend them together to read.

Nonsense Words- -Why teach them to our students?:
Practicing nonsense word fluency will show if a student has a solid understanding for letter-sound correspondence. Nonsense word fluency also encourages students to blend an unknown word together. Students who are fluent with nonsense words will have a better understanding on decoding unknown words within the text they read.

Nonsense Words- -How I teach them:
Morning Routine: We work on nonsense words as part of our morning ELA routine. Our morning meeting is filled with; high frequency word reviews, phoneme segmentation exercises, manipulating sounds in words, nonsense words, and any other skill we are working on at the time. For nonsense word routine I will write a nonsense word on the whiteboard and have the students state the nonsense word. Or, I will have the students review nonsense words before the morning routine by having a PowerPoint nonsense word displayed on the smart board. The PowerPoint presentation automatically switches slides after a few seconds. Click below to grab the freebie!

Hallway: I also access nonsense words in the hallway as I am having my students go into the restroom. I will show them a word and they will state the word back to me. Below are the cards I use! They can be found in the RTI & Guided Reading {Nonsense Words Activities} packet!

Guided Reading: I spend about 3-5 on nonsense words each guided reading lesson! Below are a few of the activities we do....

I love these practice cards! The students get to see each sound, then blend those sounds together.

Nonsense words fluency sheets. Students get 1 minute to state as many nonsense words as they can. I also place these in a literacy center for extra practice.

Nonsense words 3 in a row. This game is played like bingo. The teacher calls out a nonsense word and the students cover it up with their bingo dot.

All of the above mentioned activities come from my RTI & Guided Reading {Nonsense Words Activities} packet.

Inside the packet:
Pages 3-29 Nonsense Word Cards {4 to a page}
Pages 30-45 Guided Nonsense Word cards { 3 to a page}
Pages 46-64 Nonsense Word Fluency 3-in-a-row {3 versions}
Pages 65-68 Nonsense Word Fluency Sheets

See below for previews!

The packet sells for $5.00 in my TpT store and is 69 pages!
Click below to view the packet!

I also use this nonsense word literacy center! It comes with the nonsense words & corresponding recording sheet! Click the picture below to view!

Have a great friends!

Teaching Subtraction to the Common Core in Kindergarten!

2013-04-21T19:02:00.000-05:00

Hello! Hello! This past week we started out unit in subtraction. I'm not sure about your little ones, but ours go straight from addition to subtraction! Some do well with the swift transition but others are still building a solid foundation in addition, so subtraction is some kind foreign language to them.

I started with small, building blocks this year and that has helped to eliminate the mass confusion! We have also watched some favorite videos and played some fun hands-on games that have also helped with the transition.

I like to start with simple subtraction stories as a way to introduce subtraction. We did a lot of role playing out simple subtraction problems by having students come up to the front of the room. Below is a fun and interactive video for subtraction stories!

I also had my students do a simple subtraction sticker story. I gave each student 3 colored stickers and then they crossed out a certain number to make a simple subtraction problem. See below for the freebie template!

Click {HERE} for the freebie sticker story template!

On day 2 of our subtraction unit we worked on hands-on activities! This adorable game and matching book comes from
Miss Kindergarten Love's Spring and Math Literacy CentersPacket

We played, 5 birdies in the tree! I called out how many birds the students needed to remove each time and then I wrote the problem on the board for them to see. They did very well with the hands-on and then seeing how that connected to what I wrote on the board.

After we worked with the birdies in the tree, we read and worked through this adorable matching book!

You can check out this packet by clicking below!

We also started to work this week with number bonds and the correlation as to finding the missing number in the number bond! I created these easy to follow practice sheets and the students have responded very well to them. This is a guided sheet...where the student simply writes in the missing number in the equation. I have the sheets differentiated in the packet so they can also fill in the entire equation themselves.

Click below to view the packet on TpT. It sells for $4.00 and includes 34 pages.

We have also started subtraction word problems! In my packets students show their answers using a picture, number line, equation, and answer statement!

I just posted to new addition & subtraction packets! They sell for $2 each.

If you haven't previously came across this video, it's great one! The kids beg for it!

The following video shows how to use objects to subtract!

The following video shows how to use the subtraction sign!

This is one of my kiddos favorite subtraction games! It's called Critter Junction!

The following is song, Ten in a Bed. For this one I have my students put up ten fingers and they take one down each time a little guy falls out of bed!

The last part to our subtraction unit is fluency! We have started our timed fluency tests and I am "quizzing" the kiddos their subtraction facts in the hallway before they go into the restroom. It's super important to remember that as part of the Common Core the students only need to be fluent within 5. I only "quiz" them over facts to 5...we work on subtraction with 10 but not in a fluency fashion.

Click below to view my fluency tests for both addition & subtraction!

I will also be sending home a set of flash cards home for my kiddos! I got my flash cards {HERE}. They sell for $2.

Click below to grab a freebie subtraction with
5 practice sheet!

Have a great start to your work week!

ABC Countdown to Summer Fun

2013-04-20T17:37:00.001-05:00

Hi friends! Sorry it's been so long! I came down with another sore throat/fever. It seems when I am sick if I can just make it through the school day I am doing good! :)

Anyway, a month or so ago I purchased a product called ABC Countdown to Summer. Not to give away the whole idea behind the packet...but in a nut shell you celebrate the last 26 days of school by going through the Alphabet A-Z. Today we celebrated the letter "B" and had Beach Day!

I hit up the Dollar Tree for all kinds of beach day fun! The kids all got a lei, a flamingo straw, fun plastic clapper toy, and a special snack! We also had a pet flamingo for the day!

Also, the kids took home their plant pals today! They had a lot of fun watching the grass seed "hair" grow steadily throughout the week!

Click below to check out the awesome packet, listed by Live Laugh Love Kindergarten!

I promise to be back soon! Have an awesome weekend!

Opinion Writing {freebies}

2013-04-14T22:38:00.000-05:00

Hello! Hello! Last week we worked on writing opinion pieces. This week we will be focusing on writing our opinions as a response to literature we read!

The kiddos wrote their opinions on who was their favorite: The Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus! It was actually a split- - I was surprised that Santa did not win by a land slide :) We also wrote a "book of our opinion!" Be sure find the freebie templates at the end of the post!

Opinion Organizers & Stories

Book of Opinions

I have compiled all of my FREEBIE writing templates!

Click on the images below to download!

Have a great day

Count & Write to 100!

2013-04-13T17:17:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! I hope you're having some nice weather this weekend! For some reason the nice weather just seems to make my weekend even better! :)

This past week my students and I embarked on a new journey- - writing to 100! Okay, okay....writing to 100 what's new lady? Well, my curriculum follows the Common Core and has students write within 20. However, I know that my little soon to be Firsties will be expected to write ALOT higher during first quarter of first grade. So, I made it my mission that we will write our numbers to 100 by the end of Kindergarten. Well, the kids have been working so hard that most of them will be writing to 100 by the end of next week!

We added writing to 100 as a little segment at the beginning of our math lessons this week. We spend about 10-15 minutes on writing numbers to 100.

Below is a view things we do to help prepare us for our number writing.

Videos

Count Around the Carpet

During count around the carpet students follow along with the 100's chart as we count. This past week we stuck to counting by 1's so the students would make one-to-one tracking with the numbers! You can also do count around the carpet without the 100's chart.
We also like to count by 5's & 10's!

Count & Write to 100 {one decade at a time!}

These sheets have been a true lifesaver in our journey to write to 100! The sheets are set up for students to complete one decade at a time before moving on. This has really helped! They are not overwhelmed by a big empty hundreds chart and they are guided so students count along and fill in the missing numbers! I purchased this packet for $2.50 from Maria Manroe! Click {HERE} to view the packet on TpT!

Also, click {here} for a FREEBIE "I can count and write to 100" poster!

Also, I just posted this Finding the Unknown: Missing Addends packet in my TpT store. It sells for $2. Click below to view!

Well I'm off to enjoy this beautiful weekend! Have a super day! :)

Fluency Packet Freebie!

2013-04-11T18:24:00.001-05:00

Hi friends! Well we are almost to Friday! I am most excited about the weekend so we can get some warmer weather. It is waaaaay too cold today to be Spring!

I wanted to share with you a fluency packet I will be sending next week as a homework assignment! My kids will be benchmarked for Letter Naming Fluency LNF, Letter Sound Fluency LSF, Nonsense Words Fluency NWF, & Phoneme Segmentation Fluency PSF in a couple short weeks. We work hard on all of these areas but thought it would make a great at home activity. I feel it's very important that parents understand what their kiddos will be expected of in school. Also, this way when the teacher forgets and starts blabbing about nonsense words they will understand {guilty!!!}

Anyway, grab the freebie below! If it's something that will work for you please take a moment and leave me feedback on TpT- - thanks!

Click on any image below to view the download!

Have a great ending to the work week!

Narrative Writing {freebies}

2013-04-09T21:20:00.003-05:00

Yesterday we finished up our second look at narrative writing this year! We completed the unit with "polished" narrative story booklets! Since this was our second look at narrative writing we added additional features:

-added feelings
-Using words like first, next, last
-we added an opening and closing to our stories
-added details to our pictures for our readers to better understand

The kids did really great! We started with just simple narratives in our journals. We then moved on to preparing for our polished writing by placing our story in a narrative writing template {freebie see below!} We then competed the writing by using our narrative story booklets {free see below}

Here are some snap shots of our final writings......

Opening: On Easter I got wack-it {Wreck-It} Ralph and like it!

First I woke up. Next we were waiting. Last we had Easter. Closing: That was Easter!

The Skating Rink

Opening: When I was five my family went to the skating rink. First,

my mom signed in. Next, I put my shoes on. Last, I skated.

Closing: that was my day at the skating rink!

If you would like to grab the freebie narrative writing template and story booklets click below to download!

Have a great day! :)

Phoneme Segmentation {and a freebie}

2013-04-08T21:38:00.001-05:00

**Segmenting words into individual sounds is critical for successful decoding!**

Phoneme segmentation is a skill that we see students usually have or don't have. As the school year winds down 75% of my class can stretch, blend, isolate, and manipulate sounds fluently. However, for those that are not able to I am working with daily. We meet at our Guided Reading group and work about 10-15 minutes on just phoneme awareness. Some of our activities are more hands on and could be considered more phonological awareness, but we work strictly on hearing the sounds in the words.

Phoneme segmentation is a technique for building phonemic awareness in which students break words into sounds- - saying each sound separately as they stretch out the word. Ie. Teacher asks, “How many sounds are there in the word frog?” Students says, “/f/ /r/ /o/ /g/....4 sounds!”

Do you ever wonder what your little ones should actually be capable of at their age level?

By the age of 4 a student should be able to produce and enjoy rhyme & alliteration.

By the age of 5 a student should be able recognize a word within a word list that does not rhyme of the odd one out (dog, frog, cat). The student should also be able to recognize phonemic changes in words and hear syllables within words.

By the age of 5 1/2 a student should be able to distinguish and remember separate phonemes within a series, blend onset and rimes (what's this word, c-at), and segment initial sounds (say the first sound you hear in sock).

By the age of 6 a student should be able to complete syllable deletion (rhino, now say it without /rhi/), compound word deletion (starfish, now say it without star), onset-rime blending, and phoneme segmentation.

By the age of 6 1/2 a student should be able to complete phoneme segmentation up to 3-4 phonemes (say slowly and hear all of the sounds c-a-t), and complete phoneme substitution (cat, change the first sound to /p/, what's the new word).

By the age of 7 a student should be able to complete sound deletion in the initial and final position (Say cat. Now say it without the /c/).

By the age of 8 a student should be able to complete sound deletion in the initial position and including blends (Say think. Now say it without the /th/).

By the age of 9 a student should be able to complete sound deletion in the medial and final position and including blends (Say snail. Now say it without the /n/).

Click Below to this previous post:

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics 1.01.

Most of my students can stretch CVC words just fine, but they have difficulty with blends and basically any word other than the CVC's. I have worked hard to establish a set of activities that DO work!   However, phoneme segmentation is very hard for some students- - those with speech articulation errors, difficulty with phonological processing, and so on. That is why this is something we work on daily in my classroom!

Phoneme Segmentation within my classroom day:

Morning Routine: We work on stretching and blending words as a group. I give a word, the students then stretch the word and blend it back together. It looks like this:

Teacher- -"river"
Students: "/r/ /i/ /v/ /er/" ....."river"

I have my students stretch each sound on their fingers as if they are counting...the students then make a fist at the end of stretching the word and bring the fist to their chest as they blend the word back together.

Hallway: I also access phoneme segmentation in the hallway as I am having my students go into the restroom. I will show them a word and they will stretch and blend the word.

The little set of picture cards are what I have the students stretch. This set of cards has a variety- - CVC words, blends, & digraphs. The larger set the students says the word, "map,"   stretches the word, "/m/ /a/ /p/," and then blends the word back together, "map!"

Both sets of these cards are available in the packet listed at the end of the post!

Guided Reading: From the beginning of the school year to mid-year I have about a 5-10 minute block of time that is strictly for phonemic awareness in my guided reading groups. However, after mid-year most of my medium-high groups have mastered the skill and we move on to more higher level skills. For those that have not mastered I have continued a 10 minute block of time in our daily guided reading group meet up time!

Below are several pictures of my kiddos working on their phoneme segmentation/phonological  skills!

Sound Boxes

Guided Sound Boxes

Stretching words with Slinkys

Drive the sounds the of the word on the highway..../c/ /a/ /t/, cat

Phoneme Segmentation fluency mats.

Phoneme Segmentation 3 in a Row!

All of these activities can be found in my Phoneme Segmentation packet!

In this packet you will find activities that incorporate phoneme segmentation in more of a “hands on” way. These activities can be used during small group time {guided reading, RTI} or use these activities whole-class!

Inside the packet:
Pages 3-89 Sound Boxes with Guided Picture {Color/B&W versions}
Pages 90-95 Stretching Sounds on the Highway
Pages 96-102 Blank Sound Boxes {multiple versions}
Pages 103-108 Phoneme Segmentation Cards
Pages 108-114 Onset & Rime Cards
Pages 115-123 Phoneme Segmentation Stretchers
Pages 124-146 Phoneme Segmentation 3-in-a-row {3 versions}
Pages 147-151 Phoneme Segmentation Fluency Sheets
Pages 152-153 Phoneme Segmentation Daily Routine & Word List

Click below to view a preview of the packet!

The packet is 155 pages and sells for $8 in my TpT store! Click {HERE}

Click below to grab a freebie set of PSF cards!

Have a great evening/day friends :)

Invitation Writing

2013-04-07T19:25:00.001-05:00

Hello friends! Hope you are all set for the new week! As part of our ELA series, we introduce invitation writing! It is one of those types of writings that is fun to introduce.

The kids did enjoy it and I have placed these blank templates in their writing folders as well to work on independently! Below are some snap shots of our work and a link to the packet if you're interested!

This was our invitation to a popcorn party! The list was friends they would like to invite!

Students wrote party invitations and made a list of supplies they would need for the party!

These templates as well as a "My Party" story booklet can be found in the packet below! It sells for $2.50 in my store. Click below to view!

Have a great week!

All About Spring {and a freebie}

2013-04-06T09:42:00.003-05:00

So, I'm excited that it is actually starting to feel like Spring in Missouri! Although, it never fails that a few nice days will bring some rain too! So, I can expect that in the near future. Anyway, I wanted to share with you a few things we are doing for Spring!

First off, you have to check out these adorable Spring Math & Literacy Centers from Miss Kindergarten Love! I always love her centers because they are PERFECT for Kinder!

sh, th, & ch digraphs

This one is beyond adorable! The kids have had a blast with it!

CVCe practice!

I don't have any pictures of the Math centers but they are adorable as well. Click below to view on TpT!

We are also planting our grass seed for our plant pals this week! The kids are already anxiously awaiting to see their seeds to start growing! We also talked about all the things our plants would need to survive! I don't have a picture of our cups yet, but hoping they will turn out this cute!!

Click the picture to view the link!

If you are interested in my Spring packet click below to view! It's jammed pack with literacy and math ideas!

Also, check out this Spring opinion writing freebie! Click the image below to grab it!

Have a super weekend!

Addition Fun!

2013-03-31T20:07:00.000-05:00

Hi friends! I will be emailing the 5 giveaway winners shortly! I've had so much fun with the giveaways, but now I have a lot to share with you about all I've been up to in the classroom!

This past week we worked with our Dice in Dice for addition!
The kids absolutely loved them of course!

The student writes the larger dice number in the bigger box and the smaller dice in the smaller box.

The student displayed the numbers with dots.

This practice sheet among others come from this packet I put together! It sells for $2.
In the packet you can have students use Dice in Dice to compare, add, & subtract!

If you are interested in the Dice in Dice I purchased mine {here}

Have a great start to the work week!

Spring Giveaway #6

2013-03-29T21:51:00.000-05:00

I promise I have not been avoiding the giveaways! Rather, Spring has decided to bless me with a yucky fever, sore throat, and a harsh case of tiredness! Today was our one and only Spring break day. So, needless to say it was fun while it lasted! We actually closed on our land today and already started clearing a path for our driveway. It's quite the long road ahead and I'm still getting used to this whole ...Omgee I'm going to live in the woods feeling!

Anyway, back to the giveaways lady!!! Ha! The winner for the Guided Reading book .....

I have emailed you for your mailing address, Congratulations!

So to round out the big giveaway week...

I will be selecting 5 blog followers that comment below to choose an item for FREE out of my TpT store! Be sure to leave me your email address in the blog comment!

Also, because I appreciate all of my blog followers I have a super special deal since I do feel so bad for skipping out on a couple of giveaway days.... from now-Sunday at midnight purchase 2 items from my Tpt store & receive a free item of equal/less value. You can do this unlimitedly ie. If you purchase 4 things you will 2 free and so on! I will have no record of those that are using this promotion unless you email me. Simply send me an email; list the items you purchased and you free choice(s). Click the adorable bunny below to view my TpT store!

Have a blessed Easter weekend!

Giveaway #5

2013-03-26T17:39:00.002-05:00

Today's giveaway is all about Guided Reading! If you have yet to read THIS verrrrry detailed Guided Reading blog post please do so! The above mentioned blog post goes through how I implement guided reading in my classroom, answered questions about guided reading, & more!

This past Summer I purchased a guided reading resource book, Guided Reading One Lesson, All Levels, Any Text. It is labeled as a grades 1-4, but I have been able to use many of the lessons and my students have really benefited!

Today's giveaway offers you an opportunity to get a copy for yourself!

Giveaway Stipulations:

-Be a blog follower

-Comment below stating one activity you find most beneficial to your students during Guided Reading- - Be sure to leave your email address

This giveaway ends Wednesday, March 27th and 8:00 P.M. Central Time!

P.S. I will be mailing a copy directly to the winner!

If you have yet to check out this adorable Guided Reading packet click below to view!

Also, the 20% off TpT sale ends SOON {Wednesday}! Click below to view!

Giveaway #4- - Everybody Wins!

2013-03-25T14:54:00.001-05:00

The giveaways are going great and I am having fun! Today's giveaway is super awesome because everybody wins! Here are the rules:

-Follow my Blog

-Pin the image below from this <link>

-After pinning the image comment below & leave your email address!

I will be sending you these alphabet practice sheets for free- - a $3 value!

Note: This giveaway ends Tuesday, March 25th at 8:00 P.M. Central Time

Happy pinning and winning!
My 20% off TpT sale ends Wednesday!

Giveaway #3 Be FAST!

2013-03-24T21:14:00.004-05:00

I will be emailing giveaway #2 winners shortly! I just posted this new packet!

RTI & Guided Reading {Phoneme Segmentation Activities}

Click the above images to view more!

Be one of the first THREE to comment below and win this packet!

Also....

20% off my TpT Store thru Wednesday 3/27

Bring on Spring- - Week of Giveaways 1 &2 !

2013-03-24T00:52:00.002-05:00

It's time to bring on Spring!

It seems like we either have nothing going on in life or a whole bunch of "stuff!" Currently I'm only in the middle of a fertility cycle which consists of: shots, scans, blood work, and 2 hour round trips to the Dr. We also placed an offer on some acreage which was accepted. So, now we are in the process of getting our home listed. AHHHH!

So, instead of fretting about all that- - I am having a Spring she-BANG! I'm not even really sure what all this she-BANG will consist of, but rest assured it will be a good time! :)

Some most definites in this she-BANG!:

Giveaways, Giveaways, & Giveaways {at least one giveaway each day from 3/24-3/31}
A Spring 20% off Sale {3/24-3/27}
A Little Minds at Work venture to the social media world {stay tuned}

and more......

So what do you say? Let's get started!

Alright, well we are going to have some fun this week! I'm not sure who will be more excited...you all for winning or me? I like to see others win, win, win!

So, these giveaways will be fairly simple....

* * Be a blog follower and comment below when directed and you are signed up * *

Make sure you are checking daily to sign up for each giveaway!

Giveaway #1

Grab this freebie addition practice sheet. My students are going to use this to practice our first addition strategy - -using fingers!

Click the image to download the freebie!

Giveaway #2

I had several requests to bundle my Common Core supplement math curriculum...so after a lot of work I finally finished it! The bundle includes 33 supplement activities and over 1200+ pages of FULLY aligned Kindergarten Common Core supplement curriculum. I promise that I do not do what all the big name curriculum companies are doing- - placing a huge, red sticker on the front that states "Common Core Aligned." My material is all truly aligned and Kindergarten kiddo tested.

So, anyway you say...back to the giveaway lady!

1. Click {here} to view the "preview" of this bundle

2. Choose which page from the preview file you would like to win {pages 2-9}

3. Be a blog follower and comment below how these products could help improve learning in your classroom.

- Don't forget to leave your email address & which page you would like to win!

I will be choosing 1 winner for each page = 9 winners + 1 extra winner

That equals 10 winners!

This giveaway {#2} ends Sunday, March 24th at 8:00 P.M. Central Time!

Below are examples from the preview packet as what I mean my the "pages!"

Save $20 off this bundle when purchasing before 3/27!

Happy winning to all of you and be sure to check in for the winners list and giveaway #3!

Also, be sure to check out my TpT store and stock up because. . . . . .It's a

Spring Sale: Sunday, 3/24 - Wednesday 3/27 20% off all products!

More on Addition!

2013-03-20T21:02:00.001-05:00

Even after 124 days of school this year I am still amazed at what these little ones are capable of! We've been having a blast diving in to our addition work! We began our addition unit last week and are now getting into the real "fun stuff!"

We took a moment in our math lesson to look at ourselves working in math! The kids LOVE looking at pictures of them working so hard!

For this picture we talked about our first day using number bracelets. We then talked about the number combination that friend had made with their number bracelet. I then wrote the number bond on the Smartboard and we filled in the missing numbers using the picture.

Here we talked about the number combination this friend had made using their spoons! I wrote the number bond and we filled in the missing number! If you have a moment sometime snap a photo or two of your students working. Go back and talk about what they were doing in each photo. It doesn't have to be the same day...this was a couple of days later when we went over these photos! It allows for great teaching moments :)

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We also got to worked on an addition word problem {so exciting!!!}

I have a ton of these addition word problems packets in my TpT store! Below is a link to just a couple of those packets! Click the image to view more!

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We will now be focusing on addition strategies {number line, counting, on and using our fingers}. We of course want to move our students past adding with their fingers. However, for those kiddos that find addition difficult a differentiated strategy is necessary.

On Friday, I will be introducing counting with fingers! These are going to be a hit I'm sure! I have a made a set for each student! Along with working on these fingers we will also use our interactive Funny Fingers and independent practice with a sheet from my Addition {using fingers} packet!

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Along with addition we are also still keeping up on number id and place value. On this day the students stated multiple ways to represent the number thirteen!

Alright friends it's almost Friday! Have a great rest of the week!