Miss A's Kindergarten

Workstations Frustrations!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 17:53:00 +0000

I have been slacking in posting on my blog! Don't hate me! I miss the blogosphere, too. :( Especially now.

I'm having some trouble with my workstations. My kids really enjoy them, and center time is their favorite part of the day. I want to give them more time in each station, but the way I have it set up doesn't allow but 5-7 minutes in each one. I have from 10:00-10:40ish for stations, and they don't get their work done. I want them to finish their work!!

Could you give me some suggestions on how your rotations work? I do not want it to be a free-for-all type situation because I want 1-2 in each station. Preferably just one. (I have 10 kids! I know!! Don't throw any tomatoes at me!)

What has worked for you? Maybe I'm just over thinking it. How would you organize my classroom stations if you had 10 kids to work with?

My stations are: Listening, Write the Room, Word Work, Puzzles, Math, Writing, Play-doh, Library, Computer, and Creative (Art).

Word Work Station

Math Station

I'll ask another question next time! Thanks for all your love and sharing!

My Super Short Post!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 00:17:00 +0000

Well guys, I'm very sorry I've been MIA.

Blogging in my first year of teaching was a great idea at first, but let me just say that it is pretty much the hardest thing ever to do. I've been so busy planning, printing, talking, eating chocolate, and lying in bed in the evening thinking,"Is it normal to want to sleep at 8:30???" that I forgot to post.

I've been asking tons of questions on my Facebook page about the ins and outs of Kindergarten, though. Drop by to help me out!

I'll be posting a lot of classroom pictures sometime soon. For now, here is my September Currently!

Hope you're well! Leave me a comment with an answer to this question:

What kind of behavior management systems have you tried? Which are your favorites?

My Little Jungle of a Classroom!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 16:58:00 +0000

I'm sorry I've been MIA all week...I've had a lot to do! Monday was the first day I was able to go in and really get down to business setting up my classroom. I was so excited because my classroom has a GREEN accent wall! Can you believe my luck? :) My aunt took some before pictures, so here they are!

I moved the right cabinet to beside my teacher desk!

The previous teacher left quite a bit of stuff for me, and I wanted to change up the layout of the room to make it my own. So...my cousin and I attacked. We moved furniture, hung posters, sorted books, put things in cabinets, went through curriculum...EVERYTHING! It was fun because we put some music on and talked a ton. She was so helpful and I'm blessed to have had her help! I still have some work to do on the room before the kiddos arrive, but I think I'm pretty much set to go.

I hope that you like the pictures. Let me know if you have any fun ideas that I should add in!

Little library area! I store other things on that shelf as well. Should I cover it somehow?

Hallway window to my classroom! (Ignore the mess on the inside!)


Word wall! I have no bulletin boards so I made due. We added the missing letters, don't worry :)

Job rotations! I will put craft sticks in these pockets and move them.

Made my cubbies into a little entrance hall.

All that's missing now is a teaching chair and little sweethearts!

Calendar and Skippyjon Jones! Oh, and Blue. That's my shelf's name.
I promise I'm not crazy.

What's a jungle without a palm tree? The coconuts will have
student names labelled on them!

Guided reading table. The blue cabinet has curriculum in it!

My desk! I had no desk drawers, so I put sterilite drawers and fabric drawers under!

Have you tried Veggie Sticks? LOVE them! And I couldn't live without my label machine!

Hallway poster set of praying kids! I thought they were precious!

I left some space for classroom rules, but I haven't even put them together yet...I seem to be procrastinating on creating my classroom rules and procedures. How do you post your rules? I was thinking of doing the Whole Brain Teaching rules because they seem really good, but I don't like the two that say that they need to constantly raise their hand for permission to do things.

Other things I need to are set up workstations a bit better, organize my picture books, organize cabinets, and hang up some paper lanterns! I'd really like to get some fake plants to spread around the classroom. I think it would make the room look more like a "jungle."

Hopefully this post wasn't too picture heavy for you! I thought you all would appreciate these pictures the most! :) Feel free to pin these photos to your heart's content!

What are your classroom rules?

Magazine Holders Redesigned!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 03:22:00 +0000

During my time as a student teacher, my cooperating teacher/mentor taught me so many tips and tricks about kindergarten. Her main tip was planning lessons and getting materials ready on Friday so that Monday doesn't sneak up on you.

She used these wonderful magazine holders to store her lessons. There were five holders labeled with the days of the week. Each holder had a manila folders for math, phonics, shared reading, etc.

I decided to use this form of planning as well, so I took a trip down to one of my local Walmarts. (I'm from a huge city where there are a billion Walmarts within driving distance. It's ridiculous really.)

I found some really nice magazine holders for $5 each. I wasn't too excited about the price, but after looking on my phone and comparing prices quickly on Amazon, OfficeDepot, and other stores, I decided to just splurge. They're made of metal, so I know they will last through the years. Not sure what the holes are for. Any ideas?

My only problem is...they're not so cute. I mean, if you're a minimalist, it would probably suit you. But I'm a teacher. There's not enough...personality! I needed to do something about that--FAST!

Out came the scrapbook paper and the black cardstock. I booted up my trusty Silhouette Cameo die-cutter (which is my absolute favorite thing right now besides my laptop!) and got to creating. It didn't take long before I had these little babies all assembled and ready to stick on.

I used the font Elise by Kevin and Amanda. I love their fonts. So cute, yet so free! :) Anyways. Back to my creation.

After I laminated and cut each one, I got out my packing/masking tape. You know, the clear tape that's super sticky? I pulled off a bit so that I could wrap the ends around onto the holders. It turned out really cute.

Here are some photos of the completed project! It really took very little time to do this, and I'm definitely excited about them!

I hope I inspired you to try this out, too. It's really fun and can go with any classroom theme and color scheme. My theme happens to be jungle/wild animals, so that's why I picked these adorable animals!

Thanks for dropping by.

I'm so thankful to Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for hosting this fantastic linky! It makes me work. :)

OH!! Classroom pics will be up sometime THIS WEEK! Keep your eyes peeled for that!

How do you organize your teaching materials?

Liebster Award! Woo Hoo!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Sat, 21 Jul 2012 13:30:00 +0000

Just this Wednesday, I received the sweetest compliment from a blogger that really encourages me to keep on keeping on. Mrs. Katzman from Mrs. Katzman's Kinder Cubs and Mrs. McElveen from Whooo Loves Kindergarten? awarded me the Liebster Award! Mrs. McElveen doesn't have a blog button, but her blog is still precious! I've been seeing this award floating around the blogosphere lately, but didn't think I'd have the honor of receiving it. Thank you so much, my dear friends! You are wonderful! Oh, and you should go check them out if you haven't. :)

This award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favorite", and is given to a "new, up and coming blogger."

Here are the rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

AND the award goes to.... (drum-roll pleeeease!):


Mrs. Hodge and Her Kindergarten Kids	Patterson's Porch
The Resource Room Teacher	The Teacher Garden
Liv to Teach

I'm also linking up to the Newbie Bloggers Blog Hop! I love this idea, and I'm excited to participate.

Here are my responses to the questions:

1. What state you are in? Texas (All hail the mighty state!)

2. Your current teaching position: Kindergarten teacher (and super excited!)

3. Your teaching experience: I've gone through student teaching and I tutored a lot. This will be my first year of teaching and I can't wait to begin this journey.

4. When you started blogging: The middle of May, and I don't regret it at all!

5. Share a blogging tip/Blogging resource: Honestly, I learned so much from Teaching Blog Traffic School! I watched all the videos and I got to meet some fantastic bloggers who've helped me grow and expand. I love the community provided there! If you haven't checked it out, I really highly recommend it to you! (Seriously.) I also learned a lot about social media etiquette, how to host a good linky party, and what to do with Google+! Charity is great and I love how much time she puts in to help newbie bloggers get on their feet. Click the picture below to learn more about it through my referral!

I hope you enjoyed reading my responses! Thanks for being awesome!

What do you love about teaching blogs?

Bubbl.us and MindMeister Video Tutorial!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:06:00 +0000

This post is going to be short and sweet!

Quick Sidenote: Things have been getting a little crazy in my life right now, and I hope that you can go through this wild time with me. I definitely need all the encouragement I can get right now! I'll be going to set up my classroom hardcore next week -- I got my keys!! Woo hoo! I'm official.

Okay, back to the cool tools!

Today's tutorial is on TWO different web tools. I know that you're going to love them. :) I did! Some of you may already know about them, but it could help you still. They are called Bubbl.us and MindMeister.

These tools are meant to allow you to get your thoughts down in a logical manner. This can be called "brainstorming," "concept mapping," or "mind mapping." It can be used in so many different ways, but the focus is to start with a concept and come up with tons of branches that come off that idea. (If you get my drift!)

How can they be integrated?

Here are some simple ways to use these tools:

Create a whole class concept map when the season changes! (Start with "Summer" in the middle and branch off of that)
Plan your letters that you send home to parents.
Let the class plan stories (using main character, setting, etc)
Allow students to use these tools as a way to accommodate them in essay writing. Some kids think better when they have a chance to brainstorm in a different way.

I hope that this tutorial helps you out! Here's the video!

Oh, and here's the quick survey. I'd love if you filled it out! I read all your entries and cherish each one. They brighten my day!

Which do you like better: MindMeister or Bubbl.us? Why?

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Monday Made It! (and other news)

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:53:00 +0000

My wonderful followers, I did it! I Monday made it!

I've never linked up to this fun party, but now I can actually show you something I made for my classroom. I'm going to go in and work some on my classroom this Wednesday, so I'll have at least one crafty thing to hang up in my room :)

I made these with my Silhouette Cameo! (My first ever project!!)
If you don't have a die-cutter, you need one.

Like now.

I got the idea from Kim at For the Love of Kinder Garden.

She told me that one of the things she puts up every year is a collection of question words. I thought it was genius! SO, I created these. I will point at the words when I have the students ask questions. I want them to understand what the words LOOK like and not just how they sound.

Seeing the print is great for connecting the sounds to text. PHONICS! Labeling everything will help students grow their schema, so I figured that those words are super important to label. They use them on a day to day basis. (Especially "WHY??")

I also cut out these fantastic schedule cards from Barbie Roper's TPT page. They're too stinkin' precious! I think I love them!

I love the snack one! The kids are dressed as a Lettuce and Carrot! :)

I'm thinking about doing the Sterilite bins tutorial from Kinder-Craze. She's awesome, and totally inspires me. I got a 5-drawer bin last week at Walmart. I couldn't resist. It was calling to me. This last week I shopped till I dropped.

Here are some of the things I bought for my classroom!

Calendar kit with cute monkey number pieces from Lakeshore!
I RAIDED that store. Seriously.


Uppercase Letter magnets, a large stamp, color words poster, and a Magna-Doodle!

A 6 foot tall palm tree for my wall. I may just end up
using the trunk!

2 sets of border and one PURPLE pointer! Oh my goodness!

I love shopping with gift cards!

In other bloggy news, I will be posting my technology tutorials on WEDNESDAYS from now on. I'm sorry I skipped last week. I had a lot going on, so please don't be too disappointed! I will post up this week's tutorial on Wednesday. You're going to LOVE it. You may already know the tool, but maybe it will help refresh your memory!

Name idea: Web Tools Wednesday?

Do you have a better name idea for my series of video tutorials on web 2.0 tools for teachers? Comment below! If you haven't seen one of the posts, you can find them here. I made a little handy link for you to click and take you to all of them! :) You can also look in the Tech Tutorials tabby page at the top of my blog.

Thanks for reading!

Make sure you click the follow button on the sidebar OR follow by Facebook! I'd love for you to stay a while and see what other goodness I have planned for this blog.

Thank you to 4th Grade Frolics for hosting this linky party. I love getting all those wonderful ideas for my classroom! It's such fun!

Oh, and please leave a comment! I love comments! It's similar to the feeling of opening Christmas gifts early. I will take the time to reply to each one of you, too! :)

WallWisher Tutorial for Teachers!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 18:30:00 +0000

I'm back with a new VIDEO TUTORIAL! :)

Today's tool is super exciting.
I can definitely see myself using it.

So without further ado...

Let me teach you how to use...

WallWisher is the name. It's an online bulletin board, of sorts. You can add sticky notes to a "wall" you create and then share it with people so they can add on to it. It's very collaborative, interactive...and best of all...

It's VERY FREE!

Yes, a free tool. We love the word F-R-E-E, don't we?

How can it be used in a classroom?

Here are some tips on ways to implement this amazingly free tool:

Use it in centers! You can put a group of videos from YouTube on the "wall" for kids to watch and to give a response. It can also be a great way for you to teach a concept while they're at centers.
Give the link to parents for planning parties, field trips, etc! This tool will allow parents to quickly respond and let you know what they plan on bringing to that Valentine's day party you're planning.
Share with your colleagues! Make a wall where you can post encouraging messages to the people you work with. It may be a great bucket-filler activity for us teachers. Everyone loves a warm fuzzy!
Keep some of your important information or to-do lists there! It can be set to only be viewed/edited by you, and it's pretty customizable. AND it's online. Who'da thought!

Watch the video!

Check out the wall where you can respond to my question!

Click here!

I'm also including a form below that allows you to respond to my video. I use the feedback to help me make my next tutorials, so I'd LOVE it if you took the three seconds to fill it out. Thank you so much!

I'm excited about the responses I've been getting to my video tutorials!
You make it all worth it.
I hope that I'm helping lots and lots of people learn about free tools to use in the classroom!

How could you use WallWisher?

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Next Year's Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 16:36:00 +0000

I hope that you are well! I'm excited that I'm writing this new blog post on the big blog hop day! Teaching Blog Addict is hosting some great linky parties, so I thought I'd contribute some of what I've been thinking.

Recently, there's been a ton of talk about Whole Brain Teaching. I think I'm going to try to implement a couple of those concepts! The main one that I want to implement is the WBT Rules.

Students tend to behave better when they have positive rules in the classroom. Some teachers like to make the rules WITH the students. I'm not sure if that's what I'll do my first year, but I do plan on discussing the importance of the rules that were selected. We need to be sure that we do not put "Do not" in front of each rule. As an adult, I know that I can't stand when someone tells me "Don't do this" or "Don't do that!" It's much better if someone asks for me to do something with a kind tone. Using the magic word helps too.

SO this year...I'm implementing WBT to manage behavior in a loving manner. I hope that someone who has done this before can give me some tips. Leave a note in the comments on how WBT has worked/not workd for you!

This rule is the one that really seems to be the kicker in my mind. The students need to learn how to choose to do the RIGHT thing! Guidance is definitely going to be necessary in the kindergarten year. Even in the students' senior year of high school! Positive reinforcement, kind words, and a compassionate heart are what will guide these kiddos to the right path in terms of behavior. Oh, and being firm. CONSISTENT! (Can you say, "buzzwords?")

So since this is a blog hop, I thought I'd give away my rules slideshow. I made it on Beeclip! If you want to learn how to make a cute slideshow like this, you can watch my first ever video tutorial on Beeclip. It's a video tutorial, so it should help you a lot.

Click the picture below to take you to the FREEBIE! Or click this link right here.

My video tutorial this week may not be up until Sunday! Please forgive me! I'm really busy for the next couple days, and not many people check here on Saturdays..

On what day do you want to see the video tutorial?

Mystery Blog Hop!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I'm excited to introduce you to this fantastic new linky party idea.

It's new. It's innovative! It's...TECHIE!

I couldn't resist.

When Ms. Fultz asked for people who wanted to participate, I jumped at the chance.

Here's the scoop:

This new linky party is a QR code blog hop! Can you believe it?

You can scan any of the codes in the linky with a QR reader and jump from one page to the next.

Cool, huh?
If you don't have a smart phone to use the QR code, you can just click the picture of the code.

I love it!

I hope that you try out a few and do what we all do best...

BLOG HOP! :)

By the way, if you haven't liked my Facebook page yet, you should!

I post there way more than on my blog.

Click my picture below if you'd like to go like my Facebook!

OKAY!

Get your hoppin' shoes on.

It's time to linky party!

FLASH SALE!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 16:20:00 +0000

I made my FIRST EVER paid product! EVER! :)

This is big for me. I hope you like it.

I made 3 clip charts in one little bundle. It's JUNGLE themed. You know how much I love me some jungle theme. Tomorrow, it will go back to it's $3 price point. Right now, it's on sale for $1.50 (That's 50% off, folks! Who doesn't love a sale??)

Hurry and jump on over. It'll only last until 11AM tomorrow morning. I wanted to make sure everyone has a fair shot at getting a good discount on it since it's my first one.

Here's a small example of what you'll be getting!

Each frame has a different animal print background to go with it. I tried to choose some really cute jungle/safari animals that would fit with your theme. I hope you enjoy it!

I've been posting so many blog posts lately! Click the header image above to see my home page. I have a new video tutorial up, my currently linky, and some other fun things for you to see!

Do you use clip charts in your classroom?

Currently...JULY??

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:32:00 +0000

Oh my goodness, It's JULY!

I can't believe it.

This year is going too quickly...

And I'm getting really nervous about teaching in August.

I mean, I can't WAIT to meet my littles, but it will be MY classroom.

It'll be my responsibility to teach the sweet children how to read and love it.

Does that ever scare you?

I know there's a lot of you veteran teachers out there who have taught 10-20 years.

Give me some advice! I'd love to hear some wisdom from you!

This is the first time I'll have linked up with

and I'm loving the idea of a Currently post!
I hope you enjoy it!
Here it is:

If you haven't caught my video tutorial, here's the video!

You can also watch my past tutorials by clicking the page link at the top under the header.

I put it there just for you!

Take care!

Technology Tutorial #4 - Dropbox!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:55:00 +0000

I'm so THRILLED to be sharing this technology tutorial with you today! It's definitely one I love to use on almost a daily basis. Today's video tutorial is on...

Dropbox is a tool you can use to save your files through the internet! It allows you to share your files with your colleagues as well. Here are some ways you can use this as a teacher:

Send your new files you compiled digitally instead of walking over with a flash drive to share them.
Have parents send you photos of family in different places (like a Flat Stanley project, maybe!)
You could even send parents information/files through it as long as they have an account!
Backup all your teacher files (and freebies!) so that if your computer dies, they will still be accessible

The sky is the limit!

There are so many ways to use Dropbox, so I'm going to go ahead and introduce it to you through this YouTube video I recorded last night. I think I'm coming down with a head cold, so please don't judge me too harshly! :) I wanted to get this video out because I feel that it is so useful for you as a teacher!

Here it is!

I hope that you take the time to fill out this quick form to help me out! You don't have to put in your email address. You can just click this link here --> Get Your Dropbox Account!

How would you use Dropbox?

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Excited to Announce...

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 18:19:00 +0000

I reached 100 blog followers!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog, post wonderful comments, and just support me in all my efforts to bring you high quality content! I am extremely glad by the fact that you choose to read my blog when I post. I especially feel the love when I get even the shortest comments. I hope that I can continue to grow and build my blog to offer you even more helpful tips and tutorials (and maybe even some giveaways in the future!!) as time goes on!

In other news:

The 100 followers comes just in time to announce that I'm going to be a guest blogger on Maria's blog at Kinder-Craze! She was so sweet to let me write a guest post on her page, so let her know in her comments that I sent you over!

It's all about web 2.0 tools, as usual. I hope that you hop on over to her blog TODAY at 3:00 EST/2:00 CST to read it and get a good little freebie :)

One more thing!

I'm one of the coaches over at Technology Tailgate, and we're starting a new giveaway! It's a $25 gift card to STARBUCKS! Who doesn't love Starbucks?? It's to welcome you to the new "Technology Central!" I hope you stop by, enter the giveaway, and follow the page. You'll be up to date on all the newest techie ideas for the classroom!

Thank you for following my blog!!

Layout, Blog Button, and Special News!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 03:12:00 +0000

Hey wonderful friends!

In case you haven't noticed, I tweaked the layout and blog button for this blog! If you have me linked up with the old button, you can grab the new one on the side! I tried to do it automatically, but photobucket hates me. It was a fight to the death, and I think I lost. Can you say frustrating?

Here's how my button looks:

What do you think?

I will be posting tomorrow with SPECIAL NEWS, so come back by around 1:00 CST to find out what the surprise is. :D I think you're going to love it! It's something that scares me the most about blogging, so I'll need all the support I can get from all of you!

Give me some feedback!

What do you think I should add/change on my blog?

Feeling Appreciated!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 03:20:00 +0000

WOW! Today, after babysitting and a kindergarten meeting at Chili's, I came home to some surprises.

Ashley from The Resource Room Teacher and Mrs. Mc from Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! gave me the One Lovely Blog award! (My first one ever!) I wasn't sure I'd get this award because my blog is so new, but I'm so honored that they thought my blog was worth this award!

My other news was that I received the Versatile Blogger award from Heidi at My (Not So) Elementary Life!

While I could give the award to 30 different bloggers, I feel that it would mean more if I give BOTH awards to the same 15 bloggers. So here's the deal. I'll follow the rules of the awards, but I don't want to overwhelm you with a crazy amount of award winners. Here are the rules for each award. One Lovely Blog Award: 1. Follow the person that gave you the award
2. Link back to the person that gave you the award
3. Pass the award on to 15 new bloggers

The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Include a link to their site.

3. Include the award image in your post.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

Well, if you must know, here are 7 random facts about myself:

I graduated with a second major in Spanish! It was hard work, but it's so worth it to be able to speak to Spanish speaking parents and have them understand what is going on in their students' education.
I am a procrastinator. And not a huge planner...So teaching can be hard for me at times because I wait till the last minute to plan lessons. I need to work on that.
I'm a Christian! I love my Lord, and I hope to show God's love through teaching sweet children and working with their parents.
My favorite color is...what do you think? If you are the first to guess it right, I'll feature you in one of my status updates on my Facebook page!
My summer destination of choice is on an island called Dominica. It's the Nature Isle of the Caribbean, and it's home to many of the people I love. (Mainly one man!)

6. I drive a truck! Yes. And I love it. :) It's so beautiful.

7. I keep a 5 year journal. It's the easiest way to journal ever and it's going to be so worth it in 5 years!

Now for the FUN PART! The award winners!

I know some of you may already have the award, but I wanted to honor you and let you know that I appreciate all the work that you do on your blog. You inspire me!

Thank you so much for your hard work! Remember, you received BOTH awards! The One Lovely Blog award AND the Versatile Blogger award! If you want to accept them, make sure you follow the rules of the award to put the button on your page. Spread the love around. :)

One more thing. I wish I could keep up with the Daily 5 book study posts! I may put up chapters 2 and 3 soon, but I may just read them and post about chapter 4 when it comes up. I've been so busy, and doing that has been a struggle. Hope you understand! Love you all!

Web 2.0 Tutorials for Teachers #3!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 05:07:00 +0000

It's Saturday! This is my third week of web 2.0 tutorial videos, and today is special because I'm featuring...

Wait for it...

Storybird!

I'm really excited about this one. I apologize for apologizing so much in the video. I was tired (it was 11pm when I recorded), and I kept losing track of my words. I hope that the video still helps you even though my brain felt a little out of sorts.

Storybird is a tool that can be used to create beautiful illustrated books without having to hire an illustrator! The artists that contribute have done an amazing job with their artwork so that we can write to our little hearts content! I think this would be such a fun way to have a shared writing lesson instead of just using a boring anchor chart. Below is the book that I created for you to look at. I tried to use all the different picture positions that Storybird offers so you can see all the ways you can do it.

The Monsters In My Closet! by sadams22 on Storybird Okay well here you go! Below is the embed for the VIDEO TUTORIAL! I love making these and I hope that you enjoy watching them. Feel free to pin, share, comment, like, whatever you feel like doing! I'd love to help as many teachers as possible with these tutorials. I know that technology may seem like a scary monster to you at times, but just remember that the monster may turn out to be your friend like the ones in the book did. :)

If you would like to start your Storybird account and receive a FREE PDF download on sign-up, just put your email address in the form below. YOUR EMAIL IS NOT REQUIRED FOR THE FORM, but if you do include it, the PDF that would normally cost you $2 would be free instead, and I would receive one free PDF download as well! If that's not a win-win, I don't know what is! :) &lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt;

UPDATE!

Here are the QR codes for the Mystery Blog Hop! Scan one of them to jump to a new page. Leave a comment first before you go! :)

Updates and Joy!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:31:00 +0000

I know it's been a while since I've written a blog post. Here are my reasons!

1. I have a big post coming up soon! So my brain has been obsessing over that.

2. Today was Guided Reading and 6 Traits Writing training at my school. I can't wait to start those! I especially know that guided reading will be fun. I love small group work with kinders. They always have the funniest comments ever.

3. My new video tutorial will be up on Saturday morning, so get your vote in before 7pm on Friday so that you can have a say in which one I record on Friday evening.

4. Life has been normal (which means BUSY!)

I left off a fifth reason just to bother some of you more perfectionist blog followers. :) I hope you don't unfollow me for that! Honestly, I couldn't come up with a good fifth reason other than the fact that not much is new. It's summer time, so my teaching brain is just waiting for next year. I can't get into my classroom to decorate yet because the lady who taught in that classroom still hasn't moved out yet....and I'm SO ready to move in!

Here's the few updates I do have for you:

1. Joyful Update - My DIPLOMA came in the mail yesterday. I pranced around the house and couldn't put it down. It's amazing to me that I now have my Bachelor of Arts Magna cum Laude! :D

2. Vote! - My poll is up on my Facebook page and on the sidebar on the blog! Make sure you vote for either Storybird, Xtranormal, Glogster, or Erly. Also, comment below if you have a request for a technology tutorial of any kind! I'd love your feedback so I know your needs!

3. Go participate in my sweet friend Maria's giveaway and follow her page! She has such amazing ideas. If you like my blog, you'll love hers too! She reached 300 followers and is giving away a 25$ gift card to the best store on Earth....Target!

4. I was contacted by two people recently! One person was one of the FOUNDERS of BEECLIP! He messaged me on Google Plus and commented on my video tutorial saying that he enjoyed it! I was blown away by the fact that he watched it. The blogging world is too cool. Also, I was contacted by Technology Tailgate and asked to be a contributor to the new blog effort! It's going to be technology central for all blog posts relating to tech. I can't wait to be a part of it. Go check it out at:

You all are amazing. I'm blown away daily by the fact that you all decided to follow my blog! You truly have blessed my life, and I hope that my posts can bless yours as well. Leave a comment letting me know what you think about 6 Traits Writing and Guided Reading!

Prezi Tutorial for Teachers!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:34:00 +0000

It's here!

My web 2.0 tool tutorial that you all voted on! I had a fun time preparing the Prezi show for the tutorial. I hope that you get a lot out of it! I wish I could have gone even longer, but I know people don't like watching long videos.

It's a tad shorter than my Beeclip video, so that's a good thing. :) I tried to edit down my video length by taking out mistakes I made, but I'm not sure how to do that without losing video quality. Any suggestions?

Should I put the next poll in the sidebar of my blog or on my Facebook page wall? Or both and say that people may only vote once on each one? I don't want people voting over and over again. Let me know in the comments! I'll put up the sidebar poll now so you can get to clicking!

Enjoy the video and scroll down for freebies!

I've never done this before, so I hope it works.

If not, please don't be upset!

Make sure you fill out this simple form so that you can get your freebies...

2 simple/editable Prezis made by me!

Even if you don't want the freebies, I'd still love your feedback in the form below!

Go download Dropbox if you don't already have it!

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VOTE!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:08:00 +0000

Storybird and Prezi are tied and there are only 3 hours remaining! Cast your vote so I can make a brand new video tutorial for you to watch! :)

Storybird

Prezi

I'm excited to see which one wins!

The Daily Five - Chapter One!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 16:54:00 +0000

I read chapter one! YAY!

It took me a while because I'm taking a grad course in Educational Tech (which requires way too much homework time). Nevertheless, I'm going to give you my short and sweet response to the chapter. I want to come at this book from a different angle sort of. My experiences have been very different from the amazing veteran teachers who are linking up to this books study, and here's why:

I haven't taught a kindergarten class yet!

I know! I am so excited that I get to teach this next school year!! This book is really helping me see what I need to start doing from the beginning instead of hanging on by a thread, hoping that I'm teaching my sweet littles how to read.

1. How do I teach new behaviors?

That is the question, isn't it? I've heard it's best to model and model and model some more. The book actually says that it's the best way to go about it. Kindergarteners need consistency, so I plan on spending a great deal of time from the beginning working on how to behave in school. I hope that I can achieve that third column on the behavior instruction area.

2. How do I teach expectations?

The beginning of the year should be dedicated to setting up expectations, and the authors claim that starting the Daily 5 right from the beginning is helpful. I feel that kindergarten can be flexible in that area because they're just starting school. I feel that the teacher really needs to make sure that the students KNOW what the expectations are, and the teacher needs to make sure that the expectations are HIGH!

3. How do I monitor student behavior? whole group? small groups? individual?
When I did my student teaching in kindergarten, I noticed that I was doing the "daily frantic dance" that the authors mentioned. I had to give pencils, check each student's centers work, and make sure that nobody was crying throughout centers time. What I really wanted to do was work with my small group intensely. I feel that all three of those are required for an effective classroom, though. There's a time and a place for all!

4. What do I do when a student is not exhibiting desired behavior?
Wow. When I read this part I was really struck by it. In most of my elementary classes I've observed, I saw the card-pull system. I thought it was helpful and effective, but really it's a negative system. I want to implement the clip chart system in my first classroom. It's great for positive reinforcement. I like how the authors use recess time as a time for them to practice the behavior over and over instead of just standing against a wall perfectly still! (Which is what was done at my student teaching placement.)

5. Whose classroom is it?
I would like to think it will be my students' classroom. In my first year, that may be difficult to set up, but I feel that I can do so with the help of veteran teachers. :) I thought that classroom jobs were the norm and the best way, but the authors once again challenged my belief on that subject! It may still be helpful for kindergarten to have assigned roles for the students to give them a sense of responsibility. What do you think about this??

6. Locus of control?
In my experience, candy and treasure boxes are the way to motivate. It's hard to break that mentality of using those tools. I hope that I can try to get my littles to become intrinsically motivated. My only question about that is: How can I do that? I know that it's the best way to have students hold each other accountable, so I want to make sure I do that!

7. Where are supplies stored?
Should kinders be allowed to actually use staplers? When I was in kindergarten years ago, one little boy decided to staple his thumb. It was a nightmare! I think that some supplies should definitely be available in a common area, but others may be too dangerous for 5-6 year olds. It's all about understanding the level of maturity of your students, I think.

You can join the fun and read along with us! Just read chapters one and two to get caught up! You will be blown away. It's looking like such a great book from what I've already read.

QOTD: How you do try to get your students to be intrinsically motivated?

Here, There, and Everywhere

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 22:11:00 +0000

This blog post may be a little bit random, but I thought I'd join up with April at Wolfelicious and post a couple of my favorite e-card memes. I know, I know, I do linky parties so often that you're probably sick of them.

I'm putting a poll in the sidebar for the next internet tool that I will feature, so VOTE ON THAT while you're here so that you learn some new tips for integrating technology into your classroom!

Here goes:

SO true. I love those two. Especially as a teacher, I feel like those fit the best.

I want to give away some freebies soon, but I'm not sure what people need or want! Especially since I'm not even sure what I personally need for my classroom.

What types of freebies do you find that you download the most?

In case you missed it, I made a fun Web 2.0 tool tutorial for Beeclip (which is absolutely F-R-E-E to use!) Please watch my video and let me know what you think! I'm going to start doing free web tool review every week if possible, so I'd love suggestions for that endeavor.

I want to mention is that I am only TWO Facebook page likes from THIRTY! Oh my goodness! It's blowing my mind that I'll have 30 Facebook fans and 20 followers on here.

Thank you SO SO much for taking the time to read my posts! You are amazing, and your constant comments and likes give me warm fuzzies inside. I hope that soon I'll be able to put something together to give back to you in return.

My Question of the Day (QOTD):: Should I pursue a Master's degree? I'm thinking of going for Curriculum & Instruction with a focus in Technology. Thoughts?

My First Video Tutorial!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:34:00 +0000

I'd like to point out a few things about me before we make the jump into the video. When I was in high school, my DREAM was to be a radio DJ. I wanted to talk on a morning show. So in college, I decided to go into Broadcast Journalism. The only thing was, I didn't feel like I was actually helping people, which was one of my ambitions as well. I switched to education, but never lost my zeal for all things techie.

Fast forward to now. I spend my free time on Skype, blog stalking, and working on Web 2.0 tools and the like just for fun. The computer is part of my world, really, because Prensky would like to say that I am a "digital native." I grew up with technology! I'm hooked to my iPhone and my laptop and my digital camera and video games. It's what I know best.

I hope that, in this blog, you'll be able to learn about technology and apply it to your own practice. Your students need you to be literate in tech as well as books. Don't be afraid! I'll help you along! This is my thing, remember. :)

Without further explanation, I give you...my FIRST EVER VIDEO TUTORIAL! My software for recording my screen may have caused some static or something, but I think it turned out okay. The framerate isn't too great either (but you probably won't even notice it!). Oh, and please bear with me! I will try to keep the videos a bit shorter in the future.

How would you use Beeclip in your own classroom?

What Web 2.0 tool would you like me to give a tutorial on next?

My Favorite FONTS!

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:26:00 +0000

Okay...I'm a little obsessed with fonts.

When I saw that there was a linky party for it...well, let's just say the Queen of Fonts could not pass it up! I probably have over 200 fonts on my computer. (Maybe that's a slight hyperbole, but go with me on it.)

HERE are my top 10 fonts that I'm loving right now:

I hope these help you out. I hyperlinked all of them to take you to the place to download! You're welcome :)

Join the linky party at Teachery Tidbits by clicking this picture below! I'd love to see what fonts you use.

Which one of these ten is your favorite? Do you use one of these fonts already?

I'm doing this right before class, babysitting, and then VBS. Today is going to be killer!

Summer Vacation....

noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Adams) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 03:39:00 +0000

I love this linky party.
It's so true.
Since I graduated and I'm in this waiting period before the start of my career, it's been so lazy.

I even pulled out my old GameCube and started a new game of Zelda just because I haven't played video games since high school. I know. I'm soooo ~~cool~~ lame!

This summer has been so relaxing though! So here's my contribution to the "You Know It's Summer Vacation When..." linky party.

What do I do to join?

1. Right click the picture at the below and save it to your computer.
2. Open in Word or Powerpoint and insert a text box and type in your FINISH.
3. Save the slide or page as a jpg. Done!!

You can link up on Kindergarten Lifestyle's blog post! Join in the fun!

Random sidenote: As I'm writing this, there's a tiny little gnat attacking me. So annoying. Has that ever happened to you? Being beat by a gnat is not cool. Especially during SUMMER VACATION!