Primary Pointe.

Addition in action!

2014-03-07T09:35:00.001-05:00

I've been neglecting the blog side of my world... what a busy year it has been! We wrapped up a unit on addition and subtraction and I was super busy creating and teaching new math center activities. Take a look and grab a freebies!

...and a FREEBIE for you!

Come on over to TpT and grab this freebie! Its an easy way to practice fluency in double facts!

W-I-L-D about numbers 1-5!

2013-09-14T12:18:00.000-04:00

This week in kinder-land we've been working on our numbers to 5! Here's Noah, Meghan, and Jose working on Common Core Standard K.CC.4-: Counting & Cardinality

* Understand that the last number
name said tells the number of
objects counted.

* When counting objects,
say the number names in the
standard order..

Click here to find some fun GAMES to play with your kinders to develop their counting and number names!

* pairing each object with one
and only one number name...

The activity comes from my Wild About Numbers activity set from my TpT store! Come by and take a look. I'll be listing it for 50% off for the next week. Thanks so much for stopping by!

First Day!

2013-08-19T19:51:00.004-04:00

What a day! Our kinder-crew was busy ALL day! Sometimes, it's hard to get a lot of information out about your child's day. Here is a great article with ideas to start conversations about the school day. Click here!

You may hear a lot about this Alphablocks video. It was a BIG hit. Take a look...

Parents, here is a link to some SUPER fun games to go along with the Alphablocks. It's a fun way to work on letters and sounds! Alphablocks Enjoy!

10 Things...

2013-07-22T14:55:00.001-04:00

10 Things I've Learned from Teaching!

Thanks to Miss Kindergarten for hosting this fun linky-party! I'm tweaking it a bit to share the 10 things I've learned from teaching kindergarten, I'm sure you won't mind. Here we go...

1. No matter how patient, kind and gentle you are... a kindergartener will show you one day that you are not. Kindergarteners taught me real patience, kindness, gentleness, love and understanding.

2. It's OK to have a soft, squeaky and child-like voice... it was meant for kindergarten children!

3. I can create a song/lyric/dance/ or chant to explain anything.

4. Enunciation and expression!

5. Every child in your class is their parent's WHOLE world. Always remember how special that is!

6. Tying shoes is very annoying.

7. A kindergartener hears and sees ALL. They will be the first to notice a haircut, boo-boo, sparkly earrings or a new pen. If you make a mistake, don't take it too personally if they tell you and then remind you again... and then bring it up a few days later.

8. The best feeling- EVER- falls somewhere between February and March. You look around and see the children quietly working during literacy centers, or reading independently, taking an Accelerated Reader test , giving directions and helping another student ALL BY THEMSELVES! It happens every year, so be patient!

9. Sensitivity! You learn it quick after seeing the pain in a child's eyes when they realized they were wrong or disappointed the teacher.

10. Every year the children that are brought into your life through teaching TEACH you!

Missing my kinder-crew!

2013-06-26T07:59:00.003-04:00

Kindergarten families and friends,

I hope you are enjoying your summer. I love being able to sleep in and have extra free time, but... boo-hoo, I miss my little friends!

THE BEST picture from the 2012-2013 yearbook... I think we all look FABULOUS!

Please remember, NEW first graders... write in your summer fun journal! I can't wait to see what you've been up to! Return your journal in AUGUST and I will have a special treat for you!

Teacher friends! Want to grab a copy of our summer fun journal? Click here!

Working with Bzzzzy-Bees!

2013-05-11T09:06:00.001-04:00

This is what my busy bees were working on this week at the Making Words Center. Come by my TpT store and download the preview to get your own set of short e word builders.

Click here to download the preview!

Kindergarten INSECT research! Come and get a template!

2013-05-09T06:27:00.000-04:00

I am SO proud of my kinder-crew! Their writing is just amazing! Not only can they write sentences that are grammatically correct, BUT they can add details from their own research. WOW!

We used World Book Online to conduct our research. It's called Early World of Learning and is an awesome resource to have. Talk to your media or tech specialist to purchase a license for YOUR school!

The question we used to guide our research came from our MMH reading series. The question is "What are some interesting insects?" Our note-taking template was super-simple to create. We just used some legal-sized paper and 3 post-its. Once we gathered our information, we wrote sentences to tell about our interesting insects. Our rule for sentences? Write a 3 star sentence!

1. Start with a capital letter. 2. Use spaces between words. 3. End with a period.

Want a pre-made template?

Click here to access a freebie from my TpT store

The following day, I read aloud the guided reader My Caterpillar Report. Using this book as a model, we created a list to show what needs to be included in an insect report.

And finally, our final product! My school has a wonderful die-cut machine so the booklets we made came out super cute... take a look!

Click on the picture above to get your OWN copy of the
Insect Report template!

Go, Ibrahim, go!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week

2013-05-06T06:41:00.000-04:00

Teachers, we celebrate you this week!

Take a look at the offers below!

25% off this week

Into social media? Come to this site to pick up an icon for your profile pic!

Free sandwich on May 7th. The problem is, you get a sandwich
you'll want some waffle fries, then you'll want a cookies-n-cream milk shake. Yummm!

BOGO! Tuesday only.

I already took advantage of this sale... PLUS you get a free gift with purchase.
I love DJ Inkers!

And finally, I'm hosting a sale this week at TpT.

Sale starts TUESDAY, MAY 7 and lasts until Friday. Click on the picture to visit my store.

Know of any other offers? Leave a comment and let me know! I'd love to hear from you!

Fun with Happy Jack and a give-away!

2013-04-20T12:24:00.001-04:00

This time of the year is the BEST! The weather is beautiful, the flowers are blooming and so are my little learners! Have you started seeing the amazing progress of you kindergarten readers??? I'm so proud of all they have accomplished!

This week we focused on the fairytale, Jack and the Beanstalk. The kids had so much fun reading, writing, listening and responding to this old favorite!

Here are a few of my little darlings working on the little book Happy Jack. I love to see them so engaged!

Happy Jack Little Book is available HERE at Tpt!

Here are some great videos to watch with your kindercrew if you are reading Jack and the Beanstalk. The first one is my FAVORITE- it's so interactive, the kids really "jam-out" to it!

*Be careful when viewing YouTube videos in class, I usually let the commercial go on before letting it project full screen!*

This year, my deliberate practice has been finding similarities and differences. In our district we have one deliberate practice item to focus on throughout our year for professional development. I have seen such a difference in the way my kinders process, apply and extend new information and skills! We have all been working on talking about similarities and differences for several months now. I am so happy to see that they have turned their "talking about it" to "writing about it"! YAY! Look at them go!

Character Compare is available here at TpT!

I would LOVE to share one of my TpT products with a few of you! I am giving away one download of the Happy Jack little book AND one download of the Comparing Characters activity. Leave a comment below with your email, the download you'd like AND your FAVORITE fairytale to teach. If your favorite fairytale matches mine, you'll get your choice of download. Here's a hint, it's definitely been re-made by Disney. I can't wait to hear from you!

Super Fun Freebie!

2013-04-13T21:13:00.000-04:00

This game will change your life, seriously... The Game of 6 is the best way to practice number writing to 100.

I can not take credit for this one. I learned of it at a math training several years ago and have yet to remember the name of the presenter. What was great about the training is that the teachers learned how to play the game by playing it. Even grown-ups are engaged and focused while playing this game. Take a look at my little learners doing such a GREAT job playing this game! The link for the freebie is below.

Click here to get a copy of the game!

2013-04-01T15:56:00.001-04:00

Hello kindergarten families! School starts back up tomorrow. I am SO excited to get started on our new spring-themed learning activities.

Find our new calendar here. We've got a BUSY week coming up!

Parents, please come take a look at our "Books with Bijou" page. Click on the link to access our guided readers at home. Bijou loves books and Bijou wants our kinder-crew reading everyday!

The real Bijou loves to hear about the
learning in our kindergarten classroom!

Cookin' up some counting plus a freebie!

2013-03-17T14:38:00.003-04:00

This week in math, we began working on the number 20. To introduce the number, we got out the Play-doh and made up some chocolate chip cookies! The children were given directions to make 4 cookies. When it was time to add the chocolate chips I gave different directions to each group:

1. Put five chocolate-chips in the first cookie. Put the same number in the other cookies.

2. Make 20 chocolate chips, split them evenly between each cookie. The number in each cookie should be the same.

-or-

3. Add chocolate chips to your cookies so the total number is 20, and each cookie has the same number of chocolate chips.

The children took many different approaches to their cookie-making! I extended the lesson to include counting sets of 5 to 10 and to 20 and in some cases, 35. Wow! That's a lot of chocolate chips!

The children LOVED this activity, so I will be putting it in centers next week. To summarize their learning, they will be completing a Show What You Know activity page. Here it is for you!

Click here to download.

Map and Chat! Our first Social-Studies Share

2013-03-01T15:31:00.002-05:00

Our little-learners had a blast sharing their maps today. I was so impressed with the kiddos participation and enthusiasm. Boy, can they talk! Thank you so much kindergarten families for supporting your child's learning! I know it was an extra assignment for you too! I am happy everyone got to participate.

Teacher friends! Click on the picture below for a sample parent letter and rubric for your own Social-Studies Share. Come back soon... I will be posting on different ways to group your little learners to get the most out of "class chat" time!

Welcome to February!

2013-02-02T09:32:00.001-05:00

Keeping track of the date is a skill new to kindergarten children. With new learning, sometimes we see mistakes like this...

OOPSY-DAISY

That's not right!

Don't worry, we fixed it! It became one of those wonderful "teachable moments" that couldn't have been planned better!

Kindergarten families! Click HERE to see our updated calendar.

Did you know that our classroom calendar AND reading calendars are available on-line? They are super easy to find!

Classroom Calendar

Kindergarten Families>Parent Page

Reading Calendar

Reading and Language Arts>Reading Calendar

Come back to the reading calendar page for updates to implement the Common Core Standards!

Families, be sure to leave comments or send me a message if there is anything else you'd like to see on our class site!

Let me leave you with a darling picture of our little learners celebrating the 100th day. We had a great time and THANKS to the families who donated treats for our math-a-licious 100th day snack!

JOINING NUMBERS and a freebie!

2013-01-26T09:19:00.000-05:00

Hello kindergarten friends and families! We are getting ready to wrap up our unit on addition and we have been busy joining numbers, modeling addition and writing number sentences.

Take a look at Zoo Animal Addition. I created this activity to help little learners practice joining numbers and recognize symbols for addition... a plus and equal sign!

Zoo Animal Addition is available on TeachersPayTeachers!

Teacher friends, here is a simple document to help your little learners in joining numbers and developing fluency in adding numbers. Print the document on card stock, cut out the cards and place in a zippy bag. Directions are included for at home practice.

Click picture to download!

It's time for the FAIR!

2013-01-10T21:52:00.000-05:00

Kindergarten Families!

Throughout the next two weeks your child will be participating in FAIR testing. Please take a look at the FAQ's below to see what FAIR means for you and your child.

1. What is FAIR?

The FAIR is a state-wide assessment for grades K-3. It stands for Florida Assessments for Instruction in reading. The FAIR is given 3 times throughout the year. The purpose of the FAIR is to screen, diagnose and plan for reading instruction. It is just one of the many measures teachers use to see the progress in their students' learning and plan for future instruction.

2. What kind of assessments are included in FAIR?

In kindergarten, the FAIR assessments include Letter Name and Sounds, Phonemic Awareness, Listening Comprehension and Vocabulary. The last FAIR assessment (in April) will include Sight Word Reading and Reading Comprehension. The assessments are done in a one-to-one setting and take from 5-10 minutes to complete.

3. When will parents be notified of student results?
All kindergarten families will be getting a letter that will help parents support their child's growth in reading based on their child's assessment results.

Click here to for more information!

Specific results can be obtained by scheduling a conference in person or over the phone. Please email me to schedule a time to meet! jcabral@pasco.k12.fl.us

Guest Blog Post: Frosty Addition Craftivity

2013-01-04T14:13:00.000-05:00

Kindergarten friends and family! Welcome to my very first Guest blogger... Crystal from Ms. Jones'Junction. Be sure to come on over to Hippo Hooray for Second Grade to see my guest blog post!

Greetings Bloggy Friends!! This is Crystal from Ms.Jones' Junction! I am a first grade teacher from South Carolina. I have been blogging since July and have loved every minute of it... so much that I think Ihave become obsessed. I just recently reached the goal of 200 Followers.... More about that in a minute!!

I am so excited to be a part ofthe guest blogging exchange - “New Year, New Ideas, New Possibilities Linky Party, hosted by Stephanie, Stephany, and Kathi of PrimaryPossibilities. I’m thrilled to be a guest blogger at Primary Pointe a kindergarten blog.

Well I have a lot to cover so let's dive right in. I have a cute craftivity/math activity that my firsties will be creating next week when I start my snow unit. I just love this time of the year, but living in the south now, I don't get to see snow anymore. It is a rarity if it snows at all in South Carolina. So I try to bring the snow to my littles. They will be creating snow pals and practice some basic math facts at the same time with this Frosty Addition Craftivity:

Click on the picture above to download!

Students will cut out all of the pieces

and form into a snowman

Student will then roll a die two times to create a number sentence. They will then use the commutative property of addition and turn thenumbers around to create switched partners.

for example: 3 + 5 = 8 and 5 + 3 = 8

My students always enjoy doing this activity. I hope this is something that you can use in your classroom with your students. I love letting my students have some fun while they are learning!!

Before I go I wanted to let you know that I am also having a 200 Follower giveaway on my blog.

I will be giving away 20 items from my TN store and some sweet bloggy buds are helping me out with my giveaway so hop over and enter for a chance to win some great prizes!!!

I want to thank Julie for having me as a guest blogger. Now I am going to check out the other blogs that have joined the linky party!

Have a Super Saturday

Crystal

New Year's Printables

2012-12-30T21:33:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year kindergarten teachers and families! I hope you were able to pick up some new ink cartridges for Christmas, because here are a few printables to celebrate the successes of 2012 and plan goals for 2013.

Original Source: Colour me There

Original Source: All Kids Network

Original Source: Ladybug's Teacher Files

Original Source: Wonderful Joy Ahead

Original Source: Jessica Swift

Merry Christmas Kindergarten Families!

2012-12-24T08:39:00.001-05:00

Original picture from something.

Hoping you enjoy your holiday and I'll see you soon.

Little learners! Here are some Christmas games for you to play before Santa comes to visit!

Books with Bijou!

2012-12-18T06:05:00.001-05:00

Kindergarten families! Ms. Bijou was so sweet to share guided readers with your little learner! Our guided readers are now available on-line and will be posted for each reading unit. Click on the the cover of the book you would like to read with your child. The books include an audio feature, so your child can listen to the story independently. Listening to these books on-line can be used to document your child's at-home reading practice. Be sure your child writes the date and title on their book-log to show what they've been reading. The new page is called Books with Bijou. Be sure to check it out today!

Parent Resources

2012-12-15T16:08:00.000-05:00

Original source: http://www.melonheadzillustrating.blogspot.com/

Kindergarten families my heart is saddened along with the rest of our country as we mourn the loss of our most precious children and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary . I know that children will express different emotions and express curiosity about the tragic event that happened in Connecticut. Our school psychologist has provided the teachers with a resource on dealing with a crisis or trauma. I think it will be helpful to kindergarten families during this time. You can find more information at the National Association of School Psychologists. Please contact me or any Watergrass Elementary Staff member if you have any questions, concerns or need to talk. Give your children some extra squeezes this weekend too.

Here is another little quote I found that really touched my heart. Hopefully it will help you too.

Original source: http://theglamoroushousewife.com/

Updated Calendar

2012-12-10T18:45:00.002-05:00

Hello Kindergarten Families!

Please take a look at the updates on our class calendar. I appreciate your patience with my time away from the classroom. Our reading coach Mrs. Hughes always comes by on these days to work with the children during center time. This will be the only month you will see so many meetings on the calendar!

New Math Websites!

2012-12-02T20:45:00.002-05:00

Kindergarten families, please take a look at the new page Math Websites. I have added some counting and beginning addition games that I know your little learner will love!

Updated Kindergarten Websites!

2012-11-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

Thank-you Ms. Hunter for your help with my Kindergarten Websites page! Kindergarten families, please take a look. You will find many of the on-line games and activities we use at school.

A tisket, a tasket... and homework FAQs!

2012-11-12T18:56:00.003-05:00

Today, I finally did an activity from the book, I Love Letters by Dr. Jean. I have had this book for almost 2 years, read it front to back, but haven't found the time to use it. This school year- especially after today's reaction- I'm making it a priority! The activity is so simple, and the kids did not want to stop practicing naming letters. Unfortunately, they wouldn't stop singing the song either! We drove the teachers next door "bonkers"... but they were very forgiving!

The children sit in a circle as you walk around holding a basket of magnetic letters or letter cards saying the rhyme (I sang it to the tune "It's Raining, It's Pouring")

A tisket, a tasket
There are letters in my basket.
I'll drop one behind a friend
And see if they can name it!

When the child gets a letter they pick it up and name it. The activity naturally extended itself into a "making words" activity. I passed out certain letters to form sight words. Next time I will plan to have more letters on hand to make more sight words! The kids just loved it!

To find more quick and enjoyable letter-naming activities, pick up the book I Love Letters! -OR- just drop by Dr. Jean's website or blog. She has a ton of resources available!

Kindergarten families...

Here are some FAQs that will (hopefully) help you out with your little learners homework this week.

Do I return sight word and ABC folders to school everyday?

NO. Homework folders are due every Friday. If you do finish homework early, please keep folder in backpack. I will collect any work on Friday.

Calendar folders should be returned daily!

Can my child bring home more books?

Your child will have the opportunity to take home more books very soon! Right now I am checking for (and teaching) responsible book handling. Please reinforce this at home. Teach your child to keep borrowed books on the table away from food and drink, away from pets, and out of the hands of our little baby learners at home (unless they are closely supervised).

In time, your child can bring home a new book every night!

My child can't read the book he/she brought home. What should I do?

The books your child brings home are self-selected. The purpose of this is motivation and reading enjoyment. It's OK if they can't read every word. Right now I would just like to build enjoyable reading experiences at home where the adult does most of the reading work.

To involve your child more, he/she can point to the words, turn pages and point out letters or sight words that they do know! As we begin reading more books together, your child will be bringing home text they can read independently. I will also begin teaching children how to pick out books that are just right for their reading level!

What do I do with the math journals?

Math journals are returned every Friday along with any other homework.

My child enjoys doing the sight word and ABC homework activities. Can they do an activity everyday?

Yes! The homework schedule calls for one activity a week, but I would encourage you to practice daily. Please see schedule here. The homework activities are meant to be "self-pacing" so if your child wants to do more PLEASE DO! Our volunteer will be checking their progress weekly. We will be able to add more activities based on the progress they make in naming letters and reading sight words.

Any other questions? Please leave a comment or contact me at jcabral@pasco.k12.fl.us