The Chalkboard Garden

Pick 3 August: Classroom Management Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000

I am joining the Pinterest Pick 3 Linky hosted by Lisa over at PAWSitively Teaching and Marissa over at Inspired Owl's Corner! Every month on the 3rd, bloggers can link up their top 3 Pinterest picks of the month.

This month I am pinning three ideas that I would like to incorporate into my classroom this upcoming year. I tried to keep things simple, I;m not trying to recreate my entire classroom but I'm open to trying some new things. Hopefully these ideas give you a little inspirations as well.

If you're interested, check out my entire Kindergarten Classroom Set Up Pinterest board!

Flexible seating is all the rage right now and I try not to jump on educational bandwagons for no reason (i.e. I'm kinda over the whole light box in the classroom deal). But flexible seating is something I have used in my classroom from day one, I just never gave it a name. Theses DIY stability ball chairs are going to be a perfect addition to try out without spending loads of money, Check back for the results later!

The more I read about Kagan Structures, the more I am so eager to use them in my classroom! I have loved reading posts over on the Primary Press about how she uses them in her classroom.

Confession, I am the WORST at birthdays. I always prep cute little gifts, I have a big birthday hat and crown, and an adorable chair decoration. And then,,,, I forget. I am the queen of forgetting birthdays; not a title I am proud of. Add in the fact that I often have kids moving in and out of my classroom over the year and it's game over trying to remember. Hopefully this cute display will help and I can easily update with new student photos when needed.

An InLinkz Link-up

Pick 3 July: Sensory Table Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 00:04:00 +0000

For me, July is the month I start thinking about what I want to change or add to my classroom next year that I didn't get to during the past year. Next year one thing I want to be more creative with is our classroom sensory bin. So today I am sharing 3 pick for sensory bin ideas!

If you're interested, check out my entire Kindergarten Sensory Table Pinterest board!

Sensory bins do not always have to be the fluffy soft stuff. I actually saw this idea at our local children's museum and knew instantly that I had to give it a try in my classroom! What an awesome fine motor activity!

Water beads just seem fascinating to me! I found some on Amazon for a decent price and I can't wait to give them a try.

If you were like me and jumped on kinetic sand when it first came out, then you probably learned that after a while it starts to stiffen. Then you just have sandy-dough-ish-stuff. This is a the perfect solution! I tested this on my own old and well-loved kinetic sand and it works great.

Contents of a Teacher's Pocket

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 13:30:00 +0000

This little project was inspired by the work of San Francisco photographer Melissa Kaseman who documented the content of her preschool son’s pockets. If you haven’t seen the photo series, I highly recommend you check it out. I may not be four-years-old but as a kindergarten teacher I could relate to the random pocketful of treasures at the end of the school day and decided to give this a teacher spin over the past 10 days.

How do these little goodies end up in my pockets? No, I promise I’m not stealing my student’s possessions. A majority of these find their way home with me when one of my little ones randomly drops it in my lap mid-lesson or frantically brings attention to an item left out from another lesson.

Occasionally, it’s an item that’s been distracting a little friend at carpet as they experiment with biting and chewing. These are the items I am less excited to receive. Palm out, signaling to the student to handover the trinket, silently hoping it’s not something disgusting.

My most prized items though are the small gifts given to me by my kindergarteners, the little ornaments plucked from the ground, the flowers carried in from recess, and their tiny creations presented to me with a gleeful and sweet, “This is for you!”

Earth Day Heart Painting

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 18:29:00 +0000

Today I'm sharing an Earth Day craft that's beautiful and fun to create. It's simple enough to do with kindergarteners and up. This craft also provides a perfect opportunity to talk about reusing goods and finding ways to re-purpose something rather than toss it in the trash to end up in the landfill! When they're all done, you'll have a beautiful piece of meaningful art to decorate your home or classroom! I love that each one of these Earth Day Heart Paintings is unique and personalized by the kids, from the page they use to the prints of their little hands.

Supplies:

Tempura paint in black, green, and blue

Paintbrushes

Reusable paper (Old Plant Encyclopedia, Herbology Book, Textbooks, etc.)

Construction paper in blue, green, or black

Cleaning station

Glue sticks

Step 1 - Paint the Recycled Paper

Each student will need their own page of the recycled paper. I picked up an old plant encyclopedia from the Goodwill for $3 and cut out a variety of pages for students to pick from.

To get the right shape, I recommend having students "practice" placing their hands without paint first. Start by touching the tips of your thumbs, then the tips of your pointer fingers to make a heart shape.

Step 2 - Allow To Dry & Mount (Optional for Older Students)

We painted our hearts before lunch and came back to finish them later in the day so the black would be completely dry. If your students are older you could possible skip this step. To save time, we also mounted them on construction paper before painting a second time.

Step 3 - Paint The Earth

Invite your students to paint the heart shape between their hand prints with blue and green paint.

As we did this, we talked about why we should love and care for the Earth. Here are a few of their sweet answers:

"The Earth is where our families live."

"Because if we hurt the Earth, we can't just live on another one."

"All the animals live on the Earth."

"Because people don't want to live with garbage everywhere."

Step 4 - Display

We chose to hang our classroom paintings in the hallways to share with the rest of our school.

Show and Tell Tuesday: March 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Tue, 15 Mar 2016 10:00:00 +0000

Hey everyone! Today I am excite to be participating again in a monthly linky hosted by Forever in 5th Grade called Show and Tell Tuesday. Every first Tuesday of the month, you can link up to show off up to 4 awesome things going in in your classroom, at home, or where ever. Show off and share a little bit about anything and everything!

I had the pleasure this weekend of getting together with some wonderful Teacher Bloggers/TpT-ers from around the state of Washington. The meet up was hosted by Kristin and Lindsey of 2 Literacy Teachers and Joya of Live Love Serve Teach. It was so inspiring to get to actually meet in person some Teacher Authors I have looked up to since beginning my TpT adventure as well as meeting a few new faces. It was really wonderful to hear everyone sharing tips, advice, and encouragement with each other.

In addition to the wonderful educators I met, I also got lucky and won a gift certificate to Tieks (squeal!!). I have gone back and forth deciding whether to splurge for a pair of Tieks and I guess I finally got my sign to go for it!

Do you have a pair? Which color is your favorite?

I am pretty proud of my Dr. Seuss themed display outside my classroom. Our Cat in The Cats turned out so adorable.

Can you guess that book character??
Life as a kindergarten teacher can get pretty crazy sometimes and I absolutely love the days when I get to embrace the crazy, silly fun. We don't do a book character day for our entire school but I love the idea so much that I joined out first grade team this year in the dress up fun. There isn't anything much better than wearing a pink tutu and pink colored hair to work just to make 20 little faces light up with joy!

Does your classroom have a class pet? This chunky little fella taking a dip in his water is a PacMan Frog. He lives in the kindergarten classroom across the hall from me but I've been ~~baby~~ foggy sitting him for a while now and got the offer to adopt him next year. I would love any classroom pet management tips or ideas you're willing to share!

An InLinkz Link-up

Show & Tell Tuesday Linky

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Tue, 19 Jan 2016 11:00:00 +0000

Today I am excite to be participating in a brand new monthly linky hosted by Forever in 5th Grade called Show and Tell Tuesday. Every first Tuesday of the month, you can link up to show off up to 4 awesome things going in in your classroom, at home, or where ever. Show off and share a little bit about anything and everything!

Before the holiday break, my class had blast during Gingerbread Week. My favorite were our Giant Gingerbread Friend heads, which I never got a chance to share. Some of them turned out slightly terrifying which made them even more wonderful. I love seeing the variety and creativity of my students even when they are given the same template and model.

This past December my kindergartners and I participated in a Gingerbread Man Exchange hosted by PAWSitively Teaching. The kids were so excited with each envelope we opened. We enjoyed learning more about other parts of the country. Each time one arrived, we used Google Maps to look up the school and view the surrounding area. I set up a trip on Google Earth for my students to experience traveling from our school to other schools around the country.

PS. Check back for more next month when we do the Valentine Exchange!

My "Need To Make" list for TpT has been slowly growing since the beginning of the school year. While I've created plenty for my own classroom, I haven't added much to my store in some time. I'm excited to introduce 3 new products added to my store over the weekend. They will all be 50% off for through today 1/19.

This last item I am sharing in hopes of connecting with some more Washington teachers. Last year I was not able to attend the WA Teacher Meet Up but this year I've got it marked on the calendar and I am eagerly counting down the days! If you are in WA and love to meet fellow educators who blog and TpT, then make sure to RSPV to Kristin & Lindsey at 2 Literacy Teachers by Feb 27th. Hopefully I get to see a few of you there!

An InLinkz Link-up

January Pinterest Pick 3 Linky

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Sun, 03 Jan 2016 11:00:00 +0000

I am joining in once again for the Pinterest Pick 3 Linky that Lisa over at PAWSitively Teaching and Marissa over at Inspired Owl's Corner are hosting each month!! Every month on the 3rd, bloggers can link up their top 3 Pinterest picks for that month!

This month I am pulling ideas from my Kindergarten Social Skills Pinterest board and Kindergarten Holiday Pinterest board, so feel free to check it out for even more fall fun.

Martin Luther King Jr. day provides a great opportunity to talk to students about diversity. Diversity is something many of my kindergartners take notice of given the mixing pot of cultures and ethnicity at our school. I love the egg lesson because it's such a simple but clear visual for young students.

Are We Really Different? Worksheet

A Tale of Two Eggs

January is our school wide anti-bullying month. Social skills are especially important in kindergarten given how many of our students come in with no preschool and little social skills. Rainbow Fish is a favorite resource because students are familiar with the story

Rainbow Fish Interactive Writing

Rainbow Fish Be A Friend Activity

National Popcorn day is coming up on January 19th. Any excuse to eat some popcorn!

Pop The Letter Pages

5 Senses Popcorn Activity

Free Popcorn Investigation

An InLinkz Link-up

2016 Dollar Deals

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Fri, 01 Jan 2016 15:00:00 +0000

Click here to see all of my #2016dollardeals, or view them below! Check out all the other great teachers with #2016dollardeals as well!

An InLinkz Link-up

Run, Run, As Fast As You Can!

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Mon, 07 Dec 2015 23:30:00 +0000

It is that time of year again for my favorite themed unit: Gingerbread Man! This year is even more special because my class is participating in a Gingerbread Man Exchange hosted by PAWSitively Teaching! Check back soon for pictures and updates.

These pictures are from my class last year during our gingerbread man fun. By far, the favorite was our Giant Gingerbread Man! The kids loved it! Students had to measure the gingerbread man with marshmallows and then measure themselves compared to the gingerbread man. They then documented everything on their recording sheets.

I differentiated by giving some of my advance kids a set of candy canes as well and having them comparing the two measurements and explain why one took more or less.

Here we are getting a little messy with some gingerbread man decorating! I used glue, shaving creme, and peppermint extract to create the perfect "frosting" for our gingerbread friends. The kids loved the way it dried puffy and still smelled delicious!

During clean up we had some classic shaving-cream-on-the-desk fun!

I got this awesome writing activity freebie from Lori over at Teaching with Love and Laughter. Prior to writing, we reviewed some of the characters from our book today and practiced our strategies for sounding out the words. I also snuck in some of our sight words to give us some extra practice.

I have to say, it made me laugh that a few wrote that the Gingerbread Man ran from Mrs. Root!

My pocket chart activity last year was a big hit and I'll be bringing it back this week again. The kids thought calling themselves gingerbread people was completely hilarious. We'll also be adding this one to our poetry journals.

And last but not least, some of my favorite Gingerbread books to read during December:

(Click on the covers to buy your own copy from Amazon.)

This year I am also including some less familiar gingerbread type stories.

Winter Time Pick 3 Linky

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Thu, 03 Dec 2015 14:30:00 +0000

This month I am pulling ideas from my Kindergarten Winter Pinterest board, so feel free to check it out for even more fall fun.

Anything and everything to get those kiddos working on their sight words! Plus, how pretty are those sight words light?!

"Magically" Appearing Sight Words on Christmas Lights

Christmas Tree Sensory Writing Tray

I love, love, love gingerbread men. I love making them, decorating them, eating them and reading about them! In my class we don't do holidays so gingerbread men is our theme all December. I can't wait to try out these adorable twist on the gingerbread man!

Pete the Cat as the Gingerbread Man

Giant Gingerbread Heads

Who doesn't love this classic winter time story? I grew up with it and I love getting to share it with my students. I plan to combine this art and writing prompt into one awesome bulletin board!

The Mitten Craft

The Mitten Writing Activity

Monster Week! ("Eye" Spy a Freebie)

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Sat, 24 Oct 2015 13:00:00 +0000

This coming week is all about monsters in our class! If you are looking for a fun way to shake things up this week without doing Halloween, check out some of these ideas I plan on incorporating.

Monster Books

These are a few of the fluffy, slimy, creep monsters that will be joining our "special selections" basket in our class library this week.

Click the book to find it on Amazon

Monster Music

We are going to get our grove on to a few new monster themed videos that I've added to GoNoodle.

Mallon Family Monster Mash

The moves are simple enough for the kids to follow along, it's got a calm pace so the kids don't go crazy (even when the monster growls) and it's quick and short. I have no idea who the Mallon Family is but the video is great. (Alternatively, you can check out the same version with the faces of Twilight Characters here.)

One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eater

This is clearly not the live action version I grew up with in the 90's (because that versions creeps me out.)

Just Dance Disney - Calling All The Monsters (Wii Rip)

Just Dance Kids 2014 - Becky G "Problem (The Monster Remix)"

BTW: The first 19 seconds of this one are awkwardly silent.

Monster Math
I am bringing back one of our favorite math centers!
This is my "Eye" Can Count - Monster Math Center. You can find it here on TpT for $1 ~~but you can snag a FREE copy here through Friday just for stopping by my blog!~~

Monster Treats

In her post from a past Halloween season, Jaime over at Bright Concepts 4 Teachers made these awesome monster marshmallow treats that I am going to attempt to recreate for my kinders.

I am also in love with these monster treats from Charlene over at My Frugal Adventures. So stinkin' cute and they sound delicious.

Monster Art

Of course we will have plenty of monstrous crafts this week. Here are a few of my favorite kinder friendly crafts I came across while preparing our week. Check back later this week to see how our class crafts turn out!

Toilet Paper Roll Monsters - by My Creative Family
Play Dough Monsters - by Connections for Kids
Monster Marker Prints - by Housing A Forest
Paint Blot Monsters - by Artsy Momma
Handprint Monsters- by Learn Creative Love
Frankenstein Crown - by Free Kids Crafts
Frankenstein - by Dollar Store Mom
Painted Leaf Monsters - by Messy Little Monster
Shape Monsters - by Mrs. Hodge Kindergarten Kids
Go Away Color Monster - by KC Kindergarten Times

Sweet & Simple ABC Centers

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 13:00:00 +0000

I will be the first to admit that I sometimes overdo it with "cutesifying" things for my classroom. Clip art, fonts, borders, color printing, and bright paper are like water and air to me, I live off of them and I have no shame about it!

That being said, sometimes simple is just so sweet. I wanted to share a few sweet and simple, un-cutesy but still engaging activities I've used recently for literacy centers. And of course, there's a freebie along the way.

Ransom Note ABC's

Newspapers, magazines, ads, and other print material become inexpensive literacy tools with just a pair of scissors. I sat down in front of the TV with our Sunday paper and snipped away. You might be weird like me and also laminate them but it's not necessary.

Get a copy of the sweet and simple ABC mat here.

Upper Case Lowercase Sort

Sometimes the printer breaks before school and your plans go our the window. That was the antecedent that led to this activity. A mark, scissors, and scrap strips of paper turned two mini pocket charts into an easy uppercase/lowercase sorting activity.

I know I saw a similar activity somewhere on Instagram but I don't know where. I planned to create a cutesy version similar to this but after seeing how engaging it was already, I am keeping this one simple!

Geoboard Matching Game

Geoboards are a common classroom tool which made these super easy for me to whip up. The students use rubber bands to connect the uppercase letter to the matching lowercase letter. I cut up random label scraps so that I can change and remove the letters as needed. This was easy to differentiated as well by having some boards with 5 and some with 10.

ABC Letter Hunt

Again, another way to make use of those magazines and newspapers before you toss them out. For this activity I usually rip out the advertisements because they have the biggest and more colorful letters (depending on the magazine, make sure your screen the content before handing them off the the kiddos!).

I write a letter at the top of a piece of construction paper and the kids hunt for the letters in their papers. They cut them out and glue them down. This is a huge hit in our class and I absolutely love that so many of the kids get to have a part in creating the pages.

The Global Glitter Monthly - September

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Tue, 22 Sep 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Have you heard of the newest blog on the block, Global Glitter Tribe? 12 wonderful bloggers banned together and just launched their global blog last week and they are currently hosting their very first linkup! It is a monthly linky (which is great for us sporadic bloggers who are terrible with weekly link ups!) and the topics change month to month.

Make sure you check out the Global Glitter Tribe and link up too!

Lesson You Loved...
Right now our math unit is all about attributes and sorting. While some of my kiddos have been rock-star sorters, others are struggling. We have been doing loads of button sorting, shape sorting, and using other manipulative. The class favorite so far was our "Guess My Rule" sorting activity using my students as manipulative. I called students up in small groups based on a shared attribute (wearing a read shirt, female, shoes with laces, red hair, etc.) and my students had to guess what the common attribute was. When one little friend pointed out that I had called on another student to be in two different groups, we got to have a GREAT discussion about being able to sort the same objects differentiate ways.

One Issue I'm Passionate About...
Getting parents to read with their kids! It is so heart breaking when parents admit that they rarely read with their children or that they expect all their child's reading to occur solely at school. Every chance I get to talk with parents about their students, I bring up reading at home and stress how influential it can be on a child's learning and motivation to read. Not only does it contributes to background knowledge, increase their vocabulary and grammar skills, and increase their stamina, but they also learn to associate reading with pleasure.

Back to School Must Haves...
Vitamins. I get sick like clock work at the beginning of the school year with all the new germs from my kindergarten friends. Zarbee's immune support vitamin drink mix (much tastier than Airborne) and gummy adult vitamins by Vitafusion MultiVites are my go-tos.

Activity to Share...
This year I have a lot of little friends who came in with the mindset that they cannot read, cannot write, and cannot do math. If I had a dollar for every time I heard "but I can't do that" the first week of school, I'd have coffee money for months. We had a growth mindset discussion which did help but the littles need A LOT of support in this area. I started implementing whole group cheers before activities. We do a call and response of a growth mindset phrase like "I can try my best!" or "I can always get better, so I keep on trying!" I usually add some silly motions to go along which gets them smiling and ready to work.

Little Known Fact...
I always have and always will love the GoodWill. My husband and I frequently go just to browse and we know our local sale dates by heart. Not only do I love the fact that I get to give new life to something that might otherwise end up in a landfill, but I love the randomness of it. You never know what you will find!

Five for Friday {Sept 18, 2015}

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 13:00:00 +0000

It has been far too long. The beginning of the school year has been a whirlwind. Here is a peek into our first full week of school with Doodle Bug for her weekly Five for Friday linky.

My little kindergartners are budding into awesome readers! This year our district is adopting the Reader's Workshop model and these are my kiddos practicing their "Private Reading" and "Partner Reading." I got this idea from another teacher to turn their chairs back to back so they can "Private Read" without distractions, and then they also know exactly who their partner is when it's time to "Partner Read."

Bonus: Grab my freebie Private/Partner Reading Signs here!

This year I decided to try out wearing a teacher apron and I have to tell you, I am in LOVE. I am one of those people who is constantly forgetting where I put things and this apron is a life saver! I ordered mine custom off a super cute Etsy site called AdorablyRabid. It came in about 2 weeks, is well made, and the pockets are the perfect size. I can't say enough good things about it!!

Yes, those are animal skeletons and they are awesome!

I have to say a huge thank you to Alison over at Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'. I recently won a giveaway which included a gift card to her TpT store BUT I previously won a gift card not too long ago to her store and had gotten a bunch of great products. She was sweet enough to remember and offer an Amazon gift card as a substitute. That same day the TouchTronic ABC letters I had been eyeing went on a one day sale on Amazon! Our very first set arrives next Monday and I am SO EXCITED for my kiddos!

If you follow me on any of my social media accounts, then it is no secret to you that I recently posted my first ever DonorsChoose Project for 2 iPad minis for our kindergarten classroom. The double donation SPARK code ended yesterday but there is still time to donate! I am offering a matching credit to my TpT store for any DonorsChoose donation to our project. Been thinking about getting one of my products? Donate to our project and support kinders AND get the product as a bonus! Win-Win!

Email me at thechalkboardgarden@gmail.com after you donate!

I know I am super behind on posting a classroom reveal but I wanted to share this little peek at my room. My kindergarten sign above our cubbies is my favorite. A useful way to use the space and not upset the fire marshal!

Don't forget to link up with Doodle Bug for your own Five for Friday!

My First DonorsChoose Project!

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Fri, 11 Sep 2015 13:00:00 +0000

Hey friends! I am stopping by today to share some VERY exciting news. I am kicking off a new year with my kindergarten kiddos with my very first DonorsChoose Project!

You can read more about my project here: "iPads so I Can Read!"

We would love if you consider donating to our project (any amount helps $1, $5, $10!) and using the code SPARK- which will double your donation! In turn, I will double ANY amount you donate to our project with credit to my TPT shop (through Sept 17)! You can make a tax deductible donation while also getting resources for your own class! Serious Win-Win!

Email me at thechalkboardgarden@gmail.com after your donation (Sept 11- 17 ONLY) and I will send you your new resources! And of course, thank you so much in advance!

Pick 3: Activities for Learning Names

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 10:00:00 +0000

Today I am sharing with you my favorite pins for teaching names at the beginning of the school year.

Magnetic Letters:

These are a staple in every kindergarten classroom and I love see how teachers incorporate them.

→ Names On a Metal Door

→ Letters in Rice

Crafts:

Any time I can find a meaningful way to incorporate crafts, I am happy! Letter students work with the letters in their names in new ways is so important. Plus they make great personalized decorations for the classroom. These are a few of my favorites this month!

→ Hanging names

→ Apples on Top Names

Songs:

Songs are such a great way to teach just about anything. I love using songs for names during our morning group especially.

→ Leaves Are Falling Down Song

→ Look Who Came to School Today Song

An InLinkz Link-up

Back To School Sale: Aug 3rd & 4th

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 16:00:00 +0000

I am in Mexico and have no access to internet so I am missing out on scoring some great deals for my classroom during the big Back-2-School Sale on TpT but that doesn't mean you have to miss out!

I recommend loading up your shopping cart today for a quick checkout tomorrow because everything in my store is on sale!

You can shop my store Monday and Tuesday for 20% off everything!{Go whislist items now!}

Plus, use the TpT promo code for a total savings of 28%!
What a deal!

Happy shopping!

Monday Made It {Info Magnets}

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Mon, 27 Jul 2015 23:15:00 +0000

Happy Monday everyone! Today I joined in a Monday Made It with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics once again. I had high hopes to share a few projects today but life happened and I just have the one.

DIY Fridge Magnet Info Card

I made these last year as a last second idea and I got a lot of positive feedback from families. They were super easy to make and were a good resource for parents.

Using PowerPoint (but Word or Adobe would work as well), I created a small business card style card, printed them out on some bright extra paper I already had, and laminated them. I picked up this set of magnets for $0.97 at Walmart and cut them each in half. They have a strong hold without being too bulky.

Parents love these because they are simple, small, and helpful. I love them because they eliminate parents asking my repetitively for the office number or the attendance line. Win, Win! They are so inexpensive and easy to make, that I usually give each family multiple, which they appreciate.

Another teacher I shared this idea with decided to make then by ordering magnetic business cards from Vista Print. They are regularly 25 for $8. (Order them by 7/28 and get 50% with promo code SAVEBIG.)

Miss Johnston's Journey turns 2!

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 20:33:00 +0000

My wonderful friend Lindsey is celebrating her 2 Year Bloggiversary over at Miss Johnston's Journey! I am so excited to be joining in her celebration. She was one of the first bloggers I ever followed and I have loved following her journey through her first couple years teaching.

You will see my Dot Marker Letters Bundle as part of the PREK - 1 collection of prizes. The best part is that there will be over 50 winners altogether. Each product will go to a different person. That's a whole lot of winners!

Make sure you head on over, check out all of the fun prizes, and enter to win here!

Surprise Follower Freebie

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Tue, 21 Jul 2015 23:31:00 +0000

I am keeping this post very short. Recently my blog reached a personal milestone on Facebook and Bloglovin' so I wanted to give a little thank you to all my followers. If you are not a follower but are swinging by for the first time, feel free to join the party!

The freebie I am sharing today will only be available here on my blog.
Check it out here!

Weekly Summer Link-Up: Favorite Picture

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Hey there!

Today I'm linking up with Monica from I Heart Grade 3 for her Weekly Summer Link-Up! I misses a post of two somewhere in the middle of the summer but I'm back because I love this week's topic.

Monica left the interpretation of "picture" up to us so I am choosing to share pictures from 2 different points in my life.

Favorite Picture:

Picture of Me as an Adult

This was a picture taken at our winter wedding reception. I love everything about it. My husbands ridiculous dancing, my grandpa with the biggest smile he's ever had, my bridesmaids and sorority sisters by my side, and a peek at my niece who had completely destroyed her flower girl tutu by this point and the most genuine laugh I've ever had! Such an incredibly wonderful moment.

Favorite Picture:

Picture of Me from Childhood

This is actually my kindergarten photo! My mom made that lovely pink floral creation that I am wearing. Very 90's style. A few days prior to this photo, my hair was about 5 inches longer. But my aunt was babysitting my brother, cousin, and I when we decided we all needed haircuts. My mom was not happy about a last minute trip to the salon and I am honestly lucky I came out with any hair at all.

What are your favorite photos?

Make sure to check out the other bloggers joining in on today's linky. I am interested to see how other decided to interpret this theme and what they are sharing with us today!

TpT Seller Tip: User Friendly Hyperlinks

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 12:00:00 +0000

Today I am sharing with you a tip for sellers when creating products with a lot of pages (but also useful for any size product) to make them more user-friendly.

I recently created two documents that were both over 60 pages! A lot of content is awesome BUT it also means lots of tedious scrolling when looking for specific pages. To make my product more user-friendly, I have started inserting some handy hyperlinks and the feedback has been really positive.

Part 1: Text Hyperlinks
For this first part I will show you how I created my Table of Contents with text hyperlinks.

Decide what you want to link. This may sound silly, but don't go link crazy just because you can. Try to think about your target audience and how they will need to navigate through your product.

For this example, I started by adding links within the Table of Contents so users could quickly jump to the specific State Standard they wanted to look at. I wrote down a list and double checked my pages so they'd match up correctly.

Select the text you want as a hyperlink >> Right Click >> Select Hyperlink

Tip: Don't make hyperlinks too short or too long. You want them long enough to click on but not so long that your entire page is underlined.

To link to another page in your document, select Place in This Document on the left side. Then click on the slide number you want to link to. Press OK and you are done!

Part 2: Hidden Hyperlinks
Jumping right to a page is great but I also wanted users to quickly be able to return to the Table of Contents. To avoid adding more text to my pages, I added a hidden hyperlink. Think of it as a "Return to Top" button but invisible.

Same as before, decide what you want to link. Do you want to return to the cover, the Table of Contents, or jump to another page? I decided I wanted each page to link back to the Table of Contents page that it was listed on.

Create a rectangle shape with a fill and boarder that are the same color as your background.

Follow Step 3 and Step 4 exactly like you did with creating a text hyperlink but using the shape.
Select the shape >> Right Click >> Hyperlink

Place in This Document >> Select a Slide >> OK

Reshape as needed, and set it behind the content on your page. Place your hyperlink shape in a consistent spot throughout your document where it won't be seen. I like to use the top left corn but it't up to you.

Tip: Don't forget to tell your users about the hyperlinks! I include a short note on one of the first few pages and make sure to mention it in the product description on TpT.

Hopefully you found this tip useful and can use it in your products to help your users navigate through them with ease! I've gotten a ton of positive responses about this from people who have purchased my products so go ahead, try it out and let me know what you think!

(If you are curious, the product I used as an example is my Common Core Data Sheets & Checklists - ELA Kindergarten)

Made it Monday {Whisper Phones & Food}

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 15:53:00 +0000

It has been forever since I joined in a Made it Monday with Tara from 4th Grade Frolics so I am excited to be here with you all today!

DIY Whisper Phones

I have been meaning to make these since Tiffany over at K Teacher Tiff posted them last summer. All the pieces to this project can be found in the plumbing aisle of your favorite hardware store. I picked Home Depot because my dad said they'd be better priced.

I read mixed reviews of how hardware stores respond to being asked to cut PVC into 25 pieces so I just didn't both. Lucky for me, I have a dad close by with a garage full of tools at my disposal. So rather than trying to beg a Home Depot employee, we cut them ourselves.

1 3/4 in PVC Pipe 10 ft long = $2.63

5 Bags of Elbow PVCs = $12.60 ($2.52/ per bag)

3 Rolls Duct Tape = $10.17 total ($3.39/ each)**

GRAND TOTAL = $25.40

Total for each piece = $1.02/ whisper phone (25 total)

**I already had some duct tape so I didn't purchase these but I found them at Target to give a complete price layout if you are starting from scratch.

Truth time, I am not a cook! I was never taught how to cook and for some reason it does not come naturally to me! But I am trying to get over that by learning a few go-to recipes. So today I am sharing my newest and simplest recipe for dinner that I've recently made. (Recipe is under photos.)

One Pot Pasta

(see original pin here)

This was really too easy to not share. Cutting up the vegetable is really the only prep. Then everything cooks all at once in one pot. (That means less dishes to clean later too!)

Ingredients

1 Pound Spaghetti

1 (12.8-ounce) Package Andouille Sausage - thinly sliced

1 Large Yellow Onion - thinly sliced

3 Cups Halved Grape Tomatoes

2 Cups Fresh Basil Leaves or 2 Tbsp. Dried Basil

1 Tbsp. Dried Oregnano

1 Tbsp. Dried Thyme

4 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

4 1/2 Cups Water

Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper -to taste

1 Cup Grated Parmesan

Directions

Combine all ingredients except the parmesan in a large stockpot on medium-high heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer, uncovered, until pasta is fully cooked and the liquid has reduced, roughly 8-10 minutes. Stir in parmesan just before serving, then serve right away.

Sight Words With Pals {Freebie}

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 13:00:00 +0000

No, this is not a spin off of that super addicting smart phone game! Today I'm sharing one of my favorite ways to practice sight words with my kindergartners, I call it:

"Sight Words With Pals"

The concept it pretty simple, students watch a PPT slide show and read the sight words out loud. They change every 3 seconds or so depending on skill level. The whole thing runs for about 2.5 minutes, so I can fit it in our schedule just about any time.

(this is just a preview)

The fun is when a sight word pal appears on screen! There are two characters/pals per slide show (Cow & Chick, Robot & T-Rex, Cowboy & Swimmer, etc). Each character has their own specific motion and/or sound that the kids do when they appear. I like to think of it as a nano-brain-break!

The best part?? All the slide shows are set to a timer after the first slide. So once I get it going I can walk around and monitor students. (Obviously by "monitor" I mean be silly and do the motions/sounds with them!)

Feel free to check out the complete set of 6 slide shows HERE.

And since I love to share, click HERE to download a freebie sample
"Sight Words With Robot & T-Rex."

This is #2 out of 6. Currently it includes these 9 sight words:

is, me, you, and, he, at, so, on, in

I know sight word lists vary so I made the sight words in every slide show EDITABLE!
Tip: Use CTRL+F to "find" and "replace all" of my sight words with your sight words! It'll go quicker than editing slide by slide.

If you download the freebie or purchase the set, don't forget to leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Wish List Wednesday {Candy Math- Fractions and Graphing}

noreply@blogger.com (Kayla Root) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 16:57:00 +0000

Today is another Wish List Wednesday with Jen from Teacher By the Beach. The linky is pretty simple, each week on Wednesday, blog about your item that is most wish listed on TpT.

Today's Wish List Item:
Candy Math- Fractions and Graphing

This product recently got a big make over and update!

Included are two math lessons that engage students using small amounts of candy.

Both activities now comes in two different versions, one for use with Skittles and one for use with Gummy Bears.

Contains (2 Versions of Each):

- Candy Organization Sheet

- Bar Graph

-Graphing Worksheet (8 Questions + 2 Bonus Questions)

- 2 pg Edible Fractions Activity

Skills:

- Identifying and drawing fractions of a group of items

- Represent fractions on a number line diagram

-Explain equivalence of fractions

- Comparing fractions (less than, greater than, equal to)

-Represent a data set

-Reading a graphing

-Comparing quantities on a graph

Each page comes in a colored version as well as black and white.

Now the fun part!

1. This item will be 50% until Saturday the 12th here!

2. Friday at 6 PM Pacific time I will use a random number generator to pick a follower to get this for free. Simply comment below with your email to enter! {Make sure you're a follower on Bloglovin' too!}

Winner: Tania!