Hilary Statum
We have had an ENTIRE WEEK off of school from the snow and ice here in middle TN. Some years we hardly see snow, so it’s always an exciting event. Aniston had long before decided that she would be making snow angels and catching snowflakes on her tongue. I adore this picture of the girls holding hands while Aniston tried… Read More
We’ve had such a great week together following our longer than usual Christmas break. While I DID cry because I had to leave the girls, I was thrilled to see my students. If you teach kindergarten, you know there is something magical about the way the students are able to focus better & already have routines in place when you… Read More
This time of year is so crazy AND fun! I LOVE teaching kindergarten around the holidays. The kids are so excited about everything. They love to listen to holiday-themed books, work on fun crafts, & they are more inspired to write than ever. I wanted to share 10 easy ways I’ve been preparing for the holidays just in case you… Read More
We started our unit on Johnny Appleseed today. I’m thrilled that all of the activities included in my TPT store will be more than enough to keep us busy for this entire week in both reading and math. (A little science experiment is thrown in there too!) You can grab your copy by clicking on the cover below. I started… Read More
Phew! This has been a week. You have no idea how many times I forgot what day it was. It has been that crazy. I’m a mentor teacher at my school so I’m juggling evaluating other teachers, being observed myself, 16 kindergarten kids at the beginning of the year, and coming home to a 1 and a 3 year old…. Read More
We have had SO MUCH FUN with this unit. We decided to finish off the unit with a coconut tasting activity and some center activities. (These will be pulled out as needed throughout the school year.) If you haven’t had a chance to grab the resource yet for your students or children, click on the cover below. You will use… Read More
A favorite end of the year tradition! (We use the big @melissaanddougtoys paper that has a blank head with many skin tones.) The kids choose one adult in the building to write a thank you note to and draw a picture of his or her face using this special paper.
I let them “visit” the person first so my little artists get a good look of how their hair is fixed, jewelry, etc.
We hang them in the hall for a couple of weeks and as you can imagine they attract a lot of attention as everyone gets a kick out of how the little ones see them.
Later the kids hand deliver them with a hug and tell that person thank you for all they’ve done. I’ve been doing this for years and lots of adults save them. Our librarian has them all laminated and hanging like a border in her office. I always get asked if we are still doing them as everyone anticipates seeing them. Such an easy fun way for the kids to practice writing and learn about being grateful!
The most adorable door you’ve ever seen!
I’ve been saving each of the letters my daughter brings home from preschool to surprise her by posting them all at once on a door in my classroom. Her extremely creative teacher helped her remake the ones I misplaced and now the alphabet is complete.
Aniston and I are beside ourselves with joy that she will be in my kindergarten classroom next year. This is a dream we have both had for many years. I think it will be so much fun for her to see this door when she is sitting in my classroom as a kindergartener and it will bring back all kinds of sweet preschool memories!❤️
Fact - any craft with construction paper hairstyles is a million times cuter and more engaging for students!
This craftivity is perfect for end of the year. It’s really adorable in the hallway. There are lots of writing templates to choose from included like “My Future is so Bright I Need Shades” or “Sunshine and Summertime”. The kids draw summer plans or what they want to be on the sunglass lens. A bonus is that you can use them during BTS time to reflect on their summer breaks.
My kids love writing about their future plans and I’m telling you that they really love creating hairstyles! Follow link in profile to grab it.
OPEN 📚 OPEN MINDS!
I just LOVED this banner I found at a little boutique on a recent girls weekend getaway but you should have seen me trying to decide between all of the sayings!🤷🏽♀️
The letters are made from recycled book pages and I think it’s a genius idea!
What saying would you come up with? I think this would be fairly easy to replicate for your classroom and it’s super adorable! 👩🏽🏫
How do you handle listening to your kids read? We LOVE this routine.
1 student is a "teacher" and 3 others place chairs in a straight line facing towards the teacher. If the child reads the book perfectly the "teacher" puts a sticker on the book and sends them to me for a double check.☺️
If they aren't ready yet my little teachers tell them they need more practice. That student heads to the back and each student scoots up a chair until it is their turn.
Every student practices reading the whole time they are sitting. I usually have 3 lines going at once and it works seamlessly! We switch out my little teachers daily. They love both roles and ask me if they can do that "teacher reading thing" all the time!
The best part is I have a couple of students in a line waiting to read to me instead of 20! #classroommanagement #reading #ela