Zero the Hero Update

Last fall, I posted about using Zero the Hero in my classroom on each 10th day of school. My kinders have always loved this event and look forward to it. They also learn how to count up to figure out how many more days they have to wait for Zero the Hero to return to our classroom.

If you have not seen the other post, please click here for what we do for the 10th, 20th, and 30th days.

I have had a request for the other days, so here you go.

40th day:

40th day poem

50th day: I created a fall patterns sheet with 50 fall leaves.

50th day - patterns

50th day poem

60th day:

60th day poem

70th day: Since it is in Dec. near Christmas I had my kinders draw 10 lights on each strand on the Christmas tree for a total of 70.

70th day poem

70 Christmas lights

80th day: I gave my kinders a present with 8 sections. They drew 10 polka dots on each section to make a total of 80 polka dots.

80th day poem

80th Day - dots on present

90th day: We made a number line with numbers 1 to 90 by having the students trace the numbers and then cut out each strip. The students then put the strips together by putting a dot of glue on the star at the end of each strip.

90th day poem
90th day - number line

This year, I purchased the Zero the Hero Classroom Fun pack from Kreative in Kinder and I plan to incorporate it into my Zero the Hero days. It is a great pack if you have not purchased it already.

When I taught first grade, I had my students write about Zero the Hero at the end of each 10th day. Here is the writing paper, I used if you would like it.

Zero the Hero writing paper



The 6th Day of School...WHEW!

It is only the 6th day of school for my new group of kinders and boy are they wearing me out. They are so busy and are still needing lots of prompting to practice rules and procedures. With 26 kinders, it is super important for me to keep them busy and engaged all day. I am super jealous of my blogging friends who only have 15 or 20 kinders in their class. I would love to have a smaller class size, but for now this is what we have to work with. I plan to give this class my all as I do every year, but with so many this is rather hard to do. I am trying to keep my head above water and take it one day at a time!

Plus, thanks to the outer rain bands of Hurricane Issac, we have gotten LOTS of rain so no recess for us which has been super difficult for my kinders! They have LOTS of energy to burn and only a small classroom to contain them.

As you can tell from this post, I am also spending lots of time at school each day. I am going in by 6:45 am and not leaving until 4:00 or 5:00 each day. This is getting mentally and physically exhausting!

Well, thanks for reading this post about my tiredness. I promise to be back soon with some new things I have created!

My Favorite Back To School Books

Well this post is a little late for me since we have been back in school for 5 days now, but I am still reading back to school books as we are reviewing rules and procedures everyday. My kinders are still trying to learn our routines.

I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' for their Back To School Books linky party with my favorite books.

Here are some of my favorites in random order:

Such a cute book about a mouse getting ready for his first day of kindergarten. It is so fitting for many of my kinders every year.

A perfect book to explain taking turns with my kinders every year. They always love the ending!

This is one of my newest purchases in my back to school collection. This book explains how important sharing is in our classroom.


This is my all-time favorite that I ALWAYS read on the first day to help ease some of my kinders' biggest fears that their mommy will forget about them while they are at school. It is such a sweet, heartwarming story!

Monday Made It - Magnetic Memo Board

Well I am a little late posting this one due to the stresses of the 4th day of school, but I made myself a magnetic note board to go behind my desk a week or so ago. I think it turned out very cute and it was an inexpensive little project.

 

I used a $0.97 cookie sheet from Walmart, two sheets of scrapbook paper and some ribbon. I covered the pan with Modge Podge to make the paper stick and used E6000 glue to put the ribbon the back and the ribbon around the scrapbook paper. It turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!

I am linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for the Monday Made It linky party.

 

Hope everyone has had a great Monday!

Updating My Calendar Board

I decided this year to update my calendar board since my space is limited.

I started by updating my weather board with this adorable one from Rowdy in Room 300. I love it!

I also updated my yesterday, today, and tomorrow board by creating this one. I cut my days out and put them on a strip of poster board before laminating. I printed the yesterday, today, and tomorrow cards on cardstock and laminated before gluing to clothespins.

Now I am posting it here as a freebie for you! Hope you can use it too!

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow board

If you can use this freebie, please leave me a comment. I love reading them!

Back to School Sale

Since this is my first week back with my new group of kinderkids, I wanted to throw a sale in my TpT store and TN shop. I am putting all my items on sale for 10% off. This sale starts today and runs through Monday. Hop on over for a look!

5 Things I Miss About Summer

Joy of Kindergarten is hosting an adorable linky party about the top 5 things we will miss most about summer. I had to join the fun because I am sad that summer is over too! :(

I already miss my summer, since I am just getting home from school...so sad!

Seeing Spots!

This year I am doing my classroom in a polka dot theme. It has turned out to be so cute and I don't think I went overboard with all the dots which is great! I can use many of my things again because the theme is so simple. 

My classroom door - There's A Spot For You in Kindergarten!

Today was our first day with our kinderkids. I am now up to 26 kinders as of this afternoon so I have lots to do to get ready for tomorrow. I have some freebies to post soon when life calms down. Hope you are all having a great week!

Happy Tuesday!

Tomorrow is my first day with my new group of kinderkids. I am looking forward to a great school year with this large group. As of this afternoon, I have 25 kinders on my roster. I am nervous to see just how large this group will become since we can legally have 30 per class.

I will post pictures of my room soon. I am too tired right now to do much of anything!

I want to leave you with a smile! Happy Tuesday everyone!

Sundays in the South: You Know It's Back To School Time When...

Today is my last Sunday before officially starting the 2012-13 school year with my new group of kinderkids!

Jeannie at Kindergarten Lifestyle is having a fun back to school linky party and I am joining in the fun.

This is definitely me. I seem to remember everything I need to do the next day as I am trying to go to sleep for the night. Sometimes I even wake up in the middle of the night with ideas so I just jot those down too.

I have had to start pulling out my "real" clothes this week and making sure they are ironed and ready for work next week. At this point in the school year, I am wearing capris, simple tops, and sundresses since they are most comfortable.

Now, it is your turn to join in the linky fun!

Whew! TGIF (or S?!)

This week was my first week back at work. Teachers started back on Wed., Aug. 15th. The first 2 days back were mostly professional development sessions. Yesterday was the first time that I have had some time to work in my classroom. Now all my furniture has been set up and I have decorated my door. I even took a picture of it for you but I forgot my camera at school. Oops!

I still have lots to do at school, so I created a to-do list for me. I am posting it here as a freebie for you to use too if you would like.

First Official Day Back at Work & Giveaway Winner

Today will be my first official day back at school. This is the week before the kiddos start but it is an extremely busy time for me. Today we will have professional development activities about the new technology program we will have this year. The program is really just an updated version of the program we have used before, but it is still somewhat new.

In other news, thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway. I appreciate all of my fabulous followers and I couldn't wait to draw for my winner this morning.



Congratulations Cathy! I will be emailing your packet before I head off to school. If you didn't win this time, my packet is still available in my TpT and TN shops for $8.00.

Back to School Jitters Linky Party

I found this wonderful linky party this morning while I was checking up on my blog before heading in to school for a meeting.

It is the perfect party for me to join in right now. I always get nervous in the days leading up to meeting my new group of kiddos which usually leads to some sleepless nights and lots of to-dos for myself.

If you haven't already entered my giveaway for the Kindergarten Math CC Assessments Pack, please head over here to enter! The giveaway ends tonight!

Good-Bye Summer & Bright Polka Dot Binder Covers

Wow! I can't believe that Wednesday I officially go back to work for the 2012-13 school year. I can't believe that our summer break went by so quickly. In honor of the ending of summer, Peterson's Pad is having a Good-Bye Summer 2012 Linky Party.

Here's the rules:

Share 4 things about your summer!

1. A place you visited

2. A book you read

3. Something you did or made for your school class

4. A fun thing you did

1) A place I visited: This summer I visited the lake for a week on vacation with my husband. It was so nice and relaxing.

2) A book I read: I read many books this summer, but one of the best was The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks.

3) Something I did or made for my school class: I made so many things for my classroom this summer so here is a small sampling. I made several sets of quiet dice, a polka dot name canvas for my door, and a welcome banner to go above the classroom door.

4) A fun thing I did: I spent time laying on the beach, reading and relaxing. It was fabulous! This spot is on an island that can only be reached by boat. It was peaceful and quiet!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This year, I am doing a very generic classroom theme with primary colors (green, yellow, blue, & red) and polka dots. I have seen so many adorable binder covers in blog land and I wanted one to match my theme so I decided to make my own.

I made these in PowerPoint. You can customize them by opening them up in PowerPoint and adding a text box with your name or initials. I also made a box at the bottom of the cover to add a text box with the contents of your binder.

I think these covers look adorable in my new binders. I can't wait to show them off at school! These binder covers are available in my TN shop and TpT shop. If you download them, I would appreciate some feedback! Thanks!

Sundays in the South: A New Product & My Teachers Notebook Shop -- Updated!

I have created a new set of calendar cards for a friend with pirate clipart so I decided to list this in my TpT store and TN shop. It is on sale right now for $1.50 but will be $2.50 tomorrow so be quick if you want to save some $$.

I have updated my Teachers Notebook shop with my other units and activities from my TpT store. Both stores now have the same items depending on which you are a fan of. If you have been considering making a purchase, I hope you will pop on over to one of my shops. Thanks!

**If you haven't already entered my giveaway for the Kindergarten Math CC Assessments Pack, please head over here to enter! The giveaway ends on Tues., Aug. 14th!**

Do You Use HM Journeys Reading Series?

This year our school district adopted a new reading series - Houghton Mifflin Journeys. I am amazed at the amount of materials included with this reading series. When I walked into my classroom, I had 8 boxes of materials including extra large flipcharts and a tub of big books and other materials for each of the 6 units. The materials look great, but I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer volume of materials. 

Our kindergarten team has been trying to plan for the upcoming school year with this series, but I am still unsure. 

So here is my question for you:

Do any of you use this reading series? If you do, what words of wisdom do you have for a new teacher to this series?

--------------------------------------------------------------

If you haven't already entered my giveaway for the Kindergarten Math CC Assessments Pack, please head over here to enter! The giveaway ends on Tues., Aug. 14th!

Giveaways Galore!

Boy there are a ton of giveaways going on right now in blog land, including my own so I thought I would share a list of them with you! It will also help introduce you to some great blogs if you don't already follow them.

Sunshine, Sand and Scissors is having their 1st ever giveaway. They will be having 3 winners: 1 for a a $10 Oriental Trading gift card, 1 for a $10 Target gift card, and 1 for a $10 Amazon gift card. The winners will be announced on Aug. 16th.


Keep Calm & Imagine is having a great giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card and a $10 Teachers Notebook gift card. The giveaway ends on Aug. 15th.


Starring in First Grade is having a giveaway to celebrate 30 followers to her blog. She is a new blogger and one to watch. Her giveaway ends on Aug. 14th.

First Grade Fairytales is haivng a 100 follower giveaway for a $25 TpT gift card. Her giveaway ends on Wed., Aug. 15th.

This is my giveaway of course. If you haven't enter yet, please head over to enter. The giveaway ends on Tues., Aug. 14th. Thanks!!

Kindergarten CC Math Assessments Pack Giveaway

Since it is getting close to the start of a new school year, I have decided to have a giveaway to my fabulous followers. I am giving away my largest TpT creation to date - my Kindergarten CC Math Assessments Pack. This is a $8.00 value on TpT and TN.

The giveaway begins today and will end on Tuesday, August 14th. I will draw and announce the winner on Wednesday, August 15th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Back To School Books Linky Party

I found First Grade Found Me's Back to School books linky party today and of course I wanted to link up. I have so many favorite back to school books so here are some of them.

This is one of my all time favorite books. Pinkerton the pig always has to be first to do everything and in the end it gets him into trouble. It is the perfect book to teach sharing and taking turns.

This is a beautiful book that fits in perfectly in an early childhood classroom. I always read it the first day of school and explain to my kinders that is ok for them to miss their parents. I also end with giving each child a Hershey kiss in their hands.

This is such a cute book about a teacher's fears about the first day of school. It is great to show the students that they aren't the only ones who are worried about school starting.


This is my newest addition to my collection. I have read it with my nephew and he loves it. I can't wait to use it with my kinders this year.


This is an adorable book about how crayons and kids need to work together to make things better. It is a great book about cooperation.

I Heart Donors Choose & The Opening Of My TN Shop

Donors Choose is such an awesome organization for teachers. We write a proposal and donors choose which projects they would like to fund. A teaching friend of mine just had a projected fully funded to get a new Nook to use with her middle schoolers. It will be a great addition to her classroom. Since I am still on summer break, I thought I would take the time to write a couple of proposals as well. I have 2 new active projects on the Donors Choose website.

Wild About Writing

This project is for journals, pencils, and crayons for my kinders. I would love for them all to have the supplies they need when we begin formal journal writing.

Loco for Literature

This project is for leveled readers for my kinders. I am asking for 5 sets of leveled readers (levels A-C) with nonfiction and fiction books to help keep all my kinders interested in reading.

There are usually match codes available that will match what a person's donates to an active project. This means that your donation is worth twice as much! In order to find one, I just use a search engine and look for Donors Choose match code.

Now, I want to know you think of Donors Choose. If you have not written a proposal before, I hope you will visit Donors Choose and try writing a proposal of your own.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In other news, after being persuaded by some great friends, I have finally decided to open a Teachers Notebook shop. I have listed a few freebies and also my Kindergarten Math CC Assessments pack in my shop right now. I will be adding new items as well. I hope you will pop on over and visit my new shop! I would love to hear what you think.

Monday Made It - Quiet Dice

I am once again linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Folics for her Monday Made It linky party.

This week I made the quiet dice I have seen on other teacher's blogs. I found the foam dice at Dollar Tree in a pack of 50 for $1.00 which I thought was a great purchase! I bought 2 packs so that I would have lots of blank dice to make different types of dice to use in my classroom.

Since we use the EveryDay Math curriculum, these dice will fit in perfectly. There are so many games and activities in the lessons that require dice and it can get very loud with 24+ kinders rolling dice on tile floors and hard tables.

To make the dice, I used the foam blocks and a black paint pen, but I am going to try out a permanent marker on the next set and see how they turn out.

I made the traditional dot dice with 1-6 dots:

I made number dice with numerals 1-6:

I made letter dice with vowels on red dice and consonants on blue dice:

I still have plenty of blank dice left and I am sure I will be making other kinds of dice as I think of ideas. Does anyone have any other ideas for dice to make to use in kindergarten?