Literacy Stations for 1st Grade

Have I ever told you how much I love popsicle sticks? Well, I am obsessed with them! I also have quite the obsession with reusing Crystal Li...

ROLL and READ a simple sentence with sight words and CVC words. Perfect for FLUENCY and CONFIDENCE!

Reading Street Word Work-Say It, Build it, Write It!

Roll and Read a sight word! Such a FUN and effective way to practice sight word fluency!

Hello! I can't believe a whole week has gone by since I posted our St. Patrick's Day projects. We have spring conferences next week...busy week ahead. I also work part time at Hobby Lobby (LOVE that discount!) so that makes it doubly busy...anyway...I spent a little time after school working on my word work activities. I would like to say right at the start...none of these are my original ideas. I've seen them on Pinterest or found them on other great blogs from teachers who are generous…

Hi everyone, I've been so busy this past week trying to get myself organized... I'm FINALLY going back to work after a year-long maternity leave and I can't wait! I've been scrambling to prepare my new classroom look, my literacy centers, and my new homework packet! Oh my! I have so many new things to share with you... Today I'll be showing you my sight words homework. This tic-tac-toe strategy is nothing new, of course, but I decided that I would make myself a new one for my weekly…

This is a great activity for the students to build word families. This packet is a three puzzle piece game that you can put in the literacy center, or use for small groups. This packet includes all short a,e,i,o,u CVC sounds. With this game the student can work on beginning sounds, blends, vowels...

Never planned to homeschool, now wouldn't trade it for the world

I know Kacey is taking a break from her Five for Friday linky, but I thought I would share my favorite five anyway. This was a noisy, crazy, exciting week! We still have TWO DAYS next week to go. Yes. we. do. Here are some of my favorites from this week. I made a Holiday Homework packet with lots of fun activities for December for the children to do at home. I sent home one or two a week, and the families really enjoyed doing them together. Here are the activities that we did this week: I…

At our school we can’t say Friday without saying “Holla!” Our principal started it 2 years ago on morning announcements. You know that if you start something with 6 year olds it becomes one of the Ten Commandments you better be prepared to say it for the rest of the year! Five for Friday #makethat6 #1 […]

I went to visit my friend Kristie today. She is a Kindergarten teacher at Bonny Doon Elementary school. It is one of my "sister" schools in the county. It is a small single school AND district, just like mine. Because I don't have a group of fellow kindergarten teachers at my school, it is very important for teachers at our small schools to reach out and connect. So, I am very grateful that my administrator gave me a day to go observe Kristie and learn from all her wonderful ideas. Yea! I…

I love Centers. I love giving my students a variety of materials and ways to show their understanding. So, here are some of my favorite Alphabet centers! Build-a-Letter Fine Motor Letters Students use the connecting cubes to build the lowercase letters! Great fine motor practice! Check them out HERE! Alphabet Puzzles Students use ABC puzzles to practice matching upper and lowercase letters, or putting letters in order. We ordered most of these from Lakeshore! Magnet Letters Students use…

Having center time in classrooms is a hot thing right now. I'm a huge fan of them, but literacy and math centers have to fit two criteria: the majority of the students should be able to do the tasks with little to no support and each task must work on more than just literacy or math (also writing, fine motor skills, social skills, etc.). When we do centers, there is a TA at each center for light support, and then I run a center doing our reading curriculum (Early Literacy Skills Builder). My…

Here are four great ideas for reinforcing the basic kindergarten sight words. All the ideas include some element of fun - something very important! Here is a great dice game for sight words. My kinders LOVE dice games. To download go to Learning With Mrs. Parker Rainbow Sight Words From: Kindergarten Lesson Plans If it involves markers - it is a winner! Singing the Sight Words From: moffattgirls.blogspot.com Sight Word Jewels From Fairy Dust Teaching What kindergartner doesn't love a little…

life in & out of the classroom

I love this idea for Guided Reading! Students read the word and if they get it right, they get to keep the cube. Whoever has the tallest tower at the end wins!