Organize with Tumbler Cups, Sight Words, and Color!

Hi, Peeps!

Jet and I had a lunch date today and ventured on over to The Container Store after our date :) Can you say teacher heaven? :)  I just posted these pics on Kinder Peeps' Facebook page and wanted to make sure and blog about it, too!

I learned about this whole cup thing from my cooperating teacher in Lubbock while I was student teaching at Texas Tech! She is the most organized/brilliant [now Pre-K] teacher on the planet and I LOVE HER and everything she does...because it WORKS! And she is a great friend and makes me laugh like no other, ha! Just had to throw that in there ;-)

Having a good supply "system" for your students is key; each student has a short tumbler cup (I buy the short ones because they are less likely to tip over) with a glue stick, pencil, scissors, and crayons. When they are done with their work, the cup goes back in the box that corresponds to their table (I name tables using sight words to increase their exposure to them...in addition to table colors to help them stay organized at the beginning).

When students are not finished with their work and we have to transition to specials or lunch, etc., they place their cup on top of their work. This way, I can quickly see who needs extra time and who has started on their finished menu choices.

Side note: if they need their cup during a work station in the morning when I am pulling my guided reading groups, they go and get it from their table's container. This way, student supplies don't get sorted and misplaced during literacy stations because all cups are in their containers unless they need them as I described above.

Once I have my final roster, I print student names on Avery labels and secure them to the top of their cups. So…go get your short tumblers at the Dollar Store…and if you have a Container Store near you, I suggest checking these out (they were on sale today):

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/storage/smartStore?productId=10037014&green=7AA3A848-D595-5321-9B70-981F739CA67F

5,100+ Followers!

Good evening, Peeps!

I just want to thank you all for your support this summer! I have been blown away! I am having so much fun networking with all of you on Facebook and Teachers Pay Teachers and love that the Internet makes it possible for us to all connect!

If you follow Kinder Peeps on Facebook, you have probably seen me use the hashtag #readysetclassroom in an effort to start getting my classroom together/hold myself accountable via social media, haha! I want to invite YOU to join the conversation and post any "fun findings" or anything you're doing to get your classroom ready! Post pictures, activities, rugs (I found some super fun rugs at Garden Ridge here in Austin earlier this week) or anything you can think of that will help other Kindergarten teachers get their classrooms ready!

Until then…enjoy the rest of your summer break!  I can't believe it's almost August! What?!!!  Which also means my sweet Jet is going to be ONE on September 3rd!  We are having his party on Labor Day weekend at the lake house and I am SO excited to celebrate him!  What a blessing he has been!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Full-Sized Alphabet Cards for Your Word Wall

Hi, Peeps!

My blog designer, Dreamlike Magic, added Kinder Peeps' Facebook button and my TPT store button…and we centered it at the top…I really like it!  The social media icons are much easier to access!  :)

I am working on about a million different things right now (for the first few weeks of Kindergarten) but wanted to share these word wall cards with you if you haven't already seen them.  We are constantly playing games with our word wall and refer to it at least 234853405 times during the day.  My kids love to play "Swat the Word" which is basically a version of "I Spy" with sight words…we just jazz it up a little bit with a fly swatter, haha!

Below are the images/links to my full-sized (the size of a regular piece of paper; 8.5 x 11) alphabet cards (I would suggest printing them on glossy photo paper…this will save you time, they will look great, and you won't have to laminate)!  I have created them in 8 different colors and the letters feature numbered strokes. Each image is linked to that color on TPT:

And here is an image/link to the ten frame packet I created for my math word wall (1-20):

I hope you're all having a great summer!  I should have the next round of new resources posted by next week (I work when my sweet Jet naps)!  And…be sure to Like Kinder Peeps on Facebook if you haven't already!  I enjoy our conversations and know you will, too!

#TCEAtots

Hi from Galveston, Peeps!

Our view from our room here at TCEA's Tots and Technology Conference isn't too shabby :) We ate dinner earlier at Landry's on the Seawall and had some GIANT gulf oysters!

I am really looking forward to presenting tomorrow (and some much-needed R&R by the pool)! If you haven't already, Like Kinder Peeps on Facebook to join the conversation...or, tweet to me @kinderpeeps on Twitter and use #TCEAtots!

Peace...love...beach....technology...and TOTS!

Do You Dojo?

Happy First Week of Summer, Peeps!

And...Happy 9 MONTHS to my incredibly healthy, precious baby boy, Jet!  How cute is he in our new Kinder Peeps t-shirts?  Thanks to my lifelong friends who own All Out Graphics in Bryan, Texas for our new, super cute t-shirts!  I can't wait to wear mine at the conference!

I am getting really excited about presenting Do You Dojo at TCEA's Tots and Technology Conference in Galveston next week on June 16th!  If you're attending, please let me know!  I would love to meet you!  Like Kinder Peeps on Facebook to join the conversation!

As you know, I am extremely passionate about classroom management and positive reinforcement in the primary classroom.  In order for our students to thrive and really blossom, we must foster a safe, collaborative learning community that consistently directs attention to positive behaviors.  I have found Class Dojo to be so effective in increasing positive behaviors in so many different learning environments.

So...Do I Dojo?  YES!  And here's what I LOVE, how I use it:

Why do I like Class Dojo so much?  It is POSITIVE and SPECIFIC!  I can award points to students for exhibiting desired behaviors. Moreover, I can customize the categories/expectations/class "rules" to meet the needs of my students. If there is a particular expectation I want my students to focus on (ex: raising a "quiet hand"), I can add that to the expectations and award points for students who are raising a "quiet hand."  Along these lines, I am also going to use iMovie on my iPad to record students exhibiting these behaviors on the first day of kindergarten!  We are going to read No, David! and record the opposite of what they should be doing...and then we will record them exhibiting the positive expectations below.  I think the kids are going to love the role playing (and seeing themselves on the SMART Board when we play the videos)!  I think this will really increase their engagement!

Another reason I Dojo?  It is SEAMLESS!  What do I mean by "seamless?"  I can award points for students who are using "helping hands" or kind gestures on the playground at recess with my smart phone or tablet...and, the same goes for transitions to/from lunch and specials.  Because it is web-based, it knows NO boundaries.

Oh...and another reason?  It automatically logs data!  This is useful for parent conferences, report cards, analyzing different times of the day, and informing change, etc.  Once you sign up, Class Dojo gives you the option for automated e-mails to parents informing them of their child's progress, etc.

In the past, I have only used Class Dojo to reinforce individual student behaviors; however, I think I am going to switch things up this year and try using it to reinforce positive behaviors in my literacy station groups while I am reading with my guided reading groups as well (I think my guided reading groups will really benefit from this; this will minimize distractions and I can look up and award points to groups on my tablet from my guided reading table).  I like to have 10 station groups if I can (I like my partner groups to be smaller in literacy work stations so I can really customize what they are learning in each station), and I will have each group create an avatar and team name for their group.  In the examples below, you will see avatars that groups have named and also color groups (I am going to try to jazz it up this year and get away from the color groupings, haha)!

So...what incentives do I use with Class Dojo?  I decided to create these for my groups this year.  Also included is an editable version so you can customize the incentives and the amount of points you are awarding accordingly. I will be changing these pretty frequently to keep things fresh and fun.  I didn't customize them in increments of 5 points because I think increments of 10 points = a bit more challenging.  I also think the key to these incentives is keeping them "alive" and referring to them throughout the day!  I am going to enlarge these at an office supply store and have them displayed around the SMART Board and around the center of instruction.  Be sure to check them out!  I think you will really like these.

Products/resources:  I created parent letters introducing Class Dojo to my students' parents...and, included an editable version.  There are 3 letters total in this download.  This is one thing that my students and their parents will definitely see at our Meet the Teacher night!  After I print this letter to place at each student's desk on Meet the Teacher night, I will print the Class Dojo parent codes for each child and attached them to the letter; once they get home, parents can enter their e-mail addresses and sign up (this way, they can receive their child's progress in their inbox)...and just like that, we're ready to go on the first day of school!

I would love to hear more about how YOU Dojo!  Like Kinder Peeps on Facebook!

Hope to see you in Galveston!