Tuesday, August 18, 2015

One day TPT BOOST SALE!!


Good News, Bits and Bobbers!! TPT is having a ONE DAY BONUS SALE all day Wednesday!! Now we can stock up on all the goodies that we didn't get during the last sale!

Both Kerri and Lindsay's TPT shops will be 20% off on Wednesday, plus with TPT's extra 10% discount code (MORE15) you can get 28% off! SCORE!

Make sure you pick up Kerri's latest Monthly Writing Prompts and Word Family Notebook Packs, perfect to use the entire school year!



And don't forget Kerri's Super Sentence Writing Pack and Number Representation Math Pack that you can also use the ENTIRE school year…




And Lindsay's latest: her Kindergarten Science Notebook {Year-Long BUNDLE}… No planning needed!  Science activities for September thru May!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Get your classroom management set for the year with Lindsay's Free & Easy Classroom Rewards and Classroom Rules For Your Littlest Learners . . .

 
 
 
 
 
 
And finally . . . get your kiddos writing independently with Lindsay's Write the Room {All Year Long} pack!
 

Alrighty!! Gotta go our shop on, Peeps!!

XOXO Kerri  and Lindsay

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Science Notebooks . . . or How I Sneak In Science With My Munchkins All Year Long!

Howdy friends! Lindsay here . . .
 
I kinda can't believe that the last time I was on here writing to you all was when I was wrapping up the school year with my End of the Year Awards . . .
 
But then I think about what I've been up to this summer . . . and it kinda makes sense.  Being home with my boys all summer and spending the days breaking up fights and dealing with tantrums making memories  has been keeping me pretty busy! :)
 
Not only that, but I had several items on my School To-Do List that I needed to check off.
 
I am the Checklist Queen.
 
Need to run to the grocery store?  Don't forget the checklist!
 
Brainstorming Christmas present ideas in August?  Need. A. Checklist.
 
So NATURALLY the Checklist Queen likes to actually get things CHECKED OFF her list(s).  The biggest item on my School To-Do List was my Kindergarten Science Notebook unit . . .
 
It all started last summer when I was just feeling overwhelmed with the amount of NEW programs and things that were being required in my district, and the feeling that things such as science and social studies were being forgotten.  I had never done a science notebook before, but my bestie Kerri had used a science notebook with her Fab Firsties and I thought WHAT THE HECK.  LET'S GIVE THAT A TRY.
 
Not only that, but I also thought it would be so fun to create a THEMATIC science notebook!  That would solve all of the world's my problems, right?
 
Think about if for a second . . . So often the science textbooks/pacing plans that we are given are not ordered in any particularly helpful way . . . In my district our kinder kiddos are given district science assessments that just make NO sense.  For example, the physical science assessment is given in the fall, when teachers are naturally talking about seasonal things such as apple trees, pumpkins, harvest, etc. (a.k.a. LOTS of life science!).
 
 Makes sense? NOPE. 
 
And not only that, but I found myself always supplementing my science resources anyway.  I felt like science should be tied in with writing.  Duh!  We want our kiddos doing expository writing . . . then let's guide them in organizing their learning in meaningful ways that will be helpful in making them more confident emerging writers!
 
 Not only that, but science should be tied in with language arts as well!  Particularly in light of the emphasis on nonfiction with the new CCSS, using read-aloud books (fiction AND non-fiction) makes perfect sense. Kids LOVE to read and explore ALL books . . . so why not use that as a platform or hook to get kids excited about science?
 
 Also . . . technology.  There are amazing videos, websites and other resources that can really make science come alive for our little super scientists.
 
My great idea soon turned into one GINORMOUS checklist item.
 
I started last year and created a Kindergarten Science Notebook {Fall Edition}, then a Winter Edition . . . and by the time spring rolled around I was assessing, conferencing, report carding and doing who knows what all else . . . and the Spring Edition never happened.
 
Epic fail.
 
After giving myself a little grace (turns out you can't actually do ALL things with your Teacher-Mommy superpowers) I realized it wasn't a fail, just a an item that still needed to be checked off The List.
 
So . . . after many hours of planning, typing, fiddling, editing, retyping, formatting, etc. . . . IT. IS. FINISHED. 
 
 
 
Not only is the Kindergarten Science Notebook {Spring Edition} done, but I changed the format of all three units (fall, winter & spring), added some new pages and resources (posters, graphic organizers, etc.) and put it all into one Kindergarten Science Notebook YEAR-LONG BUNDLE.

Check. Check. Check.

 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kindergarten-Science-Notebook-Year-Long-BUNDLE-2018371
 

Soooooooo  . . . if you too are looking for a way to "sneak in" the science this year, or perhaps you have never done a science notebook before and are interested in trying it out . . . here you go!

My Kindergarten Science Notebook {Fall Edition} - full of apples, pumpkins and sink & float activities!

 

My Kindergarten Science Notebook {Winter Edition} - featuring activities with the 5 Senses, arctic animals and states of matter!



And my Kindergarten Science Notebook {Spring Edition} - with activities centered around weather, butterflies and plants!



Here is a sneak peek into how I plan to use my Science Notebook Bundle this year . . .

First off, I printed out the entire Science Notebook Bundle and put it into a binder that will be my go-to science resources this year.  As I sit down and plan each week I will have one handy resource from which I can pull my plans and things to print!


Inside the binder I put in all of the Science Notebook sets, organized by season.  I hole punched all of the pages EXCEPT for the colorful posters (those will be laminated and put into a special pocket for easy access!) and put the seasonal covers into page protectors that make handy tabs to divide up the year!


Within each season, the "themes" are broken down by month.  For October, for example, the monthly focus is on pumpkins.  Each monthly guide features vocabulary that is helpful to focus on for the month, as well as resources to be used during the month. The resources range from National Geographic for Kids readers to favorite read-aloud books to YouTube videos.  You can use what you like!  The resources, however, are not always to be used WITHIN the lessons themselves.  They are meant to be interwoven into the learning throughout the month. 

 
 
Behind each monthly guide are the specific activities.  Each activity is numbered for the month, and each month has 3-4 activities centered around the theme of the month!   
 

When it is time to teach a lesson, you can simply pull out the teaching guide for the activity and the student response page to be copied and you are set! 

 
The student pages themselves are meant to be used with a spiral notebook.  (Included in the pack are covers for your students' notebooks (color or b/w).)  Each page that your student completes has a dotted line around the perimeter.  After completing each page . . .
 

 
. . . your students simply trim around the edge on the dotted line . . .

 
. . . and glue the page right into their notebook!

 
Easy, peasy, lemon-squeezy AMIRIGHT??!

The activities are all totally different.  Some of the response pages are more "interactive", but still kinder-friendly . . .

 
. . . while other pages are more straightforward and simple.



One thing that I swear by in my classroom are graphic organizers, so I have included many of those to be glued into the science notebook as well!

 
(Confession: on occasion last year when I didn't have time to have my kiddos trim their page AND glue it in their notebook, we simply folded the page in half and glued it in the book so that it could still be opened and referenced later!)

 
 
 
 
 My students LOVED using their science notebooks last year!  Their favorite was probably learning all about owls in October! 

First we completed an owl step-draw and practiced labeling together! I heart kindergarten art!
 
 

After reading and "researching" together using lots of books, we completed a tree map with our "owl expertise"! :)


And finally . . . we examined an owl pellet!  Yes, nothing says SCIENCE like looking at regurgitated items under the doc camera.


 
Just going through old pictures from last year makes me SO EXCITED to get my fresh crop of kinder kidlets!
 
I hope that you enjoyed hearing all about how I do science in my classroom . . . and perhaps you will give science notebooks a try this year too!  I guarantee your kiddos will L-O-V-E it!
 
That's it for today!  I'm off to the pool with the fam!  Happy Sunday folks!
 
Lindsay

Sunday, August 2, 2015

TPT Back to School Sale is here!!!

Good Morning, friends!! Kerri and Lindsay here…
Thank you Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for this cute button!!

Well, it's FINALLY here! TPT will be having a GINORMOUS sale on Monday and Tuesday and both of our stores will be 20% off. Combined with the extra 10% off that TPT is offering, you can get 28% off! What a killer deal!

Here are some Back to School Goodies from Kerri's TPT store you might be interested in (click on each picture to get a closer look)…

Word Family Notebooks anyone?? Only the bestest way to get your kids writing and learning about different word families!!

Or how about an easy way for your kiddos to show growth in writing with my Monthly Writing Prompts Pack?

Super Sentences to the Rescue!! Get your kids writing juicy sentences!!!

How about a Number Representation Pack to help your kiddos represent numbers in lots of different ways??


Or maybe my Word of the Week! Print and Go Pack? Perfect for warm-ups or literacy centers!

Sentence Scramble Centers for the entire school year...



All sorts of Writing Center Bundles...



Sight Word Practice mats...



Context Clues Riddle Centers for the whole school year...




 Blending Puzzles Bundle...



My best-selling Rainforest Art and Writing Unit...


And if all that shopping goodness isn't enough, here are some great things to check out in Lindsay's TPT store as well:

Get your kiddos writing with some fun, easy and INDEPENDENT Write the Room {All Year Long} activities!




Give your behavior management & reward system an update with Free & Easy Classroom Rewards!  Over 24 reward items to choose from for your little cuties!  Say GOODBYE classroom treasure chest, HELLO free & easy rewards!


 
 
 
 
 It's never too early to start thinking about the end of the year, right? (Tee hee!)  Seriously though - your kidlets will love these Little Miss & Mr. Fabulous {End of the Year Class Awards For All Your guys & Gals} certificates that celebrate all of the wonderful & unique students in your class!
 

Get a head start on those sight words with my Trace It, Write It, Find It, Make It - Sight Word Practice Pack!



So many great resources - my Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy CVC pack will give you everything you need to get your kiddos fluently reading, writing and building CVC words!





Lotsa number practice for beginning numbers with my Nifty Numbers 0-10 set! (My favorite -making numbers and filling ten frames with play-doh!)


An oldie but a goodie - my Poetry from A to Z pack!  I have done poetry every single year with my kinder kiddos and they look forward to learning/reading/illustrating our new poem . . . Every. Single. Week.

And HOT off the presses . . . you can also pick up my brand spankin' new Classroom Rules {For Your Littlest Learners}.



We hope you get your SALE on tomorrow and Monday!! We know we will be! Thanks friends...

Kerri & Lindsay