SitSpots Blog Hop and Giveaway!!

Hiya Peeps! Kerri and Lindsay here...

That's right! You get a "Peas and Carrots" tonight from both of us, because we LOVE LOVE LOVE SitSpots!! OhEmGeeee!!! These little velcro spotties are the bomb-diggidy!! We couldn't believe how awesome they were when we first heard about them at SCKC.

Aren't they just sooo pretty?? And they stick onto carpet like you WOULD. NOT. BELIEVE!! Now, in my classroom (Kerri's), I have one of those rainbow carpets for my kids to sit on, so I just grabbed 10 SitSpots to put on the carpet and use for addition practice review. I used a Sharpie paint marker to write some addition facts on each one and laid the spots in rows on either side of my classroom. I plan on using these addition spots for math centers, as a way to dismiss my kids to recess and lunch (by having them stand on one and say the addition fact with it's sum), or a a sponge activity in between my lessons. Just a note...my iPhone DOES NOT do these beauties justice in the color department. They are SUPER bright and pretty in person! 
P. S. I am blaming these ugly pictures on the fact that A. I have a cold, B. I also have PMS, C. I am tired from darn Spring Forward, and D. It is conference week. Can you say Hot Mess? Yes, that would be me! Lindsay's pictures are much prettier, you'll see!!

I am so excited for my kidlets to use these tomorrow!! Now, here's Lindsay with a super fun idea for using SitSpots in Kindergarten...

Hi guys!  Lindsay here . . .

As Kerri said before, we absolutely FELL IN LOVE with SitSpots when we discovered them at the Southern California Kindergarten Convention last month!!  There were SO. MANY. OPTIONS.  Different colors . . . Different cool shapes . . .

So of course, in true Lindsay fashion, I got plain 'ol circles.  Not that there is anything wrong with circles.  They are a fine shape.  I was just completed overwhelmed with all of the choices and took 15 colored circles.  I had NO IDEA what I was going to do with 15 colored circles . . .

I already have a rainbow rug that my kiddos sit on in class . . . But somehow the idea came to me to create SitSpot Sight Word Twister!! (Try saying THAT ten times fast!)

In my classroom, we practice sight words in a million different ways.  Graphing sight words. Sight word dice games.  Sight words with HeidiSongs DVDs.  Sight word Chutes & Ladders. Sight word necklaces.

But alas, in my collection of sight word activities I had never taken the time to make Sight Word Twister, although I had seen it on Pinterest several times . . .

Setting up my SitSpot Sight Word Twister was SUUUUUUPER easy. Which is suuuuuuuuper great when you have been working on report cards for days and you just don't have the energy to do ONE. MORE. THING.

I decided to pick 4 of our trickiest kindergarten sight words to use for my inaugural SitSpots Sight Word Twister (they, do, are and said).  The beauty of SitSpots is that once I place my order for MORE SitSpots (which I plan to do soon!) I can create dots for ALL of the kindergarten words that my kiddos learn during the year.  Unlike making the Pinterest sight word Twister game, the SitSpots allow you to create any combination of words based on the needs of your particular class or group of students.  Brilliant!

There was a tiny part of me that hated the fact that I had 4 words and only 15 SitSpots (ugh.....UNEVEN!!) but it worked out just fine. As long as the words are repeated at least 3-5 times so that all of the kids don't have to clamor for a single SitSpot when a word is called you will be okay. :) 

So . . . here is how I got started.

Step 1: Used my Sharpie paint pen to label my dots with sight words.

Step 2: I made sure that the words and colors did NOT correspond (to make it trickier, of course!).  Muahahaha!!!

The finished product! 

Step 3: I created a customizable Twister spinner just to use for playing SitSpot Sight Word Twister!!  (Just click on the picture below and you can get it too!)

 Here is my spinner mat all pretty and laminated.  The laminating is a necessary and important step . . .

Step 4: Fill in the chosen sight words. 

(Note: Remember that the dot colors do not correspond to a particular word.  In fact, my slightly fluorescent dots didn't even match my spinner (GASP!!) but it doesn't matter.  All that matters is that you write in the sight words on your spinner so that each word appears once in each quadrant.)

And you all know the Erasable-Sharpie-On-Lamination trick, right?  You can use a sharpie to write on lamination and then scribble over it will a dry erase marker and erase both markers right off!  So I went ahead and used my fine point Sharpie to write my words.

So, I decided that our classroom library was the perfect place for us to play SitSpot Sight Word Twister.  I just rolled up our polka dot rug . . . 

. . . and stuck the SitSpots right down!! (And after we were done playing, I just put the rug right back down OVER the SitSpots.)

A close-up. :)

FINALLY it was time to play. I actually used this with my lil intervention kiddos since it was a smaller group, but I think this would also work well as a center too. Once you are ready to play you just use a paperclip and pencil on the Twister spinner mat and spin some words! 

Here are my kiddos all tangled up and LOVING this new game!  Even though they were clearly having so much fun, I heard them practicing their words as they clamored to put their right foots and left hands and every other limb onto the words . . . "I see a 'said'!!"  "Here's another 'do'!!"  (Yay for learning disguised as a super fun new game, right??)

Now here is the BEST part . . . As I was spinning words for my kidlets to play I realized that my kiddos would L-O-V-E the chance to be the Master Spinner.  AND spinneing the words would require that particular kiddo to also recognize and call out those tricky sight words.  (That's right . . . it would be EVEN MORE sight word practice!!)  But shhhhhhh!  Don't tell the kiddos!  They will just think it will be the bees knees to get a turn as the Master Spinner kiddo!

So there you have it folks!  Download your SitSpot Sight Word Twister mat tonight. Laminate it. And get yourself some SitSpots . . .

Now's your chance!

Nine of us Cali Gals have teamed up with Sit Spots to bring you a SitSpots Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Just follow the bouncing blog buttons at the end of this post to hop to your next Sit Spot-sational idea! 

You can enter to win on any of our blogs, but you must comment on all 9 for your chance to win a class set of 32 SitSpots! Don't worry, we're keeping it easy...Think Spring Break!

Just head to the Rafflecopter below for up to 21 chances to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway That's right...Lucky 21! Plus, the winner will be announced on Monday, March 17th ~ St. Patrick's Day.
Lucky!

With dozens of designs to choose from, you'll have a ton of fun spotting up your classroom space just like us!

 Don't want to wait to see if you're one of the lucky 9?
 Well, guess what?
 SitSpots has a deal just for you!
Enter Coupon Code CALIGALS14 during checkout on their site and save 25% OFF!
This offer expires March 31, 2014.

Still not sure? SitSpots offers a FREE sample before you purchase. Just head to their site to request your complimentary Sit Spot today!

Ready for your next creative Cali Gal?
Head over to Heidi from Heidi Songs to see her Sit Spots in action and leave a comment to win!
Good luck!

Bright Ideas Blog Hop! Copies, copies everywhere!!!

Hi there Bright Ideas Blog Hoppers!! Kerri B here...

Thanks for visiting Teacher Bits and Bobs as part of our Bright Ideas Blog Hop for March!

I am here to talk to you about Copies Organization! Do any of you sometimes feel as if your all copies are threatening to literally engulf your classroom and totally take over? Like, where in the heck am I supposed to put all these frazzling copies? Especially if you have some things prepared weeks in advance? Where do THOSE copies go??

I have the same exact problem. A couple of years ago, a friend of mine had to stage a "copies intervention" in my classroom, because they were LITERALLY all over the place, with NO sort of organization, no rhyme or reason, NOTHING!!
 My friend, who is UBER-ORGANIZED, got a twitch every time she came to visit me in my classroom, it was that bad!

Intro the hallowed copies box, and all of my problems were solved!!

I got this box from Staples, and added a bunch of file folders labeled with different subjects, for example...my different days of centers, homework, warm-ups, social studies and science, etc. All of the copies for the following week, month, what have you, go into this box. 
This box is my best friend, let me tell you, and helps me know exactly where to find what!
Now, occasionally the copies in this box will become overwhelmed and the box will be stuffed to the max, like if there was an activity that I planned for and didn't get to or whatever. 
So about once a month, I go through the box and take out all of the copies that I know I won't be using. To make sure I'm not wasting paper, I use the blank side of the copies for my printer paper. Re-purposed copies, HOLLA!

When I get my centers ready each day, I put all of the copies for those particular centers (if there are any, sometimes there aren't), along with the manipulatives or laminated cards the kids will be using (whatever the case may be), and put them into these sterilite boxes that I picked up from Target this summer. 
BAM! Everything is self-contained and the kids can just grab the box and head to their station!!

Also, these Sterilite drawers (also from Target) are where I store all of my thematic centers for each month. Since it is March, I have pulled out my March Math, Literacy, and Writing centers and keep them over by my copies box, so I can just grab what I need everyday!!

So there you have it! A way to keep your copies and other centers materials from strangling the life out of you! Hope this little blog post has been helpful to you and can help you get those  copies under control!!!

Now, head on over to read from the wonderful Rachel Lynette, who's blog is called Minds in Bloom! She's excited to share with you about an idea for promoting kindness in your classroom!! Just click the link below her button and head on over....

http://www.minds-in-bloom.com/2014/03/bright-ideas-mood-matters-try-this.html

You may also visit the link-up below and choose a topic that interests you! Thanks for visiting!!

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

SCKC Conference 2014!!

Hiya Peeps! Kerri and Lindsay here...

Well, we did it! We survived our very first presentation at the SCKC Conference! It was AMAZING, friends!! There were 1400 people at the conference and over 100 ladies came to hear Lindsay and I present our "Wee Ready Writers" presentation. We were absolutely floored and humbled that so many people wanted to hear us speak. Here is a picture of Lindsay and I before and after our presentation...

Can you see the look of sheer terror and then relief in our eyes??

And, here we are actually presenting in front of real live people who aren't 5 and 6 years old!! Aahhhh!!! I am talking about Draw and Write stories...

And here is Lindsay talking about Sticker Stories!!

So after we presented, we got to have TONS O' FUN at the Blogger Bash, where we met up with all our blogging buddies, ate dinner, gave away TONS of fun stuff to the people who signed up to come, and met a bunch of new friends!!

Thank you Katie Knight for a fabulous picture!!

Guess who we got to meet?? OMG!! Deanna Jump!! Who, by the way, is the sweetest, kindest, most genuine person EVER!! Can you tell we're geeking out in this picture??

We also got the meet the Fluttering through First girls, Tammy and Cindy, and we LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!

All of us bloggers compiled our favorite FREEBIES into one GINORMOUS file for all of our followers, which you can all access by clicking on the pictures below. This will also give you an idea of all the bloggers who were there...

Here is one more picture of the group of us after the bash. You can see how much fun we were all having...

Heidi Butkus

Deanna Jump

Kerri and Lindsay

Michelle Griffo

Hadar Maor

Palma Lindsay

Kelly Dolling

Annie Moffatt

Tammy and Christy

Kristin Oldham

Traci Clausen

Katie Knight

Fran Kramer

It was truly a magical experience and Lindsay and I can't wait to get the opportunity to do it again. If you were there and came to see us, thank you thank you thank you!!! It was such an honor!!

XOXO Kerri B and Lindsay

3 Million Strong TPT SALE!!

Good evening Peeps! 
Did you know that Teachers Pay Teachers in nnow 3 million teacher strong?? That's a TON of teachers!! To celebrate, they are having a HUGE site wide sale!! Yahoo!! I love me a good sale, don't you??

All of Kerri and Lindsay's products will be 20% off on Thursday and Friday. Add TPT's 10% discount code (TPT3) and you can get 28% off. That is a GINORMOUS savings!! AND...you can redeem your TPT credits to get even more $$ off!

Here are some of Kerri's products for the Spring that you might be interested in...
Looking for a theme for Open House? How about transforming your classroom into a living rainforest with my totally re-vamped Rainforest Unit?? Click on each picture to get a closer look...

Looking for some fun St. Paddy's Day learning centers for First Graders??

Maybe you are looking for some ways to re-enforce math and language arts topics that you have already introduced?? Here are a bunch of learning center choices!!

Or, some writing centers to get your kids excited to write about any theme you can think of?? Check out my Writing Center Bundles!!

Or my print and go, ever popluar Word of the Week! activity pack...

Here are some of Lindsay's Spring products that might interest you...
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Unit! One of Lindsay's best sellers!

Looking for a fun way to celebrate Read Across America Day?? Check this one out...

How about some St. Paddy's Day fun for Kindergarten??

The sale starts tomorrow, and we cannot WAIT to get our SHOP ON!! Hope you find lots of great things for your classroom!
XOXO Kerri and Lindsay

Back to Work & Read Across America Day

Happy Sunday folks!  Lindsay here . . .

I know some of you probably just fell out of your chairs.  Lindsay? Blogging?  It can't possibly be!!

But it's true.  I'm baaaaaaaaaack!

After taking a long teaching (and, apparently, blogging) hiatus after Baby Charlie was born back in November, I returned to work just in time for the 100th Day of School AND Valentine's Day all in one week.  It was pure craziness and sugar.

Here are some shots of my first week back:

One of my favorite 100th Day centers - 100th Day Gumball machines!!

 
Idea courtesy of A Cupcake For The Teacher . . .

 
Then we used Kerri's fabulous 100 Days of Fun packet and did all sorts of activities . . . like writing our numbers to 100!!  Yes, I had some students who were SO SURE they would never survive physically writing all of those numbers . . . but of course they did and it was fabulous!  They were SO, SO proud of themselves!!

 
For Valentine's Day we made "I love you to pieces" pictures for the kiddos' parents.  Painting + gluing puzzle pieces = fun in Kindergartenland.  (Hot gluing 300 popsicle sticks does NOT = fun for poor Mr. Messyhair at home!  Thanks babe for all your help!!)

 
We even did special Valentine's themed sticker stories in our journals!  My kidlets thought their little valentine pooches were just so funny!

 
And one of my sweet (and oh-so-talented) moms made me this delicious Welcome Back cake to enjoy with my lil kidlets!  (Yes, she made all of those little pieces with fondant!)

 

 

This week our district has Ski Week (really a week off for President's Day) so I am trying to get organized for all of the fun stuff that is coming up in March . . .

 

One of my favorite celebrations of the year is Read Across America Day, which in my classroom really gets turned into a weeklong celebration of all things literary and Seussical!! 

 

You can check out my whole Read Across America unit in my TPT store (just click the image below):

 

 
Your kiddos will love celebrating ready and Dr. Seuss with activities such as:

*Read Across America ABC order
*Real vs. Nonsenssical Words (CVC word practice)
*Rhyme Time (identifying and recording rhyming pairs using literature)
*Cats in Top Hats Sentence Scramble
*Write the Room: Read Across American Edition
*Read Across America: Write, Cut & Glue
*Favorite Nonsenssical Book writing paper

 

 

 

In addition, I am sharing my Dr. Seuss favorite book graph FREEBIE for y'all to enjoy!!

 

Well, that's about it for now!  I'm off to go spend some time with my crazy boys . . . Being back at work always makes our Sunday afternoons together seem so much more precious!

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend too! 

Lindsay

Southern California Teacher Bloggers Facebook Hop

Hi folks!  Lindsay here . . .

Some of my fabulous friends and I have been working our tails off to prepare for the Southern California Kindergarten Conference! We are so excited to present, celebrate and have an all around wonderful time with some fantastic teacher friends in Pasadena, California at the end February.

We want to share all that fun with ALL of you! Soooo....

We are having a little hop over on our FACEBOOK pages. Start on Dragonflies in First's FB page and hop your way through some fabulous freebies from some amazing teachers. 

It's a short hop and you won't want to skip a step because it ends in a chance to win an AMAZING GIVEWAY!

It all begins Saturday! What a fabulous way to start the weekend!

Happy hopping!!

 

Lindsay