First Week of School with Distance Learning

 I did it! I actually survived the first week of school with a new group of students that I only get to see through a computer screen. I felt so many emotions while navigating this experience that I sometimes felt like I was on a roller coaster ride. I think it will continue to feel that way for awhile longer as our district just made the decision to continue to with online learning for an unspecified amount of time. Even with this wild ride of emotions and continual changes I will still give this new group of kiddos my all and I will share with you how I teach my new kiddos through my computer screen.

Every year that I have been a teacher I have always spent the first week of school doing fun getting to know you activities, going over rules and procedures, and doing activities that will help us build a strong classroom community. I did not want to give that up so I searched for ways to still make that happen, but digitally. I found a variety of activities, resources, and tools that were a great help to me that I will share with you in hopes that it will help you in your first week of digital teaching. 

We are required to go live with our students twice a day at this time so I split my activities between those two time periods. I began with introductions. Before our first meeting I had typed my students names into a spinning wheel. I presented my screen so my new students could watch it spin and see who it landed on each time. They loved it and couldn't wait for it to land on them so they could introduce themselves and tell us something fun they did over the summer and what they were excited about this school year. You can click here to find the website with the wheel we used. 

                                

As a second grade team we also found a cute digital All About Me activity that the kids create and then share if they choose. We are still working on those but they are turning out so cute and we are learning so much about our kids. We got the activity from the amazing Amy Lemons and Katie King. It is a free resource that goes along with the story Our Class is a Family. You can find the resource here.                     

                              

Along with Our Class is a Family, I read several of my other favorite beginning of the year stories. I started with First Day Jitters on day 1. On day 2 we read The Invisible Boy and on day 3 we read Yoko. 

That is how we spent our first three days of our digital school year. We have many plans for this week that I will share with you soon. Remember we can do this!

Ashley

Pre-K Math and Phonics Summer Review

Hi!

As I write this post my sweet preschooler is asleep after a weekend full of fun. I can't believe that she will be in kindergarten in just a few short weeks, which is surprising since I have been thinking about it for the last few months.

When I do think on this change there are a lot of thoughts that go through my head as a parent, but I was most surprised by the ones that came in as a teacher. As a teacher I noticed that the expectations of what preschoolers are supposed to know by the end of preschool is very different from what is expected for them to know as they walk into kindergarten on day one. What made it even more interesting as we were looking at schools was that the expectations between private, charter, and public were all different. We eventually decided on the charter school that I will be teaching at next year and that led to the actual reason for this blog post.

I created a summer review packet for my daughter that was specific to the skills that I saw charter and private schools requesting knowledge of and public school teachers hoping their students had exposure to before walking through their doors. I did this so that my daughter could walk into her classroom calmly and not become overwhelmed by all the expectations. I wanted her to enjoy kindergarten and not feel stressed or anxious so below you will see and hear about some of the pieces that are in this packet.

 There are 44 days worth of activities in this packet that cover number writing and identification, letter writing and identification, shape recognition, color recognition, cutting skills, direction following, patterns, basic bar graph building, reading, and coloring. I used a variety of activities to ensure that it would capture my daughters attention and help her learn and grow.

For reading we try to read a total of twenty minutes throughout each day. If all our reading times add up to twenty minutes then she gets to color in an object on one of the sheets. Each time she fills up a sheet she gets to pick a special treat or small toy as a reward. 

For alphabet practice I created pages that require her to trace and write, sort, cut and paste, color, and follow a path.

For math I created sheets that required her to trace and write, count, color, build, sort, and order. The variety will help build her ability to identify the numbers and manipulate them. There are also different ways to use some of the sheets which I show you below. The more options you have the better the chance of you holding the attention of your preschooler.

When I have her write her numbers or letters, I have her use an eraser to put space between her numbers and letters. This way she is still practice but only having to 3 or 4 on each line which is less tiresome. We also use crayons and markers for coloring because it gives her options. For the ten frames I give her the choice of stickers, crayons, markers, or painting with a Q-tip. We also use paint for several other math sheets that you will see below.

The things I have shared are a few of the different activities you can find in the summer packet I created for my daughter. If you are interested in using this for your little one this summer you can find it here. If you have any questions feel free to ask it in the comments. 

Have a wonderful evening and fantastic summer!

Ashley

Build Your Own Bingo Boards (holiday edition)

Do you love BINGO? Do your kids love BINGO?

My sweet girl loves BINGO. Maybe it is the fact that she gets a piece of candy at the end of each game she wins or she just really loves the game. We play it a lot in my house but I wanted to make it a little bit more than a game for her. She is a preschooler and needs practice with fine motor skills.  I wanted something where she could cut, color, and write as well as play her favorite game. I also wanted her and the students I will eventually use this with to be able to personalize their board for the game. This is where the build your own Bingo Boards comes in.

Since I use this at home and plan on using it in my classroom as well I tried to make it as simple as possible to prep. I started with pre-made game boards. There are 5x5, 4x4, and 3x3 boards that are black and white. All the boards have a space at the top for students to write their names and the name of the Bingo game they are playing.

Then the pages go by holiday and each holiday has the same pieces just with different images corresponding to that holiday. I am using the St. Patrick's Day game boards in this post as an example since that holiday is just days away.

I created pieces that can be cut and glued onto the game boards in each of the three game board sizes. These pieces come in black and white so that the kids can color if they choose or you can print the pieces in color. There are also pieces in color and black and white for you to use as call pieces for the game. Examples of these items are in the images below. I like to use the black and white call sheet as my base and I place the color call pieces on top to show what I have called and what I have left. You can use it however it works best for you. Examples of these items are in the images below.

In this packet are pieces for Back to School, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's Day, and St. Patrick's Day. Within the next few weeks I will be adding Easter and Summer Fun to the packet.

I hope you enjoy!

Ashley

St. Patrick's Day History

Did you know that St. Patrick's Day is a day of remembrance for the Patron Saint of Ireland?

Many people do not know this about St. Patrick's Day. Our country has become so good at partying in our green on this day that we have forgotten that it came about for a reason. This is why this is one of my favorite units to teach: The History of St. Patrick's Day.

I love utilizing vocabulary in all the units I teach, so there are vocabulary cards, flip flaps for interactive notebooks, and a match page to have practice with key words that are a part of this unit.

There are also two different ways to read about the life of St. Patrick. There is a short story page that I use when I teach this unit whole class and then there is a mini reader that I use for small groups. Each tell the life of St. Patrick and how he is the reason for the day day of remembrance on March 17th. We also use the interesting facts page to discuss some of the different elements of the holiday.

Since students are usually pretty interested in learning about St. Patrick, we have a little fun and talk about 6 different legends that are connected with him. It gives us all a good giggle to see what kind of stories have been connected to St. Patrick. There is a interactive notebook activity that goes along with this discussion. If you do not use interactive notebooks in your classroom than you could always have them glue these on separate sheets of paper.

Once we have talked about St. Patrick, I post one of the write the room activities. Which one I choose depends on the level that will suit  my students the best. One is less challenging than the other.

 At the end of the unit we make one or both of the clover mini projects. I work at a christian school so I am able to complete the project on the Holy Trinity with them. If you are at a public school than you could complete the 4 leaf clover activity which talks about faith, hope, love, and luck. There is a poem to attach to the back of each clover. 

This is just a glimpse of what we use to talk about the real reason for St. Patrick's Day. If you have any questions let me know : )

Ashley

Working on Goals

Happy New Year!!

I hope you all had a wonderful end to 2018 and are feeling ready for all the adventures that 2019 will bring.

So one of my goals for this year is to actually cook three or more meals a week and be healthier. My little family and I tend to let schedules and activities overwhelm our food choices and that leads to unhealthy eating. I really want to change this and get us all on the right track for 2019.

I know that if I don't write things down then I end up waiting until the last minute and we go with the fastest (usually unhealthiest) option. To keep me accountable I sat down today and created a calendar template where I will input what the meal for the day is going to be. This will help me with shopping for the week and keep me from trying to figure something out at the last minute. I blocked off two days a week for leftovers. On one of those days we have swim practice which goes late and the other we usually are with family in the evening so we only need food for lunches. There is also nothing planned for this week because we already have special plans for all but one of those days. Below you will see our meal plan for the month of January.

I am posting this here to hold myself accountable for sticking to this plan and to share with anyone who may want to do something similar in this new year.

So here is to the new year and making it a healthier and more balanced year : )

Ashley

Bring it On 2019

2018, what a year! It has been a roller coaster ride of events and emotions, but I wouldn't change it. It taught me some important lessons and made me step back and re-evaluate where my time is spent.

For the first time in my life I am working part time. That is not easy for me as I have either worked multiple jobs or full time since my freshman year of high school. At first I fought God on this one. I didn't think it was right or that it should be this way. It took many rejections and words from a new friend made in my part time position to see that this is what this year is supposed to look like for our family. I am supposed to be stepping back and spending more time with my sweet girl and husband. We have had more movie nights, weekend adventures, and have eaten much healthier as I now have more time to focus on making healthy meals. It has not been an easy transition. There has been lots to figure out, but God has seen us through each moment.

Even though we made it through the roller coaster ride of 2018, I am hoping that 2019 is a little less crazy. Although if its not we will just pray and follow God's lead to make it through. With that said, I do have some goals for 2019 that I am hoping to accomplish.

1 - Cook three or more healthy meals a week. This sounds like it would be easy but for us it is not. I have done better the last few months but I need to up my game and hit the three a week mark. I tend to fail towards the end of the week because we have swim classes and game nights with family.So I am hoping that if I can get two healthy meals at the beginning of the week then I can focus on one towards the end of the week. Our little family can use left overs for the days in between.

2. Actually organize all my personal and professional files. You would think that this would be something that I already have done, but no. My files are a hot mess and really need to be organized to regain a measure of sanity.

3. Live in the moment. I want to spend more time focusing on the here and now, instead of worrying about the future and holding onto the past. I have been blessed with a beautiful life and I need to spend more time actually enjoying it and showing my daughter how to enjoy life as well.

I don't know that I will be successful with all of these because sometimes life just happens and you have to change your goals, but these are the goals I would like to attempt in 2019.

Here's to 2019....may your be full of adventure, love, and many blessings : )

Ashley

Advent Adventure: Days 2-6

Today I  will briefly walk through the next 5 days of the Advent packet, so that you can get an idea of what is coming. Throughout this post, if you click on any of the book titles you will be taken to that book on Amazon so you can purchase it if you choose to.

DAY 2

For day 2 the theme is Prince of Peace which is mentioned in the Scripture verse for the day, Isaiah 9:6. Once again since my daughter is not able to read yet, we will be doing a letter hunt in the scripture verse as we read it. This is just to get her engaged in the reading of the verse.

The activity for this day is to make Christmas cards. There are two templates in the packet or you can come up with your own. We will be doing a little of both. I won't lie. I may have used this day as my motivation to actually send out Christmas cards from our little family this year.

The story for day 2 is called The Best Thing About Christmas which you can get on Amazon or you can try the read aloud link in the packet. We will end our time by listening to the song "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

DAY 3

The theme for this day is Immanuel which is found in the verse for the day, Isaiah 7:14. We will continue to do a letter hunt with our little one, but you could also look for sight words with older ones or have them draw a picture to illustrate the verse.

The project for this day is actually the start of a two day project. For this day you will be making a wreath. We will most likely be making a handprint wreath, but there are other options in the packet. We just have a lot of fun tracing our hands : ) I will include a picture of our final product under day 4.

Once we have finished our wreath we will read the sweet story God Gave Us Christmas. There is a read aloud link in the packet for this story, but we prefer the actual book. We will finish our time listening to one of my favorite Christmas songs, "O Come All Ye Faithful."

DAY 4

The theme for day 4 is God's Son and is found in the theme verse 1 John 5:11. We will continue to do a letter hunt with our little one, but you could also look for sight words with older ones or have them draw a picture to illustrate the verse.

The activity for this day is to make the paper candles that attach to the wreath. I have provided information about each candle and the colors for each candle. Your church may use different colors or may have a candle mean something different. I just went off of what I found to be the most common in meanings through research and the colors that our church uses.

We will finish our time with the story Christmas Time: It's All About Jesus and the song "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." This story does not have a read aloud link available so you would need to use the actual book or read from a different nativity themed book that you already own.

DAY 5

Our theme for day 5 is hope and can be found in the verse Matthew 12: 221. Since we have already done several letter hunts with verses, we are going to take a break and create a picture to go with our word. We will make a colorful design to cover a standard sheet of copy paper and then we will use black marker to write the word HOPE in big letters in the middle.

Today's activity is similar to Day 3. We are making another handprint wreath. I promise I am not crazy and no its not because I couldn't come up with other ideas. I chose this because this will be a wreath that we hang up on one of the bedroom doors. I really like wreaths and how you can use them as a visual reminder of Jesus. Wreaths were traditionally made with evergreens, so the green of a wreath reminds you that God's love is everlasting. It is without end. The red of the berries that are usually found on leaves remind us of the sacrifice that God's own son made to save us from our sins. and the circle has no beginning and no end which reminds us that God is eternal.

After we finish our wreath, we will read the story Who is Coming to Our House?. I love this story and it is a good example of keeping hope. This story has a read aloud link in the packet that you could use. Once we have read our story we will listen to the song "For Unto Us a Child is Born."

DAY 6

Our theme for today is light and we read about it in our verse, John 12:36. We will continue to do a letter hunt with our little one, but you could also look for sight words with older ones or have them draw a picture to illustrate the verse.

The activity for today is to make a candle. In the packet I listed a few ways that you could make a candle. We will be going with option two where we make a paper candle using the template that is provided. There is a color by number candle sheet in the packet, and directions for a toilet paper roll candle. If you are craftier, and braver, than me you could definitely use this day to make an actual wax candle.

We will keep the candles with us as we read one of my favorite Christmas stories, The Night of the Las Posadas. This story is such a great reminder that our Light (Jesus) is always there with us and uses every situation to spread his word. This story also has a read aloud link in the packet. We will end by listening to the song "Joy to the World."

I hope you enjoy the next 5 days of time shared with your little ones focusing on the reason for this beautiful season.

Ashley