iPads With Kindergarten... Sanity Saving Tips

Hello Blog Hoppers!  It's Ashley Hughes from The School Supply Addict.  Today, I'm sharing a few of my favorite sanity savers for integrating iPads with your kindergarteners... or any class for that matter.

Obviously I am assuming that you have already established rules and procedures for your iPads.  That is definitely the most important thing to do before giving your sweeties full iPad reign.  The tips below are the ones that have seriously saved my butt.  It's just made management easier and productivity higher.

To give you a small glimpse into my K life, here's how we roll in my room:

• We have 11 iPads in our classroom (23 kids).  I'd LOVE to have a 1:1 room, but it's not in the cards right now.  I'm just happy to have those 11.  
• Students are paired up when we do whole group lessons.  They know who their iPad partner is, which is the same person who sits next to them at their table.  Each pair is assigned an iPad.  
• I integrate iPads as much as possible during whole group instruction.  I may use it for phonics one day, reading the next, then math the next.  It just varies on our needs.  We also use them everyday for centers (fluency & phonics centers).
• We have an iPad manager job.  One of my kids is in charge of plugging them in at the end of the day.  

Now for some fun tips...

Tip 1.  Consolidate All Those "Non-Essential" Apps
The iPad is so amazing.  It's a staple in our room.  However, there are several apps that I just won't ever use with my kids (maps, contacts, email, etc.).  Instead of removing them completely, you can consolidate them into one group... and give it the title "No."  My kids know that they shouldn't be messing with any of those apps.  This is a really easy tip and it just cleans your screens up a bit.  If you're an iPad newbie, just google how to "move apps around."

Tip 2.  Customize Your Bottom Bar
Those apps you use all the time?  Move them to the bottom bar!   This allows your students to have quick and easy access.  I currently have four that we use pretty frequently:  Seesaw, Nearpod, QR Code, and Safari.  (Seesaw isn't pictured in this one)

Tip 3.  Print Icons of Your Apps
Seriously.  It's THE best.  Just Google an image of your app, copy, paste, then print and laminate.  I would totally post mine on here, but that's a no-no.  So sorry.  Printing icons will make management a lot easier.  When it's time to have everyone find a certain app, just flash the large picture of it.  I even use them on my center chart (see below).

Tip 4.  Label Your iPads
Like any type-A teacher, labeling makes me happy.  I just use my little Dymo label maker for this job.  Another teacher I know uses little colored dots.  Labeling just allows me to keep track of all of them, allows students to consistently use the same iPad (and have access to photos they've taken), and makes it a little easier to manage updates.

Tip 5.  iPad Manager Job
The last thing that saves my sanity is having one of my students be in charge of the iPads.  They are our iPad Manager.  They make sure they're stored correctly, plugged in at the end of the day, and locked.  That's just one more job that I don't have to worry about at the end of the day!  Below is how I store mine.  It's a plate rack that you'd use in your kitchen.  The cords are a hot mess, but it works.  It was literally like a $3 investment.  Doesn't my iPad Manager do a great job!?

I hope you found some of these helpful!  iPads are such powerful tools, but it's definitely important to make it work for you.  You shouldn't be pulling your hair out over management issues!  Keep it simple, model, and give some of the jobs to your kiddos.  You'll be surprised at the experts they are with the technology.  Thanks for reading!  :)

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Write the Room Freebie!

Hey Blog Hoppers!  It's Ashley, The School Supply Addict.

Today, I thought I'd give you a short and sweet post with a freebie!  My sweet kinders have been rocking it out for four weeks now and I am really excited to introduce them to one of my FAVORITE activities next week.  I am sure that most of you have heard of "Write the Room."  I absolutely love it because my little sweets need frequent brain breaks and really thrive when they are up and actively engaged.  If you're not familiar with how Write the Room works, here's the gist...

1.  You post cards around the room with questions or tasks for students to complete.  In kindergarten, I do a lot of sight word writing, sound/letter identification, and simple tasks.  When I taught EFL, I used this all the way up to high school.  It is really easy to adapt to a wide range of ages and skills.

2.  Your kids grab a clipboard with a recording sheet and get to work.  They travel around the room filling up their recording sheet. Voila!  That's it.

It is really easy.  I thought I'd go ahead and put the pages I use together in a freebie that you can print and use easily.  Just print, write on the cards, copy recording pages, and go!

I've included tips and suggestions for how to use this.  I keep my pages and cards super simple because I use them for ELA, math, science, and more.  I didn't put any cute frames or clipart on them (except for the recording page) because I really want the focus of the content.  Sometimes simple is better.

Click to DOWNLOAD from TPT

I hope you can use this and your students LOVE it!  Have fun.

Using Edmodo Badges for Tracking Student Goals... In Kindergarten!

Hey everyone!  It's Ashley, The School Supply Addict!  I hope you are getting a great start to the school year... or enjoying your last bit of summer!  Today I wanted to share a little bit of what I'll be utilizing this year with my kindergarteners.  This year, we are jumping into data binders, student led goal and data monitoring, etc.  At first I was a little skeptical about it working well in kinder, but after visiting some other schools with a team of colleagues, we are pumped.  Yes, nerd alert.  We are pumped about data binders!  Here's a little bit of how it will be laid out in my room.

1. Set Goals: (learning goals, personal goals, and class goals)  These can be anything from learning letter sounds to increasing our reading stamina by 10 minutes to sitting on the carpet for an entire lesson without nose picking.  Obviously, goals will vary based on each child's needs.
2. Data Binders:  Each student has a binder where we will keep hard copies of their individual growth for various goals.  Each student will have graphing pages for things like letter naming, fluency, sight word reading, reading level, stamina, etc.  They will also have individualized pages for their personal goals (shoe tying, # of books read at home, etc.)
3. Edmodo Badges: Each of my students has an Edmodo account.  Sounds a little ambitious for K, right?  We are just getting started with it and the parents are pretty excited!  We don't utilize it in the same way (or frequency) that a high school class would, but we make it work for us.  Baby steps.  Edmodo has a feature where you can award badges to students.  There are badges for things like homework, attendance, hard work, etc.  There is ALSO a feature that allows you to create your own badge for whatever you want it to be.  I have been making a lot that will coincide with the various skills that our little friends will master throughout the year.  That #2 above?  Whenever a student achieves a goal and tracks it in their binder, they will receive a digital badge!  We don't start until this Wednesday, but I sent a badge out to students who have already joined our Edmodo group.... and oh my y'all!  They're obsessed.  

If you're new to Edmodo, it's pretty easy to use.  I won't get into a tutorial on how to get started because there are a bazillion out there.  Google it if you want to get started. :)

I do, however, want to show you how to make your own badges.  It's SUPER easy.  All you need is PowerPoint (or similar program), some fun digital papers, clipart, and time.  This little tutorial is for PowerPoint, but there are similar steps for other programs.

Screenshot of some of the badges I have in my Account.                  

How to Create Custom Badges

• Open a new PowerPoint File
• Insert a circle from the "Insert" tab
• Adjust the size of the circle to about 6" in diameter
• Play with the settings of the circle: add a thick border, fill it with a digital paper or color, etc.

•   Add clipart and text to indicate what the badge is for (I have lots if you need some! Haha)

• Select ALL the elements by pressing CTRL+A.  Right click and "Goup" them together.  You can also just use CTRL+G to do it.
• Right click your creation again and select "Save As Picture"
• Save it however you want!  It will be saved as an image and you can then upload it to Edmodo via your Badge manager.
• Finally, they're ready to be awarded!  Dish them out as your kids reach their goals... and watch them become little badge kleptomaniacs.  Haha!  They LOVE getting them and showing off what they've accomplished.  

Easy peasy, right?  You can make as many as you need.  I've got a long list of badges to make for this year, but the kiddos love it!  One thing I've found helpful is to make similar badges the same color.  All of my ELA's have a red chevron background, science is green, writing is yellow, etc.  

 I hope this was helpful for anyone who uses Edmodo or is interested in getting started!  It's an amazing tool to get your kids engaged outside of class, build relationships, share content, receive feedback, and track progress in a fun way.

Have a wonderful week Blog Hoppers!

Well Hello....

I couldn't be more excited to become part of the Blog Hoppin' team!  Let me tell you, this is one of the first blogs that got me addicted to interested in teaching blogs.  It's not everyday that you run across a collaborative blog with so many amazing and talented teachers, so I'm so grateful to become part of the team.  It's humbling and a little bit overwhelming.  Especially having to follow a post from Debbie Clement.  :) I hope I don't put you to sleep...

My name is Ashley and I'm The School Supply Addict.  Maybe you've heard of it?  Or seen these dots flying around somewhere?

I'm not REALLY an addict.  I don't think.  Is denial a sign?  One of my best friends (and roommate) in college called me a 'school supply addict' after she discovered that I had amassed a closet full of crayons, paper, pencils, cardstock, stickers, glue, etc. all in anticipation of having my first classroom. My excuse was that I kept running into really good sales and needed to stock up.  This was a year before I graduated.  Although I still have strong urges to purchase mass quantities of 20 cent crayons and half-price packs of 3000 popsicle sticks, my addiction has morphed a bit.... to online resources.  

We'll get to that in a minute, but a few facts you may need to know:

• I have experience in Pre-K, Kindergarten, assessment, technology, and currently teach three different levels of EFL (6-7 year olds, 7-10 year olds, and teenagers).
• I'm from Kentucky, but currently live in Switzerland.  Yes.  Cheese, chocolate, wine, cows, and the Alps.  My husband and I have another year over here and then it's back to 'the states.' 
• I don't like reading non-teaching books.  There.  I said it.  A teacher who dislikes reading.  However, you better believe that my students think I love it!  That's a secret they'll never know.  :) 
• I'm a dog person.  If I didn't teach, then I'd live on a farm and open a dog shelter... and a frozen yogurt shop... with a wine bar inside... and a coffee shop next door.  I would also consider hanging posters of Ryan Gosling and Jude Law everywhere.  Like a 14 year old girl.  

My (amazing) husband and I

I started my little blogging adventure a little over a year ago and it has been nothing short of amazing.  I've connected with so many amazing teachers and learned over a bazillion things that I can use with my students.  It's truly helped me become a more effective and efficient teacher.

My blog/website is probably a little different than most you've come across.  Before I began, I had this ginormous list of links to ideas I had found online.  It was an organized Excel file, but wasn't that useful.  I'm a very visual person and had the idea of combining a blog with static pages and pictures.  Pictures of everything.  Literally.

In addition to my blog, there are over 100 pages on my site organized by content or areas that pertain to teaching.  My goal? 

Connect teachers with great resources... lots of them.  

You'll find my products and ideas alongside countless others from amazing teachers, many of whom write for Blog Hoppin'!  The one thing I always try to do is add some sort of visual for you to SEE what it is. Plus I add short descriptions, what level it's for, where it's from, whether it's free, a paid item, or idea, and the links to access it.  I try to make it as simple as possible and I add lots of new things every week!  

I hope you get a chance to come check it out!  I'm sure you find something you can use.  A word of caution though:  It's addicting.  You're going to need a bit of time (and coffee) to browse through everything.  I've been reprimanded by several friends for 'taking up way too much of their time'.  Hahaha....   I will NOT apologize.  :)

How about starting at one of the pages below?  It's that time of year again! 

I hope you enjoy and that it makes your life a little bit easier!  I'd love to have you join me on Facebook as well!  I do a lot of random giveaways and interact a lot with fans. 

Connect via Facebook

Thanks so much for your time!  I've got some great posts up my sleeve and I'll see you again soon.  In honor of my 'Blog Hoppin' Induction', I made you a little something...

He's all yours!  I just feel so honored (and fancy like this frog) being able to work with some great ladies!
Hopefully you have a use for a frog... in a top hat and bow tie.  Maybe?  

DOWNLOAD Fancy Frog (jpeg & png; via Google Docs)

Ok!  Happy Wednesday everyone!  See you soon!