Sub Plans Made Easy with a FREEBIE and a SCHOLASTIC GIVEAWAY!!!

Hi Peeps! Traci Clausen with Engaging Teaching here... sharing about that fabulous topic... making sub plans!

Taking a day off as a teacher means writing sub plans. We all know how much that weighs on whether or not we take that day! In my little world, life has been in the way a lot recently and that has resulted in quite a few sub days. For these days, I am so thankful for the things that make planning for a day I can’t be in the classroom so much easier.

Stop by my latest post and grab a copy of my sub plan template and a FREE editable version that you can edit for yourself!!


Leaving Scholastic News for my sub to use with my kiddos is a big part of keeping my sub planning simple.

Don't forget to enter the SCHOLASTIC GIVEAWAY while you are visiting, too!

Visit Engaging with Traci Clausen for a chance to win and to grab your FREEBIE!

Math Work Stations Summer Free Files!

Hi there!

This is Deedee from Mrs. Wills Kindergarten!  I wanted to share a throwback post I did over on my blog!

Back in 2011, I helped lead a pretty sizable blog book study with this fantastic book!  I did a little resource roundup and if you are feeling like a boatload of summer free files, let me tell you where to start!

Here are just a few of the things you will find!

Swing on by.  Warning... it will be a bit like a scavenger hunt as you go through the posts, but click HERE to get started!

Gobbled Up Numbers!

Hey y'all, it's Michelle Hudgeons from Smitten With First. I wanted to share a quick math freebie with you all.  All you need is dice and construction paper! 

Let your students know that some very hungry turkeys are coming to your room today and they are going to gobble up numbers!!! 

Give each student two dice and have them roll the dice to generate a number to build. The two dice will be their number for the tens place and ones place.  After students roll their number, they will color in their ten frames. The ten frames will become the turkey's feathers. 

After completing the ten frames and turkeys, students will record (on the recording sheet) how many tens and ones their turkey gobbled up! 

You can have your students go ahead and write the number that their turkey ate inside the turkey's belly, OR have your students trade turkeys with another student and have that student write what number the turkey ate. 

You can download this freebie here or by clicking on one of the pictures below. 

Final Stretch... and Some Free Clipart

Y'all, the struggle is real right now.  We have 4 weeks of school left.  Two of them are snow make-up weeks and the kids are done.  DONE.  Kindergarteners have a terrible concept of time.  I mentioned that summer is soon and they've staged an all out riot.  I love them to pieces and I've already cried twice because they have to leave me, but they've lost their ever-lovin' minds.  They are holding me hostage for the remainder of our time together.  

I'm struggling with everything.  Being a wife,  remembering to call my family, brushing my teeth twice a day, being a friend (I think I've forgotten what those are these past two weeks), rinsing shampoo out of my hair, getting school stuff done, sleeping, eating anything but Sour Patch Kids, and Lord help me... I've fallen completely off the exercise train.  The train that I'm on now is called the "Exhausted from School - Netflix - Wine - Express."

I know I'm not the only one.  Why is the last month of school so stressful!?

I think I just need to get back into my health routine.  Just like my kids, I thrive on a routine.  Working out, eating right, and taking care of myself.  It is seriously going to be terrible.  I hate running and love sweet tea.  For a little inspiration, I'm sharing one of my Mini Sets, for FREE!  This is the exact outfit I wear when I get my sweat on.  

Just kidding.  I wish I looked good in a leotard and leg warmers.  

Just click to download it from TPT.  

If you've still got some days left in school, you got this!  Let's do it!  Haha!  

Have a great week!

Ashley

Gettin' Buggy With It

Spring...a time of renewal, birth, pollen, and bugs...
right!?
It's Rachel from the tattooed teacher and I'm just sharing a few quick buggy freebies today!
Our meal worms and caterpillars just arrived yesterday! The kiddos are pretty curious since I haven't quite wrapped up the weather unit and I didn't tell them what's in those bins!
Now let's get onto those insect freebies!! This first one is a 3 page cut and paste life cycle diagram plus the writing piece I used last spring! I loved how they turned out! I had them paste both onto a piece of brown construction paper to display with our birth certificates for our little larvae! And one option doesn't say "mealworm" in case you want to use a different insect!
DOWNLOAD HERE

Next, crawl over to First Grade Parade and read about Cara's Hey Little Ant writing craftivity! Here's two from last year! I love those faces!

and then here's another freebie from me about bees! 

Need more on insects?

check my units out! 

Each of the bee organizers came from here! This is a great intro unit!

Mealworms! one of my best sellers!

And here are two lifecycle files!

Centers

and interactive notebook templates!

Stay Buggy!

Valentine's Day Party Idea and FREEBIES!

Hey peeps! It's Traci from Dragonflies in First... with some free stuff for you!

2015 is definitely underway! I'm already planning February.

We celebrate Valentine's Day with a deliciously fun Ice Cream Sundae Party. It's an easy and quick little party. Each kiddo brings in one ingredient. That results in a huge amount of ice cream sundae bar goodies!

I generally don't have a room parent to organize parties so I like to keep them simple and manageable. Having each kiddo bring in a small contribution makes that possible.

I send home a notice about the party with each kiddo. On their notice, I circle one thing for each of them to bring. There are always a few kiddos who I know will probably not bring in a contribution so I assign them something we can do without or something that I've also asked from other students - that way we're covered. On my own copy of the notice, I write down the names of each student next to the item I've asked that they donate. Some things I request from several students (i.e. tubs of ice cream) so that we can be sure to have enough.

This is a sample of the notice I sent out last year.

Click the pic to see the letter larger. Click HERE to download a printer friendly black and white copy without all the dates on it for yourself. 

As you can see, I make a big deal about the kiddos writing their own Valentines cards. It drives me nuts when they come in with ones their parents wrote, or worse...not "to" a particular child. My own little pet peeve.

Speaking of Valentines... Here's a link to my EDITABLE Valentines. (In a wonderful double-standard kind of way- you can TYPE in your name and your students' names if you wish) In lieu of a candy treat it includes a HOMEWORK PASS!

Directed Drawings!! Why you should do them!

Hey guys!! It's Katie, from Little Warriors! Have you started doing directed drawings with your kiddos yet???

I am obsessed with directed drawings!!!! Who knew a 5-year-old could draw this well?!?! I didn't even know that I could draw this well!!!!!!!! Ha!!

I was first introduced to directed drawings about 4 years ago when, I got a unit from my friend, Deanna Jump and it had these Statue of Liberty directed drawing instructions in it. They looked soooo stinkin' cute!!! But, I was VERY skeptical that my students' drawings would turn out as cute as the ones that I saw on her blog!!!

Boy, was I wrong!!! I was hooked!!!!

As people walked down the hall in my school, they would stop and stare at these drawings. They noticed that EVERY. SINGLE. ONE was different and unique. They could tell that these were original drawings drawn by my budding little artist! "Did your KINDERGARTENERS draw these?!?!" They would ask. Yep!!! They sure did!!!!!

So, that's the first reason that I LOVE directed drawings!!! These are NOT your cookie cutter "art" projects that you so commonly see coming from Kinder classrooms. This is REAL art. They are real, unique masterpieces and I think that's part of why the kids love them so much too!!!

The second reason that I LOVE them so much is because it raises their confidence as artists so much!!!!! You would not believe how many perfect little Frankensteins that I saw everywhere after we did these!! In their journals, on the backs of their papers, in the writing center. But, it didn't stop there.....

I noticed that they were using the steps and techniques that we did in our directed drawings in the drawings that they were doing on their own!! Their skills were carrying over!

Directed Drawings are a GREAT exercise for listening and following directions!!! The kids know that they HAVE to stay focused and follow directions, or their drawings won't turn out. EVERY SINGLE one of my students listens intently as I give my step by step directions. They actually LOVE these activities because they LOVE the finished products!

You do NOT have to buy any lessons to make your drawings!! If you've never done them before, you should check out THIS awesome blog!!!!!!!! It's called ARTventurous This is where I got the directions for the reindeer (below) and the Frankensteins that you saw earlier.

Once you get the hang of it, you won't need the directions anymore. I did the Santas on my own in December and these snowmen last week! The key is breaking it down. Draw one single line at a time and describe exactly how to do it. I make sure EVERYONE'S pencil is DOWN while I'm giving the direction and their eyes have to be ON ME. I don't let them draw with me as I'm doing it. They watch a step with pencils down and once I've explained that step and drawn it, THEN they can pick their pencils up and do it.

Just have your students draw with pencil, then trace it with a black crayon. Then, color it in...(always reminding them to push hard). I also do the tracing step by step so that they don't fly through their tracing and it turns out sloppy. We trace ONE thing at a time :) For the backgrounds, I just mix a little tempra paint with water....and that's it.

We have started doing a directed drawing EVERY month this year! The kids love them, I love them, AND everyone that walks past them, can't help but stop and look at how different and unique our little masterpieces are!!

I encourage you to try them NEXT week!!! An activity that's FUN, encourages focus and attention for the entire time, builds confidence and gives your students the skills that they need to become proud, talented little artists!! You will be amazed at what your kids are drawing after your first lesson!!

Martin Luther King Jr. FREEBIE!

Hi Blog Hoppers!  Ashley, The School Supply Addict, here.  

Today, I'm sharing my MLK mini pack with you.  These are a few of the pages that I'll be using with my students next week as we study such an influential man... Martin Luther King.  I've included a few graphic organizers (Thinking Maps) and a prompt that contains two versions of lines (larger for K and smaller for 1 and up).  I hope you can use these and it makes your life a little easier!    

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD ON TPT

Most of you know that I am a kindergarten teacher by day.... graphic designer by night... and sometimes a wine connoisseur by night as well.  If you're looking for a small little clipart set to use in your products, then be sure to check out my new mini MLK set!  It's under $2.00 and contains everything you see in the preview below.  

Have a fantastic long weekend!  

Ashley

2015 Calendar Questions {free download}

Happy Happy New Year!

This is Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching. If you are anything like me you are trying your very hardest to slow down time so your Christmas/Winter break doesn’t end! Tomorrow is back to educating little minds. Which also means an alarm clock and getting dressed. Oh, how I have enjoyed my days off! I am guessing you have too!

I am here today to share a quick and easy to prep activity to help teach calendar skills to your students. It features a 2015 calendar {colored and black and white are included} and 27 general questions.

I plan to introduce the calendar pages in small groups. I will ask oral questions {using the question format from the cards} and we will practice finding the answers together.

Then, I divided the questions into 3 groups. These will be used as an independent activity. I am just going to have my students number and write their answers on paper. Nothing fancy = quick to prep!

This is a free download in my TpT store. Hop over to grab it if you think you can put it to use in your classroom. Mine are prepped and on my lesson plans for Tuesday!

Quick Link: 2015 Calendar Questions

Color-Your-Own Bookmarks!

Hello Blog Hoppers!  Ashley, The School Supply Addict, here.

I'm sure everyone is doing the crazy-week-before-Christmas-break dance.  I'm going crazy!  My sweet little kinders are doing wonderfully, but it's all the extras that come with this week.  I need a nap, wine, time in the hot tub, and little elves to visit my house and clean.  Haha!

I thought I'd share a quick little freebie with you today.... color-your-own bookmarks!  My kids absolutely love reading and now that they are starting to get into longer books, they're in need of some bookmarks.  I went ahead and whipped up these fun ones that we'll be making after our break.  I'll have my kids color them and then I'll laminate them to keep them nice and "fancy."  They'll all be getting all four bookmarks, but you can certainly cut them and have your kids choose one.  I'm going to have my kids keep two at school and two at home.

The black & white version is the one that you receive, but I went ahead and colored one to show you how fun they can look.  Simple & fun.  :)

Click the image to download on TPT, or click here.

I hope you can use them!  Have a wonderful break and Merry Christmas!

Ashley