In the Seuss Spirit Now :0)

Well, I've definitely got into making some fun Seuss-inspired games for word wall practice (can you tell I think those word wall words are super duper important?)

Anyways, I can't post this until tomorrow but be on the lookout at my TpT store for this great new "Seuss Do-a-Dot" tomorrow morning bright and early..... Edit: It's now posted :0)



On a sadder note - I won't be going to work tomorrow.... March 1st is the 1 year anniversary of the day my mom went to be with our Lord. I miss her terribly every day. I still find myself go to pick up the phone to call her.... I love you mom, but I appreciate everything you did for me and my kiddos. Now, you are our angel!

Sorry - the Seuss Freebie has been removed. Dr. Seuss company was adamant that teachers take down anything with Seuss-like characters as it's a violation of copyright so of course I complied. If you see Dr. Seuss materials available on TpT - they are illegal and in violation of Dr. Seuss copyright.

Seuss FREEBIE for Leap Day!

Here is my newest freebie - direct to you! I am joining Angela Watson's linky party from The Cornerstone!.

I love Dr. Seuss and celebrating his special day! But sometimes I get overwhelmed by all the cute things out there and lose sight of the nitty-gritty.... :0)

Well, here's an activity that allows you to get the nitty-gritty done with a Seuss flare!!!

I'll keep this short and sweet :0) - Basically your kiddos will use what they know about word family words and blends to help them read some words. Some of the words are real words and some are nonsense (just like what we often see in our beloved Dr. Seuss books). Your kiddos task is to sort the words with Thing 1 and Thing 2.

I hope this adds a little flare to your classroom and takes a little off your shoulders as we make the push to Spring Break!!

Sorry - the Seuss Freebie has been removed. Dr. Seuss company was adamant that teachers take down anything with Seuss-like characters as it's a violation of copyright so of course I complied. If you see Dr. Seuss materials available on TpT - they are illegal and in violation of Dr. Seuss copyright.

UPDATE:
I made a Seuss-legal freebie I'd love you to have. It has no references to Seuss or any Seuss characters. But, it's a nice Silly word wall game. Click the picture below to grab it!

I hope you can use it!

Seuss No Mas! Sight Word Game

Ok, so I totally got suckered into all the cute Dr. Seuss stuff going around and had to create something myself. So here is what I did:

One of the super simple games I teach my kiddos to practice reading sight words is 

No Mas! Have you ever heard of this game before? It is easy and cute! Kids take turns reading words and when someone gets the No Mas! card - the game if Over! (No Mas means No More in Spanish). Then the kids can count their cards!

Du-Da-Dum!!!-->

Sorry - the Seuss Freebie has been removed. Dr. Seuss company was adamant that teachers take down anything with Seuss-like characters as it's a violation of copyright so of course I complied. If you see Dr. Seuss materials available on TpT - they are illegal and in violation of Dr. Seuss copyright. 

Sooo....... what in my cart????

One of the items already in my shopping cart is from Hilary from Rockin' Teacher Materials. (Don't you just love her materials???). Anyways, I can't wait to get my grubby little paws on these beginning sound words sorts and Let's Make Words activity! I'm so excited because I really need something great to add to my literacy centers right after Spring Break! You can find her TpT store here. 

Another item I have in my TpT shopping cart is from Mary Lirette of Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives. In class we are working on subtraction so I grabbed her Soccer Subtraction. You can find her TpT store here!

I have a feeling I'm going to fill my shopping cart!

If you get the Teachers Pay Teachers newsletter every Sunday then you have already heard that there is going to be a huge Leap Day sale on Wednesday.  Many teachers are offering 20% off and with the 10% off that get with the Promo Code: L2P9Y, you get a huge 28% off.  This sale only comes around every 4 years and will be the last big sale before teacher appreication day in May.   My store will be on sale for all of Wednesday at 20%.  Don't forget to use the promo code for an extra 10% off.  Here is the link to my store.

There are lots of great other teachers that are having sales on Wednesday too.  Click on their links below to head to their blog and stores.

                                    Mary Amoson's TpT store:                               

           

            Nicole Heinlein's TpT store

Teaching4Real's TpT store

       First grade and Fabulous TpT store

Kindergarten Lifestyle's TpT store

       HoJo'sTpT store

Jd's Rockin' Readers TpT store

Andrea Kerr's TpT store

Teaching Tales TpT store

Laura Candler's TpT store

Christina Aronen's TpT store

Mary Lirette's TpT store 

Kids Cog Works TpT store

DillyDabbles TpT store

Rachel Lynette's TpT store 

Fisher Reyna Education's TpT store

Mrs Miners Monkey Business TpT store 

Nylas Crafty Teaching TpT store

First Grade Blue Skies TpT Store


Teaching in Room 6 TpT store

High Stakes Testing Link up!

 I found this great linky party about high stakes testing (Should I say it???? yeah why not, it is our reality, right?).


Jennifer over at Empowering Little Learners has a great post about the testing she has to do as a kinder teacher in Arizona (oh my goodness!!)..... So sad that we have to pressure our little ones so much.....but I guess it is what it is :0/


Soooo.... without further delay here is the break-down where I teach:


I am a kindergarten teacher in Texas. In kindergarten we give the following tests:
1. Diagnostic tests - given beginning, middle, and end of the year. These tests are used to determine our at-risk kiddos in math only. It consists of 10 questions that deal mainly with number recognition and counting. Pretty easy!


This test takes approximately 5-7 minutes to take. 


2. State Literacy Test - This test is also given 3 times a year - beginning, middle, and end of the year. We have a new state-mandated test that is computer-based (alternative to TPRI). The kids get on the computer and test on letters, sounds, beginning sounds of words, blending, listening comprehension, and vocabulary. These tests are interactive, but it is so hard letting a 5 year old be in control....They often don't understand what is being asked or they are more interested in what their neighbor is doing, etc..... I wished the test were given on a 1 to 1 basis. The results of this test determine whether the kids are "at-risk" for reading difficulty. It is also what we, as teachers, are judged on in the district. 


This test takes approximately 20 minutes to take.


3. DRA - this is an informal assessment given in class on an as-needed basis. DRA is like Rigby or Dibels. Each child reads a text and we do a running record. Our students are expected to leave kindergarten on level 6. Currently, most of my students are on level 4. I do have a lower group on 3's and a high 
group on 10's. 


This test takes approximately 10 minutes to take.


We used to receive a "bonus" if our class scored exceptionally high; however, with the recent budget cuts, that has been eliminated.


Well....that is about it for kinder! That is also one of the reasons I love kinder! I worry each year that it will be the year that we start benchmarking kinders.....so far so good....I just think it's sad that we put so much emphasis on 
testing and scores. 


I am super excited to see what kinds of testing everyone else does. So, hop on  over to Empowering Little Learners  and join the linky to let us know :0) 

Leap Day Sale ~~ Woo-hoo!

If you get the Teachers Pay Teachers newsletter every Sunday then you have already heard that there is going to be a huge Leap Day sale on Wednesday.  Many teachers are offering 20% off and with the 10% off that get with the Promo Code: L2P9Y, you get a huge 28% off.  This sale only comes around every 4 years and will be the last big sale before teacher appreication day in May.   My store will be on sale for all of Wednesday at 20%.  Don't forget to use the promo code for an extra 10% off.  Here is the link to my store.

There are lots of great other teachers that are having sales on Wednesday too.  Click on their links below to head to their blog and stores.

                                    Mary Amoson's TpT store:                               

           

            Nicole Heinlein's TpT store

Teaching4Real's TpT store

       First grade and Fabulous TpT store

Kindergarten Lifestyle's TpT store

       HoJo'sTpT store

Jd's Rockin' Readers TpT store

Andrea Kerr's TpT store

Teaching Tales TpT store

Laura Candler's TpT store

Christina Aronen's TpT store

Mary Lirette's TpT store 

Kids Cog Works TpT store

DillyDabbles TpT store

Rachel Lynette's TpT store 

Fisher Reyna Education's TpT store

Mrs Miners Monkey Business TpT store 

Nylas Crafty Teaching TpT store

First Grade Blue Skies TpT Store


Teaching in Room 6 TpT store