It’s Spooky Week! 👻

Celebrating holidays at school is one of my most favorite things about teaching kindergarten!  We love dress up days and parties and all the other fun activities that come along with it!  Everyone (and by "everyone" I mean ALL kindergarteners😂) is always hyped up about the holidays, so we may as well ride out that excitement and make it fun!

Things will go a little different this year since all the kiddos are home and we are back to virtual learning.  So, I'm going to have to work a little harder to make things fun for them this week.  It's a little tougher to plan things and make sure they have materials they need, but I was able to come up with some fun activities on short notice--thank you TPT! LOL

I decided to choose five books that the kids typically love to read this time of year, and send home activities centered around them.  This will throw some festive fun into each day leading up to Halloween next Saturday!  In addition to these fun activities, I plan to demonstrate some fun science experiments for them to observe (normally we would get to do them together at school) and we are even having a Virtual Costume Party on Friday!

1. There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Bat

I really didn't have time to create something new, so I was so excited to find all kinds of super cute activities to go along with this book on TPT.  I decided to send the kids this adorable interactive sequencing activity they could do while I was reading the story, and they can use it to retell the story again and again at home!  Watch my Instagram for pictures of actual student work I'll post this week so you can see how they did!

2.The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything

There was a whole set of fun activities to go along with this book, but I just chose one craftivity to send home to my students.  They will get to listen to the story, then put together the pieces to make their own scarecrow and then match the sounds to the object from the story.  Get the set of activities here and watch for me to post some students examples this week on my Instagram account!

3.Creepy Pair of Underwear

This book is always a favorite for the kids!  Anything with underwear and potty humor seems to hold their attention and keep them giggling.  Luckily, there are also lots of fun activities on TPT for me to choose from.  I purchased this set, but I am only going to send the bunny craftivity and writing as the assignment.  I can't wait to see how this turns out and post a sample on Instagram for you to see!

4.Room on the Broom

This is a very popular choice right now since there is an animated version on Netflix.  It's super cute and the kids are loving it any time of year!  I can't wait to share the book with my class and see how this cute witch craftivity turns out for them!  Be sure to keep an eye on my Instagram account this week and I'll show you how they turn out!

5.Crankenstein

The final cute story I will be reading during Halloween week is this one!  It's adorable and the kiddos always love it!  My students love doing directed drawings together, so that's exactly what I plan to do during one of our LIVE sessions this week.  There are all sorts of versions out there, but I really love Art Projects for Kids and can't wait to draw with my students!

What are some fun things you are doing in your classroom this week?

Where It All Goes Down Wednesday

Teachers LOVE to see each other teacher’s classroom pictures!  I especially love that time of year right before school starts when everyone is creating new things and making their classroom better than the year before.  It’s always neat to see how people implement thing differently, yet it still works for them!  So, I figured today would be a great day to show you some things from my classroom! 

My classroom is mostly left behind remnants of the March Madness that kindergarten can bring.  It looks exactly how I left it on that Friday the 13^th before we started online learning due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.  It’s not perfect or Pinterest-worthy, but it’s been an engaging learning environment for my Kinders this past school year.  Our classroom definitely has that “lived in” look, and I’m okay with that.  So, even though it’s not in perfect condition, I headed on up to take some pictures of some of the things I really liked about my classroom this year to share with you.

1)    Trade Books Unit Dividers

Every two weeks, I begin a new thematic unit.  I found some awesome dividers from Oriental Trading so that I could organize my books by units to find them quickly.  The kids know they are not allowed to get books from this bookshelf, so that helps with the organization.

2)    Reading Center

This is the reading center that the students are allowed to use.  The rug you see here is definitely getting tossed this summer because it has had a rough year! Lol I do realize the absolute mess on the bottom half of the shelf is probably freaking some of you out, but that’s some real life for you right there!  A few times a week I have one of the kids straighten up their reading center bookshelf, but obviously it didn’t happen on that last day.  The scoop chairs came from Walmart (I need to remove those stickers).

3)    Writing Center

This is my new favorite thing in my classroom this year!  It has really encouraged my students to write in so many different ways.  There is an awesome bundle from Deedee Wills on TPT.  Click to see the bundle here or you can buy one month at a time.  They are so great once you have them all laminated and cut out because it’s as simple as changing it out each month!  The prep work is pretty much done for years ahead!  Also, you can get the cute banner at the top here from The Unique Classroom.  It is editable!  The paper tray and pencil cups are all from Really Good Stuff!

4)    Morning Tubs Chart

When my students come in each morning and put their backpacks and folders away, they know to get their morning tub (I'll have a post about these later).  It's part of their daily routine to get their day started quickly. This chart shows each student what number tub to do that day.  Their partner stays the same for a while until I decide to switch things up.  I love these little picture magnets I ordered from Shutterfly (I got them when there was a $1 sale+free shipping!) because they’re cute and everyone can see their partner and morning tub number at a glance.  The number labels are editable labels I found here on TPT by The Creative Classroom.

5)    Homework Folder Baskets on the Wall

These awesome baskets came from Ikea.  When the students come in each morning, they put their homework folder in the basket before they can start their morning tub.  These are the perfect size for these folders!  It’s part of their daily routine and really helps keep our classroom organized.

Hopefully when this Pandemic is over and the dust settles, I will get to go back to my classroom for a fresh start.  And just maybe I’ll have some Pinterest-worthy pictures for you then!  So be sure to keep your eyes peeled this summer for new beginnings!

I’d love to see some of your classroom pictures, so please feel free to go to the Facebook page and post some in the thread for us!