A Little Taste of Coffee

Well, I have a confession to make.....I'm not a coffee drinker. 🙈 I know, I know.  How can I be a teacher and not drink coffee, right?! HAHA In all seriousness, I just never found anything I liked, but I was ready for some morning caffeine in my life.  So, some of my Teacher Besties and I had a coffee tasting party!

I asked all of the friends who were coming to bring some of their favorite coffee flavors and creamer to set me up for some real taste testing.  My friend Andrea keeps a Keurig in her classroom (plus she has a couch!), so we gathered for some morning drinks and so they could help me out with all this new coffee stuff.  She even let me use her cute cat mug! 🐱

I was amazed at all the flavors you can get in coffee and creamer!  They had a great variety, so it was an awesome way for me to try the coffee black, or add some flavored creamers to sweeten things up a little.

After all the taste testing, I was shocked at the verdict!  I LIKE COFFEE!  I never thought I'd actually find a coffee I liked, but I did.  My choice of drink this morning was Starbucks Toffeenut with a little French Vanilla creamer. 

I think this was a great starting point as I venture into the world of coffee.  There are so many other products and flavors out there, and I'm excited to try it all!  This post may seem silly to some, but in the middle of Pandemic Teaching, I'm thrilled to find these happy moments with my Teacher Besties.

It's Turkey Time!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and this is our last week before Thanksgiving break!  This is the first year we have ever gotten a full week off during the week of Thanksgiving and with the way this year is going, it is well deserved.  

This year has been a very stressful one.  I'm exhausted.  The kids are exhausted.  We all just want to get back to school and some normalcy, but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.  I decided to keep things fun this week and send my kiddos some projects they could enjoy as we head into the holiday break.

There are LOTS of fun activities out there and I hate that all my students aren't at school with me for us to fully enjoy them.  To kick things up a notch, I chose five of my favorite craftivities to send home this week.  Here's a little more about them and where you can get them to use in your own classroom!

1. Thankful Turkey

2. Thanksgiving Plate Craftivity

3. Thankful Paper Bag Book

4. Pilgrim/Indian Hat

Here are the kids wearing their hats last year.  These are some that we have drawn and use each year, but you can find some cute ones on TPT.

5. Virtual Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

This activity is so cute and one of my favorite holiday activities each year!  I plan to do it virtually this year.  I will show the "Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" original cartoon and have already sent the snacks home for them to enjoy during out live Google Meet!

It's definitely been a tough year, but I have found a way to modify all our favorite holiday activities so far.  I am doing my best to remain positive and keep things exciting for my kiddos during this pandemic.  Christmas is just around the corner, so I'm already working to create some fun, educational lessons for my class.

Tie-Dye T-Shirt Fun!

Oh my gosh!  This is one of my favorite projects we do every school year!  The kids are always so amazed at how their shirts turn out and when they realize they actually created it.  It's such a fun memory for everyone.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that tie-dying t-shirts with 20 or more 5-year-old sounds scary.  But if you plan everything out and do the prep work ahead of time, it will work out.  And having at least one extra pair of hands (I'm so thankful for my classroom assistant) will also help! haha

Usually I have the kids bring in a new white t-shirt in their size and write their name on the collar.  I also decide how I'm going to tie the shirts (lots of cute ideas on Pinterest) to get a design and twist and rubber band around them in advance.  Once I have the rubber bands on the shirt, I place it in a gallon zip lock bag with the child's name so I know it is their shirt and can be organized when it's time for the real fun.  This also allows me to be prepared with a bag to place their shirt after they apply the dye and it's wet.

Some other things I always have are some plastic disposable aprons, gloves, paper towels, and a trash bag handy to help manage the mess and for cleanup.  When it is their turn, the kids wear an apron (I try to use it for more than one kid since they usually don't get dirty), gloves, and I always use some sort of container for them to place their shirt in and squirt the dye on it.  This helps contain the mess.

Once the shirts are done, I send them home with the kiddos and a sheet of directions for their parents about rinsing and washing the shirt.  You can find a copy of the instructions here in my TPT store.  I really like for them to be able to take their shirt home and do this part so they get the full experience of the process.  In the past, I have done orange and white shirts and painted jack-o-lantern faces on the front.  Then, I started doing orange, yellow, and white (think candy corn!) and painting the jack-o-lantern faces on the front with fabric paint once they send them back to school.  I always do this in the fall and we wear them on our first field trip of the year, which is usually to a pumpkin patch or farm.

Unfortunately, 2020 had different plans for us.  No field trips will be happening anytime soon, but I still wanted the kids to have the fun experience of creating a tie dye shirt.  So, we went ahead with the orange and yellow dye, but we didn't paint faces on them so they could wear them anytime.  We got to go to school face-to-face for a few weeks, so I was able to do this project just in time for them to take the shirts home and rinse and wash them.

Tie-dying shirts is a fun project to do anytime of year.  Any color of dye would be perfect and you can pair your colors to whatever occasion you might be celebrating!

I purchased my dye from Amazon.  Here are some links for different colors:

Tulip Orange Tie-Dye Refill

Tulip Red Tie-Dye Refill

Tulip Yellow Tie-Dye Refill

Tulip Blue Tie-Dye Refill

Tulip Purple Tie-Dye Refill

Tulip Pink Tie-Dye Refill

Tulip Green Tie-Dye Refill

Virtual Learning: Round 2

As you all know, I'm on round two of virtual learning.  It has definitely proven not to be my favorite way to teach kindergarten, but we are making the best of it!  I'm very fortunate to have a wonderful class of students and supportive parents and get to see most of my kiddos during our live sessions each day.  I really think that helps me to feel like I'm really teaching because I'm getting to have that interaction with them.

I have learned so much while teaching virtually and have had a lot of time to reflect on things.  I've decided to share some of my takeaways with you and hopefully you will share with me!  We can learn so much from each other and become the best versions of ourself!

1. Create a routine.  I try to keep things in a very similar fashion for each day.  This has really helped not only my students, but also my parents!  They all know what to expect each day and are mentally prepared to work.  I have also found it so helpful to give my students similar assignments each day so they know what to expect. While the content changes, they know that there is going to be a reading assignment, a math assignment, work to do on our computer programs, a read aloud each day to listen and respond to, and sometimes a special assignment or project.  I try to pull the other content areas into those assignments so there aren't a lot of extras for them to be overwhelmed.  If we do a special project or assignment, this is always something I let them know about ahead of time so they can be prepared.

2. Connect with your families.  Teaching is so much more than just getting to know your students, and getting to know the rest of their family is more important than ever during this time.  I have gotten to know their families during my weeks of teaching virtually.  When I say their families, I mean immediate family and people beyond the parents or primary caregivers.  I have parents that are working, attending college, or have other prior engagements and can't be home to help their child get online for these live sessions and make sure they complete their work.  So, this duty has fallen on grandparents and other people in their families, which is perfectly fine.  I have really connected with them and done whatever I can to help them so they can help their child!  We all want the same thing--student success!  So it has been very important for me to connect with them so they can help in the best ways and make sure the student is able to attend live sessions and complete the work.  Reach out to them to check in via email, phone call, Zoom or Google Meet, or whatever other platform you are using in your classroom.  The world never expected to be in this situation, but it's such a good feeling to have families that care and want to do what's best for their child no matter the situation!

This shirt has gotten a lot of laughs from other staff members!  Thank you to Lulu's Vinyl & Gifts for another awesome shirt!  Use code "kindercrazy" to get 10% off your order!

3. Keep it simple.  I have seen some amazing technology out there!  There are so many awesome apps and programs and it all looks so exciting.  However, it's also important to know your families and understand who is helping the child at home.  My students are kindergarteners, so obviously they can't complete their work 100% on their own and need some assistance and support to navigate.  It's important to take into consideration the family and their knowledge of technology to know what they can do to support their child.  I have so many grandparents that are taking a part in their child's education and just don't understand everything technology has to offer.  Some of them are in their 70s, so it's quite amazing to me to see what they have accomplished so far!  I have LIVE Google Meet sessions daily, which I also record in case they need to go back and watch later.  I also send paper packets of work home to supplement my live sessions, which is what we would normally do in class at this time.  We are still learning letters and sounds, so the students need this sort of work so they are getting the practice they need, as well as working with various handwriting utensils (crayons, pencils, highlighters, etc.) and scissors!  This work is also easy for anyone in the family to assist with if the child needs it.  To submit their work, they take pictures and attach to the assignments on Google Classroom.  Simple and beneficial!  We don't always need the extra bells and whistles that come with fancy technology.

4. Utilize your computer programs.  We have some wonderful programs that we use such as Lexia Core 5, Symphony Math, Happy Numbers, Zearn, Epic Books, and Teach Your Monster to Read.  You can access Zearn, Epic Books, and Teach Your Monster to read for free online, so check them out!  Most of the programs have weekly goals for the students, so I can assign them a program to work on for a few minutes each day and it gives them some skills practice and helps them reach their weekly goals!  This is also an activity they can do completely on their own, so it provides some relief to the adults at home.

5. Schedule your assignments.  There are so many amazing platforms out there, but my district is using Google Classroom.  I always have my week planned ahead, so my assignments are ready to put into Google Classroom.  When loading an assignment, I can schedule a day and time for it to show up on our Class Feed and the Classwork section.  This is one of my favorite features so that I spend 30 minutes on Sunday evening loading all my assignments for the week and not have to stress about it!  It's also great for the parents so they can check Google in the morning and see what assignments are due for the day.  Many are working in addition to holding a household together, so they don't have time to check Google several times a day to see if I've put up any new assignments (who has time for that?!).  They know exactly what is due for that day and can plan accordingly.

6. Be EARLY for live sessions.  I have to open the room up for our Google Meets before students can enter, so it's important for me to be early.  It can be frustrating for a student to try and get on for the live session, but keep getting an error message because I don't have the room open yet.  To prevent issues, I always log on 10-15 minutes early and play some music for my class to listen to as they join the room (you can do this on Google or Zoom).  It allows everyone time to get on, sets the tone for the meeting (I play fun, upbeat songs), and gives everyone time to get settled in so I can start right on time.  My kindergarteners have been loving Super Simple Songs on YouTube, so I just share my screen so they can watch the videos and sing along to the music!

Virtual learning has definitely been a "learn as you go" type of experience.  Along the way, you'll find what works best for you and your class.  My biggest piece of advice is to be organized.  Create yourself an agenda for any live sessions to help keep you on track.  If you plan to screen share anything with your class, have your slides, documents, and links ready and loaded so you can click and go straight to it.  Try to think and plan ahead so you can hopefully prevent as many technology issues as possible.  

What are some things you have learned during virtual learning this year?

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?

Math Toolkits

Distance learning.  Virtual learning.  Whatever you call it, I'm back to it after two and a half weeks with all my kiddos in the classroom. 😔  All of my students are logging on from home each day and I've been doing a live reading and math lesson daily to keep them on track and in routine.  In addition to the live sessions, I record videos as needed and they complete other activities during the day and submit on Google Classroom.

I will be the first to admit that this is hard.  Hard for me.  Hard for the students.  And soooo hard on the parents who are also working and hold down the fort at home!  There are so many things to think about and consider.  It took some time to see what would work for my students and their parents, but I feel like we are really in the groove of things!  As I plan my lessons each week, I have to think about what materials they will need and get it to them in advance.  Many things have already been sent home for them to use.  But, as we move along through our content, new things are needed.  One thing that I sent home for this round of Virtual Learning was a Math Toolkit.

We started the school year out virtually for the first three weeks.  Then we finally got to come to school in person for two and a half weeks before we had to switch back to virtual learning.  This time, I decided to send the students home with their math toolkits.  We had been using them in class, so I figured I may as well send them home so the students will have a set of manipulatives to use during math lessons.

The Math Toolkits have proven to be a super handy was to keep manipulatives at their finger tips, while also giving them individual materials that they won't be sharing with anyone else.  We started out with some basic things and can add whatever we need as we go along.  Right now, here is what the students have in their toolkits:

a ten frame
foam die
red and white counters
cubes
foam square tiles

The Math Toolkits have been a great addition to their supplies at home.  We are able to use them during live sessions and it also gives the students access to materials while they work independently.  We did have some serious talks about taking care of our materials.  Once we return to school face-to-face, the students understand that they will be bringing their toolkits back to school so we can use them there.

Have you made toolkits for your students?  What did you include?  Any tips or suggestions for things I could add in later?