Word Wall

I've been busy working on some new Word Walls for my classroom. My Word Wall has been a bit of a sore spot in my classroom. The words usually don't match and are a hodge podge of hand written, typed, and the ones that come in the Lakeshore pack...not cute! I love how my new words came out! They are bright and cheerful with alternating patterns of polka dots, stripes and chevron. 

I think I will print an extra set and laminate them to use in literacy centers. I made separate sets for Fry and Dolch words and Journey's Words to Know (Kindergarten and First Grade editions). If you are in the market for a new Word Wall check it out! 

Only 9 more days until pre-planning for me! I'm soaking up  the last few days of summer!

Summer is winding down!

I can not believe that it is almost time for back to school! I have certainly enjoyed my summer off! I spent the month of June in professional development. I am getting my Gifted Endorsement, and am so excited to use my new strategies. So, while I was busy with projects and readings for my gifted endorsement and Marzano (not as exciting) I spent the rest of my summer relaxing and spending quality time with family and friends. 

Now it is time to slowly get into school mode. I have created some new products for my TPT store. I am going to do a better job at organizing my classroom library and created some new labels to go along with my color coded leveling system. 

Take a look! It may work out in your classroom!

Journey's for Reading Instruction

What reading program does your school use? Here in Orlando, we use Journey's from Houghton Mifflin. Overall, the program has been beneficial for our students. As a first grade team we have collected some great resources to supplement the curriculum. There are some great sellers on TPT that have amazing packets that support skills and topics.

Here are some of the packets that I created for my class to go along with the Journey's units. My units focus mainly on word skills. My students love them and get excited for the routine of the Word Scrambler, Design a Word and Roll and Read. Give these a try with your students if your curriculum is Journey's. If you have a different reading program, these packets may still be useful to you as they cover many sight words, phonics and word families. 

100th Day of School

Have you hit the 100th day at your school yet? We start school at the end of August in Florida, so we celebrated our 100th day last week. I have been with my students for 280 days! I was their Kindergarten teacher too. It has been such a pleasure watching them grow and develop so much. 

To celebrate the day the teachers and students dressed up as 100 year olds! What a fun day we had. :) My teammates and I were like little kids, having walker races and cane fights. The students were adorable in their granny garb. 

We made Froot Loop necklaces, the students brought in a collection of 100 items, we wrote about what we would do when we were 100 years old, and we compared this 100 days to the 100 days of Kindergarten. Jam packed and fun filled day! 100 down...80 to go. 

Here's a preview of me as a senior citizen. :)