Interactive Notebooks -Science The interactive notebook craze continues. Carson Dellosa continues to support the trend. There are great kindergarten appropriate topics in this book. All the topics are sorted by the categories – life, physical, and Earth and space. Eleven activities in each category. Jammed packed if you ask me! I love being a Carson Dellosa Brand Ambassador – makes my heart happy trying out these products and breathing a sigh of relief when they fit perfectly into my curriculum! This is a fun thing to do with the students – and really helpful in their thinking process. We all know – hands on is the way to go! This gives them a great way to make their learning stick – it is interactive and helps organize their thinking. The more we do this type of organizational thinking in the younger grades, the more the students will transfer it on their own as they get older. I really enjoy teaching these science topics with the students. The resources in this book make life ea...

OK where does life go?? How is it February? How is it half way through February?? I have written this post and about 20 more in my head. I just can’t find the time to get them on paper. I am really shocked how busy life can be even when the kids have left the house! OH MY! I keep thinking that every week, I will get there….and then I don’t. I’m sorry – I feel like I start off every post like this. I don’t know how some of you do it! Hats off to you! On to more important things… Valentine’s Day may be over. But the Mini Bulletin Board set from Carson Dellosa is still A-DOR – ABLE! There are 56 pieces in this ‘mini’ set. I think that is not so mini!  What a great set to use for the holiday or for a unit on writing letters! Or for a Random Act of Kindness bulletin board. They even give you some cute ideas for using it too! It will make a great full size bulletin board. There is a sweet mailbox – don’t kids love getting mail! We, as adults, only think of mail as bills. It ...

                                                                                                                          I wanted to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching  for Five For Friday. I had good plans to get this done- then life once again got in the way!  So I figured better late than never, so here is my Five For Friday on Sunday!                                                            Found this at Target. It's pink, it's glittery and it's HAPPY! Perfect for my classroom! It's sitting on the cabinet a...

Well, it's Sunday night and the football game is on. :-) I stayed out of the building for the whole winter break! I did it! I have been busy cleaning arou nd the house. We have thrown out TONS! I have three bags to take to school this week. You all do that too don't you? You clean out at home and decide that you can use it in your classroom. Oh that needs cleaned out too. I'm feeling motivated though! This is the year!  I cleaned up the emails from school - it's all fresh and ready to go! I made a list of things that I want to do tomorrow with my kinders! None of it is on the lesson plans. That's ok! I'm good with it. I knew I better make a list though or I would forget what I wanted to do with them. I really want to talk, work on, discuss, move toward a POSITIVE GROWTH MINDSET. I bought the book Mindsets In the Classroom  by Mary Cay Ricci today. I'm super excited to start reading it. Probably when I'm done this post. lol  I also bought Beautiful Oops...

2016?!?!?! Really?? How did that happen??? I feel like it was just Christmas last year! Everyone always says that the older you get, the faster time goes. They didn't need to be correct!!! 2015 has been a crazy kinda year. I think  HOPE that 2016 kinda settles down a little. I'm thinking it will. I think it will. I think it will. HAHA Christmas break is always a great time! This year has been super nice with the weather! I can't remember another Christmas Eve service that we didn't wear coats to! Running errands wasn't so bad either. I could have gone for some more sun, but I'll take what we get. So it is New Year's Day Evening. We ate our pork and sauerkraut. Hoping for the luck it is suppose to bring! We ate at a regular dinner time. We are having an evening! This doesn't happen often people! I'm loving that my husband has been able to have two three day weekends! That doesn't happen often either! So since he is relaxing sleeping on the ...

Can you believe it is November? The first marking period is OVER! This is going too fast! I don't know where the time goes! So much more to do and hopefully enough time!  Listening - Football! This is really the first Sunday all season that we have sat down and watched some games! We planned on making some dinner tonight - wonder if we will get off the couch and do that! LOL  LOVING - Really! I am LOVING being a empty nester! Do you know how many grocery bags we used today???? FOUR! That's it! FOUR! It will last us all week too! And there was no junk in it! There was fruit that we will eat! I do LOVE and MISS my "babies" while they are in college. They are good though! They are doing their thing. They are getting ready to fly! That's how we raised them! They know they have a home whenever they need it. But I  we are really enjoying being just us too.  Thinking - Well, that was the plan all week in my head! HAHAHA Hubby had plans yesterday and I th...

Here is another good resource for writing. Carson Dellosa's Applying The Standards . This is a good resource to help students with using evidence based writing. It is a good start for teachers also. As we all get use to the new standards, we need some help too. This can not be used independently - at least with my kinders- but I will certainly use this as a resource to help keep me on track!  I would love to have these in a Smart Board format to share large screen with the class. The book has included a lot of information - Common Core alignment chart, assessment rubric, writing checklist, writing process packet and a key for planning and implementation.  They have graphic organizers too. I really think this is a resource that I will be able to use to model and work together. I like the fact that it has checklists for the students = there are visuals and words. What a good way for the kids to make connections. There is a checklist for the five steps of writing- brainstorm, dra...