Organized Transitions Rock!!

So, when your 21 kiddos transition from activity to activity or place to place in your room, is it complete CHAOS????

Well, that's what it used to look like in our rooms! Yep!! Imagine all our kiddos walking around,  talking with friends and hanging out while forgetting that we are even in the room!!! Well, the kiddos were supposed to be going from group time on the rug to an activity at the table, but that was not happening!

So, how did our kiddos transform from a PARTY TIME transition to an ORGANIZED transition???

Well, the lost art of memorizing nursery rhymes and poems was reborn!! Yes, People!! It was that simple.

We teach our kiddos a rhyme using the method MY TURN, YOUR TURN! (Teacher says a line then student repeat until they know the rhyme independently).

Then we say, "Ok FRIENDS, on your way to the table tell me about Jack Be Nimble".  The kids in unison recite the nursery rhyme on the way to the table.

It's awesome!! We teach a new rhyme or poem every couple of days and Voila!! New material for ORGANIZED transitions!!  Love it!!

Our Kiddos really love the new versions of Humpty Dumpty and Mary had a Little Lamb!
Below are the words! We will post the authors' names as soon as we can find where we learned them :).

"1st Day in K" sign!

Well---we have been underway for 16 days!  Oh---my---goodness!  Time is already flying by.

We've been kinda swamped these 1st few weeks so we are just getting around to posting some of our 1st day things.  I know most of you guys have started back, but we still wanted to share our version of the SUPER CUTE "1st Day in K" signs we have seen on Pinterest.

I found this AWESOME (already painted gem of a find) orange frame at a local vintage treasures store. Then I headed to the greatest place on earth for crafting...where else....HOOOOOBBBBYYY LOOOBBBBBBBY!  I LOVE that place!  Truly---LOVE!

I bought the wooden letters for something like $1.49 each for the smalls and $2.49 for the biggies.  I have to say I am usually much more of a penny pincher to spend that much on a dang wooden letter collection, but I knew I would use the frame for years AND I could share it with my K friends!

Then Christie (most awesome assistant in the world!) took the letters home for "homework" (as her hubs likes to say) and painted those puppies this awesome neon blue color.

Then a dab of hot glue here and there...and VOILA!!!  SO---STINKIN'---CUTE!

The kiddos looked so adorable!

This is the original pin we saw that caught our eye.  This super cute version is over at First Grade Schoolbox!

Well that's our quickie post for tonight!  Sleep well!

Grandparent's Day Mini-Unit! - Just Updated!

Grandparent's Day is almost here!  We LOVE this holiday!

Grandparents...great memories of cookies baking, family celebrations, raking leaves just so we could jump in them, getting away with almost ANYthing...don't we just LOVE these people!!!

So last year we created a Grandparent's Day mini-unit which has become one of the top grandparent's day products on TpT!  BUT---we still thought it was time for a little remodeling!

We added some super cute new graphics, borders, fonts, and added several activities including..."Grandma/Grandpa Can, Have, Gives ---a coloring page just for fun---and additional sheets that say "Grandparents" instead of Grandma or Grandpa in case you want to save on copying or time!

So we hope you like the updates.  If you already own this product, please go download the revised version for FREE!  If you are thinking of purchasing the product, you can snag it in our TpT store for $4.00!

Here's a little peek at what's included!
The unit includes different versions that work for 
kindergarten, first, AND second grades!

As always, we will choose 2 winners from the comments below!  Please be sure to leave your email address too so we know where to email it if you win!  Thanks for taking this blogging adventure with us.  We appreciate your comments, feedback, and support a TON!

Open House: What to Do?

So, what do you do at your Open House that is only 2 weeks after meet the teacher day???

Well friends why not have some parent / teacher conferences ?  Well, that might be a little difficult since we are just now finished administering our SLO assessment/ GKIDS Baseline.

We are still compiling data and assessing students who entered our class late or who have already been absent because of rampant germs in our rooms (despite Natalie and Cristy's cleaning efforts)!!

So DRUM ROLL...........  The perfect answer is a Scavenger Hunt!!!
When your sweet little babies enter your room with their parents, just greet them and hand them a Scavenger Hunt paper. Then they get busy completing all the tasks. Everyone is happy, happy, happy!! (Gotta love some Duck Dynasty!!)

Check out one version of our Scavenger Hunts! Sorry this version is unable to be edited, but if you leave a comment with your email address, I will send the publisher version for you to change. Just remember, if you don't have the same fonts, when you open the document, it may look a little crazy!!

On a side note!! We are working on building stamina in kindergarten for everything!! Stamina for Read to Self, Word Work, Working on Writing, Calendar, Number Talks, etc...
But while trying to build stamina, we have had to have some ways to get those wiggles out!! Here are a few of our favorite new songs/dance links to get your KINDERS Moving!!

Have Fun Teaching’s
Hopping Skipping Song

Have Fun Teaching’s
Walking Song

Have Fun Teaching’s
Stretching Song

HarryKindergarten
If You’re A Kid

Just a few more hours!!!

OK...the countdown has begun.  We are only a couple of hours away from the HUGE TpT 2 day sale Sunday August 18th and Monday August 19th!  We are so stinkin' excited!  

Our wishlist overfloweth!  We have some serious shopping to do people because---well---we likey a SALE! And it's time to hit the MOTHER-LODE!!! 

Awesome sale banner by Krista Wallden at Creative Clips!

EVERYTHING in our store will be 20% off...including already discounted bundles--- so that means you get savings of UP TO 40% when you add on code BTS13 at checkout!  

Here are a few examples...

Original Price:  $23.00  Bundled Price:  $18.00  Sale Price:  $12.96

 Original Price:  $15.00  Bundled Price:  $12.00  Sale Price:  $8.64

Original Price:  $57.00  Bundled Price:  $45.60  Sale Price:  $32.83

Original Price:  $93.00  Bundled Price:  $74.00  Sale Price:  $53.28

Plus you can pick up many of our seasonal items and individual word work packs for a steal...

On sale for $2.52!

On sale for $3.60!

On sale for $4.32!

                             

Happy shopping!

FREE, 28%, or 40%+...you choose! It's Sale Time Baby!

TPT is throwing a HUGE BACK TO SCHOOL SALE this Sunday and Monday - August 18th and 19th!

We are offering 20% off ALL of our products in our store...and we mean ALL of them...even bundles that are already marked at a 20+% savings off the individual packs!

Enter code BTS13 at checkout and you'll save another 10% off the sale prices courtesy of TPT!

That's a TOTAL of 28% off ALL products and you end up saving about 40%+ on our bundles!  

Here are some items that may be perfect for back to school...

SAVE A TON!!! (40+%)

SAVE A LOT! (28%) 

GRAB IT FOR FREE!

Here's hoping you have an AWESOME year!  

Thanks to Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah for the adorable Back To School Sale Button!

More Craftiness! First Week Survived

Yay!! We survived our first week of school! It went pretty smoothly!! We worked on routines and procedures and more routines and more procedures!! We introduced some academics, but mainly focused on getting those babies out of pre-k mode and into kindergarten mode!!!

So you have already heard from Cristy about Natalie' craftiness! I have to agree that she is definitely the MacGyver of Kindergarten! Check out the cuteness she has added to my room!! Natalie is truley amazing!

This year we did a BEE theme for our outside hall decorations because Kindergarten is a Great Place to "BEE". Who doesn't love how Natalie turned ordinary butcher paper into a 3D, awesome tree and  turned simple brown rafia into a bee hive!! Kindergarten really is a Great Place to BEE!

Natalie also found on Pinterest a Kid Twitter board! We called it "What's the Buzz". This is where we pose a question and the kiddos write and post their answer. For now, Natalie translated for our school friends who have a little trouble reading "KINDERGARTEN"

So the BEE theme is fabulous, but check out below my absolute, all time favorite beginning of the year decor!! Yep, you guessed it!! MacGyver Natalie's handy work!

All my teacher friends and family always say, "I wish I had a Mrs. Archer." Well I am very thankful for Natalie and will BEE in super trouble if she ever decides to retire and leave me!! I hope she never leaves me!!!


By the way!! We are loving some ClassDojo. If you don't know what it is, check it out at classdojo.com
It is a management system that is FREE and ONLINE :)!

Happy School Daze!!

From BLAH to FABULOUS in 1 hour!

Who knew I could get a little crafty? Who knew?

You know we have talked about the crazy creative Natalie over in Page's room.  That woman is like the MacGyver of the crafting world!  (If you don't know who MacGyver is..then that makes me feel old!  Here's what Wikipedia says about him...Resourceful and possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of the physical sciences, he solves complex problems with everyday materials he finds at hand, along with his ever-present duct tape and Swiss Army knife!)  I'm telling you...give that woman a craft stick, scissors, bubblegum, and some yarn---and she'll give you a prom dress!

So anyway, she decides to give Page an end of the year surprise gift---she recovered her plain old "roll-y chair".  Yes, the technical name would be "Rolling Desk Task Chair", but "roll-y chair" works just fine for us!

  She gave that baby a TOTAL makeover!  Shined it up, added some snazzy new trendy fabric, and VOILA---Page is rolling in style!

So I decide--- I can do that too, right!  So I of course call 911 immediately..better known as Natalie's cell! She gives me all the necessary tools I'll need...bubblegum, a craft stick, scissors and yarn.  JK---but I KNOOOOOW she COULD recover a chair using those...you know...MacGyver and all!

I AM NOT KNOWN for my CRAFTING ABILITIES---so this was foreign territory for me.  But I have been having a bit of a PINTEREST addiction this summer and I was all in to redecorating my entire room (post coming soon, I promise!)---when alas...I looked over at my wonderful BFF's work desk table, and well---it just looked sad.  It needed a MAKEOVER!

So off I go to Hobby Lobby for all of the goodies I would need.  Surprisingly I did not have said bubblegum, yarn, craft stick...on hand!

You will need:

*roll-y chair

*tools to disassemble the chair (all we needed was an Allen wrench)

*scissors

*fabric of your choosing

*hot glue gun

*spray adhesive

*chopstick (or other "pokey" device!)

These basic steps should take you NO MORE than 1 hour!

1.  Gather supplies and disassemble the chair.

2.  Lay your fabric over each cushion and cut it in a square/rectangular shape with several inches hanging over the sides. (This will be what you tuck/glue.)

3.  Spray the adhesive and lay your fabric over it.  Smooth it out with your hands and give it a few minutes to set before you keep working.

4.  On the chair back, the plastic backing was actually impossible to remove so after spraying the adhesive, I simply used my trusty chopstick to shove the fabric between the cushion and the plastic. Worked like a charm!

5.  Finished seat back!  Presh!

6.  For the seat bottom, follow the same step using the adhesive, then use a hot glue gun to glue down the excess fabric.  I didn't remove the old gray stuff---just glued right over it.  Be careful that you tuck the fabric and glue it about every couple of inches so you don't have tons of fabric all left over in one section...that causes lots of wrinkles at the corners.  Mine was not perfect, but little tucks here and there looked just fine to me!  (PS-Be sure you don't glue the fabric down over the screw holes...that would just be crazy, right!---You'd think, anyway!!...cause that's EXACTLY what I did!  Don't tell MacGyver Natalie!)

7.  Finished glued chair bottom!

8.  Completed seat back and seat bottom!

9.  Find a cute kid (in this case, my handy 9 year old!) to reassemble the chair!

10.  And VOILA!!!  You have a trendy, stylish, new "roll-y chair"!

And of course I had to add some super cute desk accessories to finish out the look!  Here's to the MOST AWESOME teaching partner ever!!!

We hope your year is off to a crafty start too!

And the Winner is...

Thank you SO SO much to everyone who entered our...

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Thanks again for entering.  We have several back to school posts planned for this weekend!  We'll be sharing pictures of our newly spruced up rooms.  (I went PINTEREST cray-cray!)  We also have a craft project that we think is pretty awesome too!  Please check back soon.  We just finished our 1st week with our littles and we are SLAP WORN OUT!!!! :)

Back To School Hall Display!

Woo-hoo!  Success!  We survived our "meet the teacher" day!  We are so stinkin' excited about our new group of littles.  We are gonna have some fun this year!

So since we are slap worn out from our last workday before we OFFICIALLY start tomorrow, this will be a quick little post!

We told you about our hallway theme a few weeks back, but here's the REAL DEAL display in the hallway. We think it turned out SO SUPER CUTE...granted...we are a little biased!

The kiddos loved their gum...and I ain't gonna lie...so did the parents.  I know they were sneaking a piece as soon as they hit the hallway! ;)

Here's hoping you get some good ideas and that YOUR "meet the teacher" is a HUGE SUCCESS!!!

Here's everything!  We printed out the adorable heads from Melonheadz.  We only put "gum" (balloons) in front of a few of the kiddos.  Didn't want it to be too busy!  We also enlarged the gumball machine onto the projector and then cut out the parts in different colors.  (The gumball graphic is from Krista Wallden!)  LOVE!!!

We first saw this SUPER cute idea for the gum bags over at Smitten With First!  We used pre-packaged gumballs and added some graphics and color to our tags!  So Cute!  You can snag these cute little tags here!

Don't forget to enter our GIVEAWAY to win our...

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