Get your GO NOODLE on!

Singing is fun, playing is nice, but GO NOODLING takes it to a WHOLE other level!

I might even venture to say that it has made the SINGLE biggest difference in our classroom management success this year!

That's a pretty bold statement, huh!  That's how much we LOVE and believe in GO NOODLE!!!

You have probably heard of it, but if not...then this is the perfect place for you to positively change the way you manage your classroom!

GO NOODLE is a FREE (one of the sweetest words to a teacher's ear) website that offers a TON of brain break videos.  

And I don't just mean hop around and act like a hopped up ninja brain breaks! Although that may just be my classes FAVORITE one...among other cranked up breaks that may just involve some "Shakin' of the BOOTY!"

It also offers yoga brain breaks. Mind you...a purple monkey leads the poses and our kiddos are big fans of that COOL "Pete the Cat"ish kinda monkey!

There are Calming brain breaks (breath in, breathe out...watch the bouncing star...UMMM!  Maybe these particular brain breaks are more for the teachers!  Hee Hee!

And Olympian-Led Sports brain breaks are on the list too!  I'm pretty sure I am getting r-e-e-a-a-a-a-a-l  close to making the Olympic team with all this training I'm doing!

Basically...there is something here for EVERY kind of kiddo you teach.  The brain breaks are divided by categories...Energizing, Calming, or Time (1-5 minutes) so you can pick just the right one for your kiddos.  Or better yet, let them make the call and tell YOU what they need!

There are a couple of ways you can incorporate these AWESOME brain breaks into your day that will make your life 100 times happier!  TRULY!

Kiddos are HYPER and BOUNCING off the walls!
Time for a brain break!  You may think, "WHAT??? They are already on the bus to crazy town, why would I possibly want to buy them a ticker???"  But alas, they NEED to spend some of that energy any way, so why not give them a POSITIVE way to do it?  They get to kick, dance, shake it, yell like a ninja, and it's ALL APPROPRIATE!!!!  Can I get an AMEN???

Or maybe you choose the "Let's breathe and watch the star go uuuuup and down, uuuup and down" to get them to settle down without you having to stomp your feet, beg, plead, and curl up in a corner in defeat! ;)

Kiddos are FADING on you fast and may actually be slowly drifting off to sleepy town!
Now!  Now is the time to have another brain break.  Get them up and moving.  Get those juices flowing.  Get those kiddos back in the game!  We've got work to do people, and we want our kiddos to be ACTIVE and WILLING...even HAPPY and ready to tackle whatever we throw at them!

Kiddos are ROCKING it OUT and working SOOOOO hard!
Yep...it's still time for a brain break!  You gotta keep this momentum going.  You want to reward them for their brains working so hard.  You want to keep them in the game!  Go get your GO NOODLE on!

True story... our kiddos are TOTALLY in love with GO NOODLE.  They ask us for them when they know a difficult task is coming. Like say we are about to work on building our stamina for read to self and we are getting close to 13 minutes.  Well...they know that's a LONG time to be quiet and stay focused.  So they ask to get some wiggles out!  How awesome is that!!!

Sometimes we make them EARN a brain break and sometimes we REWARD them with a brain break and sometimes we GIVE them a brain break because we see that we they just plain need it!

We get the kiddos to find a spot in the room where they can spin their arms and NOT touch anyone else.  They have to stay in that spot for the brain breaks.  You move all over the room...you sit down.  It doesn't take long for them to learn to STAY in their SPOT!

We probably do 3-4 breaks a day for a TOTAL of 10 minutes!

Some teachers are afraid they will be WASTING 10 minutes of instructional time, but we say you'll be GETTING BACK 5 HOURS of POSITIVE INSTRUCTIONAL TIME!

Some teachers say "I don't have time to GO NOODLE."  We say "You don't have time to NOT GO NOODLE!

That's it!  HAPPY TIMES can be yours again!  So...Go Get Your GO NOODLE on!!!

And also hop over to GO NOODLE'S blog for a linky about how other teachers are SUCCESSFULLY incorporating it into their own classrooms!   It works!

Meet the Teacher Team Linky

C: Hi everyone!  We are joining up with our friends over at Created for Learning for another FUN linky! Created for Learning is a hubby and wife duo working together in life AND in their TpT store.  Page met them face to face at the TpT conference and fell in love right away.  They were both so helpful and shared TONS of great tips about making top notch products among other things.

P: It was pure luck that I met Lisa and Jonathan. Lisa immediately recognized that I was alone and sad to be alone! She extended an invitation to hang with them and it was instant FRIENDSHIP!! We had an amazing time and after I left, I felt like we had been friends forever!! Amazing couple with cutie pie kiddos!!

So we were both really excited when they emailed us about a linky they were planning.  The ENTIRE linky will revolve around getting to know some of the TEAMS out there!

So...here are our interview questions.  Hope you enjoy!

Where did you meet?

C: SHORT VERSION:  Page was hired on at the school I was currently working in.  Funny story...I actually was part of the interview team and I LOVED her right away, but she maybe said "kicks butt" and "suck at delegating" during the interview!  Holy smokes!  We had to BEG our principal to hire her and trust us!  She did and we were all VERY grateful...because Page rocked!

 LONG VERSION:  To the tune of The Brady Bunch :)

Here's the story of a lovely teacher,

Who was teaching lots of boys and girls.

All of them were cute and bright,

Like their teacher--

The youngest one was 4.

Here's the story of another teacher,

Who was teaching very far away.

Then she moved to Newnan, Georgia

To continue teaching.

Yet she was all alone.

Till the one day when Page met Cristy,

And they knew that they were perfectly paired,

That these two might somehow form a friendship!!

That's the way that we became... Kindergarten Squared!!

Kindergarten Squared... dah, dun, dah, dun

Kindergarten Squared...dah, dun, dah, dun

That's the way we became... Kindergarten Squared!!

P: Ahhh I love our Brady Bunch song! Cristy nailed it on our first meet up!! It was an awesome interview! What I remember most was really wanting to work with her and the the other k girls!! I was ready to grow professionally and knew that Cristy was who I wanted to learn from!!

Who does what?

C:  I would say that we both do a little bit of everything.  We brainstorm a lot to get ideas for new products.  We both create products and edit for each other. (I maybe have to edit Page a bit more...you'll see why in the "do you have nicknames section")  I do all the Pinterest who-ha!  We both Instagram, but I am probably more the IG crack head!  Page is kicking around the idea of starting a Facebook page.  We both blog (OK...so we maybe both stink at that...I swear between the TWO of us, we still somehow manage to only blog every 3 days or so!)  So I think all in all, we are a pretty good duo mix!

P: I agree with Cristy except she does waaaayyyy more!! I like to chug along at our products that are predictable and add to our bundles! Cristy is the dynamic partner that creates products that have sales that sky rocket!! She really should fire me!! I do appreciate that every time I bring up her amazing products that sell like HOT CAKES that she reminds me that I created the tpt account for us to get started. Not really sure how long that will carry me with her amazing talent!!

What do enjoy most about 

your partnership?

C: Working and planning with someone I truly respect.  I think we both expect much from ourselves and we like that we push each other to do more, be better, and NEVER quit learning and changing how we teach! Also...we both like a nice pedi here and there! ;)

P: DITTO!! Cristy is awesome! Professional, knowledgeable and agrees with me on everything curricular!! Love it! Sometimes it's hard to convince people that you are always right, but with Cristy, we are always right together (or at least we think we are). Pedi's are awesome especially when we can go together!!!

Do you have nicknames for each other?

C: Why do I have to edit a little more???...well...that's because "Quick Click Page" types faster than the roadrunner runs!  (Think "Meep!  Meep!" and Wile E Coyote!)  That woman's fingers have flames shooting out from them as she pings here and there on her keyboard!  That woman is WILD I tell you!!!  I'm not sure what nicknames Page has for me...at least she doesn't tell them to my face...but maybe "Anal Annie" would be a good one.  I OBSESS over statistics, products, and little details! I'm pretty sure that maybe drives her crazy!

P: Yeah yeah I am quick clicker, but Cristy is the comma, grammer an spacing police! She really can tell if I put an extra space, used a crazy comma, or misspelled a ton of words. Ok, that's a good thing!! Thank goodness for Cristy's editing skills! Without her editing, we would have some ticked off customers!!

What is your teaching theme song? (Either what song inspires your teaching or, totally pretend, what song would play when you're introduced, like at a sporting event?)

C: Here Comes the BOOM! OK...so Page may not agree with this one!  Maybe it's my LOVE of college football that made this come to mind (GO DAWGS!!!...even though the defense did NOT show up against South Carolina and that stinkin' Steve Spurrier beat us again...not that I'm bitter...but I am...RANT over!)  This also comes to mind because Page and I are both SUPER competitive...both IN the classroom...and ON the field!  We like to WIN!  So..."BOOM!  Here Comes the BOOM!   Ready or Not, Here Comes the GIRLS from the South!...BOOM!

P: Ok I am not a big music connoisseur, but if I had to choose it would be the Lego Movie theme song

Everything is awesome!! Everything is cool when you're part of a team! 

OR

I love, love the song by Bruno Mars, You Can Count on ME

You can count on me like 1, 2, 3

 I'll be there

And I know I can count on you like 4, 3, 2 

You'll be there!!

Yep!! That's Kindergarten Squared!! Awesome team who will always be there for each other!!

If you could dress-up to go somewhere, what would you wear and where would you go?

C: I'm thinking if Page and I were BOTH going somewhere together...especially if the hubs' were coming...it would be to a music event...like Jimmy Buffet or something like that!  We've been there and done that and had a WHOLE lot of fun...so we would probably wear something snazzy and comfy all rolled into one!

P: Woohoo I do love some Buffet!! I like to go anywhere! Comfy jeans are always a must but who doesn't love to add a tiara to the outfit!! Ok, Cristy doesn't really do tiaras, but I always love a tiara!!

Which do you prefer, cookies, brownies, or neither?

C:Yes, please!  (Oh...wait!  Were we only supposed to pick ONE????)

P: You know I can pick one!! It is cookies definitely, but not just any cookies!! I prefer the sweet, yummy beautiful cookies that my friend Cristy used to make, but now neglects me by not baking those sweet, gorgeous treats! Seriously!! Hands down, the best cookies every! One time I found one hidden away that was only half eat about a month after she gave them to me! It was like I won the lottery!! It tasked like heaven!!

Name something you've created that you love using in your classroom?

C: We use ALL of our own Common Core Math Units!  The county and state frameworks have some good games and lesson ideas, but they LOOK SO BORING!  I'm not quite sure how they are supposed to grab and hold the attention of our 5 year olds!  So we use the HECK out of the games, lessons, and printables that we created!

P:  We also use every week our Alphabet Word Work packs!! We really love using these as part of Daily 5!They may seem challenging, but we feel they are easy to differentiate and help increase the rigor in our rooms!

C: So there you have it...now head over to Created for Learning to meet Lisa and Jonathan and some other great teams!  Have fun!

Meet the Teacher {LINKY}

Hi Friends! We are so excited to join Stephanie in her Meet the Teacher Linky! Thanks Stephanie for hosting this cool party! We love learning about blogging friends and are excited to share a little about ourselves

Cristy and I are MOMS to BOYS and we love it!! We are queens in our castles, just ask our husbands. Well maybe don't ask them, they might not support out position!

Anyway this is our 18th year in education! Time really flies when you are having fun! We both ended up in the teaching field after a round about kind a way- via the business world, then back to school and into a classroom. Cristy has been a an instructional coach and a classroom during her career and I have been a classroom teacher. However,  about a month ago I headed to the office to try out the assistant principal position!

 THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS...

We love running and complaining about not being the size we like!! I love running in a TIARA and TUTU and Cristy loves running through OBSTACLES and MUD!!
We also love bright colored anything! We love polka dots and chevron patterns!

We love containers, bags, and also those bright colored sharpies!
Check out Cristy's book nook and wall of wonderful work! Gorgeous!!

 IF YOU WEREN'T A TEACHER, WHAT WOULD YOU WANT TO BE?

We would probably be stay at home moms, except that is way toooo hard. It is much easier to go to school  and wrangle 22 kinders than it is to stay at home with your own kiddos!
Maybe we would be flight attendants jet setting around the world!

THREE LITTLE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU.

Hardworking. Passionate. Fun!  
 

FINISH THE SENTENCE, "________,  SAID NO TEACHER EVER!!"

"Please, can we go to school 365 days out of the year!"

Q: IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU CAN INVITE ANYONE {DEAD OR ALIVE} TO THE PARTY. WHO ARE YOU INVITING?

We love Stephanie's answer from Falling into First!  Justin Timberlake is a cutie and can sing and dance!

Q: IF SOMEONE WROTE A BOOK ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?

Tales from Kindergarten Squared: Twice the fun, Twice the Ideas and a little administration Flair! (Cristy came up with that title! Catchy I think!)

 Q:YOU GET TO PICK ONE SUPERPOWER. WHAT IS IT?

 We think teaching really is our SUPERPOWER!  We are so grateful to have it and love our kiddos, parents, and school!

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE OR SAYING?

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go! -Dr. Seuss.

Q: IF YOU HAD TO SING ONE SONG ON AMERICAN IDOL, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 

We could never be on American Idol! Neither one of us can even carry a tune in a bucket! We do love some singing in k though! But, our babies are not like Simon C. they think we sing beautifully and would never say anything to hurt our feelings!

 Q: ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT OWL?

We used to be NIGHT OWLS, but we think our age is slowing us down. We are having definite troubles because lately it is hard for us to stay up late or get up early!
 

Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE RESOURCE THAT YOU'VE CREATED IN YOUR TPT SHOP?

We love our new Back to School Galore Packs. They are super cute AND filled with great things to help your kiddos learn about each other, learn about you and school!!

Q: SHARE SOMETHING WE MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU! 

Tomorrow is Cristy's birthday! Happy Birthday Cristy! 

We are linking up with Stephanie for Meet The Teacher at