Kissing Hand Bulletin Board

I posted this bulletin board in my Kissing Hand blog, but wanted to put it also in my bulletin board section. 

How We Go Home Ribbon Chart

I saw this on Pinterest and really liked how well it displays in the the classroom. Plus, it doesn't take up a lot of space on the wall. Our classrooms are large but we do not have a lot of wall space due to cabinets, Promethean board, white board, and a large window.

Here's the Pinterest link that I got this idea from. How do you go home?

Grade Level Bulletin Board

Each grade level in our school is required to maintain a bulletin board throughout the year. Instead of assigning a month for one of us to do the entire board, we came up with a basic board that would be up all year. The only thing we change is the work on display for our class. Each class can post two pieces of work. I usually pick a boy and a girl to display each month.  This saves us a lot of time and we can change it out more frequently too.

Our 5 Senses

We had a blast learning all about our 5 senses. As a culminating activity, students created a 5 senses Teddy Bear. Jingle bells were glued to his ears for hearing. A scented cotton ball was glued for his nose. A stick of gum for taste. Shredded paper was glued to his paws for touch. Wiggly eyes were added for sight.  The students loved the activity and did such a great job.  We interviewed each child asking him/her, "If you were a bear, what would you (see, hear, taste, touch, or smell)?  I tried to divide the class into groups of 5 so there would be a variety of responses using the senses. And boy, were the responses adorable! I typed them up and added them to our board.

                                                

Above is the final product. How cute!! My talented assistant even made a 3-D bee hive complete with pom-pom and pipe cleaner bees! I love bulletin boards that give dimension. 

Since this one was in the "smell" section...we just had to have him smell a sweet flower like one of my students dictated to me during his interview. 

  

Love the bee-hive and little bees. It's the little things that brings it all together!

Close-up of one of the bears. The students loved making these and we let then do all the gluing on their own. You would have thought we'd given them gold when we gave them a bottle of liquid glue to use. 5K-ers can make anything fun!

Don't you just love the responses!

Love how the top bear is smelling his gum and touching the flower. 

Color flipchart!

We have been working very hard the last few weeks on learning all about colors and objects that are those colors as well as how to spell. Great way to teach letters!  The children have loved the songs that teach all about it and ask daily if I will play so they can sing along.

For teachers, I've posted my flipchart on teacherspayteachers that you can access and use in the classroom. Links are already in place so all you have to do is click the image and the song will play (as long as you have access on your school computer to youtube.com)

Colors, Colors, Everywhere

For parents, I've attached a link that will take you to youtube.com where you can sing the color songs at home with you child. I hope you have fun together as we have in class!

Red:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z42JXHZbTU0
Orange: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfLRyuarDwg
Yellow:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHGYLqvfygE
Green: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHIx49XM91s
Blue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrMfOhv0Qm0
Purple: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-LNLOU1Uag
White: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PupmPa9Q2GE
Brown: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpc63L7CuYw
Black: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwkKEXN4khw

More on Chester from "The Kissing Hand"

Our class bulletin board turned out so adorable. However, my "handmade" Chester looks more like a skunk according to a few on my hall. Oh well, I tried. :-)

Our class pet, "Chester," caused a scene the 1st day of school by escaping from our classroom. We had to chase him all around the school. These are the footprints we finally found that lead us back to the room. There were about 30 in all leading down the hall from the front office to our room.

Chester started visiting with students this past week. He was packed and ready to go! In his take home bag are several things for the students to do with him. They read a story about Chester, "A Pocket Full of Kisses," take up to three pictures with a disposable camera, and write in his journal about the adventures they had together. I cot a blue jean bag from Hobby Lobby along with iron-on letters and hearts for his take home bag. Durable and cute!

1st Day of School

1st day of school! Wow! What an exciting day. I don't know who was more nervous...the students or me! It doesn't matter how long I've taught, there is nothing like the first day jitters. What will the students be like? Will they get along? Will they be willing to try new things?  So far, the children have come in super thrilled about being in 5K and full of personality. First thing this morning, I asked one of my little girls if she was ready for the day. She quickly replied, "Oh yeah! I am so ready to be in school. I was just gettin' around this morning gettin' my stuff together like brushing my teeth, getting my bookbag, eating breakfast. Whew! I'm ready!....But...my momma's not!"  As I look at her mother, she is wipping away tears. It's hard sending your baby to school. I try to never forget that this might be my 7th year teaching kindergarten, but for many parents it's their first time sending a child to school.

I've got lots of pictures to post of activities we did on just the 1st day! It helps that we do a staggered start for the first three days so we can get initial assessments done.   First, when they arrive I have manipulatives out on the table for them to work with while we sort through supplies. Plus, I take their picture with a "1st Day of Kindergarten" Frame. I found this idea on Pinterest and love it!! Mine is different but it will give you the general idea. http://pinterest.com/pin/147141112796513210/


Our first day is all about "The Kissing Hand."  Chester raccoon is also our class take home pet over the weekends. He spends the weekend with each of the children. I have a blue jean tote bag the students take with them on Friday that includes: Chester, a journal, a disposable camera (can only take 3 pictures), and "A Pocket Full of Kisses" (sequel to "The Kissing Hand").

We started off reading "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn. After the story and discussion time, I introduce the students to our Chester. I bought the stuffed animal in a state park gift shop while our family was hiking one summer. We spend time talking about what colors we see and special markings that tell us he is a raccoon (i.e. black mask and stripped tail). Then, we color a picture of Chester reading a book.  We even color the book to match the color of the book we read and add a yellow circle for the moon. I found this great clip art at: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/racoon.html


While my assistant is working with the students, I pull them one at a time to make their own kissing hand. I'll save these to include in the first page of their "All Through the Year Books" (more on that later). I like to do their hand in black because Chester's is black. I found the poem online and can't remember the source.  http://pinterest.com/pin/41447259040491631/   (sorry the picture is not profile)

 We then take a break to learn how to navigate the cafeteria and punch in our numbers. As we leave the room, I make sure to tell my caboose to turn off the lights but leave the door open. Before we leave the cafeteria, the manager comes to my class with a heart sticker on her hand and a note from Chester. The note sends us around the school to find him...meanwhile, we learn where the nurse is, the guidance counselor, the principal, and the secretary. Plus I show the students where we go for PE, Computer Lab, Library, etc. I made up my own clues/notes from Chester but can't figure out how to upload a document. Grrr! But there are many sources on the web. One good link to try is:

When we return, Chester has left us a special snack. Due to food allergies, I'm limited on what I can provide. Chester has left heart or hand shaped cookies in the past but this year left us goldfish. I told the kids that raccoons eat fish and Chester thought we'd like some too.  I made it work!

After a brief snack, we are back to work. My assistant works with the students to complete a book about Chester while I begin initial assessments. The book I like to use is "Chester Loves School" under the heading Chester Goes to School Book on AtoZ. http://printables.atozteacherstuff.com/18/chester-goes-to-school-book/

For math, we put together a special craft for our bulletin board. You've probably seen this on Pinterest before with a little girl holding her finished one. My assistant is amazing and she created our own templates for it based on that picture. As soon as I can figure out how to upload that I will. Shapes and positional words were the main focus of this activity.
http://pinterest.com/pin/41447259040491625/

(again, sorry about the picture...gotta figure that out too)

When the students return, I'll "interview" them and ask them what they enjoyed most about the first day of school. As they tell me, I type it into the computer. Once I have all the responses, I'll print it out and put their response with their Chester craft, along with a heart of course, on our hall bulletin board. Can't wait to show you a picture of that!

Classroom Job Chart

I think it is important that all students in a classroom take on job responsibilities. Plus, there is no way a teacher plus an assistant can get it all done! Children need to feel a part of the class. Classroom jobs foster a classroom community. There are always jobs that kids live for...line leader! Then there are jobs that kids forget they have...plant monitor. Regardless, all are equally important. Using mycutegraphics and hellofonts, I've put together 24 different classroom jobs using owl graphics. The only time I didn't use owls was for the bathroom monitors. I used a boy and a girl. Thought it was pretty important to be gender specific!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Classroom-Job-Labels-817606

Getting Started!

I admit I am a Pinterest fanatic! It's a teacher's dream! I have used a lot of ideas to organize my classroom. As you can see in the picture of my desk and classroom library, there are numerous ideas gleaned from the great boards of Pinterest.

Pinterest idea #1: Beside my smartboard, I have posters mounted on the white board of what students will need to complete task, if they can talk or not, where I want them to work, where to put completed work, and what to do when done. I put a check or an x beside what they can and cannot do prior to beginning an assignment.

Pinterest idea #2: My classroom library is completely organized by genre or author. The picture label used on the basket is also taped to the top left corner of each book. I did this so my kindergarteners could put books back exactly where each goes. My idea...I had several book that were too big for my baskets so I put a green dot sticker on them and they go on the wooden book shelf that is free standing. I call them "The Green Dot" books. 

Pinterest idea #3: The color rainbow on the wall is based on something I saw on Pinterest using color swatches from Home Depot or Lowe's. Home Depot has the disney color swatches which are the mouse ears above the name. Since the Disney colors do not come in all the colors I needed, I made my own for those because everthing just has to match.

Pinterest idea #4: The red flat basked on top of the mounted book shelf has a "red cross" type symbol. It is my book hospital. Students know to place any damaged book in it for repairs.

Pinterest idea #5: I came across several templates for binder covers and spines but couldn't find any that matched my color scheme or style. So, I designed my own. Olivia the Pig is one of my favorite storybook characters. Plus, we share the same first name. My color scheme in my room is red, black, white, and green (green because that's what has been painted around my entrance door and outer wall. I used Olivia images that I googled to go on each binder. It turned out simply adorable!

Pinterest idea #6 (?): Honestly, I can't remember if I saw this on Pinterest or if I came up with it on my own. But, the large pencil on the whiteboard points to a label that says "1st Name" to remind students to put it on their work. The backs of these are magnatized so I can move them around as needed. During the year as students learn to write their last names as well, I put another label up that says "Last Name". The visual reminders help a great deal!