My TpT Store is now officially OPEN!!

I have finally taken the huge step into the land of TpT as a seller!! My heart was racing as I clicked the SUBMIT button to upload my first item. So many thoughts were racing through my mind. What if I forgot to credit someone for their digital papers, frames, clipart, fonts?...ahhhh! I am sure for those of you who already sell your great resources on TpT have a system in place to help you remember to credit those who make those wonderful items. Psssst...what's your secret?
I'm sure it just becomes second nature the more you create.

Now onto the FREEBIE that has been posted on TpT.

Anchor Charts are Awesome!
The kids really pay attention to their messages and having the charts posted around the room reminds me to review those messages when something is not going smoothly.
   I love Daily 5 but I don't like the repetitiveness of all the anchor charts so the Koala Kinders have a Class Code that applies to the five areas. I do start out the year creating the chart paper style so that the kinders have ownership of what Daily 5 should look like. After several areas are introduced we talk about a code that everyone will strive to follow during Daily 5. Then I bring out the Koalas Class Code posters to hang up for everyone to see. The kinders love the Scrappin' Doodles koalas and the sparkly ribbon used to hang them from the ceiling. The simple text makes the code easy to recite and remember.

Click here to check out my store and download your free  Koala Centers and Daily 5 Anchor Posters. This can also be used for centers and includes a poster title "Our Class Centers Code"

Shout out to "Surfing to Success"

      My goal this summer is to create  my own koala clip art for my Koala Kindergarten class. I have so many great ideas and pictures swirling around in my head but alas I am tech-challenged. Aagh! 

I have been trying my best to create something that I feel would look cute, clean and pleasing to the child's eye but I keep hitting the proverbial brick wall of technology.  Would you believe that I am even married to a great guy who writes software for a living but after 29 years of marriage NONE of the techy stuff has worn off on me. Grrr!

      So.... I went back to TpT and started looking at the Tech Tutorials where I found  Mercedes-Hutchens from Surfing to Success. I found her site on Facebook and messaged her my questions. Guess what!?! This beautiful lady helped me! We chatted on Fb while I tried all of her tech suggestions and I am finally getting over that techy brick wall. I am so excited! 
      Here are my first pair of little koalas. What do you think?

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Mercedes! Everyone be sure to check out her TpT store, blog, and Fb page out. She has a lot of great ideas on them!
       

Wonderful Weather

The weather here in Missouri has been exceptional. I have truly enjoyed the milder than usual temperatures. My hubby finished redoing our back deck and after adding a Sun Setter awning it has become my favorite place to sit. There always seems to be a breeze to make my wind chimes sing the song of relaxation.

Imagine my surprise...

When I went to one of my favorite kindergarten blogs: A Differentiated Kindergarten and found this post!?!

And finally, yes finally, I have a winner for our Jo-Totes Camera bag giveaway.  

Janet Anderson Black

You get the gift certificate for one of those amazing camera bags of your choosing.  Congratulations.

I could hardly wait to visit the JoTotes website to pick out the camera bag of my choice! 

I decided to go with the Rose Raspberry camera bag. I love all shades of pink and this bag will certainly stand out in my black and white classroom! Here's a picture of the one I chose from their website:

I want to thank Marsha McGuire for hosting this super giveaway and invite everyone to check out her blog for lots of great ideas and freebies for differentiating instruction in your kindergarten classroom!

Videos For Our Food Unit

This website www.neok12.com has some fantastic videos that bring the farm right into your classroom!

From Farm to the Fridge is a 2-part video that does an excellent job explaining the process.

From Farm to Fridge part 1

From The Farm To The Fridge, part 2/2

CALENDAR TIME

We have been in school 50 DAYS! 

The Koalas are 50 days smarter and 50 days more independent with their learning! Our student-led calendar time incorporates both ELA and MATH common core standards.

This actually occurred on October 24th - our half day of school marathon in which we had our classroom Halloween party followed by Parent/Teacher conferences lasting from 1:00 pm until 7:30 pm.  The two highlights from the day include 100% participation from the Koala parents at conferences and the delicious food our parents' club brought in for the teachers to eat throughout the afternoon and evening.  

The Big Reveal

We have been in school 25 days and I finally have a few minutes to post my new black and white classroom design!

 

Starting with entrance to my room...

 

 

Some of the special areas in my classroom...

 

 

 

 

 

We are building stamina with Daily 5!

 

 

I had so much fun creating this new look this summer!

 

Here are the before pictures...For the last 12 years in this building my room was crazy busy with primary colors as well as every inch of the wall covered with learning posters. Prior to that I spent 12 years in an older building that had slate chalkboards and cinder block walls.

 

 

 

I did like my reading nook though. :-)