Tag Archives: Back to school

New Year, New Learning Tools!

I just finished unpacking (and putting away!) ALL of the supplies I ordered for our upcoming school year!

Click the link below to watch me unpack!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cssW2O1MbUKZjH9-t_pUxqH_Owbl9yqp/view?usp=drive_link

I am very excited to begin using many of these learning tools. Take a sneak peek below:

Mini silicone tongs…these are super useful and a great help in strenthening fine motor skills. We use these tongs all the time during our Morning Exploring activities and during the sensory bin activities during Language Arts Centers. Because of the silicone, the mini hands really grip the item that the student is picking up, which means a lot less frustration since the items won’t fall out of the students’ grasp!

These markers are a brilliant invention for children who struggle to put on the marker caps. No more dried out markers or lost caps!

Pop-Its are well-loved in my classroom: students love to use them, and I love how hands-on they are. I ordered these ten frame Pop-Its that I know will be used daily!

How about these rainbow shaped alphabet Pop-Its?! I plan to have students use them during the independent learning activity during Literacy Centers. Using picture cards, students will pop the initial sound in words. For added differentiation, students will pop CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words and ultimately pop words with long vowels.

I am very excited to add a second light table to our Literacy Centers (and math centers too!) I ordered SO MANY light table manipulatives that will support a variety of reading and math activities. Transparent letters and numbers, pieces to build letters, transparancy film that I used to copy CVC pictures for students to spell…the list goes on and on!

 

I also purchased acrylic scatter that matches some of the themes we explore in kindergarten. These manipulatives can be used with the light table for solving math equations, counting syllables, mapping words, or building letters.

Oceans!         Dinosaurs!        Hearts!

On hiatus since COVID, I finally brought back the sensory table by creating individual sensory bins. Used as an independent center during Literacy Centers, I prepare five sensory bins so that each student in the group can have their own. I ordered so many fun bin fillers! The colorful straws are a two-for-one activity….students will first cut the straws into little pieces as a Morning Exploring activity that strengthens fine motor skills. Then, I will use the little pieces in our sensory bins!

Stay tuned for a blog post regarding the new books I purchased for the upcoming year! I have so many new things to share!

It’s Me…

Like many teachers, I have been working most of the summer to plan for the 2020-2021 school year. I actually have two, no make it three plans for this upcoming school year.

Plan One: on campus instruction…wahoo!

Plan Two: remote instruction…boohoo

Plan Three: on campus instruction with remote instruction if need be

I have been researching, learning, prepping, and creating using a myriad of resources, but what has resonated with me was an Instagram post from a teacher who has already begun her school year in person. She mentioned that students didn’t know who she was because they had originally met her prior to the mask wearing mandates. She had a brilliant idea of sharing a side by side photo of herself both wearing and not wearing a mask. How smart is that?!

So to my incoming kindergartners, many of whom I have not yet met, here I am!

I’ll let you in on a little secret…. under that mask you will find that I usually have a smile on my face….because if I am wearing a mask it means that I get to teach in person!

We have a little under a month before our school year begins….please wear those masks so that we can begin on campus and in person.