Guest Post From Smedley's Smorgasboard of Kindergarten

I am so excited to guest posting for Ashley!  I am so happy for her to have her husband home!  I remember the day my sister's US Navy ship returned from the war in Iraq!  I might or might not have cried...and I definitely knocked people over when I spotted her in the crowd!

I have been racking my brain for something to blog about and I keep coming up blank.  Finally, I decided to share a little about my daily kindergarten routine!  I hope you find some inspiration or ideas from my post...or at least get a chuckle!

I thought about just talking all about myself... because I love me!  hehe I love my iPad...smelly markers...bright colors...laughing...sarcasm...clip art (I am addicted!) and GLITTER!  If it's sparkly, I am all over it!  But I thought I would at least give you something education related...

Anyone who walks by my classroom probably thinks it's chaos...but it's organized chaos...at least in my mind it is organized!

7:45-8:00 arrival with breakfast in the classroom (NOT A FAN!)
8:00-8:10-Journal writing (students write their name and date and draw a picture.  As the year progresses, we add in writing words and eventually sentences!)
8:10-8:30-Morning Meeting!  If you need morning meeting ideas, check out my blog!  I LOVE morning meeting.  A lot!
8:30-10:10  Literacy block

• letters and sounds 
• Poem (shared reading)
• emergent reader (shared reading
• sight words (even though they're considered bad in my school...yes sight words bad...yeah I know!  And I keep teaching them!  I am a rebel...or a trouble maker!)
• read aloud/comprehension (I use a lot of thinking maps in my classroom!)
• phonics/phonemic awareness (I love love love picture sorts!  I am THE KING OF PICTURE SORTS!  At least in my own special reality I am...)
• guided reading/centers

10:10-11:10 Specials

11:10-11:45 Writing

11:45-12:15 lunch

12:15-12:45 calendar/restrooms (we do our calendar on our smart board!  Oh how I love my smartboard!)

12:45-1:15-recess

1:15-1:45 math-we use a balanced math approach so we do mental math, math review, mini lesson, independent practice, small groups and centers

1:45-2:15-Intervention

2:15-3:15-Math

3:15-3:35-afternoon meeting

3:35-clean up

3:40-dismissal

In the midst of all of this is music (we sing a lot and we rock out!), music, art, and fun!  My goal is to make our class as fun and engaging as possible!  

I would love for you to visit me over at my manly kindergarten blog!  It's chock full of sarcasm, snide remarks, snarkiness, ideas, freebies and lots of fun!  

Thanks for letting me hijack take over ambush be your guest blogger, Ashley!  

You can also visit me on Facebook, Pinterest, and TPT!  Click on my pictures (how cute am I?!) to visit me!

A little R and R

Hey Y'all.  I took a little break this weekend to head down south a little bit.

I am visiting my family in Wilmington, NC. I don't know if  any of you have ever been to Wilmington, but it is absolutely beautiful! My family had a few things planned for our little get away. My husband is  Active Duty  in the US Navy...but they have the USS North Carolina set up on the river in Wilmington. My family thought we wouldn't want to see this because of being around it so much...just the opposite! My boys LOVED it! They are future sailors FOR SURE. They had so much fun walking around the ship, even in all of those tight spaces. I, on the other hand, was ready to get out of there :) I am a little skiddish when it comes to close quarters. I just don't know how those guys do it!!!!

I just LOVE this picture. I am so proud of all the men and women current & previous who give up so much to defend our country. It is literately the ultimate duty and I am amazed and blessed to know so many of these fine people.


I'm not sure if you saw but Jen over at The Teacher's Cauldron highlighted my Fall-Literacy-and-Math-Center-Mega-Packet 17-Centers! Be sure to hop on over and check her post out! My packet is on sale this weekend for 20% off so now is a great time to go snatch it up!!


Take an extra break today, after all, everyone needs a little r & r.


Ashley

Guest Post from Ashley @The School Supply Addict

Hello everyone!  I'm excited to be a guest blogger for Ashley today!  This is actually my first time writing for someone else, so I'm glad to help out as she and her family move across the country.

I'm an Ashley too and I am the The School Supply Addict.  Maybe you've seen my polks dots around....

I started the blog a little over a year ago after realizing there were so many great teaching blogs, sites, and resources... and my 'bookmark' list was becoming out of control.  Big time.  I decided to mix a blog with static pages.  I have over 100 different pages with tons of resources that I've found and love.  I'm pretty picky when it comes to products that I buy/download, so I only put my favorites up.  :)  You should definitely come by and check it out sometime!

Since Ashley is busy moving, I decided to just load you up your 'teacher treasure chest' with some freebies.  All of the items below are completely FREE in my TPT shop.

Across Curriculum, Multi-Age

Across Curriculum, Multi-Age

Cute welcome banners!

Words, numbers, and base 10 representations through 100.

   

I have, Who has Game

First Day Writing Prompts (PreK-5)

Personal & Commercial Use Graphics

These are just a few of my freebies I thought you might like!  Follow my TPT shop or website to more!

Thanks for hanging out with me today!  Ashley, we wish you a safe move and hope you get settled into your new home quickly.  :)

Thanks everybody!

From The Corner Guest Post

Howdy from Barbara at The Corner on Character. I'm so excited to be visiting The Teacher's Treasure Chest today while Ashley's away. I've tried to put myself in her shoes and figure out what it's like to be a Navy Wife, but having never experienced what she must go through, I'm having a tough time. Nevertheless, I have incredible empathy and gratitude for our military heroes, and that includes the extended families, husbands and/or wives, and children who serve right alongside of them. 

Do you know about the book Sometimes We Were Brave by Pat Brisson? Jerome, the cutie patootie on the front cover, describes what it's like when his Navy mom is away on active duty, leaving him and his dog Duffy behind: Sometimes they have bad days, sometimes they get surprises, sometimes they have accidents, sometimes they get treats, sometimes they are afraid. Real talk! Read this book aloud to elevate empathy. Find out who has experience with the military. Maybe their grandpa, uncle, dad -- or mom? -- has been deployed. Where did they serve? And what was that experience like? Were they able to be in touch with their loved one while he/she was away? How?

We work hard to help our students understand (as best we can) what it's like to serve to keep us safe and free. Last year, we supported our troops three times; once through Operation Gratitude when we sent 340 pounds of our Halloween Candy overseas, the second time at Thanksgiving when we sent Santas for Our Soldiers, and then, in May, when we did a Pamper Our Troops collection. We are told time and time again that, while they love getting our boxes filled with treats, what our soldiers and sailors like best are the cards, letters, and drawings that we send them. 

Looking for a rewarding service-learning project this year? Research who the military personnel in your school family are. Turn it into a geography lesson and find the spots on the map where they're located. Figure out the distance between your school and where they are, then set a goal to run that many miles during recess or p.e. in their honor. Study the climate so you can do a compare and contrast to what your region experiences. What might some of the challenges be? For example, we've been told that the dessert sands can present a problem. Have them speculate why. See if they can brainstorm things that they could send that would help make the soldiers' lives easier. Find out what they're eating while they're away. Ask your students how long they would be willing to go without eating their favorite foods.

Then write on! Your students' precious pictures and their wonderful words will be the sweetest surprise and the greatest gift!

If you do send some basic-need items, you can stuff them into a large flat-rate box for $13.50; our Rotary helps defray the cost of postage each year. Don't forget that you'll have to complete a customs form, so you can get some parent volunteers to help you get that done ahead of time. It takes a little planning and preparation, but it's totally worth it to say thanks to our servicemen and women and give back just a wee bit. 

Thank you, Ashley!

New Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Levels for Kindergarten

It's wonderful to be able to guest blog for Ashley as she makes her journey across the U.S.. My name is Arlene Sandberg and you can find it at LMN Tree  My husband was in the military for 30 years so I understand what it's like to back up and move so often. Although I'm retired now, I have taught for more than 33 years all over the U.S. including Alaska and Hawaii and overseas in Seoul, South Korea. My last 9 years I was an ESL teacher/specialist with the Anchorage School District working in Title I schools.                                          

I love writing Guided Reading books for my thematic units and include Word Work Activities for Literacy Centers as well as Picture/Word Word Walls and Writing Activities.Pictures are a great help to ESL students and those who don't have a rich and robust vocabulary.  I love Reading A-Z and have downloaded lots of books for my students and my grandson to read. When I write my own books I have used the reading level chart which for Kindergarten is aa-C.

So I was surprised to see this new chart on Scholastic that has the Kindergarten range from A-D.

This is definitely a result of the new Common Core Standards that have been adopted by 45 states.

The first thing I noticed was how the number of words increased from Level C to Level D. There were also more difficult words. For many Kindergarten teachers who teach in Title I schools this will be very challenging.  

I would love to know what level your Kindergartens are suppose to be reading at by the end of year. I also am including a free Guided Reading and Writing Unit I have written for you to download. After looking at the Make and Take Book please tell me if the Kindergartners at your school could read this at the end of the school year? Just click on the picture below to get your free copy. Hopefully your first grade students will have fun reading it too.

I hope that if you like my products you will check out my TpT store and follow me in order to get updates on new products that I will be adding. There are some great new BTS items for you to check out. Thank you for all you do to make a difference for your students.

What do you think about the new Reading levels or Kindergarten?