Catching Up!

OMG... this is how I feel in the month of August with all of the back to school craziness and schedules! LOL!

Hello!
I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer. I have been a bit AWOL from blogging since school let out but I have been keeping busy reading educational materials and making/designing packs for the beginning of the school year! Let me share some of the things I have been up to....

I worked really hard last school year focusing on thematic units and incorporating more anchor charts, hands on, and scientific studies. I began posting with my pumpkin unit last year so I just completed my apple one just in time to prepare for the upcoming school year. I tried to keep the consistency with my others. So glad to have this done and checked off my list!

I have had this blog for a couple of years now. I'm not sure how many people ever use anything from it but I like that I can go back and look through to see what I have done in previous years. I also have a FB page as well but noticed in the past week that there was an interest in some educators collaborating about the reading program that our school works with called 'Wonders' by McGraw Hill. I began a FB group page for anyone interested in talking about the program throughout the year at this link : 

Wonders Reading for Kinders

There has already been some great discussions for those that are just beginning the program that hopefully some of us veterans can help with in regards to suggestions, what has worked or not worked thus far, and storage options. Feel free to join us! 

I have read several books this summer that were really informative and they were all by Ron Clark. My highlighter was on super speed as I couldn't get enough of everything he had to say! He has done great things and is very inspirational but I am shocked with the donations and dedication of all his employees. I have been doing lots of research and things that I would like to implement in my own room this year. One of them is BRAG tags. I think it sounds very promising and something my little kinder friends would love. I have been making my own to fit the needs of my classroom and building. I bought bright neon paper to print them on and then have been laminating as I go. I did buy an organizer to sort them all. I just hope I can keep it that way =)

Punch Card Progress! I compiled these cards all year as we went through the standards and I am working to make them available to you! I'm matching the standards to the exercises so that they align correctly. I am so glad that I will have these ready for the new school year as it was a lot of work making them but I used them for so many things! I particularly liked the mini conferences I had with each kiddo to gain their understanding of the material, I used them as portfolios to gauge progress, attendance each day, and I pulled them out during parent-teacher conferences plus so much more! It was great to check off their knowledge of the standards as we moved along. In case you don't read my blog, here is a summary of how I used them =>

I am SO VERY sad that I only have two weeks left of the summer. Every year, I pull out of the parking lot on the last day and know the days will fly by with my little guys. Here are some of the things we have been up to....

My littlest guy will be turning 5 next week. I can hardly believe it! He is so funny and has added such a wonderful dimension to our family. We did Tball for the very first time this summer and he did great. We will venture back into soccer for all three boys in the next couple of weeks againl He will be going to a TK "transitional kindergarten" program this year for those kiddos who have a summer birthday. We are so excited and hope that it is an awesome year for him =)

My middle guy has had a busy summer between swim team and fishing. We visited many parks so he could fish while I explored with Jax. This will be his last year of elementary school but he will be going to his home school with the neighborhood kids. He has been with me at my school only because we had been in the middle of moving and building a home. Now that we are all settled and he has met some neighborhood buddies, we are hoping this new venture is good for him as well. Lots of changes and I thrive on routine. EEK!

My oldest has been busy with band camp and finding pokemons. LOL! I had to take this picture so that we remember what a craze this has been. He's finishing up his last year of middle school and then all THREE will begin new schools the following year.  They are getting so big!

Have a great weekend!