Classroom Update: June 25

Hi guys! Can you believe we're entering the last week of school? June has flown by!

Here are some ideas I'm hoping you can use this week or next June :)

1. SIGHT WORD POPSICLE STICK PUZZLES

I adapted this from an idea I saw on Planning Playtime's Facebook page.  Students are invited to find the popsicle sticks that match to make a sight word and record 5 words they made on the recording sheet.


You can grab the recording sheet for free by clicking here or on the image below:

2. BUILDING POPSICLE STICK TOWERS

Popsicle sticks are a bit of a theme this week! For this activity, I had the kids make a tower using popsicle sticks and wooden cubes.  Then the students were encouraged to measure how tall their structure is with unifix cubes (not pictured, but they were also on the table).


I also set out the recording sheet above to encourage the kids to draw their tower and record how many unifix cubes tall their tower was.

You can grab the recording sheet for FREE by clicking here or on the image below:

3. WATCH ME GROW! WRITING PORTFOLIOS

I always compile my students' guided writing from the year and make it into a writing portfolio for the kids to take home during the Celebration of Learning (this is what we do instead of a Kindergarten graduation).

For the cover, I get the kids to write their name and I add their picture from September and June.  


The first page is their name/portraits that I had them complete in September.


Then their guided writing piece from October to June.



At the end I add the name/portrait page I have them complete again in June, to show their growth from September!


4. PARENT PRIDE BOARD

I posted about this last year but it's always a hit so I wanted to share it again.  We set this up for our "Celebration of Learning" when the parents come to visit our classroom at the end of the year.  At the end (we do a slideshow and a short presentation about our learning from the year) we invite the parents to write something they are proud of about their child's learning from the year and stick it on the board.


We are excited to read these as a class tomorrow! It is a great way to start the last week off on a positive note!

5. OUR FAVOURITE LEARNING CHARTS

We made these charts as part of our "Celebration of Learning" and also to reflect on the year.  It is a great way to learn and reflect as an educator what they enjoyed the most and what I can do differently next year.


On Instagram, someone asked how I do Close Reading in Kinder.  I basically follow this guideline:

Monday: Cold Read + Predictions
Tuesday: Vocabulary
Wednesday: Text-to-Self Connection
Thursday: Retell
Friday: Opinion / Inferencing / Character Analysis

When I first started teaching Close Reading, I followed the lessons in Guiding Readers by Deanna Jump and Deedee Wills.  They were so helpful when I first started and now I adapt bits and pieces of it to fit my schedule.  Now that I'm comfortable with the model I am also able to pick my own books and create lessons on my own using their model.  They are a little pricey, but I highly recommend their guiding readers units if you are just getting started with close reading!

That's it from me this week! For those of you who are still in school like me, I hope you have a great last 4 days with your kiddos!

- Yukari
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Classroom Update: June 10

Hi guys! I'm just popping in to give you a quick update on our classroom happenings and share some freebies!

1. LOOK & LABEL

I got this awesome idea from the Ontario Kindergarten Teachers facebook group (you will have to request to join, as it is a closed group).  I love how open-ended it is!  I choose 10-12 items, put them in a basket and added the instructions and an alphabet linking chart.  


This little gal choose the drum and followed the instructions perfectly to draw and label her drawing! The colours even match the drum! #girlaftermyheart

You can grab the instruction card for free by clicking on the image below:

The alphabet linking chart is from my Step by Step: Kindergarten Writing Plans.  You can find it in my TPT store by clicking here.

2. FATHER'S DAY CARDS

We always start holiday/special day stuff early so that we are not rushed the week it needs to go home.  For Father's Day this year, we kept the card SUPER simple.  I just folded some white cardstock in half and had the kids decorate the front however way they liked.  

Here is my sample.  I made my card for my soon to be father in law, so I drew a picture of him on the cover.


For the inside, I gave the students the words to cut out and glue in order.  The kids filled out the blanks how they wanted (Recipient's name, their name).  The ones who wanted to also added a sentence or two under "Happy Father's Day!"


You can grab these word cards to cut out by clicking here or on the image below:

4. FATHER'S DAY GIFTS

I originally saw this photo on Pinterest and thought it was super cute.  So I decided to use the idea for our Father's Day gift!  First, I had the students fill in the blank for "My dad is SUPER because ____" with a dry-erase marker.  Then I put a mask and cape on them and I took their picture.

I just used felt, hot glue and velcro to make the mask and cape! I used these patterns from Busy Bugs for the cape and mask.


The frames are just 4 popsicle sticks hot glued together! We have LOTS of popsicle sticks so this was a super cheap gift to make! Then, the kids painted their frames and added stickers after the paint dried.  At the end we taped their picture to the frame and added some magnets on the back so their dads could display their gift on the fridge :)


I think it turned out really cute and the kids enjoyed making them for their dad or the special person in their life of their choice :)

4. PATTERNING WITH WINE CORKS + PAINT

Here's a math centre idea I got from @playexplorelearn's Instagram that the kids loved! Just set out some paint with wine corks and have students stamp a pattern! Easy to prep and my kids love anything that involve paint so it was a hit all week like I suspected :)


5. JUNE GUIDED WRITING

I can't believe this will be the last piece I'll be putting up on our writing wall for the year! A week before our Celebration of Learning, I'll be taking it down and making them into a book that they can take home at the end of our Celebration of Learning (a little event where we invite the parents in and share about what we have learned this year in Kindergarten).  

This month's book was "My School Day" by Leilani Sparrow and the prompt was "In the story, "My School day" by Leilani Sparrow, Bear talks about different things he does at school.  What is your favourite thing to do at school? Why?"

Here are some examples by my kiddos.  They were 100% making my day with these sweet sweet writing pieces <3


 "I like school because I like to play with Miss Naka and I love Miss Naka.  I will miss Miss Naka in Grade One." #cuethetears



"My favourite thing to do at school is to see Miss Naka.  Seeing Miss Naka is my favourite because she is pretty."


You can download this writing sheet for free by clicking here or on the image below:

You can find the writing checklist in my Step by Step: Kindergarten Writing Plans on TPT.

That's it from me this week! I hope you were able to use some of the freebies in this post! And did you know we only have 14 more teaching days until summer break? (I'm not counting the PA Day at the end) We can do it!!

- Yukari
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