"But I'm not done!" Does anyone else hear this when it's time to clean up from stations?? I was going crazy trying to keep straight who was finished with an assignment and who wasn't. And the solution was just sitting there...it would have been staring me right in the face if only it had eyes. CUBBIES!
If a child doesn't finish something, they put it in their cubby. It doesn't get shoved into the abyss of their desk bag. It doesn't clutter up my desk. It's the one-stop shop of where students go to make sure they've finished everything. LOVE IT!
Another thing they keep in their cubby is their poetry journal for our brand new poetry station! One of my main objectives in a poetry station is to practice handwriting. Students write part of the poem (because the whole poem plus kindergarten handwriting does NOT equal fitting onto one page!). After they write the poem, they order it in a pocket chart.
This is our first week, and I'm proud of their work! BTW, their poetry journals are definitely long pieces of handwriting paper stapled together. Fancy, huh?? =)
One of my goals this year was to provide some station activities to go along with Saxon Phonics. I think Saxon is good at what it does, but...well...let's face it. It's boring! I'm trying to put a little pizzazz into it by making station games to review letters in the same order Saxon introduces them. My newest packet includes the letters P, N, M, and S. Here's one activity that the kiddos really liked! It's a file folder game where students sort pictures based on beginning sounds. This is in my TPT store and is a flash freebie until I go back and change the price. I hope you can use it!
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| Click the Pic for P, M, N, and S letter activities! |
Speaking of Saxon, we learned about the letter P a few weeks ago. For homework, students had to draw and label 4 words that began with P. This one just cracked me up!
In other random news, this is what greeted me when I got home. A happy hubby and a happy puppy! It's the dream!
Don't apologize for your lack of blogging! We all know how crazy teaching is! Not to mention how tiring it is!!!!! Your poetry folders look great. I love using poetry with my first graders. My kiddos are excited that they will get to take their notebooks home at the end of the year. Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteKaren
An Apple a Day in First Grade
I did miss you, BUT I knew you had to be so busy. OH my goodness, there were so many neat things to comment about all through you post, but then I got to that picture at the bottom and that is my absolute FAVORITE! Look at those smiles! :) The "p" pictures were hilarious. Your kids print realllllly well, too. You know how you have days where you think the kids are doing really well- coming along- then the next day you are like, "What is happening?!" :) Have fun with those 2 happy faces all weekend!
ReplyDeleteCarolyn
Kindergarten: Holding Hands and Sticking Together
That pic of Tim and Jenna is too cute! What a wonderful greeting. That phonics game is adorable. Seems like you're adjusting to your new school nicely!
ReplyDeleteDon't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late
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