Trick or Treat Blog Hop

Thanks so much to The Classroom Game Nook for hosting another fun blog hop!  I'm back to share a "trick" with you that I like to use in my classroom, and a few "treats", too!  Continue on the hop to pick up lots of great ideas, freebies, and enter some fun giveaways! 

School is in full swing and I'm really enjoying my class this year!  We are very busy and having lots of fun, and I'm finding that setting up clear expectations, practicing our routines, and using visual clues to manage classroom behavior is really working! Many of my students are in school for the first time, so we spent lots of time in September learning about our classroom rules!  Here's one of my favorite management tricks...I find that with pre-kindergarten students the more simple, the better! 

This super simple poster hangs in the front of my classroom, the concept is so easy for my pre-kindergarten students to relate to!  In the beginning of the year, we model how "silent snakes" sound, we use this example when we're walking in the hallway, practicing for a fire drill, or listening on the carpet during a whole group lesson. We are "quiet koalas" for most of the day, during centers, snack, small group work, and our daily message.  "Chattering cheetahs" are saved for outside and gym time.  Super simple, right? These familiar representations have really helped me to control the noise level in the room and set us up for a successful year! 

Here's another little "trick"!  This FREE file also includes smaller versions of the cards, I like to print and laminate them and attach to a lanyard.  I can wear this lanyard during the day for easy access and quick reminders! Hurry, this FREEBIE TREAT is only free through October 31st! 

 Be sure to grab this FREEBIE before Halloween and I hope that you'll join in the fun for a giveaway! I'm so excited for this blog hop that I'm giving away a $10.00 credit to my TpT store!  All you have to do is enter using the Rafflecopter below.  Good luck! 
 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, continue hopping through for more great ideas, freebies, and giveaways!

Tricks and Treats Blog Hop: Painting in PreK!

I'm participating in a fun blog hop to welcome in October, thanks to Mrs. Plemons' Kindergarten!  Check it out this weekend for great teacher "tricks" that will make your life easier and a "treat" from each blog!  I'm sharing a trick I just recently starting using in my class...and I'm not sure why I haven't been doing this all along!  This is a simple idea, but I often forget about it every time we begin a new theme.

My kids love to paint during our center time, I normally supply them with large paper, paintbrushes, a few jars of paint, and let the creativity fly.  Lately I've been reading lots of posts on directed drawings...an interesting idea but not age appropriate for all of my students (yet).  I decided to start simple, with directed painting!

Let's paint an apple! Sitting down with the kids and painting this apple step-by-step made a huge difference, compared with just displaying  a picture of an apple in my painting center.  I'll definitely allow the kids to paint freely from time to time, but they have such a sense of pride in their pictures when I give them a little direction. Check out these apples...

This little guy was having some fun!  

I'm loving these paintings, not bad for pre-kindergarteners in September! I guessing that the "Art Center" will be probably popular this year!  I hope that you're able to use this trick in your classroom, and here's a little treat for you, too!

Check out this FREE Apple ABC Pocket Chart Game in my TpT store.  My students love to "hide the worm" behind the letters, then take turns identifying the letters to find the worm!  We play this game together as a group, and then add it to our literacy center for independent and partner play. I hope that you can use this game in your classroom.  Enjoy hopping through for more tricks and treats!

An InLinkz Link-up

"What's your GNOME?" Handwriting Freebie

I just uploaded a name writing freebie to TpT, "What's your GNOME?" These gnomes are so cute, I had to use them in my classroom this year!  This freebie includes nameplates (lined and unlined) and a few versions of a handwriting worksheet.  Write each child's name in the top box of the worksheet, make several sets of copies, and allow your kids to practice writing their name underneath!  I love providing my PreK students with this model, kids can write their name five times or once a day for a week! You can grab your freebie here!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for the new MADE pattern, "First Day Dress and Top"! Scroll down for the Rafflecopter!

Easter Week in PreK and Kindergarten

My district is on Spring Break next week (yay!) so the Easter crafts have already started in my classroom. I just uploaded my new unit and a fun freebie to TpT last night, and I love the way the bunnies and chicks are turning out! Check out my Easter Week in PreK and Kindergarten unit, which includes all of the patterns. I love formatting my patterns digitally, I would much rather print those pieces out than trace them all!

Are you working on Easter this week?  Come over to my FB page for a chance to win this unit and for a number recognition freebie!  

Free on TpT!

Counting Kites FREEBIE!

Thanks to Maria at Kinder-craze for the inspiration!

You read Kinder-Craze, right? If not, you need to!  I love her style! When I saw these kites on Maria's blog the other day, I knew they would be the perfect replacement for the stained glass shamrocks that were on the windows.   We made the kites (added yarn and bows) and hung them on all the windows.  There may be snow on the ground, but they add a little spring cheer to the classroom! 

We had so much fun with the kites, I created a little counting freebie to use with my kids. The kids are doing so well with their writing, but we still need practice with numbers.  We had a lot of fun today counting kites and writing the numbers on dry erase boards and our counting worksheets.  You can grab this FREEBIE by following my FACEBOOK page! Click on the "Fan Freebie" tab at the top and you'll be directed to the download!  I hope that you are enjoying spring in your classroom!

Three Million Teachers Strong sale! I love TpT!

Thanks Krista Wallden!

 Are you ready for the TpT sale this week!  I'll be participating and filling up my cart!  Although I really need to go a clip art spending freeze, does anyone else have the same problem?!??  Don't forget to use the promo code TPT3 for an additional 10% off your purchase!  Have fun! 

Don't forget to scroll down and enter 

my Rafflecopter giveway (it ends tonight)!  

I'm giving away 5 free files from my store! 

I'm busy working to add a few more

titles before the big sale! 

Enter this giveway!

Holiday Freebies and a Giveaway!

Grab your freebie HERE

One more week of school and then two weeks off for Winter Recess!   What are your plans for break?  I'm ready to sleep in, drink coffee, and not pack lunches!  I'll be spending lots of time with family and creating resources for the new year, I'm sure.  For those of you still in school, I'm adding a little holiday freebie to my shop.  Two cute holiday crafts for last minute decorating in your classroom and hallway.  I love using handprints in our artwork, such a great keepsake for the parents!         

 I'm also kicking off my last week of school with a giveaway!  Enter my giveway for a $15.00 gift certificate to use on Teachers pay Teachers (in any shop)!  Share this giveway to earn even more chances to win.  I'll email the winner a GC code that can be used to pay for your purchases!  Good luck and Happy Holidays! 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last minute Halloween tags!

Ahhhhh!  Halloween is tomorrow. If you're making last minute treat bags (like I am), here's a quick freebie for you!  I copied these tags on colored paper and attached them to candy bags. Click HERE to grab your freebie from my TpT shop. Have a great night!

Friday Freebie - Bus Safety Sight Word Reader!

Yay!  I'm so excited about my response to the giveaway!  Thanks so much for your entries and comments. Unfortunately, I accidently deleted all the comments! I'm blaming my mistake on three things....
    

     1. I'm new to Blogger
     2. It was 1:00 a.m.
     3. I was simultaneously watching 2 hours of Project Runway! 

Congratulations to the winner, Addison H., but I feel bad that I couldn't pick more! Here's a freebie to start off your weekend, a little bus safety book!  I print this on yellow paper and read with my kids before we take a field trip, but it's also perfect for the first week of school!  If you like it, please take a moment to leave feedback on my TpT page, I really appreciate it!  Have a great weekend!

Grab it HERE!

Organizing my Classroom - Free Monthly Labels!



I'm getting organized in my classroom this year!  I purchased 10 large blue bins from The Christmas Tree Shop a few days ago.  I created these labels to brighten them up and help me organize my monthly materials.  I'll post some pics this week, but in the meantime, I'll share them with you!  Click HERE to download the labels from Google Docs! 

Since organizing is my first step to working on my class decor, I'm linking up with KinderAlphabet! Check it out!



Linking up to Ladybug's Teacher Files

 

Linking up to The Applicious Teacher



Linking up to Miss Kindergarten

Friday Freebie! What will you learn in PreK?

Click  HERE to download from my TpT page!

Here's a sweet little student reader to help you out for the first week of PreK!  My students love these books!  You can read as a group, identify sight words or letters with a highlighter, read in small groups, color and send home for parents to read!  Whenever I create a student reader, I always format it so it can be run through the copy machine as a packet, stapled twice on the left side, and then cut in half to create two books!  Why did it take me 10 years to figure that out?

Enjoy! 

Yay for PreK! My first freebie!

I use the summertime to get a head start on the school year because my husband is home to help me with the kids (he's a teacher, too)!  Here's a calendar freebie to give you a head start on the school year!  I created these calendars to use with my PreKers on the first day of each month, to introduce our new calendar.  There are three formats, so you can differentiate for your students.  I'll put it up for FREE on my TpT page this week, so download quickly!

Do you have a Teachers Pay Teachers account? You should! Click here to download these calendars for free!