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!

Early Childhood Blog Hop - ARRRGGH you ready for back to school?

Are you ready for Back to School?  Or are you like me and your teacher bag is still in the garage? Not matter how much I procrastinate, it's coming (and many of you may already be back).  I'm teaming up with a great group of early childhood teachers for some fun giveaways to give you a head start!  This blog hop is hosted by Erin at Kindergarten Dragons! If you haven't checked out her blog, you need to, she's been working so hard this summer to share tons of ideas from kindergarten classroom! 

I'm giving myself one more weekend before I get back into my classroom, but my computer, printer and laminator have been working pretty hard at home!  I love my new Rainbow Decor Bundle, I can't wait to give my classroom a fresh look this year.

 To help you get your classroom ready, I'm giving one away to a lucky winner...plus a $10.00 credit to my store!  Check out the rafflecopter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now, keep hopping for more back to school giveways!  The next stop is Teacher Design!

Five for Friday

Time for Five for Friday, hosted by Doodle Bugs Teaching!  Here are five random things that have been keeping me busy this week!

 

1. I love my new Rainbow Décor Bundle, I can't wait to decorate my room with these this year!  I like to keep thing simple in my Pre-K classroom, these posters are colorful, but won't be too distracting in my room.  Did I mention that having your own laminator at home is the most convenient thing EVER? Totally worth the cost, this laminator was under $20.00, and I order the laminating sheets from Amazon once in a while.

          

2. I made my Teacher Tool Kit two years ago and it still looks great!  I going to reevaluate when I get into my classroom, and maybe switch out some of the labels.

 

3. My boys had their last day of summer preschool today!  It was such a great program and they really enjoyed it, I had to whip up some easy gifts for their teachers. I save these pretty bottles from my husband's juice, and then whenever I need a gift I can just grab a flower arrangement and make a quick tag.  I made four gifts for $10.00 from this one bouquet!

 

4. Here's another one of my go-to gifts....a gift certificate to one our local ice cream shops and this cute printable.  I made this a couple of years ago and saved it to my computer, it's so simple to pull up and update with a personalized message.  Plus, who doesn't love an excuse to go get some ice cream? These are for my daughter's cheerleading coaches.

              

 

5. Thank you to A+ Images for my amazing blogger t-shirt!  I can't wait to wear this to my next TpT meet-up, or just around the house!  If you are a teacher blogger, check out their site and you may be able to order a FREE shirt.  I also love the other options...grade level, holiday, first day of school, class pictures...tons of fun shirts!

           

Thanks again to Doodle Bugs for hosting this weekly linky party! Enjoy your weekend!
 

Fun Fun Summertime Blog Hop!

 I'm participating in a fun Summer Blog Hop today organized by Mrs. Wyatt's Wise Owl Teacher Creations! I'm sharing some ideas on how to prevent the "summer slide" and keep your preschoolers prepared for kindergarten! Here's how I'm keeping my own preschooler engaged and excited about new learning opportunities this summer...I know that he's going to be ready to dive into kindergarten in September!

1. READING: The library is our favorite place in the summer!  We've signed up the Summer Reading Program and my little one crosses out the days on his calendar whenever he takes time out to READ.  We bring the calendar back once a week and he submits it for fun prizes, stamps, and stickers.  Check out your local library for summer programs!  We've also attended lots of fun programs, most recently my kids have the opportunity to see a Reptile Show and participate in a Science Workshop. Library programs are generally free, you may just need to register in advance.

2. FAMILY FIELD TRIPS: Summer is a really relaxed time for my family, my husband is a teacher too, so we get to spend lots of time together.  We've planned lots of places to visit...my advice is to make a plan by writing your ideas down on a calendar.  Pack a bag or lunches the night before and when you wake up in the morning, you can just GO! Check out local state parks, zoos, aquariums, museums, pools, and hiking trails (you may even be able to find some teacher discounts on membership and admission).   Even a playground that you've never been to before can be exciting. Is there a Regal Theatre in your area? Morning movies are only $1.00 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the summer!

 

3. SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS: My kids love science experiments!  We find ideas online and in books, most just require a few basic ingredients.  Take the time to read the directions together, gather the materials and read labels, make predictions, and write about what happened.  Here's a volcano set that we recently picked up...it was a fun project that took a couple of days and sparked a lot of conversation!

 

4. APPS: Like any preschool teacher, I don't believe that children should spend too much time on tablets, computers, and watching tv.  But, after a busy morning, my kids definitely need some quiet time (and I do, too!).  Here's one of my favorites, Sight Word Ninja.  The sight words are read aloud one at a time, and repeated until my son swipes the correct one.  He loves this game and is doing a great job of retaining the sight words that he learned in Pre-K! And it's FREE!

5. KINDERGARTEN READINESS PACKET: Little fingers that don't write, paint, color, and play over the summer might not be ready for kindergarten in the fall! I created this packet to send home with my students and use with my own son this summer.  He doesn't want to spend lots of time at the table "working", so the activities are quick, simple, and fun!  Providing him with a variety of writing materials is a great motivator, too.  We have buckets of crayons, pencils, markers, stamps, and stickers to use while my son is working on his Kindergarten Readiness Packet. 

Here's a fun freebie to prepare your preschooler for Kindergarten circle time, my super simple weather chart!  Print and laminate to post in your home or classroom as an easy way to track the weather each day! 

 What are you doing this summer to avoid the slide?  Keep hopping for some great ideas, click on the picture to visit Chalkboard Creations. Thanks again to Mrs. Wyatt's Wise Owl Teacher Creations for hosting this hop!

Five for Friday

 

It's Friday!  Well, every day is kind of like Saturday to me, right now! Anyways, I'm linking up with Doodlebugs Teaching for her weekly linky party, check it out for tons of fun blogs to follow! 

 

 We had fun swimming this week...this one insisted on wearing goggles at the splash pad, too!

 I FINALLY colored some rice for my kids to play with!  This bin is filled with shape cards for my three year old to work on .  

The rice is so pretty, I didn't want to mix it up! 

Working on this print for my sister.

 

I bought myself a FitBit!  I love it so far, I decided on the Charge (which has a screen) so I could more easily check my progress, but I kind of want the Flex because the bands come in so many cool colors and patterns!  I would love to hear your FitBit tips and stories, it's definitely motivating me to be more active! 

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Ten on Ten Linky Party - Letchworth State Park

I'm linking up with Rachael from The Classroom Game Nook today (a couple of days late, whoops)!  I LOVE the style of Rachael's blog and she has tons of great ideas!  I'm sharing ten pictures today from my recent trip to Letchworth State Park in New York.  Sometimes I forget that I live near such gorgeous destinations, Letchworth was recently voted the #1 State Park in the United States by USA Today!  Here are some pics from our visit, we had a great time!

We need to go back in the fall, check out this amazing shot!

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Go visit Rachael's blog for more Ten on Ten posts!  I would love to hear about your summer trips too!  Are you going anyplace exciting?

Fourth of July Sale!

Happy Fourth of July!  I'm spending time this weekend with family and a paint brush, but I decided to throw a little summer sale to celebrate!  Everything in my store is 20% off!  Check out some of my favorites for back to school, and have a wonderful weekend!