Happy Fall, Y'all! Autumn Unit on Sale

Happy fall, y'all! It's the first day of autumn, so my Smart Charts fall unit is on sale today and tomorrow on TPT. 

Cultivate thinking and writing skills with this “tree-mendous” collection of autumn-themed graphic organizers and writing frames. You’ll rake in tree, cause-and-effect, venn, brace, sequencing, compare-and-contrast, describing, and circle charts that make reading and writing as easy as pumpkin pie. Teacher time savers are included along with cute poems and songs. The charts and frames are differentiated so you can meet your students’ needs. You won’t “be-leaf” how much is included in this crop of charts about trees, leaves, pumpkins and scarecrows. Fall is here...better scurry!

TGIF and Five for Friday

It took five LONG days to get to Friday night. It was a busy week and here's why...

ONE: On Thursday we had our Boosterthon Fun Run! If you've never heard of this fundraising company, I encourage you to visit their site. I could say lots of things about the character lessons, the staff, and the run itself, but their site explains it best! http://www.boosterthon.com

TWO: I was observed. My assistant principal gave me a sweet gift after her visit. 

THREE: My paraprofessional was out for two days. Need I say more? I love that woman!

FOUR: Here's an easy solid shapes center...My kids traced the faces of solid shapes to discover the flat shapes of the faces.

FIVE: Remember to get your free apple charts when you like my facebook page.

Five for Friday...Sunday Edition

I'm linking my weekend post to Doodle Bugs linky Five For Friday.
ONE: Remember your college courses in learning theory? (Some of us took those classes a long twenty years ago!) Yeah, and remember these guys?

Well a bit of that constructivist theory came back to me last week when my kids did this constructing 3D shapes activity...

I tell you I was so excited I had to snatch a first-grade teacher out of the hall to come look. It was so much fun to watch the kids discover how to use toothpicks and marshmallows to build cubes and rectangular prisms. I snapped some pics, but wish I had recorded some of their conversations as they worked together.

TWO: Remind 101

Here's the skinny...don't have it? GET IT. I text my parents almost every day. 

THREE: Conferences

I spent my Saturday at school doing conferences...8 down, 17 to go. I actually don't mind. More often, both parents can come, folks seem more relaxed, I can get 8 done at once...It's a win-win.

FOUR: We have a winner in my giveaway. The following friend gets a copy of my new unit.

FIVE: You can get some sample pages from this unit at Simply Centers.

Wild about Reading, Wild about Giveaways!

This weekend while all my friends were posting pictures of their beach and lake trips, I posted a new unit! So while I think I really would have preferred to have been at the beach, I do think this one is worth the effort. I'm celebrating another unit by giving one away.

Get ready to watch your little ones go wild over reading!  These nonfiction, animal passages were designed for beginning readers. They have a repetitive structure and simple sentences. Students read the passages and copy key ideas into the corresponding tree charts. The simplicity of the text also allows children to focus on vocabulary. Word cards and pictures are provided to help students learn new concepts. Increase comprehension by asking students to fill out the matching questions sheets. Kids go wild over animals...and soon they'll go wild over reading!

If you'd like to enter to win, just follow my blog 

then follow my facebook page.

 The winner will be announced Sunday.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Motivate Me Monday...Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller

Happy Labor Day! I hope all my teacher friends are enjoying the day off of work. Now...Raise your hand if you are going to your building, cutting, printing, planning and/or laminating today. I'm headed over to my school this afternoon and I know I won't be alone over there...

Here's my Motivate Me Monday from Teaching with Intention: Defining Beliefs, Aligning Practice, Taking Action by Debbie Miller.

I find myself rereading this book every year. Here's a quote to get you moving. You can print the quote by clicking on the image.

We're the ones in the unique and wonderful position to know where our kids have been, where they are now, and where it makes the most sense to take them next. Real life isn't scripted. Neither is real teaching.

Peek at our Week: MATH

Here's a peek at our lessons for next week in math. We'll be using several activities from the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards. If you are interested in any of the reproducibles, just click the unit below. It will take you to the Georgia Department of Education. You'll have to join a wiki, but then you'll be able to see all of the math units available to Georgia kindergarten teachers.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions! Or just leave me a note on the Smart Kids facebook page! Click the chart to download.

Want to see more lesson plans? Visit the linky sponsored Mrs. Wills!