Franklin Institute

Hey everyone! I hope you are having an awesome  new year.  How are those resolutions going?  With holiday travel and congestion over, my boyfriend and I decided to do a quick day trip to Philly. Of course we choose the coldest weekend, but the rest of January was booked for us

We went to the Franklin Institute to see the Animals Inside Out exhibit.
We saw the Bodies exhibit years ago and thought this might be a cool twist.  Basically you get to take a look at what animals look like on the inside. Through the process of Plastination, scientists preserved various body systems of animals.  It was amazing to see how similar and yet so different we are from the beautiful creatures we share this planet with. Warning!!! This exhibit is not for the faint of heart, they do showcase the systems of dogs and cats too.

This would be a great place to take the kids on a rainy day. The whole museum is interactive. You can participate in hands on activities that explore force and motion, electricity, simple machines, optical illusions, flight, and space travel.

I thought the best part was the Sports Challenge. There was this big room that had different types of sports activities and tested the science behind it.  In the baseball section they had a pitching mound and you could see  what type of ball will go the fastest. You could test your reflexes in the race cars section, balance on the surf boards, and vertical jump on the basket ball court. There was even a section dedicated to  adaptive sports like wheel chair racing.

The Franklin Institute is a great place to plan a field trip. The website offers great teacher resources and of course content standard connections.  If you are looking for a way to display the Next Generation Science Standards hop on over to my TPT store to check out my Kindergarten Science Standards Cards.


After a great day at the museum we ventured down to Reading Terminal Market for something to eat. For those of you who have never been, Reading Terminal Market houses a variety of food venders featuring different ethnic and regional cuisine. It reminds me of indoor Food Trucks. You can even purchase fresh meat, fish, cheese and groceries. Of course you have to stop by one of the many amazing bakeries and confectionery boutiques for dessert. It is worth the drive down the Turnpike.

Thanks for stopping by!

2015 Resolution Linky

I'm teaming up with Second Grade Nest to share my 2015 New Year's Resolutions. Hop on over to her blog to check other Resolutions. firstgradenest.com

So here are my 2015 Resolutions

SALEM:

For the past 2 years my boyfriend and I have said that we should drive up to Salem to celebrate our anniversary in October. For one reason or another we have never managed to get there. This year I want to book the B&B early so there is no excuse why we can't go.

PIANO:

As a kid I took piano lessons for years. I never really devoted as much time to it as I should have. This year Santa brought me a new Keyboard to play around with. I want to learn a few songs that I can play during Morning Meeting. We sing a lot in my classroom so it will nice to have some accompaniment.

                    YOGA:  

I use to take a Bikram class on Saturday mornings but the cost just became too much. With the money I have been saving from tutoring I should be able to to get a monthly pass.

I'd love to hear some of your resolutions, you can leave them in a comment below. Happy New Year!

Kicking off the Holiday Season.

We just finished our Thanksgiving show which means it is time to gear up for the holidays. I just wanted to share something I saw on Facebook last week.

Caring Santa
Simon Malls will be teaming up with Autism Speaks to host Caring Santa.  Special Needs families can make reservations with Santa before the mall opens. This program provides a more subdued environment so that children may enjoy their visit with Santa without the added stress of a crowed mall or long lines.
Check out http://www.autismspeaks.org/caring-santa for times and locations.

You Oughta Know November

Is it just me or is November a ridiculously busy month? The past two weeks I had Teachers Convention, Report Cards, Parent/Teacher Conferences and my 40 minute unannounced observation. If your November has been anything like mine you may be scrambling for extra time in your schedule. This month I am teaming up with some excellent teacher bloggers to share some classroom advice. To save you some time this November, I complied a list of great books to help celebrate Thanksgiving.

Many of you know that I am obsessed with scholastic. I take advantage of all their great deals and promotions to build my class library. These are some of my favorite Thanksgiving non-fiction books.

• Sarah Morton's Day
• Samuel Eaton's Day
• Tapenum's Day
• On the Mayflower
• The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving

Scholastic also has some really great resources on their website. You can even sign up to receive letters from the New World! Some things were a little too advanced for my Kinder's so I just paraphrased the information. They loved looking at the photos though. Check it out for yourself here. http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/

You can't forget all of the great Thanksgiving read aloud stories. Last year my kids loved Turkey Trouble. They had so much fun creating disguises for their turkeys and then writing a turkey free menu for Thanksgiving.

• The Littlest Pilgrim
• Bear Says Thanks
• T is for Turkey
• Turkey Trouble
• The Night Before Thanksgiving
• Pete the Cat The First Thanksgiving
• Happy Thanksgiving Biscuit
• The Great Turkey Race

...and many many more!


I would love to hear about your Thanksgiving favorites. Don't forget to stop by these other fantastic teacher bloggers for more great suggestions.
 

An InLinkz Link-up

Celebrating Halloween

Another successful Halloween completed. Getting through Halloween at school can be arduous. The students are so excited that it is difficult to get anything accomplished.  The day is too long to waste just playing games so this year I planned some excellent Halloween related activities that kept the kids engaged and learning.

We started out our morning ELA block focusing on the classic Kindergarten Halloween story, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything.  I found this great packet on TPT.
 The packet includes anchor charts and sequencing activities. First we read the story and used the anchor chart cards to retell the story as we read. I then split the students into two teams. I had each team use real objects to retell the story. Everyone wanted to be the stinky shoe that went Clomp Clomp. The students then went back to their seats and completed the cut and retell worksheet for independent practice. We've been working on retelling guided reading so this fit perfectly.

Then I had the students complete this adorable craft that my coworker found on toddlerapproved. I copied the template on to colored construction paper and had the students cut and sequence the pictures to create the scarecrow. I was surprised at how well they were able to cut the hands. Many of the students actually tried to cut in between each finger!

When everyone was finished we watched this cute youtube video of the story that was turned into a song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiUflxXF-Zg  The students love getting up and dancing.

After lunch we invited the parents into to help us with our Pumpkin Investigation. We counted how many ridges were on our pumpkin, we measured the circumference of our pumpkin, we tested to see if it would sink or float. We cut open our pumpkin and counted the seeds by making piles of 10 and then the parents carved the pumpkins into silly faces.

 Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for the Halloween parade and end our day. How did you celebrate this year?  

Liebster Award

I'd like to thank Little Miss EduGator, kinderdoodlez,  My Life at the Pencil Sharpener,  and lisateachr  for nominating me for the Liebster award!!! 

1. Why and how long ago did you start blogging?

I started blogging this past summer. This was the first summer that I wasn't working at a camp or taking classes and I needed something fun to fill my time.

2. What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why? 

Sharing: I love sharing ideas and activities that have worked in my classroom. I also offer Freebies with many of my posts.

 3. Is there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew before?

Google+ can be a great way to network and get your blog noticed.

4. What is your favorite past time other than blogging?

 I love to go hiking. We actually have some pretty decent trails here in Jersey.

5. How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog? 

Not enough :( I typically spend 2 hours a week networking and promoting but I would like to dedicate more time to creating quality posts.

6. What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?

I love seeing activities and tips in action. Seeing the inside of other classrooms, it helps inspire my own teaching.

7. Where does your blog inspiration come from? 

I get most of my inspiration from my own classroom. If I find something that works I share it.

8. Of which post that you have written are you most proud?

  I loved sharing my classroom makeover. My family and friends loved seeing it all come together.

9. Is there any post you have been planning to do, but have been postponing it for a while now?

I've been meaning to do a post on sensory activities. I just need to collect some great images to make the post come to life.

10. What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

I love connecting with other educators. I have a great Kindergarten team and we share everything, but it is nice to see what people are doing in other districts and states.

11. Which recipe, project, or idea on my blog would you be most likely to try yourself?  

Little Miss EduGator- I love your Q-Tip Skeletons, they would be perfect for Halloween.

Kinderdoodlez-  I love your First Day of Kindergarten Frame, too cute!

My Life at the Pencil Sharpener- I love your meet the author box! I always kick off writing with Library Mouse, what a cute extension.

LisaTeachR's- I love your post about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. My Kinders love Moe!!

My Nominees:

• braindomainkids 
• missingtoothgrins 
• raisingrigorandreaders. 
• Thekindergartenconnection 
• Everything Just So 

To those who have been nominated, here are the "official" rules for accepting:
1. In your post, link back to the blogger who nominated you as a thank you and "shout out." (Follow their blog if you haven't already!)  
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you (the ones I answered above).
3. Nominate 5- 11 blogs of your choice that each have less than 200 followers. Provide them with 11 questions to answer or have them answer the questions above.
4. Let your nominees know that they've been nominated and provide them with a link to your post so that they can accept.

5. Send your nominator a link to your post so that s/he can learn more about you as well! (You can just put your post link in the comments below!) 

Tricks and Treats Blog Hop

Hi everyone,
Is it just me or has this year been whizzing right by? I can't believe we are already in October!! Today I am teaming up with Mrs.Pelmonskindergarten and other teacher bloggers to bring you this Tricks and Treats Blog Hop.

As the title of my blog suggests, I love anchor charts.  I always find such cute anchor charts on

Pintrest, you know the ones I'm thinking of. These anchor charts must be made by some REALLY talented teachers. They  put mine rushed, slanted writing to shame.

Here are a few tips for creating anchor charts that pop....


1) Plan your spacing and arrangement:
I have 13 students so I always figure out how much room I need for each of their responses and leave room for the tile and embellishments.

2) Use bright colored markers to make important text stand out:
I picked up these really cute Scentos smelly markers at the craft store. They make my anchor charts really stand out. Plus the kids have fun guessing what the smell will be.

3)When all else fails, make a computer template:
I have to admit I do not have cute teacher handwriting, its something that I am working on. I will often create my titles or labels in PowerPoint using cute font and fun colors. I've been really attracted to KG Second Chances Font. You can download a free version here, but you have to buy a commercial license if you intend to sell any of your creations.  

Here is an example of a my computer embellished What Writes Write About anchor chart. The day before I presented the lesson I asked the students to brain storm about the topic. I then took their topic ideas and some ideas I had and got to work looking for cute clipart. I found all of these images for free at mycutegraphics.com.

You can snag your own copy of my anchor chart here. I love Freebies

I hope these tricks help you create beautiful and and useful anchor charts in your classroom. Now hop on over to see the tricks and treats the others have in store.

An InLinkz Link-up