Community Helper Freebie

We are getting ready to begin our unit on Community Helpers.  Since this is my first year in kindergarten I have been getting to start all over making new center activities and learning the standards for a new grade level.  It has been a great journey so far.  I love each day with my precious kinders.  Granted some days are harder than others but I feel at home in kindergarten.  I wanted to share a freebie with you as well as some the centers my students will be using this week.

Some great bloggers have helped ease me into kindergarten with their great ideas and products.  This week my students will be using Mrs. Lee's community helper centers to practice some skills that we have been learning in our classroom.  Her center ideas are wonderful.  You can see her great community helpers centers here.

You can also purchase her unit here.

This week we will be reading books about community helpers and discussing their jobs.
I created this emergent reader to use during this unit as well.  Grab a copy by clicking on the picture.

I made it!

It's the end of the first quarter!  It has gone by so quickly...  I'm loving my grade change to Kindergarten.  I have the sweetest group of kindergarten students.  I have been very busy creating new materials for my classroom and blog stocking some great Kindergarten teachers.  I am now ready to show you what we have been doing in our classroom... (well today I'm showing mostly what we have been doing OUT of our classroom)

First we had our 16th Annual Box Car Races as we completed a Transportation Unit.

Box Car Races

Last week we visited the fire station.  We learned about fire safety.  Our fire station organized an amazing learning adventure planned for us.

Today we went to the pumpkin patch.  We had a blast picking out our pumpkins, seeing a replica of an old one room schoolhouse, going on a hayride, and doing some other fun fall activities.

 

It's almost ready!

I have been preparing for my first year in Kindergarten.  I am very excited!!!  I thought I would post some before, during, and after pictures of my classroom, but I'm not completely finished so the after pictures will come later. 

Before

 During

It is almost finished.  Still waiting on an easel and a few other items to make the room compete.

Lots of Change and some new items

After 5 years in second and third grade in a town almost two hours from where I live I decided it was time for a change.  I was hired in my hometown to teach either second or third grade.  (YAY! I can go to the school anytime I want!) I started working in my room and organizing at the end of May.  Last Thursday I found out I was moving to Kindergarten!  What a BIG change, but I am so excited! So I packed up my classroom and moved yet again!  Now I am moved in and mostly organized. Since we are having to add a 7th section of Kindergarten because of numbers I only have chairs, but will be ordering furniture soon-I hope it is in before school starts. 

I've decided to use the Carnival theme after a few years of using the Hollywood theme.  I have been busy creating resources for my room and have posted several new things in my Teachers Notebook and Teachers pay teachers store.  

Here are just a few examples of what has been posted.

This is a freebie on my Teachers notebook store

  

A Linky Party!

One of my favorite times during the day is when I read aloud to my students.  It was hard to narrow down to just a few, but here are my favorites.  I am linking up with with Miss Nelson at Run! Miss Nelson’s Got the Camera to share a few of my favorite read-alouds.

 Amber

Common Core Task Cards

It's so easy to have my question prompt cards on a ring to hang by my reading table and at my easel for easy use.  I have created some common core question prompt task cards.  These cards are correlated to the Common Core Standards.  The standard number is on the card.

Check these out on my TPT store or on my TN store.

Word Walls

No classroom should be without a word wall.  Students should be interacting with the word wall on a daily basis.  Word walls can have many purposes. 

According to http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/wordwall/ Word walls have many benefits. They teach children to recognize and spell high frequency words, see patterns and relationship in words build phonemic awareness skills,  and apply phonics rules. Word walls also provide reference support for children during reading and writing activities. Children learn to be independent as they use the word walls in daily activities.
Word walls can also be used:

• To support the teaching of important general principals about words and how they work.
• To foster reading and writing.
• To promote independence on the part of young students as they work with words in writing and reading.
• To provide a visual map to help children remember connections between words and the characteristics that will help them form categories.
• To develop a growing core of words that become part of a reading and writing vocabulary.
• To provide reference for children during their reading and writing.

Here are some activities to have some interaction with your word wall.

Visit my teachers notebook store and teachers pay teachers store and see the word wall sets I have been working on. 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Amber-Bass
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/shop/amber.bass

View the other themes to match your classroom.