My New Reading Area

Check out my new reading area!  I have kindergarten books on the right side and first grade books on the left side.

Frog Fine Motor Page

Check out my new Frog Fine Motor Pages.  I am planning on introducing these as fine motor worksheets in class for my kindergarten students and I will also laminate copies to put in my writing center. 

You can purchase all of these pages and more for only $1 in my TPT shop here:  TPT Shop

Frog Theme for the New School Year and Catching Up

Well, I have taken a whole year off of blogging due to my very busy schedule.  I would like to put up some more regular posts, but we'll see if I have time.  I am finishing off another year of summer preschool!  I only have two weeks left.  Then, it's a couple weeks off and school starts again!
I am really looking forward to teaching kindergarten and first grade again this year.  I already have 21 students signed up.  We remodeled my classroom this summer and now it has doubled in size!  And, for the first time ever, I will have a Teacher's Aide!  So, there's a lot to look forward to!
This year my theme is frogs and ponds.  Here's a sneak peek at one of our math learning centers.  I took the idea from www.teachingheart.net.  The first page is for first grade to practice addition.  The second page is for kindergarten to practice number recognition and dot patterns.

Frog Dice Roll

Ugly Cookies for the letter U

We made ugly cookies for snack time when we learned the letter U.
We started with sugar cookies, fresh from the oven.
I let the kids use frosting, jelly, and whipped cream to make
the cookies ugly.


 

Despite looking ugly, they tasted delicious!

But, they were a little messy!

Q for Quilts

Today we made quilts to learn about the letter Q.
I used the paper cutter to cut construction paper into squares. 
Then, I showed the students how to decorate the squares.
When they were happy with their work, I used masking tape on
the back of their quilts to tape them together. 

I really like the way they turned out!

Occupation Week

Day 1 of Occupation Week:

Dress up Center

After reading a book called Career Day, I had the students draw a picture of what they want to be when they grow up. This is what one of the little boys drew.  :)

 

It says "When I grow up, I'm going to be a Dad.  I'm going to marry my mom.  I'm going to have a baby called Miss Rachel.  Then she's going to grow up and be a teacher."

Today we talked about being a dentist.

For snack we spread peanut butter on apples and added miniature marshmallows for the teeth.

Summer Preschool

Here's a look at my summer job:  VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten)
It's a 300 hour, state-funded kindergarten readiness class.  So, pretty much I have 8 weeks to teach 4 and 5 year-olds everything they need to know for kindergarten.
This year I have 9 preschool students on very different levels.  One of my students knows how to read well, one is 6 and repeating kindergarten, one has high functioning autism, and two of my students just turned 4 this month, but pay to attend my class, since they don't qualify for the VPK program.
It's been a good summer, so far and I feel like my students have all learned a lot, regardless of the level they started on.

I designed my own curriculum, since I have been unable to find an 8-week preschool curriculum.  Each week focuses on a them and 4 alphabet letters.
Week 1- Senses and Me
Week 2- Seeds and Plants
Week 3- Insects
Week 4- Oceans
Week 5- Weather
Week 6- Farms
Week 7-  Occupation
Week 8- Zoo