Fun with the alphabet!

I'm going back to kindergarten, and I've been trying to do a few things to get ready.  Not much, I will admit.  I have to spend some time in my classroom today, and I'm not looking forward to it one little bit!  Don't you hate when summer is over?

 But one thing I really liked about teaching Kindergarten was teaching letters, so I'm excited about that part at least.

I have spent some time in the last few days trying to find some fun ways for my beginning of the year Kindergarteners to practice the alphabet.  I'm going to share some of them with you, because you may need some fun activities for struggling students or students learning their letters for the first time!

It is very important to have an alphabet chart in your classroom for students to reference.  Mine reference the alphabet chart all the time when reading and writing, particularly my struggling students.  So I make sure to have a great alphabet chart (or two!) hanging in my classroom!

  

(These are from my "ABC Learn With Me!" bundle.)

I also like to make sure I have an alphabet chart handy at my guided reading table.  I have one I made from the Phonics Dance pictures so that they can use that particular alphabet chart when they are at the guided reading table.  I also send a copy of this home so they can practice at home as well. 

I also use flashcards in the hallway sometimes when we are using the bathroom 300 times a day.  At the beginning of the year, I would use alphabet flashcards.  I have some students tell me the letter while others tell me the beginning sound or a word that begins with that letter.  Later in the year, we progress onto sight words.

During literacy centers, we do a whole lot of letter and beginning sound sorts!  I absolutely love doing sorts with my students.  In Kindergarten, we sort by beginning and ending sounds, and medial short vowels.  Eventually we move on to harder sounds.  In first grade, I start out with word families, and move onto blends, digraphs, vowel teams, etc...  But we do a whole lot of sorting in my classroom!  

Sometimes we do card sorts.

Other times, I want the students to show their work so I can check it later, so I have them cut and glue their work onto a sorting sheet.  I really like to do different kinds of sorts.  Sometimes they will have 2 or 3 beginning letters and cards to sort, while other times we will have several pictures that start with one letter (like r, for example), while all the others will be various other sounds that aren't r.

I LOVE this idea I found from "I Can Teach My Child".  You use a wipes container and bottlecaps from milk cartons, etc...  The students can put the caps in the monster's mouth.  You could have them sort upper and lowercase letters, or just name the letter as they put the cap in.  I think I have a baby wipes container around here, and I know I have a ton of bottlecaps!  I want to make one of these so badly!

I also love these matching activities!

This tray matching activity comes from "We Can Do All Things".  I love how her daughter was able to match the letters in her hand to the letters on the tray.  You could use this for upper and lowercase sorting as well.  

I don't know if I would put the cupcake liners in there, simply because I think they would fall out, but I love this idea.  She used beans and wrote the letters on them, but you could also use magnetic or foam letters if you want.  This idea comes from "The Imagination Tree".

I also love this closepin letter match activity from "Craftulate".  You could use any set of flashcards you have and some closepins with letters written on them.  I would probably make those closepins cute and fancy.  Maybe some washi tape or some foam letters!

I also created some fun alphabet activities that my students can use for my own classroom.  I really like students to have fun when they are learning.  These activities are a part of my "ABC Learn With Me" bundle.

Alphabet dominoes- students match the picture to the correct letter.

Puzzles- students find the matching picture and letter combination.

Memory- there are a few variations on how you can play this!  Lower case letter/picture, upper case letter/picture, or upper case letter/lower case letter!

Clip Cards- matching the correct beginning letter to the picture.  You can easily make these self-checking by adding a marker dot or sticker on the back behind the correct answer.  There are 6 cards for each letter, and you can mix and match them to differentiate for your students.

I also love these alphabet interactive notebooks by my friend Jennifer Drake of Crayons, Cuties, and Common Core.  They are absolutely adorable, and I can't wait to use them with my Kindergarteners.  She has a freebie available for you to check them out.

There are also some great books available for teaching the alphabet!  My absolute favorite is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!  Kindergarteners LOVE the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom song!  I have done so many fun things with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  My absolute favorite was making a "coconut tree" out of paper.  It "magically" appeared in our classroom one day, with velcro dots all over it.  There were also letters with velcro dots on them, and the students got to come up and put the letters on the tree.  I wish I had a picture of this- but I still have the tree, so I'll just have to do it again this year!  

I have so many fun Chicka Chicka Boom Boom ideas.  If I am able to dig up some pictures from 7 years ago, I definitely will so I can share them with you!  If not, I will just have to repeat them with my new group of Kinders.

Another great way to make sure your students know their letters is through the use of class-created anchor charts.  I love to use these in my classroom!  After we read and sing our letter book of the day (two days?) several times, we make a chart of words that begin with that letter.  I write the word, and then draw a picture beside it so students know what it is.  Since they helped to make the chart, they know the words on it!  Ours are nothing fancy, and the pictures are terrible, but the kids think my drawings are amazing!

A funny story about those charts:  My first year teaching, we were doing our chart for the letter H and one of my students suggested "hydraulics" for a word on the chart.  Talk about a hard word to draw!  I had to look it up to make sure I spelled it correctly!  Kindergarteners sure do give you a run for your money!

If you are looking for some awesome activities for teaching or reviewing the alphabet, you can find my "ABC, Learn With Me" bundle in my store.  There are a ton of activities to help your students solidify their letter knowledge.  Use it with struggling firsties, during a whole class lesson, or with a small group of intervention or guided reading students.  

It includes a beginning letter sort, clip cards, dominoes, puzzles, a memory game, and more fun games, as well as printable sorting pages and writing pages, flashcards, letter posters, mini foldable books, and more! 

Your Turn:

What is your favorite way to teach the alphabet?

  

What Happens in Vegas...

What happens in Vegas... doesn't stay in Vegas!  At least, not in my case!  I learned so many amazing things in Vegas, and saw so many amazing people, that it would be totally unfair to keep it to myself!  I can't do it!

For those of you who aren't in the "know", there were actually a few conferences that were happening in Vegas this week.  Monday-Thursday were I Teach K, I Teach 1st, Differentiated Instruction, and Singapore Math.  On Friday was the very first Teachers Pay Teachers Conference.

As a part of the conference, there a huge vendor area where people were giving away freebies, selling fun items like t-shirts, and providing educational merchandise and information as well.  I walked around the vendor area a few times, and I found a few great items that I really thought would work in my classroom next year, and thought might work in yours.  I am in no way getting paid for showing you these items.  I just thought they were cool and wanted to share!

At one of the booths, they had some great activities that you could use for small group activities, word work activities, etc...  The first thing I saw were these Trace 'N Erase boards.  They were small, thin boards that were clear on one side and had a pocket at the top.  You could use them by printing off things for the students to copy or fill out and slipping it in the pocket.  Then they write on top with a dry erase marker.  I actually bought 6 of those, since they are small and fit in my suitcase. :-)

Another cool idea I found was range covers.  They had these in a display where they had magnetic letters arranged in words inside them, and they had also written in them with a dry erase marker.  So cool!  I love the idea of being able to put the magnetic letters inside these little trays so they don't go spilling everywhere.  I really wanted to get some of these, but I didn't have room!

 At the same booth, I also saw this awesome board holder.  It has 2 slits in it to hold up your dry erase board.  So you could write something on the board and display it. Or, if you have magnetic boards, arrange some letters and show them to the students to copy.  It is so small too, so it would be super simple to store in your classroom!

 

I don't know about you, but I LOVE the story Chicka Chicka Boom Boom!  When I taught K, back 3 years ago, I had a tree and some letter cutouts to retell the story.  But man, this is so much cuter!  I am already trying to figure out how to make this myself!

I also just loved these different cubes for word work. There were so many different cubes available it wasn't even funny!  These would be so easy to make.  They actually sold plain foam cubes as well, but you could make them out of paper, or you could get some small wooden blocks from Hobby Lobby and make them as well.  I have used very small foam cubes from the dollar store before as well!

Of course, no trip to Vegas would be complete without meeting some amazing TPT Teacher-Authors!  I was so incredibly lucky to meet some of the wonderful ladies (and gentlemen!) who helped inspire my teaching!  I am sure many of them inspired you as well!  Around the same time I moved to teach first grade, I discovered some very wonderful things: teaching blogs and TPT.  I started following so many first grade bloggers to get inspiration and ideas!  I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to meet many of them!

From top left:  Erica Bohrer (Erica's Edventures) and I, Latoya Reed (Flying Into First Grade) and I, CaseyJane Cooper (Wiggling Scholars)and I.

The Welcome to Las Vegas sign in the airport

Mary Amoson (Sharing Kindergarten) and I, Deanna Jump (Mrs. Jump's Class) and I, Kimberly Geswein (KG Fonts) and I.

I also got to spend some serious hangout time with these wonderful, talented ladies!  I absolutely love these girls.  It was the first time we met in person, and it was great!

The picture on the left is:  Suzanne Scotten (Scotten's Stuff), Deborah Hayes (The Happy Edugator), Jason Jolfs (A Sketchy Guy), Chrystine Tinney (Tweet Music), Lindsay Jervis (Lindsay's Kodally Inspired Classroom), Suzan Elzora-Jolfs (School Bells 'N Whistles), Teresa Kwant (Mom Quotes and Teacher Notes), Alisa Cosenza (First Grade Fun Times), me, and JoAn Delafosse (Tiny Toes)

The picture on the left is me, Tweet Music, Scotten's Stuff, and School Bells 'N Whistles!

The top is Katie Knight (Teacher to the Core), me, and Lisa Mattes (Growing Firsties).

The bottom is Deanna Jump (Mrs. Jump's Class), Paul Edelman (Founder of TPT), and I; Sarah Paul (Sarah's First Grade Snippets), me, and Molly Lynch (Lucky to be in First).

This trip was an absolutely fabulous experience, and I am so glad that I spent the money and took the time to go!  I strengthened friendships I already had, made several new friends, learned a ton about blogging and TPT that will make my little business stronger, and most importantly, got inspired to be the very best teacher/author/blogger I can be!  You certainly can't put a price on that!  

I definitely have more awesome ideas to share with you, so sometime later this week, I hope, I will be back to share it with you!  Thanks for reading!

Your turn: 

If you went to Vegas, tell me what your favorite part of the trip was!  If you didn't, tell me what you would like to learn if you get to go next year!

Monday Made It!

I am going to link up with 4th Grade Frolics today for Monday Made It #5!  Better late than never, right?  I always love looking at Monday Made It posts, because I love to see how crafty teachers are. :-)

(This new button is adorable, by the way.  I am in love.)

My first Monday Made It is this summer wreath.  It's the first wreath I've ever made like this. I've made other wreaths before, but they've been different types of wreaths.  I used blue and green tulle (my favorite colors!) and a metal wreath form.  The sign in the middle is a chalkboard that I wrote on myself.  I just glued the palm tree and flip flops to it.  I think it turned out ok.

(Please ignore my ugly door.  I have every intention of stripping it and painting it, but that takes time!)

You can't tell, but it coordinates with my rocking chair and pillow.  I really want to spray paint those pots now!  They would match the ones in the backyard.  (Please ignore the concrete on my steps.  The house is 114 years old.  It's bound to have issues.)

My second Monday Made it is this beach-themed wreath.  Can you tell where I want to be?  :-)  I made this one out of burlap.  This is the second wreath I've ever made on a metal wreath frame.  I love it.  It's hanging on my front door.  (I have 4 exterior doors for my 1200 sq ft. house, but only 2 of them need wreaths, thank goodness!)

I really love my wreaths, but I think this Monday Made It is the one I am most excited about!  This is a Pampered Chef Tool Turn About.  Though Pampered Chef technically sells them for keeping your kitchen tools in, I decided I wanted one for my classroom!  Of course, I decided to decorate this one to make it match my classroom.  I hot glued blue and green polka dotted ribbon (from Hobby Lobby) around the tops of each of the levels.  I considered using vinyl to add my name to it, but I haven't decided yet.  I think it might be super cute.  You could also use scrapbook paper, washi tape, fabric, or spray paint to decorate or cover it!  It's meant to hold kitchen utensils, so it will hold a TON of pens!

It has several spaces for holding lots of writing utensils, markers, scissors, etc...  Don't you love how my scissors coordinate with the ribbon?  I just filled it with a few things I found around the house, but when I get it in my classroom in August, I fully intend to have one section full of pencils, one section full of markers, one full of Flair Pens, one full of Sharpie pins, and so on.  I like writing utensils, can you tell?

I found the scissors on clearance at Office Depot for less than $3 a pair, so I bought 2 pair.  A teacher can never have too many pairs of scissors handy!

I am surprised this shot came out without flash.  It more accurately shows what the Tool Turn About looks like.  I am so excited to put this on my table next year!  I love my cute little buckets, but this will hold so much more and be much neater!

My last Monday Made It isn't finished yet, but I am so excited that I want to share!  I have been looking for almost 4 years now for baseboard for my kitchen and bathroom that matches the baseboard around the rest of the house.  I had a guy who was supposed to make it for me, but long story short, it's not going to happen.  He called me today and told me his store (an architectural salvage store) got about 70 feet of  baseboard that looks very similar to mine today!  I got all 70 feet (some is damaged) for $160!  I am so excited!  I am going to pick it up on Thursday, and I am so excited to get it cleaned and painted and put it in my kitchen.  :-)  Oh I can't WAIT!!! 

Your turn!  Make sure you share your crafty projects and link up with 4th Grade Frolics! 

Have a great week!  

READ letters for your classroom library!

I don't know about you, but I am so thankful that it is summer!  This school year was a difficult one for me, and I'm thankful to have some "me" time for a few weeks!

One of my favorite things to do when I have some downtime is crafts.  I don't care what it is, nothing makes me happier than when I get to make something with my own hands.  I love the process of making it, and I love seeing the results.  During the school year, though, there isn't a lot of time to make things!  I don't know about you, but I can barely find the time to get my school work done, much less extras.  So I am extra thankful when I have free time in the summer to finish up some of those ideas that have popped into my head, the little pieces of furniture or picture frames or whatnot I have picked up throughout the year, or those ideas that I have pinned on Pinterest with the notion of actually completing them!

The second project I completed this summer so far (5 days into summer and I've completed 2 projects!) is something for my classroom.  I know, I know, I shouldn't even be THINKING about my classroom 5 days into summer, but I live, breathe, and sleep, thinking about it.  So I created something that I can use in my classroom once the summer is over and school starts again.

The best part?  I made one for one of my lucky readers as well!  (I guess you could say I have completed 3 projects so far this summer!)  Why?  Because I am participating in the Creative Teacher Giveaway!  There are 15 awesome handmade items you can win from 14 of my teacher-blogger friends!  We made one crafty-cute item for ourselves, and one for our awesome readers!

So what did I make, you ask?

I created a READ sign for my classroom library!

I have actually made a set of these before.  A few years ago, I made a set of READ letters for my own classroom.  However, I made the mistake of hanging them by the window, and cold + cinderblock walls does NOT bode well for hanging letters on the wall, no matter how you hot glue them on!  So my poor letters fell off the wall and got torn up or broken. :-(  I was really sad, so I decided to start fresh and make another set of letters for my classroom for next year!

Here is the set I created for my own classroom next year!

And here is a set I made for one lucky reader!

At the bottom of this post, I have a Rafflecopter so that you can enter to win the set I made for one of my lucky readers!

However, just in case you don't happen to win the giveaway, I thought I would share the super simple steps it takes to make your own mod podge letters for your own home or classroom!

1.  Go to your local craft store and choose the letters you want to use.  I usually buy my letters at Hobby Lobby, because they are usually on sale and they have a huge selection of letters!  They have block letters, swirly letters, funky letters, regular letters, big letters, small letters, and pretty much everything in between.

Normally, when I create these, I stick with the same type of letter!  However, my Hobby Lobby did not have any of the white letters in an R or the brown letters in a D, so I had to improvise and mix them!  Luckily, they turned out cute!

While you are there, choose the material you will use to cover your letters.  I usually choose 12x12 scrapbook paper.  It comes in several colors and patterns, and it's easy to use.  You can also use paint, ribbon, fabric, washi tape, or anything else that strikes your fancy.

If you choose paint or fabric, you will need a container of Mod Podge.  I usually choose the regular matte Mod Podge because I'm not a fan of the shiny look.  There are so many different types of Mod Podge out there, so choose what you love!

2.  Take your letters, paper, Mod Podge, or whatever else you have home.  Spread some newspaper out on your surface.

Trace the letters onto the backside of the paper with a pencil.  If you use fabric, you could use a fabric pencil or a marker.

3.  Cut out the letters.  I usually leave a little bit extra around the letter just to account for mistakes.

Then you will have some letter-shaped pieces of paper!

4.  Using a paintbrush or foam brush of some kind, spread the Mod Podge on the wooden letters.  You can spread it on the paper, but I find it works better when you put the Mod Podge on the letters.

5.  Lay the paper on the wooden letter, lining it up with the letter to make sure the paper covers your letter all the way.  This is the best time to make any adjustments before you lay the paper down permanently!

Then, using your hands, or a flat object like a credit card or pan scraper, press down on the paper, adhering it to the wooden letter.  Make sure the paper is laying completely flat and there are no creases or bubbles!

6.  I usually go back and trim the edges of my paper a bit to make sure they are lined up with the edge and there are no huge pieces of paper hanging over the edge.  I can't stand when that happens, because it looks messy!

7.  Decorate to your heart's content!  I love to use those cute little wooden cutouts, but you could use glitter, ribbon, washi tape, or anything else to add a little pizzaz to your letters!

Then, find a place to hang up your letters!  You can use hot glue, or hang them with a nail, or add ribbon to the back.

There are a few other things you can do to your letters if you want, but I choose not to do these things.  Once your paper is adhered to the wooden letter and dried, you could cover the entire thing with another layer of Mod Podge.  I never had any issues with my letters getting dirty when they were hung up before, but you could take this precaution if you were worried about that.

You could also paint your letters on the edges if you wanted them to look fancier.  Again, this is a step I choose not to do.  You really don't notice the sides of the letters when they are hanging up anyway, so I don't bother.  You can make that choice with your own letters, of course!

The best thing about these letters is that you can make them say whatever you like!  Spell out words, or someone's name, or even their initials!  You can customize them to whatever you need.  Your only limit is your imagination!  They make a great gift for children, expectant mothers, or even your teacher friends!  You can customize them to fit the tastes of the recipient.  You can create letters for different seasons for your own home!  Here is one I made this past winter.  The snowflakes were just placed in front of the letters, but I could have easily glued them on as well.

Here, I made the first initial for my friend Laura's little girl.  I chose the brown and pink color scheme because her room is brown and pink.  I added the ribbon so it could be hung up on her door to her bedroom.  I even Mod Podged a plain flower to add to it, and put a little ribbon on it as well.  My friend Laura loved it, and it was a great personalized gift for her sweet little girl!

Do you want to win a set of READ letters for your own classroom?  You can enter to win a set here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Want to see more great projects completed my my friends?  Well, you're in luck!  This blog hop continues through 14 other blogs with 14 other great projects!

Next up is my friend Emily at "The Reading Tutor/OG" blog!  She has created an adorable little activity for your own littles or your students! Check it out on her blog!