New Name & My Love for Kindergareten

Well here it is- Kooky 4 Kinder! I am always having a blast in my class, we laugh, learn, joke and play.  Hope you all like the new name....I know I do.

My Love For Kindergarten 

What do I love about kindergarten...well the list goes on and on.  I've taught 1st grade as well and enjoyed it as well but, kindergarten is my passion.
Here is a list of what I love about kindergarten:


Their absolute love of learning.
Their awe of all that is new and unknown to them.
Their honesty
Their natural wonder for life and all around them.
The goofiness I see all the time
The ability to make me lol at the strangest of times
And the ability to keep me on my toes.

Summer Lovin

Summer is Here! 

I happen to be the worst at keeping up with this blog.  All school year I take pictures, plan out posts and really think about what I should be blogging about but, I'm just not that good at it.
I am going to put a good effort into making this a priority.  I can not keep letting my wonderfully fun family get all my attention.
I've decided to start this summer off with a new name for my blog.  I feel like it needs a name that is more relevant to the content.  It doesn't mean that I won't write about my family or some fun DIY project anymore but, I want to attract more followers and others who will find this a helpful resource. With that said it will be revealed tomorrow. (I'm still deciding between two different names; decisions, decisions).

Apple's Galore!

I have had a very busy year thus far and have had trouble keeping up with this blog but, I am working on it.  I wanted to share a craft I found on Pinterest and got to do with my Kinders.

We studied apples for 2 weeks and did everything from count, graph, measure, stamp, write about, taste and even cook with apples.  We also got to celebrate Johnny Appleseed's birthday.  We did a guided draw of good ol' Johnny.  What fun that was!!  I love seeing what they create.  One craft we did really was my favorite.  I pinned it and had to try.  The pin came from http://firstgradeblueskies.blogspot.com, and her's were so adorable!!  Here is how ours turned out.

Here is a large group picture.

Here is one closer up.  

Aren't they the cutest??  I just love them and plan to keep them up for most of the fall season.  We also made paper apples to look like candy apples. You can see it here.

These aren't mine but, they are just as cute!!

Hope you enjoy, I'd love to see what you and your class does with an Apple unit.  Leave a link in the comments and I will check it out!  Erin

New School Year

It has not been the easiest start to our school year.  I have 19 very special little kinders that are keeping me  busy and on my toes.  Some more then others.  I have gone from anger, frustration, joy, happiness, exhaustion and other various emotions.  I am going to continue to work on the positive and find the joy in my day.  Other wise I will fail my kinders and that is not what I will allow to happen.  Here is a positive quote to keep me going, maybe it will help you as well.  I hope you are all having an amazing school year thus far.

We have learned many things the first few weeks.  Our themes have consisted of Back to School, getting to know each other, Names and Nursery Rhymes.  We get to start one of my favorites next week.  APPLES!  Can't wait to share with you what we create.

New Ocean Unit

Ocean Fun!

I just finished up a new product with 5 literacy and 5 math pages of Ocean themed fun!  Here is a description of the set-

Literacy includes-
Letter sounds
Filling missing letter
Creative writing
Description words “Dolphins”
Fish Can, Have, Are

Math includes-
Counting
Missing numbers
Patterns
Tallies
Domino Adding

I always enjoy teaching a Ocean theme.  It is fun, and the kids always love it.  Hope you like this set and find it helpful in your classroom.  

Little Minds at Work- Amazing Blog Share

Blog Share!  Little Minds At Work by Tara West

Recently I was going through my Pinterest boards and looking for old pins that I may need for the upcoming school year.  You know how it goes, you pin something and forget it and then when you find it you could of used it many lessons back.  So there I was going through and came across a pin for Dollar Store Finds.  If you know me that is a must for a new school year.

I open the pin and come across this AMAZING blog by Tara West which you can find here.  This is such a fun, Kindergarten blog!  I am actually mad that I have over looked it in the past.  Tara has such wonderful quality items from her TpT store and bright, colorful, engaging ideas and products.

Some of my favorites include of course the Fabulous Dollar Finds, which includes great ideas for common products you would find at the Dollar Tree or any Dollar store really.  I also love the following Common Core posts, Word Work, Math Centers, and Writing activities.  These really are just a handful of posts and ideas I am in love with.  You really should check out her blog and get inspired like me.  Let me know what you think or if you already are aware of this fun blog.

Erin

10 Things I have learned from Teaching

10 Things I have learned from Teaching

1.  I know more about parents then I want to know.  Usually from my students who like to share every detail of their home lives but sometimes from those parents that think it is ok to share their VERY personal lives with me....when I am in the middle of teaching.

2.  You can't make everyone happy, especially parents.  So just do your best to be fair and fun.

3.  Kids love your singing voice, even when NO ONE else does. ; )

4.  Words can hurt; a lot.  Choose your words wisely and teach them to as well.

5.  No matter what you will feel like a family and it is always hard to say goodbye at the end of the year.

6.  It is ok to tell them you don't have an answer or if you make a mistake.  We are only human.

7.  They will remember EVERYTHING you tell them....except the important things like letter sounds that you have worked on for weeks at a time.  

8.  Boredom = Trouble.

9.  You can NEVER be too prepared.

10.  Expect the Unexpected!