These are a few of my favorite...Websites

At our school, we use DIBELS to monitor progress for Kindergarten reading skills. So we also found this fabulous website that has found other websites that practice/reinforce those skills tested by the DIBELS and they have them grouped by skill. So during computer time, each student knows which skills they need to practice on and where they need to go. Not all of the links work, but it is FREE!

DIBELS skills

Here is the main website that the DIBELs site comes from and there are many, many links for student friendly websites.

Student Friendly Sites

This website has some interesting games. Bees and Honey is a good game to teach some mouse skills to those that haven't had any computer experience. There is a good one for seasons called Sticks and the Seasons. There are more for color mixing and several other standards.

TVO Kids

I hope that you enjoy my to three sites.

Math Calendar Journal

Ok, so I have been blog stalking looking for Math ideas. I found LOTS of fantastic, cute ideas. However I need something functional for me. So I looked at some calendar journals and student record sheets and then created my own that goes with my calendar time. My students have a hard time following along so I put pictures on there so that I can say, "Put your finger on the airplane while I read the directions." Two days down and this is going perfect! Thanks to all of you beautiful women that gave me ideas.
http://eberhartsexplorers.blogspot.com/2011/09/calendar-math.html

http://lessonplandiva.blogspot.com/2011/09/secret-to-successful-calendar-giveaway.html


There are others too, however I can not find the names right now. When I find more names, I will give credit for sparking this idea with me.

Here is mine

Kindergarten Math Centers/Stations/Buckets/Tubs/Games/File Folders

Hello all, I am looking for ideas for Kindergarten Math Centers. This is something that I just can't get right. I was just wondering how everyone else does them.

What type of rotations do you do?
What type of organization (bucket etc.)?
How often do you change them out?
Do you only put in spiral review type things or do you use newer topics that you might be working on during the current week?
How long at each station?
How do you introduce them (monday-Talk about it, tue-thur stations, and Friday-Checking/grading etc)? What are your ideas for rotating?
Timers?
Visual cues?
Help?!?

I think that this would make a great Linky party, but I don't know how to do that. Please share your ideas and those of others (with permission)! I really need help.

Overloaded! [Warning-Negative Rant To Follow!]

Ok, so it has been a while and I am only stalking others. Here is why, I still have a large number in my classroom. I now have 17 students/warm bodies! For a regular teacher, imagine your largest number ever and then double it. Plus one of my paraeducators resigned last week. (I do have a sub for the week). The Uppers keep saying they are going to split my class soon. Well today I got that magic date. And it is.......<insert drumroll please>....September 19th!!!!!!!!!! Those are not happy excited exclamation points. Those are I am screaming and pulling out my hair exclamation points. My admin told me that by the end of last week and now we are talking two more weeks!!!

Plus I had one parent of a new, not so new, student call central office on me!

Then I had a parent request and IEP meeting and wouldn't talk about things that she would like to discuss!

Then our new nurse has no clue what protocol is for possible contagious diseases are and cannot take a temperature.

So when I had a very negative person today tell me that I was being very negative today! I thought, "What! Take your perfect class with your perfect students and shove it!" but what I really said was, "I know, this is a learning opportunity and I am not learning. I don't feel bigger than my job."

Now I am going to work on feeling bigger than my job.

So here I am on Tuesday night thinking...To Be or Not to Be? That is the question. Meaning, do I want to be doing small groups only to have to completely change in little over a week? Or do I just keep putting it off until I have a manageable number of students?

Some of my evals for the new TEAM model begins next week. I think I will do one week of small groups and then rearrange my schedule after the switch.

Now if I could just catch the dang mouse in my house!

Organizing

Anyone that knows me knows that I feel that I am not an organized person. I have a few things that are organized and they help my day run beautifully. I am getting better, and have found some fabulous ideas through blogging. I am looking for more organization ideas for anything school related. Can anyone help me out?