Monday, June 8, 2015

Kindergarten Tips Linky Party


Hello! Sharing Kindergarten is hosting a fantastic linky party for Kindergarten teachers and I am so excited to be participating! I just finished my third year teaching K and I am so excited to be able to share some of the great things I have learned and read some of the other great tips that these amazing teachers have shared. 


Number 1
It is so very important to remember that YOU are the teacher. I really struggled with this my first year and it really showed in the way that the students treated me and in the way that they acted. It is important to have a clear classroom management plan in place and make sure that each student understands what is expected of them at all times. They also have to know what is going to happen if they are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. 
Sometimes changes in a classroom management plan are necessary and that is understandable just try to change it as few times as possible to help cut down on added chaos. 


Number 2
In addition to making sure you are in charge of the classroom you also need your students to feel safe and comfortable in your classroom. Sometimes our students have never been in school before and that can be one of the challenges in Kindergarten. Just be kind to them and offer them whatever support they need to feel safe at school. Maybe they need an undivided minute of your time in the morning to talk or maybe they need a hug as soon as they walk in the door. Take the time to show them kindness and make them feel happy to be at school. 


Number 3
Every year I have taught I have added more choice into my students day. In my experience the kids are WAY more likely to stay on task if they have chosen the activity they are completing. The great thing is that I am usually giving them the choices so I can still have some control over what they are doing, they just don't realize it! Haha ;)


Number 4
Schedule, Schedule, Schedule 
I try really hard to keep our schedule the same from day to day, which is really hard! However, it really cuts down on kids wondering and asking the same thing a thousand times like when is lunch, when is recess, when do we go home, when is math tubs, when are we going to the science lab, when is library... and on and on and on! Hahaha! 
In all seriousness even a routine cannot stop these questions but it will prevent at least some of them. There are so many benefits to having a routine and sticking to it that I cannot list them all just take my word for it!


Don't forget to head over to SHARING KINDERGARTEN for more great Kindergarten Tips!

Mrs. Daleo

Monday, May 18, 2015

Blog Hop and A Freebie!

As a teacher starting out in the blogging or Teachers Pay Teachers, and social media world you are constantly watching your followers and hoping they grow! Every one is a celebration! You celebrate each little milestone. That is what we are going to do here this week with a blog hop full of freebies and giveaways! My Teachers Pay Teachers store has reached a mini milestone of 100 followers!!!! And my FB page is right there too! So I decided to create a new freebie to share but what's better than ONE freebie?  ELEVEN freebies and giveaways too!


Ten other wonderful TPT sellers/bloggers have generously agreed to blog hop with me and offer up a freebie and in some cases a giveaway as well!


The way this works is you will hop from blog to blog to get each freebie! You can also click the raffle copter on ANY blog. Of course we would also love it if you would comment, share and leave us feedback! We are hoping this will grow us as bloggers and give you a chance to get to know us!

Here is a complete list of blogs participating in case you get lost!

1. The Krafty Teacher - start here to go in order
2. Carol's Garden - Comment for Giveaway
9. Rosie's Resources Comment for Giveaway


These past couple of weeks in my classroom we have been hard at work taking care of our chicken eggs and finally our baby chicks. I created this Freebie so that my kiddos could document the process of hatching baby chicks and they could practice their how to writing at the same time. This would be great if you have an incubator in your classroom or if you are just learning about the life cycle of chickens. 
Check it out HERE in my TPT store!



Click on the link below to go to the next stop on the blog hop...

Thanks so much to The Krafty Teacher for hosting this awesome Blog Hop and congratulations for reaching 100 followers!

Have a Great Week!
Mrs. Daleo

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Sharin' a Little Sunshine: Spring is in the Air!


I am linking up with Hello Sunshine for a blog post about SPRING! We have had quite the long cold winter here in Indiana and I am so glad to finally have some warmer temperatures :) Plus only 26 more days of school (not that I'm counting or anything). 


We spent the last week talking about earth day and planting our very own seeds. We had previously planted seeds for a science experiment and my kiddos were very disappointed that they were not going to be able to take those plants home. So I surprised them on Friday by letting each of them plant a seed that they will get to take home for Mother's Day :) They were ecstatic! 

We will also be spending some time talking about weather. They are very interested in the temperature these days since I explained to them that the temperature determines whether we can go outside for recess or not. Haha! 
Earlier in the year we did an experiment about creating a cloud in a jar. We talked about the water cycle and where rain comes from. I am kind of wishing we would have saved that experiment for spring because it would fit perfectly with all the rainy weather we have been having lately. 

Check out my post about making a cloud in a jar here
Head over to my TPT Store to see my other spring resources. 

Have a Great Day :)
Mrs. Daleo



Thursday, April 16, 2015

Countless Smart Cookies Giveaway

I am participating in a giveaway in celebration of Countless Smart Cookies 500th follower on TPT. Sign up for the giveaway below and head on over to her blog to sign up for the other giveaways she is hosting.




Mrs. Daleo

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Build A House

As a STEM school even the kindergarteners get to spend time learning about engineering, which is so much fun! This year my kids got to learn about engineering while we were learning about Fairy Tales. We spent 3 weeks learning about The Three Little Pigs and the different types of houses they built.

Week 1
Each student got to work with a partner to build a house of straw. We definitely made a mess but it was well worth it! Before we got started each student worked with their partner to draw a picture in their science notebook of what they wanted their house of straw to look like and what materials they were going to use. Obviously they all used straw but they got to choose if they wanted to use tape, glue, or both. They recorded their materials in their science notebook and then we got started on our experiment. I gave them about 15 minutes to work with their partner before the Big Bad Wolf showed up. We made sure everyone had their pig in their house and we took turns seeing if the Big Bad Wolf (Blow Dryer) could blow down their house. Amazingly I had a group build a house that did not blow down even on the highest setting of my blow dryer! They used SO much tape and the kids all thought it was so awesome :) 

Week 2
This week it was time for us to build stick houses. I would love to use real twigs next time I try this experiment but for the sake of time I just used popsicle stick. Once again the students designed their houses in their science notebooks. They also had a choice of materials again. They could once again choose tape, glue, or both and they had to record their choice in their science notebook. We really talked about what the structure of a house looks like this time. (It is kind of hard for 5yr olds to build a true structure out of straw. It mostly turned out like big piles last week! haha) We talked about a roof and how it doesn't touch our heads so we had to make sure our pigs would fit inside our houses. We talked about building walls and what would work best to hold it all together. Once again they had about 15 minutes to work on their houses and then we all took turns blowing down the houses. This time there were a couple of houses that stood but even if the house stayed standing most of the pigs blew away.

Week 3
Lastly it was time to build brick houses. This one was definitely the most interesting experience for me. Before we started building we talked about bricks and we looked up some pictures online. We talked about people using mortar to hold brick together when they build things. We talked about the pattern that bricks are in when we look at the outside of a house. I also reminded them of what we had talked about last week with the structure of a house. The students once again worked with their partner to draw their design in their science notebooks. They did not have a choice materials this week because everyone was using clay and rocks. These houses mostly turned out in the shape of an igloo but they stood up to the Big Bad Wolf very well. The only problem the kids had was that if they didn't build up all the walls the blow dryer would just blow the pigs out of the house. 

I hope you decide to try this experiment and enjoy it as much as we did! I have created a TPT Product  that includes the pages we use in our science notebooks for this experiment. It also includes an emergent reader and some math, writing, and literacy activities. Please check it out if you decide to give this experiment a try! 

Material List
Note: Some of the links in this list are affiliate links. Read my disclosure here.



Have A Great Day :)
Mrs. Daleo



Sunday, March 29, 2015

Cloud In A Jar


Since becoming a STEM school this year, I have gained a lot of experience in what works and what doesn't work when it comes to kindergarteners and science experiments. One experiment that worked really well for the students and for me was creating a rain cloud in a jar. I liked this experiment for several reasons. One of the reasons is because the materials are very easy to gather and very easy for kindergarteners to use. 

Materials:
Clear Jar or Beaker
Water
Shaving Cream
Blue Food Coloring
Dropper or Straw

Another reason I like this experiment is because it is quick and easy to set up. 

Set Up:
1. Fill the jars about 3/4 of the way full with water. 
2. Add shaving cream to the top. The more shaving cream you add the more water students will have to add before it starts to "rain". 
3. Fill a container full of water for each group and add blue food coloring. 

And the set up is done! How easy is that? 

Now it's time for the students to begin experimenting. I found that some students had a hard time understanding how to squeeze the dropper at the right time to get the water in it. So you might want to do a quick mini-lesson on how to use the dropper or just walk around and help students as needed. This also becomes a lesson in patience because the kids can't see the rain immediately. They have to wait until the "cloud" is full before it will start raining. 
This can get a little messy so I would suggest putting down some paper towels or setting the jar in an aluminum tray so the table does not get stained. 

I have created a TPT product that includes some of the graphic organizers we use in our science notebooks to go along with this experiment. Please check it out if you decide to try this experiment with your kids! 

Have a Great Day :)
Mrs. Daleo



Sunday, March 15, 2015

Assessments

I have spent the last couple of weeks working hard and assessing my kiddos like crazy to get ready for report cards. I noticed that I needed an assessment for one of the things on our report card so I decided to create a freebie to share with everyone. Yay! 
We have to assess whether students can match a set of objects to the correct numeral that represents it. This nine weeks students must be able to do this up to 15. Always before I have done this as a one on one assessment calling each student back one at a time, showing them a set of objects, and asking them to choose the correct number card.  In order to save some of my valuable assessment time I decided this could be done just as easily independently by the students at their seats. That brings us to the wonderful new product I created. 


There are 4 different pages included offering you the choice to assess numbers 0-5, 5-10, 10-15, or 15-20. I hope this helps you as it has helped me make my assessments quicker and easier but still effective. Please click the link above the images to head over to my TeachersPayTeachers Store to download this product. While you are there be sure to check out my other awesome products!

Mrs. Daleo


Saturday, March 14, 2015

TeachersPayTeachers

I am now selling things on TeachersPayTeachers!! I am so excited about this. I have been spending so much time working on some great new math products that I now have listed on my store. You can see them and download a Freebie by visiting my store here
 Mrs. Daleo's TPT Store


My Bug Addition Game is free right now. Please go check it out and take a look at the other great products I have available.


Mrs. Daleo