Good Morning!
  In my last post I mentioned one of my favorite blogs Buzzing With Ms. B. Today I thought I'd share a couple of resources that I've found to be an amazing resource for me in my new position as an instructional coach.
 I work for a Head Start school center. I've been trained in Practice Based Coaching (PBC) which is a professional development strategy that uses a cyclical process. This process supports teachers’ use of effective teaching practices that lead to positive outcomes for children. PBC occurs in the context of collaborative partnerships. Click  to view  videos to learn more about PBC.

I've also found a great deal of support in a Collaborative Platform for the Early Care and Education Community also part of  Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center  (ECKLC) . 
"MyPeers is a virtual learning network where you can brainstorm, exchange ideas, and share resources with early childhood colleagues from across the country. It was created by the Office of Head Start (OHS) to help you connect and learn with people who share your interests and program responsibilities. These informal connections can be a great source of encouragement and insight.
There are more than 40 MyPeers communities!"

Join as many as meet your roles and interests.

Current communities include:

• AIAN Language and Culture
• Child Care Health Consultants
• Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Practices (CLRP)
• Directors Corner
• Disabilities/Inclusion Network
• PFCE Deepening Practice
• Economic Mobility for Families
• Facilities
• Health, Safety, and Wellness
• Home Visitors
• Mental health Consultation
• Staff Wellness
• Teacher Time

Join or log in now to explore the open communities in MyPeers. The collaborative platform has been my best resources to date!

Happy Coaching!
Lisa

Hello! 

 I'm happy to be back after a long absence. Many things have changed, including my title. Six years ago I moved down from kindergarten to Pre-K in a Head Start Center. During this time I loved being with my young students, but I also grew professionally while creating curriculum maps, collaborating on a literacy team, and through professional learning opportunities. All of which led me to my new position with Head Start. I am now an instructional coach. 

 I'm eager to  share what I've learned along my teaching and professional path with new teachers and teachers who are trying to discover new ways to approach student learning.  

As I transition into my new role,  i hope other new and seasoned coaches will reach out and share their knowledge too. One of my newest favorite blogs with great coaching resources Buzzing With Ms. B. You can click on her name to access her site.

Looking forward to learning and growing further together. :)

Lisa

BOO!

Ok so it's not quite that time of year yet. But I've been awol so long I thought maybe I'd scare you with a post. LOL
This weekend I found some really cute pumpkin ice trays at the Dollar Tree. I think they'll be perfect for Halloween and Thanksgiving 10 frame/counting games. Just change up the seasonal "markers" for fun.

 

I actually found even cuter mini erasers at Target today-cute little ghosts. A peer teacher said she found mini pumpkins too. So, tomorrow after work I'll have to go hunt them down.

I bought ten of these trays so I could either use them in small groups with one ten or two tens when we work on numbers to 20. So many game options:

1. Roll a die and place an eraser in that many spaces. First one to fill their tray wins.

2.  Use two die and roll and fill to make sums. I'll make a simple pumpkin sums recording sheet for this.

3.  Fill all spaces and roll one die to subtract.

I'm sure you guys have lots of other great ideas too. If you do-share away, I'd love to hear them.

 

 

On another note, Kim from Lakeshore Learning sent me two great products to review. One is the Plinko Phonemic Awareness Game. This is an awesome language game where students identify beginning, ending and rhyming words. So simple, yet my students LOVE it. We've been using it as a whole group, end of day activity at this point. But I can see this being a wonderful independent activity a little later in my year. Check it out if you haven't seen this product. You won't be disappointed!

The other item is

Build and Learn Geometry Kit. This is pefect for helping to meet geometry core standards.

• Attributes of 2-D & 3-D shapes
• Identifying and comparing faces, vertices and edges

 

 

Hope you find something of interest in this post.

Happy Teaching!

Lisa

 

 

 

Never-ending search for Clip Art!

Are you like me-always looking for cute, kid friendly clip art? AND are you looking to create with your clip art to share or post on TPT? Well I recently purchased a year long clip art membership from Graphics From The Pond. Every couple of days I receive a special set of clip art created just for members. It's always such a special surprise to open the files to see what Mel has created for us!

Graphics From the Pond is having a giveaway. ONE FREE MEMBERSHIP!!! Go on over to her blog register to win and to check out the back to school sale!


Click here to  go to THE POND to enter to win!



Wishing you all a great start to a new school year!
Lisa

New Bloggers-Liebster Award!

I have received my 2nd Award this month!  

Thanks so much, Amy from Whooo Loves Kindergarten?  I'm so glad you found my blog and introduced me to yours. :)

This award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favourite", and is given to a "new, up and coming blogger."
Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who gave it to you. Post the award to your blog.

2. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers
3. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

I am giving the award to:

Miss A's Kindergarten

What I Learned in Kindergarten

Kindergarten Schmindergarten

Over The Moonbow

Hopping Into Kindergarten

I can't believe that I only have ONE more week of summer vacation before going back to school. WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO? WOW! 

Lovely Blog Award!

I have received the  Lovely Blog Award. Thank you to Sharon from Dog Day of Kindergarten.
Now for the rules...
1. Follow the person who gave me the award. I am now following Sharon and the blogs she shared with me.
2. Link back to the person that gave me the award.  Here is Sharon's blog link Dog Days of Kindergarten.
3. Pass to 15 new bloggers and then let them know they have received the award.

Here are the bloggers that are new (new to me!). Finding 15 NEW bloggers that haven't already recieved this award is a toughy! 

1. http://whoooloveskindergarten.blogspot.com/

2. http://overthemoonbow.com/  

3. http://krissyskindergarten.blogspot.com/

4. http://kinder-cuties.blogspot.com/

5. http://pawsmath.blogspot.com/

Happy Blogging!
Lisa

Quality Work and School Tools Rubric Anchor Chart

I was in my classroom today, trying to reorganize and get ready for a new year. Summer should go by fast!  I took a picture, as promised, of my quality work rubric anchor chart.




Click here for your FREEBIE!

Click on the anchor chart to create one for your room.  Print on legal paper and glue or tape to chart paper. I laminated mine after spending a week or two explicitly teaching/modeling and practicing how to use each school tool. I leave it up all year as a reference to remind students of the expectations.
I hope this is helpful to you all!
Lisa

Jumping Back in! Freebie too!

Apologizies for my absence. It's been a whirlwind. After finishing up our year we began preparing for Common Core Standards. So I've spent some time this summer attending workshops and foraging other blogs and websites for CCSS ideas. While this will be a lot of change-I'm super excited about it too.
 One of the workshops I attended was by Sue O'Connell. She provided a wealth of hands on math ideas and modeled number talk very explicitely.  Our district VERYgenerously purchased her book for us, which comes with a CD of her blacklines for math games. All are editable for your needs. I'm looking forward to getting started with that. Here's her link if you'd like to check it out. http://www.qualityteacherdevelopment.com/teacher_resources.php
We are also getting these ten frame - which Sue O'Connell recommended for modeling in groups.


 
Magnetic Foam Ten Frames

Click here to see where to purchase these  magnetic foam ten frames!




Before cleaning up my room and preparing for summer, I sent many of our resources for the fall to the copy center. One of my favorite teaching tools, which my assistant uses with her small groups is my Alphaworks letter sorting book. There are 26 letter poems, circle maps for sorting letter sounds, and this year we included handwriting and sentence practice too. (The handwriting pages are from Scholastic.)
Here's what the book looks like after the copy center prints and binds it. Such a wonderful resource. Check it out by clicking on the picture.

Click on the picture to learn more.

Finally, I have created some word cards to go in a small apple pocket chart. We spend the first few weeks of the new year discussing quality work and how to use our school tools safely and properly. I display a Quality Work rubric/poster for the year as a reference to students of what quality work looks like. I think these cards will be a great addition to my poster and will also serve as a visual reminder of direction words as well. (Sorry I don't have a picture of my Quality Work poster-but I'll take one the next time I'm at school.)

Click for your FREEBIE!

Enjoy!
Lisa