A winter post...but where's winter?

Okay, seriously, I have had it with this weather!  Ahh!
For those of you who don't know...I live in Toronto, Canada and, well, let's just say that winter time here "ain't so pleasant!"...every year but this one that is!
Last night we had a mini snowstorm.  It looked beautiful outside but the driving conditions...TERRIBLE!
Today...it was over 10 degrees (Celsius by the way).  What?!?!

So you tell me...how am I supposed to teach my kinders all about winter when it really doesn't feel like winter?  I pulled out some wonderful books and went with that approach instead!
(Who am I kidding, I love milder days, dont' care much for snow!)

Here's what we did in our classroom these past few days.

How cute did these drawings come out?  We made our own winter scene.
We learned about graphing and counted and graphed
Mr. Snowman's clothes.
Okay, I don't know about your class but my students *love* playing games!  So I put out this fun little number...couldn't get them away from this centre!

I posted this as a freebie a while back but in case you missed it you can download your own copy of the
Roll-a-Snowman game here.
Sorry for the poor picture. I realized how bad it is after the fact...but it is a cute activity my kiddies played at another math centre.  They spin the spinner and colour that many snowflakes. 
You can find all of these activities (and LOTS more) in my Winter Wonderland unit on TpT.
As for this week, we have a special Scientist in the School workshop tomorrow (so excited that another person will be teaching my kiddies and I get to have fun learning with them!) and then it's on to Groundhog Day!  We started talking about shadows and our little friend Wiarton Willy.  We will be learning more about him tomorrow and (of course) on Thursday awaiting his big appearance.

I am thrilled to be working with Suzan Linch and other kindergarten teachers from near Washington, D.C. on a Groundhog Day project.  Our kiddies will be predicting and graphing the weather for the next 6 weeks, learning about our two furry friends (the one up here in Canada and down in the USA) and, of course, what Kindergarten class wouldn't be complete without some cute crafts!  I'm so looking forward to hearing what the kinders from D.C. report back!
I'll post the craft tomorrow night...it's too cute!

Happy hump day tomorrow!

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Shapes galore!

Phew!  Thank goodness the weekend is here.
It has been a busy week, even though it was only 4 days long (yesterday was a PA Day thankfully!).

Report cards are due at the end of the week, so guess what little old me is doing now...????  I'm sitting in front of this computer in my pj's (yes, still haven't showered) and decided I needed a much deserved break from those dreadful things. Hours in front of the computer is so DRAINING!  Well, unless you are blog hopping! HA!

Here's a little look at my week.
We continued our Penguin Unit by making these adorable penguin glyphs from Deanna Jump's Penguin Unit.
This was the highlight of my week...I asked one of my little sweeties to draw an "eye" on his fish.  This is what he drew! Adorable!
We are just about finished our unit on 2D shapes.  The students went on a shape hunt around the classroom and completed this activity sheet.
Click on the picture to download.
We really enjoyed singing this song (and my kinders are excellent at describing these four 2D shapes in detail thanks to this song!  I didn't write it by the way.  I've had it for years.)
This was a great tactile activity.  We made shapes using various things.  Seems easier said than done - nothing stuck to the paper so it ended up being a teacher activity more than a student activity.  I adapted it so that the kids used the pieces to build their shapes and described them to me and then I taped everything together.  Phew!  Glad that's over!
I had the students use geoboards to create shapes.  I was honestly thinking they wouldn't like doing this centre...boy, was I wrong!  Everyone wanted a turn using the boards!

I created a whole blog post all about how I teach 2-D Shapes HERE if you'd like to read about it!

Finally, I put out this cute activity all about more or less (great way to reinforce numbers which we have been learning about).  I found this online from another teacher blogger...I just can't remember who!  Please let me know if it was you so I can credit you!  So I just had to make this for myself...the kids loved it!
Enjoy your weekend!  Back to report card writing for me.  Next week it's all about winter fun with activities from my Winter Wonderland unit. 
You can view it by clicking on the picture.

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A penguin {freebie} and a SALE!

I had a wonderful weekend (yes, it flew by and I am a little sad to see it end) but I am ready for another fun-filled and VERY busy week with my kinders!

I made this cute little game because I felt that my students could use a little more practice on stretching out sounds and writing CVC words.  It's a really easy and fun game to play...staple or use a paper clip on each fish and place in a large container/box.  Students will use a magnetic fishing pole (mine are from the Dollar store but Lakeshore has great ones) and catch a fish.  They will look at the picture, say the beginning sound, and sort it onto the penguin mats.  I have included a follow-up worksheet to write the CVC words. 
Easy, huh?

Click on the picture to download your freebie!  And please leave me feedback if you do! 

I'm having a sale in my TpT store until this Tuesday midnight!
Everything is 15% off!
Now's your chance to stock up on my best-selling Winter Wonderland Literacy and Math Activities unit...and my new Valentine's Day Literacy and Math Activities!

Have a wonderful week!
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A look at my week...penguins, shapes and I {LOVE} LABELS!

My first week back after the holiday break and...well...I'm glad the weekend is here!  It's been one L-O-N-G week!
We started our penguin unit this week.  This is my first time teaching penguins and let me tell, you, I love it!  I'm really into it!  I've actually learned a whole lot about penguins I never knew before.

We started the unit by doing Babbling Abby's Mystery Box - can I tell you how exciting this was for my kinders!  I hid a small stuffed penguin in it.  The answers were hilarious!  The kids came to school the next day and wanted to do it all over again...and, of course, wanted the penguin to be inside!
I created this large penguin to record our knowledge as we continue learning about penguins.  I got this idea from Babbling Abby and Deanna Jump.
Next, we did Deanna Jump's science experiment with the blubber glove, from her Penguin Unit.  Let me tell you that I actually dislike science A LOT but ever since I have been using Deanna's ideas this year, I can't get enough!  My kiddies loved placing their hand in ice cold water and then in the glove in the water....we did this write up afterwards.
Since we just started our penguin unit, we will be continuing next week.

The Kindergarten students began learning about 2D shapes this week too.  This was actually a little easy for my class as they remember a lot of it from last year.  At one centre, I put out these fantastic shape rubbing plates I got through Scholastic.  So easy and the kids were independent (which I LOVE!)
We worked on how shapes are constructed (i.e. how many corners and sides) and the students had to use popsicle sticks to create a picture.  They had to copy the picture on the paper using the same colours.  I got this idea from Julie Lee but I modified it for my class.
Ohhh, I was sooo happy when I received a little package this week from Mabel's Labels.  If you haven't heard of Mabel's Labels, you HAVE TO check them out!  Really!  I started using Mabel's Labels last year when my daughter went to a preschool program at the community centre and everything, EVERYTHING, needed to be labelled.  These labels stick to just about everything and don't wash away (plus they are microwavable!).  Then I discovered their teacher labels - so, ahem, I went ahead this week and began to label all of my personal things at school.  Yes, I do have to admit, these labels look much better than what I used to do - permanent marker or tape to write my name on things! 

Mabel's Labels ships internationally (free shipping in Canada and really low cost shipping elsewhere) so check them out by clicking on the pink button found on the top right hand side of my blog.
Next week, we are going to get started on graphing...here's a little preview of what's to come...keeping it simple for the first day as a review (especially for those kiddies that need a little more support). 

You can find this activity in my Winter Wonderland unit on TpT.

Enjoy the weekend!

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Let's all give some love to Joplin, MO!

Let's all help!

I’m joining in on Mrs. Wills "Love to Joplin" Linky Party! 
Last May, a tornado swept through Joplin, MO and the area was devastated!  A Kindergarten Teacher from Joplin wrote Mrs. Wills and asked if anyone would like to donate some of their teaching materials to those teachers who lost everything.  Well, I jumped on board right away!  And you can too!
Head on over to Mrs. Wills blog to find out how you can help.
Thanks so much Mrs. Wills for taking the time to organize this linky party.
What a great way to start the weekend!

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mr. d


I have quite a story to share with you tonight...it's about a new
television show that will air tomorrow night (Monday, January 9 at 8 pm).  I live in Toronto, Canada so for those of you living a little farther away, you can view the show online (see below for the link and preview).

Okay, when I was in high school a few years ago (ahem, maybe slightly more than a few) I had a funny teacher by the name of Mr. Donaghue (now referred to as Gerry Dee or mr. d).  He taught me for a couple of years, various subjects, and then left the teaching profession to become....a comedian!  Well, turns out that he is FANTASTIC
(as a comedian that is ... just kidding, he was a great teacher too!) 
He has been featured on Last Comic Standing and is just hilarious!  His comedy tours are titled "Life After Teaching" and if you are ever fortunate enough to see him live, it's well worth the money! 
You MUST 'google' him - um...is 'google' a word, sorry, I'm so used to saying it when I talk!?!?!

Now he is coming out with his next project - the television show mr. d
which airs tomorrow night at 8 on CBC.  I can't wait to see what my old high school teacher has up his sleeve (let's just hope there is no character on the show named Alessia!) HA!

Click this preview to check out the show:

I also wanted to mention.....
I made a wonderful 'blogger friend' recently. 
Her name is Julia from Loving and Learning in PreK and her blog is adorable! 
She has lots of cute freebies (which I will be using soon!) and her latest unit
Valentine's Day
has great ideas and activities!  Go and check her out - you will LOVE and LEARN a lot (get it, ha!).


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And the winner is.......

Thank you to all who participated in the Winter Wonderland giveaway!

And now for the exciting news....the winner is.....{drumroll}....


#77 - See Me Teach...congratulations!  Check your e-mail shortly for your *fantastic* prizes!



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3, 2, 1...it's almost time!


It's almost time....we are all just putting the finishing touches on the *AMAZING* prizes.

Check back later today for a fantastic giveaway.
You DON'T want to miss this one!


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