Measuring with Pete the Cat

It's DAY 2 of Groovy Cat Week.  And guess who I saw yesterday?  Eric Litwin.  I am presenting at the Maryland Conference for Kindergarten Teachers, and he was the keynote speaker.  He is so amazing and an engaging presenter as he sang "My 4 Groovy Buttons."  I was a little star struck as his room was next to mine!

I also saw him in December in Atlanta, so this has been a great presenting season.

Standing between 2 amazing people:  Eric Litwin and Vanessa from Pre-K Pages!

So today, I created these fun tools for your students to help measuring items around your classroom. You can download this measuring packet HERE.

You can choose from several different versions to meet your needs.

Use this tool to as a guide for where to start measuring by lining up the green button at the beginning of the object.

Use this tool to as a guide for where to start measuring by lining up the green button at the beginning of the object.

Thanks for stopping by!  Don't forget to hop on over to Pre-K Pages for some more Groovy Cat ideas.

See you tomorrow for more GROOVY FUN!

Five Days of Groovy Cat Fun

It's GROOVY CAT WEEK!  I'm teaming up with Pre-K Pages to bring you 5 days of learning fun with our favorite blue cat.  Check back every day this week for new ideas in reading, phonemic awareness, phonics, reading strategies, close reading, and math too.

First up!  Increase your students' reading fluency with this fun song.  I sang this song my sophomore year during my school's production of Bye Bye Birdie. You can find the clip art on these pocket chart strips on the Harper Collin's Website.  I used the pictures from the "Making Valentines with Pete the Cat" download.  While you are there, check out their new video of Old MacDonald and Pete the Cat. Love it!

Here is a link to Pandora that has a sample of the original song tune.  CLICK HERE. 

Here is another example of the tune from YouTube.  

Check back tomorrow.  I will have some ideas for math with the Groovy Cat and a FREE download too.  And head on over to Pre-K Pages for more ideas.

Thanks for stopping by!

Angels in Oklahoma

I wanted to share a personal story with my blogging friends today. I had 2 angels with me on Tuesday. One in heaven and one in Norman, OK. I was presenting at the Oklahoma Conference for Kindergarten and PreK Teachers Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday morning during my keynote, I realized that my diamond was missing from my wedding ring. During my next session I shared that my diamond fell out. Now teachers are just amazing. They helped me look and I retraced my steps for that morning. The whole time, I was thinking how I had just lost my Mom to cancer and now my ring. So I told my Mom that I missed her so much as I was scanning the hotel, and I really needed to find my diamond. And this angel here on earth walked up to me at the end of my first session and asked, "Is this it?" And it WAS!!! It was under her table (covered by a tablecloth) by her foot. Thank you Mom for listening and thank you to this amazing teacher who happened to glance down and see a needle in a haystack. I think I hugged her 10 times, there were tears from me, the others in the room were cheering, and I felt my Mom's presence too.  

To my Angel in Norman: I was so excited and full of emotion, I forgot to get your name.  Remember I have something for you :)

This is Kaci from Mrs. Hoffler's Spot.  We originally met through the blogging world.  We live in the same state but have only managed to see each other at conferences.  The first time was this summer at the I Teach K Conference in Vegas.  She is full of energy, ideas, and I think she is just amazing. I was so happy when I found out she was going to present at this year's Oklahoma conference.  Thank you Kaci for your friendship the last few months.  I have been so blessed to meet so many life-changing teachers at conferences and through the blogging world.  You can check out her blog HERE.

Brain Breaks for Winter Days

Welcome to the blog hop "Bright Ideas."  We hope you find some ideas to brighten up these winter months with tips and tricks for your classroom.


It's been a COLD, Snowy, Icy, Rainy type of winter unless you live in the western United States.  And with that comes inside recess and a lot of "togetherness."

How do I manage those types of days?  We move, move, move!  YouTube videos are my friend, and there are so many available to us as teachers.  If you do not have access to technology,  you can play the music portion from your computer just like a CD player.

The first site is Adventure to Fitness.  You can check out their website HERE. Teachers can sign up for free.

Here is an example of one of their adventures.  Learning, moving, and fun all mixed together.

Stephen Fite:  I own this DVD but here is a sample of his music to get your children moving during inside recess or anytime your class needs a movement break.



And of course you can't forget this classic.  Your students will love doing the "Continental Drift."



And if you haven't checked out all of the Wii Just Dance Videos on YouTube, there are too many to link too.  Here is one for the little ones in your class.  But there are dances for all ages, so look around for those that fit your students' ages.



The last link that I would like to show is Story Theater with Miss Booksy.  She does "Cool School Story Time." She is creative and her stories are unique and will keep your students engaged.  Don't just stop with this one, she has many more.  And do what I do, subscribe to her channel to be notified when she adds more.



If you don't know about SafeShare.TV, check out their site to share safe view videos on YouTube.  It will remove all of the ads and put a gray border around the video to put it in safe view.

I put red arrows where you will need to enter information or push a button for a  safe link.

If you are looking for more ways to get your students moving, check out my Pinterest board TECHNOLOGY for more ideas.   Click HERE.

If you are looking for more great ideas, please visit the next blog on this blog hop, written by Valerie Young!  She writes the blog "All Students Can Shine."  She shares some great solutions for copycats.



Check out these other blogs for other bright ideas.

10 Cold Snowmen Math, Literacy, & YouTube Video Fun

Are you snowed in? Do you need some movement? I found a cute YouTube video about a snowman melting (see below).  I made this snowman math and literacy activity to go with the 10 (or 5) Cold Snowmen  poem that I wrote.  You can use the large cards during whole group and let the children act out the poem. Then the children can build the poem as a station and also work on their math skills too.

Pass out the snowmen cards and weather card (print sun on one side and snow cloud on the other).  Have the students act out the poem.  Let them build the poem with the cards to word on reading fluency too.  There are dots under the words according to how many syllables are in each word to help with tracking. If the word has 1 syllable, touch the word 1 time.  If the word has 2 syllables, touch the word 2 times.  CLICK HERE to download it.

Need a fun video to provide the "hook" for this activity?  The Snowman Song is one of my FAVORITES to play before this activity.

MOVEMENT + LEARNING =  FUN, ENGAGED CHILDREN

What Does the Groundhog Say?

Who's tired of winter?  I'm in OK, so I'm not yet.  It's been cold, but I still would like some more snow.  I was watching a friend's YouTube video of a school singing "What Does the Fox Say?" and I can't get it out of my head!

So in the spirit of Groundhog's Day and all things early childhood, I whipped up this just for you.  And while browsing the internet trying to find out "What the groundhog says," I found this great website so your students can actually HEAR for themselves and watch some video clips too.

GROUNDHOGS AT HOGHAVEN

Have a great week!

Thanks for stopping by!  What does the fox say?  See I told you I can't get it out of my head :)

Weather, speech bubble, and frame clip art by:  Creative Clips

Groundhog clip art by Educlips

                                                                Font by KG Fonts

DIY Foam 10 Frames

Do you have any 100 foam peg boards taking up space in your classroom?  I had 2!  Young children learn so much from working with 5 and 10 frames.  The added bonus here:  fine motor skill practice too! Here are some of the ways you can make 10 frames with these boards and ideas to use as the "pegs" if you do not have any.

Use the gradual release method to teach your students how to use these 10 frames.

Model using the 10 frames with your class during whole group instruction:  You do.

Pass out the 10 frames and their manipulatives to your students.  I put mine in a pencil zipper bag to make them easier to manage and pass out.  Students work in pairs as you call out numbers or number combinations.  Monitor your students and adjust instruction as needed:  We do.

Place the 10 frames and their manipulatives in a tub for children to use independently during math centers:  They do.

Thanks for stopping by!