1 page.

A sweet poster to put up in your room.  Make a few for your teacher friends and tuck them in their mailbox on the 1st day of school.

1-2-3 Come Learn Some Hand Signals With Me and Take Control of Interruptions!

Ask any teacher what their students' most frequently asked question is and "Can I go to the bathroom?" will be in the top 3.  "Can I get a drink?" and "Can I sharpen my pencil?"  Will be right up there as well.

If their question was grammatically incorrect, as with the above use of "can", to help teach appropriate grammar, I'd often reply: "Yes you CAN, but NO, you MAY not."  I'd explain this from the beginning and pretty soon all of my students were learning the proper use of the word "may".

Young children, simply being kids, are often interrupting. An obvious remedy to this problem is enforcing the raising of hands. Because this is easily understood, I thought I'd take it a step farther.

If you want to go to the bathroom you make a fist and stick out your thumb. Displaying a specific number of fingers, to signal a need, has been around since I was a child, however, instead of putting up 1 finger, I found it especially helpful, to do the "fist and thumb" for a bathroom request, simply because my Y5's were often raising and waving their hands, but never with a fist. I could then see at a glance, who needed immediate attention.

This technique is so simple, yet really works. Start out by teaching the concept on the 1st day of school.  Choose one of the posters, print several copies, laminate, and hang up in several "sure to be seen" places in your room, and then practice a bit.

The hand signals are especially helpful when you are explaining something. No need for a child to raise their hand and state their need out loud.  They just put up a hand signal; you make eye contact with that student and nod yes or no.  This also avoids children getting out of their seats to ask you, and lessens "copy cats." Have you ever noticed how many kiddo's all of a sudden need to do something, just because one child got the ball rolling?

Some teachers add "Get a tissue" as another signal, but I feel if you need a Kleenex, because you just sneezed and snot is running down your face, no need to hesitate, just go get one and take care of business.  I let students know from day one, that they could get a tissue whenever the need arose, and then follow up with a squirt of hand sanitizer shortly after. In all of my years of teaching, no one ever abused the privilege.

Click on the link to view/download the Signal Me anchor chart-poster, and let the training begin! I've also designed a few more classroom posters for back-to-school week. To view the 2nd article I wrote for today, simply scroll down.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything you think others might find useful.  My "Pin it" button is at the top.  If you'd like to see all of the cute educational ideas I PIN, click on the "Follow me" heart to the right.

"In the garden of my loneliness, trespassers will never be prosecuted." -Ashleigh Brilliant

2 pages.

Two posters to alleviate interruptions while you teach.  If a child signals by displaying the appropriate number of fingers, you can tell at a glance what they want.  You also don't have to say a word. Simply make eye contact and nod yes or no.

1-2-3 Come Work With 10 Frames With Me!

Ten frames are such a visual help for little ones.  I find that most of my kiddo's are visual and kinestetic learners.  I provided pictures and examples of things and plenty of math manipulatives, so they could do a lot of hands-on fun.  At first, children think that these are just toys; they later learn that the "toys" are wonderful learning TOOLS to help show and demonstrate math concepts.

I tried especially hard to design things with little boys in mind, as their attention span as a Y5 seemed quite a bit shorter than the girl's.

Anything to do with trucks was always a hit, so when I was fooling around with what could appropriately hold a 10-frame, that would be exciting to a boy, but fun for girls too,  a semi truck came to mind.

You can print off one and laminate, to use as a "teacher-led" instruction manipulative. Simply put it up on your white board, and using a dry erase marker, fill in a new number or equation each day.  By writing these on Popsicle sticks, and letting students choose them, you can keep track of what you've already covered.

Call on a student to make X's or bingo dots in the correct number of boxes. Using 2 colors to SHOW the 2 numbers in an equation, is extremely helpful. Make an extra 10 frame semi truck and put it in your Math Center, or if you are able to make an entire class set, allow students to choose the colors for their truck and add their school photo, so that it looks like they are driving their semi.

Younger students can work with single numbers to 20, while older students can work with math equations to 20.

This is a quick, easy and fun way to whole group practice and assess understanding.

I've also included 2 ten frames in one of the trucks, so that you can work with numbers greater than 10 and less than 21.

Click on the link to view/download the 10 Frame Math Semi Truck Activity.  

If you're looking for more 10 Frame activities, click on the link to zip on over to that category of freebies.

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN anything that you think others will find helpful. My "Pin it" button is at the top.  If you'd like to see all of the other cute educational ideas I PIN, click on the "Follow Me" heart button to the right.

"The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it!" -Moliere

4 pages.

Print, laminate and use as a daily math center on your white board, or make a class set. Have students choose their color & glue their photo to the window. Easy & fun way to practice or assess as a whole group.

1 page.

A sweet poster to help remind students that winning isn't everything. Simply participating and following through are extremely valuable life lessons.

1-2-3 Come Practice Writing Letters With Me!

Just because a child can write a letter, does not mean they are forming it in the correct way.

I was extremely excited to purchase a font that shows arrows, that students can follow, as they trace letters. By using these practice sheets everyday, for the first few weeks of school, you will help your students learn correct letter formation in a quick, easy and fun way.

Allow them to choose a different color highlighter or crayon each day, or for each line. These sheets work well for a simple Daily 5 activity too.

I've also designed a page you can send home to parents, so they can help a struggling child, or reinforce the lessons practiced in school. Many districts require homework for kinders and this is an effective thing to send home that parents can easily do.

Click on the link to view/download the Follow the Arrows Letter Formation pages.

Thanks for visiting.  Feel free to PIN anything you think is worthwhile. My "Pin it" button is at the top.  If you'd like to see all of the cute educational things I PIN, simply click on the "Follow me" heart on the right.

"Winning isn't always finishing first.  Sometimes winning is just finishing!" -Manuel Diotte

2 pages.

Help your students practice correct letter formation with these trace and write alphabet sheets. One is for daily practice in school, and another is a note home to parents, so they can help their child too.

7 pages.

This booklet is an easy and fun way to assess your students' name writing skills each month.  To help strengthen finger muscles and dexterity, I've included a themed coloring page for great fine motor skill practice.

1-2-3 Come Make A Keepsake With Me

Since "being able to recognize your name" and "write your name" were report card standards for my Y5's, I designed all sorts of repetitive activities that made that fun.

The parents of my students particularly enjoyed their child's keepsake name booklet, where they  wrote their name each month.  To help strengthen their finger muscles and dexterity, I included a themed coloring page for great fine motor skill practice.

The booklet is an easy and fun way to assess your students' abilities. Just an FYI, remind students when you pass out their booklets, that they are to only color ONE page. The 1st time I used the booklet, I had little ones coloring whatever they wanted, or whipping through the entire book, which defeats the purpose of showing improvement.

Make a sample and post it on your white board, to show them what page they should be doing. So that absent children are not missing a page, make sure to pull their booklets so they can catch up when they return.

For easy printing, run off and cut the booklet in half for a "just the right size" small booklet. 

Click on the link to view/download the Keepsake Name Coloring Booklet.

This packet will be FREE for an entire year, after which time it will be updated and become part of my Name Activities & Keepsake Monthly Name Booklets. In my TpT shop.

If you don't want to fuss with coloring, or you want to do an additional monthly activity, I also designed 2 pages where students simply write their name.

Use these as an easy assessment tool, to see at a glance who has passed this standard. You'll also be able to see wonderful improvement, which is a nice thing to show parents at conferences.  The update version includes a black and white copy, so that students can color their own pages.

Thanks for visiting.  As always, feel free to PIN anything you think others may find helpful.  If you'd like to see all of the cute educational things that I PIN, click on the "Follow me" heart to the right.

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much; because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory or defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt