In the booklet: My Book Of Color Words your students will practice TRACING, WRITING, COLORING, then CUTTING out jumbled letters and GLUING them to a box shape to form the correctly spelled color word. Wow! Talk about nailing a bunch of standards and reinforcing a variety of skills all in one great little booklet that your children/students will have fun making and then sharing with their families. Click on the link above to print a copy.

      If you liked this format check out my other Color Booklet, Number Booklet, and Shape Booklet.

     Or try your hand at making a KEEPSAKE booklet.  Is "thumb-body" special in your life? Why not tell them! Do you need a quick artsy project for your students to do once a month? I've got the perfect thing for you.  Click on the link to make an adorable thumbprint booklet and have your students learning the months of the year at the same time!  Monthly Keepsake Booklet

Something NEW!

I just finished designing something new for your emergent readers. I know my Y5's really enjoy making little booklets; perfect for their small hands.

They enjoy looking at the pictures and figuring out words so that they can actually read the booklets when they get home.

Again, I'm using repetitive words so that they get used to seeing them, and simple phrases so that they can remember them. 

I wanted to tie the booklets in with science as well, so that I'm nailing another report card standard.

I also wanted to incorporate cutting and gluing so they can practice these fine motor skills, as well as reinforce number recognition, matching and sequencing things. These booklets are also great for reading, concepts of print and for them to practice their writing skills by tracing and then writing words/sentences.

Each month I'll have at least one free "Easy Reader" for you. I hope you enjoy this new feature and that it helps your emergent readers as well. I'd really enjoy hearing from you and getting your feedback. diane@teachwithme.com

The booklets will stay free for the entire month, then they will be for sale for only .59cents, or why not become a gold subscriber and be able to download everything all year long at no additional charge!  Click on the link to check it out.

Click on the links below to print the booklets. 

Enjoy and happy reading!

This Month's FREEBIES:

The ENTIRE site is now FREE!

I hope you enjoy downloading anything you want!

If you get time, I'd enjoy hearing from you, especially if you're still looking for something that you didn't find on the site.

I design new things every day based on reader's requests.  :-)

diane@teachwithme.com

February:

The Shape of the Cavity Creeps

My 5 Senses In February

My Groundhog Book

Have you tried sign language? It's a great fine motor skill for young children.

My students LOVE it and they learn fast. If you're thinking you have to be certified and know all about it to teach it, forget that.

Just keep it simple, do a few words and phrases, some songs and you're set! That's all I do. I use a few fantastic ASL sites that show you how it's done!

For example I teach my students  how to "sign" all of the bolded words. in the following chant that I made up to teeach them the seasons.

Winter-Sping-Summer-Fall. There are 4 seasons, and I love them all. 

Here's how:

• For winter, close your fists, put your arms on the sides of your body and shiver.
• For spring, using your left arm at the side, bend your left elbow up, this will be a tree. Make a fist at the top of your tree. Grab your left wrist with your right hand and slide it down your left arm. As you are sliding your clenched hand down your arm, open your left fist, "splaying" your fingers, to show that your tree is growing.
• For Summer, put your right index finger on your left eyebrow and move it all the way across to your other eyebrow and then completely off your face as if you are removing sweat.
• For Fall, flip your left palm up. Using you index and middle finger make a person's legs. Have the legs stand on your palm and "fall" or flip off.
• For the letter "I" make a fist with your left hand and put your "pinky" finger up.
• For love, cross your arms over your chest.
• For them,  point your finger at your students and wave it back and forth.
• For all, hold both hands out in front of you. Using your right hand make a half circle around your left, coming around to slap the back of your right hand onto the palm of your left.
• If this is clear as mud you can check out two of my favorite sign language websites. Link One and Link Two
• I really enjoy doing sign language with my Y5's. AND I'm no expert.
• I teach them all the color words and then the words to whatever themes we are studying + a phrase or two for the season, like "Happy Halloween" for October, or "It is snowing/raining." 
• I also like to teach them several songs as well. It's simple.
• You just go to these sites, look up the words you need, practice 'til you get the hang of it, write down directions to jog your memory, then teach your students.
• Don't make things too difficult. Choose only a few words in a song. A good gage is one per sentence, unless it's a simple song like my Welcome song (below) where I choose a word in the beginning and  towards the end of the sentence.
• You always want to choose the major noun that they are singing about.
• They catch on quickly. Mine absolutely LOVE it + it's great for exercising their finger muscles.
• My parents have given me wonderful feedback as their children always seem to go home and share this information with their families who are delighted.
• We start our day off with a sign language song:
• "Welcome to school today! Welcome to school today! Welcome to school today! We have come to learn and play."  They sign the bolded words. For welcome you make two waves like you are scooping towards your self. For school you clap sides ways in front of you twice, for learn you have your left palm up and you use your right hand to pick something out of the "book" (left hand) and then touch that (knowledge) with your right hand to your forehead. Play is the same as fun. For that, you raise both arms, elbows bent, make a fis with both hands, now put your thumbs and pinkies up and shake them.
•  
• Why not give it a try today.  Simply look at a song that you are singing, choose a few words and look them up on either site. While you're there look up your spelling words, vocabulary words, the themes you are studying, the science unit you are doing, or a phrase that fits the season like "It is fall!" Or "Welcome back to school!" or "The leaves are falling!" Have fun! We do. I know you'll enjoy learning right along with your students, and what a fun way to increase finger dexterity and increase their muscle strength and coordination.

Web Quests:

Our school wanted our students to be more computer savvy so I designed "Web Walkers" last year. All of the children who had computers at home enjoyed it. It was basically a contest to get children interested in doing more educational things on the computer. We had planned to run it all year, but enthusiasm died out about the end of December so we informed our parents with our Christmas newsletter that our "contest" would end then. In a nutshell it's simply sending your kids on safe "Web Quests!" sort of like a treasure hunt through the Internet.

My co-teacher and I would spend some time checking out kidsites on the net and finding fun, but educational things for them to do that would relate to our standards and give them several options to do. The child with the most things done would be our Web Master for the month.

Click on the links to see our September & October Web Quests, Certificate, and direction Letter Home. 

This is a picture of our hallway bulletin board display where we set it all up. We would tape up the children's work as they handed it in. Passer's by were very interested, and parents really supported the project.

We also had a competition going between my class and the other Y5 class to see who had the most Web Quests each month.  The posters hanging from the ceiling displayed the photo of  the Web Walkers of the Month from each of our classes.  The students' work hung around the display. The board in the middle posted what the Web Quests were. This was the internet sites that we sent home to the parents at the beginning of each month. We even had other teachers and parents of children not in our class ask us for copies so they could do it with their children! As you know you can really waste a lot of time surfing  the net for safe and educational sites for your students.  

The rectangle on the bottom is a key board. The posters on either side are graphs of each of our classes. The graphs were a great math extension.

I added a "Do you have a computer at home?" and "Does your child know how to use it? " questions on my "getting to know your child"question form that I handed out at the beginning of the year. Click on the link for a copy. So that parents who did not have a computer at home, but wanted to participate, didn't feel left out,  we let them know that we would be going to the computer lab and that they could come before or after school and work with their child. No one opted for this in either of our classes. We also gave the assignment sheet to our computer teacher but he didn't have time to visit the sites either.

If there is an interest in this, let me know and I will post November and December Web Quests. Also check My Favorite Kid Links on our home page. Click on the link to go there. HOME Are your schools pushing you to do more computer work with your students too? Take a moment to comment!

We discovered that a webquest was a wonderful way to get parents involved and our students more computer saavy!

CONSTITUTION DAY is coming up September 17th. Click on the link for my lesson that I do with my Y5's. Centers and song are below.

• Want to know what the Nation is doing for Constitution Day? Click on the link. Constitution Day activities.

• Rather than try to explain what the constitution was all about  I wrote a song to the tune of The Muffin Man to explain the constitution in a fun way. Click on the link to print a copy. Oh Do You Know About the Constitution? 
• After I'd sing it through once, I'd teach the 1st two verses to my students; they had fun singing it with me. I'd put on some marching music and we'd chant that portion of the song to get it in their heads.
• As the song helps them see, the constitution is a set of laws; laws are rules. 
• I review our rules with my Y5's and we list them on our "Constitution Rule Sheet"; then everyone signs the "Signature Page"
• .
• Click on the link to print a copy of our Classroom Constitution.  
• I've also included a blank page for you to use as a writing extension.
• This is a great opportunity to give your older students some in-put in making their classroom rules. It's surprising that with a little guidance, they come up with the same ones as an adult will.
• When I taught 1st grade, I sent this assignment home the night before and had my students brainstorm with parents. They had to list at least 3. They could list more if they wanted to; surprisingly, almost all of them did!
• The next day we worked  on our Classroom Constitution  as a whole group.
• Everyone  copied the list on a new sheet of paper.
• I'd send one signature page around and everyone signed it; then I'd make copies for everyone on the copy machine.

Fun CENTERS

Making Parchment Paper 

• One year I used parchment paper. They thought that was cool, but the thiing that they thought was especially fun was to make their own parchment page the day before, by dabbing black tea bags on their paper.
• I set up a blotting table with towels; and steeped black tea bags in a small amount of water.
• When my students finished their Table Top work for the morning, they could come and make their parchment paper. We let them dry on the floor in the corner.
• You could also submerge an entire sheet in a 9x13 pan.
• Brew 5 bags of black tea in 4 cups of hot water.  Make sure your water is dark brown.
• Let each student carefully submerge their sheet into the water for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
• Gently lift it out letting the excess water drip off into the pan.  Shake gently.
• Lay flat on paper towel, and blot with extra tea bag for dark spots on paper.This looks nice if you do it around the edges.  
• The paper will look yellow, but it will dry darker.
• The longer you soak it, the darker it gets, but obviously you have a lot of kids to get through this center.
• I laid a few big beach towels on the floor for them to lay their paper on.
• Make sure that they write they name with an ink pen on the corner of their paper.
• You need to monitor this center with little ones as they like playing in the water, and the paper once wet tears easily.

Writing with a QUILL

• Another center I set up is a Quill center. I tell my students that they didn't have regular pens the way that they do now. They couldn't go to the store and buy markers and bic pens etc I show them my grandmother's fountain pen and ink bottle. They are amazed. When I tell them that 200+ years ago they wrote with a feather called a quill they can't believe it. I let them each try and write their first initial with a turkey feather and some tempera paint on a special Quill paper. Click on the link to print a copy.

Quill Pattern Pens

• Making a pattern is one of our report card standards and what more fun way to do that than with pony beads!
• You'll also need a bag of feathers, and the kind of pen that you can twist off the clear plastic case, leaving only the metal writing tip and the plastic tube filled with ink. Our Dollar store sells all of these things.
• I keep things simple because it's the first month of school, so I have my Y5's do an ABAB pattern and only choose 2 colors of beads.
• I have a pen already done, and then I model one for them.
• After I slide the beads onto the tube of ink (they won't fall off because they are caught on the metal writing point on the bottom) I put the end of my feather in a dollop of white glue and then shove it in the hole in the top of the tube. Instant "Quill" pattern pen.
• TIP: Make sure that you have written with all of your new pens ahead of time so that you make sure they all write and that you've gotten the ink going.

Constitution Autograph Scrolls

• Because learning to write their name is one of my report card standards I give each of my students a toilet paper roll that I already have pre-wrapped in brown construction paper. (I have volunteers helping me with this sort of thing so that I can plug in extra centers without burning up a lot of time and then I only concentrate on one specific skill..) Older students could cut the paper and wrap the t.p. rolls.
• I write each child's name and the date in black marker on their toilet paper constitution "scroll"
• The t.p. rolls have a sheet of parchment glued to them. We sit on the floor in a circle. Each child has a "quill" pen that they made for the day. We pass around our autograph constitutions and each of our new friends signs it with their quill pen.
• The children then use their "finger muscles" to roll their constitution autograph scrolls up.
• I give them a rubber band to put around them, and they have one of their 1st keepsakes from Y'5's .

Etc.  

• For a copy of the constitution click the link.
• Click here for the A to Z Teacher's site and their page that lists links to what other teachers are doing for Constitution Day.
• Here's a nice "kindergarten-3rd grade" constitution page. It's easy to understand info in a nutshell.

ABC Rules:

• Since I'm teaching my little ones the ABC's,  I also tell them I have an ABC information sheet for their parents that has some rules that the school made up about attendance, volunteering in class etc.  I briefly share that with them and send it home in their Take Home Folders. I find it's a nice "quick look" review list in case parents didn't read their child's Student Handbook and ties in with rules and law making of the country versus the school. . I've included MY ABC LIST as well as a BLANK one incase you like the idea and would like to make one of your own.  Click on the links to print copies.

Please Share:

• Do your little ones understand Constitution Day? What does your school do? Please take a moment and share with us!
• Whatever you're doing I hope you have a FUN day with your children!

  Why buy a unit?

     Have you ever bought a book of lessons because it contained a few items you wanted, but had many other items that you didn’t want or never used?  My units incorporate multiple subjects and are available for purchase “a la carte” allowing teachers to buy only what they need, at an affordable price.  From our home page, click on a season, and the units can be found under each month.  Click on the link:  Home Page There are currently 43 themes!

  Each unit…

•  -reinforces report card standards.
•  -empowers students and frees up the teacher.
•  -can be integrated with our matching Booklets
  
•    and Art & Activity Books.
• 
   
•      Click on the link to see how I do  this with my Apple Theme. APPLES

     There are plenty of lessons for you to choose something that fits your students' level. The beauty of the variety is that you have easier skill sheets for those who are struggling and more difficult ones for children who have mastered a concept.

  Unit Skill Sheets…

• become independent center activities;
• involve core skills (cutting, gluing, writing, coloring,  sequencing, sorting, identifying, matching, tracing etc, );
• cover basic subjects (math, writing, reading, language arts);
• are themed so things are organized and cohesive throughout your day and fit seasonally as well;
• use the same format for each theme, so that children get used to doing them, and can easily recognize what they are supposed to do even though they may not be able to read the directions;
• involve the whole child.

  Unit Skill Sheets are great if you need something

• for “Table Top” or to make into a booklet for morning lessons;
• for review before an assessment;
• to use as assessments;
• to give to parents when they want to work with a struggling child at home;
• when a child is going on a trip and a parent requests a packet of take-along materials;
• for children who finish early;
• for substitutes to plug in;
• to include in portfolios.

     However you use them, I know that my Y5’s have excelled with this program.  I truly believe that one reason is that units empower students to work independently and build their self-esteem to such a level that they realize they CAN do the lesson before they even start!

     They are ready for workbooks in the next grade because they have practiced with a skill sheet booklet every day for "Table Top Time".  For example, by March they are doing a 15 -18 page booklet that takes them about 10 minutes, and they ENJOY it! They are also doing 6-8 centers independently and transitioning with no problem.

     My life is made easier because I’m not constantly planning the next day’s centers and I can incorporate art with confidence because I know that it is standards based, and best of all my students are learning and having FUN at the same time.

     Click on the links to read more about the program or go directly to free CENTERS or free TABLE TOP

     Read the article, "How to Get Students to Follow Directions" and see how to further empower your students through my "following direction icons" They really work!  Your life will be so much easier, AND your discipline problems fewer!

Getting Kids To Clean Up!

     "If I've told my kids once, I've told them a hundred times, to clean up their rooms." STOP! There's your first mistake. Tell them once, let them know you will only tell them once, and then if they don't clean up, let them know there WILL be a consequence, one that you have decided on before hand, and one that's fair. Then you MUST be consistent and follow through. If you don't, you are reinforcing their negative behavior and telling them that they don't have to pick up, that nothing will happen if they don't, or that you may even do it for them! You are training them to NOT listen to you, or to do the exact opposite of what you really want them to do.

     This is not going to happen in my classroom. In some cases, I have to break those bad habits to the shock and dismay of my students. Picture this: My students are absolutely thrilled when Mrs. Henderson shows them the mini Toys R Us™ she has tucked away neatly in various colored tubs. They anxiously await the time when they can FINALLY play with all these wonderful treasures. They can hardly contain their excitement. They agree that the rules are very simple.

Rules:

1. You can only play with ONE tub at a time. (No problem.)
2. When you’re done with that tub simply put the stuff back into the tub, put it back where you got it from, then you may choose another one. (A no brainer!)
3. When the timer rings simply STOP playing and help pick up the tub of toys that you were playing with. (That’s easy.)
4. When the 2^nd timer rings everything should be picked up and children should be ready to go on to some other fun activity. (Yup! I got it.)
5. If you are done picking up your things please help a friend.

Consequences: Children repeat them twice!

1. Any tubby that is not picked up will not be able to be taken out the next time.
2. If there are more than 3 tubbies out after the timer rings everyone will lose 5 minutes of Free Play Time.

     Why then, EVERY year, on the very first day of school, do I have a zillion tubbies out? Mr. Nobody has taken them out, no body has put them away, no body has stopped playing when the timer has rung, so that when timer #2 goes off we have a huge mess. I get the children’s attention and they repeat the consequences for me. Some of them don’t even look too sad. I think they truly don’t think I’ll follow through with the consequences.

     I set a third timer and let them know that because they are now having to clean up, they have wasted 5 minutes that I had planned for a really fun game that they won’t get to play. I had planned the really fun game for them. Whose fault is it that they don’t get the really fun game? “Yes. Theirs.” What have they learned from this? Yes. To clean up when the timer rings and to not take out more than one tubby. Thank you. I know you’ll remember that next time.

     The next day, when it is Free Play Time, I say: “Oh I have some really fun new tubbies for you. I’m so excited. You’re just going to love these! ” Then I pause as I remember. “Oh dear, I forgot we don’t get toy tubbies today.” “Who can tell me why we don’t get toy tubbies today?” Someone will remember.

     I set the timer for 15 minutes. I tell them they can look at books or lay on mats. It’s a very long 15 minutes. Do you think that the next day when we have toy tubbies and the timer rings they are stopping and picking things up? Yes. And the ones who aren’t, are actually scolded by children who are, and reminded of the consequences! They are also more careful about taking one tub out. The children are more vigilant with each other too. It’s quite amazing.

      They aren’t perfect; and some of them need to be singled out for their own personal re-learning, but for the most part this initial lesson and then being consistent for the entire year works wonders.

      Try it at home. Set the oven timer. Give each of your children their own laundry hamper. Any toys that aren’t picked up go in mommy’s hamper. One of the reasons that I put things in tubs is that it’s easy for children to pick up, dump out, and put away. Everything stays neat and organized and it’s a breeze to sort if things get messy.

     I give my students 20 to 25 minutes to play and 5 to 10 minutes to clean up depending on the day and the tubbies that I’m allowing them to have out.

    During report card or conference weeks, I’ll often do assessments when children are doing free play. It’s a great time to observe children too, but it’s also a wonderful time to just sit on the floor and play with them.

      I have two clean up songs: I’ve done them so long I don’t know where I got them from so I don’t know who to give credit to.

Clean up! Clean up! Everybody every where.

Clean up! Clean up! Everybody do their share.

     To the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Pick up, pick up, pick up toys.

All my little girls and boys,

Look around and you will see,

Stuff here and there that shouldn’t be. (Point at the stuff that you spy still not picked up.)

Pick up, pick up, pick up toys.

All my good  girls and boys! (Point to the ones picking up)

Click on the link  for a great poem about play being an important part of learning.

Click on the link for pictures of how I organize my toys in the tubs.

Are you tired of hearing, “What are we supposed to do?” and repeating directions?

     Whether you’re a beginning teacher or a seasoned veteran you’ll want to check this out. Hopefully it will help make your life easier and your students more independent.

• My Y5’s have an attention span of negative 5 seconds. They bring new meaning to the phrase "ants in your pants!"
  

• They also don’t listen well so following directions is difficult for them.
• Even though I would explain and model what we would be doing for "Table Top" lessons on the white board, they were not retaining that information when they'd take their seats.

• I was constantly answering “What are we supposed to do now?” I felt this was reinforcing negative behavior as well as a waste of my time. I could be working one-one with my Hispanic children, or helping with a center etc.

• It was frustrating all the way around and we were not getting a whole lot done.
• They couldn’t read the directions on their paper or on the board so what could I do that would turn the light bulb on?

• So I developed easy-to-understand picture icons.

• Click on the link to see and print a set.
• I also put the words under the picture.
• I simply made a list of all the directions that I have my students do consistently and looked for clip art to match.
• Because I always have Hispanic children who are not yet bilingual, I try to keep my one-word commands the same, instead of using a different synonym, so the icons really helped my ESL students.
• Each morning my children do “Table Top” lessons at their desk.
• These are skill sheets that I’ve designed that revolve around our report card standards. I call them skill or fun sheets, not work sheets. Who’d want to do work?
• They are stapled in a packet at their desk.
• The first day of school they only have one page.
• We work up from there as days progress ‘til I have them doing entire mini “fun booklets”.
• This gets them ready for the workbooks they will have to do in kindergarten and 1^st grade. Even learning how to turn a page, self check their work to make sure they have done all of the pages, learn that this is the cover page, ask themselves have they written their name at the top etc. are all skills  they don't have.
• These mini booklets help them learn these things.

• Another bonus is that if Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up and I need something to show families, I simply keep one or two mornings of work and I pretty much have all of my report card standards covered.

• Most days they are doing 5-8 pages.

• I put the individual sheets up on the white board and hold them there with magnet clips.

A Must-Read

     Every child is different. Some will cry and cling to you like a barnacle on the bottom of a boat. Others will try valiantly to hold it together and manage a trembling lip. Still others like my daughter, will simply wave at the door, give you a Colgate smile and skip away into oblivion.  She didn’t even want me to walk in with her! I was the one crying! I think Kelli was ready for kindergarten because I had hauled her to the “everything’s” of both her older brothers: Open House, Class Parties, 1^st days! She WANTED to go and couldn’t wait! She KNEW what to expect. She was EXCITED. Herein lies several big keys to get rid of separation anxiety before it can rear its ugly head.

Get Rid Of The Fear Of The Unknown:

• I’m not sure who said it, but I tend to agree that the fear of the unknown is the greatest fear. If you’re a woman and reading this, remember when you were pregnant? Do you  remember that one of your biggest fears was delivery? You didn’t know what to expect, because you hadn’t experienced it before. I think that’s one of the biggest reasons that “What To Expect When You’re Expecting” is such a popular book. We need to know, because it helps get rid of your fears. It’s your duty as a parent to get rid of the heebie- jeebies for your child. How do you do that? 
• If there is an Open House you NEED to go. Schedule your vacation at a different time. There is nothing more important than going to the Open House. Speaking as a teacher, I spend a zillion hours getting everything ready for your child and making things extra special for them. They really miss out if you don’t attend. The biggest thing they will be missing is a chance to get rid of any fears they have. They especially need to meet the teacher and see their room. This may not be a “big deal” to you, but trust me; it’s a really big deal to a little kid. Making it a priority in your life also shows them that what is happening in their world is very important to you. This builds their self-esteem and helps them realize that school is important. 
• Let them know even before Open House what goes on at school. I did this by taking my children to events that were held at school. You can also share positive experiences that you had as a child. “I just loved kindergarten. We had a class pet. I enjoyed painting at the easel and playing with Play-Dough and going on fieldtrips. I wonder if you’ll get to do those things too. We should ask your teacher when we see them.”

 Read:

• There are some wonderful First Day Of School/Separation Anxiety books on the market. Go to the library, and read several. I love: I Like School, The Good-Bye Book,  The Kissing Hand, First Day Jitters, Llama Llama Misses Mama,  The Night Before Kindergarten.

Make friends:

• Children are no different than adults. Put yourself in their place. Do you like going to events where you don’t know anyone, where you have to fill out and slap on a “Hello my name is tag?” Do a little research on your child’s behalf. See if the neighbor’s children, or kids up the street, or the children in his Sunday school class, are going to be in his class and then call up the parent and make a Play Date. If there is some sort of summer recreational activity going on in your area, it’s a great place to meet other children before school starts. Making a new friend before hand, so they can share the first day experience with, gives them something to look forward to. “Oh look Stevie! There’s Jason.” Is a great distraction tool.
• After they’ve been in school awhile, ask who their new friends are and make after school or Saturday Play Dates with them.
• Practice makes perfect so why not practice separating? Arrange Play Dates with friends..  Ask a grand parent to take your child for a few hours. Hire a sitter for an hour so that you can run errands instead of taking your child with you everywhere you go.
•  Don’t tell your child “I’ll be right back.” To them that’s minutes. They don’t have a real concept of time. “I’ll be back when the hands on the clock look like this picture.” Then draw it for them and make sure you are not late. Or if they have a children’s play clock set the hands to that time.

Ask the right questions 

• Don’t plant seeds of doubt by asking them leading questions like: “Are you worried about school?” “Are you worried about leaving mommy” You just opened a can of worms. Your child might not have had a care in the world and now you gave them something to think about, mull over and start to worry about. 
• Instead, water a garden of excitement! “Wow! I bet you’re excited to start school and make new friends.” 
• It’s good to ask them if they have any questions. You’d be surprised that some of their top questions involve practical things that they have fears about like: What if I have to go to the bathroom? What if I forget to get off the bus? What if nobody likes me?  You can then address these and dispel their fears.

 Generate Excitement:

• How else do you get them excited? There’s nothing like a trip to the mall and an adventure in shopping to add excitement. Bring them along when you go looking for school supplies, a backpack and school clothes. Give them a say in choices. 
• Let them help pack their backpack the night before school. Let them choose a special snack for their lunch box, and allow them to help you make their lunch. Show them the options of what they can wear to school. I limited this to 2 choices with NO mind changing in the morning. Then lay everything out for the next day.

Be Organized: 

• Having everything ready will make for a great morning and ease tension and anxiety. Allow for extra time so things run smoothly. If you’re calm, your child will be calm. Don’t forget the camera.

 Click on the link to read the rest of the article.

     It's back-to-school and the biggest problem I face with my 4-year-olds is the fact that I always have at least one child who suffers from separation anxiety. Instead of this being a wonderul happy day for them, tears flow and you'd think we're at the doctor's office anticipating the dreaded shot!

     Here are some tried and true tips that are sure-fire methods in keeping the awful Anxiety Monster away!

Prepare Your Parents:

•  Have you ever heard the saying: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” That is extremely applicable for separation anxiety and your parents. Yes, parents and not your students. I’m a firm believer in training parents as much as children. A child doesn’t come with an instruction manual and some parents are just better at easing into the job than others, just as some teachers get the hang of things right out of the gate.
• If you give them a bulleted check list in your “Welcome to school” summer letter, chances are you might have a few less criers, or that the ones who do go into meltdown mode will at least have the equipment needed to settle down after mommy or daddy leave. Click on the link for a check list.  
• You can also read my article “Separation Anxiety and What Every Parent Should Know To Prepare For the First Day Of School”  and give them the link to read it. 

Dispel The Fear Of The Unknown

• Most schools have an Open House so that your students have a chance to meet you and see their room BEFORE the start of school. If your Open House is after school starts, see if you can get permission to have a “Meet You Teacher” night before the start of school. Have this the day before school starts. This will get rid of their biggest fear: “the fear of the unknown.”  
• Give students something to look forward to in your summer letter. I tell mine that we will be studying dinosaurs. That is a hot topic for my little ones. I also let them know that after we finish a fun activity they will get to choose a little dinosaur to take home.  
• At Open House I make sure that they get to see all the cool toys and our beautiful playground. These are also wonderful things that get them excited to want to come back and do. 
•  I make sure to mention that they will make lots of new friends and encourage parents to introduce children while at Open House.  I often initiate introductions. “Hi Carter. Have you met Jason? He’s in our class too, and likes soccer just like you. “Then I walk away and hope parents do the rest… 
• So that there is a comforting “school-home” connection, I include a coloring “about me” dinosaur in my students’ “Welcome Packet” that parents pick up at Open House.  Because they’ve had  some quality time with family filling this out when they share it with the class, it’s not only a great “ice breaker”, but a reminder that their family loves them and did this activity at home with them because school is important.  If someone didn’t come to Open House, or forgot to bring their dino, I let them know they can share their dinosaur on the next day of school.
• You can also have that “school-home” connection by asking families to bring a family photo with them to Open Houseon a collage them on a wall. Then when you have meltdown moments you can take a child and show them the “We LOVE you!” wall. Have colorful paper hearts available for parents to write the words “We love you _______.” on, and then attach those next to the photo so they can see their name on the wall as well.

Prepare Yourself:

• Hopefully parents will have read your note and be prepared. YOU be prepared that they have not, and that you will be dealing with two people in meltdown mode. The parent and the child. Be caring; this is a mom who is a bit tearful about leaving her child for the first time. She worries that she’ll be crying all day. She’s also embarrassed that things are out of control.  Use reassuring words that everything will be fine. That all of this is normal, that every child reacts differently, and that we will all have a great day. Keep your smile on your face, your voice calm and convincing. 
• Now is the time to try and distract the child. I have a pin wheel and a bottle of bubbles. I ask the child which one they would like to blow on. The bubbles or the pin wheel. You do not ask a crying child yes or no questions. The answer will always be no.  It’s hard to blow and cry. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn’t so always have plan B.   
• Just in case my parents didn’t send a token to school with their child, I have a basket of “lovies” that a child can choose from to “cling” to ‘til the “drama trauma” is over. There’s nothing like a soft plush animal to sooth feelings. I let them know before hand that the lovies have to go back in the basket when the timer rings because it is their nap time. This way I don’t have to have them go into meltdown mode all over again, trying to get them unclung from something else in order to have them be able to participate in activities and do some work. They can also have the option to keep the lovie on their lap or table top if they promise to do some work, if this option will get them to quiet down. I ask the crying child which one they’d like to hold.  
• If they still are crying I simply take them by the hand and say. “I need a special helper today, and I pick you!”  Then I lead them away. I always make sure that mom has already said good-bye and given them a kiss and hug etc. then I take the rest of my children into the room so mom is out of sight and I can get things rolling.  
• This works if I only have one or two children crying.  Amazingly, children do quiet down within 5 minutes of parents leaving.

Click on the link to read the rest of this article.

     Hi Readers! Happy SEPTEMBER!

    Just an FYI. I check all my links to make sure that they are "hot" and correct. Sometimes Internet Explorer will give me a window "Can't find that site." Just click my link again and you will zoom to my link. It has never failed me, the 2nd time is the charm. Honestly, nothing like being cranky! If you continue to have a problem, please e-mail me and I will check it out. I want to keep things current.

   What's New?

Red Plates:

     I'm so excited and hope you'll be too with some of the new ideas. RED PLATES are something that  I've been reading about, that seem to be extremely successful for some elementary teachers.  They celebrate a student's accomplishments. 

     Waechtersbach  is the company that makes them. They state: " It was a time honored tradition among early American families that when someone deserved special praise or attention they were served dinner on the red plate. Today this custom, so dear to early American families, returns to remind us that a simple reward can mean so much. The Red Plate is the perfect way to acknowledge a family member's special triumphs...celebrate a birthday...praise a job well done...reward a goal achieved...or simply say "You Are Special Today." When the Red Plate is used, any meal becomes a celebration honoring that special person, event or deed. It is a visible reminder of love and esteem. A way of showing someone dear to you that they are appreciated and remembered."

     I think that something that makes a person feel extra special and is a simple as eating off a plate is terrific. The fact that a teacher can incorporate it in the classroom to build self-esteem and celebrate a child's accomplishments is wonderful, for there has been some controversy about various reward systems for children. I've had a "trip to the treasure box" for the last 10 years and it's worked extremely well for my Y5's.

     However, the RED PLATE  program seems to build self-esteem and celebrate a child's achievements in a unique manner that a trinket does not.  I plan to start out with plastic red plates. When it's a student's birthday they get to eat their snack off a red plate. When they have improved on something that they have been working especially hard on, they get to eat their snack on a red plate. If they show wonderful effort, are especially kind, improve behavior etc. they will find a red plate at their desk. I plan to share the red plate idea with parents and perhaps they'll get on board and buy an extra special "real one" for home and start their own tradition. When everyone has passed a particular standard on the report card, we'll all celebrate and have a red plate day! It will be a trip to the Dollar Store for red paper plates that night.

     A teacher who has been doing this for several years,  has an adorable poem, a  bit of history, and an explanation on her site. Click on the link above and scroll all the way to the bottom and you'll see a picture of a red plate.  I love her "Easy button" idea too.  The "You Are Special." red plate has many websites. This one is devoted totally to the sale of only red plates and really caught my eye! Click on the link to go there.  I also found a blog site dedicated to red plate stories  so they've obviously had an impact on people. If you've implemented this celebration in your classroom we'd enjoy hearing how you use it and how effective it's been, so please comment!

Gingerbread Geography:

• My Y5's were very limited when it came to geography. When I asked them where they'd like to go if they could go anywhere in the world, many of them said to Grand Rapids to Chucky Cheese. This is a city in Michigan that's about 30 minutes from their school! A few who had gone to Disney World said Florida.
• I thought, Holy cow I've got to expand their horizons, so I came up with "Run! Run, as fast as you can. You can't catch me. I'm the Gingerbread Man and I'm in___________________ (State or Country) and I'm ____________'s friend!" 
  
• The Gingerbread Man would send a postcard from where he'd be visiting. The cards came from my students' family and friends.
  
• I had hoped we'd get a 100 postcards by our 100th day of school in February. We had over 150 before Christmas! It was a huge success.
  
• The children LOVED it and the parents thought it was a great idea too.
  
• Almost everyday we'd get at least one postcard in our mailbox. I'd read them during storytime.
  
• During our bathroom break we'd put a "high-five" hand print sticker on whatever state or country the postcard was from.
  
• We managed to get postcards from 11 countries and 47 states including Alaska and Hawaii.
  
• Again, enthusiasm for this petered out around December, so we let parents know that the contest would end in January.
  
• Click on the link for a copy of the LETTER we sent home to parents explaining the program. Click on PICTURES to see our hallway set up.
  
• We hung a world map, a US map and a map of Michigan on the wall.
• I also hung die-cuts of a train, plane, bus, car, and boat so we could discuss modes of travel.
  
• We collaged the wall with the postcards, and suspended laminated gingerbread men from the ceiling with a few sprinkled on the wall.
  
• My co-teacher Tammy and I received lots of comments from passers by on how "cool" this display was.
  
• We graphed her classes cards versus mine.
• We graphed each child's cards.
• The most cards received was 26. Between our two classes we received 172 postcards when we finally quit. :-)
• We not only learned geography, we had lots of math extensions with counting and graphing, as well as reading the cards and discussing postage.
  
• If you'd like you can have your students color the state/country the postcard comes from and keep it in their student folder. I don't think that would be too much of a hassel. Click here for a United States Map and Country coloring pages.

• Is geography an important part of your curriculum? How do you incorporate it?

More Helpful Stuff!

Quiet Please!      

     Here's a link of what some other teachers are doing. I loveTeachingHeart.net's 4 B's as well as her "Walking through the hallways on marshmallow toes." I plan on passing out marshmallows to my Y5's and doing her technique to get children to walk quietly in the hallway. What a great illustration for them to have tip-toe whisper-soft feet.

Clean Up Your Desk!

     Do your 1st graders have messy desks? When I taught 1st grade Neat Freak Nellie would pop in unexpectedly while my kids were out at recess. She'd leave a neat treat and surprise inspection note. Ya just never knew when Nellie might show up. It was a nice motivation for my students to keep their desks clean. I'd periodically give them some time to "clean house."  Nellie sometimes brought her friend Lu Lu to check out the lockers! Click here for her NOTE.

Feet aching? Back hurt? So were mine until my daughter hauled me to the mall and I bought a decent pair of sandals (Ecco's) and a great pair of shoes (Dansko). Unbelievable! Do you have a favorite shoe? Or a tip that helps keep you comfortable all day? Please share with us!

Please follow the directions.

     Do you have to repeat directions all the time because your students don't listen or can't remember what to do when they get to their seat work? My solution? Picture Icons on the white board to go above the paper. Click on the link for a set of your own.

What day is it?

    Are you tired of your students asking you when the party,  fieldtrip, picture day, or when they get to wear their costume is? My solution: A monthly paperchain! Click on the link to get the details.

What shape is this?

     Are you teaching SHAPES? Use your students' bodies. Have them lay on the floor in the various shapes. Stand on the table and take their photograph. Print them off at Sam's Club in  8x10 size, type in sentence captions, laminate, and then bind the pages and you have a class book to read that your students will love!  I had my Y5's pose for this one so that their faces didn't show so that I could put it on the website. Make sure you involve all of your students so that everyone is featured in the book.

What season are we in?

     Are you teaching the SEASONS to your students? Click on the link for another adorable class book that you can make, about your students' favorite seasons. After your school has their pictures taken scan them into your computer then make copies. Students can cut them out if they are older. I trim mine into ovals for my Y5's because it's September and they haven't mastered the art of not chopping up their faces yet. You could give them a go at one so they get some practice in. Have them glue their faces to the bodies, circle their favorite season, then write their name in the blank space at the bottom of the page. Laminate and bind them together for your first class book. I made this page from a cute site with all sorts of paper cut outs. Click here to check it out. The site's called "Making Friends."  She has lots of darling designs. Perhaps you can think of more ways to incorporate them in your class. As a math extension, graph your student's favorite seasons.

Here's the chant I taught my Y5's to help them learn the seasons:

Winter-Spring-Summer-Fall

4 seasons and

I Love Them All!

I have my students learn the sign language for the bolded words. Learn how in my article "Sign Language in the Classroom." It's a great fine motor skill!

•  
• Let's sing!
• 
  
• Do you teach your students the song "Wheels On The Bus"? Why not make a huge bus complete with black paper plate spinning wheels attached with 2 brads? Glue your photo in the driver's window and your student's picture's in the other windows. Add a milk cap for a head light, and your school's name on the side and you're all set. They will enjoy singing this favorite tune as they see themselves riding on the bus. Have your students take turns holding the bus and spinning the wheels.    
  
• That's it for now. Come back often. I'm always adding stuff! Until then... don't forget to have
  
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• FUN! 

Hi! Again.

•  I was surfing the net working on a new article and I found some cute free back-to-school post cards. Click on the link to check them out. They are at the bottom of the page. Look for the school bus!
  

• If you're wondering how to handle "show & tell" this year I do the SECRET SACK. Everyone anxiously awaits their turn and it only takes 5-8 minutes. It's a wonderful way to end the day. Click on the link for my directions.