Fried Red Words in Action!

Free download & original post here. I wish I could say I had more pictures of this activity but after it got going it was absolute chaos!!! I had to keep my hands out of the way. The kids were very into this & so excited!!! They were literally stealing the eggs out from under each other's hands. I finally had to include a rule to start with their hands on their head & when I called the word they could grab.
Games like this are absolutely amazing to watch! I mean I know my kids are awesome but this shows me face to face the 46 words they have learned already! Readiness standards only expect kindergarteners to read 25 high frequency words & they have totally blown that out of the water! We are aiming for 63 by the end of the year.

So proud of these amazing kids!!! I have been so blessed to have such an extraordinary group of kids!!! Very grateful!

Fried Red Eggs

I always find the most fabulous ideas on Pinterest and excitedly click on the link only to discover the description of course failed to mention it is a Teacher's Pay Teachers product that sadly is not free....this one I just could not resist making my own according to my students needs. I just used images & word to create these "Fried Red Eggs". We use SFA for teaching reading & writing along with Cscope. These are the red sight words we are learning. Here is the link to my Google documents for a FREE download!!! Just call out the red word & the first student to flip it over (I plan to use spatulas like I saw on Pinterest) gets to add it to their stack- the one with the most wins. This would work best in small groups. :) Can't wait to print & laminate & get started!!! Here is a snapshot:

New Centers This Week...Sshhhh Don't Tell My Girls!

I soooo swiped my girls' toys! BUT they have several of them & do not have enough time to play with all their toys...seriously...it's ridiculous.....And I brought one at a time to school & my kids LOVE them! Plus I still have a few that are really SOLIDLY learning the alphabet. It is so sweet to see them working together like angels just because they want to share the Leap book or mini computer, etc...

Here is one of the girls using the gumball machine with sight words. They love this!

Look at these angels soooo focused on what they are doing! Such great kids!

We Love Sight Words!

Yeah for Ebay! I found this gumball machine for $21.50 plus $5 shipping. I can't wait to let the kids try it out! I wrote sight words on decorative vase crystals/rocks like used in a flower arrangement or in an aquarium AND on these cute Target hearts. To keep the words from fading, I sealed with Mod Podge. The kids will turn the knob to release a sight word rock or heart. Then they will record the sight word on a recording sheet. I am a true believer in SAY IT- SPELL IT- SAY IT. Multiple representations friends! I tried out a mini plastic one that came with candy from Dollar General & they did great with it so I think they will do fine with this one too. I just need to find a permanent location for it since it is glass, I don't want any accidents! This baby will be duct taped to a surface!

The clear cups in the background are replacements for my old paper cups that are really worn out----they go in my Word Power Tower can. (See blog here.)

More Goal Go-Getters!

Our kindergarteners are so amazing! They are all working hard for their goals to hang their Longhorn (Mrs. Lawson's class) or their buffalo (Mrs. Leverett's class). Here are just a few pictures of our brilliant kiddos!

Queens of Sight Words

Boys vs Girls Sight Word Contest


Girls won! Their reward? Popcorn!

But the sweeties were kind enough to share with the boys! I think we have some motivation spurred!

Reaching For Our Goals!

Interactive Word Wall

I needed a word wall with pictures and words to help my kids spell during writing. I found some of these little cards in my storage cabinet. I used a vis-a-vis marker to write the word on it & waaa laaaa. Some of the pictures are also printables from various sites. My awesome instructional coach helped me come up with some great ideas when we were discussing word walls. She reminded me that it needed to be something where the kids could take the words back to their seat if they needed to. This is the end result. I still need to tweak some things. This is not the permanent location- I will eventually relocate it to my white board & use magnets & have the things on a much lower level so they are easier to reach. I am also still working on what I want to use as dividers...I'm thinking maybe ribbon...Oops! Forgot to put my "x" word up. I found these printable alphabet letters here: http://www.education.com/slideshow/color-animal-alphabet/Color_Letter_A/. I copied them into word & tweaked them to make them larger. You can also click "download all". Keep in mind these are NOT sight words. I have a separate sight word wall. I will post pictures soon of its makeover! :)

Sorry for the blurriness!

Spin It, Say It, Write It

Yet another sight word game for partners!

My pvc "whisper phones"

                                    Organization for all those love pictures/notes/scribblings :)



Daily 5 Rocks!

Nothing like a good old fashioned semantic shift! Yes I'm a nerd but I can't help it. Have always loved that term since I learned it from Dr. Jacobsen. : )
This Word Work center is to help the kids practice spelling with blends/digraphs. I write the letters/blends/digraphs on the back of the rock BACKWARDS then coated with clear polish for durability. I made the vowels red to go with our vowel poster in our room which is red. Eventually I will remove the notecards with words on them & make them come up with their own words. I found this idea here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRAyI2ivBqk
This guy is awesome! Check out all his videos. He is so enthusiastic!!!

Word Power Tower

I found the idea for Word Power Tower online http://pinterest.com/pin/170925748327147023/.  My students have mastered the words so I need to add first grade sight words to new cups. Now they have started creating differents shapes & designs instead of simply stacking them into a tower. Here is a heart. :) We also use the power tower to practice addition facts. They are doing awesome with this as well. Just a pringles can & some contstruction paper taped on. It is hard to believe but this is one of the most chosen Daily 5 activities.