Lori Rosenberg's Giveaway!! GO ENTER!!

http://teachingwithloveandlaughter.blogspot.com/2013/03/mecorder-review-and-giveaway.html?showComment=1364348904185#c4114624589684108879

I Can Write A....Writing Menu

I changed this up some to meet my needs but purchased this awesome product on TPT. Writing Menu

Here is Lori Rosenberg's fabulous description of the product: 

Help strengthen and develop your students' writing skills. Hang this display at your writing station for students to refer to when they visit, or, use it as part of Daily 5. 

This writing menu allows children to choose a writing activity that interests them. Most of the menu choices come with differentiated templates. Just keep a supply of them near the menu and your writing station is always ready to go! Students can also use this menu when they are done with their station work, for extra writing practice. The menu gives the children the following 18 writing options:

Story
-comes with 2 story writing templates

Book
-comes with publishing labels in various sizes

Note
-use notepads and post-it's

List 
-comes with ideas for list making and two different list templates

Recipe
-comes with a recipe template

Letter
-comes with several letter writing templates

Card
-use store bought cards

Poem
-comes with 2 stationary templates

Sticker Story
-comes with template

Scribble Story
-comes with template

How To
-comes with 2 differentiated templates

Book Review
-comes with 3 differentiated templates

Comic Strip
-comes with template

Poster

Word Search
-comes with 2 differentiated templates

Postcard
-comes with 6 different postcards

Email

Menu
-comes with a colored menu and 4 different menu templates
-students actually create their own menu

I am using in conjunction with yet another of her fabulous products: 
Writing Station Activities

Here is the description: 
Kindergartners and First Graders love to write! Friends' names, word wall words, color words, number words, shopping lists, sentences. You name it, they'll write it! This packet contains 17 different writing activities for your students to practice during station time, for group activities, or independent learning. They also fit well with the Daily 5. I like to use them also for my "fast finishers." Those children who always finish their activities way before anyone else! We all have them! Now we can give them something fun to do. They'll be no complaining as they walk around the room, copying words, writing sentences, and drawing pictures. A must have for any classroom. 

Activities include:

-writing color words, number words, friends' names, and words that begin with certain letters of the alphabet

-word wall practice

-word searches

-surveys

-writing / illustrating lists

-labeling (make your own)

-using describing words

-tree maps (make your own)

-nouns

Our wonderful poster machine, put to great use!

"I don't know what to write....wah wah wah...Roll the writer's dice!

I 

hot glued a lunch meat container to the wall with a 9 sided die. They roll it here. 

Then the number matches the number on the posters 1-8 (so if they roll 0 or 9 they roll again). Each poster has an example & a description.

The posters then have a corresponding file with papers used for that poster.  The orange construction paper in the back is to separate the stack from the last sheet- they know to bring it to me to make copies. 

The sheet to the left of this file hanger is the list of "lists to write" from Ms. Rosenberg. 

So far the kids love it. The pages are a little askew here but I am really very proud of how well they have kept it organized! Keep up the great work kids!

March & Summer Birthdays

We celebrated March birthdays today & summer birthdays since March is our last birthday during the year. It is amazing how much all of these kids have grown this year!!! Such sweethearts!

Chick Fun

We made these adorable wooden ball chicks today! Thanks Carolyn Bloodworth!

The kids colored the wooden balls with yellow markers. Then cut out orange beaks and feet. Teachers helped hot glue eyes, feet, and beaks on.

Students pulled tissue paper apart that was pre-fan-folded and banded to make fluffy wings. Too cute!

Performance Indicator Fun

Making 16 three ways

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!

Caught in the Act!

Okay so do you ever have those moments when you are sitting at your kidney table doing small groups & look up to see a group TOTALLY doing something with a center that you DID NOT show them to do when modeling it????

Here I present one of THOSE moments....with photographic evidence!

SO I creep closer with my camera...trying to capture either a big NO NO or a Brilliant plan in motion...Which do you think it will be????

Closer...and they still haven't noticed me because they are so engrossed in what they are doing...

BRILLIANT BOYS!!!!