Window Leaf Sun-Catcher Art

Window leaf sun-catcher art is so easy.  Any kid can create a gorgeous artwork!

I precut the leaves, and place clear contact paper over a central oval hole.  The kids cut square, rectangle and triangle shapes out of colored tissue paper and stick them onto the oval.

These sun catchers all look unique, beautiful, and they brighten up the room for months!

Halloween Fun at Starfall

Starfall.com is so easy to navigate; even a 5-year-old can do it! 

 

 

Click on the pumpkin icon, and you can build infinite pumpkins, step-by-step. 

Click on any word, and Starfall reads it aloud.  That’s Halloween Heaven!  Just ask any 5-year-old.  See for yourself at Starfall.com. 

 

Halloween & Thanksgiving Montage

Want to make people smile?  Nothing’s more cheerful than a themed montage!  

 

 

This Halloween and Thanksgiving cluster of scarecrows, jack-o’-lanterns, and hay makes me smile every time.  Kudos to my school’s welcoming committee!

Eye Health for Kids

Have you noticed that more kids wear eyeglasses now, and at a younger age?  Computer and TV screens “glue” the eyes, so they don’t move in a healthy way.

I teach my kids to exercise their eye muscles.   Here’s my eye exercise chant (kids repeat each line):

Of course I teach each step first:

1)      Hold up a thumb about a foot away from your nose.

2)      Look at your thumb, then straight ahead, beyond the thumb as far as you can see. 

3)      Focus back and forth, about five seconds each. 

4)      End by gently squeezing your eyes shut.

Did you know that you can improve far-sightedness by exercising your eye muscles this way?  It's true.  So enjoy your computers—and your eye health, too!

Here's a free poster of my Eye Health Chant.  Enjoy!!



Inspirational Mottos for Kids

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-Facts-Math-Drill-in-a-Song-MP3-1414344Every so often, we brainstorm inspirational mottos.  Everyone chimes in, and I write them all down.  Then I type them up, and hang them on the wall:
                        

Then the real fun begins…

Whenever we need a pick-me-up, we have a call-and-response chanting of our inspirational mottos—with plenty of body language and attitude. 

For even more fun, I play the Rap Your Math song, with its rock drum beat.  Instead of chanting math drills, we chant our inspirational mottos.  Very rousing, and great for class spirit!
               
  Rap Your Math Song - with a Rock Drum Beat:           
                             

The Calm Teacher – FREEBIE!

Let’s call it a hobby; I’m always coming up with new ways to bring calm into the classroom.

My other hobby is writing songs.  So, I wrote this Counting Song.  It’s simply me counting the numbers 1 – 20.  It’s not a typical kiddy song!  It’s relaxed, almost hypnotic, and I added some meditative music with a soft beat.

 

The best part is, the song is short.  That means I can play it—with my eyes closed, breathing deeply—and know I’m only taking one minute out of my insanely busy day. 

I’d love to share my song with you—as a gift, a FREEBIE. 

I hope you enjoy it and find it as useful as I do.  Please let me know!  If you like this song, I’d sure appreciate it if you’d leave your positive feedback and rating at the Teachers Pay Teachers website.  Many, many thanks!

BTW, you will have to sign up at Teachers Pay Teachers in order to download the song.  It’s very easy, and you’ll find thousands of wonderful teacher tools there. 

Here’s the FREEBIE SONG, Renee’s Magic Timer, Counting Song 1 - 20.  I hope it gives you many calming moments!

The Kindergarten Café

Starting day 2, I tell the kids that I don’t want to be the boss.  (A bit of a shocker, I know ; )  I want to help them to have a conversation. 

 

“Imagine we’re all sitting at a café, sharing ideas.”  I love that—and so do they, once they get the hang of it!

 

Here’s the poster I use:

Class Rules

Here are my class rules:

 

We go over and over them starting day one.  Why do we need rules?  Why is each rule important?  What could happen if you don’t follow the rule?  What are the fine points, the free-associations, and other important rules? 

 

Kids just love talking about rules!  And the more they process them, the more they follow them.

Classroom Set-up

Here’s how my classroom looks the first week of school (from last year).  Quite a transformation!

Notice that the plant takes up half my desk.   I know, it’s fake, but it’s so pretty!  It makes me feel like Ferdinand the Bull sniffing his flowers in the bull ring—very, very calming!

Would you like some more creative ideas for your classroom set-up?  Pinterest has many creative ideas for learning spaces.

Empty Classroom – Planning for Class Set-up

 I’m setting up my classroom for the first day of school.  Would you like to take a look? 

I’m always amazed at how a huge pile of boxes and bags “magically” transforms into a welcoming space; chaos into order; clutter into flowing feng shui. 

Oh, it’s magic, and tons of planning, and heavy lifting!

 If you'd like some classroom set-up tips and design ideas, Scholastic has a great classroom set-up tool here!