Friday!!!! Fun BBQ tonight! Collab meeting today!!

Linking up with Doodle Bugs! Go check out a few pictures from some really great teachers!
I love summing up my week with a few pictures! So here goes!!! Today I am spending the day in a collab meeting with my kindergarten team!! We get 3 days this year! Should help us to all be on the same page and come up with some new & fun things!! Oh and we get to eat out!!!!Real grown up adult lunch time!! FUN!

We have been practicing our 8 centers this week. So on Monday Tuesday we will all get to go to 2 centers. They seem to have caught on pretty quick! So hopefully they go great Monday! I'm waiting until Monday Tuesday since I won't be in the room today!  8 centers start on Monday Tuesday! Pretty sure most of the class is the most excited for blocks/architecture center!

  

Everyday my hubby picks up the little miss from daycare and they go walk the dog and go to the park. This week he had to go out of town for work so I got the dog walking job... But I also got to go play at the park. I don't push the same as daddy, but we still had fun!

 

We are working hard on our quick walk through the letters. To start our first few weeks we run through all the letters like 2 a day. I created some simple handwriting pages to use for this. I use the directions or phrasing that my Reading Recovery specialist taught me. It keeps it really simple! You can grab a set in my TPT store.

Who is ready for some football this weekend?? I sure am! Who are you cheering for? My hubby is a Hawkeye so we have to cheer for Iowa, but we have a current and personal interest in Illini!! That is where our nephew is the quarterback and a senior!!

So we will be eating leftover BBQ from the party and watching Nathan play Saturday morning!!

 

Much Love, Autumn & Ruth

 

A Day in the LIfe

We are linking with First Grade Nest.  My life is busy just like the rest of you. But so many times I forget all the variety of activities that I do get checked off in just one day.  I have all ready completed one whole family checklist before I get to school. 

Morning work tracing capital O's and P's, illustrating pink shoes, and tracing numerals 0-5.

Word Work from our "Welcome to Kindergarten".

I made overheads from some of the sheets from "Welcome to Kindergarten" . This allows students to be using overhead and Smart Board. My students enjoy all types of technology. What you can't see is others are using laptops and CD players.

Inside recess because of HEAT ALERT!

Completing and recording data for district reports about writing benchmarks during students's specials.

"Letters Are Unique Just Like Us

Student had to select the correct beginning letter of their name,  decorate with various art mediums, and find their correct name plates. I got this up and finished after school on the way to district kindergarten meeting. 

Back to home!! We had make your own pizza night. What  great cooks are we? This seems to put everyone in a good mood.

Then I started putting sub plans together because we have a team planning day on Friday. Thought I would leave her some pages out of our "Workers for Labor Day".

                                                                       

Hopefully you can check us out tomorrow ,too.
Lots of love,
                         Autumn and Ruth

Motivate Me Monday

We are linking up with Tamra & Sarah over at First Grade Buddies! Because who doesn't need some motivation? Especially on Monday?? So in those frustrating moments of the day I think it helps to remember that each parent sends me the best child they have and are doing the best job parenting that they possibly can! Got to keep it all in perspective! 

My kids are my whole world!

I would only expand and say, my kids and grandkids are my whole world!

   

 

 

Much Love Autumn & Ruth

Curriculum Night Week

This was our first full week! Boy am I beat! This is a chatty group but they are a fun group!
On Thursday Night we had our Open house/Curriculum night! I had 10 of my 18 families come!!

We always start on Monday of the first week with our colors. We are lucky that my whole building supports the kindergarten learning colors. So all the teachers and staff wear the color of the day. Makes deciding what to wear a breeze! I mean who has multiple orange shirts? We used the frog street color songs. You can find great videos of them on You tube:

Then mom whipped up these little sheets to reinforce the items that can be the specified color.

This week we also started introducing centers. The whole class goes to 1 center a day and on Friday we get to try out 4 centers! Of course in the library/listening center Pete was the crowd fav!

 

And we just went to trusty starfall on the laptops!

I loved watching the imaginations roam in the building or early architect center!LOL

I was a little late catching the scentos markers. But I finally got some and hello I LOVE them and so do the kids! Especially because I use them on the document viewer and they think it is VERY funny that the eyeballs are looking at them! This is our letter formation pages. We use the "reading recovery" wording. Keeps it simple!

 Lastly This board has my I can statements on this side and a pocket chart on the other side. But on top my para & I rigged up this little tray. We hot glued 2 dry erase boards on top so I can move anywhere and use my wireless key board and mouse! So far this feels rather genius!!

How did the rest of you survive that went back to work???

Much Love, Autumn & Ruth

PS...That was more than 5 but that was our week!!!

PSS Get your center ideas together for a linky next weekend!!

Blog On

I am linking with First Grade Buddies.  My daughter keeps me motivated.  I continued on with my retirement this weekend and searched the thrift stores for school things to send to Autumn at her school. 

  

I slit all of the balls to fit her chair legs.  I got 42 for $1.00.s
I purchased rulers to use for crafts. But I discovered the rulers were not the same length. My husband is quality control.  We did not realize that rulers could not be standard.

 

Autumn was busy making birthday party invitations.

 

I am ready to create new t-shirts for football season, if my Jaguars decide to play. We just keep losing. It is hard to stay positive. They need some motivation!

And yes, I have a lemon cake in the oven that I made.   It is just the beginning of the week so stay motivated!

 

 

 

First Friday of the New School Year

Glad Friday is here to get refreshed for next week. I have a wonderful group of 18 students. They have enjoyed their first days of Kindergarten. So we are going to link up with Doodlebugs to share 5 things from the week!


1. I was proud to get my new Color Cats up that I designed myself.
    My old color posters were given to me by a teacher 10 years
   ago,when she retired from teaching. (Thanks Mrs. Carl.)
   The large size posters are in my TPT store and I am putting the
   small set in tonight!

2. We did a Cat Hunt through our building going to all the special
     places. And students completed their printable when we
     returned to our room. 

3. With our new Math adoption came many new manipulatives. We
    are using "My Math" anyone else??   Have any pointers?

 

4. Students enjoyed being able to control their own glue bottles.
    We discussed "Baby Kisses"  and "Papa Puddles".  When they 
    had a page full of "baby kisses", they got glitter on top.

5. Something special for the teacher!  I had press on nails
   (from  Walgreen's of course) for when there is no time
   for pedicures. My kiddos loved all the sparkle and learned
   quickly that they are bumpy!!
   LOL Only kinders will openly rub your big toe with no shame!!

I am super tired but had a great first week back! Hope you all had a great week too!!
Much Love,
Autumn & Ruth

Monday Meeting, Made It, and a Freebie

So this was the last week with my mom here so we were super busy again!! We spent the beginning of the week getting all of our previous "made it's" up and in place! But we were able to add a few more pretties! So I am linking up with Tara for Made it Monday! Go check out all the cuteness!!

I am headed back to school for real this week. Today I start with meetings and the we get our new kiddos on Thursday! I always get so excited, but I also get nervous! Not sure why or what but just nervous. I guess just all new kids and the unknown! Ok anyway here are a few of my attempts!

1. I had really outdated color posters! SO I created some new jazzy ones with a Pete the Cat theme! Because who doesn't love Pete? I saved my ink and sent them to Staples to be printed as 17x20 posters! Click on the picture to grab a set at my TPT store!

 

 

 

 

2. I needed a new calendar to match all of my new black and white well here is my redo on my old one! We just put chalkboard paint and washi tape on the old one!

 

 

3. I saw this idea (if you know where please tell me so I can give appropriate credit!) So I grabbed an old cookie sheet and went to work! Yes I fixed the order! Did you notice??

 

 

4. We also started covering my chart paper hanger with zebra duct tape! (Ran out) But I have more to finish it tomorrow!

 

 

5. I also hand painted this quick frame and added letters! I know kinda busy...But I'm going with it anyway!

 

6. Last my little diva did back to school pictures and we didn't have a matching hair accessory (shock) so I took a plain head band wrapped with ribbon and added a little looped bow with a rhinestone in the middle!

 

Well thanks for checking in on my creations! Nana went home and we are all sad about that!!! If you held on to get to the bottom here is a little freebie for you! As you can tell we are all about Pete the Cat to start the year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Much Love Autumn & Ruth











Blurred Lines....I mean black lines! & A Gift Card!!

The little miss and I LOVE the song Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke! 

Check out this version!

Ok back to the topic at hand! We are linking up with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics!

 

 

Since Mom arrived we have been so busy in my classroom!! Last year we covered all of my bulletin boards in black fabric. It really helped my entire room look cohesive. Then I mainly use primary colors to accent. Most of our projects this year have concentrated on black and white patterns to finish decorating! Here are a few before and after pictures!

We started with my filing cabinet. We mod podged fabric from last year on to the outsides of the filing cabinet. Then we used contact paper from big lots for the drawers. (Tip: add duct tape under drawer to hold contact paper in place and help drawers slide better)

 

We did take the time to remove all of the hardware which did really help to make the paper go on smoothly!

 

Next we tackled my shelves this part was really a piece of cake. We used the same big lots contact paper to just cut and put on the back of the shelves. But it is amazing what a difference it makes on warn out school bookshelves! (The big lots contact paper was $2.00 a roll. I think we used 8-10 rolls in all)

Forgot to take a picture until we did the first shelf!

 

Next was my desk. Not sure about yours but my desk was pink and blue! LOVELY!! NOT!!!!

Wait for it.........More contact paper!! This time we used black duct tape for the drawers with the edge of the desk and drawers accented with washi tape from Big Lots!!! I can now see why people are crazy about Washi tape! This was my first time using and I will be staying on this bandwagon. By the time we left on Friday my mom said put down the tape and let's go home!

 

 

Can you see the legs I didn't get covered with tape?

 

Ok last one for today we used our JoAnne's Coupons to buy the big paper Mache letters and spray painted one set black to make the word READ! Then we used chevron glitter scrapbooking paper to cover the others to make GILL and we bought small wood letters to finish with MRS. I used mod podge to put on the scrapbooking paper.

This will go above my desk with the added Mrs.!!!

This will go on the wall that we attempted to "plastic bag" paint FAIL!! Now we have to repaint it just gray!!!

 

 

 

 

Hope you are all having great success decorating your rooms! We still have a Rafflecopter random act of kindness giveaway still going! Enter below!! Can't wait to see all the other new Monday Made its!!!

 

Much Love Autumn & Ruth

 



 

 

 

 

 

 



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