Five For Friday

 Thank you to Doodle Bug for hosting this weekly Linky!  I love sharing thoughts and ideas!


This has been an another awesome Summer Week!    I want to share the Top 5 things that I must have to start my year off in Kindergarten.

    

1.  Mr. Sketch markers -  I absolutely love these markers and use them all the time.   My students love the way they smell as I give them smilies throughout the day.  I love the bright colors as well.   It makes my anchor charts really bright and colorful!  

       

2.   Heidi Songs -  I ABSOLUTELY love these CD's/ DVD's. Click on the Heidi's Song picture above if you would like to check out more about these amazing songs! Heidi's songs have helped my students so much as we immerse ourselves in sight words with songs, movements and then books/ activities to support and reinforce our learning.      My colleague Laura and I have created a Yearly Sight Word Plan and Sight Word books to go with this plan.  We use Heidi songs everyday as we challenge our students to learn 105 sight words!  It's sounds like a lot of words, but my students are so successful and we have seen their reading grow immensely as they gain that automaticity of their sight words!  

   

Click on the picture to take a look at our yearly sight word plan and then click here to read My Sight Word Blog post about our amazing Yearly Sight Word Plan and Sight Word Books, etc.. to support our students learning.   You can also check out our Sight Word Books in my TPT store.

  

 

3.  Silhouette Cameo -  I love to create a very organized, purposeful and yet "pretty" classroom environment.    I am often at school more than I am at home so I want it to be some place i enjoy going as well as my students.       The Cameo has helped me to create labels,  vinyls, and awesome bulletin boards for my classroom.

 

4.  Children's Books!   -  I absolutely am in love with children's books!  My husband thinks that I have a serious problem.    I just ordered 3 more books today from Amazon that were recommended by a good friend.     Here are my top favorite children's books that we read and use in Writers and Readers Workshop repeatedly all year long,  they are a must in my book (pun intended - lol )      

Mo Willems (anything)    

Chalk by Bill Thomson        

   

Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell 

Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman

When Sophie Gets Angry...,  Really Really Angry...  by Molly Bang

A Ball for Daisy 

How to Heal A Broken Wing 

The Magic Fish 

Big Al 

The Day the Crayons Quit

I would love to hear about some of your must have Children's Books and how you use them in your classroom!  

 

5.   QT  White Peach Tea -  It's incredible.  I have to start every day with an XL cup full!    I can't seem to go a day without.    On the few that I have had to,  I am thinking about it all day until I can find a QT that has it again!    It's amazing!   

I am mentoring this year,  so I will be working in my classroom a lot next week getting ready so that I can be ready to help my new colleague!  I hope to have some great pictures for you then!  Be sure to stop in and check out Doodle Bugs blog to see what everyone else is up to!   

Blessings to you all! 

Angel  

TPT -  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Angel-Garrett

FB -   https://www.facebook.com/mrsgarrettsgroovykindergarten

Book Talk Tuesday

I am linking up with Deanna Jump to share some of my favorite books.   Personally,  I just finished reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn!   All I can say is "Oh My"!   What an emotional roller coaster.

On to one of my favorite kid books though!  I want to share about THE MAGIC FISH by Freya Littledale.  This has become one of mine and my kindergarten kiddos favorite books.

This is the story of a fisherman who earns the favor of a magic fish through his own good-heartedness. The fisherman tell his wife of his meeting with the Magic Fish and she demands that he go back and ask the fish to give them a better home than their tiny shack which the fish is happy to do,  but his wife is not content with that.  The wife then convinces  the fisherman to go ask the fish for more and more until she is Queen of the land and wants to be Queen of the Sun and the Stars.

Every time the fisherman goes to ask the fish for something else, the sea is stormier and angrier, although the fish says nothing. In the end, the fish decides that the wife has asked for too much, and so he takes away everything. 

One of my Kindergarteners last year after reading this book said,   " She just needs to learn to be happy and kind. "   Absolutely!   

There are so many great ideas and ways to use this book.  First of all,  it a great example of a fairytale/ fable and would be a way to learn about common types of text.   It is a pretty easy read and has a repetitive pattern so by the end of the year a number of my K kids were reading it for enjoyment.  

In Readers Workshop,  it would be a great book to talk about retelling and learning how to retell the beginning,  middle and end.  The illustrations are great and really support the story.   Also great to use for discussions about problem and solution and character analysis.  

In Writers Workshop,  it would be great for an illustration lesson on using background to tell part of the story (as the fisherman asks for more and more, the fish and the sea get angrier and angrier unit they have had enough) , learning to tell a story across the pages,  how to tell a story bit by bit and of course lots of ideas for conventions.   

I hope that you will come to love this story as much as I do!   

I am sure there are so many more ways to use this wonderful book.  I would love to hear from you about some of your favorite books and how you use them to support your students learning!   


Blessings to you all!
Angel

http://mrsgarrettsgroovykindergarten.blogspot.com

https://www.facebook.com/mrsgarrettsgroovykindergarten

It's a Christmas in July Sale (Cool FREEBIES included)!

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I am so excited to share what I have been working on as well as tell you about my Christmas in July sale on my TPT store!

My TPT store will be having a SALE for the next three days.  Everything will be 20% off!  Wowza!
Click on the picture to visit my store!  

CHRISTMAS IN JULY SALE!  20% OFF

NEW CLASSROOM DECOR

This is one of my favorite times of year as I begin to think and work on ideas for my classroom.  This year is even more exciting as I am moving into a new classroom!  Please check back for pictures of my classroom as I begin working on it in earnest this coming week.  I am so excited as I have started with a new theme.    FUNKY SUPER STARS!   I have a couple of freebies for you from this classroom set:  HERE ARE TWO FREEBIES FOR YOU!     Here is a set of Cubby Tags and Desk Plates as well as  Classroom Helpers Job Chart Cards.   They are so super cute! (if I do say so myself).  Just click on the cover pics below!

           

 If you love this set as much as I do,   you can click on the link below to go to my TPT store and pick up my Funky Super Stars Classroom Decor set!

 Here's what's all included:   Number Line with ten frames,  2D & 3D Shape posters,  Desk Plates,  Behavior Clip Chart,  Cubby Tags,  Color Posters (large and 1/2 size),  4 different Bulletin Board Pennant Headings,  Alphabet Line,  Table Number Posters,  Word Wall header and Alphabet headers, Daily Schedule,  Class Library labels,  Birthday Wall,  Secret Date Numbers,  Beginning of the Year Bulletin Board (everything you need)!   Everything you need for a Funky Super Star Classroom!

You also can check out my Pete the Cat Classroom Decor (2 different backgrounds) or Monster, Monster Oh So Cute Classroom Decor if you are interested!      Here are FREEBIE classroom jobs for each of those as well! I just want to thank you for following my blog!    I hope you enjoy them!  Click on the picture to get yours!   

                   

I hope that you are getting excited to start thinking about getting your classroom set up too!  It's one of my favorite things!    Keep checking back as I'll be posting pics as I work on my room!   Click on the side button to follow me on Facebook too!   

Blessings to you all!  

Angel