Throwback Thursday Linky!

I will be the first to admit that I had a rough time as a newbie blogger.  No lie--I had great intentions of updating this thing weekly.  I can blame it on having two babies under 5, or that teaching kindergarten can kick a person in the rear.  However, I am seeing the importance of making my little piece of the Internet a priority.

For one, it is free professional development.  While I have yet to meet any of these famous bloggers I adore, I stalk read their blogs every day.  I have grown more from blogstalking than from any conference I have attended in six years of teaching.  I have come to realize that I have great ideas as well.  Someone, somewhere might want to read about what I do with my sweet little Kindergarten Kids.  I can't say enough about the importance of social media in education today.  Blogging is just one way to share the wealth.

Another important reason for this blog is to have a record of all of the wonderful things I do with my kiddos on a regular basis.  It's my own little filing cabinet of things I do with my kids, but online. :)

Even though I haven't been blogging that long, I still am going to link up with The First Grade Parade and her Throwback Thursday (#tbt) Linky!

Last year, in one of my very first blogs, I documented my community helpers unit.  Each September, we learn all about firefighters, doctors, nurses, police officers, veterinarians, teachers, mail carriers, etc.  We always have a police officer and firefighter visit our classrooms.

*******************************************************************

(Original Post 9-13-12)

This makes day number two of posting on my blog!  Yay for me! :)

As I mentioned yesterday, this week our kindergarten classes at my school are learning about community helpers.  To be honest, the first few weeks of school, our units consist of mostly reading about the topics.  Back to school time is chaotic insane, and our sweet babies just learning to come to school.  Our units tie into learning routines, procedures, how to be a good friend, getting to know you, etc.  Our first big unit is our apple unit, which is next week.  We have TONS of fun stuff planned for that...  But back to community helpers...

We have been focusing mainly on police officers and firefighters.  Today, the assistant chief from our local department came to talk to the three kindergarten classes on what he does in a day.  And the kids also...drum roll...got to see his police car.  Here are a couple of pictures:

My babies loved it! 

Funny story of the day though...  One of my sweeties was standing back from the police car with his hands covering his eyes.  I thought for sure that when Mr. Policeman set off the sirens that he had gotten scared.  I asked him what was wrong, and, in his deep, southern twang said, "I don't like that car.  It's a FORD!!!"  :)  Those kids crack me up! :)

I'll post some pictures of our apple activities starting next week.  I am really excited to share them with you!

*******************************************************************

So not necessarily Vintage Mrs. Banister, but it works!  

I am already gearing up for teaching about community helpers in September!  I have JUST added my Community Helpers activity pack to my TPT shop, and until Saturday (6-22-13), it will be HALF OFF!  Click the icon below to snag 79 pages of FUN!

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things {morning edition}

Let me preface this with a little known fact about me:  I am not a morning person.  If it were socially acceptable to be a mom of 2 and sleep until noon, I would do it every day.  I'm a firm believer that no function should begin prior to 9 am.  However, I chose a profession that, while I love it more than anything else I could do in the world, I have to be at work between 6:45-7:45 every day.  I am linking up with Across the Hall in 2nd to play along with her fun linky party!

Without further ado, here are my top 5 favorite things that help this grump get through until 9 am.  

1.  McDonald's Sweet(ish) Tea

Ahhh....  Just typing it makes me salivate. (Yes, I know I have a problem.)  I am very particular about how I order my drink of choice.  It has to be just a smidgen of ice, a splash of sweet tea, and top it off with unsweet tea.  To get my drug the way I like it, I have to go inside to order, but if I go through the drive through, ordering a half cut, light ice tea will get me through the day.  And no, I have never had anyone say, "I'll have what she's having." :)  And please don't judge me for being so high maintenance.  ;)

2.  Breakfast Choices

                     

I love breakfast.  My family is known to have breakfast for dinner at least once a week.  We just can't get enough of omelets, French toast, and pancakes.  But here in the real world, we rush out of here in the actual mornings faster than you can say "junk food."

I always have fresh strawberries in my refrigerator, and unless I am in a break-my-neck kind of rush, I almost always eat a bowl of the sweet thangs while making the five minute drive to my school.  About 4 months ago, I was introduced to Fiber One 90 calorie brownie bars.  It was love at first bite.  Chocolate and strawberries.  Can't go wrong with that.

A few months ago, I purchased one of these handy things from Pampered Chef that makes eggs in the microwave in just a couple of minutes.  If I have leftover veggies from my salads in a jar (another post in and of itself), I add them to some egg whites, pop the mixture in the microwave, and nuke it for 2 minutes.  The result is a fluffy, perfect goop of eggs.  Realistically, I eat these maybe once every other week.  As I previously stated, sleep is just way too important to me.

3.  Aveda Air Control Hairspray

I might live in Indiana, but I am a true Southern girl.  I love my tea sweet, my heels high, and my hair big.  Well, not too big.  But I do believe you cannot finish off a hair do without spraying yourself down with some good ole' aerosol hairspray.  (Yes, I did use Aqua Net as a younger version of myself.)  This hairspray is light, not sticky, and smells like Heaven.  Or what I think Heaven will smell like to me.  It is just perfect for after I tease up my roots just enough to give my hair that extra oomph.  My lovely Secret Pal at work gave me my last bottle of it.  She knows me pretty well.  

4.  Bath and Body Works Dark Kiss anything

So last Black Friday (or Black Friday Eve, since we were out shopping at 6 pm Thanksgiving night), some great friends and I went on a marathon shopping spree.  It was the time of my life, I tell ya.  We had lots of fun and made many fun memories (such as walking through the drive thru at the DQ to eat a late night snack after hitting up the Target), but the highlight of my life evening/morning was stumbling upon this heavenly scent at Bath and Body Works.  One of my friends and I picked up a bottle of body splash and lotion and went on our ways.  Fast forward two weeks later to the Semi-Annual Sale, and the entire line is in the bargain bin because it is being discontinued!  Needless to say, I think the sweet ladies at BBW think I am a hoarder, because I bought every bottle of perfume, lotion, body splash, and quite a few bubble baths and body creams.  I slather on the lotion and drown myself in the perfume every morning.

5.  Pandora

I. Love. Music.  My husband, kids, and I are into so many kinds of music.  We love Johnny Cash.  We love The Lumineers.  We love Lyndard Skynard.  We love Carrie Underwood.  We love Rich Mullins.  We are very eclectic when it comes to music.  I have the Pandora app on my iPhone, which I listen to on my short drive to school.  My station of choice varies from day to day.  Most days I'm good with Miranda Lambert or Carrie Underwood, but sometimes I go with the Glee station, the Adele station, or the Third Day station.  I sing along like I am auditioning for The Voice (which I swear I will someday--don't laugh when you see me on the blooper real), and it instantly puts me in a better mood.  Once I get to school, the first thing I do is set up my laptopand turn Pandora on again, but this time for my sweet kindergarten babies.  Their station of choice is the Disney station.  It's really a win-win:  They get to listen to clean, fun music, and I get to belt out The Little Mermaid songs.  If your district allows you to use Pandora to stream music, I would highly recommend it!  

Check back next week for more of my favorite things--Beach/Pool Edition!

Five for Friday

School is out for summer!  It was a super busy last few days of school, and my family and I have been going non-stop since the last teacher day.  To sum up what's been going on this week, I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to fill you in!

First of all, kindergarten graduation went off without a hitch.  The kids were little angels, and I *might* have shed a tear or two.  I can't believe these sweeties are firsties!

My classroom is coming together for next year, and it's only June!  Last year, I put up all of my bulletin boards and had things neatly packed away so August would be a breeze.  I am most definitely doing that again this year!  Here is a sneak peak at my math focus wall for next year:

I have done a TON more since then, but I was so busy that no pictures were taken.  The next step to this room is painting.  It will be a huge undertaking, but it will be worth it in the end!

Tuesday, after our teacher inservice day, my husband, kiddos, and I packed up our car for a roadtrip to Nashville, TN.  Nashville is easily my favorite city around.  Although I am and always will be a Hoosier girl, part of my heart belongs in Tennessee.  I don't know if it's because it's such a cool city, or if it's because I secretly wish I was a famous singer, but these two images make my heart happy every time. :)

{Nashville Skyline}

The CMA Fest is going on this weekend, so it was a madhouse down there, even two days before it's kickoff.  We got into our hotel so late on Tuesday night that we had just a little time to walk down to Broadway and scope it out.  

{My boy and I under the bright lights of the big city}

Our main reason for going to Nashville was to attend the Johnny Cash stamp unveiling ceremony at the Ryman.  My family loves Johnny Cash, so much so that my husband is writing a book on the Man in Black.  The USPS had so many neat things going on, including a Photo Booth.  I *will* be doing one of these on the first days of school with my kindergarten babies! :)

{My baby and me in the Photo Booth}

I have been working my tail off trying to finish up creating some fun things for my classroom decor.  I am so thankful to my district for purchasing MacBook Pros for teachers to use to create stuff!  Here is a peek at my word wall headers I made last night.  I plan on posting my items in my Teachers Pay Teachers store next week!

{Chevron and chalkboard}

Today I had to take my sweet boy to the ENT for an evaluation.  Looks like part of our summer will be spent recovering from having his adenoids and tonsils removed. :(  Poor guy.  

After the doctor, I got to spend some time with one of my sweet kindergarteners from last year.  She got me a gift card for a mani/pedi.  Not only did I get pampered, but she did as well!  It was a ton of fun and so good to get to see one of my kindergarten babies!

{Notice that we match!}

Hopefully next week I will post some pictures of my classroom BEFORE the paint hits the wall.  

Make sure to follow me!

Facebook:  Mrs. Banister's Kindergarten Kids

Twitter:  @KindergartenVF

Instagram:  @iheartkindergarten

It Is {Literally} a Zoo In Kindergarten!

I've seen the phrase "It's a Zoo In Kindergarten" many places in my time teaching this very special age of children.  The past two weeks have literally been a zoo in my classroom.

Let me backpedal for a minute...

This past winter, my school purchased 7 iPads for each K classroom.  Our district has an awesome technology integration vision, and by the 2014-2015 school year, each child in grades K-12 will have some sort of device at a 1:1 ratio.  To say I am grateful and excited would be the understatement of the year.

As soon as those fancy little devices entered the doors of room 100, I knew I wanted to do something BIG with them.  Sure, using them as a supplement for literacy, math, and science is engaging and cool as all get out, but I am a firm believer that effective technology integration is more about output than input {fancy for creation versus just using it for fun and games}.

My wheels began spinning.  I knew our theme list for the remainder of the year, and the lightbulb went off when I started thinking of our zoo animal unit.  This unit falls right after Mother's Day, and we typically study a variety of animals.  Every unit we do throughout the year integrates science and/or social studies with teacher-directed research.  We do bubble charts, flow maps, Venn diagrams, can/have/are charts, etc., etc., etc.  By the middle of May, my kids are experts on how to organize research.

So, we began our zoo animal unit by talking about zoo animals in general.  Our first activity was to identify common zoo animals with a labeling activity from DeeDee Wills' Writing Station Activities for May.  (Off topic--but these packets are worth EVERY PENNY!  I have all of them, and the activities have brought new life to my writing station!)

{I like to draw a larger version on chart paper and hang it in the writing work station area for my kids to use for support if they want to do this activity later during independent station time.}

On Tuesday, we made a list of our favorite animals.  The list included.... Drum roll.... Lions, zebra, alligators, monkeys, giraffes, and elephants.  I allowed each child to pick their favorite from this list, grouped them by their choice, and let the research begin.  The first order of business was to create a visual representation of each animal.  Groups got together all over the room to create these cute little boogers from Deanna Jump's Zoo Animals Literacy and Math Fun pack.  

 {Aren't these the CUTEST?!?!  I didn't get a zebra or alligator in the picture, but rest assured, they are just as cute!}

We did lots of graphic organizers from Deanna's unit, as well as some I created for them to use to guide their research.  We used the phenomenal San Diego Zoo for Kids site to find most of our information, as well as BrainPop videos, books, and videos from My Big Campus {separate post on that in the future}.

{This sweetie is researching her zoo animal on the San Diego Zoo website in computer lab.}

After a week of group work and researching, the real fun began.  Our district has a New Tech High School, which is basically a PBL high school.  The kids are required to complete community service hours, so what better way for them to earn those hours than to spend time helping my kiddos create iMovies?!?! :)

{This is the giraffe group working with their high school buddy.  They were recording voice overs here.}

I'll admit it... I was a nervous wreck tad nervous for my kids to create iMovies.  I had visions of them being totally clueless on how to work the program, and the high school students running out on Monday and never returning.  

How wrong was I?!?!  My kiddos were done with their movies by Tuesday!  We spent Wednesday tweaking the voiceovers, but other than that, they were finished!  I was amazed to say the least.  In my experience with using iMovie, the app is so kid-friendly!  If you have iPads in your classroom, get that app!

Our presentations were Friday.  Again, my kids amazed me.  They were so professional and PROUD of their work.  We had parents, administrators, other classrooms, and our high school buddies come to watch our videos.  It was most definitely a proud teacher moment.

{The zebra group ROCKED their presentation!  One little sweetie even dressed the part. :)}

{This is my class with their high school buddies.  Yes, they were being silly.  This teacher was breathing so many sighs of relief over our huge project being done that I was totally fine with that.}

So, there you have it.  Our huge end of the year project is in the books!  I am already excited to do this next year with my next group of kids!

This week will definitely be bittersweet.  I cannot believe it's almost over.  Graduation is next Monday, and there is so much to do!  Check back next week for Lego Robotics presentations {We will be guinea pigs for a group of 4th and 5th graders presenting at the State Fair this summer!}, Field Day Fun, Walk-a-Thon, and Fun in the Sun party!

My new social media obsession is Instagram!  Follow me @iheartkindergarten for the latest on what's going on in Room 100!

You can also find me on Facebook:  Mrs. Banister's Kindergarten Kids, and Twitter @kindergartenvf.