Best From the Midwest

It's here! It's here! It's a blog hop! 

It is time to explore some great blogs from Minnesota and Wisconsin. 

To start things off, here is a fun freebie for you and your students to enjoy. This is a set of 2 alphabet sorting mats that are perfect for back to school. I use mine in many different ways. The first way is printing and laminating the mats and then letting the students use magnetic letters or other manipulatives to sort. The other way I use them is by printing off a class set (I like to use colored paper - it is always much more fun!) and giving the students magazines. They search for letters to cut out and glue into each box. Obviously, this second activity is a little more time consuming and is best saved for a little later into the year if you are a Kindergarten teacher. 

It could easily be adapted to fit older students by having them search for words that begin with each letter or by having them illustrate a picture for each box. The possibilities are endless!

Click here to grab your freebie! 

Your next stop in the Best of the Midwest blog hop is over at Amber's blog - A Little Bit of Everything!

While you are out exploring and downloading freebies don't forget to sign up for the amazing giveaway! These are the items that you could win:

Here's your chance to win! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope that you will find some new favorite blogs and some great freebies! Don't forget to enter the giveaway! We have some very talented folks here in the midwest that are just waiting to giveaway their products and favorite items! Now what are you waiting for? Get hoppin'!

Mission Organization and a Freebie!

A couple weeks back I was able to attend the MN Kindergarten Conference. There were so many fun ideas shared that I was on information overload! The ONE easy-peasy idea that I brought back was to have a bin somewhere in my classroom that will house all of the random items/papers that accumulate throughout the day. Deanna shared this tip during her Organization Station session.

I already have a bucket in my classroom that collects missing toys, manipulatives and game pieces. Every so often during Free Choice time there is a student looking for something to do. I often point them in the direction of the bucket and they get a kick out of helping put things away. It might help that they get a sticker if they find the homes for all of the items!

So, why didn't I think about having one place for all of MY things that pile up each day? I teach the children to put things away, but it isn't always so easy for me to do it while in the middle of teaching. I have decided that if I make it a cute container, I will be more likely to use it. So I created a few labels that can be printed, laminated and then added to the side of a bin or basket. Now all of my things will go in there and I will NOT leave school until they are put away. Wish me luck! I hope that you will also find it useful!

Click here to download the labels! 

Oh, and stay tuned for something super fun tomorrow! :) 

Environmental Print

One thing that remains the same in my classroom all year long is the environmental print on my classroom Word Wall. I took some time to track down all types of print and put it into a document. All of the grade level uses it now and it is great for the students. I included local businesses as well as nation-wide stores/brands. The students are always so excited to walk in the door and feel that they can read!

I made two sets. One goes on the Word Wall and the other I made into cards to use throughout the classroom.

I printed them onto regular printer paper, but laminated them with my own laminator. I find that they stand up a little bit better this way! You can use regular laminating film, but if they are handled often they will become worn very quickly.

I use the environmental print cards for many different games and activities. One of the first things we do is a large group activity where I simply hold up the card and if they think they know what it says they shout it out. I find that this gets all of the students involved because they don't need to raise their hands and risk being wrong. Soon they are all guessing and the excitement level goes through the roof! My rule is simple - before I can do the next card all voices must be off. I love when the struggling students see a brand that they recognize, shout it out and they suddenly realize that they are "reading!" Those little moments are what I live for!

Another game we play at our word work station in the beginning of the year is a matching game. I pull out the cards and some of my big alphabet letters. The students help me put the letters in order on a table. Then when they get to the station they pull a card out of the basket and put it under the letter that the brand/store starts with. The kids keep adding to it until all of the cards have been used.

My co-worker also came up with a fun idea using the cards for an "I have... Who has?" game. I'm hoping to make them into cards this summer. I'll let you know when they're done!

The main thing that we do with the environmental print is use it for our writing. When the kids are first starting to write words and sentences they can use the print as a starting point. Many students will simply write the words and others will make sentences such as, "I like Legos" or "I go to Target." Either way is fine with me as long as they are practicing their writing skills!

If you are interested in using environmental print in your classroom I have a free download available at my TPT store. I was so excited to see that it has been downloaded over 2500 times! How cool is that?! Click here to download it. If you feel it has been useful to you, I would love if you would follow my store!

One more note about my environmental print. I have included Minnesota sports teams because we live in MN. You would be amazed at how many students can identify the teams!

Make sure you google some for your own state to add to your word wall. :)

Now that I have shared some of my ideas, what are your favorite activities to do with environmental print? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Alphabet FREEBIE!

One of my favorite things to do with my students at the beginning of the year is to create an alphabet line. Obviously, we have one in our classroom - but students don't have one at home to refer to while reading and writing. I LOVE knowing that every child has one and I've had many students and parents comment that they are still hanging up in their bedrooms a year or two later!

For years I always used one that I found in an old teacher resource book, but it wasn't very "cute" and I'm all about "cute!" I decided to create a simple black and white pattern for the students to use to create their own. They can color it however they want, but it is also a good chance for me to start the discussion on how to color neatly and appropriately. Blue apples and a purple sun are fun, but are they real?! 

There are also spaces for the children to make a number line. The numbers are listed and I have the students use small stamps to add the correct number to each box. This is usually one of their first times using stamps in class so I need to go over the procedures and do a lot of modeling beforehand. 

Click here to get a FREE copy!

I hope that you will enjoy these in your classroom! I would love to hear from you. What types of activities do you like to do with your students the first week of school? 

Maybe it's not the next day, but...

I can't believe how long it has been since I have updated my blog. This year is flying by way too quickly. We have 4 new teachers on our grade level and I also have a student teacher this year (Hi Kristina!) so it has been extremely busy and I haven't had a chance to write any entries lately. I always think about it mid-day when something fun and exciting happens... but by the time I get home I am exhausted and forget all about it. 

So... here are some of the forms I had promised in my last post before school started! :) 

First day of school certificate: 

Click HERE to download! 

Transportation Sign-up Sheet

Click HERE to download! 

I hope that you are able to use these in your classroom!

Have a great day! 

- Anna -

Really? 2AM again?

So my beautiful baby girl (I call her Boo since she was born on Halloween) has pretty much always been a great sleeper... until this week. I'm not sure what has been happening, but she is now waking at least 3 times at night. I've been researching it and some experts believe that when children reach a developmental milestone they regress in their sleep habits. She did start crawling last week, so if "they" are correct, that could be it. She is also teething so that could be part of it too. AND she has been eating like crazy - growth spurt? Add it all together and this mommy is tired, yet wide awake at 2AM. 

So, what am I doing? Checking out TPT, TN, Pinterest and of course other teacher blogs. I was thinking about back to school and forms that I need to prepare for my students. I thought I would share some with you here. 

The first is my photo permission form that I send home with all families. I require all families to sign a form granting me permission to use their child's photo throughout the school year as well as on our website. My original form has our class website listed, but I have removed that portion so you can use it for your students. 

Click here for the free form!

Oh... and guess who is up again!? I'll update more forms tomorrow. Thank you for stopping in and visiting my little blog!

- Anna -

Responsive Classroom

Wow, I can't believe it has been almost 6 months since I had my first post! I have decided that I need to stop thinking about blogging, and just do it! :) 

I just spent a week taking Responsive Classroom 2. I started the first class last summer, but was put on temporary bed-rest while pregnant. I wasn't able to finish the first class, but still implemented a lot of it in my classroom last year. Luckily, my principal allowed me to take the second class this summer! And I am so glad! We discussed a lot of areas that are common trouble spots for educators. There are a few ideas that I am excited to use in my room this fall, but one stood out to me more than the others. We learned about Problem Solving Conferences with students. They can be used for any type of behavior/issue, but I feel they would work great for when students aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing in the classroom. (Please tell me I'm not the only one with this problem!!) The instructor, Kristin, was amazing and shared an actual "script" that she uses with the students. I tweaked it a little bit and typed it up so that I could have a "cheat sheet" for when I need it. She suggested making it small and keeping it somewhere that you could refer to it. I'm going to print off one big copy and then print it 1/4 the size so I can put it next to my computer. 


Here are the example quotes she suggested:


1. "I noticed ___________ (fill in the blank with the behavior). Did you notice that too? A great example would be, "I noticed that you haven't started your work yet. Did you notice that too?" Sometimes kids don't even realize that they are off-task! This little reminder may be all you need! 


2. "Well, that can't happen anymore. It is a problem because ___________ (fill in the blank)." Explain why it is a problem. Is it distracting other students? Will they have time to finish their project? Is it unsafe?


3. "What do you think that's about anyway? Could it be _________." Give them a chance to think about why they are exhibiting that behavior. Did they understand the directions? Are they distracted by something that happened earlier? 


4. "We need to fix things (make it better, make it work). Do you have any ideas? How about _________?" Try to let them come up with a solution. If they can't think of one, offer them a suggestion.


5. "Let's try it! I'll be keeping an eye on things and will check in with you." Show the student that you are excited for them to try to solve the problem and then be sure to come back and check in with them after a few minutes! 


I hope this little bit of info will be helpful to other teachers! I'm attaching a form for you to download for your own files. 

Click here to download through Google Docs!

Have a great night!


Anna :)