Meet Crystal from Kreative in Kinder

Greetings friends! I am Crystal from Kreative in Kinder. (And yes, this was my favorite dress last summer, haha!)

I hope that you have enjoyed getting to know the girls of Freebielicious.  Two summers ago, my blogging bestie (Tammy with Live Laugh Love Everyday in Kindergarten) and I were talking about how it would be so nice to have a collaborative blog filled with primary ideas and free resources. We racked our brains for about two months and Wha La! Freebielicious was born!  Within the process, we have come to know and love the other twenty-three authors. I tell you, they have hearts of GOLD. We never imagined how much our lives would change and what a blessing Freebielicious would be to us and hopefully you.  Our one and only goal has been to be a blessing.  Yes, I’m cheesy like that. J

So, this is my chance to tell you all about ME! Well, if you read my blog, you know about my hot mess life.  My husband and I started dating when we were seniors in High School.  We will celebrate our 12^thanniversary next Sunday. Eek! So excited! I love him so much my heart hurts when we aren't together (except at ITK in Vegas..no hubs allowed, haha!). Seriously, we are best friends.   

These are my three kids..ALL teenagers! This explains the drinking. Just kidding. Maybe. Haha! I am so blessed to be there mom.  My oldest is a sophomore this year and can I tell you that my heart is already aching at the idea that she will graduate in a few years. 

Don’t do the math people. My sweet children were not born from my womb, but born from my heart (though I totally have the baby weight, ehem). We adopted through foster care and have had our kids for nine years. They complete us. And they are crazy. And hormonal. Did I mention teenagers?! Haha!

This is our Christmas card this year. I think it’s a perfect reflection of us.  We are a very busy family and love adventure, travel (except hubs, he’s a weenie), and cultural activities.  We totally put the FUN in dysFUNctional!

Um, Here is our attempt to take Christmas card pictures. Apparently, it was too much to ask for EVERYONE took look at the camera AND smile ALL at the same time. Sheesh! Epic. Fail.

I have one sister. We are 14 months apart. We live one block from each other (and our parents, seven miles from us). Our kids are all the same age too. Blessed! If you have need motivation for a healthy lifestyle, check out her facebook page here. She is pretty awesome. 

 Here is my Wonderful, Amazing, Fantabulous TEAM. We have so much fun together. We just fit like a perfect puzzle. Hubs has tried to move our family several times but working with a team like this just doesn't happen often so I have parked my trailer with these gals. 

I teach kindergarten. It’s my one and only love. It’s not what I do, it’s who I am.  The littles are my people.  You can check out my classroom HERE.

What else? Favorites?  Color: Purple, Wine: Mascato, Music: Everything but country (YES, I realize this is rare as a Texan.), Food: Chocolate Chip Cookies (that counts, right?), Holiday: CHRISTMAS,  Movie: Steel Magnolias, Fears: Heights, Confession: I am a teensy bit sarcastic & completely honest, Love: JESUS!!

Currently, this is what I am doing every night. I have an unhealthy obsession with Hallmark Christmas movies. I am equally obsessed with hot chocolate and starring at my Christmas tree. Everything about Christmas melts my heart. 

If you want to know more about me (because you didn't learn enough today? Haha!) and what goes on in my classroom, you can check out my blog here. 

Before I go, I want to share a freebie with you. I always do Elf on a Shelf in my classroom. It is so much fun. Most teachers at my school do it and it really makes all of the December madness bearable. My elf comes to school on Monday. After a little inspiration from Freebielicious' very own Marsha, I have decided that our elf will teach us how to RACK (Random Acts of Christmas Kindness). You can read Marsha's post from last year HERE. My elf likes to get in some mischief too. Last year our kinder elves toilet papered our hallway. The kids got a big kick out of it. This year, we are still going to have a little mischief BUT we are also going to spread cheer and kindness around our school too. The greatest gift we can give our students is to understand the joy of giving to others. All you need to do is print and cut the cards. Complete the task and leave a "You've been RACKed" card when you are done. You can grab this freebie HERE. 

I hope you have enjoyed getting to know me. I know...Longest. Post. Ever. Did I mention that I talk too much and kinda love writing? I promise I am not this long winded *most* of the time. For real. Pinky swear. 

Love and virtual hugs!

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Kindergarten Early Assessment

Greetings friends! I recently posted this freebie on my blog facebook but I've had a huge response from teachers who weren't able to grab it on the 4th so I decided to share it on Freebielicious. 

How do you create classes for the upcoming year? Do you have a say? I think teachers should have the greatest say because we know our strengths and weaknesses. Since I have a son that has sensory issues and mild aspergers, I understand kids with the same developmental concerns and I feel confident that I can teach them. I feel that would be a strength for me while others may not feel the same way. 

Each year, about two weeks before school starts, my team meets at school and prints out the list of all incoming kindergarten students (that have registered so far). We divide up the names and start calling parents. We invite students to come up to school one afternoon for a pre-screening. We call it the KEA (Kindergarten Early Assessment). We set up different tables in the cafeteria and each of us (along with the aides that are back on contract) takes a table and section to test. Students arrive during the set time (usually 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. so parents can come during their lunch) and they hop from table to table. Students are tested on letters, sounds, numbers, 1-1, etc. When we are finished with all the testing (and usually about 65% or more of the kids show up) we score the sheets and fill in any notes. This is a great way for us to get to know the students before they come to school for meet the teacher. Then, we take all of this information and build our classes. This really helps us build more balanced classrooms. We take in account of gender, race, birthday, and the KEA because we want very balanced classrooms.  It takes us a long time to ensure that our classes are truly built on the best interest of our students. 

So,  I created this early assessment for this year. You can always add to it if you want. You will need number flash cards 1-20 (because I forgot to attach them, oopsie!). I hope you love the idea as much as I do. 

Also, at the end of the school year, we create the classes for next year's first grade before leaving for the summer. Since we know our kids best, we know who will work together best (who needs to be separated) and how to build classes based upon our students' needs. Luckily our first grade teachers are AWESOME. We also know them well too and know their strengths, which makes a world of difference when you are considering all children and individual needs. It takes us a few hours to build classes but it's worth it!

Please feel free to stop by my blog, ask questions and say hi too! To grab this freebie, click the picture above or click HERE. Have a great day!

  

Don't forget!

If you haven't had a chance to check out our fabulous deal this week, click on the image below to see how you can purchase all of these awesome products at 80% off!

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Elf on a Shelf is BACK!

The Elf is BACK! Yes! I am so excited. My class had so much fun with this last year. I couldn't wait to get going this year.  He was delivered straight from the North Pole sporting this letter on Friday.

On Monday, our elf (Snowflake) will bring us peppermints because we are “Mint to make great choices all week.” Fingers crossed it works! Click the pictures to take you to the free downloads.

 So, are you doing Elf on a Shelf? 

Have a great day or night (whatever it is when you read this, haha!). Love and virtual hugs!

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Sight Word Center

I’m getting my word work centers ready for next week and ran across this oldie but goodie that I made last year.  For my word work, I have some students working on the alphabet (because they do not know their letters) and other working on sight words. Put all of the materials you need into a baggy, cup, etc., have students choose a card, and practice writing the words. I have students read their words to a center partner before turning it in. Click the picture to take you to the download.

 I hope you can use this in your classroom. Have a great week!

 

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Spook-Tacular Dice Game

Greetings Freebie-licious followers! I am so glad that you have decided to follow our new blog. I hope that it becomes a blessing to you and your students. We have great things in store for you!

Dice games are my students’ favorite math activity. I use them as an “early finisher” opportunity. There is always some sort of dice game in each math center so after they complete their work, they have something math related to do. I hope you enjoy this download. Just click the pic to download it. Stop by and see me sometime. Have a great week!!

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