President's Day Freebies!

Are you ready to teach the littles about the Presidents?  

Stop by Simply Kinder to see what that looks like in my classroom!

Included is some great free reading and writing resources to learn about our current president! Close  reading passage, graphic organizers, and report pages - enough to keep you busy for a few days!

Did you all hear Friday is not only Valentines but also a full moon?  Eeek!  

(Click if you are into all that astrological stuff!  
Then be sure to come back for your freebies!)

Have a great Valentines everyone!

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Valentine's Day Party Letter

So you have probably all already sent home your Valentine's Letters but I threw this together and wanted to share for those who need it!  Well and pin it for next year just in case!  =)

You have two choices to use and both are editable! 

Also be sure to read how to have a Stress Free Valentines Class Party!

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MLK Reader!

I decided with MLK to teach it the week of the day off so I just recently prepped my fun little reader for MLK Day!

Such a hard topic for the littles.. be sure to stop by and see what books I approve of and some fun other goodies!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

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Milk Carton Gingerbread Houses (The Academic Way!)

Gingerbread houses this time of year are loads of fun and now they are educational too!!!  But a few years ago I was told I could no longer do them because they were not academic.  Soooo.... I made them a lesson!!!  (Oh yeah!)

Students will use addition, subtraction, or counting to make a graph and then use that graph to build their houses!  So much fun and a great learning activity for all ages!

Your free download also includes a parent letter AND planning guide so you don't lose your mind!

Click the image above to grab this freebie! 

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Holiday Carols Fluency & Close Reading Passages!

I mentioned a few weeks past that I went on a trip through a magic portal and on our way I realized that many of the kids on the bus did not know the words to some pretty famous holiday carols!

So the teacher in me made them into reading passages for fluency and close reading practice!
(Oh and they have some interactive fun in them too!)

Stop by to see how to use them in the K-1 classroom!  

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Meet Jennifer from Simply Kinder

Hi.. I am Jennifer from Simply Kinder!  Very excited to be sharing some of my real life with you!

Here is a picture of my family on a recent trip to Disneyland.  We go every year for my birthday with some friends and it really is what we look forward to all year!  I secretly want to work at Disneyland.. dipping corn dogs, cutting silhouettes, or pushing the Matterhorn button would be just fine with me.  (Ok - being a princess would be fun too!)

I was born in Sunnyvale, California and I have to say even though I have lived in AZ since my teen years, I would say I am 100% a California girl.  I love ocean!  It's so peaceful!  I want to move closer to an ocean one day for sure!  Here's a picture of my two boys at the beach a few weeks ago!

Ok.. one unknown thing about me... OMGoodnes.... I grew up at the drag strip!  LOL.  My high school car was a '71 Chevelle!  So... when I was a Senior in high school I won a big event and was actually interviewed on ESPN and it aired!  LOL.  It was SO embarrassing!    Here's a picture of my racing family... miss those days (but honestly I married the man behind me so we are still very connected to this world!)

My life now is teaching and sharing my classroom with the world!  I have taught for goodness 12 years with most of those in kinder which is where my hear 100% is!  I am so thankful to have the online piece in my life though!  Getting to meet people all over the world and see pictures of them using my resources in my classroom is what keeps me going day in and day out!   So stop by Simply Kinder to read all about it!

So here's a freebie for right now... Thanksgiving Snap Cube Center!  I love these centers because it gets the kids counting and constructing and really thinking!

Ok.. I am off to pack! We are off to the North Pole this weekend to meet Santa!  There's a magic portal about 2 hours from our home!  Very excited!

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Military Hero's Freebie

This is a great community building project that my son's kindergarten teacher sponsors every year!  So I made it adorable and am sharing with you with this great freebie below!

Stop by to see how I use it!  

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Yuck Soup!

Here with another Halloween alternative that your kids will love!  Yuck Soup!  

Literacy based with a writing and math piece!  

So we start by reading Joy Crowley's book Yuck Soup!  It's a cute LITTLE story about some monster-y looking creatures who make some pretty yucky soup!  It's out of print but I bet if you looked around you could find one or they are fairly cheap online!  

Next we make our own Yuck Soup.  I have sent home these letters about a week before so everyone has something yummy to add to the Yuck Soup.  We take turns adding giving everyone a chance to pour in their part to the soup.  

I scoop the snack into paper cups for the kids or just put on paper towels for them.  While they munch we do our story!  I will go around and write the word for the kids usually, but you could put the words on the board and have them write.  I just find it's much easier for them to reread the story in the library if it is written in non-kindergarten writing!  While they are snacking and waiting for me to get to them, the students are coloring in the page and adding what they added to the soup to their picture!

I staple them all together, add a cover page, and the students now have another class book to read!  

We will also go in and graph what our soup has in it!  

Another non-Halloween alternative for your classroom during this fun time of year!  And it's free!  Click here to download!   (I have done this on Halloween for many years but now really enjoy doing our pumpkin book reports instead which is also a freebie!!) 

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Pumpkin Character Book Reports!

Fall is such a fun time to mix books and pumpkins and family time! 

Stop by to see how I use this unit to add some fun to the day on October 31st and to see some additional sample pictures!  

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No Cupcakes? It's OK!

And a freebie so everyone in your community is on board and knows what to do!

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Quick Management Tip!

Rustling papers... putting things away... so many fun things to do with your hands!

Ahhh... how can I engage them and keep them from touching things {which drives me crazy!}

Stop by Simply Kinder for your free poster!  

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Duty Reminder Sign

I always write my duty on a yellow piece of construction paper and post it somewhere near my computer.  I try to make it all cute by cutting it crazy and outlining it in black.  LOL.. I think I am a little more creative with my computer than a pair of scissors.  

So I made a much cuter sign this year and wanted to share it with you.  

Click the image above to download it from my Simply Kinder Random Freebies file on TpT!  

And be sure to stop by and check out what's going on!  Lots of other classroom setup posts!

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Dismissal Tag Chaos!

I hate dismissal tags!  Just being honest!  But I hate inefficiency even more.  So I have figured out how to use dismissal tags without having students lose them, leave them at home, smear, and make them so easy for me to see visually!  

Stop by Simply Kinder to get your free Dismissal Tags and use them without stress!  

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Free Editable Pacing Guide

Starting to think about planning already.  So I updated my blank pacing guide and wanted to share it with you!  

And don't forget about our Educents Deal!  

I think the product I am most excited to get is the Apples, Apples, Apples unit From Creating & Teaching!  And this is just ONE of the 23 amazing products you get!  

That's all for now!  I am off for more swimming lessons, soccer, play dates and such!  Summer is exhausting!  (Can I get an AMEN?)

Have a great day!

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Back to School Deal with Freebielicious & Educents

That's right... Freebielicious has teamed up with Educents to provide you with this amazing deal!

Our Back to School bundle is 23 of our best selling products!    Included in your download is craftivities, centers, small group games, printables, activities, organization items, posters, readers, and much more!  Over 2000 pages of Back to School fun!  All this for $30 - that's over 80% off the retail price!  

Click here to go directly to Educents to get the deal!  

Want to take a peek at what you get?  

Listed below are links to some the fabulous products included 

from your favorite Freebielicious authors!  

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