Stop, Swap & Roll

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a great week! I am very excited to be a part of the Stop, Swap & Roll linky with Melissa from Jungle Learners. I was paired up with 2 Scoops of Kindergarten and was so excited to use the Kindergarten Winter Math Centers.

The whole pack is common core aligned. There are so many options in the pack and we didn’t get to all of them but the pack includes:

Matching Doubles with Skates

Build a Snowman with Shapes

Adding Snowflake dice

Snowman 10 Frames

Snowflake Fact Families

Winter Addition and Subtraction

Snowflake Odd or Even

Penguin Greater than, less than, or equal to

Differentiated Word Problems

Our class has worked on the doubles addition page, which was a blast paired up with Harry Kindergarten’s Doubles song.

We also have been working on Fact Families in our curriculum and used the Snowflake Fact Families during Math Workstations.

--DIFFERENTIATED--

Another great component are the I CAN statements included for each activity!

You DEFINITELY want this math pack in your Winter Math file! Enter to win a copy of the product.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you for visiting xoxokindergarten! My January Journal was swapped with 2 Scoops of Kindergarten – so make sure to stop by their blog! She has a great post about how she used it and will have my FEBRUARY journal up to win. My store is also 20% off during this share!

 

The Power of Praise

Over the past 2 years I have had the privilege to learn about the power of positive praise in the primary aged classroom.  I wanted to write a post to share some helpful phrases you can start to incorporate into your classroom, home, or daily language with children, specifically ages 3-7.  

Here are some simple tidbits about positive praise:

    1. You cannot “over-do” praise.

I believe children should receive praise and affirmation for the ordinary behaviors they are expected to do on a day-to-day basis. Young students are just starting to figure out the world around them and if they receive love and attention from following the rules and expectations, they are more likely to continue the praised behavior. Simply put, PRAISE THEM! Don’t feel like a broken record – let them know how much you appreciate their good behavior.

    2. Correct Simple Negative Behaviors

In my Kindergarten/First Grade classrooms I so often see students exhibiting simple behaviors: running to the door, rolling at the carpet, blurting, trying to make others laugh, being silly during learning time… A good portion of the time, I can correct those behaviors by simply saying “I love how Susie is sitting criss cross with her voice at a Level 0.” Boom, shwoosh, zoop - 3 kids just fixed their behavior. “Oh I like how John fixed his body right away to match Susie – what a great first time listener!” Swish, swash, swoop! The rest of the off task students  just fixed their behavior. Now sometimes, it is not that simple, but it sounds much more polite than the “Sit still. Turn around. Stop this…” It makes me feel much better to correct behaviors by zooming in on the positives and not having to single a student out.

3. Instill Motivation and Self Worth

When students are praised, they feel a sense of worth. When you walk by a student and say “Wow I love how you started with a capital letter and used spaces between the words in your sentences. This looks nice and neat and easy to read!” That student now feels proud of that work and will likely remember to do those things in their next writing assignment. The other students will also take note of the praise you gave their classmate and want their teacher to give them the same praise! They now feel as if they excel in a certain academic area and may put forth a new effort with their confidence! 

    4. You will feel silly!

Saying these things will truly make you feel “silly” at first  - but when you get in the wonderful habit of giving positive specific praise and you see the impact it has on the classroom environment you will never go back! Getting in the habit can be tricky at first: ask for help! I had instructional coaches and administrators look for it in my observations.

Make sure to use SPECIFIC praise!

Generic Praise                              Specific Positive Praise

Good job!	Wow! You made a capital “M” with nice, straight lines.
Nice work!	I like how you completed your journal page and used sight words during Work on Writing.
Neat handwriting!	Wow! You made a capital “M” with nice, straight lines.  Your writing looks neat and easy to read.
Bill is sitting nicely.	Bill is sitting criss cross, watching the teacher, and has his voice at a 0. He is ready to learn!

I hope you enjoy using positive praise with the little ones in your life! Helpful hint, it is quite effective with adults too! :) 

Not-So Silent Night Christmas Card

Not a Kindergarten post but I wanted to share our hilariously sad Christmas card this year...

As parents of a spirited 2 year old and a teething baby, we deal with our fair share of tantrums, crying, and not-so silent nights. :) Wouldn't change it for the world though! Feel free to also use this idea for your family who has not-so silent nights. 

Milk Carton Gingerbread Houses

I love to read gingerbread books and make Gingerbread houses with my Kinders during the holiday season. Many people give me a face when I tell them I plan to do Gingerbread houses. It's not as scary as people say it is! 

Here is how I ensure a relatively easygoing process:

1.       Ask for help!

I ask families to donate graham crackers, frosting, and candy – I also ask for volunteers for the actual creation day. 

2.    Milk Cartons

 Save and reuse milk cartons. Rinse them out and dry overnight. I use tacky glue to close the carton and clothespins to hold it shut over night. You could also staple! J

3.    Ice Cream Buckets

I ask families to bring an ice cream bucket to make sure the students get their creation home safely.

4.    Aluminum Foil

I line the lid of the bucket with aluminum foil to hold their frosting messes. J I then glue the milk carton in the center of the foil.

5.     Graham Crackers

Cut apart the graham crackers. I use 4 squares, 2 rectangle halves, and two triangles.

-      use a plastic knife to carve an edge between and then break apart with your own hands. If you try to saw the whole thing, it will usually crumble and break.

Set all of these things inside the ice cream bucket.

With all these steps I’m starting to sound insane… Again, get someone to help! I wasn’t able to rally enough volunteers this year, as many families are busy, so I put my own family to work. Glad to have a supportive husband!

I then set out the candy in bowls. The students begin by frosting their milk carton and adding their graham crackers. In small groups I have students bring up their actual bucket part of the ice cream bucket and have them fill it with candy they want to snack on or use in their creation.

The students can use plastic knives or Popsicle sticks for spreaders. I have students share tubs of frosting. Encourage the students to cover all parts of the milk carton with frosting to create a more authentic look. 

We love our Gingerbread Houses! Simply place bucket on TOP of the lid for the bus ride home. Carry the upside down buckets with two hands -- for extra caution: tape the lid! 

Clip Art Adventure!

Happy Sunday!

It has been a quiet, cozy day at my house! Trygve is napping in his swing and Penny is napping in my bed. There is a lot of natural, bright light coming in from outside. We have a roast in the crockpot… Life is calm, life is good!

On this quiet afternoon, I have been working on creating some Clip Art – for the first time! I have always been a little bit of an artist, because of my artist dad, but I have never created anything digitally!

I used PowerPoint to create the shapes and Sketchbook to add color. Here is a cute little Turkey in honor of Thanksgiving approaching.

I have also created some cute little friends to use in some of my own products. You can grab them in my TpT store.

I hope to get more out soon – and obviously improve the quality. Watch out for a Christmas set hopefully coming soon! J

xoxokindergarten