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Friday, December 6, 2013

Five for Friday- Snow Day Edition!

http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/
 
Finally making time to write a new blog post! I guess I was just waiting for a snow day!! :)
 
 
1.SNOW DAY!
Yay! I, like many of you probably, LOVE a snow day! We get a lot of them in my district because we have a lot of back country roads! It doesn't take much to make them unsafe. However, most all districts around the Cincinnati area are closed today due to this ice/ snow mix that we have coming our way. My enthusiasm will dwindle when the snow days start to stack up, and they start to cut into my summer vacation. But until then, bring it on!! :)
 
 
 
2. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!
It's coming- so quickly!! We're getting into the holiday spirit in my classroom!  I found this adorable FREEBIE Elf Craftivity at Mrs. Ricca's TpT store. We had fun applying for a job as an elf!









 
3. School wide Christmas Spirit!
My school is also having a classroom door decorating contest. I found this cute idea on Pinterest- and it was super easy! I love it, as do my kindergarteners!!!
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Addition
 
We have really been working on our addition facts to 10. Here is a fun little way my kiddos have been working on mastering those facts! It's a pipe cleaner with 10 beads on it. I then put a piece of tape in the middle and wrote the number "10" on it. They can move the beads to each side and easily see the many ways to make 10! We take them out and tell a partner a few ways to make 10 from time to time. 
 
Here they are working on facts to 5. They had a cup with 5 red/yellow counters. They simply dumped their cup, and wrote a number sentence to show the number of each color counter they had. We also do this with 10 counters. 
 
 
 
5. Checking out my pilot husband's "office"
 
Since my husband Henry has been flying for a private charter company, we haven't been able to check out what it's like inside one of the fancy jets.. until this week! The plane he would be flying was actually at an airport close to our home, so we were able to go see inside! They hold 8 people comfortably. He has flown a few celebrities such as Paula Dean, Kelly Clarkson, Aaron Rodgers, and Kelly Ripa among others... Who he flies doesn't usually get to me, it's when he's flying them to the Bahamas or other Caribbean islands that I get a little bit jealous :P
 

 
 
I hope you all have a lovely week. If you too are at home enjoying a snow day- leave me a comment and let me know where you are! This snow storm looks like impacting a lot of the country!




Monday, November 4, 2013

Currently November

I'm sorry that I'm a few days late! This seems to be a recurrent probelem for me.. Anyone else feel this way???
 
 
 

1. Listening:
My house is silent! We are off school today for Election Day! I would have loved to sleep in, but it just didn't happen... my daughter however, is still fast asleep- and I'll take it!

2. Loving:
We are for Election Day today, and tomorrow is a "teacher contract" day.. So just 3 days with the kiddos this week! ...and it looks like tomorrow we will have time to meet with our teams and plan... I LOVE when we actually have time to do this on these days!

3.Thinking:
 It's already November! Holy Moly... Before we blink, it will be Thanksgiving, and then Christmas.. I LOVE Christmas, but I like it even better when I feel like I'm ready for it.. Shopping finished early, house decorated, and just enjoying the season... I've purchased 2 gifts, but I need to get my act together on the rest!

4.Wanting:
Between teething, and this crazy time change, Amelia has just been a little "off" from her normal happy self... I'm hoping we have a fun day at home today!

5. Needing:
I'm hoping my daughter decides to take a long nap today so I can get my pots cleaned up and put away... The plants really just started to look dead this week, so I guess I'm not TOO late at getting this done!

6. A Yummy Pin


 
Chocolate chip cookie dough brownies! They look amazing... I found them here from Pinterest of course. The site is "The Brown Eyed Baker... Anyone ever made these? Or tried this person's recipes? They look delicious!!! sigh.. I have entirely too many "pins" that look delicious! Good thing the Holiday Season is upon us and it's the perfect time to try some out! :)
 
 
Be sure to check out what other teachers are currently up to! Click here!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween! I'm trying not to let the crummy forcast for where I live get me down... I hope you'll check out a sale at my TpT store! It starts at midnight tonight... Click the picture for the link!
www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/heather-kicera
 
 
Please leave a comment of any cute costumes you see, or if you have a fun costume yourself! I am excited to dress my daughter up as a monkey! :)
 
Happy Halloween!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Five for Friday... finally!

 
 
It's been a little while since I've linked up with Doodle Bugs! I'm sorry that my blog has been neglected! Here are my five random things for the week.. I hope you'll check out what other teachers have been up to as well!
 
 
 
1. We celebrated Halloween at my school on Friday, the 25th. We have a pretty amazing and fun staff and it was one teacher's idea for us all to be minions from Despicable Me! Here is a picture of the minion I was trying to dress like... Can you find me in our group pic?! :) The kids loved it..and that is what counts, right???
 
 

 

 
 
2. Teen Numbers. We have been working on recognizing and counting teen numbers. I think these play dough mats I created have helped my kinders with this! You can find them at my TpT store!
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
3. Christmas is coming! I LOVE Christmas, and I'm trying to get a head start on shopping this year... This name puzzle just came in the mail for my daughter.. I love how it turned out, and I LOVE purchasing things on Etsy!




4. Thanksgiving! I've been working on this product since the beginning of October, and I'm glad to finally have it finished! I hope you'll check it out! I'm still trying to get my Thanksgiving word work activities together. Be sure to check back soon for them- my plan is to have them in my store by Halloween!
 
 
5. My girl in a box... She is climbing all over and getting into everything! Amelia is so much fun right now, but she is definitely keeping me on my toes! Ya never know where she is going to turn up! ;)



I hope you all enjoyed your week, and you check in with Doodlebugs to find out what other teachers have been up to!

Thursday, October 3, 2013

So Thankful!

I'm writing this blog post to say thanks! Thank you to all of you who take the time to read my blog, and to those of you who feel like the products I am creating for Teachers Pay Teachers will help you to educate your kids! I am loving creating things for Teachers Pay Teachers! I am so thankful that it's helping me to want to create better activities for my own class, as well as share them with other teachers! Tonight, I hit a milestone with my store!




I hit over 100 followers!! If you are one of them, I thank you SO much! I honestly can't believe that this many people are interested in what I'm doing! It makes me so happy!! In honor of hitting 100+ followers, I'm throwing a sale! I hope you are able to visit my store, and I hope that you find my products helpful!!

Check out the sale!

Thanks SO much!!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Best Selling Math Product Giveaway!

I am so excited to be part of Carrie and Caitlin's Best Selling Math Product Giveaway! Be sure to check it out at Table Talk with C&C You can win my Comparing and Ordering Numbers set  as well as many other amazing products from some fabulous teachers!! Be sure to check it out!


Saturday, September 21, 2013

Five for Friday (on Saturday)

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for their weekly Five for Friday! Sorry it's a day late! :)
 


1. All About a Number

I'm LOVING including my "All About a Number" bulletin board pack in my calendar time with my kinders! They are really thinking about the number I give them- we use the day of the month that it is. They are getting so good at finding the number on my 100's chart, and then telling the number before it, and after it. My favorite part is that we show it on ten frames and then tell how many groups of ten it is. Decomposing numbers is a standard that is difficult for my kinders, and I really think looking at it daily is helping! Be sure to check it out at my store!!
 
 
2.  My version of Daily 5
 
My kids are doing very well working independently at their Daily 5 centers. We work for 12 minutes at each center, and they know they are expected to work the whole time, and that I (as well as my assistant) are working with our groups and can not talk to them during this time- unless of course it's an emergency. Here are a few pics of some of their centers!
 
Word Work:
 
 
Computer:


Read to Self:

 
3. Trying to be crafty

I'm really trying to include more crafts this year. I'm trying to keep them related to something we are working on, but I feel like sometimes I get caught up in all that we HAVE to do, and I forget that it is kindergarten! Here is our latest... Nothing too fancy, but we had fun! The trees were die-cuts and then I just chopped up construction paper and had my kiddos glue it on. Then all they had to do is fill in the blanks with their names and color words. :) You can find the printable for the writing part of it for free at my store!
 
4. Daddy's Home!
 
My week is always a little bit easier when my pilot husband is home.. This week, I was def a little bit jealous of the fun he was having with Amelia while I was at school! They went to Baby Time at our local library, and then went to check out a new park! I'm so glad she is able to do these things with him, but, I'd be lying if I said I was okay not being part of it... 
 
 



5. Fall is coming!!!

Sorry I don't have a picture, but I'm SO happy it's starting to feel like fall! We've had the windows open, and today we had chili cooking in the crock pot all day and I made another loaf of pumpkin bread! :)

I hope you all had a wonderful week! Don't forget to check out Doodle Bugs to find out what other teachers are up to!




Monday, September 16, 2013

Best Reading Activity Linky and Giveaway!




I am SO excited to be part of another fun giveaway!! Caitlin and Carrie from Table Talk with C&C are hosting a "TpT Best Seller Linky Party and Giveaway" They to wanted to have a linky and giveaway that showcases all of the hard work and dedication to making meaningful and engaging products for our kids!

I'm including my Sight Word Practice Fun pack! It includes 100 pages of cut/ paste sight word practice pages!

Be sure to check it out here!

There are SO many other amazing reading products in this giveaway! Be sure to check it out and enter!

Good Luck!!
 
 


 


Thursday, September 5, 2013

Comparing Numbers in Kindergarten

This week we have been working on KCC6 (Comparing Numbers). We have been working on ordering and comparing numbers 1-5. I was excited to use my fall themed comparing numbers unit! Check it out at my store!


As I said, we are only focusing on numbers 1-5 to begin with, so my kiddos started with this:
 
I gave them a sentence strip, and had them cut these out, put them in the correct order, and glue them to the strip.
 
 



After that, we got out counters. Although there are pictures on the cards that coincide with each number, I find that it helps them visualize better if they are physically putting the counters with the number. So I would pick two numbers, and have them place the correct number of counters on the card.  I then would say "Put your hand on the number that shows more" or "Put your hand on the number that shows less" This was a simple way for me to quickly walk around and assess to see who understand and who doesn't!




 
 
Later I used these to really assess which students understand the idea and which do not. Since they were sitting close to people at their tables during the first activity, we got out our clip boards and spread out around the room. I didn't want anyone to be tempted to check out their friend's answers :)





 

Here they are with their clip boards spread out around my room and working hard!
 


(Obviously you still need to use a clip board even if you are at a table) :)

 
I hope you find this unit to be helpful in your class! Be sure to check out this unit at my store!



Tuesday, September 3, 2013

September Currently!

I'm linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade to share what I'm up to! August is always a little bit crazy, so I'm happy that it's over and we're starting to get into a little bit of a routine!
 
 

Listening:
It's pretty quiet after I put my little girl to sleep, so I hear the news in the background, and my dog Maddie eating her dinner. She refuses to eat until I'm sitting in the room with her.. silly dog :)

Loving:
I'm happy that we're getting closer to fall! Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE summer, but, after school starts, I don't need the hot summer days anymore... I love the cool weather of fall, and I love the clothes as well!

Thinking:
My goodness, from me being sick on Friday (and still not feeling quite 100%) and my daughter getting sick on Sunday, I'm just worn out! I do not feel like we had a long weekend at all.. Ready for bed early tonight, for sure!

Wanting:
I am over the sickness! I was so worried as many of my kids were getting this stomach bug and missing school last week. Although I honestly never get sick, I just had a bad feeling. Sure enough, Friday at 2am.. my turn! I had another kiddo get sick in my room today. You better believe that I am sanitizing as often as possible!

Needing:
I'm excited to be an assistant coach for Girls on the Run this fall! I was a running buddy a few years ago, but this is the first year that I've helped coach! It's such a wonderful program, but I'm also thinking that this is the perfect thing to make me get back in shape!

Be sure to check out what other teachers are currently up to!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

A Day in the Life...

 
 
I'm linking up with Jessica at First Grade Nest with A Day in the Life of a Teacher. I'm back to school and my life is crazy hectic! I didn't even get pictures taken during the afternoon at school because it was so busy. Here is a little peek at my world. Be sure to check out what all of the other teachers are up to!!
 
 
 
 
Coffee is my MUST in the morning! Today it was paired with oatmeal, and my sleeping hubby. hehe :) Pilot life is crazy too-so I don't mind that he sleeps a little later than me; he's always ready to go when our daughter wakes up and this makes my morning MUCH easier when he is home!
 

Time for school. First thing we do after we all go to the cafeteria for breakfast is calendar. Check out my chevron decor set here!

Next is center time. I do my own spin on Daily 5. But for now, we're still getting used to working quietly in centers. Today we used our computers, worked on Read to Self, made our names in play dough, and worked on matching some rhyming pictures!

 
Like I said earlier; things are still a little bit crazy in kindergarten! I was trying so hard to take pictures of everything, but I pretty much missed the afternoon! Our afternoons include specials, math stations, and recess.. But after all of that, I'm ready to get home to see my sweet family.. Every day I sit in this traffic, but I have the best welcoming committee ever when I finally get home! :)
 
 

 

 
 
Another plus on the days I have my hubby at home- he cooks! Tonight was quesadillas, which was a first for Amelia.. but she LOVED it!
 
 
 
After dinner we hung out in Amelia's room for a bit to look at all of the books she hadn't looked at already today! This little girl is OBSESSED with books, and of course I love it! She and her daddy had already read just about every book in our basement and her books on the first floor.. The ones in her bedroom were catching her attention!
 

To finish off this day, we decided to hit up Brusters. We asked Amelia if she wanted to get ice cream, and she said "yeh" and walked towards the door. So we can blame her for this one! ;)

I hope all of you are enjoying getting back in the swing of things!!! Be sure to check out First Grade Nest to see what the other teachers are up to!!