My Limo Ride

I am dead set against fundraisers in schools that involve children selling things. The items are overpriced and the school gets very little - usually less than $5 per item. In that case, I would rather write the school a $5 check.

My daughter's church youth group had an excellent fundraiser. They send home a small styrofoam cup with a lid. On the outside, they taped a label with instructions to fill the cup with loose change and return by a certain date, along with information about the reason for the fundraiser. We spent a couple of weeks filling that cup with spare change and ended up with over $20! How's that for a fundraiser? And every child can be involved with that because it's just change, right?

Well, my school did a fundraiser earlier in the year. (I can't believe 1/3 of the school year is over already, and I can talk about things that happened earlier in the school year) The kids got certain rewards for selling a certain number of items. One of the rewards was a ride in a limo to a restaurant for lunch. How exciting! I had several students going, so I got to ride in the limo, too.

I've never ridden in a limo!

As a first-timer, a did it up big. I wore a boa and dark glasses and brought some for my students. We took pictures and had a fabulous time. We got to be celebrities for a couple of hours.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I felt I needed to write about my experience.

When I stepped into the limo, I imagined the world would look different. But it didn't. The grass was still brown and dying. The same buildings and trucks and people lined the street. A limo doesn't change the world. And I imagine that any number of fine things wouldn't either. It's how you look at your world that makes a difference.

God Bless!

Jayna

New Product on Teacher Pay Teachers

I just added a new product on teachers pay teachers. It's another original song...well, 6 original verses added to 2 verses of a Barney & Friends song. "If All the Raindrops" can be purchased here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/If-All-the-Raindrops

Why do we have to pay for it? Why can't you just post it here?

Because I'm a starving teacher AND a starving writer for Pete's Sake! I would have to go and pick two of the most underpaid professions in the free world. So this teacher/writer a bone, would ya?

Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Jayna

Teachers Pay Teachers

Awhile back, I joined Teachers Pay Teachers. It's a site where teachers can post their original songs, worksheets, spreadsheets, printables, and more. You set the price, and others can buy your products. It's been so long that I had forgotten about it, but I got my first sale! Whoo-hoo! Follow the link below to order your copy of my original song, "Letters on the Bus."

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Letters-on-the-Bus

And keep checking for more products. I'm pumped now!

Jay

Endorsement for The Writing Claw!

Last year, I order a set of writing claws for my students who had pencil grip issues. They are amazing. The owner sent me an email, asking me to review the product. I happily obliged, and I just discovered today that my review is posted on their website. Check it out:

http://writingclaw.com/NewTestimonials.aspx

If you haven't tried them, I would highly recomment them. They aren't expensive and you get a bunch. I shared with a couple of other teachers.

Let me know what you think.

Jay

Featured at the Institute for Children's Literature

I am so thrilled! Thanks to a heads up from some new blog readers, I discovered that one of my blog entries was featured in the Children's Writer's eNews from the Institute for Children's Literature (ICL), also known as Jan Field's Rx List for ICL. This is really special to me because I didn't request to be featured in the newsletter. My blog was "discovered" and rewarded for its merit. It's nice to know that people are really reading my blog and that I truly do have something to offer others. This also explains the recent surge in membership to my Yahoo! Group. Thanks everybody!!! Below, I have copied and pasted the part of the newsletter that has my feature.

Children's Writers eNews
September 11, 2008
"The Write Words to Read"
The Institute of Children's Literature
http://www.institutechildrenslit.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If you're not scared, you're not writing.... A state of anxiety is the writer's natural habitat."
--Ralph Keyes, The Courage to Write (Henry Holt and Company, 1995)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
1. News For You: Chat is Back!
2. New: "Attention to Detail" with Bev. Cooke
3. Vintage Goodie
4. Next Guest Speaker Event
5. Come Hang Out in Chat
6. A Blog Worth Reading
7. An Agent List
8. Article
9. Critique News
10.Good News

Lucky #7 is mine and here's the rest:

7. Agent List

This lady has created a list of children's writing agents who are accepting queries.http://delynfisherromance.blogspot.com/2008/03/gift-for-you-writers.html This one is for everyone who has asked how you find a list of agents for children's writers.

All I can say is, "WOW!" Thanks and glad I could be of service.

Please visit my writing blog to see the list: www.delynfisherromance.blogspot.com

Jay

Author/Teacher Laura English Gives Me a Shout Out!

Teacher and Author, Laura English, posted a little ditty about yours truly on her blog, Expressing Myself, and I thought I would post it here. If you would like to actually see the photos of her cards, then follow this link: http://lenglish07.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/more-kindergarten-ideas/

Laura writes...

"From a forum that I joined on lulu.com another teacher shared her blog:

http://www.kindergartenkaraoke.blogspot.com. She shares her ideas of what she does in her kindergarten classroom. Well I really liked how she uses the free products you can get from vista.com. So I decided to use one of her ideas as well as come up with one on my own. I used the 250 free business to make a discipline card (idea thanks to the blog above) and then I used the 100 free postcards to send home to the parents to let them know during a certain nine weeks what their child is having trouble learning so they can help them at home. So for those products I only spent $8.50 on shipping. So not bad!

So I am excited to have found this other teacher’s blog to give me these fabulous ideas! I think it’s great when teachers put their ideas out there so that others can view what they have done and utilize it in their classroom setting if it pertains to them. It truly is fantastic and I definitely love to share!"

Right back atcha, Babe!

XOXO
Jay

Week 1 Graph

Boy / Girl Graph

I got this graph idea from www.jmeacham.com, but I altered it for my purposes. Mine is done using construction paper circles in various skin tones. The students drew their faces on the circles. This year, I have twice as many girls than boys!!

Book List for Week 1

"Who Will Go to School Today?" by Karl Ruhmann
"The Teeny Tiny Teacher" by Stephanie Calmenson
"If You Take a Mouse to School" by Laura Numeroff
"Kindergarten Kids" by Ellen Senisi
"Spot Goes to School" by Eric Hill

Viva las Vista!

I just placed a Gi-normous order through VistaPrint for a grand total of $7.99 plus slow shipping of $10.10 to Texas. Here's my loot: (left) rubber stamp with words "I read this word! (space to write the word) I'm a reader!" I plan to use this on student papers for on-the-spot encouragement that they can show parents when they get home.



250 free business cards with my name and contact information. Parents can stick these up on the fridge or keep in their purse or wallet for handy reference.

140 free address return labels. I decided to have fun with this product and use it in a way to reward students for working hard. Instead of "He loves me. He loves me not," I put "I love this work. I love it more." I'll use these as stickers that I can place on student work.


10 free note cards. I made these Thank You note cards for student gifts.





140 free address labels. There are a million uses for address labels. Exhibit #2 - I plan to use these address labels for student journal entries. Each day, we have writer's workshop and journal writing time. Then later in the day (during centers), I'll call the students up one at a time to go over what they wrote that day. According to the principle of 6+1 Writing Traits, at the Kindergarten level, you shouldn't worry about spelling or conventions or whatnot. You should encourage students to write and give them tools to use (at their will) to help their writing. Teachers should perform 1-1 interviews about each piece of writing. These are the questions to ask about a paper: whether the student thinks it's a good piece or not, what they think they need to improve on, and what they like most about the work. You could use a smiley face scale:

: ) excellent
: good
: ( needs work

I couldn't do those symbols on the label, so I just left it blank, and I'll fill in the answer. This makes the interviews go much smoother. * Here's a tip I learned at a writing workshop: NEVER WRITE ON A STUDENT'S PAPER! If you must comment (and they suggest you don't), use a sticky note.

I got a special offer on this pen, just 1 though. I made it a Happy Birthday pen, and I'll just do separate orders for each birthday and put their names on them. Kinders LOVE pens, probably because they don't get to use them at home. I let them use pens to write on special occasions.






I got a free pad of sticky notes, so I make them "From the Desk of Jay Morton."







250 free business cards. For this batch, I made discipline cards. Last year, I used a half-page template from a friend that said, "I'm still learning, but today I had a hard time..." Then it listed the most frequent infractions. At wrap-up/pack-up time, I would check the appropriate boxes. For this card, I used the following misbehaviors:

- staying quiet at lesson time
- being nice to my friends
- behaving at music/computer
- behaving in the hallway/restroom
- behaving at PE/lunch/library
- playing correctly at centers
- completing my work
- keeping my hands/feet to myself

I've ordered through VistaPrint many times, and they always do a great job. I've never had any problems with them. They recently added a step in the ordering process where they ask you if you are interested in purchasing various products. Just click "skip" or select "no." There aren't any tricks involved. I promise.

Dollar Teaching Goodies

Happy Birthday!

Birthdays are special to little children, so celebrate them in a BIG way in your room. I usually give them a crown and a sticker and a certificate and a trip to the treasure chest for their birthday.

This is a great way to show your administrator and parents that you know the TEKS and that you are focused on teaching them.

Star Helpers

I change my helper chart every year because I can't find anything that I really like. Here is the chart for the upcoming schoolyear.

My change daily and include:

line leader

door holder

electrician (turns out/on the lights)

end friend

schedule keeper

materials manager (passes out supplies to tables)

centers administrator (makes sure the centers are cleaned properly)

equipment supervisor (carries the bag of balls to the playground)

pledge leader

office escort

I LOVE BIG WORDS! AND SO DO THEY!

Tooth Chart

I drew this tooth by hand and laminated it. Whenever a student loses a tooth, I take their picture and hang it up. At the end of the year, I send them home. Parents love it!

Behavior Bulletin Board

This is my behavior bulletin board. In the past, I would just write names on the board and then put tally marks beside that. I really wanted something more visual, and I finally found it. Each student has a car. As long as they behave, the car stays on the track. When they first break a rule, they enter the "caution area" on the left. Laps 1-4 are for "warnings." I think 4 warnings is a fair amount for a Kindergartener. After that, they enter the "stop area." First, they receive a "pit stop" or timeout - 1 minute per year of age. If they still can't get their behavior back on track, they must go to the garage to "repairs" on their behavior. This would constitute an extended time-out or total loss of privilege.

Student Work Bulletin Boards

I got this student work bulletin board idea from Mailbox Magazine, I think. For the past two years, I've had an art gallery, where I would place 1 exceptional piece of art each month. This year, I wanted to be able to post more student work and also show a progression of our work throughout the months. I think this will just turn out awesome. Please ignore the mess in the background. I like to work from the ceiling down.
Here are close-ups of each month. I didn't buy anything but posterboard. All the trims and month tags were old stuff I recycled. You don't have to have a lot of money to create a beautiful room.

Your administrators and parents will love the visual progression of the year. They'll be able to see at a glance what all you've been doing and learning.

Thumb-buggy Special!

Just in time for Valentine's day, I have a craft for you crafty people out there. I tested this one today. I got the idea from an old Mailbox magazine.

Cut out a simple flower shape from pink construction paper. Then press each child's thumb in red ink and press it onto the flower in a heart shape. To do this, you stamp the thumb diagonally in 2 directions and have the ends just touching. With a black sharpie, trace a heart around the thumb prints. Draw a head for the lady bug - this is a heart-shaped lady bug - and several dots on the wings. Above, write "Thumb-buggy Special." Below, write "Loves You!" Last, attach a curly pipe cleaner to the bottom with tape. They can wrap the pipe cleaner around their pinky finger themselves. This makes the stem of the pink flower.

I plan on putting this with some tissue paper flowers. They can take it all home on Valentine's and give it to someone special.

Have fun!

Why Kindergarten Karaoke?

What's up with that name? Allow me to explain. Teaching Kindergarten is a lot like open mike night at a karaoke bar. Lectures just don't cut it. Kindergarten teachers must have star quality. They are entertainers as much as they are educators.

We aim for greatness. Everyday we stand up there and give our best performance in hopes that the little tykes we teach will absorb the information necessary to read! I'm hoping that this blog will present useful ideas for Kindergarten teachers to use in the classroom.

There is a lot of fluff and stuff out there. I scan teacher websites and wonder if these people have ever actually tried to do some of those activities with Kinders. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of great ideas out there. I plan on putting them on this blog. But there are some problems.

The two problems I run into the most are: (1) a lot of these great teacher websites are obvious run by teachers with deeper pockets than mine and (2) there are a lot of activities that really aren't at the skill level of an average Kinder.

On this blog, I will only put activities that I have tested and feel are beneficial for average Kinders. Also, I'm married to a teacher, so I don't have any money to spend on materials. I make do with donations and yard sale finds and what I can purchase with my $100 supply budget. Suffice it to say that all activities on this blog will be budget friendly.

Please flag this blog and visit often. And link me up, baby!

Jay