My Sweet Kinders!!

Yesterday, Madden and I went into school to see my sweet babies!! They are so big! I cannot believe how much they have grown in the (AH) 10 weeks I have been out! They all gave me big hugs and told me how excited they were to go to 1st grade... Gosh! I cannot believe that it is that time. My year started out pretty rough. It was so hard to be a first year, pregnant, KINDERGARTEN teacher. I capitalize kindergarten because a lot of my kinder-parents were sending their first or only baby to school. But, I stuck it out and made some new friends (not with my kinders... their parents)! 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm not sure who started this idea ...

                                                  Source: bjanebrewing.com via Chelsey on Pinterest

...but I am doing it for my Kinders. 

I bought squiggly straws at Wal-Mart in packs of 6 for wait for it.... 97 CENTS! Then I bought Kool-Aid Lemonade for 20 cents a pack. Add it all up and I got my 22 kinders cute little summer gifts for $8.40. Plus I have two sweet straws leftover for myself hehehehe

I'm waiting for Faithe to get home from work to help me put them all together and then I will post a picture of how super they turn out! :)

What I'm Reading this Summer...

I'm linking up with Jodi from The Clutter Free Classroom to share my summer reading list. You should, too! She is giving away a $15.00 Amazon gift card and a copy of Ron Clark's book! 

 

This summer I will be spending some time, if I have any :), reading the Daily 5 with Tammy from Live, Love, Laugh Everyday in Kindergarten! I cannot wait for the book study with so many fabulous bloggers!

I also plan on reading The CAFE Book by Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. 

I am determined to become a better reading teacher this year. Especially since we are implementing a more balanced literacy approach in our classrooms. I am very excited about this!! :)

Then I plan to read Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work by Debbie Diller.

 I love our Independent Work Time (literacy centers) and so do my Kinders. It is probably their favorite part of the day apart from recess. Sometimes my Kinders get a little lazy and try to rush through their centers to finish first. Sigh. That is something I want to steer clear of this coming year!

I also plan to catch up on my amateur sleuthing girly mystery series... I started reading them when I was on "house arrest" while pregnant. Of course, once Madden was born, I had NO time to read! I cannot wait to get back into these books. It only takes me about two days to finish one because they are soooo addicting!

Flower Shop Mysteries by Kate Collins

Carson-Dellosa

I kept getting these nagging e-mails from Carson-Dellosa to my teacher address and I kept deleting them before reading. Well, at 2 AM, when I was up feeding little man, I read one! Thank goodness I did, because they are having a sale for up to 85% off a ton of stuff until May 31st. You all need to head over there and snatch up some goodies before the sale is over.

Check out my loot... All for only 26 smackaroos!!

Calendar numbers for my new Ocean themed classroom! 62 cents :)

 Panda and Star with Rainbow notepads.... 87 cents each!

Traditional Manuscript Name Plates... $1.25 for 36!

Fishy Name Plates... Also $1.25 for 36!

Venn Diagram Chart (so I don't have to keep making them on chart paper!)... $1.25!

Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Workbook... $1.95
 

Things That Go Together-- Classifying Board Game... $2.50
I love these games... I just hate to spend so much money on them! 

Comprehension Cubes for Informational Text (which we are all about these days!)... $6.99

Whew! I can't wait to get all my goodies! I don't know about anyone else, but setting up my classroom is one of the most fun things about teaching!!