SUCH a great song! Love it that I can show this to my kids!

Take a Break and READ!

So all summer long I have been blog-stalking and taking a turn at blogging and Target-diving and thinking about school. And then I began a 14 hour car ride home. And, of course, no internet. So I picked up this:

AND I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN! If you haven't read it, PLEASE take a couple of days and read it! It has absolutely nothing to do with education and yet is very educational---and entertaining. It's fiction. And I loved it. So before you go back to school, before you HAVE to start doing all of those things you are hankering to do----take 14 hours and READ this book. You won't be disappointed. (Read it now---the movie opens on August 10. And we all know the book is always better than the movie.) Let me know what you think of it!

And the Winner is........

Wow! I am totally blown away by all the great ideas for the Altoids tins!! It was SO hard to pick just ONE winner! But (drumroll, please) the winner is........

 Wild About Kindergarten! You can read about her idea, and all of the other fantastic Altoids tins ideas, here. Also, here are a couple of the ideas that I had for their use:

Categorizing Boxes:  Each box contains a set of three “alike” things (either the small items OR pictures) and one thing that is different. Students choose a box, then decide which thing doesn’t belong. If done at the beginning of kindergarten, students TELL a buddy why it doesn’t belong. If done at the END of kindergarten, OR the beginning of first grade, students would then WRITE about WHY that thing doesn’t belong. The explanation is the key to critical thinking in this activity. To view my original post on categorizing, click here.

Name Game: (middle of the year for kinder, beginning of the year for first grade) Each student gets a copy of their name to cut apart into letter strips. The letter strips go into individual, unmarked tins.  In a literacy center, students choose a box and arrange the letters in the box to make a classmate’s name. They can use the “Friends” word wall to help them make names. For accountability, you could add a recording sheet. Students would choose a certain number of tins (I would say 5) and record those names on the sheet.

Who Loves Target?

EVERYONE! Especially when they are carrying a $10 gift card! That could be YOU! Remember to submit your ideas for the educational reuse of Altoids tins. You might be the lucky winner of a $10 Target gift card! See the original post here. And please spread the word!

$10 Target Card??

Calling all creative minds! I have a bunch of these larger Altoid tins, and a few of the smaller ones, stored in my classroom, just waiting to be used! I would LOVE to have your creative ideas on how to use them in the classroom! I have a few ideas.....but I am sure YOU have a TON more! Tell me: how would YOU use these? The person who comments with the best, most creative educational use for these tins, as decided by ME, will win a $10 gift card to Target! So, let's hear it! Comments will close at midnight on Tuesday, July 19. And please: spread the word!

Stirring of Excitement

I think I am finally read to start thinking about the beginning of a new school year. It's hard to get motivated to stay inside and "work" when the front door is calling me outside to this:

What prompted this stirring of excitement? The $$ spot at TARGET! Being on vacation this month, in a town that has two stoplights, where the nearest WalMart is 30 minutes away, we have been "deprived" of the retail enticements that such large stores have. So when my daughter and I volunteered to take the MIL to the airport, I admit that we might have had a little ulterior motive (drivethelongwayhomesowecangotoTarget.) Oh. my.goodness. Am I glad we did! I realize that the following pics will make this post way longer than necessary, but I have to share. Here's my haul:

 Mini Pocket Chart--LOVE this! Got three, wish I had gotten more!

 GREAT "sorting" cards for categorizing.

 Capital/Lowercase Alpha Puzzles and Sets to 10 Puzzles

 Bookmarks for STARS and KinderKids Reading Club

 Table Tags with Alphabet Line

This one's kind of hard to see---Animal Action Words 

Card Set

 Calendar Headers for Writing Station

 Small Reusable Dr. Seuss Bags--Portable Station?

Locker Mirrors

(magnetic--to hang on the "Making Words" side of

the filing cabinet--I bought 5)

My "almost favorite"--GIANT 

coffee cup. I think it's supposed to be for ice cream,

but it's microwavable, and it's already had it's first filling

of coffee. (Gilmore Girls, anyone?)

THESE were my favorite find. They're end-of-the-pencil

erasers. We'll use them as pointers.

There WERE a lot of other items that I didn't buy, contrary to what my husband thinks. But I tried to use some restraint. Because NEXT week, we have to go back to the airport. And there just MIGHT be a good reason for me to volunteer again (inoticedadollartreeacrossthestreetfromtarget.) Until then, I think I'll go sit by the lake and read the next chapter of The Book Whisperer.

AMAZING New Blogger

Have you visited Donna's blog, Peace, Love, and Learning? She is quite amazing!! I just LOVE her blog!! She is quite generous about sharing what she has made, too. Head on over to her blog and get this goodie!

Cheater Reader/Ready Reader Poster

While reading Debbie Diller's Spaces and Places book, I saw a poster in a teacher's classroom with similar wording to the one I created, below. I will be using it in my reading corner to help my kinders understand what is expected from "real" readers. Is this something you can use? Click on the picture to download, and please leave me a comment!