Some Days!!!

Well, some days make you question your sanity!  

I had some soft music playing in the background and the little fish were working on a sheet of putting in missing numbers.  I was walking around observing and well someone needed some one on one.  I squatted down beside them and we started counting, you get the picture. Well I heard someone snicker so I stood up to see what was going on and I see her neighbor with his glue bottle, the lid off, it was turned upside down and glue dripping out.  

Yep there it is.  I calmly sent him to refocus and walked away.  I am sure there was steam coming out of my ears.  Why or why?  The joys of Kindergarten, but I promise I wouldn't want to do anything else.  

Well a couple of days ago I posted Pirate Pals.  I gave you a sneak peak last week.  The little fish loved it!  I heard one fish humming our pirate chant as they were working today.  I couldn't help but smile. Here are a few pictures.  I am the worse at taking pictures.  This is all I could find.  I always get wrapped up in what they are doing and forget to snap away.

Ten frames.  I was out of black play-dough so I used brown instead.  I think black play-dough would look like cannon balls.

We had read several pirate books.  Their favorite being "How I Became A Pirate" by Melinda Long.  We also read some non-fiction books about pirates, being very careful of what was read aloud ;)

We used our circle map to create this tree map.  I use a colored coded method.  We write three things under each verb: can, have, are. We then circle can with red and choose one of the three things that pirates can do. Have in yellow, and are in blue in the same fashion.  They then make sentences on lined paper and think they have written the best story EVER!  I have them hanging in the hall with their pirate pictures.  But guess what? NO PICTURE on the camera!  Ugh!  This is our forth writing like this in three weeks. They are doing so much better.  We are working on spacing, starting a sentence with capital letters, and adding punctuation.  I throw these in between Writers Workshop that I model after Deanna Jump.  

Soooo.....Pirate Pals is now on TPT.  I hope y'all enjoy it!

Hey keep swimming out there!

2013 Conference for Tennessee Kindergarten Teachers

I had the most wonderful day learning today!  I had the pleasure to go with my whole, wonderful Kindergarten Team to the Kindergarten conference for TN today.  It was so nice to be around all kinds of people just like me.  

See how excited we are!

We started the day with Jack Hartman.  I bet you weren't ever in a room full of grown men and women dancing to kids songs this morning.  He was great!  Nothing like a grown woman dancing around the stage in a chicken custom before 9am!!!

But the best part of the day was spent listening to Deanna Jump.  Yep you heard me right.  I sat through four awe inspiring sessions of hers today.  If you ever get a chance to go and hear her, please do.  And guess who else was there, my friend Greg from Smedley's Smogasboard!

I was so excited to get this picture!

I also got to meet Elizabeth Hall from Kickin' it in Kindergarten and got a surprise from Kim from Kindergarten Gals.  I didn't even know she was in the picture until I saw it on my camera when I got home.

Too Funny!

Looks like too much fun, right?

Thanks guys for all the greatness you shared today!  I was blessed to be there.  And guess what?  I won something from Deanna!  My name was actually pulled out the bag.  So I get to go shopping and see what I want from her store.  How great is that?  Hmm, now what do I pick off my llllooonnnggg TPT wish list?

I hope y'all had a great of a day as I did.  Keep swimming out there!

Yes, it is me again!  I know 2 days in a row, WOW!

I took my camera out today and took some snap shots.  I didn't get to my scarecrows last week so I finished up today.  My kids loved the book "The Little Scarecrow Boy" by Margret Wise Brown.  I made a giant scarecrow with 6 crows (which I didn't get a picture of) and we found all the ways to make 6.  They really had to think, but loved counting the crows on each arm.  We made addition equations with how many crows were on each of his arms.  It was inspired by Scarecrow Unit: TONS of Math, Literacy, & Writing Activities! by A Spoonful of Learning.  Link below.

After we completed the math, we did a circle map about scarecrows.  Then completed a tree map of what 

scarecrows can, have, and are. 

See, I did take pictures.  They then took the tree map, pick one from each category, and  wrote sentences. We are working on spacing, capitalizing the first letter of the sentence, and punctuation at the end.  And of course the actual doing it.  Whew!  Enough to wear you out.  

They are trying so hard.  This is our third attempt.  I am pleased with their progress.  WELLLLLL.....the crazy flip flop teacher decided that she should use Greg's (Smedley's Smorgasbord) scarecrow from his glyph.  I am not sure what I was thinking after a weekend of Halloween candy and them being exhausted at the end of the day with the time change...but we did it.  Take a look!

Yep that is 20 of them.  All 20 little fish were there today and that was 80 arms and legs to fold.  Whew yet again.  But they worked so hard.  We had a brain break after this.  Shh don't tell, I think it was more for me than them, hehe.  But most of all, we had fun and they were learning.  

Just keep Swimming out there!

A Pirate's Life for Me!

I know Halloween is over but I love pirates!  I saw Melonheadz Peter Pan and Pirates clip art and it inspired me to write a Pirate Unit!  I woke up at 3:30, I thought it was 4:30 with the time change, ugh, and I had a pirate poem running through my head.  So I had to get up right then and write it down.  Do any of you have moments like that in the middle of the night?  My husband thinks I am nuts.  I fixed a few problems with it them went straight to the computer and started creating it.  He rolled over and started snoring!  Imagine that? In the middle of my awe inspiration.  Oh well, I had to listen to him write a song about Jelly Fish this afternoon, over and over he sang it.  To each their own :)

So this week I am going to show you what I taught my little fish about Pirates.  It is P week after all.  Pigs and Pirates, lol!  I have made myself promise that I will carry my camera in my pocket all day so I won't miss anything.  My little fish are always doing such amazing things and I never have my camera, or I am caught up in their excitement.  I have go to do better.  Who likes a blog with out pictures. And speaking of pictures...here are a few teasers of what to look for.

I can't wait to get it finished.  I don't know when y'all do pirates but I am doing it next week.  Instead of wheels from Journeys...shshshshshshsh.  Don't tell!  Hehe

Have fun out there and JUST KEEP SWIMMING!

Hello out there.  I hope all of you are enjoying your day. I am at the beginning of a two week long Fall Break.  Yippee!  And...my wonderful husband surprised me with a trip to the beach.  If you know me at all, you know the beach is my favorite place to be!  Double yippee!  Can you guess where I am?

I am sitting here crossed legged on the bed looking up at the ocean as I write this.  Sigh...if only life could always be like this.  

OK, down to business.  I woke up early, like a teacher ever can sleep in, and I started working on a fun new product.  It's punch cards.  I am sure most of you know what they are.  I haven't introduced them to my little fish yet, but I hope they will like them.  I have beginning sounds and numbers.  I also am going to include empty ten frames to add play-dough balls to.  They love anything to do with play-dough.  Well here is a sneak peak.  Let me know what you think or what else you would like to see included.

I think it is turning out cute.  

Ok, can I just say that Greg Smedley is my hero.  I don't know how he can blog every single day, but he does and with such wit.  He is definitely the rock star of Kindergarten blogging.  He threw out a wave in my direction the other day on his blog picks.  I thought I better get my b... in gear and write something.  So here is to Greg!  Love you guy!!!

Oh, I have to show you what I bought on a shopping trip on the boardwalk with my daughter.  Can you say flip flop stuff?!!  I had to hold myself back there was so much of it.  The only thing that kept me in check was my husband sitting outside waiting on my to bring out what I bought.  That will always do it.  But look at all the cuteness...

Just look at all those flip flops!

OK, I am off for a walk on the beach then ice cream...aren't you jealous?

Just Keep Swimming!

Happy Saturday!!!

It is a beautiful day here in Music City after a calm rainy night.  I know, I know, I haven't been here forever, and here is why...

The 5 foot 11 inch freshman Volleyball queen.

Who also plays Sax in the band.

So if any of you are a band mom or a mother of an athlete, just imagine doing all this at the same time with honors and AP classes.  We are barely alive.  But it seems today I have a couple of hours so I am blogging, yep you heard me right.

So here is what has been going on in A Flip Flop Kindergarten!  I have a fantastic group of 19 kids. Smarting than the average fish.  We have been busy learning how to navigate centers which have included Literacy Centers Station, Reading Station, Writing Station, Listening Station, Computer Station, Pocket Chart Station, Magnet Station, and Working With Words Station.  We have been working up to 20 minutes of whispering and staying in our area.  So far so good.  Next week they will experience the queen fish wearing her crown, hehe!  That is when I wear my crown at the guided reading table and no can bother me unless there is BLOOD OR FIRE!  And YES it works.  Wish me luck :)

I am loving using Deanna Jumps Writing Through the Year!!!  

The kids are loving it too.  They love getting to choose what they are writing about, but some how the big fish teacher got them to write about things that begin with M, and nouns and verbs, and characters and settings.  It must be magic, hehe!  Here is a look at some of their work. They are working so hard.

Well my evaluation for this semester is Monday.  It seems like the year just started.  I can't believe I am already having to think about this, but oh well.  It will be done and over with.  I created a lesson on Fall Positioning Words.  So you know I had to create something to go with it.   I made the cutest book and power point with graphics from Melonheadz.  I really like what she does.  Check it out. Click on the picture below for a link to my TPT store.

Fall Positioning Words Book

 I have already sold some this week without even telling anyone they are out there.  That really made me smile. So here is the power point I  did to introduce the lesson.  Click on the picture below for a link to my TPT store. 

I hope you enjoy it.  And don't forget to say a little prayer on Monday about 12:30 CST.  

Have fun out there and keep swimming!!!

Hey y'all!

Wow what a week!  The first week of school always exhausts me.  I know I have fallen asleep in my chair every night this week around 6pm.  Only to get up and chase after a high school-er that is in band and volleyball.  I thought, once I got back into school, I would have so much to blog about, and I do but I was too beat to even open my blog page.   But it is Friday...and that some how gives a teacher more energy.

I have a great group of little fish this year.  I love teaching in a diverse area.  I have students that are Asian, Kurdish, Latino, Arabic, African-American, and Caucasian.  Only one that is silent out of 19.  That won't last long :)

This week we worked on procedures.  Nothing sets the tone for the year as this first week does.   I spent a lot of time on simple things.  Some of them were how to: sit on the carpet, push in a chair, go to the bathroom, walk down the hall, eat in the cafeteria, hold a pencil, use glue and scissors, and some whole brain teaching concepts too.  It is always eye opening at the beginning of each year, just how far they go by the end of Kindergarten.  So many of them rely on their parents to do everything for them.  I work hard to make them independent.  Some of them just look at me with wide eyes and I can hear them thinking...she wants me to do that all by myself.  LOL!  And guess what?  They are amazed they can do it and grin from ear to ear.

One thing I forgot to do this week...I forgot to tell them I would be back to pick them up from the cafeteria after they ate.  I had three crying when I came back the first day.  I felt so bad.  I never dreamed they thought I wasn't coming back for them.  One of the little fish said, "Mrs. Tomes...I thought you weren't going to come back and get us and it was crazy in there."  I couldn't help but give her a hug and tell her I would be back each day to get her from each place we went outside of the room.  Kindergarten is like no other teaching job and I love it so much.

I took a couple of snap shots of what has been going on in my classroom this week.  Besides procedures, I introduced A-E and the numbers 0-2.  It was just a quick intro, more in depth is coming later, but it gave me a quick assessment of where my fish are.  We also read lots of books about the first of Kindergarten, including Pete the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes.  Oh my, did they love this book!  I am not sure how many time I read it this week.  We did a tour of the school with a Groovy School Tour from http://mrsliretteslearningdetectives.com  The fish loved it!

Today we did self portraits from Character Clips by Krista Walden.  They turned out adorable.  Take a look!

Aren't they great?

Check her out on Teacher's Pay Teachers:  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Doodle-A-Face-Creative-Clips-Digital-Clipart-655616  

We also worked on our names this week.  One of the things we did was glue beans on our name.  It was a great way to practice gluing techniques as well as learning what our name looks like.  They turned out really cute.  Here they are drying on the table.

I got my new stamps from Oriental Trading this week!  It was like Christmas.  They are really big however.  I am wondering how to store them.  If any one has any ideas, please let me know!

I hope ya'll had a fantastic week.  Mine seemed to be :)  Keep swimming out there!