#chocolateaddict

Pass the chocolate. 

Do not stop. 

Do not collect 200 dollars. 

Until you PASS THE CHOCOLATE. 

If I didn't have chocolate on days like today... you might find me hiding in a closet. Just kidding. Not really. Sometimes a girl has just gotta have chocolate. 

I keep a candy bucket in my classroom for the kids. Well, I say it is for the kids. I WILL share. ;-) 

It has Hershey Kisses, Snickers, and chocolate caramel thingys inside. 

Literally, I teach my kinders to pay attention with M&M's. Don't judge. They love me for it.

Where do you hide your chocolate in the classroom? I think about these things.

Is it in the cabinet?

Is it in your desk?

Is it disguised as candy for your kids?

HEAVY SIGH. #chocolateaddict 

I digress... 

Let's get to the point. 

Who needs a candy themed counting freebie? This is a great way to reinforce counting to 100 by ones and tens. Here is a little video to show you how...

Link to the freebie: http://hyperurl.co/ayjtkf 

P.S. Tell me what helps you make it through your day? Are you addicted to chocolate like me? 

P.S.S. Like this freebie? Follow me on TpT and let's be social! 

Apple Week

One of my favorite weeks during the school year is my apple week unit.

1. Because peanut butter and apple slices are one of my favorite snacks.
2. I love anything APPLE scented. If you send me apple candles or bake me an apple pie, I just might be your BFF. :-)

Quickly, here are a few of my favorite activities.

First, I gotta to have my famous apple tree bulletin board.

We count how many apples tall we are and graph the results. 

We conducted the "Germy Apple" experiment and draw the daily observations. This was a neat freebie I found on TpT. 

Here is an apple week freebie for you!

Want to hear more about my classroom shenanigans and apple goodness? Visit me at www.bonniekathryn.blogspot.com 

10 Ways to End the School Year Stress Free

Here in the South (US) we have had a rainy day. POURING. So, I took my fish for a walk.

 

 

Not really...but it is funny right? I thought we might need a laugh. How much do you laugh? Did you know that children laugh more than 300 times per day? Did you know that adults laugh less than 20 times per day? Laughter can reduce levels of stress, aid in digestion, and improves blood flow to the heart.

 

We are at the time of the year where many of us are stressed. We are pushing to survive the 4th quarter and finish our year strong. Can I get an AMEN!?! Do you look like this?

 

 

 

I wanted to take a moment today to encourage you. So, here are 10 ways to end your year stress free!

 

1. Laugh

We get so busy in our day thinking about the papers that need to be graded by the end of the day, the team meeting we have to go to after school, preparing for that team meeting, how to differentiate for that struggling student, the parent email you need to respond to, and the list goes on! Don't let those moments consume you. Take a moment to listen to student conversations. That will often give you a reason to chuckle. If your students find something that is funny, laugh with them. They will love it and it will make you feel better too!

 

2. Plan Your Day

Write down what you need to accomplish in the day. Do not write down any more than what has to be accomplished. Writing more than what needs to be accomplished will make your list overwhelming and you will be discouraged at the end of your day when you don't accomplish it all. If everything does not get finished, it is OKAY.

 

3. Take a Moment to Pause

There are some days when we need "welcomed interruptions." Look for those moments in your day. It may be a child that says "Will you read with me?" or "Can I tell you a story?" I promise the moments you take to listen to their stories will be rewarding.

 

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien,

 

4. Encourage

I believe that encouraging others is always a good dose of healthy medicine. When we take time to encourage others we take the focus off our self and we are thinking about the well being of others. The Bible tells us "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up others." Ephesians 4:29

 

 “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

5. Exercise

I am not a huge exercise buff, but I do know that exercising decreases the amount of stress you have in your life. It also helps you to feel better.

 

So take a walk around the block or......

 

6. Have a Dance Party

I'm not kidding. You don't have to be the best dancer. Dancing can elevate that heart rate and put a smile on your face at the same time. I have dance parties in my classroom. Here is a little song we like to dance to in my room.

 

 

 

7. Spend Time with Family

Remember that to do list of yours? Now, I want you to PUT IT DOWN. Eventually your job will end and you will one day retire, but you can never get back moments you have with your children and your family. Make it a priority to spend time with your family. Take a bike a ride. Play a board game. Steal a few snuggles on the couch.

8. Be Grateful

In a moment of stress, list things that you are grateful for in your life. Here are a few of mine: I serve a God that loves me, I have a loving family, I have food to eat, I have encouraging coworkers, I am healthy.

9. Prayer

I understand that some of you may not believe in God or may have a different belief system than what I believe. However, my faith is the biggest factor to my stress free life. God did not promise that we would not live a life that was stress free or pain free, but He did promise that he would walk through life with us. Begin your day in prayer. Thank God for his blessings and ask him for guidance through the day. Look for ways to serve Him and make His glory your priority.  

10. Smile

This last one should not come as a surprise to you. If laughing reduces stress, then of course smiling will have the same effect. Studies show that people who smile improve their heart health. After a stressful meeting, choose happiness and leave with a smile. Teach your students to smile at passing classes and teachers in the hallways.

 

Here is a picture of me and one of my cute kiddos taking a moment to smile.

 

 

 

Comment below with ways you kick stress in the booty!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bible in the Classroom

Hi all! I am from Bonnie Kathryn Kinders and Beyond. I know many of you can not teach Bible in your classrooms. However for those Christian and Catholic school teachers, I hope that you can find this to be helpful. For other teachers, you might find it interesting how I teach writing to my kindergarteners. I have had many requests from teachers wanting to know about my writing process. I plan on writing a future post about Kindergarten writing on my personal blog.

With out further ado...

We have been studying David in our Bible time. This week my Daily 5 centers have been used to reinforce what we have been learning in our Bible time. I like to use Daily 5 to expand on our science and social studies lessons.

As a Christian school teacher, I try to integrate Bible throughout our day. I want my kids to know and understand that our walk of faith is more than sitting down for 15 minutes in the morning to read our Bible story.

Over the past week, we have talked about the life of David. I am teaching my kids Psalm 23 through sign language. Click here for a great website to look up signs for scripture.

Along with our curriculum, I read to my kids from the Jesus Storybook Bible. I love this Bible because each story points to Christ. We will read through the whole Bible by the end of the school year. I really like how the author refers to Jesus as the rescuer. If you want a sample of what this Bible is like, here is the video we watched about David from the Jesus Storybook Bible.

I sometimes use our snack time to show a video that relates to Bible, Science, or Social Studies.

I used the story of a David to introduce a writing assignment. We are currently talking about writing stories with a beginning, middle, and a end. In the past, I have read books where we have discussed the different parts of a book. I had my kinders brainstorm with me and we wrote this story together.

After our whole group time, I then gave them the assignment to retell the story of David. I helped them by writing a few words on the board that they requested. I released my kinders to start the assignment. I walked around for a few minutes and then I started calling my reading groups back to meet with me.

Here are a few pictures of them writing and the finished product. I just love their little drawings!

 

 

I used this worksheet for word work today. I like to change my word work centers to reflect the theme for the week. I also use it to integrate Science and Social Studies. Last week we went to the circus, so this week we have had circus activities in word work and work on writing.

 

 

If you are looking for ways to integrate Bible into your centers and curriculum, you can find my People of the Bible series here.

Blessings!

Sight Word Fun

Hi! I am Bonnie Kathryn from Kinders & Beyond. I teach kindergarten in a private Christian School.

As a kindergarten teacher, learning sight words is an important part of our school year. Sight words can become mundane and dull quickly if you don't keep it fun!

I have found a few ways that my kids love to help them learn sight words.

1. Slap It: We play this game during small group reading. I lay all the sight words down in front of the kids. I randomly call a sight word and the first person to slap the word gets to keep the flash card. *Warning* This game can get intense. You may want to lay down some ground rules. :-)

2. Sight Word Centers: We talk about using sight words to build sentences. When I am introducing a new sight word, I always give them a sentence frame for the sight word. After any write the room activity, the students go to a pocket chart to build sentences using the sight words they know. I have a recording sheet where students write the sentence and draw a picture to describe. I change out write the room weekly.

3. Sight Word Glasses: I tell my kids that these super special glasses help them read words and find sight words in books. The picture below shows my co-worker's son. She agreed to let me show you his face. :-) I could just eat my kids with a spoon when they wear the glasses!! I glued little eyes on the bow part of the glasses. It is an extra set of eyes to help them read.

4. Sight Word Go Fish: My KIDS LOVE THIS! I am sure I am not the first teacher who thought of this. However, I had to share because my kids love it.

Click the picture to download the sight word pre-primer and primer Go Fish for free.

5. Sight Word Watches from The Moffatt Girls. I believe this was genius! My kids love wearing them and think they are sooo cool wearing them down the hallway. I give my kids a piece of candy if they can manage to keep it on all day and tell me the word at the end of the day.

You just read my favorite ways to teach sight words. Comment below with your favorite ways to teach sight words.

I would love to have you join me on my blog and Facebook.