Miss Heidi is coming, Miss Heidi is coming!!!

There are just SIX more sleeps until MISS Heidi comes to not only MICHIGAN, but to MY school! We chat on facebook and I feel like she's an old friend now! I personally can't wait to spend the day with her at the Michigan Kindergarten Conference!! Not only that, but Heidi has been so gracious to agree to spend some time with my little kiddos after school. But wait, it gets BETTER. My principal has arranged for transportation for all the kids who ride the bus for after the event! Can you tell we are EXCITED?
If you haven't heard of Miss Heidi, she's just amazing:) She's developed a great program(Heidi Songs) to help kids use singing and motions/movement to learn to recognize letters, numbers and sight words. She also has many other great products available! Check out her website HERE!

What I love about Heidi is she is the real deal. She's an actual classroom Kindergarten teacher in a high needs school! Plus she is not only creative and keeps making great products, but she has a giving heart! She has a great blog to that gives freebies to her subscribers. I love that!
 You can get updates on new products and freebies HERE!

I knew the power of song and movement quite early in my teaching career. HOWEVER, I really didn't use Heidi's materials to their full potential until last year. (I've had some of her items for the past 6 years!) Just recently I ordered Jumpin Numbers and Shakin Shapes. I've played the DVD for less than two weeks. My kids KNOW those songs and the motions! I can't wait to see how great this translates into progress for my littles who struggle with numbers!

I know this has been a supercharged advertisement for Heidi Songs. The truth is, when I really love and believe in a company and product, I shout it from the rooftops!
So if you haven't check out Heidi Songs, do it now!
(For the record, in a poll taken by three K classes in my school, our favorite songs are Black and 7!!)

I'll be sure to update with pictures from our meeting!

Whew! Conferences are over! (For the most part!)

November is always such a mad dash! Between wrapping up Halloween (and when Halloween is on a weekday having the over candied detox the next day) and finishing quarterly report cards, there are some REALLY long days!
We are moving full steam ahead with Daily 5. My kids do an AMAZING job. SO much so, that I worked my guided groups out, about 2 months earlier than normal! I have a "daily 5" purple folder (Yes, my theme is purple and white for KState Wildcats!) in their caddies/baskets. We also keep writing journals and crayons/pencils, etc in there. These caddies tend to get MESSY. When I had cubbies, I had a cubby fairy. Well, here comes the caddy fairy to the rescue! I made these cute labels for the clean caddies! I know I have ONLY one, so I will put this on their table in the morning, with four treats (treats that aren't out already!:)

 Grab it here!











This year's conferences were held in the cafeteria. While it was nice to sit next to other K teachers so we could talk ideas when not conferencing, it also meant not getting ANY work done in my room during down time! I did however do two new things at conferences this year.
1. I made song books from my Heidi Songs download for the Sing and Spell #1 cd. We are using this first list as our "base" word this year in my school . We practice the songs daily and I wanted something for the kids to use at home. Not only can they SING the words, but they can READ the words too! You can view this product here! (It's a GREAT purchase for $5!) If you haven't heard of Heidi Songs, check out her website HERE:) This is SUCH a great tool!!

2. I made word rings with the words from Sing and Spell #1. Basically I made a table with 25 blanks (3 per row, 8 rows plus one extra box). I typed each of the words in the table. Then I printed on green paper, laminated and cut apart. Punch a hole in the same corner for all words and attach to a metal ring. (I bought mine at Meijer for a little over $2 for 25!) Wahlah!! Then the ring goes home for practice. Once the student can read ALL 25 words with NO help, they go on the pizza party list!
In December we start our pizza parties for students that know all the sight words! This is a GREAT motivator. Once they learn the sight words and turn in their word ring, they get a NEW list. The great thing is they are then able to qualify for the NEXT pizza party if they learn the 2nd list! I usually have 3-4 students who make it up to 2nd grade words! We have parties 2-3 times more during the year so all students have a chance. I give up my lunch one day and we make it a PARTY! In the a.m, the participants make their own placemat on construction paper. I buy pizza, breadsticks, juice boxes and treats. Then I give those kids a "super star" sticker AND a pencil. This is a VERY cool reward for those kids!!



I can't believe November is already almost halfway over!
Have a great week!