Behavior Report

When students misbehave, provide an opportunity for them to reflect on their behavior. This can be accomplished by having them fill out a stop and think form, or behavior report. 

1. The first portion allows for the student to pick a specific behavior that was problematic.

2.The second section asks the student to express how they feel about this situation.

3.Third, students think about what actions need to be present in order to make a good choice.

4.On the back of the report, there are three sections for a written response from the student, teacher, and parent.

5.This form also requests that parents sign to confirm receipt. Students are then required to bring this form back to school the next school day.

6.The teacher can place the report in the student's file and have an easily accessible record of behavior incidents. Clipart by ThistleGirl Designs.

Start of the Year Parent Forms

With so many things on your back to school to do list, you might find yourself wondering where to start. A great starting point is to prepare your parent forms. Here are some samples of my parent forms. Click on each image to download! Clipart by DJ Inkers and ThistleGirl Designs. 

Parent Welcome Letter

Student Information Form

Parent Helper Form

Classroom Procedures

Classroom Discipline Plan

Pinterest...

Let me just say that I can't get enough of Pinterest!! After finally getting in to it, I find myself asking what took so long. Pinterest is absolutely the best way to bookmark wonderful finds on the web. But, the best part is: the bookmarks are saved as pictures!! It's like looking at colorful and lovely thumbnails, instead of a list of words or titles. I love that I am able to organize all of my teaching ideas. Since blogging, I am constantly looking through and saving so many teaching resources. You can invest hours searching the web and honing your craft. I sometimes felt like I was hoarding and didn't really know what I had. Then came Pinterest!! Now I can organize these ideas visually, by theme, and with a link for future reference. I have found so many things that I didn't know I was looking for!! 

If you're not on Pinterest yet...you should be!! And, if you're already on, come follow First Grade Factory! Happy sharing!! Clipart by Lettering Delights.

Class T-Shirts

One of the yearly traditions at my school is creating class t-shirts! Each grade level has their own color. As as a school {K-5}, we work together to decide which colors we are going to choose {kinder: yellow, first grade: red, second grade: green, and so on...}. 

Then, each teacher has 
their own class t-shirt. T-shirts are made with students’ own artwork.  Each student creates a self-portrait, along with their classmates’. One lucky student can even draw the teacher!!  

These t-shirts are memorable keepsakes for years to come. Here's my collection so far. Most importantly, our class T-shirts are worn on spirit day, and on all field trips to easily recognize our students and their respective class. 

The company that creates these adorable self-portrait t-shirts is called Whitney Daniels Designs. They are based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Click on the image below for my teacher directions, teacher order form, a sample parent letter, and parent order form. Clipart by ThistleGirl Designs.

All About Me Bag

                                                                                               

                                                                                                                 

Songs That Teach

Hadar at Miss Kindergarten is hosting a Linky Party with the question: 

Do you sing songs in your classroom?

I've found that my students retain information and are more engaged when a concept is tied to a tune. I use songs to teach classroom management routines, math calendar concepts, and reading skills. Here's a download with some of the songs that I use to teach. Enjoy!! Make sure to check out and even join the Linky Party.

Also check out Heidi Butkis' recent post. She gives some wonderful highlights from the “I Teach K! National Kindergarten Conference” from my hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada!! One of the sessions she attended was with author Marilee Sprenger, Ed.D, concerning brain research and its applications in the classroom. Her article called “Wiring the Kindergarten Brain for Reading” discusses the correlation between young children’s physical activity and the increased ability to learn to read.

Just add a little dash of song to that physical activity and you’ve got a recipe for success! Who says we don’t have the best job in the world?   

Back It Up!!!

Laura, at Kinder Kraziness, is hosting a Data Saver linky party. Saving your data is such an important topic. I recently had a friend whose PC crashed. She never backed up any of her files, pictures, etc. Because the hard drive failed, it looks like she will not be able to retrieve any of her items. She is devastated. I would be, too!! Make sure you back up your files before it’s too late. 

Years ago, my first flash drive was 4GB and I rapidly outgrew it. I then purchased an 8GB flash drive. It worked well for holding my documents and PDF files, but its capacity did not have room to store my graphics. This summer, I decided that I was going to update my flash drive and stop playing around with the smaller capacities. 

I did some research at consumersearch.com and found the Corsair Flash Survivor GTR. Here’s what the product description listed:

Reliable, secure storage and backup on your PC. Use it interchangeably with Mac computers without reformatting. Encased in Corsair's trademark water-resistant rubber, the GTR comes with a lanyard and USB extension cable. The Flash Voyager GTR is compatible with Windows and Mac operating systems.

It was important that I purchased a flash drive that was PC and Mac compatible. At home I use a Mac desktop and laptop. At school, however, we are provided with PCs. I decided that I would go for the 32GB capacity. After searching online at Best Buy and Amazon, I found the best deal at Walmart.com. I am so happy with this rugged little flash drive. One of my favorite features is the USB extension cable.

My home computer’s USB port is on the back of the monitor. Each time I plug in my USB, I don’t have to turn the monitor around and try to feel for the USB port. I leave my extension cable plugged in. The other feature that drew me to this product was the fast transfer speeds when uploading files. Who wants to wait hours to transfer?!?  Now I am able to keep my documents, PDFs, and graphics files on my flash drive to use on my laptop or at school.  

For the sake of backing up my home computer and all of my files, I purchased a FreeAgent 1 TB External hard drive. That’s 1000GB!!! This hard drive also functions interchangeably with PCs and Macs. I was able to back up everything from my desktop…including family pictures from the last 8 years. Don't wait!! Back it up!!! Clipart by Scrappin Doodles.

Trophies Basal & Common Core Correlation

In this download, you will find activities that correlate with the new Common Core State Standards to supplement Harcourt Trophies Basal 1-1, which includes the stories: The Hat, Sam and the Bag, Ants, Jack and Rick, Todd’s Box, and All That Corn. 

You will find materials to use in your guided reading groups and centers. The activities lend themselves to utilization in a writing center, reading center, phonics center, pocket chart center, game center, and art center. Clipart by ThistleGirl Designs. 

Over 70 pages to take your basal 

to the next level!!