Kinder Laptops

We are getting a head start on technology this year. With a new year comes updated computers so that means more challenges for the teachers and students. This year, each student has to type in their whole first name. whole last name and a password in order to log on to their computer. What a nightmare for Kindergarten teachers. Kids have a hard time recognizing and writing their name or letters let alone trying to type it on the computer. So...I wondered what would make it an easier process for my students to learn their logins. I thought I would pull out an idea that I have worked with before but hadn't used in awhile. I believe it was Dr. Jean that created these and my students love them! They were really excited to get their own 'laptop' and they did an awesome job looking for the letters in their name. We won't venture to the lab too soon but these laptops will be great to pull out and practice for the real thing. Once logins are practiced and known, I'm hoping to use these for our Daily 5 Word Work in practicing our high frequency words. The opportunities are endless. I'll keep you posted on how it all goes once we venture to the lab.

The First Week of Kindergarten

Well...we survived the first week. It was fun getting to see all of my new friends again. I was fortunate to have all but one of them this summer for summer school so that help ease some of the emotions on the first day of school. We had a long, busy week and so we were all looking forward to the weekend. For our first week, we focused on colors and nursery rhymes. The class did such a nice job working/playing together on some color activities. I think it's going to be a great learning year and I can't wait to share with you all our experiences.

My Kindergarten Classroom

Here is my classroom at Bertha Barber Elementary in Bellevue, NE.

Getting Ready for the New School Year

I haven't posted for awhile because I have been really busy getting my room ready for the new school year. I am hoping to post pictures of my classroom really soon. It's exciting to see and hear about other teachers getting their Kindergarten classrooms ready and sharing some wonderful teaching ideas. This summer has been a learning experience and have found so many resources that I am anxious to implement them into the classroom. Here's to a great new school year and keep checking back to see what my class will be up to this year.

What I learned...

I have learned so much from taking this class. I got a blog started! That was a goal of mine that I wanted to do this summer. By taking Blogging, it has taught me how to go about setting up a blog and adding the different components to it. My hope is to keep this up and going throughout the school year along with my website. I think this will be a great tool to keep my parents informed on what we are doing in the classroom by posting up projects and pictures. It's just another way for parents to stay connected and to see what their child is learning in the classroom.

Dr. Jean

Dr. Jean is one of my favorite teachers that use songs to help students learn new things.  I found this video on a blog that I am following and the song has been stuck in my head!  I can't wait to share this with my students this fall.

Nebraska Kindergarten Conference

This past week, I had the honor of attending the Nebraska Kindergarten Conference in Kearney, Nebraska.  This year, I took a brave leap forward and was a presenter for one of the mini sessions.  It was a great experience.  I learned some wonderful ideas from the keynote speakers and others.   My head is spinning with all that I would like to try in my classroom this coming year.  My session that I presented on was about The Daily 5.  I have done the Daily 5 in my classroom for two years now and I love it.  I wanted to share what I knew with others so I thought I would give presenting a try.  There were about 50 teachers that attended my session that either knew about Daily 5 or had no clue.  I got some great comments and wonderful feedback.  I even got some good ideas from teachers that had been teaching it in their classroom.  It was a great experience and I was glad I was able to share my love of it to others.  I love when teachers share ideas and things they are passionate about and can encourage others.