Name Art

It's the first week of school and I need simple activities!  So today we did name art.  It's great for kids to practice their name and fine motor skills.  It took quite some time which was great since we haven't started curriculum yet and need lots of things to do!

I wrote the students' names and gave them bowls of construction paper squares.  They had to tear the paper into small pieces and glue them over their name.  They loved all the colors and learning to use the glue sticks!

They turned out so cute!  A couple were difficult to read, so I retraced their name on top of the pieces of paper.  Overall, it was a great first week activity!

Dry Erase Markers

Using dry erase markers is a great way for students to get used to holding a writing utensil and writing!  The marker makes drawing lines easy so they don't have to push hard and the thicker width of the marker is easy to hold.  Plus, the different colors are so fun!  I used a hot glue gun to glue pom-poms to the tops so students can use it for little mistakes.  It's great because they quickly erase little mistakes without having to stop and go get an eraser.  I got the idea from my teacher friends at my school, love these little teacher hacks!

First Day of School

Today is the first day of school!  It's my second year and I feel much more comfortable and excited!  I learned so much last year and I can't wait to see what this year brings.

My sister also teaches Kindergarten and her school started the day before! #RossGirlsTakeOnKinder

Circle Maps

Do you use thinking maps in your classroom?  My district has a big focus on writing and thinking maps so I use them all the time!  We create circle maps, t-charts, flow maps, and venn diagrams.  This was a circle map we made of our weekly focus letter.  We made it when we had a few extra minutes, they are great time-fillers too!

I'm attending a training this summer which is great because I've only learned about the different maps from my colleagues.  I'm super excited to learn more about using them in my classroom!