Thursday, March 27, 2014

A Little Spring Cleaning.........

I decided to join some fellow bloggers and participate in a little spring cleaning sale.  What kind of cleaning are we talking about???  Getting some of those coveted TPT items off your wishlist of course!!!  Yay!!  I always love a good sale and I always have items sitting on my wishlist just waiting for me to take the plundge:)



This weekend you can not only get 20% off at my store but many others as well!!   Hopefully I will get my newest product up during the sale.  For those of you who love visuals paired with text.....you are going to love my latest creation.  Here is a sneak peek for ya!

I have finally completed the first 80 Fry phrases visual style!!!  I have been using them with my kidders for awhile now and they are working like a charm:)





I hope everyone has fun doing a little spring cleaning!!  I know I will.  Don't forget to use your TPT credits so that you can save yourself even more money!!



Saturday, March 1, 2014

Hello March!

I can't believe it is March 1st already!  I feel like this school year is flying by and I still have a lot of work to get done!!  I have decided to have some fun by linking up with Farley for a March Currently.


Listening:  During the black hole of our Ohio winter, I subscribed to Netflix.  I have been an addict ever since.  I have watched countless movies, 2 seasons of Sherlock, and 3 seasons of the Walking Dead, and not to mention like 90 episodes of Curious George (It happens to be my sons new fav.)

Loving:  I am enjoying the company of my hubby who has been doing a lot of traveling recently for work.  It really does make you appreciate your spouse more when you don't get to see them everyday.

Thinking:  I really broke the bank during the TPT sale but at least I have a ton of new clip art and some really great products to show for it.  I can't wait to use my newest goodies!!

Wanting: I would love to escape the COLD of Ohio for a sandy beach.

Needing:  I need to get my AIMS data entered:(  UGH!!!  Progress monitoring is the ban of my existence.  It would help if I got the data out of my school bag.

??????:  Coke.....need I say any more.  Does anyone know what question I am answering???



Until Next Time,


Sunday, February 23, 2014

Movement Breaks with a little freebie!


I grew up in the 80's and honestly I don't remember movement breaks or kids having trouble sitting still during class.  My classrooms were the traditional desks lined up in rows.  Kids today aren't successful in that kind of classroom.  They NEED movement.  They really NEED it.  Allowing them to move helps kids learn:) 



  

What resources can be used to give kiddos a much needed sensory break?

Play dough is a great hands on learning tool.

 Alternative seating options that allow movement while learning.

I don't have these stools but they look cool.
 
I just got a few of these balls from WittFitt.  I can't wait to see if they help some of my very active kiddos.



Here are a few learning ideas that involve sensory.  (I found them on Pinterest)  I haven't tried them personally but I thought that they looked cool.







The theraband is a tool that helps control active feet. 


A movement grid is a tool that can be done whole class but it can also be used as a 
movement break for students who need it during whole class instruction.  I have been messing around with creating my own movement board.  Click the picture to snag it for yourself.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1sgVSvPB5gXbjlFZm5ETUF3d0E/edit?usp=sharing

This a lot of the information in this post was obtained from a Shannon Samulski conference.  She has a background in special education.  Shannon Samulski has a blog called Interventions on the Go if you would like to check it out.

Until next time,

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Super Bowl Sale!

20% off Saturday and Sunday in my TPT store, friends:)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Phonics-Phenomenon

 Keep on the look out for my February word bank!  It should be up this weekend.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

A SUPER SIMPLE INTERVENTION

I was lucky enough to attend the Ohio Kindergarten conference in Columbus, Ohio January 13th and 14th.  I was star struck to get to meet big named bloggers like Deanna Jump and DeeDee Wills.  I came back with a ton of great information that I am excited to try out.

Those of you who have followed me for awhile know that I am not a kindergarten teacher but I am an interventionist that works with kinders.  I firmly believe that early intervention is KEY in preventing academic difficulties in at risk students.

At the conference, I was also fortunate enough to get to hear Shannon Samulski speak who has a background in special education.  She has a blog called Interventions on the Go if you would like to check it out.  For her blog post about "Sandwiching" Information click here

Do you have that student who you could do everything even stand on your head and the information just does not ever seem to go into the student long term memory?  If you have ever had this happen to you then you will understand why I found the following information PROFOUND.  It is so simple.  Why did I not think of it???

Surround the brain with KNOWN information and it will help the UNKNOWN information STICK

As my teenager would say, "I know, right?"  It is so simple and makes total sense.

Are you ready for it?? It gets even simpler.  All you need are ten cards and a metal ring and you are ready to get started with this intervention.

1.  Assess the student to determine known and unknown information
2.  Write/type the known information on 7 of the cards and make sure that these cards have a symbol in the corner to show that this is KNOWN information.
3.  Then on the other three cards write/type three bits of information that you want your student to learn.
4.  Then hole punch and place on the ring using the following sequence: 
known known unknown known known unknown known known unknown known
5.  Once the unknown information becomes known either move the card to a known slot or remove it from the ring.

This intervention can be used for letters, sounds, shapes, colors, sight words, fry phrases, math facts, science concepts, social studies concepts, etc.  This intervention also has no age limit!!  It will work for kinders but it would also work for high school students.  The information being used would just be different.

Don't stress and think that every student in your class needs an intervention ring.  Only about 3-5 students from your class should need this intervention:)

I have a student in kinder that is struggling to retain her shapes, numbers, and sight words.  She does know 24/26 letters and sounds but still does not perform well on AIMS probes when she is timed.

Here are the cards I came up with for her intervention ring.  I am going to have a ring for sight words, one for shapes, and one for numbers. 

I put three stars on the concepts she still needs to learn so that we can color them in as she demonstrates she has retained it. 


I put a smiley face on the concepts she already knows.





I can't wait to get started using this intervention next week!  Just in case you want to try this super simple intervention yourself, I created a little something to get you started! An editable template so you can add your own concepts!!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1sgVSvPB5gXQml6LU1Lbmpkcjg/edit?usp=sharing

Enjoy, friends!

If you would like a hard copy explanation about this researched based click here.
(**this was not created by me.  I located it on the internet.)

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Snowball Fight Blog Hop

Don't miss the BIGGEST Snowball Fight of the Year!!
22 of your favorite bloggers have teamed up to bring you a...

Our forts are built...
the snowballs are packed & stacked...
and we're about to BLAST you with FREEBIES!!

So lace up your boots, pull on your mittens,
and get ready to load up on 'SNOW' much good stuff!!

Hop on over to to the The Phonics Phenomenon facebook page to pick up my freebie!

Look for this tab on every facebook page to find the next FREEBIE.
Note: You will not be able to access the freebies from an iPad.  


Click the image below to download a copy of the clickable map to find your way to all the 'snow forts'!

The Snowball Fight begins at 10 am CST on Saturday, January 18th.  
But don't delay because the snowballs melt at 10 pm CST on Monday, January 20th!!

We hope you have fun on the hop and find lots of fun freebies that you and your kiddos will love!
Make sure to follow our blogs too so you'll never miss a FREEBIE!  
Thanks for joining our Snowball Fight!!

If you love PENGUINS then you will totally want to snag my FREEBIE!
Get your kids writing about penguins with my word bank:)



Have fun hopping! 

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Winter Time Fun!

I haven't left the house for two days.  I just did not feel the effort was worth it plus I really did not want to take my kiddos out into the cold air.  It has given me some time in front of my computer to goof around and create a few things. 

I uploaded my January word bank yesterday to TPT.







I have a penguin pack in the works and I got the penguin word bank completed for the pack!

I am pretty excited about it.  Keep an eye out for it in the future:)  Did you have school off due to the cold or snow too?  If so what did you do?


 If you did not snag my January word bank while it was free leave me 
your email and I will send it your way.  The first five emails only:)