2017 Bold & Bright Classroom Decor Set from Creative Teaching Press

Hey y'all! 

I'm so excited to share this beautiful set of classroom decor with you AND give you the opportunity to WIN this ENTIRE COLLECTION from Creative Teaching Press! Whoop, whoop!

First let me show you some photos of the adorable pieces that the creative geniuses at CTP included in this set...

Here is a set of materials from the collection. The borders are lined along the bottom!

I love this beautiful calendar that's the perfect mix of simple black/white and bright colors.

This is one option that the set includes for a classroom birthday board. I love that it's super unique! 

They even included station cards!

How adorable are these classroom jobs?!

If you're classroom vision for the year includes a balance of clean black & white balanced with bright pops of color, this is the perfect set for you!

I'm teaming up with Creative Teaching Press to give away the ENTIRE Bold & Bright collection to one lucky winner! Enter the contest below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Release Party

Hey y'all! I'm so excited to share the details of our book release party with you today! 

For a portion of our kindergarten curriculum at my last district, we worked on writing personal narratives. This was the perfect time to create a keepsake for my kiddoes! There are a few different ways that you can publish hardcover books with students. I purchased Illustory kits from Amazon.

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What I liked about these kits was that each student got their own box and set of markers so they could keep track of their own work. We did one page per day in our books, then I mailed them in the pre-paid envelopes to be created. We had our books back in about two weeks! Then it was time to plans our big book release party!

Popcorn boxes: Five Below

CELEBRITY TAPE: Party City

The gold decor was purchased at Dollar Tree!

I found that fun HOORAY balloon at Target!

I always love to put some tape over the door because it makes it even more exciting for the students to walk into the room. 

Those gold poles? Toilet plungers from Dollar Tree and gold spray paint. Yep!

I also grabbed that red carpet from Party City so that I could reuse it. You could also use red butcher paper though.

Here's what our classroom looked like when the students walked in. Celebrity status! I wrapper their books in red paper and wrote them each a personalized note in the front that they could keep.

Then they got to walk the red carpet to the stage to read their book aloud!

It was such a memorable day! Each child had the chance to share their writing and experience being an author and illustrator. This is something I will continue to do for years I think. My students truly felt like celebrities. 

If you have questions leave a comment, send me an e-mail, or message me on Instagram!

Bye, y'all!

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Problem Solving Through Magic

In Virginia, we teach addition and subtraction up to 10 in kindergarten. Typically addition comes first, then subtraction, sometimes with a break between the two. By the end of addition, THEY GET IT! By the end of subtraction, THEY GET IT! It's amazing and kinders just love to add and subtract. 

However, later in the year I love to revisit them, assess what students have retained, and dig into the two a little deeper while we get the kiddoes ready to be firsties. That's when I usually do 1-2 weeks of general problem solving. We look at tons of story problems and figure out whether the story problems are telling us that we need to add or subtract. That means there's a high focus on vocabulary, comparison, and strategy practice to actually solve the problems. This is A LOT to ask kindergarteners to do, so it's incredibly important that you break it down into manageable chunks AND make it engaging! Cue problem solving through magic!

Before I started this week, I spent time reviewing addition and subtraction, as well as strategies we can use to help us with the two (manipulatives, number lines, ten frames, etc.).

Our focus was on one magic trick per day, with that trick then moving to an independent workstation the following day.

Trick #1

Unlocking the Magic 

For this trick I used story problems that you can find in my Math Magicians Set on TpT. Students had to read the problem, decide what equation from the keys matched that problem (there was a mix of + and -), and match that key to the correct answer on that lock. They knew they were correct if their key unlocked the lock.

I purchased my addition and subtraction locks from Lakeshore but you could also make your own with these locks and keys from the Amazon affiliate link below:

Trick #2

Pull a Rabbit Out of a Hat

I found these rabbit eggs at Dollar Tree around Easter! They were perfect for placing the addition and subtraction vocabulary words in.

Students had to pick a rabbit and create a story problem using that vocabulary word, then write the corresponding equation.

All of the printable materials for this are included in my Math Magicians set on TpT!

Trick #3

Pick a Card, Any Card!

I found these BEAUTIFUL rainbow cards at Five Below. Students had to pick a card, then come up with an addition or subtraction equation that had that answer. This was a little challenging, but they loved it! 

Trick #4

For this trick, I placed balls under one cup and moved them around. Students had to find the balls under one of the cups and draw it. I then either took some away or added some of the other color and students had to complete the equation.

Here are some of the materials that I purchased from Amazon to make this happen!

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Enjoy!