I am moving!  Next year I am moving to 1st grade.  Since Kinderland Kapers didn't really fit anymore I have started a new blog.  Jump on over to Hoesli Happenings and check it out!
http://hoeslihappenings.blogspot.com/

Pete the Cat Update

Two posts in one day!  Wow, I am on a roll!  OK, so I went to Michael's and bought some really cute buttons and mini Velcro dots.  I then went to my local teacher supply place because I really wanted to laminate my cat and I didn't want to wait until Monday.  I am so excited with the outcome.  After laminating my cat at the teacher store I decided I will laminate them all there.  They have a thicker laminate then my school and I think it will hold up much better.  You might notice in the pictures that I put 5 buttons on Pete instead of 4.  That is because the Common Core Standard says that kindergarten students should be able to add and subtract within 5.  So I decided to add 5 buttons to Pete instead of 4. 

 



Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons

I love Pete the Cat!  Don't you?  So I am planning on reading the book Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons next week to my class.  I want to work on subtracting and Pete is the perfect cat for the job.  I decided I wanted to make a Pete that my students could use to manipulate buttons while figuring out subtraction problems.  So I got out my new Cricut mini machine and this is what I came up with. 

Here is what you need to make Pete: 

Create a Critter 2 cartridge- I used the cat on pg. 60.  I stretched the cat to fill up my entire mat.  I also used the shirt on pg. 47 of Create a Critter 2 and stretched it to fit on the cat.

The eyes, nose and buttons were made using Cricut Font and Basic Shapes.  I used the circle for the buttons, the triangle for the nose, the yellow part of the eyes were made using the shape that looks like a oval with points on the end.  The inside of the eyes were made using a shape like a teardrop.  The great part about the Cricut mini is that you can layer all the shapes on your mat using your computer so you can play around with the sizes. 

 

I think Pete turned out really cute!  I am going to put velcro on the backs of the buttons after I laminate Pete and the buttons so that my students can add and remove the buttons as they practice subtracting. 

I hope you can use this idea in your class.  Happy crafting!  Let me know if you have any questions.

-Tracy

 

Kim Adsit

Today I spent the day with Kim Adsit!  If you blog a lot I am sure you have heard of her.  If you haven't seen her blog yet check it out here: KinderGals.Blogspot.com/    She also has a website at www.adsit.net   Kim presented DI for the Little Guy today in St. Louis.  I can't wait to try the ideas she shared.  She is so engaging and funny.  If you ever get a chance to go to one of her workshops, you won't be disappointed.

I am so excited!  Have you ever visited School Girl Style's website?  She makes classrooms look amazing.  I love looking at her ideas.  After looking at all of her ideas it got me to thinking what I want my classroom theme to be this year.  I have a tendency to get a little board so I like to change it up from year to year.  Last year I had a monster theme and although I loved it I wanted something new.  So, I took a trip to my local teacher supply store thinking I would walk in and something would jump out at me and I would know my theme.  The problem is there are so many new and cute things out.  How does one decide?  I went back to School Girl Style and looked at her ideas.  I decided to incorporate her style into some of the new stuff I saw at the store.  Here is a picture of  her Polk Dot and Daisy Collection.

After a little shopping, here is what I came up with to use in my class.  I can't wait to start decorating!

What is on your summer reading list?  Are you familiar with Lucy Calkins?  One of my teammates used her writing program this year in kindergarten.  I must admit I didn't buy into it at first.  I clung to what I know.  Wow!  Was I amazed.  Her students became amazing writers.  So this summer I am going to read her books.  I will be starting with, "The Nuts and Bolts of Teaching Writing".  Let me know if you would like to join a book study with me.  I will post a summary of the book when I am finished.  Link up with me and join me on this amazing writing journey.

I am still recovering from a fantastic family trip to Disney.  My parents took my daughter and I to Disney World to celebrate their 50th anniversary. My aunt and uncle met us there.  Unfortunately the hubby had to work so he couldn't go.  It was so much fun except for the extreme amount of rain.  At one point my daughter cried and said they lied in the commercial because it is always sunny.  We still had a great time.