Busy, Busy, Busy! Yikes time has flown by! What have I been doing? …Well our district is going full day next year… YES we still have a ½ day program! I had the pleasure of going on a site visit and was pleased to see how everything we cram in a ½ day plays out during a full school day. I’m excited and my mind is swirling of all of the things I’d love to be doing next year ~BUT~ I still have 41 kiddos to focus on now! We end in June and that race to prepare kinders, assess kinders, yet hold on to their hands a bit longer, etc. is on. This is our first year giving a district wide “Local Assessment.” We have not seen it and although we sort of know the format(some multiple choice, YIKES) and the CCSS that will be assessed... we are still going into it blind… This of course is on top of AIMS Web, DRA and all the other assessments that inform our report card. Oh, Yeah not to mention we will be screening next year’s incoming kinders (which is a ton of fun, but takes me out of the classroom for 3 days). If April Showers Brings May Flowers What do May Flowers Bring? TESTING! UGH… …I can’t seem to focus on any one thing! So, I’m sitting down to refocus on my school agenda tonight. What I am sure of ~as I type~ is that I will not be a slave to testing. (I’ve taught 3rd and 4th grade and lived that for many years). My goal is to have my students ready to leave Kindergarten prepared and breeze through the testing period without even noticing (ambitious? possible?)… How are all of you as the year is wrapping up? I’d love to hear from you! ...and why can't I use cute fonts and colors to style my blog post? ~Holly

 

Get this freebie!!

 

Surf around my site to get direct links to my other Freebies!

 

Or go to my store and

“download a preview”

for many more free items!

 

Become a follower to get my freebies when they hit the web!

 

Have you seen this?

What a fun way to celebrate TBA’s 2^nd Birthday!

 

Head over to get yours!

Grades preK-6 freebies available!

SOOOO many Freebies, I’d need hours to get them all!

Once you get there scroll down to chose the grade level that you need.

 

Enjoy!

~Holly

Reading Strategy Bundle Update!

Here’s a sneak peek at “Eagle Eye.”

Bundle coming soon to my TpT store!

 

I updated this strategy to include nonfiction text features.  Little learners need to look at picture clues to assist in word identification, but they should also look for other print features such as captions, labels and bold print...

~just to name a few!~

Get your free Tryin’ Lion items here! 

Click the picture!!!

 

There are lots of other features to this bundle!  Check back for more details to be revealed soon!!

AND

Don't forget to check out

TBA's 2nd Birthday Bash!

 

Enjoy!

~Holly

Reading  Strategy  Bundle  Preview!

I am very excited to give you a sneak preview of my reading strategy bundle.  It is still a work in progress, but it will be ready soon!

 

 

Many of us pair reading strategies with an animal or other icon to help students remember what to do when they are problem solving during reading.  A good gimmick always goes a long way in aiding memory and recall!

 

I love the moment when a kinder stops, and rereads…that first time they catch a problem…the first time they really read… they make that voice/print match…they are THINKING about words & what makes sense! From that moment on they take off!  EXCITING! 

Click the picture above to get your Tryin’ Lion FREEBIE!!!

 

 

Enjoy

~Holly



Snow, Snow Go Away!

Come Again Another Day!

 

…Yes, it is STILL spitting snow here in NY! Not much...

 

...but, enough to have us all screaming for spring-like weather!

 …so here is a little Garden-Themed set of Math Mats for you!

Enjoy,

~Holly