Rawwwwr! It's Dinosaur Time!

Once again, it's almost a month later and I'm posting. Sorry! :)

Here's a dino sight word game I made quickly yesterday to supplement our dinosaur unit. The graphics are from KPM Doodles....LOVE her stuff!

This week talking about paleontologists, going on a "dig", discussing herbivores and carnivores, learning about dinosaur-like creatures that currently exist, making dino skeletons, fossils, and volcanoes! Whew!

12 school days to go...but who's counting! :)


Dino Sight Word Game

Old Miss Jensen Had a Farm...E-I-E-I-O

Okay, so maybe I'm not "old" but I'm certainly feeling it lately...especially after having bunion surgery. Doesn't that make me sound like I have nasty old lady feet? Well, not anymore. :)

It turns out that I've become the type of blogger that posts about once a month. Hopefully I can fix that in the future!

We're working on our farm unit this week and I needed a little whole group sight word game. If you would like different words to meet the needs of your kiddos, email me your list and I'd be happy to modify it for you. Most of you are probably familiar with the concept of the game. If so, you may stop reading here. :)

Directions: Print and laminate the following pages. Put 6-8 sight words in a pocket chart and hide one farm animal behind one of the word cards. Students take turns guessing which sight word the animal is hiding behind. My kiddos will be making the appropriate animal noise when they find the hidden animal. If they find the farmer, we'll sing, "E-I-E-I-O."

Farm Sight Word Game

Thing 1 and 2 Cupcakes!

I saw these on Pinterest and HAD to make them for Dr. Seuss' birthday celebration in my classroom. We're having green eggs and ham for our morning snack and in the afternoon (right before I send them home!) I'm going to sugar them up with these sweet treats!

If you ever make them, I recommend waiting until the last minute to put the cotton candy on top so that it doesn't "melt" into the frosting.

Things 1-6

Hey All!
Just had to share a quick picture of my K team from yesterday! We had t-shirts made thanks to Cheri's awesome husband Todd. They turned out soooo cute!


The kids had a great time becoming "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" yesterday. They played the part a little too well. Must be due to the upcoming snowstorm we're supposed to get tonight. Yikes! I hope it doesn't hinder Wacky Wednesday tomorrow!

Today we're reading Fox in Socks while we show off our silly socks. Then, the Foot Book! We'll be measuring our feet using nonstandard objects and then measuring objects with our feet. We'll be making a "guess who" class foot book as well!

A Seusstastic Week!

I am so looking forward to a week full of rhyming fun next week as we celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday!

Here's a quick post of the letter I sent home to families about our week of activities. I'll try to post more details later. Let me know if you have any questions!

Also, my dear friend Kathleen from Growing Kinders has posted a FANTABULOUS new Dr. Seuss packet. Head on over to TpT to purchase it!

Seuss Week Letter

Animals in Winter

Hi All!
It's been way too long since I've posted. Life has been busy....in a great way!
Just wanted to share a "new to me" web 2.0 tool that I just learned about called Little Bird Tales. Little Bird Tales is a super user-friendly story building tool. Students can create artwork via a drawing tool similar to KidPix or you can upload images of their artwork. Students can add their voices and text as needed. Word of Advice: The program doesn't work so well with Chrome, so I recommend using FireFox. I've had a blast playing with it and was able to put together this little video in about 5 minutes (minus the time it took to record the kiddos!).

• Click to view my tale.
• 

Next week we're talking about Penguins. I can't wait to have them explore the drawing option and share the facts they have learned about penguins!

12 Days of Wellness....Inspiring You To Be Well

I don't know if it's just me or the fact that I'm a newer teacher, or that I just can't say "no" and EVERYBODY knows it, or that I love to burn the candle at both ends (probably all of the above!) but somehow, I found myself taking on another new responsibility....and I LOVE it!

In addition to being a K teacher, a member of the RTI-B team (behavior team - I help plan rallies and evaluate behavior data), a Social Studies piloter/curriculum development person, a summer school teacher and summer school curriculum writer, United Way Campaign Director at my school, and occasional part-time server at an amazing local restaurant, I'm now the new Wellness Coach at my school of about 80 staff.

In the last few years I've increased my interest in wellness - special thanks to my best friend, Ashley. We jogged ran our first "race" (ok....so it was just a 10k....but come on, it's 6.2 miles!) together. Well, there was a 10 minute gap between us -- she couldn't keep up with my slow pace me. ;) I saw a girl in the race with a shirt that read "I run with my best friend...She's just a few miles ahead of me." I am SOOO making that shirt for our next race. We've been avid ZUMBA goers (love me some latin beats!) for the last year+ and lift weights together when we can. Without Ash, I don't think I'd be qualified to do this whole wellness coaching thing.

Why am I posting about wellness on my Kindergarten blog, you ask? Well, I just had to share my cute little wellness bulletin board. :) And perhaps it will inspire you to motivate the staff at your school to be well. A healthy staff is a happy staff! :) (And a healthy Kindergarten teacher is hard to find in between those sniffles, sneezes, whoops, and wheezes!)

With some inspiration from my district's wellness coaches, I'm implementing the "12 Days of Wellness" at my school. I posted 12 healthy mind and body activities on paper Christmas bulbs (Thank you DJ Inkers for the cute clipart!) and encouraged my co-workers to complete one activity a day to promote wellness in their lives in the 12 days preceding our holiday break. The best part is the incentive....each time someone completes an activity, they put their name in the bucket for a chance to win a 30 minute massage! Um...yes, please! Can I win even though I'm organizing the activity?!?!

So, just like the amazing teachers I work with, I'm encouraging YOU to do the following in the 12 days leading up to the holiday season:
1. Eat one healthy meal today.
2. Go to sleep 10 minutes earlier tonight.
3. Trade out water for one beverage today.
4. Take 4 minutes for personal reflection.
5. Drop some change in the Salvation Army's red kettle.
6. Take some time to read a book, magazine, or newspaper.
7. Call an old friend.
8. Laugh out loud at least once today!
9. Watch TV or go to a movie.
10. Show a random act of kindness.
11. Write down 5 things you are thankful for.
12. See the 'positive' in everything today!

Happy Holidays!
Be Well!
Love, Sheyna