Five for Friday (on a Saturday!)

Happy Weekend, Friends!

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching this morning for a Saturday edition of Five for Friday!

Well, we survived the first week of Kindergarten! We (yes, we) shed a few tears but overall had a great week. I have a sweet group of 19 nuggets this year. I didn't take any pictures for the blog on the first day--I was a tad busy making sure we all go fed and home in the correct way. No one got lost or cried on the first day so I call that a success!

During the first week we do a lot of projects with our names. I start by making name mats for everyone. I have a font on my computer that looks like the tracing letters. This is the first activity that we use them for, I give them their name mats and a sheet of those little metallic star stickers that you can get at the grocery store. This makes for great fine motor skill practice and they look super cool when they are finished. The kids love it! 

We did some exploring with the light table this week. It was a hit! I just let them play with the materials and check everything out. I plan on creating some light table activities to use during our stations soon. 

On Thursday, I introduced them to morning work. I use the Read, Trace, Glue, and Draw from Deedee over at Mrs. Wills' Kindergarten. The kids did a great job with it and we used our glue sponges for the first time. I'm telling ya'll, I am never going back to glue stick or glue bottles. These sponges are sent from heaven. Here is a link to the directions if you want to know more about them. ~HERE~

Yes, I realize his scissors are upside down. We are working on that! ;)

Glue sponges! *Cue the angels singing* 

Overall we a great week, but this girl is tired! Did anyone else's desk look like this at the end of the week?! I was so tired yesterday afternoon, I just left it.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. If you need me, I'll be over here napping.

Five for Friday..JULY!

Happy Friday! I can't believe it is JULY already! Hello, where did June go?!? I was in Hobby Lobby this week shopping for fabric for my classroom and saw PUMPKINS and CHRISTMAS! Um, excuse me Hobby Lobby, you need to slow your roll. Can't a girl enjoy a little summer first??

Any-who, I am linking up this week with Doodle Bugs Teaching for another edition of Five for Friday! Enjoy!

 Last weekend my mom and I enjoyed a trip to Houston to see Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood in concert. We had a great time and the concert was A-MA-ZING. We even had a chance to stop by and see some family on the way home! Bonus!

I told you last week that I was planning to reorganize our kitchen this week. Well, that didn't happen. I decided that I would level my classroom library first. That project started out great and then became like as my mom says, a bowl of Grape Nuts--never ending! Ha! I was spread out all over the living room and poor Annabelle was over it! She napped all over books while I worked. I am still not finished but I am getting there. I am using Maria over at Kinder Craze classroom library labels. They are awesome! Once I finish, I will do another post dedicated to the whole process.

Okay, I have to brag on Hubs. He made me the most amazing light table! I've always drooled over light tables at Lakeshore and other places but they are so expensive! I am working on a teacher's budget here! Anyway, I found a perfect tutorial online here and he made this in an evening. The kids can change the color with the little remote and everything. They are going to LOVE this when school starts. I plan to use them with letter tiles and other fun manipulatives.

One of my favorite things about summer is the fact that I actually have time to read. Whether it be for fun or a professional development type, I love reading! During the school year, I am so tired at the end of the day that I get about a sentence read and I am out like a light! I've been looking forward all month for my newest book to come out. I am a HUGE Ron Clark fan and have read his other three books. His newest book, Move Your Bus, came out this week and was delivered to our house on Wednesday. I am a few chapters in and have not been disappointed. I'll let you know when I finish!

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday next to Christmas. I love the fireworks, the outdoor cooking, and the family and friends that I get to spend it with. Both of our families are coming over tomorrow afternoon for a big meal and then we are headed to watch fireworks with some friends of ours in the evening. It should be a wonderful day!

I hope you all have a safe and happy 4th of July!