Common Core and Nursery Rhymes

I've been thinking a lot about the Common Core Units that are becoming more popular out there lately.  Last year, our district purchased a lot of books to align with these Common Core Units but did not provide us with any real guidance about how to implement the units- should we give up what we're doing and use these books/units exclusively, do we use them as extra, do we have to follow the sequence of the units, how do these units tie in with our curriculum maps??? We were filled with questions and, quite frankly, we still are.  But Unit 1 is called A Colorful Time with Rhythm and Rhyme and it has a lot of nursery rhymes.  I like teaching nursery rhymes in the beginning weeks of kindergarten so it really fits right in.  Last year, I copied several nursery rhymes on sentence strips and each week we had one in a pocket chart.  It became a shared reading for us and a work station as well.  So, now I decided to type them up and make them look a little prettier.  So, here's a link to my first one I've done- Jack and Jill.  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nursery-Rhymes-Jack-and-Jill-Pocket-Chart-Activity    I have plans (and cute graphics thanks to www.digiwebstudio.com) for many more.  It's designed for a pocket chart and you can use the version that has each individual word in a text box or the version with phrases.  There's also a page at the end that can become part of a poetry notebook where the children illustrate the nursery rhyme. 

Cheers!
Karla

School's Out for Summer

Wow!  It's hard to believe that the end of the year has come.  Thursday was our last day!  It was a bittersweet moment saying goodbye to all my little kinder kiddos who have come so far and accomplished so much this year!  I think about them at the beginning and am amazed at all they have learned this year! 
I hope to relax a little bit this summer, play a lot of baseball with my son in the wee hours of the morning when it is still cool enough to do things outside (I live in Arizona),  read some good books, make some things to sell at TpT and plan for the next year.

In between, I will try to blog a little about the teacher resource books I have on my reading list...
Happy Summer Everyone!

Fairy Tales and Maps

Wow, the end of the year is upon us and I have had literally no time to post anything.  We're finishing the end of our fairy tale unit and I also incorporate maps into the unit.  Here's a link to a blank map of Little Red Riding Hood's forest.  https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4suMYsG-K9oT3RMNGhjZHk3VW8  We made the key together and then the kiddo decided themselves where to put everything.  We also did this with The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Here's the blank map I gave them for that one. https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4suMYsG-K9oNThDTHhwWV9mN0U  Below are some student samples.