iHelp?

Hello ladies!! I know, it has been a while since you've heard from me. I have was in NYC for a bachelorette party and have since been...recouping from being in NYC for a bachelorette party. ;)

I have been creating, though. This was Princess Prep week at summer camp so some fun ideas are coming your way soon. Until then, look what arrived while I was gone:

my iPad!!!

I'm actually semi-blogging from it right now! Semi-blogging because...I need help. I don't know how to import photos in this version, create, teach or share with this thing.  And while I am getting awesome at Angry Birds, I'd like to actually utilize this in my classroom.

What apps should I download? How do I create printables? And what else do I need to know?

Hope you're all enjoying your summer!

PSF & Father's Day

In case you don't speak DIBELS {our district adopted literacy assessment} PSF stands for Phoneme Segmentation Fluency, ie. breaking words apart into sounds.  I always have some kids who struggle to hear each individual sound so I created these cards for practice.

*Please note: I have included answer keys based on what I will expect of my students at the time of using these cards.  Answers may vary depending on your children & their skill levels.  If you haven't taught dipthongs, your children will not break ow into 2 sounds.  And that's ok!  :)  Use it as a guide for what you think they should know & score accordingly.

The activities are free at my TpT store!  I'm trying to get some more feedback and ratings before I sell anything.  I'd like to see if people are actually interested and if I'm any good at this first!  ;)  So go ahead and let me know in the "Ratings & Feedback" tab after you download it.  Thanks.

Are you one of {seven} winners?!

If you're looking for new blogs & ideas, this is the giveaway for you!

There are oh so many chances to win.  Have fun exploring all seven blogs {leave comments as you wish} then be sure to visit Little Miss Kindergarten & tell her how you've entered!

{click the pic to see it larger}

Introduce yourself to my new blog buddies...they'll love to hear from you!  ;)

EdLlink:

Primary Connections:

Mrs. Simpson:

 Barrow's Hodge Podge:

 The Accidental Teacher, Mom, Runner:

Little Miss Kindergarten:

We all love feedback but the winners will be chosen from Little Miss Kindergarten's comments.

You have 7 chances...good luck!  :)

easiest giveaway ever.

The Lesson Plan diva is hosting the world's easiest giveaway!

Just share her post and you get this awesome beginning sounds pack.  Looks like I just got mine...click the pic & share to get yours!  :)

Nominate your favorite blogger!

Really Good Stuff {a fab teacher's helper} is hosting a blog contest!

Click the picture to find out more about the contest & nominate your favorite blog buddy, BFF or the one you must stalk daily while you drink your morning coffee.  {is it just me?!}  If you can't decide, just nominate all three!

Making Words ALL year.

Mrs. Scoma {First Grade FUNdamentals} has made an adorable Making Words set for the whole year.  Summer months included for you year-round teachers...literally the whole year!

If you're not familiar with Making Words, it's a great way to teach phonics and spelling but it also helps students see the patterns and connections between words. Lightbulbs really start to flash as they begin to understand how they can change one word into another simply by adding or removing a letter or two.  In kindergarten, I have my assistant {only 45 minutes a day, don't get jelly} work with a small group.  At the beginning, she guides them to make an anchor like -at and then helps them figure out how to make hat, cat, pat, etc.  We build as the year goes on.

This set is great because you could make multiple copies for a group like mine, you could make one copy of each to put in a Making Words center or it could be an "I'm Done" activity for early finishers.  Laura is also making an accompanying full alphabet for each month for us younger grades which would totally work in that group setting.

Here it is already!  Look at these {adorable} graphics then head over to her blog or TpT store to check it out!  50 pages of letters, recording sheets and writing extentions!  Thanks Laura!

P.S. Did you notice my presh favicon?!  :)

{free} Summer To-Do list

You know how you find random goodies when you're cleaning out your room?  I forgot about this picture from the last day of school and just had to share.  Target $1 section glow bracelets.  They turned off the lights, closed the blinds and danced around.  hilarious.

And now that my room looks like this:

My summer to-do list looks like this...plus 3 more pages:

That little notebook  is helpful but oh so boring.  So I jazzed up my to-do list to make summer projects more enticing with these adorable graphics by Lettering Delights.  I made 2 columns of 10 to force myself to balance out work with fun.  It's way too easy to bury myself in things I hope to get done over summer break, but crossing off items like "Eat a Jell-O pudding pop" will still allow me to feel accomplished.  ;)

Visit my {TpT store} for the blank download!  Just leave me some feedback as a thank you.  ;)

My Favorite Things.

I'm so excited that Miss Kindergarten is having a linky party for her favorite things because I've been wanting to do one for a while {hello, who doesn't like to dwell on life's best stuff?!} but I've been too busy with the end of school!  Friday was the last day with kids and today was the last official workday so...

here goes in no particular order!

{Well...except that maybe the first one is my BEST favorite.}

Allison

{My baby sister & best friend...who lives too far away.}

Cougar Town

{I want to live here.  Allison and I would so fit in.}

My church

{Love God.  Love people.}

Crayola Brights

{I am a snob & will not use the regular pack.  Except for yellow.  Laser lemon?  No thanks.}

My button

{I made it myself!  The perfect reflection of me.}

<a border="0" href="http://littlemissglamourgoestokindergarten.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b257/Kristin4God/th_BlogButton.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>

Post-Its

{All sizes & colors}

Traveling

{And eating as much different, cultural food as I possibly can.}

Glitter

{Decoration.  Art supply.  Dress-up.  Packaging.  Sprinkled around the room.  You name it.}

Nude pumps

{My favorite.  Don't spread that around the closet.}

Starbucks

{Verona or Colombia at home.  Venti Cap or Double Shot on Ice when out.}

Salsa & Guacamole

{With baked scoops.  My every afternoon snack.}

Jimmy Dean Bagels

{Low fat.  Small portion.  Delicious.}

My husband

{Long distance is so overrated.  Being married is way better.}

Merlot.  Cabernet.  Pinot Noir.  Wine.

{If it's red and in an oversized glass, I'll take it!}

Holidays

{Christmas.  Thanksgiving.  Halloween.  I love 'em all.}

Being in the sunshine

{If I could get paid to soak up the sun - yes, with sunscreen! - I'd be rich.}

InStyle.

{Keeps me fabulous!}

Mom & Dad

{who just moved to town.  such a blessing!}

I could go on and on, obvi.  But link up with Miss Kindergarten to add your own!  I'm off to relax with my guilty pleasure...any show about the Kardashians.

{sorry, I had to sneak in one more!!!}  ;)

NOT acceptable.

I know this is practically 2 video posts in a row, but it's important.

If we don't accept and teach this, our kids will never understand why it's wrong.  This is our responsibility.

grace in the middle of the madness.

Today we had our kindergarten celebration {no, not graduation...celebration} and man oh man did the parents turn out this year!  The kids showed what they can do on the Smart Board, sang our "We're Mrs. Young's class" song, got their fancy new writing journals, ate ice cream sundaes & cake and I played my very first iMovie instead of using Powerpoint for the pictures.  The best part of the whole thing was when the music switched from "Somewhere over the rainbow/What a wonderful world" to "Say Hey (I love you)" and my kids all started singing.  lol  Gotta thank Pandora for giving them a new favorite!  Or maybe it's because I serenade them when it comes on: I love you...I love you...I love you.

I only teared up once during the presentation but that's probably because I FORGOT to read "All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten."  A staple!  {sheesh}

I also had to turn in my report cards a day late because I brought my writing continuums home to grade this weekend but realized I left the actual writing samples at school.  Or I thought until Monday morning when I went to get my planner out of my teacher bag and they were sitting right there the whole time!!  {At which point I had only the samples because the continuums were still at home so I still had wait and do them later that night.}

For Pete's sake {or, to crack myself up, "for my husband's sake"} is anyone else losing their minds???  Maybe it's because our celebration was later this year than it normally is but I just feel behind.  I'm at one of those schools where the room has to be taken apart {read...bare} and while it gives me a final sense of closing the chapter on this year, there is a lot still to be done before Friday.  And probably still more that I'm not remembering.

On the other hand, realizing my mistakes and accepting the fact that I don't have to beat myself up about them actually allows me to take a deep breath and have grace for others when they unknowingly hurt my feelings, are inconsiderate or {oh, I don't know} think "Just a trim.  I am in love with my new sassy haircut" means "13 inches wasn't enough last time.  See if you can make it more bowl-ish?"

Such is life.  I forgot to read the poem, I'll print it out and send it home with their summer packet.  My report cards are turned in now and the kids will still get them on Friday.  As for my hair, well, I'll wear a hat.  And when that doesn't fly at school I'll just assure people that the Q-tip look is in.

I am Little Miss Glamour after all.  I must know what I'm talking about...  ;)

Bad Teacher

Is it just me or is this going be the new favorite I-can-recite-the-script-by-heart movie??  I can't wait to watch Cameron Diaz say and do all of the things that we've at some point {admit it} wished we could say or do...but can't.

Come on June 24th!

Until then, we are still in school so it's off to my End of Year powerpoint!

{6 more days}