Five for Friday

T.G.I.F!

I don't think I have ever wanted to shout, "TGIF!" as much as I did today! I love my kindergarten babies, but I have summer fever like whoa and have been waiting for today! Next week begins our last week before summer break! That means that we have 2 whole days and 2 half days. Then, it's glorious, wonderful, splendiferous, fantabulous, awesome, spectacular SUMMER!
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1) So, my Five for Friday is gonna kick off with my newfound interest and love for my brand new blog! I just can't get enough of posting on here. I also love the idea of connecting with others, sharing ideas, and "borrowing" some awesome ideas from other educators. I am also pretty in love with my blog name because, after all, I do LOVE polka dots and I have a "thing" for cute little birds! It's a little weird, I know, but it fits me because I am a little weird. And that's perfectly fine with me!

*The Polka Dotted Chirp*

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2.) My second love is creating some new and fun stuff for my TpT store! I have created some new and exciting things, but I plan to really amp it up this summer and create lots of goodies that I plan to upload on TpT! My favorite things to make are center games and general things for my classroom, like these Monthly Binder Covers to make my monthly organizers cute and easily accessible. And guess what? They have polka dots on them. Big surprise! Don't forget to check them out in my store by clicking on the picture!

*Monthly Binder Covers on TpT*

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3.)With summer so close, I can't help but think about some of my plans for the upcoming summer days! One thing I know is that I will be spending some quality time at my parent's beach condo in Myrtle Beach, SC. I am ready for some sand, sun, and fun! But, I can't forget the SPF...I would regret it if I did! 

*Myrtle Beach, SC*

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4.) This week my K babies celebrated their last few days in kindergarten with a blowout celebration. I posted about it yesterday, but I feel like my Five for Friday would be amiss if I forgot to include it. It was such a special occasion and we had a blast. Here are my sweet children singing their songs. They did such a great job! And Mrs. Melton didn't cry! So, it was a great day!

*Kindergarten Celebration*

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5.) My little brother (well, not so little) 19 year old brother is moving in with my husband and I to take summer classes at a college here in Charleston over the summer. I know it sounds nerdy, but I am kind of excited that he is staying with us. We can "bond" and hang out and catch up. I am sure this newness will wear off after he uses all the toilet paper and drinks all of the diet coke. But, for now, I am excited to have him staying with us! To make it even better, his super sweet girlfriend lives in Charleston, too. So, I foresee some fun double dating in our future! I do love my family!

*Alex and Katherine*

Don't forget to join in the linky party by visiting Doodle Bugs Teaching Blog and seeing what is in store for others on their Five for Friday!

*Check It Out*

                  

Freebie Anyone?

Since there are only five days (well, technically 4 days--3 full and two half days) left of this school year, I have made some adorable end of the year activities that are in my TpT store. One of them is a freebie summer handout for kindergarten involving math patterning skills! Guess what else. It involves cutting and gluing...which does what? KEEPS LITTLE HANDS AND MINDS BUSY! I know these last few days can seem tedious and long (and I also know that some people don't get out as early as we do here in SC), so head on over to my TpT store and grab up my "Summer Handout FREEBIE" and check out my End of the Year Summer Packet, which is a jam-packed 34 page package of awesome end of the year activities and ideas for a low price!

Celebration Time!

Today was an exciting day in my classroom! My babies are all ready for first grade, so we had a kindergarten-wide Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places, You'll Go! themed Celebration. The kids have been practicing the songs for about a month. They nailed it today and sounded fantastic! Lucky for us, my school is right beside a church, so we are allowed to use the church for certain performances. When we got to the church, it was packed with parents and friends! I was worred they would get nervous, but they did great dancing down the aisle of the church to "Celebrate" by Kool and the Gang.

After getting onstage we sang three more times. We also sang "The Kindergarten Class" to the tune of The Addams Family song, "K-I-N-D-E-R-G-A-R-T-E-N" to the tune of "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E." The grand finale was "First Grade, First Grade" to the tune of "New York, New York." They did such a great job! After singing, we gave out our superlative awards for each student. The kids danced out of the church to "ABC, 123" by The Jackson Five. The parents then came over to our classroom for the reception--a Luau themed party! Here are two pictures from our reception/celebration.

I got each of my kids a luau themed bag from the dollar tree and put their names on them with fabric paint. Inside the bag were some summer activities donated from our school (workbooks, letter magnets, glue sticks, storybooks, handwriting paper), a visor with their names written on them, a class picture of all of us together, and one of my favorite storybooks, Giraffes Can't Dance. I also had a framed picture of each child made into a magnet for their parents to have. The kiddos loved the bags!

All of the parents wanted a picture of their child with the teacher. It was like a paparazzi attack! Here is a picture of me with one of my sweet and adorable kids. She was dressed like a princess. I will miss her so much! How could you not love that beautiful face?

Song Lyrics

These songs are great to sing! They are catchy and adorable. I am not sure where they are from, as my school has used them for years. Just a disclaimer, I did not come up with the words or the music for these songs. Nonetheless, they are excellent to use for a Kindergarten Celebration or a Kindergarten Graduation!

"ABCs and 123s" (to the tune of the Addams Family song)

"We've learned our ABCs 

And counting 123s

And now we know all these,

The kindergarten class!"

"And we learned how to share

And we learned how to care

Just ask us if you dare,

the kindergarten class."

"It seems we've just begun,

And now it's almost done!

This year's been so much fun,

The kindergarten class!"

"Now we must say so long 

With this our little song

But we'll be back before long!

The kinderarten class!"

"K-I-N-D-E-R-G-A-R-T-E-N" (To the tune of Mickey Mouse Club song)

"This year is almost over

and we don't want it to end

K-I-N-D-E-R-G-A-R-T-E-N"

"Reading, writing, numbers

And making lots of friends,

K-I-N-D-E-R-G-A-R-T-E-N"

"Kindergarten!

We had fun!

Kindergarten!

We had fun!

We know that we can do it if we 

TRY, TRY, TRY!"

"So, off we go, 

but don't you know

That we will not forget...

K-I-N-D-E-R-G-A-R-T-E-N"

(Repeat entire song once more)

"First Grade, First Grade" (To the tune of "New York, New York")

"Start spreading the news....

We're leaving today....

We want to be a part of it!

First grade, first grade...

We've worked very hard...

Our teachers are proud...

So open up those doors to

First grade, first grade!

"We know our (clap clap) alphabet

And our (clap clap) numbers too!

We all can write our names

And tie our shoes...."

"So when summer's done

And we're finished with play

Our moms will send us all to

First grade, first grade!"

"If we can (clap clap) make it here,

We'll make it (clap clap) anywhere,

So here we come, 

First grade, first grade!"

*Chirp, Chirp!*

~Natalie

My First Chirp

Looks like this will be my very first blog post...or "chirp" as I like to call it!! I am so excited to join the technical world of blogging! I am also thrilled to be able to share my teaching ideas with others through publishing posts and pictures. 

I decided to begin blogging when my good friend and co-worker, Jamie Gordon (www.kindergartenfriends.blogspot.com), encouraged me to create a blog to connect with other people and teachers. After seeing her adorable blog, I begged my husband to make me one. He is a techy nerd so it worked out well for me. I think he did a pretty great job! He worked very hard and after getting over the initial shock of my blog title (The Polka Dotted Chirp), he rolled with it and made it look as adorable as I could imagine it to be! 

So a little bit about my blog and me! I am 27 years old and I live just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. I am on cloud nine because there are only six days left of school this year. It is bittersweet because I have an amazingly sweet group of kids this year, but it definitely time for a little (or big) break! This upcoming school year will start my sixth year as a kindergarten teacher. I graduated from the College of Charleston with a Bachelor's of Science in Early Childhood Education. I recently finished up my Master's degree with a specialization in literacy and reading strategies. Now that I don't have homework every night (thank God!) I can concentrate on those things that make me happy...like my new found interest in blogging and organizing ideas for next school year! My teaching style is fun and energetic. I love teaching kindergarten because it gives me a chance to be a kid again. 

Through this blog, I hope to share some good ideas in regards to lesson planning, organization, and teaching in general. I love teaching and I love sharing ideas. Another thing I absolutely love are polka dots. And...my class theme is both polka dots and birds. I love whimsy little birds...they make me happy. In fact, I call my students my little "tweethearts." So, it is obvious where I came up with the name for my blog. What is better than a polka dotted bird? Not too much. 

Well, for a first post, I would say this isn't too bad. But, since it is getting past my bedtime and considering we have our Kindergarten Graduation tomorrow, I better get some rest. Here's to some fun and exciting future blog posts! 

*Chirp Chirp*
 Natalie