*Five for Friday*

Phew! I am so excited to be back on my blog! I am excited to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share some ideas! The past few weeks have been HECTIC, to say the least, with going to back to school! Today marks the third official day of school for me. I have 25 sweet kindergarteners who are full of energy! Needless to say, they have worn me out in these three short days! However, it feels good to be back and I am anxious to get them into a "routine!" 

For my Five for Friday, I have a few ideas to share that I used this week with my kindergarten students to get them excited about the school year! 

1.) One of my favorite stories to read to my kindergarten students is The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman. My classroom theme is polka dots and birds, so I start them off early by letting them know that they are my "tweethearts." By the end of the year, they know the Mrs. Melton is obsessed with two things: birds and polka dots. If you haven't read this story, it is totally cute and worth the time. After reading the story, my students created paper plate birds to hang in the classroom! I forgot to take a picture of our birds that we made, but I have attached the idea that I "borrowed" from pinterest! The kids loved the story and they really loved making their own class birds! 

2.) One of my favorite games that we played this week was our "Jack Be Nimble" game. It is so simple and fun and it helps the kiddos learn each others' names! I bring a candlestick to class and place it on the carpet. Each student has a chance to jump over the candlestick while we recite the well known nursery rhyme: "Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jumped over the candlestick!." On the Smartboard, I replace the word "Jack" with the a student's name! It is great to see their eyes light up when the teacher writes their name on the board and they get to jump over the candlestick! It makes it even more fun (and they find it hilarious) when I tell them to be careful not to burn their hiney! After, they color a picture of the nursery rhyme. Here is a link to the coloring page (click the picture):

                                                                   

3.) Another fun name game that I like to play is called "Higgledy, Biggledy Bumblebee, Can you say your name for me?" I play this game on the first day of school! It is super easy. All you need are students and a stuffed animal bee (or you could use a picture of a bee). Basically, you sit in a circle with the children and say the rhyme together: "Higgledy, Biggledy Bumblebee, Can you say your name for me?" Whoever is holding the bumblebee says their name! I got my stuffed bee at the Kohl's Cares for Kids sale and it is perfect for this game!

                                                     

4.) One thing that I love about going back to school is decorating and getting my classroom ready! I love all things polka dot and birds, so I wanted to make sure that my class door showed off my theme! Here is a picture of my door! K-D is a hoot!

                                                    

5.) And for my last Five for Friday, I finally got around to making a multi-colored Word Wall Alphabet to go along with my Common Core State Standard Word Wall! Here is a little preview of what it looks like! Head over to my TpT Store to check it out!

                                                        

Thank you for reading my blog and make sure you link up over at Doodle Bugs Teaching to see other beginning of school ideas!

                                                     

Happy Back to School!