Got Music?

Singing has always been a part of my classroom. One of my fondest memories was during my second year of teaching, when one of my students learned to read through song.

Singing can lift the heart, unite people together, and teach.

Here are a few of my favorites.

Dr. Jean

(Who doesn't love her?  Even my husband and son know a few of her songs!  :) )

Favorites:

Kiss Your Brain

Shake a Hand

Who Let the Letters Out! 

Macarena's Bones

The Water Cycle

Five Senses

Parts of a Flower

Favorites from this CD:     

Deck the Halls

Pepperoni Pizza

Syllable Clap

Happy Birthday Letters        

Slide and Blend

Lifetime Words

Karate Writing

Good Bye Friends

Greg and Steve

(They have been a part of my teaching since the beginning)

Favorites:

Yellow Submarine
Sunshine Medley
This Land Is Your Land
Rockin the USA

Love These!:
The Body Rock
Tummy Tango
Animal Action I and II
Show Me What You Feel

Mark D. Pencil

Top Picks:

I Can Count to 100

Counting by 2s

Counting by 5s

Counting by 10s

Super E

Two Vowels Together

The Exercise Game #1, #2, and #3

Charlotte Diamond

Favorites:

Four Hugs a Day

I Wanna Be a Dog

I Am a Pizza

Looking for Dracula

Octopus

Each Of Us is a Flower

Many of Charlotte Diamond's, Raffi's and other artists' songs have song cards which can be purchased here.  These cards are great and also come with a little book that you can copy for your class.

Want to incorporate technology with music?  See Kelly's Kindergarten for Powerpoints to many Dr. Jean and Jack Hartmann songs or Harry's Kindergarten for awesome videos!

I know I forgot many other favorites such as Jose Luis Orozco, Raffi, and many country music artisits.  But, that means, there will be more on music soon!

What's on your must have CDs?  I'm always on the lookout for great CDs that I can use many, many, songs.  Leave your comments.  I LOVE them!

Happy Learning and Teaching!

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My Favorite Tools For Teaching and Learning

As a teacher, I love "stuff."  Sometimes, I feel like I have way too much of it.  But there are many items that I just can't live without.

Here are some of my favorites.
#1 Computer Adapter/Headphone Splitter

Who would have thought an adapter could change your teaching life?  It has.  No more teaching over the loudness of the listening center.  No more kids talking to each other while at listening center. I love this thing!  I don't know why it took me so long to buy it. 

#2 Schedule Cards

Another teacher lifesaver.  These schedule cards are cute and functional.  It keeps our day organized and allows kids to check what we are doing next rather than asking me 10 times.

#3 Pretend Phones

I made these telephones using clip art I found.  All I did was enlarge them and laminate for durability.  I use these alot with my ELD students or very shy students.  It's amazing how kids love to talk on the phone.  I always have these handy. 

#4 Mr. Spaceman

Mr. Spaceman is used during shared and interactive writing.  I keep smaller versions of this one in our community supply buckets for kids who still have difficulty with spacing.

#5 Verb Cards

I love these verb cards!  They are always available during writing.  Many times the pictures spark a student's interest for writing about that topic.  I also use them for our lessons on inflectional verb endings (more on that soon). 

#5 Highlighter Tape

I think I may have it in every color sold!  I like to have us "highlight" the words to match the color-coded high frequency word cards we use for our word wall.  Kids love to use as they read big books during buddy reading.

#6 Smelly Markers

 Nothing makes writing better than a smelly marker.  Give a kid one of these and they are sure to write. 

#7 Grab and Go Notebook

I love my teacher planner.  I bought two of these this summer! I like how functional it is.  I have a large one for my lessons and other student information but also a smaller one that I use for my committee meetings. 

#8 Painter's Tape

I use it everywhere!  It's on my floors to mark where students wait in line and on my door to keep student work up without leaving sticky residue.  It is so versatile.  That's what I like about it.

#9  Puppets and Stuffed Animals

We use these alot!  We use them to sort, for descrpitve writing, for buddy reading, as a sensory object, or for story retell.  The possibilites are endless! But mostly, they are just fun to play with. 

#10 My Son

Having a child has made me a better teacher.  It has given me the knowledge to see things from a different perspective; a child's point of view.  He has shown me to be more patient, love a lot more, and to cherish each day.  You are only a kid once.  As a teacher, I want to make it the best it can be for my little ones at school and also to the one I come home to every night.

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