Picture Book Linky Party!

I am linking up with First Grade and Fabulous for a fun party to share beginning year book ideas.

Here are a couple of my favorites!

I LOVE this one:

It is silly and fun- and one of my favorite pages talks about how if ONE person touches a wall, there is a smudge- but if EVERYBODY did... and the page is all black.   I refer to  that page a lot as we walk in the hall because my kids are just drawn to that wall to touch it. It is somehow irresistible...

This is a fun early year writing activity book and the illustrations are great:

This is a fun story about Kindergarten:

I love Kevin Henkes books- and any of those are fabulous choices.  Chrysanthemum is a fun story for introducing names. We revisit this book a few times during the year.  The first week it will be before we introduce our name chart.  Later, after we do our "crumpled heart" lesson on kindness, we read this story again and crumple a Chrysanthemum picture each time someone says something mean about her name.  Afterward, we show how we can try to straighten out the picture, but it is still crumpled and hurt, just like our feelings when someone is mean. It can be made "better" by apologizing- but never quite the same as before.  :(  Makes me sort of sad just thinking about it!

Another one I use is this one:

I was trying to think of some different books that I use, from some of the others that probably we all use about Kindergarten on those first days. :)  This one is how I introduce two things for the year- first, my love of Eric Carle. :) Second, after we read this, I talk about how the spider couldn't be disturbed while he was busy spinning his web.  I have a little spider beanbag that I leave on my reading table while I am working with a  reading group, so my independent center workers know that when that is on my table, I am busy like the very busy spider and can't be disturbed. It is just one more way to try to explain to them to work independently and save questions for me until I am not a busy spider!

(Mine is a little smaller and made of felt, but you get the idea! :)







And of course...

because I do a painted handprint over a heart with a poem to send home with the children the first day.  I also made the sugar cookies with a Hershey kiss in the middle- like this:

(These aren't mine either- it is a google image picture of the cookies that I keep inside my book for the idea. :) 

This is great for a first day special snack- AND because my name is Mrs. Kisloski, I have a poster made with three pictures- a Hershey kiss, children singing with a speech bubble saying "la", and a child skiing.  I made the kids practice "Kiss-la-ski" and we have fun with that.  SO after they master my name, and I tell them that is one of the HARDEST things in Kindergarten they will have to learn, and we have read The Kissing Hand, we enjoy the cookies!  I love to joke with them that it is a good thing my name isn't "Mrs. Spinachlaski or Mrs. Brusselsproutlaski" or it wouldn't be so delicious!
 I don't let them get away with "Mrs. K." because I don't want them to forget my name when they try to look back years down the road!  :)  They are amazing at it, by the way- much better than their parents!  Ha! It just doesn't seem that hard to me- but for some reason people love to stick a "louse" in there- like "Kis-louse-ski".  Nope. No "w" and no picture of a louse on my chart! ewwww.

I tried something this year for the first time and love it. I used it for Kindergarten Orientation already, and will be using it the first day of school.  I had my class this year make a classroom book of favorite Kindergarten things for my new class.  Each page said, "You will love the ___________." Each child chose a different fun part of Kindergarten, like colored blocks, housekeeping, centers, computers, snacks, rug, and the last page, of course, I saved for " the techer."  I don't care how it was spelled.  That was my favorite! :)   It turned out so sweet. I didn't take pictures of this book yet- because I read it to my Orientation kids without being laminated and it is now being laminated, but you can get the idea!  It was a great conversation starter for the new children.  The "rug" page illustration was exactly like my rug, and I could have the children guess what the written word was from the picture and things like that.  Lots of fun.

I also just wrote a post of favorite books I use for writing activities and journals.  I have lots of these all set for emergency sub plans or those extra, unexpected chunks of time, too.

:)  Thanks for visiting!
Carolyn

Favorite School Stories Linky Party!

My blogger friends Susanna from Whimsy Workshop and Sandy from Kinder- Gardening gave me the courage to try a Linky Party! :) Then, I went over to  A Turn to Learn where she posted perfect post about how to host a linky party- that I could actually follow and figure out...so you KNOW she did a great job explaining it..  :)   I am so excited!   I would love to hear  your favorite funny school stories from your classroom. I know we all have lots and lots- new ones each day.  Let's start the summer off on a fun note, forgetting about the end of the year rush of paperwork and testing, and  remembering why we love the jobs we have.

I can't wait to hear your favorites!  Link up below! :)
Carolyn