Brain Breaks with Harry Kindergarten

Happy Sunday! Sunday is a day to relax and prepare! I love to surf the web looking for new ideas for my classroom! Pinterest is my favorite website!

Last week when I was looking I came across Harry Kindergarten on youtube! Wonderful songs and activities for my firsties! We did "Bat Vowel" several times on Friday and they LOVED it! I had one little girl keep saying "and sometimes y"! :) Be still my heart <3

I love how it is still considered instructional, but also is used as a "brain break" and movement activity for my wiggly little cherubs =]

For this week I searched and searched for interactive smart board reading street lessons. I'm kind of disappointed in how few there are for Reading Street stories =[ Hopefully, I will have some to share soon! But I DID find some more wonderful brain breaks from Harry Kindergarten! Just search him on youtube! Wonderful!

I can't wait to have them do "If You're a Kid"! They get to move around, as well as follow directions!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

XOXO

Jen

Brain Sprinkles!

For those of you wondering why this blog is titled "Sprinkles for First Grade"...it's partially my love of things that sparkle, as well as my love for first grade <3 Even better when the two are put together and Brain Sprinkles are created! 

So what are Brain Sprinkles? They are magic! They give the students a little extra "oompf!" when they are feeling down! Just "sprinkle" some Brain Sprinkles on their little heads and magically they are back on task and working extra hard! My Brain sprinkles are just a small salt container filled with actual sprinkles and a little bit of glitter! Add saran wrap to the top, close it, and viola! Brain Sprinkles!

One of my students who previously had me in Pre-K asked if it was like quiet lotion! Of course it is! Quiet Lotion, Fairy Dust and Brain Sprinkles...all magical <3

Of course this was not an original idea of mine, I did find the idea on pinterest! I liked the clear container though (even without a label) better then the plastic containers they can't see. Tomorrow will be a big brain sprinkle day with all those first grade tests! 

Welcome!

This is my first year in first grade and I'm in the midst of trying tons of different ways of doing things. Currently, I've been researching Daily 5, Cafe and Whole Brain teaching. I will be posting links and such to support these teaching methods! My hope is to help other who are interested in creating an active community among teachers. I am so excited to get started!

Today I began Day 1 of Whole Brain Teaching. Chris Biffle is amazing! Look him up at Whole Brain Teaching! There are tons of resources on their and it's a great place to get started! 

Day 1 in First Grade? Well, we're trying it! The kids seemed to really enjoy the call/response and were responding much quicker. I did have repeat, repeat, repeat though! Can't wait to try out Day 2 tomorrow!


XOXO
~Jen