Fall Resources Round Up

Fall is here and so are so many awesome Fall resources! I have compiled all of the Fall resources from my store along with a Fall FREEBIE for you, which just so happens to be one of my favorite FREEBIES!!

Fall Basic Skills BOOM and GOOGLE SLIDES

Are you looking for a digital alternative to use with your students or children? These BOOM™ cards and GOOGLE SLIDES are the perfect fit! This activity can be used on a computer, smart board, tablet, or even cell phone! In the BOOM version, if the child answers incorrectly, it will prompt them to try again. If answered correctly, the deck moves on to the next question!

Fall Basic Skills WORKSHEETS

This set of 17 preschool worksheets is a NO PREP, ENGAGING way to celebrate FALL! These math and literacy printables fit well into your themes and lesson plans, and are quick and EASY TO USE!

Fall CVC Words BOOM CARDS

This activity contains Boom™ Cards working on identifying pictures that match the CVC word. Students will listen to, or read, the CVC word and then click the picture that matches! Students are given an array of 3 answer choices.

Life Cycle Activities

The apple and pumpkin life cycle activities resources are PERFECT for this time of year. If your class discusses life cycles often, you might also want to consider the bundle of life cycle activities in my store!

Fall Matching Worksheets

These were my FAVORITE seat work activities in my preschool classroom. If your morning routine is missing academics and structure, these are the perfect solution. Students come complete these independently or with minimal support since there are 2 different levels in the pack. These are also part of a larger bundle, if you would prefer to have them all year round.

Fall Number Matching Activity

Centers or independent work, these matching cards are perfect for counting practice! Students can count and match in all of the seasons as well if you grab the bundle of number matching cards!

Last but not least, a FREEBIE for you!

My preschoolers LOVED exploring pumpkins, so I created a worksheet to help them reflect on their findings. This year I have also added a digital option to the freebie! I hope you enjoy this resource as much as I did!!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

If you have any trouble downloading the freebie don’t hesitate to email me at [email protected] or reach out to me on Instagram!

BOOM Cards vs. Interactive PDFs

So, what is the difference between BOOM Cards and Interactive PDFs??!!
I am here to tell you!!

BOOM CARDS + INTERACTIVE PDFs

NO PRINT
NO PREP
ENGAGING
FUN
Use on any device
Easy to share on distance learning platforms

BOOM Cards

How do I download or access these materials?

When you purchase this resource, you’ll receive a PDF download. Inside the PDF you will find directions and a link to click. You’ll click the link to add the deck (task cards) to your Boom Library.

TO USE:

Make sure you have internet access
You can open this link in any browser or the app that is available in the app store
Click on this link to view the FAQ page on boom:https://boomlearning.freshdesk.com/support/home
Please do not share this link with other educators
You may share the link to the boom deck with your student’s and their families. Here is how to do that:https://boomlearning.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/folders/16000094500

MORE INFO:

When a student is incorrect, an ‘X’ goes through what they clicked on
To use Boom Cards, you must be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards.
You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with “Fast Pins,” (play provides instant feedback for self-grading Boom Cards). Fast Play is always a free way for students to engage with Boom Cards decks.
For additional assignment options you’ll need a premium account. If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account. Read here for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial.
You may be eligible for a free trial from Boom Learning. Read here for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial. If you choose not to stay on a premium account after your free trial, you will still be able to assign all your Boom Cards to as many students as you see fit using Fast Play pins (which give instant feedback for decks that are self-grading).
Click on this link to view the FAQ page on boom: https://boomlearning.freshdesk.com/support/home

BOOM Cards in my store

INTERACTIVE PDFs:

Use on any device
Can’t advance until the student is correct
**Interactive PDFs DO NOT HAVE SOUND**

HOW DO I GET THEM ON MY COMPUTER?

Mac: Open PDF (should open in ‘preview’) and you can start
PC: open in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (free) or any PDF reader
Can be used on your computer that connects to your SmartBoard so you can use these in whole group lessons

HOW DO I GET THEM ON MY TABLET?

Get the google drive app AND the iBooksapp
Upload the PDF to your google drive
When you see the file in your google drive, click the 3 dots
Click, ‘open in’
Select iBooks
The file will show up in iBooks
Open in iBooks and BEGIN 🙂

Interactive PDFS in my store

I hope this was helpful for you! I used both during distance learning and my students loved them. I hope your students love them too.

5 Essentials To Start The School Year

The beginning of the school year is TOUGH! I wanted to give you some tips I have for the beginning of the school year. These are not going to solve all of your problems, but they might help you feel a tiny bit better!!

1) PLANNER

No matter how you want to do it, you need a way to plan! I have gone through every possible way to plan; iPad planner, paper, digital (google slides), and more that I probably am not thinking of. Typically, I start the year with one type of planning system, and that quickly evolves into something else, and then something else, and by the end of the year I am doing something totally different.

This year I plan on starting out with this beautiful planner I put together myself! I have ALL of the details in my Instagram story highlights called PLANNER.

Here are some of my favorite planners and resources I have used to plan, and am still using in this planner:

2) SET UP YOUR SPACE

Setting up your classroom, or work space, is so important! Of course we want to make the space welcoming and comfortable for our students, but OUR space is important too. We spend most of our days at school so your space in the classroom is your second home!! Make it feel that way!

3) CLASSROOM SETUP

Alright, now it’s time to setup the rest of your classroom! I got you covered!! Listed below are some places you can find videos and resources to help you:

In my Facebook Group:
- Facebook live recordings all about ORGANIZING your classroom
- ORGANIZATION HANDBOOK
- Classroom tour Facebook live
On my Instagram
- I have mini room tour reels
- Story highlights about organization
- Pictures of how I organize

4) MATERIALS

Before starting the year, and definitely before your students start, you want to make sure you have all the materials you might need in order to teach. You want to have TOO many materials to start, and then once you realize what you, and your students, will actually be working on, you can always take some away.

Below I have a list of materials that you might find helpful to start the year:

5) MORNING MEETING/CLASSROOM SLIDES

The last thing I truly believe that you NEED to start the year off right is morning meeting/classroom slides for your meetings and day to day routines with students. Having uniform slides to start your sessions, or to run your entire session, is very important for your sanity and consistency for your students. There are many, many, many options out there BUT I think I might have the perfect one for you!

My Classroom Morning Meeting Editable Slides For All Grades and Subjects product has every slide you might need to run your class meetings OR to display while students are working. This product has over 400 slides, 70 different slide headers AND moveable clip art.

As I mentioned the slides are editable and I include directions for how to add to the slides if you choose to. I also include directions for importing these slides into google slides. I have been using these slides during distance learning and in person learning for years now and they have been a LIFE SAVOR. They are cute AND make me feel super organized.

Do you feel ready to start the year? I hope this all helps you!!

I wish you the best of luck this school year. We are in this TOGETHER!!

Distance Learning Schedule

By the time ESY came around in July I had made all of the mistakes and came across all of the hurdles that distance learning had to offer me. I was ready for a fresh start and for more organization!

I made a schedule using @thecreativeclassroom digital decor and I was hoping that I would be able to keep the schedule consistent throughout the 4 weeks of ESY. Of course, after the first week we had to make some minor changes, but after that we were able to keep the same weekly schedule.

Our schedule consisted of 3 main activities; circle time, special activity and small groups. Here are more details about each one of those;

CIRCLE TIME: Every day at 9am

For circle time, I used my morning meeting editable slides that are in my TPT store. We went through a typical circle time routine like we would at school. Circle time lasted about 20 minutes. We did circle time with another class is ESY so that is why there are 2 teachers listed under circle time on the schedule.
–Rules
–Attendance
–Greetings
–Weather
–Countdown
–Focus question and quick lesson from curriculum
–Schedule

**I highly recommend reviewing your schedule for the day at the end of your circle time or morning meeting. The parents loved being able to see it so that they knew what their child had to do for the rest of the day. I even highlighted the specific day with a yellow box.

SPECIAL ACTIVITY: Tuesday-Friday at 10am

During this time we did FUN activities. Special activities typically lasted about 15-20 minutes.

Activities we did during this time:
- Read aloud
  - You can hold the book up to your camera or use an OSMO
- Scavenger hunts
  - I used the resource from my TPT store
- Directed drawings
  - You can find for free online or make it up
- Yoga
  - Do it live or screen-share a cosmic kids video on YouTube
- Share a pet/stuffed animal
  - Or any show and tell
- Cooking
  - You can do it live or use videos on abcya.com

SMALL GROUPS: Monday-Thursday starting at 11am

For ESY we had to see each student for one hour every day. Circle time and special activity took care of that but I still wanted to see my students in small groups. That is how my students learn best at school, and that is when I get to work on their individual skills so I still wanted to do them. I would see 3-4 students at one time, 2 times a week. Small groups were no longer than 15 minutes.

For every single small group I either used my OSMO, BOOM cards or interactive PDFs.

For more information about the activities I would do with my OSMO click HERE.

Boom Cards I would use:
–All of the BOOM cards from my TPT store
—Made For Me Literacy BOOM Cards

I organized my BOOM Cards in the BOOM library by making folders. On the left side of your BOOM library click ‘new folder’. You can organize them by category, skill, students, etc.

Interactive PDFs I would use:
–All of the Interactive PDFs from my TPT store

I used my iPad to project all of this. I have directions in my ‘HOW TO USE THE OSMO’ blog post for connecting your iPad to your computer. The reason I loved using my iPad AND my computer is because I was able to keep my students in full screen on my computer, instead of splitting the screen between them in the google meet and the activity we were doing.

Q&A

Q: Did you seperate your AM and PM classes?
A: In google classroom I had both classes combined. For circle time and special activity I also combined both classes. For small groups I separated them with the students that they were familiar with since it was a more intimate setting.

Q: How did you know if it was too much for your students and their parents
A: During ESY we were required to send a weekly survey to the parents to get their feedback on the work, sessions, etc. I highly recommend doing something like this. It was very helpful.

Q: How did you take data during distance learning?
A: I mostly took anecdotal notes on how my students were doing. I could not take specific data for their IEP goals like we typically do because most of them have all social goals. During distance learning we were not able to work on most of their goals.

Q: Did you have paraprofessionals during ESY?
A: My specific class did not but others did. If I did moving forward I probably would have my para take data via a google form. They can join my sessions, split their screen with the students and the data google form and take data via a google form that I would make for them.

Q: Would you meet with each student prior to this schedule starting?
A: ABSOLUTELY! If I had new students I would meet with each family individually at the beginning of the school year. Even if it is just for 10 minutes.

Little Books For Big Thinkers

Introduce back to school concepts of names, classroom rules, sounds, feelings, schedules, school workers, and making friends with the Beginning of the Year Little Books For Big Thinkers book set bundle.

WHAT IS LITTLE BOOKS FOR BIG THINKERS?

Little Books For Big Thinkers is a book series designed specifically for early learners. It covers common early childhood themes presented in developmentally appropriate texts. Little Books For Big Thinkers is inclusive of all learners. Lucy from The Alternative Way to Pre-K and I came together to create books that could supplement the books given to us by our curriculum. Lucy uses, and I used to use, the Creative Curriculum in our classes and realized quickly that most of the books were not appropriate for our preschool self-contained classes. So not only can these books be used in any preschool classroom, we also aligned them to Creative Curriculum studies. Each purchase from Little Books For Big Thinkers comes with one book with typical text and pictures, one book with symbol text version that includes supporting visuals. Each book can be used in the classroom, online, or at home.

DO YOU TEACH LITTLE LEARNERS?

These little books are perfect for any little learner. We kept the language very general and simple so you can use this with a wide range of learners. You can use these books as a large group read aloud, in small groups, virtually during distance learning and so much more!

DO YOU USE THE CREATIVE CURRICULUM?

If you use the Creative Curriculum, these books align perfectly with the Beginning of the Year Study. We would recommend using these alongside the books that the Creative Curriculum provides, or using them to replace those books. This depends on your student’s reading comprehension skills levels.

We are both familiar with, and have used, the Creative Curriculum in our preschool special education classrooms. We would typically spend 1-2 weeks on each focus question. We wrote one book for each focus question.

HOW CAN I USE LITTLE BOOKS FOR BIG THINKERS BOOKS DURING DISTANCE LEARNING?

We recommend using the books as read alouds as if you were in the classroom. You can screenshare the book and go through it with your whole class or in small groups. You can also print and prep the books and read them to your students during your virtual meetings.
We recommend sharing these books with your students and their families via whatever online platform you are using (Google Classroom, Seesaw, Schoology, etc.) so that they can read and review them on their own time.

BOOKS WE HAVE MADE SO FAR:

EXCLUSIVE BUNDLE BONUS FILE!!

The Beginning of the Year School Stories Bundle exclusively offers all stories in boom card format. That means, students can have each beginning of the year social story read to them and at their own pace. The students will be able to listen to each story with automatic sound. They will also be able to click the button when they are ready for the next page, developing their independence skills! To preview click here: https://wow.boomlearning.com/store/bundle/NWTiJZ4sDqTy9q6Zt?ref=self

HOW TO PREP THE BOOKS:

Method 1: Bind the book with a binding machine and coils

Method 2: Put each page in a sheet protector and use binder rings to hold them together

Method 3: Use a portfolio cover and print the pages on normal paper

Method 4: Use the Happy Planner rings

Method 5: Simply print and staple!

3 TPT Sale Must-Haves

TPT is having a SITE-WIDE SALE!!

This means most sellers will be making their stores 20% off and TPT will be giving an additional 5% off. In order to get the full 25% off you MUST use the code at checkout. The code will be at the TOP of the TPT home page when you login during the sale.

I thought I would help you by letting you know 3 MUST HAVES that you should purchase during the TPT sale.

But first, here are my top 5 sale tips!!

Review past purchases to earn TPT credits! TPT credits=free MONEY! Go to “My Purchases” and add a meaningful review to your previous purchases. Then, when you go to checkout you will have credits to use towards your purchases!
Don’t forget to use the code at checkout!!
Set an alarm for Wednesday night so you don’t forget to checkout! (I’ve done this before and it is NOT fun!)
Use the search categories on the left side when you search for items on TPT! It will help you narrow down the search and find that you need. Also, use seller’s custom categories in their store to narrow down what you are looking for!
PLAN AHEAD! TPT only does site-wide sales 4-5 times a year. Think ahead and purchase what you will need for the beginning of the school year all the way to holiday time!

BUNDLES

Bundles are such a steal on a normal day, but during a SALE they are priced so low that it is just a no brainer!!! Bundles are essentially a bunch of products that are related put together in one place and DISCOUNTED! Most bundles are also growing bundles. This means that sellers will add to the bundle over time. As long as you purchase the bundle, you will have lifetime access to any updates and additions that the seller chooses to make to the bundle.

Some top-selling bundles from my store that are VERY DISCOUNTED during the sale are…

DIGITAL MATERIALS/ACTIVITIES

This year is a little different. Although digital materials are always a fun addition to your classroom, this year they are essential. Most of us are going to be fully virtual to start the year or a mix of virtual and in-person. Either way, digital materials are going to be a huge part of how we teach now. Over the past 6 months I have created a bunch of digital materials so that I could effectively teach my students during distance learning. I have posted those, and so many more, in my TPT store so that you can use them too! I talk a LOT about how I taught during distance learning in my Instagram Story highlights.

Some top-selling digital activities from my store that are ON SALE during the sale are…

ASSESSMENT MATERIALS

No matter what type of classroom you’re in, it is essential to have a way to assess your students. In my preschool self-contained classroom, I would assess my students 2-3 times a year. I would use my preschool assessment resources. Since we will be mostly digital to start the school year, I have created a DIGITAL ASSESSMENT for you to effectively assess your students from home OR in school. No more big assessment bins or 100s of assessment papers. Now, you can assess your students FULL VIRTUALLY.

You can read more about the digital assessment HERE.

Alright, now that you know my 3 must-haves it is time to get your carts ready!!!!!!!

As always, if you have any questions please email me or message me on Instagram!

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