Book bash with my kinder friends

Yay!! It is time for our second blog hop with my favorite #kinderfriends. These are such an amazing group of woman and I am so glad we get to come together and share ideas with all y'all out there in the blogging world. This month we are sharing out our favorite books. Now for those that know me, know that I am slightly obsessed with books. I grew up with books everywhere in our house and some of my fondest memories as a girl was going to Barnes and Nobles and picking out a new Nancy Drew or American Girls chapter book. So this blog theme was right up my alley! I decided to narrow my book pickings down to my favorite end of the year books that I use in my classroom. 

I always end our kindergarten year with a giant ocean unit. The kids love it! It is a great opportunity to really hit on non fiction books and text features, but also incorporate some really fun fiction picture books like "Nugget & Fang". 

Day one: I start off by reading the "Nat. Geo : Sharks!" book. We talk about text features, we do a picture walk through etc. Then we read "Nugget & Fang". We talk about the setting, characters, plot etc. After that we chart our findings using a Venn Diagram. My goal is to really emphasize the difference between non fiction and fiction books. 

Day 2:  We reread and look back over the Nat. Geo book. Using my non fiction reader worksheet, we choose a fact that we learned to write about, and then draw a picture. 

Day 3: We reread "Nugget & Fang" and chart all the parts of the story. The kiddos then use those charts to complete my fiction/parts of a story worksheet.

Day 4: To really hit the concept of fiction/non fiction out of the park, I take old Scholastic catalogs and let the kids cut out pictures of both types of books and put them in the right category (fiction or non fiction)

If you would like any of the worksheets from this post click here

I hope you enjoyed reading!! Now get comfortable and hop on over to Wendy's blog at First Grade Fireworks for another AMAZING post

Rumor has it...

I am here to set the record straight….yes, the rumors are true. Glue sponges are the best thing invented since sliced bread! They are super easy to make, and way less mess than a kindergartener rubbing his glue stick all over his page and consequently the table. 

Recently, I went to grab a glue stick from our class glue stick bucket. I twist the cap off and this is what I find: 

That is disgusting! At that point I knew I had to try something new. I have to give props to Greg Smedley over at Kindergarten Smorgasboard is the OG of glue sponges. When I saw these, I knew this is what I had to do. Below, you can find the supply list and the directions for making your very own glue sponge. 

What you need:

*A sponge ( i just bought the cheap 4 pack at Target)

* A sealable storage container (They sell a 4 pack at Wal-Mart for less that $2)

*Elmer's Glue

Step 1:

Drop a sponge in the container and pour the glue right on top of the sponge. If you have purchased the 7oz bottle of glue, I pour about half of that onto the sponge. That way it is enough to soak in and will last. 

Step 2:

Once you have poured the glue on, simply snap on the lid and let it soak overnight. Easy Peezy! 

Well there you have it! Those rumors have been put to rest and I can confidently say that glue sponges are the best invention ever!