Oriental Trading Finds and Essentials!

I just received my first order of the school year from Oriental Trading Company.  Oriental Trading is usually my automatic "go to" for fun teaching necessities.  Here are some of my purchases and how I plan on incorporating them into my kindergarten classroom.

1.  Star Dry Erase Clings (set of 3)
My plan is to put these up in highly visible locations in my classroom with the sight word(s) of the week written on each one.  One spot will be on our main classroom door, so I can quiz kids on the "passcode" as they enter/exit.  I also put one on the white board.  Third location...TBD.

2.  Dry Erase Sleeves
I am really excited about these.  They come in a set of 12.  I am envisioning a lot of use out of these in my writing center.  Great way to cut down on copies!

3.  "WOW" Stickers

For the first time this year I am giving students an opportunity to move "up" from green on the behavior chart. Purple is the next step up, at the very top of the chart.  Students can move to purple on the behavior chart by demonstrating "WOW" behavior, which I will explain as going above and beyond to help someone else.  When a student ends the day on purple, they will be allowed to visit the "WOW" box at dismissal.  Inside the "WOW" box they will find these fancy wiggly-eyed animal stickers.  I am going to be very selective about asking students to move up from green.  I always emphasize that being on green means you are being a wonderful student, which is something to be very proud of.  Purple will be reserved for displays of wonderful citizenship.

   

3.  "Everyday" Stickers
These stickers are my "everyday" (not to be confused with WOW ;)) stickers.  The kids love them!  I use these to reinforce general good behavior.  For example, if the group is slow to come to the rug after I ring the bell, I might ask Jack and Jill to go get a sticker from the sticker basket for already being on the rug.  This not only reinforces their good behavior, but more importantly, gets the attention of the rest of the group to follow in their lead.  The key is to always use your loud teacher voice when offering up stickers- you want everyone in the room to know what you're rewarding!

4.  Googly eyes
I can never have enough!  I incorporate these into projects any chance I get :).

5.  Play Dough...just to have on hand!

5.  Bubbles

I am using these as a second "Meet the Teacher" gift. 

I got this idea/found these labels on Pinterest via First Grade with a Cherry on Top

My New Behavior Chart

Earlier this summer, I decided it was time to finally retire my old behavior clip chart.  I had made it the summer before my first year teaching, so after many great years together, I said goodbye to it's faded colors and wrinkles.  I am going with an apple theme for my classroom this year, so I decided to continue that theme with my behavior chart.

My project started like this:

And ended like this:

If you would like to create an apple themed behavior chart of your own, just click on the image or follow the link below to my TPT store.  It's only $1!

Apple Themed Behavior Clip Chart