Monday, November 26, 2012

KBound SALE


 



                    Save 20% on KBound materials!!!
                               hApPy sHoPpInG!
                                       M&J

Thursday, November 8, 2012

KBound Projects


SO MANY KBOUND PROJECTS are now available on Teachers Pay Teachers . . . and there are many, many, many, many more on the way!!!  Cover pages (shown above) have been updated so as to allow a quick and more detailed peek at all that you are actually getting in each of your KBound packets.  As requested (we have requests!! ;) KBound Roll and Reads are now sold as sets, and include bonus activities and ideas.  Also, KBound large and small ABC Charts are now sold together instead of separately- that's because it's so difficult to use one without the other!  Check them out!!  As always, leave us comments or suggestions :) :)

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!

     HAPPY THANKSGIVING from KBound!


 

                 We are so very Thankful!
We are thankful for supportive, loving, EVERYthing family.
We are thankful for encouraging and faithful friends.
We are thankful for new and exciting opportunities.
We are thankful for the courage to dream and for good health that allows us to live the dream.  
Life is Good and we are Blessed xo


We are thankful to be able to share our very favorite, tried-and-true Thanksgiving ideas and projects!  Check out our "Thanksgiving Fun" packet on Teachers Pay Teachers!
It is 49 pages (!!!) of funsical and meaningful holiday learning! 
Below lists activities included:
Number Cards
Word Cards
                         
                          



Roll and Read the PATTERNS
                          
. . . See the above projects and more on TpT!

KBound Turkey Art

This colorful, feathery, somewhat worried-looking friend was created by a Kindergarten student who used a Sharpie marker to draw it one day and then painted with water colors the next.  Brilliant!




Eve Bunting's A Turkey for Thanksgiving is one of our absolute favorite Thanksgiving stories to share with children of all ages (one of us STILL insists on reading it to her teenage children to this day... It's a Thanksgiving tradition that mom refuses let go!)!  Prediction is the name of the game for a first time audience.  Discuss empathy and point-of-view, of course.  Bring the story to life by giving these wonderful characters voice (a nice Southern drawl for Mr. Moose motivates mom's reading each year!), acting it out (no, mom does not make teenagers do this, but teacher mom has her students participate ;), and the variety of art and writing extensions is simply endless.



KBound Turkey Fun
Turkey headbands are just fun to make.  We popped this one onto a pumpkin to show it off, but it actually looks better on a child ;)
Cut a brown poster board headband.  Add feathers and a fun head. Traced and cut out hands make the perfect turkey wings!


KBound Family Project

In KBound's "Thanksgiving Fun" packet, we share an easy Family  Project! 
This sample shows dinner items that are cut out of magazines and then pasted to a paper plate and table setting.  Students enjoy sharing these with classmates.  Interesting discussions occur about foods and different family traditions! (Parent letter is included in the packet)


Thanksgiving Song & Poem
image by KBound







Turkey and Stuffing
 -author unknown
(Tune: "Frere Jacques")

Turkey and Stuffing
Turkey and Stuffing
Pumpkin Pie
Ten feet high
I was so much thinner
Before I ate my dinner                        
Me, oh my
Me, oh my



image by KBound










Pumpkin Pie
-author unknown

Pumpkin pie is yummy to eat
Around Thanksgiving
It's a treat!
But, watch yourself
You could create
A very painful tummy ache!  

     ENJOY!  HAVE FUN!  and COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!!!
                                      :) M&J :)


                            

























Sunday, October 28, 2012

Happy Halloween!





This week we are looking back over our many years of roaming the hallways and sidewalks while on Halloween parade.  Like clockwork, with the changing of the classroom calendar from September to October each year, we would begin our traditional fall transformation.  It had become, inarguably, the highlight of the season . . . for us, anyway!  And it's details would become as guarded as any rare and precious museum gem.
Giddy.
Even before KBound, we were original!
What was a spooooooky month for most of the world around us was just.plain.giddy for us.
Everything else in our home and school lives was put on hold and it was a time that very few others got a peek into. . .
And, so it would go that we would top-secretively hole up in one or the other's classroom during lunchtime to plan and create, make mad runs to Hobby Lobby after long days at school, and call/text into all hours of the night like pre-occupied, little school girls who just couldn't hang on until the very next day.  It was all in an effort to ensure the BEST, most amazingly FUN costume for Halloween.  Like preparing for Thanksgiving or Christmas festivities,  sometimes the actual process of counting the days, sneaking and scrambling to get it all done, and anticipating the big day is even more enjoyable than the product! Just maybe.
At the time, we really thought all of our efforts were to entertain the children.
At the time, we kinda knew that we were out to impress our peers.
As it turns out, we really were just carving out time to BE kids again.  For one entire month we had an excuse to be silly and carefree.  When Halloween arrived, we made our grand entrance... costumes revealed.  We celebrated our joy of creativity, dress-up, and childlike wonder amidst ghoulish cries and haunting warnings of doom.  Another Halloween had come.  And already we couldn't wait to take down the next September calendar so that we could start the fun again...

SO, whether you are dressing yourself up, dressing little ones up, or enjoying others dressed up this week, take a moment to recall your own Halloween memories.  What brings out the kid in YOU?

This post is for our moms, who lovingly spent hours and hours hand-sewing costumes for us year after year after year.  THANK YOU for making us feel amazingly special and for inspiring us to grow up to enjoy making so many of our own costumes, too.  Our only regret is that neither of you had a craaaazy buddy to create them with ;) ;)
   
Here's one more....Quick and easy if you're still looking for a costume!
We used "Gold Slips" (pieces of gold paper passed out for good behavior-students signed their name and put into prize drawings) for building-wide behavior management.
So, OF COURSE we had to become them for Halloween!!!

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!
M&J

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

What's in a Chart?





Our KBound ABC chart is made up of our original KBound characters.  Each one is obviously highly teachable (ex: apple starts with Aa and makes what sound?  Letters, sounds, pictures . . . the applications are endless!)!  Each one has a definite history and a unique story about it's place in KBound Land.  Each friend also brings to light a life perspective, if you will.  Now, what could one learn from an eskimo, you ask?  or a cake?  or a kite?  Surely, while our students only really need to know the teachable parts, they will enjoy each character's relatable KB Land story . . . and they will become familiar with them through KBound books, songs, charts, and a wealth of other engaging materials (on sale at or coming soon to Teachers pay Teachers).  Introduced with enthusiasm and creativity, these relatable and teachable characters come to life!

While teachers and blog readers will appreciate the teachable part of KBound's ABC chart characters as well, they will find humor in the life perspective part - that's not for the kids!  And we'll share them as we go . . . like how Queen, in her design stage, reminded us about beauty.  Oh, decisions, decisions! "Do we put lipstick on Queen?  Is that too superficial? too vain? . . . would that be in keeping with KBound's SIMPLE, cut-the-fluff ideals?"  What Queen ultimately offered us in her creation is that a little lipstick doesn't hurt any one . . . that it is not about the lipstick . . . AND that "you can't put makeup on inner beauty!" !!!  Our KBound Queen, as you will learn,  has undeniable beauty. And, if we're lucky, most of us have it both inside and out . . . lipstick 
or no lipstick ;)

So, here's a peak at KBound's ABC chart, available in both large and mini versions at Teachers pay Teachers.  They ARE the heart of all things KBound.  Both large and mini ABC charts are available in black-and-white and in color versions (shown).  All charts come with full instructions, creative ideas, and tried-and-true TIPS for classroom use (tried-and-true because we've been there, used them ;)

KBound characters will 'speak' to both you and your students . . . 
                                          We're sure of it!



Friday, October 19, 2012

Getting Organized!






Aren't we constantly looking for ways to get ORGANIZED?  
Whether we are genetically-predispositioned or NOT, everybody searches for ways to be organized. It is especially important to be neat, tidy, and organized (or at least pretend to be) when preparing to be out of the classroom.  
Whether you are away to a fun-filled, thank-goodness-for-a-day-to-sit workshop or you are *sniffle*cough*sniffle* sick, a Substitute Teacher (or Guest Teacher as we like to call them) appreciates as much organized and at-your-fingertips information as we can leave for them... located in one, "it's always this organized" spot. ;)  That way, everybody has peace of mind while the teacher is away . . . and you won't be fielding/dodging that dreaded call from the school office, or the flock of peers at your classroom door upon your return! (You know the ones who want to be the first to bring you alllll of the good news from while you were away?!)

KBound SUB TUB: Ready-to-Go materials that makes planning
 for a Guest Teacher Simple, Meaningful & Funsical for any grade level!

                          KBound SUB TUB to the rescue!!! 

      Check it out by going to TeachersPayTeachers.com

In our new SUB TUB packet you will find:
*Instructions for use
*The 3 Bees positive behavior management for Guest Teacher 
*Linking school and home - 3 Bee Tickets (master)
*Guest Teacher 3 Bee Reporting Sheet
*Desk Sign - to give Guest Teacher directions to locate sub plans
*Helpful Hints for Guest Teachers - Cover master for sub folder
*Welcome To My Classroom - Information page for sub folder
*Checksheet of suggested materials for your Helpful Hints folder
*Early Release / Emergency Dismissal Form
*Labeling your SUB TUB for easy access
   
So KBound friends, 
Our advice to you is to stay healthy (it is okay to take a mental health day once in awhile) . . . rest up at lots of good workshops.... and it's never too late to get organized! 

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Bee Tickets for Behavior Management



Meet our KBound bee!
He's our original, hexagonal, behavior-refining friend!!

Buuuzzzzz on over to TeachersPayTeachers.com (search KBound)
to see all of these exclusive and original items for classroom behavior management and more:

KBound Daily Bee Tickets- KB bees help motivate students to follow classroom rules every day! Learn tips to work with parents to encourage ticket-earning!

KBound Holiday Bee Tickets- KB bees motivate students to follow classroom rules on even the most exciting days of the school year!  Trust us... we've used these and they work!!! What kiddo doesn't want to take one of these home to share at the end of the day?

KBound Oops! Tickets- Improve parent communication with these revealing KB tickets that take place of a Bee Ticket on a "tricky" (=difficulty following the rules) day!

(l to r) Sample of Daily Bee Ticket, Oops Ticket, and Halloween Bee Ticket
These and much more are available on Teachers Pay Teachers TODAY!

KBound Bees at Home- Encourage parents to catch kids being good at home, too!  Use our friendly and convenient KB bees to help parents report back to YOU about how students apply their school rules at home!  A letter of explanation to parents is included.




       Here are some freebie ideas from our classroom archives . . . Enjoy!

Students paint and display bees.
KB Bee Tickets  can be posted on the hive!
Hula Hoops make the perfect Venn Diagram!
Make bee hives by painting bubble wrap!
Painted paper grocery bags turn us into bees for story retelling!