A Note From Mrs Rubie...

Warning...LOOOONG post ahead!!

Wow, it has been a while since my last post!!  Thanks to my hard drive stopping just before Christmas and also enjoying the Summer break with my family, I have not had much chance to post!

Well...I have a little news... I have accepted a temporary full time teaching position on a composite year 1 / 2 class for Term 1.  Our school year started yesterday and I get to meet my class (well 'mine' for the next 10 weeks) on Monday!!

I am so excited and quite overwhelmed at all the preparation I have had to do over the Summer and will be doing constantly, but I am so grateful for the opportunity and even more grateful that the position is at our girls' school ... and only a 1 minute walk from home!  So with our Miss Olivia in Grade 6 this year and our Miss Charlotte starting Kindergarten, this opportunity really is just perfect!  I have also been so incredibly fortunate to have joined such a fabulous and welcoming staff, with the loveliest teachers.  They have been so helpful, encouraging and supportive, and I am really looking forward to working with them, and learning as much as I can from them this term!

Over the break I have printed, laminated, cut, pasted and planned for hours...and hours... and well you get the idea.  Many of the things that I have either planned or will be using in my classroom, have come from lovely bloggers and TpT stores. I will be listing and passing on thanks to those whose ideas or creations I have been able to use, in another post!

At the back of my classroom (so there is least disruption) I have set up baskets for completed work which needs to be marked, as well as this 'special basket'....

I know for a fact that there are a few gorgeous little kiddies in my class who are masters at work avoidance!  Drives me crazy....so our class has a WOOPS basket!  This basket is for any work that does not get completed (or not to our neatest high standards!!) and these kiddies will have opportunities during the week to get their unfinished work from the WOOPS basket, to complete.  If by Friday afternoon session they have still not completed their work...they need to sit and complete it while the other kiddies get to choose from fun stations.  Tough? Probably!  Necessary? I think so!  It will also help me to keep a track of who I need to encourage more to keep up to speed with completing their work. I will let you know how it goes!!

What do you do with your non-finishers?  I would really love to know!!

Also, over the Summer break, I was awarded the Versatile Blogger award by the very lovely Jane from The Learning Curve.  

Thank you so much Jane!!  I can't tell you how much it means when someone says they enjoy reading my blog.  It both makes me happy and also encourages me so much, as a new teacher!!  I will fulfill the 'requirements' for the award and pass it on, soon I promise!  It is great to see another Australian teaching blog and lovely blogger, so stop by and say Hi to Jane at The Learning Curve.

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Lastly, I want to say a HUGE thank you to my lovely friend Mel, who sent me the cutest personalised gift over the break!

These sweet owl cards are so gorgeous ...I don't think that I will be able to part with them!!

Thank you so much Mel, your gift was so thoughtful, very lovely and very much appreciated!! xx

Well, I am off to do some more programming, a little bit more printing and probably a little more laminating too;)  Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

FREEBIE 3D Shape Mini Unit...

I have been trying to put a lot of my lessons together into some kind of order, this week.  So I put my 3D Shape lesson outlines together to make a 3D Shape Mini Unit which is suitable for Kindergarten to Grade 2.  There are three lesson outlines, which I have based off my state's maths syllabus, but it can be used for any Kindergarten to Grade 2 class.

• LESSON 1 is 3D shape recognition and there are two differentiated student worksheets.

• Lesson 2 focuses on 3D shape identification based on their features, with the 3D shapes being concealed in a mystery bag.  

There is also a printable activity for kiddies to make their own 'Mystery Bag' 3D shape.

It is LOTS of fun and will have the whole class trying to guess each other's mystery 3D shapes, based on the clues.

• Lesson 3 looks at the how and why each 3D shape is able to move down a ramp a certain way.  There is a printable worksheet for this lesson as well.

The lessons can be expanded or adapted in many ways.  All the lessons have printable worksheets / activities and there are suggested art activities for each lesson, using 3D shapes.  There are also 3D shape cards, 3D shape word name cards, and shape movement cards...all ready to be printed and laminated.  They can be added to your maths centers for reviewing 3D shapes.

If you would like to download a FREE copy of the mini unit, just click the link below:

3D SHAPES MINI UNIT

Hope you find the Mini Unit useful for your classroom.  Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

FREEBIE Reindeer Math Cards Packet...

Last week I was subbing on a Kindergarten class and we were doing the end of school year review on 'whole number'.  I find that being a sub can sometimes be a little frustrating because you don't always know where resources are kept, or in fact which resources a classroom may have.

Although we improvised and did lots of fun things to review our 'whole number' strand, I decided to make up a generic card packet that we could use in many different ways.

I created this card packet to be in-line with my state's Kindergarten to Grade 2 syllabus outcomes, but this cute card packet can be used for lots of differentiated math centre activities and games for any Kindergarten to Grade 2, such as:

• number sequencing (1 - 30)
• number sentences (+ - / x =)
• ordinal number ordering / matching (1st - 10th)
• concentration / matching games
• Snap
• Guess the number of reindeer in the ten frame
• and many, many more.

All you need to do is cut them out, glue them onto card stock and laminate them!!  I have also included some blank cards so that you can create any other cards that you might like to go along with the packet.

If you would like a free copy, then just click on the link below the sample images:

REINDEER MATH CARDS PACKET

I hope you find them useful!  If you download them, I would love for you to leave a comment on this post.  Thanks so much!

I used the absolutely gorgeous Reindeer graphics by Leslie from Kindergarten Works.  You can purchase them HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Giveaway Winner!!...

CONGRATULATIONS goes to......

to commenter 19...

Dana from 3rd Grade Gridiron

Yay Dana!!  You have won my Aussie Christmas Picture Book Giveaway, as part of Teaching Blog Addict's 25 Days of Gifts!!  Please email me at tmrubie@gmail.com and let me know your postal address!!!

THANK YOU so much to everyone that left a comment on my giveaway post!  My apologies for not replying on that post, but I did not want my comment to have to be included in the random selection !!

It was so wonderful to read that so many of you have connections with Australia.  It seems like there have been many happy memories made for some of you, here in my home country and that just makes me smile!!  I also have connections with the US, having lived in San Francisco and New York City, as well as getting married in the US.

If anyone would like to purchase a copy of the book An Aussie Night Before Christmas, there are so many copies at my local store and they are AU $10 each plus postage.  I would be able to let you know the postage cost tomorrow...but my guess would be that it will cost between $15US - $20US to post...ridiculous that the postage costs more than the actual book!!  I would be happy for anyone to email me to discuss how we could get a book to you:)

THANK YOU so much again for entering my giveaway...I just wish I could have sent each of you a copy.

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead.

A Rush of Reindeer Fun ...

This week I was lucky to have subbed on a composite Year 1 / Year 2 class.  What wonderful timing to have found this AMAZING Reindeer activity packet from the very talented Sarah over at First Grader...At Last.

We had so much fun with these activities which use the cutest little reindeer you have ever seen!!

We brainstormed fabulous adjectives, verbs, nouns and proper nouns, which we then used to re-write Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer!  Our version was Spotty the Pink Nosed Reindeer!!

We also then used a venn diagram to compare / contrast two reindeer, following a colouring activity.  The adjectives these lovely kiddies came up with were FABULOUS!

Then we did the 'If You Give A Reindeer A Root Beer' activity...which as you can see was so much fun and the results were just FABULOUS!  The mini book activity was lots of fun ... and a great way to include some literacy with this fun art activity!!  We used sparkly pipe cleaners as antlers and the kiddies asked if we could add tinsel scarves!!

Without a doubt the highlight for the kiddies was singing the Reindeer Hokey Pokey!  They have even nominated a student to be the Reindeer Hokey Pokey monitor in case I ever sub on their class again, to remind me that they want to play it again...too cute!!

We finished the day with my version of the Heads Down, Thumbs Up game... really the same game, we just used the word 'antlers' instead of thumbs ;)

Sarah's Reindeer Activity Packet was so much fun... If you want to read more about it, then stop by her fabulous blog by clicking HERE!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to enter my Aussie Picture Book Giveaway by clicking HERE!!

TBA 25 Days of Gifts - Day 2: Aussie Christmas Picture Book Giveaway...

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

I am so happy to be participating in Teaching Blog Addict's 25 Days of Christmas Gifts!!  Well it is the season of giving, so what better way to celebrate than by holding a GIVEAWAY!!

I LOVE picture books, so thought I would share an Australian Christmas picture book.  I am sure that regardless of which country you live in (including Australia), your class or children will have lots of fun trying to work out what some of the very Australian vocabulary within the book, may mean!  I can guarantee a few giggles thrown in for good measure!!  Here is a little sneak peak:)

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY

Just leave a comment on this post and mention that you would like to be included in the giveaway!!  Easy!!

The giveaway will only be open until 5pm Sunday 4th December AUSTRALIAN EASTERN DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME!  The winner will be drawn by a random selector and I will post the book to the winner on Monday 5th December.

FREEBIE

Now, wait there is more...I have also included a free printable SANTA'S KEY TAG.  If you would like a copy to use either in your classroom or at home, just click the link below:

SANTA'S KEY FREEBIE PRINTABLE

I would like to the thank the lovely Mrs. Parker from Learning With Mrs Parker for organising the TBA 25 Days of Gifts!!

I LOVE the holiday season, don't you?   Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wordless Picture Books...

My favourite picture book of ALL time is 'LEAF' by Stephen Michael King.  Why?  For two reasons...

• Because it is both 'written' and illustrated by my favourite children's author and illustrator...Stephen Michael King
• Because it has NO WORDS...yep, you read that correctly!!

My middle daughter first brought this book home from her school library a few years ago and the first time I read it, it made me cry (lol...may have been due to me being pregnant with our littlest at the time!!).

Our littlest now loves to read this book at bedtime.  Everytime she reads it to me, her narration becomes more detailed and I love her response when she notices something new, or comes up with a new idea.

Wordless picture books are great for any age and can be used in so many different ways.  Last week the Kindergarten class I was subbing on had such a great time with 'Leaf'.  They came up with a wonderful narration, a huge list of different things that start as seeds (we did have to make one kiddie's suggestion of ham, into a magical ham plant) and then we used these ideas for a text-to-self interactive writing activity, followed by a drawing activity.

Do you have a favourite WORDLESS picture book?  I would love to hear about it if you do!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Thank you!!

I just want to send a HUGE 'Thank You' to the very lovely Annie at The Moffatt Girls blog for awarding me the Sunshine Award!  Annie is such an inspiration to me, so to receive this award from her, certainly added a great deal of sunshine to my day!!  Thanks Annie :D

Here are the rules for accepting this award:

1. Thank the person who gave this award and write a post about it.

2. Answer the following questions below.

3. And pass the award to 10~12 fabulous bloggers, link their blogs and let them know you awarded them.

So here goes:

• Favorite color?  Blue
• Favorite animal? Giraffe (or do sock monkeys count??) :D
• Favorite number? 5 
• Favorite drink? Cappuccino (especially the one my husband makes for me at home on a Saturday.  It is lovely to sit down and share that coffee time together)!!
• Facebook or Twitter? Facebook - great for us because we live so far away from family!  I don't Tweet...
• Your passion? My family.  My husband and our three daughters are my world :D
• Giving or getting presents?  Definitely giving!  If the gifts I am giving are handmade, then even better!!  I must say, I also love to receive handmade gifts, especially from our girls :)
• Favorite day? Friday.

I would like to pass this award onto the following lovely bloggers.  A lot of the bloggers that I would pass this on to, have already been given the award.  The following blogs were some of the very first ones I discovered and they ALWAYS inspire me and bring sunshine to my day:

• Tamara from Teaching with TLC (and TBA)
• Abby from The Inspired Apple
• Amanda from One Extra Degree
• Rachel from Sub Hub
• Kylie from Down Under Teacher
• Jennifer from Herding Kats in Kindergarten 
• Dana from 3rd Grade Gridiron ( I know you have already been given the award, but wanted to pass it onto you as well)!!

If you are on my list, please do not feel obliged to post or particpiate, unless you would like to!  I just wanted to send a little Sunshine back to those of you who inspire me!  


Sending a sunshiny 'Happy Week Ahead' to EVERYONE!

Volcanoes in Kindergarten!

My favourite subject to teach, without a doubt is science.  Kids love anything out of the ordinary and I am finding that they are much happier to sit and write about something they have had a hands-on experience with.    Science is a great way for kiddies to write a simple procedural piece, without them actually realising that they have been doing 'writing' !

Today I subbed on a Kindergarten class, for the morning only.  I had originally planned work based on a picture book,  BUT after making baking soda / vinegar volcanoes with our youngest daughter yesterday, I thought it might be fun to do the same with the class today!

We began by watching The Magic School Bus 'Blows Its Top'.  The class were just fabulous and loved watching the episode.  It sure sparked a lot of fabulous ideas and discussion on how volcanoes form and the kiddies just loved coming up with adjectives and verbs related to volcanoes.

We then made a baking soda and vinegar volcano...using red coloured vinegar to simulate the lava, of course!!  It was a huge hit and again was such a great discussion starter!! (I didn't have a photo, so this is a pic of a volcano that I made at home with Miss Charlotte, yesterday)

We wrote a simple procedural piece, based on how we made our fizzing volcanoes.   We tried really hard to remember our capital letters at the beginning of our sentences, spaces between our words and some of the kiddies even insisted we use exclamation points to make our writing more interesting...how cool are Kindergartners!!

I love this underwater volcano...how cool!

Then we brainstormed the adjectives and verbs relating to volcanoes, and the kiddies chose their three favourite ones.  They wrote these on red strips of paper and used them as the lava on their volcano collage pictures.  We all chose to tear our brown paper volcanoes rather than cut them...to make them look more realistic ;)

The class had such a fun time and did such great work, I just had to share:)  The highlight for me was definitely listening to them chatting away about lava, hot rocks and eruptions whilst creating their artworks...a fabulous day, for sure!

Click HERE if you would like the Procedure sheet we used as a freebie download.

Thanks for stopping by!