Morning Work - Freebie + Congrats to the Two Giveaway Winners! :)

Hi all! Just posting quick updates to congratulate Sarah and Ruth for winning the giveaway at my blog - I'd like to everyone for participating and I have enjoyed reading through all your vacay destinations - It was so much fun! My hubby had to literally unplug the power off my laptop so that it'd drain and I would be forced to turn off my laptop hehe :)

On another note I'm very excited to have completed the two morning work units I've worked on throughout last year - I've just updated them with better graphics and more work to suit US standards as well as the AU standards. Here is a snapshot of the Morning Brain Train 1st Month in Kindergarten:

 

If you like to check out the unit, the link is right here. 

Here is a snapshot of Morning Brain Train 2nd Month in Kindergarten:

 

If you'd like to check out the full unit, it's right here.

Now, onto the good stuff. Here is a sample of the first 4 pages in the Morning Brain Train - 1st Month in Kindergarten unit! Just click on the picture to get the freebie!

Stay tuned, because two very clever teachers will share amazing resources with you throughout my absence in July to help prepare for the back to school frenzy. Australians are back to teaching in early July, we only have a term break. :)

Thank you for reading this post! Hope you enjoy this at the start of school. I'm very very excited to pack my bags (mind you leaving on Thursday and still not packed) and escape the winter blues.=D I will really miss blog hopping in those 5 weeks, but gauranteed that my eyes will light up everytime I see access to wifi in Europe (note to self: do NOT take the iphone everywhere you go.) hehe. I am prepared to take a billion photos and will share a few of my fav's on this blog once I get back. :)

Happy teaching break for Australians and a happy summer to everyone else all over the world!❤

90+ Followers & Vacation Giveaway! + Summer Freebie :)

Hello all! I was so happy to reach over 90 followers at my TPT store and blog yesterday that I decided to do a giveaway! This is my very first one, but I'll defintely be doing more of them. I participated in a great one over at Whoooo's Ready to Teach and thought I'd give back to all the wonderful TPTers and supporters. :)

I'm also going on vacation (honeymoon) on June 21st and that explains the question in the rafflecopter hehe! I thought I'd make it fun! I'd love to hear about your favorite holiday destination. :) You can either leave me a comment or answer the question. Can't wait! This raffle will end in 16 days.

The winner will get to choose ANY two items from my store! 

YAY, I've just refreshed a few of my units and added some new units to prepare for when I get back into prep mode in August - can you imagine the jet lag?!...

I am working on two units one for community and society and another one for morning work come August and best of all...my favorite time of year...CHRISTMAS! :)

Ok, ok enough babbling. 

Wait...there's more. I've added a brand new freebie posted at TPT. It's a teenie part of a summer unit I'm working on finishing. Click on the image to direct you straight to the page for download. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If there should be any problems entering this game I'm quite new at this, just drop me a line to: yh.seaofknowledge@gmail.com
Thank you again for all your support!! :)

Mystery Messages Fun! + New Items :)

Firstly, I wanted to give a shout out to every one of you who has followed my TPT store and provided FAB feedback! I love receiving those knowing that I've helped out other teachers make their life just a little easier! ❤ .. This has inspired me to create a freebie out of the brand new unit which I've recently revamped as I have used it in the past although it wasn't properly geared up for TPT. :)

I used this this at the end of the year with students struggling with number recognition and order. It's titled 'End of Year Mystery Monster Messages for K'. 

The first step is to prepare the class that they are going to be using their math skills to solve every letter puzzle to make up the one-word answers to the two riddles. You can split the class into groups and laminate a few of thyese riddle sheets for durability. Here are the pages for the riddles (LOVE monster themes):

Hand out a recording sheet to each student in every group (these need to be individual):

Then, hand out the puzzle sheets to each group one by one. A standard is listed at the bottom of each puzzle to indicate which concept they are practising! Remember to give them as much time in their groups to complete each puzzle. I found that this activity was especially great for students who were struggling a little with their numbers. The puzzles only use numbers 1-25. Here is a sample of the puzzle sheets below:

In the end, they will collect their puzzle recording sheets (typically they would be done over a week/2 weeks period). You can collect the puzzles for each student and find out what they're struggling with and maybe repeat that particular concept with the whole class. THis was a FUN and engaging activity which helped my class review and understand concepts in math. 

I am giving away a freebie puzzle from the first Mystery Message. Letter B. Click below to grab your freebie!❤ 

If you'd like to buy the full unit, the link is right here.

I have recently also completed a fun end of year word hunt ALSO monster themed. - NO, I will not get sick of that theme! Ha!.. You can click on the image below to take a peak!

Hope you've enjoyed this post! Let me know how well they go in your classroom! Thank you all for reading. ❤

Head on over to
For many more awesome freebies!

Big Sale + New Freebie!

Hello everyone! Just a short post to wish you all a great sale! Check out the sale all over TPT and in my store, just click on the graphic below. 

Hats off to Shelley Gray for this awesome graphic!

Happy Shopping! :D

5 Interactive Ways Words Come Alive + a Find a Word Freebie!

I hope you've all had a productive week and an equally unproductive weekend! :P I'd have to share an amusing picture I came accross which summed up my two-week holiday production rate!

 

lol...

BUT... I've miraculously managed to complete a 53-page unit on teaching students about vegetables it includes many math and literacy concepts - take a look at my previous post for more details on it and the freebie included!

Here are 5 Ways you can encourage students to learn about the make-up of works

+ Links to 5 interactive games for skill development:

1. Familiarise yourself as a teacher / educator of the rules of phonology, orthography, morphology and the 

rules and conventions of written English. Phonology includes the sounds the words make such as 'ou' and 'oy' in 'boy'. The orthography includes the spelling and patterns of a word. Morphology includes the conjugations of the verbs and nouns. Here is a cute interactive game called Word Blender.

 

2. Help students decode letters and sounds. Teaching the sounds that letters make together will help students link the sounds together to form words. Encourage using this interactive game with pictures to motivate children to further develop their skills. The name of the game is called Flags By the Seaside. 

3. Students need to practice reading as much as they can to develop their understanding of phonemes and sounds. Try using interactive smartboards / movies and songs to develop these skills in a fun way. Here is an interactive game called Dinosaur Eggs where students must listen and choose the correct word they heard. 

4.  Sight word practise. Let's not forget these! The most important part of a syllabus is adding sight word practise worksheets and centers especially for the lower primary grades. Here is a list of online worksheet styles games whereby students choose the correct word they see from a list. They are based on Dolch sight word lists and work well in the interactive classroom. The sight is called Kids Lab. 

5.  Play games about sound and vowel blends. This will help students get engaged in the word forming process. Here is a fun game especially for the summer months called Sandcastle Quiz.

If you'd like to search and browse through more games, take a look at this page called the Literacy Zone where you can choose suitable games for that computer / ICT sessions throughout the week. 

Now onto this freebie, I've created a find-a-word puzzle using a really cool program I recently came accross called  Word Search Construction Kit. It includes an answer sheet and I've used familiar words and sight words for spring. 

Hope you've enjoyed this post! Until next time. :)

    

A Reason To Eat Tomatoes Like Chocolate...:)

Did you know that tomatoes are high in carotenoid Lycopene, and that eating foods that are high in carodheufnh..(refer to the word in bold on line one) =P lower your risk of cancer? I stumbled upon this article while reading a magazine article waiting in an endless queue at Kmart - which, mind you only bought a jar of nutella. It was a stressful day ok!? 

Oh, the lengths I would take to get chocolate...mmm I may have a problem! :P

Anyway onto the reason for this post, I wanted to create something educational as well as beneficial. It is important to educate youngsters not only about how important it is to eat vegetables, but also about which ones are the most beneficial and particularily why. These days, it isn't enough to just say to a child, 'eat that banana and then we'll go to the zoo.' I have created a unit with an original early readers book about 6 vegetables and their benefits. It can be used in the second stage of Kindergarten and throughout grade 1. 

It includes literacy and numeracy work suitable to those levels and incorporates the common core standards (American) and the key learning areas (for Australia).

This unit will be released early next week and I will update this post once I do ...and remember that. I actually have a full list of to do's on my calendar on my phone that I think adding one more will go off the screen (bec. I'd have to scroll) and I will miss it! - I'd prefer not to put that in and forget then put it in and forget...Yes, I'm weird haha. 

Now, I stumbled across an awesome teacher who happened to share her desgins generously for free on her blog right here, Teaching Power Supply. The link to the freebie is on the image below, and this is what you'll get!

How awesome is that!?:)

And onto my little freebie and I hope that makes your day just as the one above. =P It is a short 2-page handwriting and vocabulary practise for basic vegetables. 

I hope you've enjoyed this post and will check in with you soon! I love hearing your comments

I shall get back to my jar of Nutella. :)

A Return from MIA and an Earth Day Freebie!

Hello hello hello! ... I had to manually search the blogger website this morning - that's how long it has been since I've checked in! :P I have been missing in action due to wedding plans which are now over, the wedding was great! (will share a picture soon! =) I hope everyone has been busy with Easter plans, plants, insects and all things earth this month. Well for us Australian, we're just phasing into winter and the rest of the world is preparing for summer argggg!! I've decided to continue creating 'spring' and 'summer' related units to keep from losing it this winter! hehe

So, onto this week's freebie, I realise I have not shared 4 past freebies due to my absence. I promise I will make it up to you by working on a major freebie which will be released on TPT as well as the blog. :)

This month is important to be focusing on nature and teaching children about the importance of preserving it. With the availablity of all this technology, no wonder children tend to forget about mother nature and instead of exploring their local farm, they turn to an iPad farming app!

Here are some things that teachers can do to help educate about earth day - which is on the 22nd of April:

1. Explain that litering the environment is dangerous because of a number of reasons. Provide an example of what could happen to a plastic or glass bottle of coke / water if left on the grass / floor for a long time. 

2. Making sure they know how to recycle materials / waste. If there are bins at the school specific to recycling materials, ensure that they know where they are located. Explain that rubbish thrown in the playground or at home can bring unwanted insects and pests into the school and home. 

3. Ensure students learn about how to turn off all the lights in their homes before they leave the house / school. Explain that running too much electricity uses up a lot of energy and produces waste in the air and in turn creates pollution. 

4. Explain to children not to use too much water, for example when they brush their teeth. They must turn off the water and not allow it to run. 

FInally, these steps are best practiced and not only told. Now, onto the freebie. I am working on the full unit and should be released by next week. :)

For now, here is the link to a sample of the unit with two worksheets on procedural texts with Earth!

Hope you enjoy these! Until next time. :)