Conferences:

I am going to register for the Destination Common Core:  Your Roadmap to Success in the Primary Classroom with Kim Adsit in Tampa, Florida.  Are any other Florida bloggers going in May? 

I also want to take a workshop for mentoring student teachers.  I have always backed away because I like the control in my classroom (Some call it OCD!).  I have had a fabulous college student (Michelle) come in for observation hours and I loved it.  Michelle was also my sons preschool teacher and went back for her degree in elementary education. She jumped right in and the students benefited from the both of us in the room.

If you are still reading the end is near:)  As with so many  bloggers, I hope to grow my blog and TpT store in 2013.  I have learned and grown this year in my own practices.  I am looking forward to 2013.

1.  Classroom organization in all classrooms is important, but in pre-k it is essential!  We are changing out manipulatives, centers and themes ALL THE TIME and you must me one step ahead of these kiddos or they will run a muck... Check out these FREE monthly labels HERE.


2. Labeling the classroom in pre-k fosters independence and promotes literacy when the children are taught how to store and return materials using the labels in the classroom.  By using labels with pictures and words, children are able to sort and organize classroom materials. Play to Learn Preschool has fabulous labels for the dramatic play area HERE.



3. Picture name tags were a life saver last year! I will be printing the name tags in various sizes once I get my class list this summer. Picture name tags help preschool, pre-k and kindergarten students recognize their own name and their classmates' names easily.  We use them for student name tags, lanyard tags, cubby labels, graphing tags, folder labels and just about anything else you can think of!  You can read more about them HERE.


4 I have been saving water bottle caps for the past year and each summer I make Bottle Cap Names for the students to practice building their names as they learn the letters in their name.  You can read more about it HERE as well as grab a FREE set of Bottle Caps Letter Labels! I print them on different colored card stock so it is easy to keep the names sorted in baggies and not mixed up!


5. The last thing on my summer to do list is reading for professional development. I usually try to make it through two books over the summer.  This year I am going to start with Loose Parts so that I will have time to start collecting some of these things over the summer. I can't wait to learn additional ways to incorporate these things into our day.