Summertime has officially arrived here at the Travis house.... which means only ONE thing.  The kids are going insane ;)  #kidding #notkidding We have been on summer break now for 3 weeks.... and while I have enjoyed EVERY.SINGLE.MINUTE.... my kids are active.  They are boys.  They NEED to be doing something.  (or they are DRIVING me crazy). They want new toys.... they want to go places... they want and want and want. While they are only 9 years and 5 years … they are definitely old enough to help out around the house and earn a little spending money while they are ..read more

Happy Hump Day Friends! If you are like me... you are officially in the countdown to summer.  Some of you may even know the exact hours and minutes.... but you don't have to share that secret ;) Let's face it.... the school year is winding down... and you may feel like your sanity is GONE.  Completely gone.  Lost forever.   Your students are behaving in ways that you thought only animals could.  Their listening skills may be borderline toddler stage.  AND.... your to-do list is only growing with the amount of things you have to complete for the end of the year ..read more

Happy Easter friends..... and April Fools Day! This post is NO JOKE.... you will WANT to read and be a part of this AMAZING deal we've got for you!! - - - - - It's nearing the end of the year and we all know what that means..... it's crunch time for assessments and making sure our students are where they need to be in order to be promoted to the next grade (or receive additional support to get there!) ESGI is here to help you save time AND get all of the data you need to successfully finish out the school year! Not sure what ESGI is?  ESGI - "Educational Software for Guiding Ins ..read more

Happy Hump Day friends!  We're over half way through the week.... you got this! We've officially hit that point in the year where I am thinking "oh.my.word...... I still have soooooo much to teach and so little time!"   Some light bulbs are starting to turn on in little minds.... some readers are progressing and moving right through the levels.... and some students are still trying to get out of the learning rut to make strides and hit that intended goal! When I think of this "goal" or the progress that I'm looking for, I think of reading!  My little kinder kiddos are really ..read more

While I wish I could tell you that I took a break from blogging to focus on family or some fun and new hobby... that's just not the case!  It's called LIFE.  Busy at work.  Busy as a mom, wife, and person in general.  Busy presenting at conferences.  Busy taking care of 21 kindergarteners and 2 of my own children.  Just Busy.   BUT.... I'm here now... with a little freebie for you! SO...... we are at that point in the school year where my little kinders are taking off in their reading!  They are thirsty for new books all of the time and absolutely LOVE ..read more

Hi there.  It's me.... the author of this neglected blog.  Yes.... it's been well over a month since I've written a blog post.  While this post will not include fun and engaging pictures from my classroom, it will hopefully let you know that you are not alone. It's the end of week 9 for me here in kindergarten for this school year.  I'm a quarter of the way through with the school year.  (insert wide eyes)  While these first nine weeks have gone a lot quicker than I thought, I'll have to admit that I am still struggling to stay ahead.  (please tell me I'm n ..read more

Happy Tuesday that feels like a Monday! We just came off of our three-day weekend where I had ALL of these plans to knock off some things on my TO-DO list.... but my list only grew and few things got done! Anyways... it was back to the grind today down in kinder-ville! Last week we focused on numbers to five and really diving deep into each number (showing the different representations of each number, counting to and back from the number, creating our class charts, etc...) Today we started working with all of these numbers to five, starting with decomposing! Here a quick overview of what ..read more

Excuse me while I dust the cobwebs away on this little ole' blog!  I may or may not have had to look up how to write a blog post .... it's been a while :) I'm not sure about you, but summer seemed to sweep right in and FLY by!  I officially go back to school tomorrow with students and I'm wondering how summer is already gone. BUT.... this year is going to be different.  I'm at a new school.... in a new school district.... with a new team and I couldn't be more excited!  Another reason to be excited..... my OWN two boys will now both be with me at school.   That's ri ..read more

Hello Teacher Friends! Just wanted to stop in today to share with you about Kinder Games!  I know... I know.... you probably just came in from the pool, or the movies.....you are NOT thinking about school.... but my brain can't shut off.... and I'm always prepping for something! So.....  while I have only created this one pack so far, I do have my list handy of other Kinder Games packs that I will be creating..... but I did want to show you all about Letter Sounds today! Now.... my FAVORITE thing about this pack (drum roll.....) it's ALL in black and white.  That's right ..read more

Happy Monday friends! For those of you enjoying summer (like myself).... I hope you have your feet propped up with a good book or magazine in your hand (perhaps a yummy beverage!).... and for those of you still trucking through the last days.... you've got this! Now... I've only been off a merely 4 official days... BUT.... I've already been thinking (briefly!) about next year! I managed to get side-tracked on another project I was working on today and somehow I whipped up some new and fun ten frames for the beginning of the year! Math is one of my ALL-TIME favorite subjects to teach.... b ..read more