Here Comes a Throwback (with some Freebies and Products!)

So I got a little confused. It could be the multi-tasking I was attempting to do, or the fact the my mind is just everywhere right now, but much of my post for the Teacher Week link up from yesterday is really more about classroom management - today's link up. Oh well.

Click here to look back at that one - now that you are in the mood for a classroom management post!

I've also decided to link up with First Grade Parade's Throwback Thursday (for the first time!). I figured this post, which I posted back in March, would be helpful as we get ready to head back to school. It's all about how I set up my morning routine, along with my Daily Warms Ups I used last year (and now the one's I turned into products by grade for this year!)

My original post from March 15, 2013:

Happy Friday!

I have been home sick the past 2 days, so its not so "happy" for me, but hey, at least I get four days off right?

I have been thinking a lot about what makes my morning time successful for my students, and I give credit to my consistent (dare I say rigid) morning routines and expectations. I have a set morning routine for my students that they are to complete every morning. I have found that providing lots and LOTS of practice in the beginning of the year, paired with visual checklists and personalized lists for their desks, helps to engrain routines into their little noggins.

This is a copy of their checklists they have taped to their desks for reference.

Part of their morning routine is to complete their Daily Warm Ups, single page worksheets I create. I insert them into their individual folders at the beginning of the week (or after school Friday, depending on when I get them done), and they are to complete one each day for the whole week. At the end of the week, I remove them from their folders, staple and pass in. I then insert a new set of Daily Warm Ups for the next week (if I'm prepared enough to have them done by Friday). I have just started this this year, and intend to use it again in the years to come. I found it's a great way to help energize their brains to get ready for school. It also helps with time management, as all students are arriving at different times, so some may not complete all the expectations, while others will whiz right through it. Adding a little calendar work and daily question helps to slow this process down and keep kids thinking!

This picture shows the 3-hole Folder I use to help organize their desks. In the left pocket, I have them put their daily point sheets. In the center, I fasten their Daily Warm Ups for the week. There is one for each school day. They are to complete one each day. For a Daily Warm Up freebie click here or the image at the bottom of this section! The right pocket is for their unfinished work they accumulate throughout the day. This is also an expectation on their morning routine checklist, provided they finish their other requirements.

I always print an extra set for me! This way, when I do this again next year, I don't have to recreate the wheel, nor do I search through my computer files looking for my Daily Warm Ups and reprint these warm ups. Also, this avoids the major hassle of reorganizing them by difficulty, as the daily question skills build upon themselves and increase in difficulty as the year progresses.

How do I organize them? It's simple.

I have a binder designated for my Daily Warm Ups on my teacher shelves behind my desk. I simply grab the binder and insert the current weeks' sheets. By the end of the year, I will have an entire school year of Daily Warm Ups that I can just copy for each week next school year!

Nothing fancy. In order to make this more manageable for me next year, I will add dividers for each month, that way I don't have to figure out where I left off each week.

As you can see I have a LOT of worksheets in this binder...Make sense considering it is 6 months of work! (and counting)

 I decided to change the format mid-year to keep it interesting :)

Are these something you would be interested in seeing in my TPT store?

How do you all do your morning routines? Do you have a set routine, set morning work, visuals, checklists, etc? I'd love to hear about it!

For a freebie of my Daily Warm Ups click the image below:

August 2013 Update:

Thanks to this question left on my TpT page:

I began creating Daily Warm Ups for the school year :)
It wanted to align the product to the CCSS, so it is taking me longer than I anticipated, but I'm trying!

Here are my Kindergarten Daily Warm Ups for the first two months of school (provided you start in September I realize...)

My system will be the same as last year. My morning routine will stay the same (at least for now...you never know what a new batch of kids will bring. My organization will be the same (I still have to add those dividers...). I'm excited to have these worksheets aligned to the Common Core standards and be able to offer them to you :)

Click either of the images above to take you to that product in my store

In other news, I have updated one of my products, and added 3 more related products:

I recently fixed an error on the colored version in this Getting to Know You - Traditional Questions Edition:

I also added 2 more new Getting To Know You Fortune Tellers:

Thought-Provoking Questions Edition -

and

Silly Questions Edition

And, if you are interested in these Getting to Know You Fortune Tellers, they not available in a bundle!

For my entire collection of Fortune Tellers, click here.

That's all for now (I think)!

Cheers,