Homework set-up

Welcome back! So I'm a total of 8 days into class and boy has it been interesting. Trying to get all the curriculum taken care of, homework packets planned, long term planning and trainings and seminars. It's been busy. But I'm proud to announce I have finished my homework folders with homework helper and front cover. I'm super excited about them!

A good friend of mine, Lauren from A Teachable Teacher, gave me her homework helper files to play around with. You can find them at A Teachable Teacher. She is super sweet because they were a big help! I want to specify and clarify that I tweaked her homework folder front page. I added 10 frames and colors (since she is teaching first grade those weren't really necessary for her) and I have to say...I LOVE THEM!

 

This is my front cover. The background and clipart children are courtesy of Lauren and the ten frames and colors I put there myself. (I had to  make each ten frame myself piece by piece. Talk about time consuming.)

 The back of the homework helper. This is also courtesy of Lauren (THANKS LAUREN!!) I loved everything on here. Some of it I wont be able to use, but it's there just in case we get to go over it at the end of the year. (Dream big right?)

I had to print these out and glue these babies down to each side of the folder...and  yes, I slaved away on this for about an hour because I'm a perfectionist and each one HAD to be centered! (And I didn't notice until after I'd laminated that the numbers got cut off at the bottom. I just about cried when I saw that!)

Anyway, once I'd glued everything down I laminated the whole folder and split the pockets open using a razor blade. I can feel some of you staring at me with a glazed over look, but I promise! It works! The pockets are still usable as you'll see in coming photos. After I laminated everything I stapled our monthly behavior chart to the inside of the folder and put the behavior policy in one of the pockets. I missed back to school night since I started my year late, but I still wanted to give all my parents all the information I could.

 This was a full sized document that I just shrunk on our school copier to be a half sheet. I did two months on one page. Each day gets a color based on their color on our clip chart. I replace the chart each month and hold on to the log so I can see the students over all conduct and use it to figure out their conduct grade.

 Once I stuffed with the behavior policy I started on our first homework packet. Next week we are focusing exclusively on the letter Aa. I included my weekly newsletter (Peek at the Week), a memorization poem/song from Alphafriends that will help them with the short "a" sound, an Aa homework page, an Aa tracer page and some math pages provided through our math program's at-home workbook. It works out to about a page a night.

I've actually got all these files done and ready to be printed/copied for all 26 letters AND the four H brothers digraphs. Yay go me! I don't have to worry about homework for most of the year. I'll add and subtract from the packet as themes and ideas are covered in class or based on the season and/or holidays that are happening at any given time.

Welp now that all the prep for next week's homework is done, I'm off to search through my files for fun Aa crafts and writings for next week.

Hope to see you back!
Your TK teacher,
Nichole