January Week 2 Lessons and Ideas for Kindergarten - NEW YEAR FREEBIE
Welcome to a new year in kindergarten! I hope you had a restful winter break. It was much needed around here, but I am always so excited to see my sweet kiddos’ faces and get back to the classroom.
On this blog post, I am sharing FREE math and reading centers for January, a FREE New Years Card, FREE morning work and so much more.
From now until spring we see massive growth, and it is so fun to be a part of. All the hard work we did in the fall of setting up routines and procedures has really paid off.
Have you printed my free January lesson plans yet? Print them HERE, and then I walk you through the second week of January plans with ideas and tips right here on this blog post.
Please note: we are starting with week 2 in January as week 1 we are on winter break.
Whether you’re teaching via virtual learning, homeschooling or you are in the regular classroom, my lessons and resources will help you and your students.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR CARD FREEBIE!
Here is a fun freebie for you to use when your students come back from break. We love making new years cards, and this is the perfect way to explain why when we write the date, the year has now changed.
I first build their background about what New Year’s means as a lot of children don’t know what this means.
I let them share what they did to celebrate the New Year. We talk about the year 2020, and how we must say 2021 now when we say the date.
Now you’re ready to listen/watch this quick story video.
If you prefer, you can also purchase this book HERE
Now the kids are ready to make their cards! This is the perfect activity for the first day back from break.
How cute are these cards? Two versions are included - fold, color and write cards and DIY craft cards.
In kindergarten, we love making cards all year! I have it as a writing station, and it is such an easy way to get kids excited about writing.
They love to write cards to their friends and family members - “get well soon” “happy birthday” “you’re invited”, etc are some of their favorites.
I also put new holiday/seasonal cards for them to make.
In January, we make Happy New Year cards, and I am sharing this one with you for FREE CLICK HERE
This adorable card making kit makes the perfect writing center for the entire year.
“My students love to write cards/notes. This is the perfect addition to my writing center. I love that you have added a word bank that I can post in the center for them to use! Thank you!”
“My kids loved this, especially when I added these resources to our post office in dramatic play.”
REVIEWING EXPECTATIONS WHEN WE START BACK IN JANUARY
I’ve stressed this before, but children don’t need a strict schedule, but they do thrive on a consistent routine. When we come back from break, I always reset the classroom expectations so our days run smoothly.
It is definitely worth the time spent on reteaching and reviews rules and procedures.
I have learned that children need to see what expectations look like, sound like and feel like to really understand what is expected of them. I phrase them as “I Can” statements to keep them positive.
I have updated this resource to add new expectations and rules to stay heathy with Covid 19.
CLICK HERE to read the blog post about teaching rules and expectations and try a freebie!
The entire kit can be purchased HERE
If you’re homeschooling, I have free schedules as well.
SETTING THE TONE FOR YOUR LESSONS AND STATING YOUR OBJECTIVES FOR THE DAY
If you’re new here, I share free schedule charts and calendar printables on THIS and THIS blog post.
I have found that setting the tone, and actually discussing with children what our goals are for the day is important.
What will be learning about today?
I ask students, “Why do we need to know our letter sounds, or how to count?”
I make sure my kids know what they should be working towards so they understand that it is their job to learn new things each day! I want to be sure they have ownership of their daily goals.
These adorable I Can Statements can be used in the classroom, for virtual learning or homeschooling.
Before we start each subject for the day… I go over our learning objectives.
For math (pink cards) I say, “Okay boys and girls, today I CAN tell which group has more or less. I CAN write numbers 0-20. I CAN count to 100 by tens and ones. I CAN count objects.”
You can also just focus on one at a time. Do this at the beginning of your lesson, and then at the end of your lesson come back and review.
I say, “Today we worked on telling which group had more or less. Can you do this now? This is your goal! Let’s say it again. I CAN tell which group has more or less. Whisper to your neighbor how to tell which group has more or less.”
Having them whisper to a neighbor is a great “Think, Pair, Share” activity - so if a child doesn’t know the answer, he has the opportunity to hear the answer from a peer before you go over it.
If you’re homeschooling, have them whisper the answer to you, or even their favorite stuffed animal. This might feel safer to them, and verbalizing the answer helps them so much.
The cards are all color coded by subject, and you can quickly change them out of pocket charts in the classroom or keep them in page protectors if you’re homeschooling.
I used to handwrite these objectives every day, so these cards save me so much time.
They are all in kid friendly definitions and they cover all the standards in kindergarten.
The subject headers are FREE over on THIS BLOG POST
FREE JANUARY CENTERS
I am not a huge fan of traditional “centers” - mainly because I have never had an aide. Running centers that change constantly is really hard for my Kinders to complete independently and stay on task. I am working with small groups, so I need my students to be able to complete activities on their own.
I prefer consistent, no prep centers (more on this later in this blog post.)
However, this month I am doing report card testing, so these centers are perfect for a few days. I generally ask parents or volunteers to oversee these activities while I am testing. This works perfectly.
I am sharing all of these centers with you for FREE this month!
I added them to our freebie library, so when you sign up below with just your name and email, I will send you the link and password.
Inside our freebie library, you’ll be able to instantly access over 40 FREE primary activities, including these January centers!
If you’re already a member on our email list, go HERE and enter the password that was sent to you!
MORNINGS IN KINDERGARTEN
How is your morning work going? This was actually the very first resource I ever made, because I could never find morning work my students could do that was aligned to the standards that they could actually be independent with.
The format stays the exact same, so once students understand how to complete the problems (one or two days of your help) then they are set! The worksheets get progressively harder each month to target the exact skills they are learning and can be independent with.
Plus, these are google slides compatible now if you’re doing distance learning.
You can print a free week from every single month HERE to see how they work for you.
PHONICS
We are picking up right where we left off before break…. tackling those tricky medial sounds in CVC words. I start by reviewing middle sounds “a” and “i” - in CVC words vowels always make the short sounds.
We sort the picture cards in a pocket chart whole group, and then follow up with the worksheets that target “a” and “i”.
Small bursts of practice, multiple times a day/week will give you better results with five and six year olds rather than one hour long lesson. Keep your lessons short and sweet to keep engagement high and behaviors low.
Middle sounds in CVC are actually the hardest for students to be able to isolate and identify.
I warm up with phonemic awareness activities. If you’re new to using Elkonin Boxes to segment and identify individual sounds in CVC words, watch this quick video below.
In the video, I am teaching first sounds with Elkonin Boxes, but I do the exact same routine when teaching last sounds and middle sounds.
This works so well because once I teach students how to use them with first sounds, they are pros when we study middle and last sounds.
Elkonin Boxes and picture cards come with my first three phonics units.
After we review a and i middle sounds, we learn middle sounds o and e for the rest of the week.
I always teach the mini lessons, model and give examples, do shared activities together and then check for understanding. It is the “I do, we do, you do” teaching philosophy.
All of the resources I create follow a routine - and this saves you so much time explaining directions and expectations, and the children love knowing what to expect.
If you’re new to my phonics program, I have a free email mini course that walks you through exactly how I teach phonics for the entire year, plus I send you free activities from each unit.
You can sign up with just your name and email address HERE
Visit my phonics homepage HERE
Need a little review on letter sounds after the long break? Warm up your phonics lessons or give a brain break with this cute video.
MATH
We love learning about measurement and data.
To see how I introduce the vocabulary and get kids excited about this unit, read THIS blog post as we actually started this unit in December. Scroll down to the math section on the blog post.
This is the video I show at the beginning of this math unit. Since it was a few weeks ago, I show it again as a refresher and to activate their prior knowledge.
If you prefer to purchase the book, it is available HERE
The read aloud is almost five minutes long on the video, and I find it is helpful to stop throughout and refer to the vocabulary posters we learned in December.
This adorable measurement mini book is FREE CLICK HERE
One reason this unit is so fun is all the hands-on activities.
Here are the activities I have planned for this week:
I model first, and doing these in small groups works best I have found. Or if you have helpers/aides that works great too.
If small groups is not possible for you in math, you could try partnering students up and pair a student strong in math with a student who struggles more.
I love watching students help and teach each other.
Get started with the unit and print this freebie over on the blog post HERE
Teaching reading is all about building confidence, teaching new vocabulary and sight words explicitly and exposing them to familiar resources repeatedly to build their fluency.
This program does all of that! We use the same three resources every week (shown above) - a reading fluency/comprehension page, a sentence builder and a mini reader.
The key is that all three resources are tied together with the exact same pictures, sight words and vocabulary - so all week students are building their confidence and fluency.
Personally, I like to use these in my small group literacy time.
Students love the adorable new themes each week, and this week is it winter time!
To learn more and try a FREE WEEK visit my blog post HERE
ALL ABOUT WINTER
Our theme for the month of January is All About Winter
Each week, we have a new read aloud, and our activities revolve around this read aloud. I love thematic teaching for so many reasons, and the kids are always so engaged.
We are on week one of our unit, and we have so many fun things planned. This is a great way to incorporate science, social studies, math and language arts together.
Week 1 - LIFECYCLE OF SNOW
We start this unit with Curious About Snow - since kids are SO curious about where it comes from and how it is made.
I realized that many students have misconceptions about snow, so I build their background and we discuss the new vocabulary before getting started.
Eight picture vocabulary posters show students the lifecycle of snow. They can write the definition and draw a picture on the coordinating Snow Vocabulary activity pages.
I have these posters hung up for the entire unit and we refer to them often.
We then talk about the word unique, and one of a kind. I tell my students snowflakes are unique - just like them. No two are the same.
I have my students build snowflakes with Q Tips and draw the picture to match.
Additional vocabulary posters (shown below) are included if you want all the words on two pages only.
Students can cut out and match the snowflakes - since no two are the same.
We then discuss activities we can do in the snow and activities we cannot do in the snow.
This cut and paste activity is a super cute way to check for understanding. Depending on where you are your students live, this may be an easy task or more challenging if your kiddos have never been around snow before.
Next week we are learning all about animals in winter. The kids love learning about migration and hibernation!
MATH AND LITERACY CENTERS
Gone are the days where we spend a fortune printing and laminating new monthly centers, only to spend half of the center time explaining directions.
I am all about NO PREP math and literacy centers, where students begin to recognize the format of the activities so I spend zero time prepping and very little time explaining.
I am homeschooling my daughter for kindergarten this year, so I just print each month and bind the activities (like shown in the video below).
If you’re in the classroom, I just print my copies for the month so they are ready to go for small groups, whole group activities, sub tubs, fast finishers, and centers.
I target the exact skills we are working on this month in math, reading, writing and phonics.
If you follow my lesson plans, these are the activities I will be using this week. It really doesn’t matter the order you teach these no prep activities in, as they all target our standards this month.
Each month, I include a mini reader with the theme “I See…..”.
I first read it whole group, then they trace the sentences, color the pictures and we split off to read them with partners. Then they get to take them home and read them to their families.
They are so proud of their little books!
By January, they get the routine enough that this becomes an independent literacy center, and we are practicing so many CAP skills.
Grab January's Emergent Reader for FREE on this blog post CLICK HERE
NEW THIS YEAR!
This year, I have added monthly boom cards to my no prep centers.
I target the exact skills we are learning in math and language arts.
This month we are working on sums of 5, subtraction through ten, sight words, CVC words, teen numbers and building complete sentences.
Many decks include audio - so students can truly be independently learning. Boom Cards are so fun for whole group lessons, small groups or individual centers.
Parents love them too because it is free to make an account and they can put the Boom App on their phone! This makes distance learning and homeschooling a breeze.
Learn more HERE about how to setup a free Boom Account.
Get started with a FREE sight word deck for January HERE
WRITING
Don’t have time for writing in your day? I totally get it. My admin used to make our schedules (so frustrating… right?!) and never put writing in for kindergarten. When I taught fifth grade, she allowed 15 minutes a day (ahh!)
Well, I figured out how to sneak it in anyway, because reading and writing go hand in hand.
They compliment each other, and they should be taught together.
So much of writing instruction is modeling and getting your ideas down on paper.
This week we are working on expository “how to writing” that we started last month. I tell my kiddos that they are the teacher and have to explain how to do something to me - whether it is how to make a sandwich, how to brush their teeth, etc.
We practice using sequencing words such as first, next, then, etc.
The How to Make Slime Book is FREE in our freebie library.
I added new Boom Cards to the unit an they have been a huge hit! They work so well for virtual learning, homeschooling and in the classroom. Learn more about the unit over on the blog HERE
DAILY KINDERGARTEN REVIEW
I originally created this print and teach program last spring when we were all thrown into distance learning.
The key to a successful distance learning curriculum is consistency and simplicity. Parents are busy and stressed right now, and they simply cannot sit down every day and teach their child a new lesson. With this curriculum, they do not have to!
I designed every single day to promote confidence and fluency with the exact standards we are learning each month. The standards stay the same for at least a week in a row (sometimes longer), so students recognize the format and know exactly what is expected.
“This resource helped our district quickly and effectively come up with a distance learning packet for our students, when we were given little time to do so...I am extremely happy with this resource and how it helped us! Thank you for all of the work that you have put into helping other teachers!”
I am currently homeschooling my daughter for kindergarten, so I am using these as a daily review.
See how students can quickly become mostly independent with these daily activities throughout the school year.
Please note: if you’re using these in the classroom, you don’t need to use the My Tasks Today page.
Just copy the math and language printables front to back each day and you’re set!
NEW! JANUARY BUNDLE
You asked, so I listened!
I now offer money saving monthly bundles.
I bundled all of the resources together that I use to teach the standards this month. I include the resources shown on my free January Lesson Plans
LOOKING AHEAD…
ASSESSMENT AND REPORT CARDS
Are you getting ready for testing and report cards? Our second quarter ends at the end of January.
This kit makes it so easy to assess your students and document data. Parents can easily understand their child’s progress and if their child needs to continue working on specific skills. Print a freebie and learn more HERE
SETTING GOALS
A new year means new goals! If you haven’t already used my goal setting and awards kit, now is the perfect time to start!
The chart is FREE! Learn more over on the blog HERE
Return to my January lesson planning homepage HERE
I hope these teaching tips make your week go smoother! My goal is to share ideas and tips every week on a blog post for the week coming up. This will hopefully take some stress off of you.
See you next week ❤️
Blessings, Michala