Free lovely font

I made a new sweet font for you - and it is free! You can use it commercially if you are a small business teacher-author. If you are something else and want to use it (you are more than a single person business, on a product or in a book) - contact us for licensing

free font lovely

Hop over to our store to find it - ready and waiting just for you lovely!

Teach Kinder to Read on Day 1



What?! Yes, you read correctly. You can teach kindergarten students to "read" on their first day of school!

I say "read" as it is really just a lot of fun, and NO PRESSURE! The children get a huge kick out of hearing that they will learn to read and especially take something home and show their family that they have learnt to read something.We do it with lots of fun, enthusiasm and a little bit of silliness!

Word Card Box

You will need word cards (if you print out my freebie at the end of this post - you will have them) - I sort all of my 'reading' word cards in an index box. It is one of my favourite and essential tools in my classroom. I can make that little box into a thousand lessons and activities!


Sentence Maker

You will also need something I call a 'sentence maker' - really just a bit of wood with one or two grooves cut down the middle. I would love to say I made this, but my fabulous Dad did. It was not difficult at all. The grooves have a slight lean to them, so the cards angle back when you rest them in.

You could also use a pocket chart or the edge of the blackboard (do you still have one of those??) to stand your cards up.


Here she is from the front. Very well used and a little battered.. and a bit of black marker from when I used it as a ruler (oops)..


The grooves only need to be cut down a few millimetres. My dad cut me two, as he is like me, and always like to have a spare for everything (just in case) - but I have only ever really used one of them..


Learning to 'Read'

So after some lovely relaxed play type activities on the first day, tell the students they are going to learn to read. They first look shocked but then excitement kicks in! 
  • Tell them they are SO CLEVER now and that part of coming to school means learning to read.
  • Make sure they are settled in the main teaching area.
  • Reassure them that you will help them every step of the way.

Set up your sentence maker so all can see it. Tell them:
  • about the 'starting star' - which shows us where we start reading from and place it on the far left - have a star on a word card for this.
  • Reinforce that the starting star shows us where to start.
  • Use the starting star idea for the first 10-15 weeks of kindergarten

Then get the cards out  {I go to school.}
  • Scratch your head a little, say 'I can't remember how these go" and read each card as you place it randomly in the sentence maker. 
  • Do not try to teach 'sounding out' or word recognition skills at this stage. 
  • Your students will be first learning to read sight words by sight - they will see the whole word and the shape of it. 
  • They will certainly not be up to looking 'through' the word at the individual letters, or thinking about the individual letters within the word. Some may, but most won't, and the focus of this activity is FUN! 
  • At this stage many students are basically learn to read this by memory/rote, but pick up valuable beginning reading skills along the way.

Put the words in random order and then tell them about the full stop (period for USA) at the end - and how it is her job to stop words from falling off the sentence.

Tell the students that you will now show them how to read. 
  • Make a big exaggerated effort to point to the starting star and say 'I remember we start here' and then point to each word reading it along the line. 
  • Look at them with a very pleased look on your face, expressing that you are very clever to have just read the sentence - "go I school to". 
  • They are normally laughing at this point, because of course your sentence does not make sense.
  • Repeat a few times and eventually a few students will know what order the words should be in, and they come to help. 


When you have the words in the correct order, again do the exaggerated point and read. 
  • Ask them to help you read and read it together. 
  • Ask each child to come to the front of the class and point and read, giving them a huge high-5 when they 'read' for the first time. 
  • They will be VERY excited. 
Keep this up in the classroom for the rest of the day. 
  • Practise on and off for the whole day - it only takes a minute, 
  • Randomly pause through the day and say "oh boys and girls, help me to read again" and point to the words, with everyone joining in.
  • The more times you get them to look and read the words, the better. 
  • Occasionally mix the cards up and see if a student notices and can put them back in order, of course, reading it out when they have finished.


The students complete a little reading worksheet to take home with them. 
  • Tell them that they can show their family how clever they are and read to them. 
  • They write their name, and colour the picture to match their new school uniform. 
  • Practice quite a few times, at their desks, reading the "I go to school" sentence. 

You can download these worksheets for free from google drive, by clicking on the images below.








Spend the first whole week of Kindergarten (sometimes 2 weeks, depending on the abilities within my class) - learning with the "I go to ..." sentence structure.
  • You can begin to teach reading/writing strategies like spaces between words, capital letters, left to right progression, full stops etc
  • After you have done "I go to school" you can use the sentence maker and cards to introduce other words, such as 'church', 'Mum", 'Dad" - and show them how easy it is to make a new sentence by switching one word out. 
Please remember that this idea is carried out with lots of support, enthusiasm and fun. Do not put any pressure of the students. It has always worked beautifully and I promise you will never forget the looks of excitement and accomplishment on the students' faces when they know that they have learnt to 'read' on the first day of school!

As the weeks pass of course, you can explain to the students that there is also more to learn about reading. 

I have also put together this little packet of writing activities, that incorporates using the "I go to school' pattern. I would probably only use the Day 1 to Day 3 activities in this packet, in the first week of kinder, but again, it would depend in the abilities within the classroom. It is also FREE for you!


Find it HERE



First Kindergarten Craft + Crunch'n'Sip


This week I am sharing some ideas for the first weeks of teaching Kindergarten. This little creation goes very well with the 'school days' unit of work that we complete here in NSW. As part of the unit we talk about what makes school different from home, and part of that is wearing a school uniform! The first day of Kindergarten is the first time many of our students will have worn a uniform and it is always nice to tell them how wonderful they look and how impressed you are with the care they have taken to wear their uniform correctly.

This printable packet will provide you with all the templates for your students to make their own 'school kid' and create a uniform to match. You will need to implement a mini-lesson on discussing the uniform and how all our clothes look the same. Believe it or not, I have had some children that fail to notice. Not that it shocks me so much anymore, it is A-MAZING what our beautiful little people fail to see - they only see the important things!


Once each piece is cut and coloured...


It can then be pasted together... You can also use the writing template we have provided to turn this craft into a writing lesson. Students will practise writing their name and cut/paste an "I go to school" sentence.


In NSW schools, we participate in a Crunch'n'Sip program to encourage more students to eat raw vegetables and fruit, and sip water through the morning session.

We have included an apple, water bottle and additional writing activity should you like to turn this into a 'crunch'n'sip' awareness activity!


You can find this printable file HERE

Great Books to Read in the First Week of Kindergarten


Having a "School" box of books, pictures and posters ready for the first week of Kindergarten (or any early years grade) is a great way to be prepared for back to school. A "School Days" unit of work or similar can be a lovely way to to introduce the children to the formalities of 'big school’

This box of books is more for shared story reading time, where the students can relax and just enjoy being read to, without any formal and structured 'teaching about text' that I would do with big books in our main literacy session. I read these as lesson breaks and before/after bell times.


Books are a great way to settle students and also start to build a 'community' in your classroom early in the school year. The children learn to respond to your voice as a teacher, and they provide a platform for lots of discussion, sharing of opinions and learning about boring things like school rules! "Shared experiences" are perfect learning tools in a classroom and a shared story is a simple, yet exciting experience for kinder children in their first weeks.

Here are some of the books I take off my daughter's book shelf and pack into the car at the beginning of every school year!



They include (affiliate links included):
  1. The First Day of School by Toby Forward
  2. I Am Too Absolutely Small for School (Charlie and Lola) by Lauren Child
  3. My Mum Goes to Work by Kes Gray 
  4. Kindergarten With Teddy Bear by Jacqueline McQuade
  5. THE DINOSAUR WHO WOULDN'T GO TO SCHOOL by Michael Salmon
  6. Grug Goes to School by Ted Prior
  7. Starting School by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
  8. Possum Goes to School by Melanie Carter
  9. Franklin is Lost by Paulette Bourgeois
  10. Who's Behind the Door? At My School by Michael Salmon
  11. The Kinder Hat by Morag Loh
  12. First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg
  13. Franklin Goes to School by Paulette Bourgeois
  14. Don't Eat the Teacher by Nick Ward
  15. Please Play Safe by Margery Cuyler (great for talking about playground rules)
  16. Kindergarten by Jacqueline Rogers
  17. Eight by Lyn Lee and  Kim Gamble (great for talking about feeling safe without familiar things)

I arrange them on a table-library in the classroom for a few weeks, so the students can look through during free reading time.




Who's At School Activity


The "Who's Behind the Door? At My School" book provides the stimulus for a wonderful activity I do with the students.
 I take them on a tour of the school and knock on each classroom door. We talk about the teacher, the classroom and take a photo! The teacher in the room says a few nice words to the children and we wave good-bye. The next day, I have ready, a hand made book, similar to this one in structure, with each page folding out to reveal which teacher is 'behind the door'. The children LOVE it and it is a great way to introduce them to all the new faces at school.


Link to Behaviour Strategy

I read books like "If You're Happy and You Know It" by Jane Cabrera - as they lead into movement and singing activities that are well known by the students. I also incorporate this song into my behaviour management by singing "If You're Ready and You Know It, Sitting Down" (clap clap).. "If You're Ready and You Know it Cross Your Legs" ".....eyes to me"... etc - basically singing what I want them to do. It works very well!


School Themed Worksheet Activities

Worksheets like the ones in our 'Back to School Worksheets' packet are great to use with these sorts of books in the first weeks of school.

With this printable file, you can create a booklet of 25 pages that will allow your students to draw or write some simple things about school.
Each page is clear, uncluttered and perfectly simple enough for little ones to finally start some big-school-work but not be overwhelmed.
For some of the activities, you may need to scribe some ideas for the students, while others have room for illustrations.



Starting with A - Teaching Kindergarten in the First Weeks

I had a lovely email through the week, from a lady that has been asked to teach Kindergarten here in Australia, for the very first time this year, when school starts on January 30. She purchased a few items from my website, but needed some more guidance. Where do I start? she asked...

Relaxed structured play

Where to start with Kindergarten? Now that is a hard question! There is so much to cover in the first weeks, and really, it is best to take a relaxed approach in the first week at least, and just let the children get to know you. Start with lots of structured play experiences, so you can let the children play as they are used to doing in preschool, but also gently encouraging some classroom rules and structure.
You don't have to have it all ready to start - focus on a few practical things
Remember, you don't have to have it all perfectly ready from the beginning - the beauty of introducing routines and procedures gradually, as it gives you time to prepare them and it can flow more naturally, as children develop them slowly and in response to a need in the classroom.
Reading and simple desk work to transition into a formal school routine
Have some basic worksheets and shared reading activities planned, as most students will be eager to start 'big school work' and will not settle until they have done some 'real school work'.

Beginning letter sounds

I always start the year in Kindergarten with the short beginning letter sounds of the alphabet.
 
Let's Learn the Alphabet
This had me thinking and got me very motivated to start something that has been on the From the Pond to do list since the very beginning. A letter-sound packet for each letter of the alphabet, including resources and activities to help teachers get through the week.

I had never started these resource packets, as I could never find the clipart I wanted. I needed at least 6 images for each short letter sound of the alphabet. In my well-worn little 'ideas and to-do' notebook, is an entry for this idea, with 'digital drawing class' scribbled next to it, as I soon realised that I wanted to draw my own clipart, so it all had the same 'look and feel'. Seven years later, and I am finally ready.

I have put together a bundle of resources that are perfect for helping you introduce the sounds of the alphabet to your students. Start with a .....

Why? It is the most used letter of the alphabet. You can also begin some 'reading' activities very soon after you have introduced it, as you can tell your students it is also a word 'a'... then practise reading phrases
a dog
a cat
a pencil etc
I would follow the next week with m as then you can start some work on blending, and show the students how 'a +m' will make 'am'.

Combine that with a few sight words, and you can get your teeth into some meaty reading lessons!
I am a dog.
I am a cat.
I am a pencil. etc.
Here is a sample of our 'Aa Packet'.



My daughter and I had fun today completing a few of the activities.

A very simple astronaut cut and paste craft. This will help with having your students practise scissor control - nice big large fat line shapes to cut.





The pieces have tabs for easy pasting.

A little interactive reader is included. Students will need to cut and paste 'a' words and pictures to each page in their book. You will need to directly teach the sentence pattern "Look at the....".

Most kinder students in Australia are now coming to school with excellent school readiness and early literacy awareness and are ready to start basic level 1 readers like this almost straight away. However, if your students are not, this would make a lovely shared reading text that they could take home and use with their family.






Also in the packet are word cards, worksheets, homework and handwriting guide cards to help teach phonics all week.

Here is a list of things I start to get organised each year, in my last week of summer break, to prepare for my lovely kinders. It takes the most part of a week.

This is a straight cut and paste out of my Day Planner files - I keep it as a list in my planner and cross off each one as it is done. And the list always grows!

It may help some of you start to think about getting organised. Hmmm - teachers and all those holidays!

To get Ready for Kindergarten

  • Write program
  • Prepare day planner
  • Prepare communication book/diary
  • Arrange furniture in room
  • Clean teachers desk, shelves, tote trays
  • Wash all toys and home corner clothes
  • Wash equipment tubs
  • Check labels on tubs and trays
  • Make Home Reading Folders
  • Prepare a welcome note to parents
  • Prepare/Photocopy phonics sound books
  • Prepare and display word wall
  • Prepare and hang alphabet frieze
  • Add Paper to all walls and door for decoration
  • Make a welcome poster to welcome the children and families
  • Make a poster of photos of children & buddies
  • Gather resources for Starting School Resource Box (books, posters etc)
  • Organise Kinder Parent Morning Tea
  • Make resources for phonics learning (word boxes, bags, flashcards)
  • Prepare/purchase pencils, glue, scissors, trays for desks
  • Make sight word flashcards and sort into order of teaching
  • Prepare assessment record sheets
  • Organise teacher desk & shelf
  • Make a classroom rules poster
  • Label all text books
Photocopy or prep:
  • History/geography books
  • Handwriting booklet
  • Visual discrimination
  • Sight word cards
  • Phonics little sound books
  • Letter tiles - copy, cut and order in teacing order
  • Guided Writing
  • Student of the Week
  • Write out birthday cards for the entire year
  • Copy behavior slips
  • Phonics activity sheets
  • Book covers
  • First week worksheets
  • Play group activities
  • Art and craft templates

Five Fab Friday Freebies (Fonts Edition)

5 friday freebies

Each Friday we do a Five Fab Friday Frogspot Freebies post to feature some great teacher resources we have found through the week.

Today I thought I would feature five of my current favourite fonts - that are fabulous and free!
  1. Pond Free Summer
  2. Pond Free Stuff
  3. Pond Free Dawn
  4. Pond Free Sunshine
  5. Pond Free Boss
5 free fonts

To use our fonts in commercial projects, be sure to check our Terms of Use and contact us with any questions you have.

Owl Always Love You Printable Cut and Paste

I just made this cute little Owl Always Love You printable paper craft - for no other reason than I have owls, hearts and craftivities on my mind at the moment - oh, and I need to entertain 4 little girls tomorrow that LOVE all things cut and paste....

It would be perfect for Valentine's Day in the classroom with students taking it home to surprise someone they love!

Download it HERE from Teachers pay Teachers.

Ok, enough of the owl-ways already. Have fun my friends :)

Look Read Check Cover Write Read Check... Arrghhhh!


How do you teach your students to write sight words? I usually spend the first half of the Kindergarten school year concentrating on the reading of sight words. Of course, I expose the children to strategies for spelling 'tricky' words... but it is not until the remaining half of the year that I teach explicitly, how to spell sight words.

Read cover write check



I have tried many different activities - especially multi-sensory fun things like finger painting, writing in sand, rainbow writing and making words with blocks and magnetic letters. We do all of these activities from the beginning of the year with cvc words and other phonetically regular words.

When it is time for sight words, you can't go much further than the old Look, Cover, Write, Check method - and as my blog post title suggests, I am often fumbling around trying to remember what it is called. At least I always remember that there is both the acts of covering up and trying to remember the letters... in order. 

Because, lets face it.. when you peel all the fancy, pansy, fun and fantastic games and activities away, in the end, it is the visual memory of the word we are trying to get children to create. I love trying to keep my sight word activities fancy and fun at the beginning of the week, but by Friday, we are looking at a black word on a white page, with no much else! That IS where we are headed after all isn't is?!

So, I am often found, rummaging around in my perfectly ordered, filled to capacity filing cabinets, looking for that master of the 'Look,Check,Write,Look,Thingy' that I used last year... and then end up giving the children scraps of paper and get them to 'cover' with their hand...

So, in a flurry of enthusiasm, I put together a little packet of 'Read Cover Write' worksheets that feature 100 of the most commonly used sight words. There are 5 words on each page.

You start by copying 2 pages, back to back. The worksheet, and a 'peek-preventer' page that goes on the back (this way, you can't see the words through the page) - there are little smiley faces, and words that say 'no peeking'. This page is optional, but it works great and I highly recommend it.
 
Then fold over the edge along the dotted 'fold' line....see the 'no peeking' pattern on the back :)

Fold back and cut along the dotted lines to create flaps....

Fold all the flaps over to conceal the words...(after reading them of course)...

Open one word at a time, read it again, cover it up, then WRITE it - using your wonderful visual memory!

To make this a longer and more challenging activity, you can copy some additional writing pages to make a little pad to staple on the worksheet.
 
Staple the pad over the lines on the worksheet, and ask your students to write their list of words 3 or 4 times for practise. The staples go down the bottom of the page.

Too easy - now you can be all set for teaching the spelling of sight words! We have included a bonus blank page so that you can use the same format for any list of words you would like your students to learn!

Five Fab Friday Freebies - Cupcake Counting


We share a versatile math resource with you over in our store - Cupcakes for the Class! Here are 5 ways to use the cards in your classroom math lessons, activities or workshop. 

1. Number Sense

In the file we give you 4 practical ideas for helping students build number sense including sequencing, matching and counting with the cards.


2. Addition 

To extend your nigh achievers challenge them to flip 2 cards and find the total. Totals and working can be recorded on a whiteboard or in their math journal.

3. Before and After

Give each student a square of origami paper - we used one with a check pattern. This is the tablecloth! Tell your students to put a cupcake on the table and then look for numbers that come before and after!

4. Skip Counting

Challenge students to set up an array to help them understand skip counting. Here we arranged the cards for counting-by-3s. Why not ask students to skip by 2, 5 or 10! 

5. Decorate the Cakes

Ask students to count and place counters on each cake to match the numeral. Perfect for learners who need to develop 1:1 correspondence. 


Have fun counting with the cupcakes in class!

Building a Positive Classroom


Teachers here in Australia are beginning to think about the return to the classroom for a brand spanking new year.

A positive classroom



Although many thoughts about room set up, resources, name cards, programs and plans will be running through your mind, you will be no doubt thinking about how to create your classroom atmosphere. Get a group of experienced teachers talking on this and and you will be stuck for hours! Every classroom has a different one, with different rules, personalities and standards - kind of like blogs in a way! The image above outlines a few of the things I keep in mind when I am establishing my classroom. It is not an exhaustive list and just what I have learnt from trial and error over 12 years. I like to run my blog with the same values.

What things are important to you when establishing an 'atmosphere'.

5 Free Math Games

5 fab friday freebies from the pond

1. Free Match Me Numbers to 10 Game

This printable math game is called MATCH ME and it aims to help children recognise and match dot patterns, numerals and number words for numbers 0-10.

2. Free Turtle Round Addition and Subtraction Cards

Once teachers have laminated these game boards, students can use whiteboard (dry-erase) markers to help their turtle add or subtract all the numbers on her shell.

3. Free Color-On Addition with Dice Worksheet Game

This fun and easy-to-prep addition game worksheet will help your little ones with basic addition. The worksheet can be cut in half and players roll, color and then add to find a winner!

4. Free Place Value Game - Tens and Ones

spring number order game
This printable activity game will be super fun for your students learning about tens and ones in place value.


5. Free Printable Super Tens Game


Read more about how to play Super Tens HERE

We love making printable teaching resources! We hope you love them at that your students are excited to learn with them. Follow us on TPT so you never miss a new freebie!