Get Ready for a Tech-Savvy Start to School! Back-to-School Boom Card Bundles for Pre-K!

Are you looking to kickstart the new school year with exciting and interactive learning activities for your pre-K students? Look no further! Pre-K Tweets' Back-to-School Boom Card Bundles for August and September, are specially designed to engage and captivate young minds while building essential skills for their educational journey! 

Why Choose Boom Cards for Pre-K?

As technology continues to play an essential role in modern education, integrating interactive learning tools becomes increasingly vital. Boom Cards offer an innovative approach to education that combines fun with learning, making it a perfect fit for your pre-K classroom. With these digital task cards, your little learners will embark on a tech-savvy adventure while mastering key concepts.

What's Included in the bundles?

Our August and September bundles are thoughtfully curated to align with pre-K curriculum standards and are perfect for the beginning of the year! Each bundle includes a diverse selection of interactive activities like:

Llama Llama Color Sort - A great supplemental activity to the Llama Llama Red Pajama book! Reinforcing color knowledge AND classification with entertaining images and engaging game play!

Sticky Glue Alphabet -  These cards will strengthen students' early literacy skills and is a great activity to read after the story, Too Much Glue! 

Crayon Counting -  Counting and basic math concepts come to life with interactive counting and number recognition!

Mouse Shapes -  Watch as young learners identify, sort, and analyze different shapes in a playful environment!

School Supply More or Less - Students will have a blast sorting school supplies in jars and will be able to proudly compare and contrast! 

...AND MORE!  Each bundle comes with 10 learning games! 

How to download these bundles:

Visit the Pre-K Tweets TPT Shop or find us on Boom Learning website.  Browse through the August and September Boom Card Bundles. Choose the bundle that suits your pre-K classroom's needs and add it to your cart. Once you've completed the purchase, you'll receive instant access to the digital task cards, ready to be used in your classroom! (You must have Boom Learning account to access Boom Cards.)

How to set up a Boom Learning account: 

1. **Set Up an Account:** Go to the Boom Learning website and create an account. You can sign up as a teacher or school. And yes, homeschool parents and moms & dads can sign up too! 

2. **Browse and Select Decks:** Explore the Boom Card Library to find decks that align with your lesson plans and subjects. There are various topics and grade levels available.

3. **Get Decks:** You can access some free Boom Card decks, but there are also premium decks that require purchase. Add the decks you want to use to your library.

4. **Assign Decks to Students:** Once you have the decks in your library, you can assign them to your students. You can even create classes and invite students to join or share the deck's link directly. Students can get in extra practice, even from home! 

5. **Monitor Student Progress:** As students complete the Boom Card activities, you can track their progress and performance through the Boom Learning platform.

Remember that Boom Cards can complement your teaching strategies but should not replace other forms of instruction and interaction in the classroom! Boom cards on ipads are great to use in a technology learning center! 

*Note: My boom card bundles are compatible with computers, tablets, and interactive whiteboards, providing ultimate flexibility for your classroom setup! 

Preschool Pages and New Beginnings: First Week of Pre-K Read Alouds

As little ones step into this new chapter of their lives, they are not only greeted with new friends and teachers but also with valuable life lessons! Among the treasure trove of pre-k books there are those that hold special significance - stories about sharing, taking care of school supplies, exploring feelings, and celebrating families!  Oldies but goodies (as I like to call them!) and a few new stories too! 

Here's a tried and true list of read alouds for the first week of pre-k:

The Kissing Hand - Probably the most read & most popular first week of school book out there! It is the sweetest story about a little racoon with seperation anxiety as he prepares to go to school for the first time. There are SO many activities out there to go along with the story and parents LOVE the story too!

Llama Llama Red Pajama - This one is great for learning color words and it rhymes! Students love this book because it has a memorable character to whom they can identify with. It's one children love to hear read over and over again! 

Llama Llama Time to Share - Another fantastic llama story.. as all the Llama LLama books are! Rhymes and encourages sharing, what could be better than that?! This is a great book to keep in your calm down area too! 

Grover Goes to School - A classic! I still remember MY mama reading this to me as I started school! I remember so vividly Grover wanting friends to like him so he shared his school supplies TOO much! Love, love, love this book and I read it to my students every year!

The Night Before Preschool - Natalie Wing books are THE BEST! I own quite a few and the holiday ones are hilarious. This book is charming and has great illustrations!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus - Another fan favorite! Funny, engaging, and a great one to start off a lesson on bus safety! 

Berenstain Bears Go to School - Another classic and who doesn't love the Berenstain Bears?! Although Sister Bear is starting kindergarten, it is still a wonderful story about first day jitters! 

Pete the Cat: Rockin in My School Shoes - I don't know when Pete the Cat stories popped up but my students were hooked! I own several Pete the Cat stories and they are super silly.. just what kids love! 

Our Class is a Family - This is a #1 best seller and has modern AND CUTE illustrations! It's a quick read but has lots of rhyming! I love it because it talks about building a classroom community!

Too Much Glue - Awesome story for introducing glue! I always taught a whole lesson about how to handle glue..how to twist the top, how to close the top, etc. Many craft ideas for this book go with this book as well! 

As you are gearing up for the first week of pre-k, consider adding a few of these titles to your teacher wish list! An easy way to make a simple wish list is to write needed school supplies, snacks, or books on post-it notes and stick them on your whiteboard/bulletin board during meet the teacher day. Parents can take choose a post-it and bring back the item during the first week of school. 

You can also create an Amazon wish list of book titles. That way, whenever parents ask if there is anything you need, you can refer them to your already organized list!

Another idea is to search your local thrift stores. When I was a brand new teacher I brought a whole stack of children's books to the checkout counter at Goodwill. They asked why I had so many and I explained I was starting my classroom library.. they gave me the books for free! This might not always happen, but you can always give it a try! 

Cure the Chaos with a Calm Down Space!

Picture this... little Ethan's excitement is off the charts, and little Caroline’s frustration level is creeping up. You are in the middle of morning drop off, pen in hand, checking students in.  You have successfully peeled crying Ethan off his mother (yay!) but now he won’t un-attach from your leg!  Your non-writing hand now has the job of holding Caroline’s tiny little fingers. She’s in a grumpy-I-woke-up-too-early attitude and you’re keeping her from wreaking havoc in the block center. You have one hand and one leg left. You are instantly “teacher hangman” and if you don’t figure out something soon, you’re going to come home looking like Stretch Armstrong!

Sometimes, even the most well-behaved students need a breather from all the classroom excitement!  Having a “calm down area” in place is a game-changer! Providing a dedicated space for children to self regulate and manage emotions is ESSENTIAL in the early childhood classroom! The calm down area is like a thrilling rollercoaster for emotions – it can be the one-stop-shop for the wildest emotional rides!

 

Here are 5 easy items you can start collecting to create a calm down space:  

1. A feeling of home – Soft carpet and plump pillows can re-create a familiar environment and provide comfort. Ask for donations of carpet squares from parents, search summer garage sales, or even a bathroom rug will do! You can even ask Home Depot if they have any carpet remnants they would like to donate to your classroom.. and often times they will!

2. A place to share secrets – Often times students will share their emotions.. not with you, but maybe with a stuffed animal or two! Incorporate a few huggable stuffed animals and maybe an enchanted seat! A cozy child sized chair (renamed the Unicorn Whispering Chair.. or whatever you want!) will encourage students to express emotions. This enchanted seat has the power to hear feelings, from happy giggles to "oopsie-daisy" mishaps. Kids whisper their emotions, and guess what? The unicorns keep secrets safe while we find our happy place!

3. A Funny Faces Mirror - Have students step right up to the hilarious funny faces mirror! When emotions have students mixed-up, this mirror will turn those frowns upside down with its silly reflections.

4. Relaxing Reads – A basket of familiar picture books are attractive to children and also provide a quite calming down activity. You can incorporate family stories like “The Kissing Hand” or stories about sharing, caring, and being kind.

5. Soothing Sensory Bottles – Sometimes students need a few minutes just to refocus and breath. Sensory bottles are mesmerizing! I like to use empty water bottles and fill them with glitter, tiny plastic toys, food coloring, water, and baby oil. I hot glue the lid tightly on. Michaels craft store has inexpensive bottles to purchase and fill HERE.

During the first week of school it’s important to teach students:

- where the space is

-when to use the space

-how to use the space

-how to take care of items in the space

A well-thought out calming down center is a POWERFUL TOOL in the pre-K classroom!  By fostering emotional awareness, teaching self-regulation, and promoting positive behavior, this nurturing space equips children with essential life skills that will serve them WELL BEYOND their early years!  Emotions may come and go, but now you know how to start building a space to embrace every feeling!

How to have a potty accident system in place!

Oops! 🤷🏻‍♀️ Accidents DO happen and can happen quite a lot! Have you ever had a student with an unexpected potty accident, and you find yourself frantically rummaging through the extra clothes bin HOPING & PRAYING 🙏 for a for a pair of underwear that fit? How about TWO students, one got sick and now you gotta find a clean shirt (and fast!) and the other spilled their lunch on all over their pants… AND it’s PICTURE DAY! 😱📸 Okay.. maybe it wasn’t not that chaotic of a day or maybe it was worse! Been there! Many times! Trust me!

Worry no more, because I’ve got the perfect solution for you! 🎉 These printables are a LIFESAVER! The labels make it super simple to keep track of each child’s extra clothes, so you can QUICKLY grab what’s needed and get back to having FUN in no time! 🙌 Send home the included note with labeled bags for parents to fill & return! EASY!

No more mix-ups, no more added stress –you will have an organized SYSTEM, 🙌for these sticky situations, READY TO GO for the new year! 👏👏👏 🎉🎉🎉

⭐️Tips on using these labels & notes:

✨Have plastic bags labeled and ready to hand to parents on meet the teacher night and put the “change of clothes note” INSIDE the bag!

✨Print labels on brightly colored paper so the bags don’t get lost.
Print on Astrobrights neon sticker paper.. it’s perfect to use with these labels!

✨Avoid running to the copy machine, pre-print a stack of the “Oops! Bring back these clothes note” so you have them on hand.

📚🦸‍♀️Teachers are already loving these change of clothes labels & notes! Here’s what they have to say:

“I cannot thank myself enough for using these this year! I printed them over the summer so they were ready to use once school began and I was able to quickly and effectively communicate with parents when students had accidents.” – Ann B.

“I cannot rave enough about this perfect change of clothes bundle! This helped me to be prepared and ready for when all of those accidents begin!” – Jennifer K.

“I use this in my kindergarten room and am extremely happy with this resource. I include the note about sending a change of clothes in their packets they get at orientation and then keep the other notes on hand for if accidents happen or the students need different clothes sent. It also saves time on writing a full note home to the parents about what clothes need to be changed and is quick to fill out and slip into their agenda without the other students catching on to what happened.” – Danielle G.

Click HERE to save yourself STRESS & have a HASSLE-FREE year! 

Shamrockin' Pre-K Math Games for St. Patrick's Day!

I've created some LUCKY new products in my Pre-K Tweets Shop for St. Patrick's Day! 

Clip cards are great to keep in your math center! They also enhance fine motor skills when paired with clothespins! They are an easy game to just set out on a tray. Student will count the cereal charms in the bowls and clip on a clothespin on the correct number. 

These Lucky Charm board games come in color and in black and white! Students can color the black and white version. I like to use pom poms or these St. Patrick's Day mini erasers as game pieces! Students can roll a die, count, the spaces, and cover till the end.... or 2 students can roll a die, and race as a path game with two pom poms or two mini erasers. 

Giving treats out for St. Patrick's Day? Rainbow marshmallows look so cute paired with these tags and bag toppers! 

Distance learning means sending lots of snail mail! Students love to recieve handwritten postcards from their favorite teacher! Let them know you're thinking about them with these postcards! 

Lots of luck with your St. Patrick's Day classroom festivities, games, and activities! 

Booming with BOOM Cards!

Boom Cards... also known as digital task cards! I've been loving creating all kinds of Boom Cards for the seasons! They are perfect right now for distance learning as teachers can create an account, sign up their students, and monitor students progress. The cards are self correcting, which means if a student gets an answer wrong, the game tells them and they have a chance to correct it! 

I currently have multiple Boom bundles available for Valentine's Day, February, March, St. Patrick's Day, April, and Easter.

Click on the images below to learn more about each bundle! 

FREE Boom Cards Giveaway!

FREE BOOM CARDS!! 🍎✏️🍎✏️🍎✏️I am so excited to announce that I teamed up with 12 other Boom Cards Author/Teachers to create the Distance Learning BOOM Giveaway! This giveaway includes 13 free Boom Cards!!! This resource will be available until 8/29, then it will be gone! Head on over to @prektweets on Instagram and click on the link in my bio to receive all these FREE BOOM Cards! 
Happy {Distance} Learning!