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January 2011  

17th Issue
In This Issue
Teacher Quote of the Month
Monthly Tip
Great Resources
ESGI Partners
Teacher Tip
"The Mitten"
ESGI Dashboard
Resource Spotlight
ESGI Update
Announcements
ESGI news
Teacher Spotlight
 
Quick Links:
 
Videos:
Teacher Quote of the Month...

 

"First off, I LOVE your program!!!  Thank you for taking the one area that consumes the majority of my non-teaching time and making it so streamlined that I actually love to assess my class! I am getting spoiled having so much information on where my kids are, and being able to manipulate that info however necessary to teach my kids what they really need to know!"

 

~Lynnette Krieger-Zook
Kindergarten Teacher
Faris, KS  
 
Monthly Tip: 
 
  
Add "Smart as a Fox" images to your assessments created in Test Explorer.

Smart as a Fox

In our last issue we shared with you the exciting news that ESGI has teamed up with "Smart as a Fox" to provide you with a new offering of hundreds of kinder-friendly images to use when creating tests. 
 

These images are a perfect match for creating tests with ESGI! They go along with initial sounds, word families, kindergarten themes,and other categories.


 

Don't forget to add these "Smart as a Fox" images in your assessments.


 

Do you want to review how to add a test in ESGI? Click here to watch a

short video

 

 

For more information visit the Smart as a Fox website
 

 

 

 

Great Resources:
 100th day of school
Great Resources for celebration of this Important event - the 100th day of the school year
 

100 Ways to Celebrate 100 Days

Fun list of 100 different, simple activities


 

Crown pattern

Copy the crown pattern onto  cardstock. Students can color and cut it out to wear in celebration of the day.


 

Creative Writing Activity
Students complete this poem about 100 things.


 

Math Activity - 100 Day Grid
Top off your 100th Day of school celebration with this fun and easy coordinate geometry activity that uses a 100-square grid.


 

Books for the 100th day
  • 100 Angry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes
  • One Hundred is a Family by Pam Munoz Ryan
  • The 100th Day of School by Angela Shelf Medearis
  • Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten

Do you know of a website with great resources you could not live without?  Send us a link at

[email protected]


Links to our Partners:
  

Mr. Kindergarten

TEACHER TIP:

 

To share your favorite tip,
e-mail it to [email protected] with your name, city, and state.

"The Mitten":

 

happy new year
 

In  the popular Kindergarten book "The Mitten" by Jan the mitten book coverBrett, the fun begins when, one by one, animals crawl into a little boy's lost white mitten to get warm. After the mitten is overfilled, the bear sneezes, sending the animals flying up and out of the mitten. At the end of the story, the boy's lost mitten is returned.

 

As educators will continue to face challenges in this new year, seek inspiration in the small things.

Look at situations with childlike optimism. 

 

Like in the story where the animals are adding to the mitten, find the strength to simplify those unavoidable obstacles (funding challenges, parent participation, children that need more time than you are able to give in the classroom). Take each one at a time and don't give up. Encourage others around you. Keep positive. Thank yourself daily for all that you do!

 

Like the return of the mitten after all the unexpected guests snuggled in, everything will work out with perserverance and continued teamwork. Keep up the great work!

 

ESGI wishes you a great start to 2011 in your classroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ESGI Dashboard: 

 dashboard image    

Number of test questions collected this school year* by teachers using ESGI...... 4.7 million
                                            *August 2010 to present
 

Number of teachers, adminstrators, and friends that receive ESGI newsletter..... Over 11,600

  

Number of TOTAL test questions collected by teachers using ESGI...... Over 42 million

 spotlight  Resource Spotlight:

Jack Hartmann    Hop 2 It Music 

     jack hartmann                                 
 
As one of our favorite resources here at ESGI, we wanted to take the time in this issue to share with you exciting news. Jack just released a new CD entitled "Get on Board the Transition Train". It is a wonderful CD containing transition songs that teach and focus on: Starting and ending the day, phonemic awareness, playground rules, crossing the mid-line, circle time learning, Zero the Hero, gross motor fun, exercising and fitness, cleanup fun, bathroom do's and don'ts, good listening and much more!

   

Jack Hartmann travels all over the country each year and presents children's concerts, teacher workshops, conference keynotes and family sing-alongs. Jack has recorded over 700 songs on 30 albums. His highly regarded educational songs are used by teachers and sung by children in schools all across the United States and around the world. Check it out for yourself at www.jackhartmann.com

 

 

 

ESGI Update:

California teachers thrilled with ESGI    
 

CKA logo 

California teachers loved the ESGI demonstration that Founder Greg Gorman delivered to several hundred Kindergarten teachers at the California Kindergarten Conference in Santa Clara, CA on January 14 -16.

indiana map
ESGI meets Indiana teachers          

 

ESGI attended the Indiana Kindergarten Conference hosted by SDE on November 29 -30th in Indianapolis, IN.

 SDE indy conference 2010 1

 It was the first time ESGI was displayed at an Indiana Conference. The response was terrific! We were able to meet many of you who are currently using ESGI and demonstrate and share ESGI with other attending Indiana teachers.

 

 

 

Announcements
Coming to a city near you...

The ESGI team looks forward to meeting you at an upcoming conference in 2011! Look for us at the following conferences:   
 

 
Southern California Kindergarten Conference
 
February 25-26       Pasadena, CA  
 

llinois ASCD Statewide Conference for Pre-K and Kindergarten Educators
 
March 10-11           Schaumburg, IL

New to our ESGI newsletter?
Looking for more ideas, great resources, and tips? View our past issues. Click here!

spotlight  Teacher Spotlight: 

 

Teacher and ESGI affiliate Kim Jordano shares with us her thoughts on keeping the magic alive in teaching Kindergarten.

kim jardono

 

"As far back as I can remember I have always wanted to be a teacher. I used to set up my dolls in a classroom and be their teacher!"

 

Teaching for over 24 years, Kim has always taught Kindergarten. Along with teaching, Kim balances being a mom, running her website, and presenting at conferences across the US activities for creative literacy, writing and math.

 

 

Kim's popular website, www.kinderbykim.com is packed with monthly ideas and projects that encourage other teachers. "I think what makes my site unique is that it is very user-friendly. It is mostly pictures of ideas from my classroom or another teacher's classsroom on my K-Team. I am so fortunate to work with very creative, dedicated teachers" said Kim. "I am a visual learner and instead of reading how to do something I like to see it so I hope all the photos motivate teachers to try some new activities in their classrooms."

 

With a true passion for Kindergarten, she is constantly comes up with new activities to keep the "magic" in learning. "I think I get just as excited as the children to try out new ideas" stated Kim. "It is so important to teach the standards but even more important to instill a joy and excitement to learn."

  

Over the next few months Kim will be introducing new products on her website including themed packets for several of her most requested activities. They will be in PDF so teachers can simply download them and have them instantly.

 

Visit www.kinderbykim.com for additional links to resources, see where Kim will be presenting next, or learn more about her exciting products.  

 

 

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