Comments on: Kindergarten Organization Tips

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:38:10 +0000

Thank you, myrose! I also tend to misplace things around the classroom in the chaos of the day, so I really like your idea of having 3 sets. And, yes, it would be helpful to have extra sets for my reading teachers.

By: myrose

myrose — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:23:03 +0000

At the time I submitted these tips, I didn’t think about explaining them! Thanks for the question, Jen.

I made 3 sets of flashcarde so that I could use them in the following ways:

One set stayed at the front of the room, in my box, so that I could utilize it with whole and small groups throughout the week. Always keeping a set there meant I never had to search the room for them.

Second set was placed in a box that was set aside for a parent volunteer or aide, which would call students and work with them individually.

Third set was placed at a center, which the students could go to during workshop time, and use the cards in a variety of ways.

By having 3 separate sets, I never had to worry about where we left the cards the last time they were used. This saved the time I used to waste looking for the flashcards, LOL!

By: Mathew

Mathew — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:09:17 +0000

@Maggie,

It’s been awhile since I taught kindergarten myself. I’d recommend posting your question on the Open Court Resources Discussion Board where there are a lot more teachers than just me and someone will answer. Off the top of my head I’d say that you’ll need your School big book, Leo the Lion puppet, and a box of manipulatives (word cards, etc). There are also sound spelling cards to be put up (if they’re not already). But please verify the accuracy of that info on the discussion board (visit http://www.opencourtresources.com and choose discussion at the top)

By: Maggie

Maggie — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:33:38 +0000

I am going to be using Open Court for first time in K with no training in sight until late Sept. I am not familiar with OC at all, as I have been brought up on HM. What are the essential materials from series for first month of school besides the teacher’s guide. The school is new and we are not going in until very close to starting, so I need to be able to assess the situation first day and scrounge if necessary what I will need. Thanks to all you hard working teachers for tips, this is a wonderful site!

By: Mathew

Mathew — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:48:47 +0000

@Jen,

Not sure. This was a guest article. I’m trying to find out.

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:47:06 +0000

Hi, I will be using Open Court for my K class for the first time this year. Why are 3 sets of flash cards needed for each predecodable? Thanks!

By: Sheila A.

Sheila A. — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 04:14:05 +0000

I use Open Court 2000. I also found pulling the word cards that come with the series very inconvenient. However, several years ago I started using one clear, plastic shoe box to store the word cards, and another clear, plastic shoe box to store the picture cards. I keep the cards in each box in alphabetical order, and they are now very easy to pull. I also paper clip certain ones together, such as colors, number words, etc., also things like, “Rain, rain, go away, etc.” that are used together for OCR lessons. This has worked very well for me.