Perfect Position Books

As my children would say, these books are all "awesome"!  They completely match common core standard K.G.1: Describe objects in the environment using names and shapes, and describe the relative positions of these objects using terms such as above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.  They're also loads of fun!  My children never get tired of them, and especially in the beginning of the school year, when they don't have the stamina to sit for a long time, these books really keep their attention.  I also have them show the position words; it keeps the read very exciting.  They also know that when the story is done, we will most likely do a song that matches the book.  The songs I have found to match these books are:

"Cool Bear Hunt" by Dr. Jean
"Going on a Picnic" by Dr. Jean
"Lion Hunt" by Melinda Caroll
"Goin' on a Treasure Hunt" by Jack Hartmann
"Going on a Turkey Hunt" by Mister Q

I recently found a very cool web site called TLSBOOKS.com that does a great job of asking the children to identify position words.  In fact, there are lots more than just papers for position words.  There are games, printables, and worksheets for a wide variety of subjects including alphabet, math, science, nursery rhymes, geography, hand writing, and more!

My last two weeks at school have definitely presented some challenges, but one simple activity that I tried worked remarkably well.  I placed a tape square on the floor and gave a child a Beanie Baby bear.  I told the child to stand inside the square and outside the square, then had them do it in different ways (slower, faster, crawling, standing, etc.).  Every child wanted to do it, and they waited patiently for each other to take turns; I couldn't believe it!  I also had 23 kids that day (2 were absent).  So, I guess it goes to show that sometimes simple is best.

I also used my Superhero Bingo game that I talked about in an earlier post, and it really is helping my kids to identify more letters.  On Friday, they asked me to make an Animal Bingo game, so of course I did and it's now available on TPT and TN.

I found myself eating chocolate a lot last week.  I'm just wondering, do any of you have tips for lessening the stress of these first weeks of school?