SALE!

It's that time of the year again! The holidays are right around the corner and it is a great time to stock up on products you have had your eyes on. I will be participating in the the Cyber Super Sale. You might be interested in checking out my Gingerbread Sweet Treats pack, my Waddling Wonders unit or It's a Snow Day! I will be using all three of these in my classroom over the next few months.

A Book and a Freebie

Have you read Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade to your class yet? If not, head over to Amazon and check it out. I highly recommend it! There are so many avenues you can explore with this book, but I thought I would incorporate it into my Properties unit. I wanted to do something different in my classroom during the days leading up to Thanksgiving break. We learned about the properties of air and completed simple science experiments to demonstrate each one. We had a blast learning about helium and attempted to lift objects with helium balloons! My students have a better understanding of how those gigantic balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade stay high up in the air! If you are interested in using the packet I created to go with the book, please let me know and I will be happy to send it to you.

I have posted a freebie in my TpT store. It will help your students review the magic e rule for long A and I. I use it along with my Old Lady Literacy Pack. Head on over to my store to grab it for yourself.

New Product

My students and I enjoyed reading many of the Old Lady stories this fall. I put a small pack together to help reinforce some new skills. I like to pull these activities out during free time once rotations are over with. They love to play games and I love watching them gain more confidence each time they play. It's a win-win situation for everyone:)

Back To School Sale!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! I am throwing a back to school sale at my TpT store! All of my items in the store are 20% off! Be sure to include the promo code for additional savings. Now is the time to stock on all your favorite TpT goodies. The savings do not get any better than this!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Oh my! It has been about a month since my last post. Time is moving so quickly this year I can't believe it! I wanted to pop in and let you know that my newest set of centers is available at my TpT store. What Will The Weather Be Like? is a literacy pack only. I will be starting my weather unit when we return from spring break and I am hoping that these skills will be a bit of a refresher for my first grade friends. Happy Teaching!

Leprechaun Goodies

Happy Wednesday friends! I met up with a fellow co-worker after work to discuss all things blogging and teaching:) I am so excited that Katherine has decided to open her own TpT store. She has some wonderful math activities available that are perfect for St. Patty's Day. If you are looking for a few goodies for the next few days head on over to her store and check them out.

Adventures with Humphrey

My students are in for a big surprise this week! I can't wait to see their reactions when Humphrey's bag gets delivered to our classroom. Who will persuade me to let them take Humphrey home? Wait until I tell them that Humphrey will be spending time with each one of them:)

I am really excited to share this take home bag with you as it has been in the works for quite some time. My students and I have just begun our persuasive writing unit in writing workshop. On a constant quest to make writing purposeful and enjoyable for my students, I have found The World According to Humphrey to be an excellent resource to build a persuasive unit around.

One of the best resources to jump start this type of unit with primary students is Should There Be Pets? This is a topic that young children can connect to and is a great resource for teaching skills such as fact and opinion. We will be exploring this resource over the next few days in class.

I have already read The World According to Humphrey to my students. They have gotten to know him on a personal level including his likes and dislikes. They have even learned a thing or two about taking care of a hamster thanks to Betty Birney's excellent style of writing. I think they will have a lot of fun putting together a persuasive letter that explains why they should have the opportunity to take him home.

This take home bag is a wonderful way to get students and parents involved with writing at home. The bag is designed so that everyone has roles that make the project successful. If your interested in raising the quality of your students' writing or looking to add to an existing writing unit, consider using traveling packs as part of the learning process.

Word Work

Are your kiddos busy learning long vowel teams? This week my class will focus on the long o patterns oa and ow. I will also be introducing 3 letter blends. I made a few games to use in my guided reading groups this week to reinforce these skills. My students love to play card games. I usually try to set aside a few minutes in each group to play a review game. These little dinos fit perfectly with our theme this week. You can snatch them up for a great deal at my store today:)

Favorite Resources: Part 3

My latest teaching purchase isn't necessary a "resource," but it is one of the best items that has made my teaching life easier. One of my biggest headaches for the past few months year has been my electric pencil sharpener. I spent more money on it than I would like to admit and was convinced that it would work well for my needs. After all, you get what you pay for right?

Not long after receiving it I began to have problems. It was eating away at even the best quality pencils. Tip after tip began breaking inside, leaving behind unsharpened pencils along with a frustrated teacher and her students. Anybody who knows me well can tell you I am slightly particular about how things operate in my classroom. An uncooperative pencil sharpener and I don't mix well:)

I then came across this post at one of my favorite blogs. The timing couldn't have been any better. A pencil sharpener that works wonders for only 19.95? I admit I was desperate. I immediately placed an order.

It was like Christmas all over again when that package arrived! I got it out right away and put it to the test. I quickly viewed this video to be sure I was operating it correctly. Oh my, I think it sharpened the pointiest tip I had ever seen! It worked like a charm. I currently house it at my small group table and I operate it as well. My students bring me two pencils and I sharpen them as they complete their morning check-in routine. It's easy to operate, quiet, and sharpens all types of pencils.

Isn't it cute? I just love looking at it:)

Head on over here to take a look at it for yourself. I know you won't be disappointed:)

MIA

Hi Friends! I did not intend to take a break from blogging for a few weeks. but much needed family time and a nice week in Florida was in the plans. I am back and busy creating once again. I wanted to let you know that I have a few products in the works that I am VERY excited about. My first is a take home bag that is used with the book The World According to Humphrey.

Have you read this one to your class? If not, they will love it! I actually use it as part of my persuasive writing unit. It is fun to read all the reasons why they should be the ONE to take Humphrey to their house! I am getting ready to read Friendship According to Humphrey because they have BEGGED me for more Humphrey. Can't wait!

I am also trying to put the finishing touches on my Seuss centers. Seuss you ask? Yes, we do Seuss all month long in my class! March is PARP at school. My kiddos are looking forward to these Seussy review centers in the middle of the month.

I still have much more catching up to do including posting pictures from my penguin unit and showing you my latest classroom purchase that I absolutely LOVE!

Have a fantastic weekend!

FYI: If you purchased my Waddling Wonders pack I made some slight revisions to it. Please download it again for no cost.

FREEBIE

I will be completing a unit on weather with my students in the spring. Like many classrooms, we like to observe and discuss the weather on a daily basis. My calendar area is relatively small, so I quick whipped up these cute weather themed calendar cards. You can use these during any month you teach weather or year round if you wish. Head on over to get your set at my TpT store.

Communicating the Common Core

While we are all busy learning the new standards and planning our instruction around them, we must keep in mind how we can effectively communicate them to parents. As I was searching around for some resources with my parents in mind, I came across the National PTA website. They provide a guide for parents at each grade level. Each resource is brief, but it might come in handy when you are communicating with parents.

Penguins

Happy Sunday friends! I just wanted to pop in and let you know that my penguin unit is posted at my TpT store. My students are in the middle of this and they are having a BLAST learning about penguins! I always do a lot of writing with my students during this unit. I also introduce small group writing work. With a large emphasis on nonfiction in the Common Core, it is important to get your students reading and writing in this genre. My Waddling Wonders unit contains both math and literacy centers as well as a writing pack. I am hoping to post pictures of this unit in progress this week:)

Winter Freebies

My students and I are working with numbers to 100 in math. This past week we reviewed tens and ones as well as comparing and ordering. We are getting ready to start through our money unit so we also did some work with skip counting. I made a few sheets to review these skills. My students worked through these this past week when they came in. You can grab your freebies by clicking {here}.

Slip Sliding Away

Wow! Where has the time gone? I am a bit behind on my posting, but I have uploaded my It's a Snow Day math centers as well as my entire
It's a Snow Day unit at my TpT store. My students are almost finished working through these centers and they have really enjoyed the different snow day theme at each center. We are currently studying seasonal changes and snow in science. We have also just received our biggest snowfall of the year in my neck of the woods, so everything has coincided nicely. I will be posting some freebies this week that you can use in conjunction with my It's a Snow Day unit. I am also working on a new batch of penguin centers that I am really excited about! Enjoy your long weekend friends:)

It's a Snow Day Giveaway!

How many of you are eagerly awaiting your first snow day? It's that time of year! Whether you enjoy staying in your pj's all day or heading out for some fun in the snow, an unexpected snow day is exciting for everyone! I created my new set of literacy centers with a snow day in mind. It's a Snow Day is now ready over at my TpT store. You can grab the pack for a great price, or pick and choose the activities that fit your needs. The corresponding math centers will be ready soon!

Pick up your pack {here}

I would love to give away this pack for free. Leave a comment and let me know what you love to do on a snow day. Since it is the second day of the new year I will give the pack away to the first two comments. Good luck!

I have extended my Gingerbread Sweet Treats sale one more day...these are the final hours.