Monday, August 18, 2014

My Sweet Baby Girl and Daily Schedule Cards

Today is the first day of school for my kiddos...and I am not there!  This is why:


My Hubby and I had this beautiful baby girl at the end of July and we are totally in love!  We had a rough start and she had to spend a few days in the NICU because of some breathing issues, but she's doing great now!  

Since we did have a rough start, I decided to take a couple months off of work to stay home with her.  I'll go back to teaching before Christmas Break, but right now I think I'm needed more at home.  :)

It feels so strange knowing that my kiddos are in school today without me.  I was in a lot last week finishing up my classroom.  I had set most of it up before I had the baby, so I just had to finish up a few things and get ready for my sub.  

I also went to our Parent Meet and Greet on Friday so my kiddos could see me.  I told them I was their teacher, but that they wouldn't see me every day till almost Christmas!  :(

Until then, I will spend lots of time loving on this little cutie...this was her helping Mama at school last week!  


Before my sweet baby girl wakes up, I want to share my new Daily Schedule Cards with you.  


I used these last year and they were a great way to help my kiddos learn our daily routine.  I haven't included times on them so I have more flexibility.  My kiddos don't really master time until later in the year so it wouldn't really be relevant for them now anyways.  

They really just want to know when it's time for lunch and recess and when it's time to go home!  :)

Here is a picture of them in my room.  I have them hanging up on black ribbon and they're attached with Velcro so it's easy to change them in and out.  And if I ever forget to change something, my kiddos let me know.  

They really do look at our schedule!  :)



I am using the set in purple chevron, but I also have them in blue and green so you can choose which color or mix all 3.  

If you purchase this pack and need something added to it, let me know and I would be happy to!  

Hope those of you back in school are off to a great year!!!  

Sunday, April 27, 2014

We Adopted a Fourth Grade Class During Testing!

Last year our school decided to have our younger students 'adopt' an older class during the week of testing.  We did it and it turned out great!  

Kelley over at the Teacher Idea Factory created this wonderful free pack FULL of fun ideas called State Testing Adopt-A-Class Project & Ideas for you to do to support the older kiddos who are taking important tests.  

Last year it was such a hit that we decided to do it again this year.  My kiddos were so excited to make cute little gifts for the 'big' kids and write them good luck letters.  They got even more excited when I told them that they would get treats from my new first graders when they are in fourth grade.  They don't realize how important those big tests are, but that's okay.  Ignorance is bliss!  :)

There are so many ideas in Kelley's pack, but we chose just a few.  The way our school decided to do it was the Kindergartners adopted a third grade class, the first graders adopted a fourth grade class, and the second graders adopted a fifth grade class.  

Our fourth graders are only testing on 2 days, but we made 3 days worth of treats and wrote letters to go with them.  

Here are some pics of what we made for our adopted fourth graders: 






I also have a gift ready for their teacher who I'm sure is very stressed.  She likes to walk and bike in the summer so I filled this cute cup with coffee and chocolate...what every teacher needs!  :) 



Does your school do anything to cheer on the testing kiddos?  If so, I'd love to hear about it!  

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Night Before Easter Pack and Spring Freebie

Today is Friday Eve!  Isn't that exciting?!?!  :)  

My student teacher shared that with my kiddos today and I thought that was cute.  

I wanted to remind you of my Night Before Easter Activity Pack which is full of important first grade activities.  My kiddos have already used a few pages and loved it!  They especially liked the cryptogram.  :)




I also want to share my April Word Search Freebie from this pack!  You can click on the picture below to go download it!  Hope your kiddos enjoy!  :)



I need a cute craft activity for my kiddos next week....looking for some great ideas so please share!  :)

I have some more freebies to share soon so make sure to come back and download them!  

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

April Currently

Hello April!!  I am soooooo glad you're here!  :)

We are supposed to be on Spring Break this week, but because of the polar vortex visiting several times along with lots of snow we are making up snow days this week instead!  Boo!!  

Today is the nicest day we have had all year so we went out for an extra recess today.  It wasn't long, but it was much needed.  I'm sure you can understand!  :)

Ohio gives us 5 snow/calamity days and we had 8 this year so we have to make up the extra 3.  Tomorrow will be our last day before our '2 Spring Days' on Thursday and Friday.  I am looking forward to a little break, even though it will be too little.  

We have tried to stay busy this week and honestly, my kiddos have been great.  I think they may have even forgotten they're supposed to be on spring break.  I didn't forget though....  

I'm also excited to be joining Farley's April Currently.  Make sure you go join the party too!  



My Hubby and I love The Big Bang Theory...'nuff said!  

I'm loving that it's April and hopefully the weather will finally get nice...it's been a loooooong winter.

I wish we had our entire Spring Break off.  I guess I should be thankful for our 2 days though.  

I want some Reese Cups...love my chocolate!

I really need to do some spring cleaning.  The nice weather makes me more motivated to do it, but it is definitely not going to happen tonight!!  :)

My school hours are technically from 8:00-3:30.  My kiddos are there from 8:20-3:00 and I am there before 8:00 and after 3:30.  I hardly ever leave by 3:30, but this week has been an exception.  Our last day is May 30 which means less than 2 months.  I know it will fly by and be over before I know it.  I have so much I need to do before the end of the school year to get ready for next year.  

I need to do some spring/end of the year cleaning at school too!!  

Well, I'm off to go check out some other Currently's!  You should too!  :)

Thursday, March 27, 2014

More Important Than St. Patrick's Day Gold Freebie

I know it's past St. Patrick's Day and I know I've already shared our fun leprechaun hats, but I have another cute craft I want to share with you so please forgive me for being late!  

Part of the reason I'm late is because I haven't had my voice in a week so I missed a few days of school and then my uncle passed away unexpectedly so I was out of town over the weekend.  :(

I was searching Pinterest when this picture caught my eye:


St. Patrick's Day craft

I thought it was so cute and it was something I haven't done before so I clicked on it.  

It took me *HERE* where I thought the entire idea was adorable!  The kiddos had to choose one person they thought was more important than gold and they did such a great job.  To get in more practice with commas, I had them list 3 reasons why that person was more important than gold.  

Any time I can squeeze in a little practice with commas and a cute craft, I am all in.  

Here is how they turned out!  I think they are so cute.  We only have 4 colors on ours because I couldn't find orange or green streamers.  We even hung them up in the hall even though it's a little late.  Hey, at least it's still March!  :)





We've also been doing some spring activities so I'll be back soon to share those too!  

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Great Learning and Break Break Videos

I am not feeling well.  I have missed a couple days of school this week and I hate missing school.  I feel so guilty when I'm not there.  

However I have. absolutely. no. voice.  You cannot teach without a voice.  It was going on Monday, was gone by Tuesday and I haven't seen it since.  :(

I am hoping it comes back soon.  Really soon.  I miss it!  

Since I feel out of the loop with school I wanted to share some great videos I found with you.  I love to use brain break videos and my kiddos love them too.  They need them throughout the day.  

You can follow my Pinterest First Grade Video Board  by clicking *HERE*.  

This is a phonics video that has a lot of vowel teams which my kiddos need!

We are getting ready to start shapes and this video is a great review/introduction for shapes and solids.  I love their videos! 


This video is about pronouns.  I used it last year and even my boys were asking me to play it.  They love trying to sing it fast enough to keep up with the song.

We also LOVE our brain break videos:


My kiddos love this one! 

And, of course Mario is a hit too! 

My kiddos always get excited when we take a couple minutes to watch these videos...especially at the beginning and end of the year when they are extra wiggly!  

If you have any other favorite videos, please share!  I'm always looking for new ones!  

I'm going to go lay down and watch some basketball.  My bracket is already destroyed and the games just started.  So much for winning my billion dollars!

Hoping my voice is back tomorrow...fingers crossed!  

Monday, March 17, 2014

Shrinking Leprechaun Hats!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  

I had a lot of kiddos wearing green today!  And of course we had to have the conversation about not pinching someone because they weren't wearing green....yikes!   

But we did celebrate with Lucky, my Leprechaun friend.  We started on Friday by decorating Styrofoam cups as leprechaun hats.  I told them there was a legend that said if you leave your hat on your desk a leprechaun will visit and shrink your hat down to his size!  

You can definitely tell who still believes in magic and who doesn't when you have conversations like this!  :)  

We left the hats on our desks on Friday afternoon and this morning when my kiddos came in they were so excited to see their shrunken hats with treats underneath them and a note from Lucky the Leprechaun!  I had a couple kiddos absent on Friday so they didn't have a hat to shrink, but they did still get a treat.  I think it's because Lucky saw their name tag and knew a kiddo sat there.  :)

Then this afternoon we found a secret message that Lucky had left us.  He left shamrocks all around the room with numbers on them like this: 
This shamrock was on our bookshelf! 

My kiddos had to put the right word on each line to find out the secret message.  First grade is just so much fun!  

This whole activity really didn't take long and it kept me from making messy leprechaun traps!  If you would like to do these activities next year, you can click the picture below to go purchase this pack from Mrs. Miner's Monkey Business!  
Lucky Leprechaun and the Incredible Shrinking Hat Project

I have done this for a few years and my kiddos always have so much fun with it!  

The real magic was done at home in my oven, but it didn't take a lot of time.  It only takes a few minutes in the oven for the cups to shrink to leprechaun size.  I do recommend practicing first with plain cups to make sure you have the right temperature and time!  I also wrote my kiddos' names on the top so I knew who they belonged to.  

Here is what they looked like before going in the oven.  

Here is what they looked like as they shrunk!  And, please forgive the messy oven door....for a woman who doesn't cook much it sure gets messy quick!  :)

Here is a picture of what they looked like on my kiddos' desks this morning!

We also used some of the activities out of my Night Before St. Patrick's Day Pack today and will use more this week!  It's a FREEBIE on TpT so make sure you download it this week to use!  :)

Click on the picture to go download it!  

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  I hope you didn't get pinched today!  :)

Friday, March 14, 2014

Leveled Reading Comprehension Passages

A couple months ago I was on the look out for some comprehension passages for my kiddos.  For one of our second and third 9 week assessments our kiddos had to be able to read first grade passages and answer questions citing text evidence.  

This is hard to practice when you don't have printable passages that they can highlight and write on!!  

So my search began....

Then I found Anne at Common Core Connection and I was so excited!

She has created leveled comprehension packs for reading levels C through J and they are wonderful!  Most packs have fiction and nonfiction stories and they all have 4 multiple choice questions with each passage.  

To help with text evidence, I have my kiddos underline or highlight their answers in the story to prove their thinking to me.  I have also added some written response questions to the back of their question page.  Due to lack of time I just quickly write a few questions and draw lines for answers.  These don't come with the stories, it's just something I added for my own kiddos!  ;)

This practice has helped my kiddos so much.  I have used these stories for morning work, in guided reading groups, and during Daily Five.  They would be great for homework too!  I have seen a lot of growth from all of my students and it's fabulous that each kiddo is reading stories on their own level.  I differentiate the questions with each story and it's great practice!  

As you can tell I highly recommend these reading passages!  

I have bought all of them.  Here is what her Level I and J pack looks like:


Reading Comprehension Passages for Guided Reading Levels I and J
Click on the picture to go purchase this pack! 

This pack has a lot of nonfiction stories.  My kiddos love reading these stories and then sharing with me what they learned...win-win!  :)

Here is what it looks like after my kiddos are done:  






I just noticed on that third question he should have started his answer with 'My favorite fact is'....oops!
  
My kiddos have to underline their answers.  This story was done independently.  I have asked several written response questions on the back to help with writing answers in complete sentences.  We call it restating the question.  We do it in reading and math (story problems) to help us know how to find the correct answer.  

To keep track of which stories I have used I have printed them all and put them in a binder.  I have them categorized by levels and I keep a small post-it on the next story so I always know where I have left off.  It's not a fancy system, but it's easy and it works for me!  

I also created a cute cover for this binder and I am sharing it with you.  Whether you have purchased these packs or have others, you can always use a cute cover!  I included 2 different covers that have one with first grade and one without since you can use these stories with several grade levels depending on your students' needs. 

Click on the picture to download for free!  

If you purchase these passages I hope you like them as much as I do!  They have been such a huge help with my kiddos!  :)

The weather is finally nice and my hubby is on his way home so I'm going to go enjoy my Friday evening.  Have a great weekend!  

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Last Sunday was Dr. Seuss' birthday so we had quite a celebration last week!  

If you had been on Pinterest in the last few weeks then you knew last week was his birthday.  There are some REALLY creative people out there...and I'm so glad they shared their ideas with me!  :)

Most of our activities came from Pinterest.  You can find the links to some Dr. Seuss activities and pictures on my Spring Board *here*.  

I want to share a couple of our pics with you from this week:

We made yummy Cat in the Hat treats and read about Dr. Seuss' life! 


We also read The Lorax, a Dr. Seuss poem, and drew our own Dr. Seuss characters.  

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These are the truffala trees we made!  I was hoping to do more with this activity, but it took wayyyyyyy longer than I expected so we wrapped it up as an art project!   :)

I used the *FREE* Photo Grid app to make my first couple of pictures.  I've had the app for awhile, but haven't spent much time with it.  The last couple of weeks I have had lots of fun manipulating my pictures.  It is soooo easy to do and you can add all kinds of features.  

We wrapped up our Dr. Seuss week with some red fish and more Dr. Seuss stories.  One funny little story is that my student teacher was reading Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? and one of my kiddos told her to wait because she wasn't reading all of the animal sounds!  He was teaching her how to do a read aloud and it was so funny!  :)

I hope you had fun celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday!  If you have any other fun Dr. Seuss ideas, I would love to hear about them!  :)
  

Saturday, March 1, 2014

March Currently, Pics, and a Freebie

It's finally March!  Woohoo!  

We are in for another major snowstorm this weekend, but I am definitely happy it's March so hopefully this snow won't last long.  I am SOOOOO tired of snow days.  

My hubby told me last night I'm going to have a "Spring Day" instead of a "Spring Break" this year and that just makes me sad...especially if the weather is nice that week.  

To celebrate March, I am joining Farley's March Currently party!  



I have the tv on, but I'm not paying much attention.  I'm more focused on going back and forth between blogging and Pinteresting!  

I love that it's March, but not looking forward to the snow this weekend as I mentioned above.  

I need to get ready for my observation in a couple weeks.  I have a student teacher right now, so I'm not completely sure how this will all work.  But I want to be prepared and ready to go early!

I sooo want a vacation.  I'm going out of town for the weekend in a couple weeks and I'm looking forward to that, but I want a real vacation.  That may have to wait till summer though...

I wear out my shoes so fast at school.  I'm on my feet all day so I feel like I am always in need of a good pair of shoes.  Good thing I'm going shopping this afternoon!  :)

Can you guess my question????  The answer is organize, clean out my closet, and laminate!  

Make sure you grab my *FREE* Night Before Saint Patrick's Day Pack for this month!  


I want to share a couple more pictures with you from our science fun this week!  We ended our learning about the states of matter yesterday and my kiddos had so much fun with it!  

These experiments are found in this wonderful States of Matter Pack.  Just click the picture to go purchase it on TpT!  
States of Matter Science Activities

This is our liquid rainbow.  We only had 3 colors instead of 4, but my kiddos loved it!  They were so impressed that I could mix up the jar and the colors would still separate.  First graders are so easy to impress!!  :)

Yesterday we made purple fizzy cows which my kids were thrilled about.  They contained all 3 states of matter: ice cream as a solid, grape pop as a liquid, and bubbles as a gas.  Great way to end states of matter!  

Well, I am off of here!  I need to go shopping and get out of the house before another big snow storm comes through and pummels us with snow again!  

Have a great weekend!  

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

States of Matter and TpT Sale!

We had such a great day today! We celebrated a birthday and my birthday kiddo brought ice cream!  Yum!  Then we also did a science experiment and ate popsicles.  Yum! Yum! 

We have been learning about the States of Matter in Science over the last couple of weeks.  Today we made popsicles and discussed solids versus liquids.  

I bought this great States of Matter pack awhile ago on TpT and was so happy to finally use it!

Click *here* or the picture to go purchase it!
States of Matter Science Activities
This morning I poured some punch in the cups and my kiddos put a popsicle stick in each cup.  Then I carried the cups to the freezer in our lunch room.  This afternoon I went to get them and carried them back in a box.  My kiddos were so excited to see if the liquid froze!  

Here are some pictures of our popsicles:

Here are the frozen popsicles in the box. 

They were so excited when they realized they could pull the frozen popsicle out of the cup!  


This kiddo was a little surprised that it worked and came out in one piece!  

We made a hypothesis of what would happen, but my kiddos are pretty smart and figured it out!  :)

There is an experiment form to fill out with all the experiments in this pack.  My kiddos recorded what materials we used, the process of our experiment, their hypothesis, and their conclusion.  Tomorrow we're making a liquid rainbow...just in time before Saint Patrick's Day!  

Before I go, I want to remind you that tomorrow and Friday Teachers Pay Teachers is having a HUGE sale.  You can get 28% off for 2 days so stock up for the end of the year!  

You can click *here* or the picture below to head to my store!  


Enjoy the sale!  I will be doing a lot of shopping!  :)

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Currently and Updated Math Story Problem Pack

I am linking up with Farley for her February Currently.  I've missed the last couple of months so it's good to be back !  



Listening: My mama had back surgery this past week and can't get around very well so she's making good use of Netflix!  I'm hanging out with her today to help out!

Loving: My mama's surgery is over and she is home!  Woohoo! 

Thinking: I got my first student teacher a couple weeks ago and she is doing great!  We've had 4 snow days since she's been here so she actually hasn't been in my room long, but it's going very well!  

Wanting: I have a 'little sister' in the Big Brother, Big Sister program and I have promised her we would go see Frozen.  I've heard it's really good so I'm looking forward to it!  

Needing: I need something yummy to eat...I am so hungry!  

2 Truths and a Fib:
1. Truth: I ran a marathon a few years ago.  It was on my bucket list and I'm so happy I have marked it off!  

2. Fib: I only have a brother.  I don't have any sisters unless you count my 'Little Sister' from the Big Brother, Big Sister program!  

3. Truth: I have been to all 48 continental US States!  I only have Hawaii and Alaska left and I will definitely get there someday!  

I also want to share my updated Math Story Problem Pack with you!  It has gone from 20 pages to 53 pages with lots more story problems, anchor charts, and even an ice cream cone activity to help your kiddos remember addition and subtraction key words!  
I have 2 types of anchor charts in this pack.  Each anchor chart has a copy you can just print and use and one your kiddos can make.   Below is a picture of my addition and subtraction sign charts that your kiddos can make!  

We use blue for addition and red for subtraction.  I wrote the key words on each sign first and then colored it to make it a great visual for my struggling kiddos.  


I also included ice cream cones with the update!  The subtraction and addition terms from the anchor charts are on 12 scoops.  There is also a blank copy so you can add your own terms.  Your kiddos can color the addition terms blue and subtraction terms red and then make 2 ice cream cones.  Aren't they cute?!  What kiddo doesn't want to make an ice cream cone!  ;) 


I now have 3 sections of story problems.  I added 10 addition problems which cover single digits, double digits, and adding 3 numbers.  There are also 10 subtraction problems which cover single and double digits.  And the last section is a mixture of both.  There are 20 pages of story problems with 2 on a page for a total of 40 mixed problems. 


The next picture shows how we solve the story problems.  We read the problem and decide if we need to add or subtract to solve it.  We color the addition sign blue or subtraction sign red.  Those are the colors we decided on.  You can choose whatever colors you want!  :)

Then we circle the numbers, underline the label, and highlight the key words that helped us.  I make my kiddos write a math sentence every time so I can see how they solve them.  Then they write their answer and label on the line.  

These pages have helped make story problems a little more exciting in our classroom!  I hope your kiddos enjoy them too!   


You can print these off and staple them into a packet, do one page at a time, or cut them in half and glue them into your math journals!  Use them however they work for you!  

My Math Story Problem Pack is currently on sale at its' original price until Monday.  Then it will go up to $5.00 so for today and tomorrow it's a fabulous deal!!  Over 50 pages for only $2.40! 

If you download the preview you will find a *freebie* to try with your kiddos!  

Don't forget my entire TpT shop is 20% off through tomorrow too!  

Enjoy the Super Bowl and have fun shopping today!