A Sale to Celebrate Spring...

and wash away the winter blues!  Seriously...are we really expecting 6 inches of snow TODAY?  My first day of spring break?  UGH!  Say it isn't so...

I
Am
So
Over
Winter!

Maybe I can make your day a bit sunnier with sales in both my TpT Stores.  I'm offering 20% off at The Book Princess  and in my new clip art store, it's buy one, get one FREE at Dandy Doodles! Yea for free stuff, right?!

 

Newest sets include:

 

 

 

 

 

Here's hoping that where ever YOU are, the skies are sunny and the air is warm!

WeGiveBooks.Org

How have I missed out on this gem of a program sponsored by Penguin/Pearson? 

Register your class now!  Every time your class reads a book online, a book is donated to a school in need of books.  Yep- it's that easy.  The books are AWESOME!  What a wide-range of books for kids (up to about ten years old) to read.  The nonfiction selections are amazing and can really help you supplement your curriculum needs.

I read the story on my computer as it projects up on my screen.  The large format is, obviosuly, a great advantage over my typical read aloud where the kids on the back of the carpet can't see the pics as well.  The images are crisp and clear and COLORFUL!  Lots of DK books which makes me hap, hap, happy!  My kids are going to have accounts as well so they can read at home and get credit for our school.  I believe I read that the amount any one school can "donate" would be 250 books. 

A win-win situation for all! 

Great for Read-to-Self, too!

Since  I signed up this week, I've read 7 books to the class from the list.  Mostly nonfiction. And every student has picked out a book and rotated through my workstation so they could see the images on my huge monitor.  FUN!  I haven't viewed on iPads yet but I'm assuming (hoping!) the stories will also load onto them.

Check out the titles (with new titles added often!) and I think your kiddos will be as excited as mine!

A Five Below Find...

Looky, looky!  The Very Hungry Caterpillar welcomed the kiddos today!  This rubber mat is big...about four feet long!  Who doesn't love a springtime welcome even if it came a day early when snow covered the ground?

Only five bucks...a good deal, yes? 

Tammy is having a Giveaway!

Tammy over at...

is celebrating 600 followers with three chances to win lots of great stuff for your classroom!  Yep...over 100 TpT products are up for grabs!  First up: Clip Art!  I've donated...

 Enter to win all the cool sets offered.  Good luck!

Dandy Doodles: My New Clip Art Store!

Since it looks like my husband is going to be using his artistic talents on a regular basis, we've decided to open up a new TpT store dedicated only to clip art.  Check out Dandy Doodles!  I love the logo we created! 

 

To celebrate, I'm giving away three sets of our latest product: KITES!  So if you're one of the first three to leave your email address in the comments below, I'll send you this:

 

 

I sure hope you like it!

Let's Pretend...HAPPY SPRING! (Freebie Alert!)

Let's pretend that it is SPRING!!!!!!!!  Are you with me?  It is wicked cold in NJ and don't get me started about the wind!!

So, in honor of SPRING (Yea, Baby!) I've made my newest clip art set a FREEBIE!  Enjoy!

 

 

A Little Clip Art... (And a Freebie!)

Hey there!  Hope you are well on this cold, blustery day!   Brrr...from New Jersey!

First up:  a freebie for you!  Hope you like this happy cow as much as I do!

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon Clip Art:

 

 

I needed some numbers for some products so I created my own:

(They include B&W images, too!)

 

 

 

but my favorite to date...Rainbow Magic Clip Art!

 

 

 

 

There's something about a smiley face that makes me laugh every time!

 

 



Groovy Tie-Dye Cupcakes!

I'm always thrilled when I actually make something from one of my Pinterest boards.  I repin and repin (and repin some more!) and often forget what I've repinned/have on my boards.
 
Anyhoo, I needed a cupcake.  Fast!  Something different, easy, and without much mess potential.
 
So, thanks to Pinterest...

 
 
 
Isn't this cute?  It's so easy!  Just squeeze one drop of food coloring on top of batter before you pop pan into oven, drag a toothpick through it and cook!  Don't overdue the mixing...
 
My daughter's comp team is heading to Nationals at Disney next week and we had a breakfast to celebrate.  A little clipart and a Popsicle stick later...

 
Go Boro!!

Your Chance To Win Big!

Want to win a mega prize pack for your grade level? Olivia over at Liv To Teach is having a giveaway for reaching 1,000 followers on TpT!  Go, Olivia! There are so many TpT products you can win including one from yours truly:

 

The contest runs for a week and there are several prize packages to choose from.  Enter all of them!   You know what they say: 

 

You Gotta Be In It To Win It!

 

 

I cannot believe that February is just a few days away!  Eek!  Here's a freebie poem for you to enjoy!  It's linked to my TpT Store because it won't upload for some strange reason in Google Docs.

 

 

 

Enjoy!!

 



 

My Snowmen Make Me Happy!

Aren't they adorable?  First Grade Blue Skies offers the patterns in her TpT Store.  This is the second year I've used them and they just make me smile, smile, smile! 

 

 

 

I had the kids name their snowperson and write two interesting facts about them.  Very cute!  Feel free to grab the paper from Google Docs.  Just click on pic.  Since the paper uses very little ink, I printed them out in color.  Enjoy!

 

 

 

Family Journal: A Versatile Tool

One of my favorite activities in class is having the kids write in their Family Journals on Fridays. I've been doing it for years. It's so easy to implement and serves multiple purposes! (Can be adapted to any grade level!)

First, it's a great way to communicate what's going on in the classroom.  Of course I send newsletters all the time so what makes this different?  The kids are sharing what they feel were the week's highlights. 

Second, it's a quick assessment of the child's skills.  At one glance, I know what I need to reinforce with the child and many, many mini-lessons have been born this way.  Sometimes individually and often, whole group.

The skills are broad and besides the obvious, handwriting is also in the spotlight here.  I admit, it's so much fun to look back to the first entry of many of my kids and see the change.  Whoa!  Big changes for most! 

Third, it's a great way to create a memory book of the year!  Easy peasy lemon squeezy style!  (And be prepared for babies and pets responding!  A hoot!)

If you plan on implementing a journal like this, here are some TIPS!

When I started this years ago, many of the journals were returned on Monday mornings CORRECTED with writing splitter splattered all over it.  Boo to that! 

Those eager parents certainly deflated my budding learner's enthusiasm for writing.  Now, I include a letter to the parents explaining to them that while light editing goes on at school, they are NOT to correct the letters.  However, I encourage them, when they write back/respond, to stick to what the child has written about and use the correct spelling/format in their letter.  I assure them the kiddos are geniuses but don't have all the skills necessary at this point in the year to spell everything the right way.  Temporary Spelling, as I prefer to call it over Invented Spelling, is a good thing! We know that but you know how parents need the reassurance! 

So if a child wrote:  tsday was fin in schol. 
They can respond:  Wow!  Tuesday really did seem like a fun day in school! 

It's also important to make sure parent's stick to the topics their child wrote about.  Why?  First of all, you don't want novels coming back!  The kids share these with partners and often with the class during Morning Meetings on Mondays.  I don't want the sharing to be too long.

Also, if parents are throwing in info about their vacation coming up or such, it gets the kids sidetracked AND the beginning readers won't know most of the words.  Then guess who has to read them all to the kids? :)

Since I include a letter in the front, it doesn't happen too often anymore.

Another tip I've garnered this year: if a child's parent doesn't respond, have someone else respond.  In all my years, this has never been a problem.  Until this year. I have had one parent who hasn't responded. The child also "lost" two journals . Since he never brought it back with a response in September/October, I found someone else the child writes to (after discussing with the child) and it's worked out well. 

Occasionally, I've had a child forget to bring it back on Monday morning and even the whole week!  It doesn't happen often but I'm ready if it does:  keep extra papers handy and have kids write a letter in school along with their buddies but insert it into their journals over the weekend. Simple!

I offer the packet in my TpT Store for $3 (includes secondary handwriting lines as well as the primary ones shown here)  but honestly, you can make one yourself and get started right away if you are interested.  There isn't too much you need to do to set it up. 

While I always start mine in September, January seems like a good place to implement this super activity as well!   Do you have journals go home?  Any tips to offer me?  I'd love to hear them!

Toss It! Make a Quick Place Value Game

I have no idea where this game- TOSS IT- came from except that I saw another teacher playing it with her class last week.  Investigations materials?  Everyday Math? Made up herself?  Who knows but I will ask tomorrow!

It's so simple and yet really gives the kids another approach to counting those tens and ones.  (I didn't introduce until after we used connecting blocks/base ten blocks, etc.)

Ready to make it?

Have Popsicle sticks? Okay- you are probably like most teachers and have millions.  You need ten for each student and I made 21 bundles. OR just make enough for half of your class/partner work.

Use a marker to draw 10 black dots on the front of each one and one dot on the back.  If you do 5 and 5 on the front, I think it helps kids "see" the ten a bit better.

Unbundle the sticks and "toss" in the air.  When they land, sort into tens and ones and then count and record. Expanding/ decomposing numbers can be tricky but this game really helps reinforce the concepts.

 

And this little one below was the first to get all tens in a toss!  It was her 7th toss...the paper is two-sided. She was proclaimed the Boss of Applesauce!

 

 

 

 

We've played it a few times this week and I sent home the sticks and a recording sheet for homework tonight.  You would have thought I was sending home candy!

 

Grab a recording sheet by clicking on pic:

 

 

Two tips:

 

If you have a parent volunteer, have them make the bundles.  While easy, they do take time! 

 

and

 

Easy to differentiate for those kids who are ready for higher numbers and those who might need more practice with smaller numbers under 50.  Just add or take away sticks to meet their needs.

 

Happy tossing!

I Heart Morning Meeting!

While I've always had  "morning meeting" each day in school, it wasn't until I started working in a Responsive Classroom school that I've followed a specific "schedule."  I really do "buy into" the whole "it sets the tone of the day" thing!  Yep- hook, line, and sinker.  Love, love, love it!

Starting this month, I'm inviting parents to join us for MM any day they'd like whenever they like.  I pointed out that they are not there to observe, but rather participate along with us.  That means joining in our greeting, sharing period, activity (oh, so much fun!!) and our daily message.  As a parent, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall and see my kids' MM time.  I think it's insightful for the parents and FUN for all.   Besides a quick wave hello and a hug good-bye, the parent is just one of the group...no special perks to the family or anything.  It's business as usual when they are present. They come in at 8:30 and leave at 9 sharp.  (RC wants a 30 minute MM but our district says 20.  I have to say, I do the whole 30 minutes because while we do an activity (game, dance, or such) I just have to sing!  So, we do sing a few songs.  There's just something about kids singing that makes my heart sing!

What goes in that 30 minutes is amazing and sometimes I think I teach a whole's day worth of lessons in that time frame!  The time flies by and we move immediately into writing workshop each day.

I've always infused lessons/reviews into my message BUT, from what I was taught and read, the Responsive Classroom really doesn't want you to do that.  But a teacher's gotta do what she's gotta do, right?  Here was my message for today:

 

I usually have a question on the bottom that they have to answer or a Do Now like this one.  After having various kids "Whack a Word" that they know with a swatter, we read it together.  Yesterday, one of my struggling readers read it to us by herself!  Sniff, sniff!  After reading, I simply ask the kids if anyone has a compliment for me (since I've been working SO hard on my friendly letter format!) or if they want to tell me something they've noticed.  I'm always amazed what they come up with!  Sometimes they point out that i didn't spell a word right and you know what?  That's never on purpose!  It happens, right?

 

In this letter, some kids commented on:

 

*Rhyming words/silly words

*Contraction Let's (quick mini-lesson)

*The word TO being a "no excuse word" and the child who said it is one who struggles with sight words...I was thrilled!

*I remembered the date!  (Yea, me!)

Someone noticed some short a words

*That the "ir" in First sounds like the -er sound

 A Chunky Monkey pointed out that EAR is part of Dear, etc.

But my favorite comment today was this: 

You made a funny smiley to entertain us.  As a writer, you have to make it fun for your reader.

 

I

Kid

You

Not!

 

 

How can I not seize the moment with my kiddos?  It's a quick acivity but so valuable on so many levels!  Then one child gets to take the message home.  I pick a stick from the jar UNLESS it's your birthday.  The birthday king or queen ALWAYS gets the message. 

 

 

 

I always tell them to keep the message for a few days and then recycle it but from what I've heard, they are plastered around bedrooms, on the bathroom mirror (!) and even on the fridge! Cool, huh?

I know everyone reading this probably does a MM and a message.  It's nothing new. I just wanted to share an example of mine with all of you!

Pinterest Inspiration Dumbed Down

And I mean really, really, really dumbed down!  I saw this pin and sighed.  If only...

You see, my necklace storage has been bugging the heck out of me for years.  If I leave it in my "jewelry drawer" with everything else, it gets tangled up in no time.  I tried hanging on a hanger but it wasn't idea either.  Hooks on the side of my dresser wouldn't hold and I didn't want to drill anything into my frniture. So today, I offer you a simple, can-do-it-now project that isn't fancy like above but just as effective!

What do you need?  Cupcake holders and a shoe box!

These are much sturdier than your average ones. I got these for $2 at Homegoods (my favorite store in the world and right down the block from me!) and they are meant to be sturdy enough that you dont need to use a cupcake pan.  These are usually $10!  (BTW, I would NEVER pay that!)

Then I plopped them all into a box:

 

 Nice to recycle, isn't it?

And then...the BEST part:  I placed them in a bottom dresser drawer that was being used for gift storage.  Why is this a good idea?  I am oh, so short and when I open this drawer, I look DOWN into it to see my necklaces!

 

I should have thought of this years ago especially since I've beed using min-muffin pans for my earrings for at least twenty years!

New Year Freebie!

I'm honestly looking forward to making realistic goals this year.  I'm already starting to generate a list today. Yep- I'm a list person, are you? I don't necessarily FOLLOW them but, hey...at least I make them!

But better than that, I'm going to visit a brand new baby today! Is there anything better?  And I'm getting my hair a much needed cut!  Double yippee skippy!

Click on pic to grab this freebie.  This one has a "Wild Card" in it. My kids just started using the wild card in December and they went crazy over it!  Like Halloween excitement crazy!  I kid you not!

If you haven't done these with your kids, make that one of your resolutions!  The kids really crank out the words and it's great when you see them working on letter combos that they've learned.

My firsties loved them so much that I decided I had to make a whole bunch for my store. I don't think I'll ever have enough for them!

 

 

Enjoy the freebie!

End of Day Rockin' Routine! (Freebie, too!)

For years, I've had a closing circle (when time permitted!) at the end of the day.  Honestly, it never knocked my socks off.  Same old, same old...you know what I mean?

So this year, I wanted to make it more meaningful.  I thought and thought and thought some more and I do believe I've found one of the best, most focused, activities to do at the end of the day.  You know what?  With my idea of Personal Daily Goals, I make the time.  I NEVER have to fit it in.  It's a must.

 

What's so great about it?  It really allows the kids to be reflective of THEIR day.  I don't set the goals for them...they come up with them all by themselves and take it very seriously. 

 

Their goals range from, "I will try hard tomorrow to raise my hand" or "I won't pick my nose" or "I am going to push is my chair so no one trips and falls over it."  It tickles me to hear their goals each day and how well targeted they are for the following day.

 

Sometimes a child will keep the same goal because it wasn't reached.  They decide. It's very insightful what they choose to do.  In the beginning, some kids would simply make up a goal- any goal- even if it didn't apply to them.

 

Example: one kid said, "I won't run in the hallway."  But this child NEVER did that so we spent the first two weeks practicing naming our personal goals and telling WHY it was chosen.  I explained that they had to think about their own day and think hard about what they could improve upon tomorrow.  That really helped a lot to see the connection. It took about 20 minutes in September at the end of day.  Now?  A breezy 6-7 minutes for whole class. They get SO EXCITED the next day if they can report to the class that they reached their goal.  Ownership of the task is so important. 

 

It also allows ME to be reflective because I often hear MY WORDS coming back to me when someone states goal like,  "I need to remember to bring back my homework so I can be more responsible."

 

Up until now, I've been writing the goals to save time.  Starting in January, they will take their sticky off the door, fill it in, and it will be their exit ticket as they hang it back up and share their goals with us.  On Friday, kids always take paper home with them.  Seriously, if you are looking to change up your last miutes of the day, try it!  Let me know how it goes.

 

Click on the picture to get the printout.

 Edited post by using my answer below...

Holiday Gifts To Parents from Kids

Aren't these As Cute As A Button?  They were so easy to make and if you still need a gift for a grandparent, aunt, etc., for the holidays, you can make one in a snap.

 

I wish I didn't have to blur the kiddo's faces so you could see what cuties they are.  Here is one up close without a pic.

 

 



One of the reasons I loved this craft was because I didn't have to get the paint out!  Now I love a good painting project but my classroom doesn't have a sink so it's a pain in the neck.  Instead, the kids used markers to color in one side of each stick.  Worked great!  Kids picked out buttons and I glue gunned them on.  From start to finish- ENTIRE time for 21 kids...about 45 minutes!  I printed pics out on printer (4x6) glued on back.  Kids trimmed themselves. Then the kids wrote names and 2012 on back.  Easy peasy!

And I don't wrap for my kiddos.  Why would I when they can make these cute giftbags?

Green and White yarn, colored reinforcements, markers, lunch bags

I think I've finally found the gift I'll be making each year! 

 

Don't forget to check out my last post for free clipart.  One person left email addy and got the packet for free.  I'm looking to give away two more copies of it. Primary Inspiration already used it to make this freebie!

 

Click on clipart to be taken to post

 

 

 

Snow Much Fun Clipart

Hi there!

I have three more days to go before winter break!  That's fine with me since I feel I have so much to do and so very little time.  But I guess we all feel that way this time of year.,, 

I'm starting to sell clipart in my store.  My husband makes most of it.  He's a teacher, too!  We hope you like it!  The first three people to leave their email addy will get a free set.  Ho, ho, ho!

 

Winter Holiday FREE TpT Ebooks are Here!

Ho, Ho, Ho and Fa La La...The FREE TPT Holiday Books are Here!  This amazing resource was the brainchild of Rachel Lynette over at Minds in Bloom last year.  This year, she outdid herself, enlisted some awesome elves helpers, and compiled FOUR books to meet every grade level needs!  The two below were compiled by Mrs. Miner's Kindergarten Monkey Business.  I'm in the 1-2 edition and couldn't be more excited!

No need to print the Ebook...all products are linked so it's easy peasy to get your hands on the goodies with just a simple click! Like what you see?  Be sure to leave feedback.
I'm off to start downloadin my freebies...hope you are too!