Thursday, January 31, 2013

100th Day of School F-U-N and Groundhog Unit Winners!!

Happy {soon to be Friday} Friends!!

Today was a very exciting day for our kiddos at our elementary school. It was our 100th Day of School!!! As I look back over the year, I can hardly believe that we are already at this point!
I woke up this morning, hopped into my "My Students Are 100 Days Smarter" shirt and went on my way.
How many of you have this shirt from Really Good Stuff? I just adore this shirt!!
100th Day T-Shirt...
Today in my classroom, we had some superhero 100th day fun from my Hip Hip Hooray! We've Soared Into the 100th Day! packet.


First we colored our "We've Soared Into the 100th Day" coloring pages:


Then we did some counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s to 100!!


This little sweetie just finished "Tearing Into The 10s" cut and paste.

We had task necklaces where we had to complete tasks of 100!



This was my little cutie doing 100 toe touches!!

We also used a hundreds chart to find the missing "superhero" numbers and write them down.


Some other fun activities included making a superhero "100" mask and making a picture from the numbers "100" and writing some sentences about it. I just love witnessing the creative juices of my students as they complete assignments like this. This one was a race car...LOVE it!!


I think my students' favorite activity was a toss up between the superhero masks and this assignment: I Know 100 Things. They couldn't wait to grab their clipboards and pair up to find 10 of each kind of item!!:



My students received their superhero 100th Day certificates of completion and were on their way. I just {puffy heart}love days like this!

You can find these activities and much more in my 100th Day Superhero Packet by clicking on the picture below:


Okay as promised, here are the 2 winners of my Giddy About Groundhogs unit!!


And the winners are.....

#7... Cindy!!!

and...

#28...Jenny!!!

Congrats ladies!! I am sending the unit your way right now.

If you are interested in this jam-packed unit of fun, check it out by clicking the picture below!!




Have a wonderful evening...and SMILE, it's almost Friday!!! :-)

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Giddy About Groundhogs, 100 Days of School?!? and FREEBIE!!


Good Evening Friends,

I have three letters for you...M-I-A. Yes I have been MIA lately. Life has been a little out of the ordinary lately, so to speak. I will fill you in more about that another day!

How many of you are celebrating Groundhog Day on Friday? (I can't put my hand up for that one honestly). I think we will have to wait until Monday with all of the weekly tests going on Friday. I have just finished a new non-fiction groundhog unit that I am itching to use with my kiddos!


I love teaching my kids the non-fiction aspect of any subject if possible. There is something about non fiction that my students crave and can't get enough of! This unit has a Groundhog KWL chart, circle map, tree map, double bubble map, venn diagram, an adjectives map, a make and take facts book about Groundhogs, and several writing connections to use with these maps.


It also includes a groundhog prediction hat, 2 shadow experiments, prediction poster and activities, a groundhog writing craftivity, vocabulary cards, and a comprehension sheet about our favorite groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil! (I never know if I spell that right LOL).

To check this bundle of fun out, click HERE to see it in my TPT store!!

I will pick 2 people to give this unit away to tomorrow. Just leave a comment below with your email address. I will announce the winners tomorrow!

Tomorrow is our 100th Day of School!!! We will be flying high as superheroes through our 100th Day of School! I can't wait to show you pictures of all of our fun!! :) We are going to do superhero math, writing, and a 100th Day Superhero craftivity!! My students are beyond excited!!

As always for being such wonderful friends, here is a groundhog day freebie from my unit. It is a class graph to use to predict if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow!

Click HERE to download this for FREE from Google Docs!!

I'm also linking this up with Teaching First: February Fabulous Freebies!! :-)


Have a wonderful evening friends!!,

Saturday, January 26, 2013

100th Day Winners!!

Hey all--- Happy Saturday!!

I'm making a quick stop by to announce the 2 winners of my 100th Day Superhero Unit!!


And the winners are...

Congratulations Abby and Khrys!! I will be sending the unit your way shortly!!

If you are interested in purchasing this unit of fun, take a look below...


It includes...
*Soaring Through The 2s (counting by 2s)
*Flying Through The 5s (counting by 5s)
*Tearing Through The 10s (counting by 10s cut & paste)
*Zooming To 100 (fill in the hundreds chart)
*The Amazing Race (dice game to 100)
*Up, Up, and Away (fill in the missing numbers from the hundreds chart)
*Racing Through The Room (Write 100 words around the classroom)
*I Know 100 things (write down 10 words in each category)
*Here We Come To Spell Some Words (Make words from one-hundred)
*100th Day Superhero Craftivity
*Make a picture from the numbers "100"
*My 100 Make & Take Book
*100th day writing prompts
*100th Day Coloring Page
*100th Day Superhero Badges
*100th Day Task Necklaces
*Superhero Power Snack with Food Art option & parent letter
*Design your own Superhero "100" mask 


Click HERE to take a look in my TPT store!!

Whew...it's been a crazy and interesting day!! Time for bed! I'll be back tomorrow for Sunday Shout Outs!!

Monday, January 21, 2013

Weekly Shout Outs, 100th Day Superheroes Giveaway + FREEBIE!

Happy Monday Friends!!,

I hope this finds you enjoying some rest. I know some of you had to get back into the swing of things already today! I'm gearing up to do that tomorrow. This is a long post, but there's a treat for you at the bottom!! :)

I wanted to shout out some awesome products that I stumbled across this past week that I can't wait to use in my classroom!!

First, I found this great 100th Day Math game from Sally over at Elementary Matters!!
It's called 100 Days Smarter Game. I have a few kiddies that are very advanced in math & I thought this would be a great activity to practice in small group.


Click HERE to check it out!!

Next up, I just LOVE Tacky the Penguin and I'm getting ready to venture into teaching the littles about penguins. Leslie from The Groovy Teacher has an adorable Tacky the Penguin unit full of great vocabulary and other useful ELA activities to go along with the book!


Click HERE to see this unit!!

Next up is Valerie from All Students Can Shine. Have you seen her new Move & Groove Brain Breaks activities??? This is oh-so-perfect for my very active classroom this year!!


Take a peek at this activity right HERE!!

This week I will also be covering Martin Luther King beginning when we go back tomorrow. I found a wonderful MLK Math & Writing Station to do as a part of this unit from Lynda at Curls and a Smile!!

Click HERE to take a look!!

Last, I found this great Word Sort Pack from Lori at Conversations in Literacy! She has a CVC/CVCe word sorting pack which I really think will help my students who are struggling with this concept. I plan on using this in my small group.


Click HERE to check it out!!

In other news, how many of you have a very active class or have a higher balance of boys than girls??? This year I have 12 boys and 7 girls, which has definitely proved to be a different dynamic than in previous years. My 100th day of school is approaching on January 31st and I thought that I would like to do activities that will definitely interest them and myself. After so many years of doing the same activities for the 100th day, I feel bored with it and decided to change things up. So an idea was born!! What would be more interesting than creating a superhero 100th Day theme?! I am "super" excited about this new unit!!


This unit includes a coloring page, printable badges, task necklaces, math/literacy/writing activities, a 100 make & take book, make a mask and a superhero craftivity!!



Here is some of the fun that we had in class!!!


Click HERE to take a closer look!

I will be giving away 2 of these units on Thursday!! Enter in rafflecopter below for your chance to win!!

Good luck!!

Here's a little freebie from my 100th Day Unit. It is a superhero coloring page that I'm going to have my students do as morning work on the 100th Day of School.


Click HERE to download it from Google Docs!!

I'm also linking this with Manic Monday at Classroom Freebies!
Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Have a wonderful week!!,

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Student Birthdays!!

Happy Tuesday Friends!,

Today I am linking up with Stephanie from Falling Into First for her Team Teaching Tuesday (*a day late*) on student birthdays.

I loooovvee celebrating student birthdays. To see my little ones light up with joy on their birthdays just warms my heart. Here are some of the things I do when it is a student's birthday in my classroom.

First of all, you MUST check out the Dollar Tree every year before school starts for awesome birthday supplies. On my students' birthdays, they get to wear the birthday boy/girl ribbon for the day. I found this at none other than the Dollar Tree!!



I also hang this birthday sign up with a birthday sign that I make especially for them. This is also courtesy of the Dollar Tree! My teaching neighbor came up with this idea & I told her that I must borrow it from her! :)


My students also get to pick a birthday balloon of their choice. I made these birthday balloons with straws over the summer so they are all ready to go! These balloons are courtesy of Melissa Freshwater from Mrs. Freshwater's class. They go perfectly with my classroom theme! Last year I did the balloons with the pixi sticks attached, but this year I opted to go a little healthier by using the straws instead! :)



I also created these birthday shirts via Vistaprint. It says "Today is my birthday" and students get to wear them if they wish. The best part is I got it for free & just had to pay for the shipping. I *heart* Vistaprint! These shirts are a hit with the kiddos!

Last, I always give my students the traditional certificate, crown, sticker, and shiny birthday pencil. I got the stickers at Michael's in the dollar bin (I didn't really know much about their dollar bin until I went exploring around there one day- LOVE it!!) I usually get the pencils at the school supply store for 25 cents each. My students always seem to go crazy over shiny pencils!



And that is a typical birthday in my classroom. I'd love to hear about birthdays in your classroom. What do you do to celebrate birthdays? 

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Sunday Shout-Outs + WINNERS!!

Is it really Sunday already?!?!?

Even though it was nothing but a relaxing weekend for me, I'm still not ready for it to be Monday yet. Does anybody else feel that way? I have a hunch that I'm not the only one. I am looking forward to a 5 day work week and a long weekend after that. 

Are you procrastinating & doing your lesson plans at the last minute like I am? Hee hee...
I have come across some awesome products that might be helpful to you.

The first shout goes out to my friend Michelle over at Mrs. G's Kindergarten in Heels. She just created an awesome Addition and Subtraction Practice Workbook that covers several Kindergarten Common Core standards!

Addition and Subtraction practice & assessment workbook

Click HERE to take a look at this product!

Next shout goes out to Shuna over at Pocket Full of Kinders. Have you seen her new MLK craftivity packet?? It is all sorts of adorable. We will be doing Martin Luther King in our classroom toward the end of this week & this is perfect!!


Click HERE to take a look!

Next up is Heather from Teach It Today! She has the most adorable pack out called Winter is Snow Much Fun!!! It is a great review for your students for literacy and math!


Click HERE to check it out!

Have I told you how much I love Marie from The Hands-On Teacher in First? She has some wonderful ideas and now she is creating & selling her own digital papers!! I am obsessed with digital papers and hers are off the chain! 

You have to see her new Valentine's papers among others HERE!!

Have you used Debbie Clement's songs in your classroom?? Talk about some adorable songs!! My students love songs this year. She has one that I can't wait to use for transition time & shared reading called "All Together Now"!!

All Together Now: A Shared Reading/Transition Song for Pri

Come and take a looksie HERE!

Finally is sweet Sara from Smiling in Second Grade. I have been going over synonyms throughout the year & her Sweet, Sweet Synonyms are the perfect compliment to teaching my class synonyms. Plus this is just in time for Valentine's Day!


I know my kids are going to love this...Click HERE to see it in her TPT store!!

That's all the shout outs I have for today, but I will be back with more for next week. I have a few projects that I'm currently working on that I am excited for you to see too. :)

I got so sidetracked with things that I totally forgot to announce my 2 winners of my Palling Around With Polar Bears unit!! And the winners are...

Congratulations ladies!! I will be emailing you tomorrow since the unit is on my other computer & I don't have the power cord with me tonight. :(

Did you see my Sensational Snowmen unit featured on the Magical Product Swap?? 


Sweet Donna from Math Coach's Corner did a phenomenal review on it! Click HERE to see the review!!

I hope that you have a wonderful start to the week!

Saturday, January 12, 2013

It's The Magical Product Swap featuring Donna from Math Coach's Corner!!

Happy Weekend Friends!,

Today I am  linking up once again with the FABULOUS Jessica Stanford from Mrs. Stanford's Class for her Magical Product Swap #3!!


I was lucky to be paired up with an amazing blogger, Donna, from Math Coach's Corner. Have you seen her blog & products?? I love her Bagels and Blogs weekly feature every Sunday!

It was SO hard to choose just 1 product from her store, but I fell in love with her activity, Common Core What's Cookin'? The Meaning of the Equal Sign.

This is such a hard concept for my firsties to grasp, but this is a well-rounded product with a lot of engaging math activities to practice number sense and the meaning of the equal sign. As I looked through the product, I thought that everything was laid out very well and the explanations were very clear and concise. This packet included 4 activities for students to practice these skills:


I loved that these are perfect for so many different uses: whole group, small group, centers, etc. One activity is greater than, less than, and equal to cards. As you can see by the picture, there are a few different ways students can form these inequalities:


Another fun and engaging activity was Capture 4!!



Students have to find the missing number and cover it up on their board with a counter. The first student to capture 4 will win!! What a fun way to practice missing numbers!!



Another fun game included in this pack is Dominoes to practice sums from 5 to 10. This is perfect to help your kiddos work on their fact fluency in a way that captures their attention!!



My most favorite game out of this whole pack had to be Scoot!


If you haven't heard of the game Scoot before, you can use it for any concept. You place a card at each student's desk and students will take around a recording sheet. Each card is numbered and they have to write down the answer to each numbered card on their recording sheet. Anything to get the students up and moving is the key!! My students are going to do this as a whole group activity for review next week!

This product, among all of Donna's, is a truly phenomenal product. It will help your students grasp the concept of the equal sign in the most engaging and creative way! This is a product that is truly worthwhile!

A BIG thank you to Donna from Math Coach's Corner for letting me review her product.

To see this product in Donna's TPT store, here is the link:


I will be back tomorrow for some awesome product shout outs and to announce the 2 winners of my polar bear unit!!

Have a great evening friends!!