A sale, a freebie, and HAPPY December!

     Happy December!  I hope you had a Thanksgiving full of blessings, laughs, family, friends, and lots of yummy food!  I was feeling most thankful for my maternity jeans after all the food I ate this weekend.  Yikes!    (I am still trying to figure out why all pants are not made with those glorious stretchy waistbands.)

     My long weekend was extended an extra day because I am patiently awaiting my ultrasound appointment in a few hours to *hopefully* find out if our little sweetie is a boy or a girl!  You could say I'm just a taaaddd excited!  I may or may not have already checked out some cyber Monday deals online so I can do a little pink or blue shopping this evening. ;)

     I think we got our fill of all things TURKEY last week in first grade,  and now it's on to Christmas...so hard to believe!

 These scrapbook paper turkeys turned out to be one of my favorite projects we did. Adorable! 

If you are getting an early start on Christmas projects like we are...here is a little freebie to get you started.  We are participating in the Macy's "Believe" Campaign as a school.   We are all sending letters to Santa to support the Make a Wish Foundation.  Our local paper also publishes their letters...so our deadline is soon.

Here is a template for your Santa letters.  Click to download.

We are working on asking vs. telling sentences this week so in our letters, we will TELL Santa something, make two wishes, and then ASK Santa something. We also talk about *nice* ways to ask for something so it's not an I want, I want, I want letter. ;)

Here is an example from last year...

Dear Santa,

I am in first grade now and I lost two teeth!  I would like a Monster High doll.  I would also love to have a stuffed kitten with blue eyes. How are your reindeer doing?

Love,

a first grader :)

Do you have this book??

It is a precious read aloud to use when you are ready to write your Santa letters!

I am participating in the big TPT sale today and tomorrow!  20% + 10% off....yes please! 

Here are some Christmas & Winter math stations, games and activities galore to get you going this holiday season.  Click the images to check out the free previews!

Don't forget to use the code CYBER for an EXTRA 10% off from TPT on your purchases!

OK...almost time to head to my appointment! Yippee! Fingers crossed that our little booger cooperates (and his/her legs are NOT crossed!) ;)

Boy or girl?? Any guesses??

Happy Monday & Happy Teaching to you!

Blog Hop & Shop

Happy winter break teacher friends!!  This is what my to-do list looks like today.

1. Cuddle with the dog and watch the Today show

2. Clean the house

3. Wrap ALL our presents that are stuffed in the guest bedroom

As you can see, my priorities are in order. ;)    The best thing about this list is that none of these tasks require me to shower or change out of my PJs.

I hope your list looks similar!

If I can manage to get through this list by tonight...I will probably spread out my school stuff and start getting organized for January.  I know that makes me a giant nerd but I've found that I can enoy my break more when I know it's done...and my productivity seems to dwindle as break goes on. ;)  Also - We are heading to Nashville to see Andy's family right after Christmas and we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new neice so I'm just not sure what the end of the break will look like for me! Lots to look forward to.

Just in case there are any other fellow nerds out there...there is a big sale going on right now to help you stock up for the second half of your school year!  Here are some of the fellow teachers who have their stores 20% off through the 23rd. 

For all my kindergarten teacher friends...if your babies are ready to take off with their reading...pick up my Super Sight Word Pack to start when you return.  :) 



I do plan to post some winter activities soon too...so check back!

I hope you all enjoy your holidays and cherish your time with your loved ones.

I think I can. I think I can.

7 more school days before a little time off.  Not that I'm counting. :)  I have to say...my babies have been pretty good considering they have Santa on the brain...I am just looking forward to some time off with my guys to recharge for a fabulous second half of the year.

 

Yes, I am that person that puts my dog in a tacky Christmas sweater so that I can take a picture for the "December" page of our 2013 calendar.  Yes I am.

 

I have come to the realization that I cannot fit every cute "pinterest find" into the next 7 days...(and I keep telling myself that's OK...but I don't believe myself sometimes). Here are some of the fun things we HAVE done so far. 

One of our Virginia Standards is about diversity in our state and understanding that people have different traditions, customs, etc. and why.   We talk a lot about how people's ancestors are from all over the world and some people were born in the United States while others moved here, etc.

I get a lot of..."I was born in North Carolina" comments.  We are still working on the difference betwen continent, country, state, city. ;)

I randomly ask the kids all the time "Where are you?"  and they have to answer either United States, Virginia, North America, etc.

They think it's hilarious because sometimes I will catch them off guard and they look at me like I'm crazy. 

 

I have one sweetie who is from Nigeria and I was asking him what kinds of recipes and traditions that his parents may have brought with them from Africa to try give the class an example... and he said "Umm...we like to eat at El Rodeo" (popular Mexican restaurant here).

Oy.

Not exactly what I had in mind...they crack me up.

One activity we did this year to help them understand this standard was an "at home" writing project.  Their parents helped them write a few sentences about some of their family's favorite holiday traditons.  We read them all and they made a lot of connections that some traditions were the same from family to family and some were not.  That conversation was a great pathway to discussing Christmas Around the World, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, etc. and how many of our holiday traditions originated in other countries.

I found this adorable Rudolph and incorporated it with the writing for a hall display.  No pattern except for a brown circle (for the head) and a red circle (for that big ol' nose). The rest we just did it step by step together using a sheet of brown construction paper (cut a rectangle for the neck, cut strips for the arms and antlers, etc.)  I love how they all turned out so different...and so darn cute. 

 

The top of it says "If Rudolph looked in my window at Christmas time...this is what he would see.

 

If you'd like a copy of the letter I sent home to families and/or the writing template...click here for a free Google doc.

 

We also made these adorable ABC Order reindeer inspired by the fabulous Cara Carroll over at The First Grade Parade.  She posted these last year and I didn't find them in enough time to do them before Christmas.  We did some Christmas ABC order cards with partners to practice our skills and then we put all of the reindeer names in order on this sweet little guy.

 

 

 

 

We used alphabet strips and bears to "mark" the beginning letter of each word.  Then, they can see which bear is first in line, etc.  This helps as they are just learning how to alphabetize words!

 



 

We also complete our Christmas 5 Senses Poems.  They came up with some awesome things! 

 

 

How awesome is the spelling of "cinnamon buns" on this one?  Adorable.

 

 

I am off to rest up for Mooseltoe activities tomorrow and GRINCH day (my favorite) on Thursday. 

 

 

Happy teaching to you!

 





Fa-la-la-la Freebie!

Two posts is two days? Who am I?  :)

 

 I just couldn't pass up a chance to link up with the sweet gals from Freebielicious. All freebies...all the time.  Plus, some of THE sweetest chicks in the "blogosphere"  contributing to that site. Seriously.

 

 

 

 What's not to love? 

 

I posted a five senses poem about FALL a couple months ago and since then, I've had lots of requests for more of them.

 

 

 

 

I've done a Christmas one in the past that always turns out soooo stinkin' cute.  They always usually make my heart happy!

 

 

Some examples of ideas my first graders have come up with in the past...

 

Christmas sounds like...jingle bells, Christmas carols, laughing, Ho Ho Ho

 

Christmas tastes like...candy canes, hot chocolate, pancakes, sugar cookies

 

Christmas looks like...snow, red and green, bright lights, fun, family, presents, ornaments

 

Christmas smells like...a fire burning, pine trees, peppermint, cookies baking

 

Christmas feels like...slippery wrapping paper, love, fun, happiness

 

and my all time favorite...

 

"Christmas feels like hugs."

 

Amen!

 

The "feels like" one is often the hardest for them to come up with...I tell them it can be a feeling on the inside or the outside. In other words, something you actually touch with your hands OR something you feel in your heart. 

 

I hope you enjoy doing this with your kids as much as I do. :)

 

 

I also whipped up a "Winter" one in case you don't do Christmas activities at your school...or if you're like me and are trying desperately to fit everything in before break and just run out of time!

 

 

 

Happy teaching to you!

 

GIANT Sale & a Call for HELP!

Sawyer and I are cuddling by the fire this morning... filling up our TPT cart!

 

 

Doesn't he just look full of Christmas cheer?

 

HA.

 

He's pouting because I'm making him leave his dad alone for a little while so that he can catch up on some sleep.  He was up all night running calls at the fire station. 

 

Also...it does appear that the stockings are on fire but I assure you they are not. ;)

Anyways....make sure you don't miss out on the big sale tomorrow (& Tuesday) on TPT!  Everything in my little store is already on sale starting today...just in case any of you are trying to get ahead with some planning today like I am. :)

 

 

 

This precious graphic was created by Ashley Hughes. I just found out about this talented lady.  A bunch of her clipart is already in my basket for tomorrow!

 

The newest item in my shop is Math Mega Pack full of Christmas & Winter Themed math activities & games perfect for math tubs/stations as well as whole group instruction & assessment.

 

 

There is a lengthy preview available if you want to check it out and see what all is included.  Most of the activities and games focus on number sense and addition/subtraction.  There are a lot of opportunities for differentiation within the packet.  For example... 40 different word problems are included for the story problem book so that you can pick and choose the ones best suited to your students.  Many require higher level thinking skills.  It stretched my little brain just to THINK of them. ;)

Also...one of my favorite new ideas (pinterest inspired) are these BACKWARDS word problems.  I tried a few out last week before Thanksgiving and the kids loved them because they got to make up weird stories.  I loved the fact that they were using critical thinking skills and that it correlated with writing!  Instead of reading a question and solving to find the answer...students get the answer and have to use their imagination (and their math skills) to write their own story problem.  (think JEOPARDY style!)  So for example...if the answer is "one reindeer,"  the problem could be any number of things. 

"There were 9 reindeer ready to help Santa on Christmas Eve.  8 of them got sick.  How many could still deliver presents?"


The possiblities are endless.  My kiddos came up with some VERY interesting stories about turkeys, pies, and all things Thanksgiving so I can't WAIT to see what they come up with for these. :)

I kept making a HUGE deal about how much smarter they were getting everytime they thought of a story for one of these and they were lovin' it!

Click here to download your free copy and try it out with your students.

There are a bunch more of these included in the Dazzling December Math Pack. :)
 

  This math pack is aligned to Common Core:

 

1.OA.1

1.OA.2

1.OA.3

1.OA.4

1.OA.5

1.OA.6

1.OA.8

 

 

Happy shopping!

 

And last...my call for help.  I know my blog friends will come through with some great ideas.  I am getting a student teacher right after the holidays and I am *trying* to get a few things ready to welcome her in January.  This is my first student teacher ever! I am excited but nervous and want to make sure she has a great experience.

 

Any tips would be welcomed and appreciated! 

 

Enjoy the last day of your break and rest up for the whirlwind month of December.

 

Happy teaching to you!