Guess what?

I have a new blog design that will be unveiled VERY soon I hope.  I'm so darn excited.  Here's a little sneaky peeky...

Cuteness!

Stay tuned, friends!

I haven't been able to get back in my classroom for a few days but I've been working a little bit at home and my favorite finds this week were these lightweight, bright frames at Michael's! They were buy one get one free PLUS the sweet lady at the register had a coupon for 20% off instead of my 15% teacher discount. Woohoo!  I love them and I think (hope!) they're lightweight enough to stick on the wall with a command hook.

Everything looks better framed, am I right?  I obviously couldn't afford to frame everything on my walls so I decided to frame the rules and motivational posters.  Here is a start on that.

Click the links to be taken to the original source if you like these posters.

If You Can't Be Kind, Be Quiet  (Can I get an amen?)

Be Kind. No Exceptions.

And the class rules were made by yours truly.  

I actually posted a different one a couple weeks ago and I changed my mind on the color scheme (big shocker!) so...you are welcome to grab yourself a copy of either one if you want them!

Click here to download.

I like to keep my class rules short and sweet.  I let the kids have input on what kind of rules they want in the classroom on the first day of school...but for some reason they always get bogged down in things that pertain to physical violence and gross stuff.  Is that just my kids?

If I took all of their ideas, we would have 6,972 rules.  

1.  No hitting

2. No pushing

3. No kicking

4. No spitting in other people's food in the lunchroom (an actual one from one of my kiddos from last year)

5.  No biting

6. No calling people "cry babies" even if they are  (no...I couldn't make this stuff up)

etc. etc. etc. etc.

You get the picture.  So...I still get their input, but I have these 3 ready to rock because let's be honest I can slide any transgression into one of these categories.  I'm good like that.

Pretty sure spitting in other people's food qualifies as not being kind and respectful.  Just saying.

Last but not least,  I've been working on a little "Back to Basics" math and literacy pack and it's up and ready to go!  This is full of activities (whole group, small group, individual work, and partner games) that I plan to use to review basic skills with my first graders at the beginning of the year.  It would be perfect for kindergarten and Pre-K all year long.  I also plan to keep these activities handy to use for intervention as needed throughout the year in my first grade classroom.

Language Arts Skills:

first day writing template

-alphabet letter cards (lowercase)
-alphabet letter cards (capital)
-letter sounds picture cards (26 plus ch/sh/th)
-beginning sound assessment & answer key
-CVC picture cards
-CVC word cards
-"write around the room" CVC activity and/or assessment
-missing letter CVC assessment and/or guided practice
-DRAW IT (CVC word version)
-DRAW IT (CVC sentence version)
-rhyming picture match/pocket chart cards
-"No Nonsense" real vs. nonsense word rhyming activity
-rhyming sentence challenge activity

Math Skills:
-"A Number Book" (students illustrate simple sentences to show mastery of one to one correspondence with simple pictures)
(numbers 1-10)-"Adios Monsters" dice game & recording sheet
-"Spin it to Win it" card/unifix cube game (numbers 0-20)
-"It's All About the Dots" subitizing cards...perfect for number talks!
-"Fill it Up" card game (numbers 1-30)
-colorful number cards 1-30

It is ON SALE for 5 bucks this week. :)  Check out the preview here if you're interested!

I'd also love to GIVE IT AWAY to the first 5 readers that head over to my facebook page and leave me a comment there telling me you could use it! 

Happy Summer!

Sunday Randomness & some WINNERS!

 

 

Michelle over at Fabulous in First is hosting another Sunday Smorgasbord linky...perfect for me today because I'm feeling all kinds of random!

First things first... I have some winners!

(Sorry it has taken me so long to post this...no good excuse...summer just "got in the way" ;))

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Congrats, girls!  I'll be sending you an e-mail today so you can get your goodies!

 

We had a RIDICULOUS amount of rain last week. It rained every. single. day.  It was crazy.  I did some work and redecorating around the house and then busted out some school work! 

 

I usually wait until closer to August but I have some fun projects that are calling my name. :)  I made a new "class rules" poster. I always use the same 3 rules...but I just redesigned it. I like to keep the rule "list" short and sweet...and pretty much any behavior can relate back to these 3! I'm going to put it in some sort of pretty frame to hang but I haven't found the right one yet.  If anyone wants this, feel free to grab it! Just click the image and download or pin it for later!

 

 

 

I also made a trip to Hobby Lobby when I went to Greensboro to spend time with my sweet neice. 

 

 

Love this little girl!  Now, if we can just get our trip to Nashville planned to see our other precious niece and nephew...my summer will be *almost* complete!

 

We don't have one where I live...which may or may not be a good thing.  I found so many things I HAD to have for my new little home office and my classroom.

 

The first thing I saw when I walked in was this sign!

 

 

 

I love it (and it immediately made me think of sweet Teri at  A Cupcake for the Teacher!) I really feel like you should have this in your house! ;)

 

 I didn't get it, but oh so cute!

 

Here are some of the goodies I found for my office, mixed in with some TJ Maxx finds!  I'm waiting on my dad to paint my desk, so for now...to the floor it goes!

 

 

 

 Here is a peak at some of the fabric I got. I also found a good deal on some scraps from fabric.com that I'm waiting to receive! I got the awesome contact paper on amazon.com and I'm planning to do one of the little filing cabinet makeovers that I've seen on Pinterest with it!

 

 

 

And I loved this little sign so much that I got it for my house!

 

 

 

My new Erin Condren planner arrived this week as well! I love seeing my new name on everything.  Well, except my driver's license.  I didn't realize they would make me take a new picture so I went to the DMV MINUS a shower and PLUS a rainstorm and let's just say the picture on it was as good as I thought it would be after the camera clicked...oy.  It's a special kind of bad. And no, I will not post that. ;)

 

 

 

OK...enough randomness!  I think this little boy is ready for some pool time with his mom!

 

Thanks to everyone who entered my little giveaway! 

 

Happy Summer!

XO, Amy

Last day for Amazon giveaway & a FREEBIE!

Don't miss your chance to enter my bloglovin' giveaway!  Two winners will win any 3 items of their choice from my TPT store and one winner will win a $10 gift certificate to Amazon! I just stocked up on printer ink from there today to get ready to start printing all of the fabulous things I'm finding on Pinterest and TPT for "back to school"! 

 

Tomorrow is the last day to enter! The link to follow my blog on blog lovin' and facebook are on the right side of the screen.  It only takes a second. :)
 

                                                             a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

I went on a cleaning spree today at my house so I think now it's time to settle down on the couch with the pooch and work on a few TPT things that I have in the works that I'm VERY excited about!  Stay tuned!

I'm making a folder full of all of the things I can print ahead of time for the new school year (basically everything that doesn't have a list of student names).   I ran across this desk fairy note.  I am going to go ahead and print out a bunch and add GLITTER so that I don't have to do it throughout the year.  Here is a link to grab it if you like it! (glitter not included ;))

 

After I have my post gum-graft appointment tomorrow morning (ick!) I am headed to visit my sweet niece tomorrow and do some shopping at Hobby Lobby with her. We don't have one where I live...isn't that the saddest thing you ever heard?

 

I CAN'T WAIT to love on this little cutie pie!

 

 

HAPPY SUMMER to you!

 

 

Amazon GIVEAWAY & Binder FREEBIES Updated for 2013-2014!

So my HUSBAND (still getting used to saying that and LOVIN' it!) came home from Lowe's yesterday with a plastic pool for this little beach bum (and maybe me). 

 

Ridiculous. 

 

I have a funny feeling we are going to be the talk of the neighborhood soon.  I could totally see all 3 of us ending up in that thing one hot afternoon in the near future. HA! 

 

Pictures to come...maybe. ;)

 

It is a nasty, cloudy morning...so instead of splashing in the pool, I am catching up on laundry and clicking around on my laptop.

 

I updated my "binder covers for everything" for the 2013-2014 school year.  I've had a lot of people asking when these would be ready so I put them on top of my list!  Mine are printing now. :)

 

 

Go get 'em so you can feel organized...even if you're not.  It's June...you shouldn't be organized yet!

 

They are FREE and I'm more than happy to change 'em up a bit if you need something different.  These are just the ones I needed last year and decided to share...had no idea so many people would be interested in using them.  Just get in touch!

 

PS - Don't forget to...

 

 

Google Reader is going bye-bye on Monday.  Keep up with this little blog and all your favorites on bloglovin'!  I must admit...I pretended like this wasn't happening for as long as I could because I just didn't want to deal with it...but it was actually super easy and I (gasp) like bloglovin' better than google reader!

 

 

Just go to www.bloglovin.com and make an account (easy) and make sure you "import all your favorite blogs from google reader" so you don't miss out on anything!

 

Click here to follow my blog on bloglovin' if you're not already a follower.

 

 

 

 You're done!
 

 Also...as a "thank you" for taking the time to make the switch...a lot of bloggers are doing some awesome giveaways for their "new" bloglovin' followers!

Enter below.  THREE winners will be selected to choose any THREE items from my TPT store and one lucky winner will win a $10 gift card to AMAZON.COM!

You can get a couple extra entries if you like my brand new facebook page as well...figured I might as well do it all at once! ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


 

Now go check out all of these other fabulous bloggers who are having bloglovin giveaways!  You're bound to win something cool! ;)




What's the BIG idea??

Spring Break has officially come to an end and I am SAD about that but going back means I'm getting closer and closer to May when I get to marry this handsome guy! 

 

 

Then, of course, glorious summer days ahead!  I think I can do it!

 

Spring Break was productive, but not busy.  I had plenty of days to sleep in and work on some wedding projects at home.  It FINALLY warmed up yesterday and spring decided to make an appearance in my little corner of Virginia so I spent the day getting a little (too much) sun and reading a book.  It was a REAL, grown-up book.  I don't read those much from September-June!  I read "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn.  WOW. I highly recommend.  I finished it in two days...couldn't put it down.  It's definitely not a "feel good" story...pretty disturbing actually, but quite good!

 

 

I also had a chance to FINALLY finish up a new unit I've been working on for quite some time. I had a really hard time in the past teaching main idea to my first graders as a reading strategy.  I feel like I've finally come up with some ideas to help them grasp the concept.  This year was the first year I felt truly  successful with it, so I decided it was time to share!  This is also the first year that I feel like I've truly used the concepts of main idea and details to help my students as writers.  I am shocked at how it helped many of even my reluctant writers feel confident writing a short paragraph with multiple sentences on the same topic....YES!

 

I also noticed that as I shopped on TPT, there were a lot of resources out there for upper elementary grades...but not so much for primary. So if this is something that you are working on this spring with your little ones...I hope you can use it! 

 

It is on sale this week for $4!

There is a lengthy preview available on TPT so you can see exactly what you are getting. Just click the picture below to check it out. :)

 

 

I'd also love to give away a copy to the first 3 friends to leave me a comment.  On your mark, get set...go!

 

For now...I'm off to watch the Country Music Awards and gear up for my kiddos tomorrow! 

 

Happy Monday and as always...Happy Teaching to you!

 

What's Normal??

We have had some cRaZy weather here in Virginia which translates to some crazy schedules at school.  For example, we went to school 2 hours late this morning due to freezing rain.  This afternoon...the dog and I were hanging on the back patio enjoying the sunshine in short sleeves.  Well, I was wearing short sleeves...not so much the dog. 

 

We reserve dressing him up for special occasions. ;)

 

In other news...the crazy schedule means that my plan book is a hot mess!  My poor student teacher has yet to see a "normal" week or hardly a "normal" day since she's been with me. 

 

But I'm not complaining...the extra time off has given me a few extra days to snuggle with the newest sweetie in my life...my brand new niece and goddaughter. 

 

This is Hadleigh. 

 

 

Total sweetness.

 

We are quite smitten with her...obviously.

 

Well, I am off to do a little bit of laminating and watch the Bachelor... but I did manage to finish up my latest math pack and wanted to share with you in case you are getting ready to stock up for the BIG sale on Sunday!  Have ya heard??


All of my goodies will be 20% off and TPT is throwing in 10% off the discounted price as well!



So here it is! 

It's all about making sense of numbers...teens, beginning place value, skip counting, and more!  Check it out on TPT!

*The first 2 people to comment on this post will receive this new math pack for FREE* 


Oh, and before I go...
I know this is all over social media...but if by chance one person reading hasn't seen this, it's worth posting.  If you've seen it and havent clicked on it yet...it's worth it. 

Love him, love his message.  Just plain love!
 

 

"You got air comin' through your nose. You got a heartbeat. That means it's time to do something!

 

We were made to be awesome."

 

I need this little guy in my class every day to "pep talk" me. :)

 

Happy teaching to you!

 

 

 

 

A Monday List (and a freebie...and a winner!!)

Holy Moly.  It's Monday and I already feel behind. 

 

Is that possible?

I guess so...because I'm already 2 days behind on posting the winner of my big giveaway!  The weekend just got away from me. The weather was definitely fall-ish here in southwest VA and I spent a lot of time with my boys watching football...and eating football food...

 

and doing lesson plans.

I was so excited to "meet" so many new friends during my giveaway and even more excited to announce that the winner of all the fabulous TPT products from my blog friends AND the LOFT gift card is...

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Melissa!  Congratulations! You have some serious shopping to do. :) I'll be getting in touch very soon!

 

Thank you...EVERYONE...for entering and leaving so many sweet comments.  Seriously.  I got excited to read every single one.  If you could ask Andy...he would tell you how excited I got everytime my phone "dinged" with an email. :)

 

 

I have so much I want to share with you but I also have so many papers sitting on the coffee table that need to be graded and entered.

 

Sigh.

 

For that reason,

 

(and because it's a cold rainy Monday night)

 

I will be posting a completely random list that I hope you will enjoy!

 

This is what we've been up to in my little corner of the world...

 

1. LOTS of playing games to practice our math skills, sight words, and everything in between!

 

 

 

2. Movin' and Groovin'

 

 

Oh my goodness gracious.  Leave it to Pinterest. 

 I have found the CUTEST videos and songs to put up on the smartboard anytime we need a quick wiggle break.  It makes such a difference in our day and is so quick and easy to do.  I made a board on pinterest just for videos so I can get to them quickly.  They have been crucial for some indoor recess time since the weather has been wet and dreary. Our favorite is the Madagascar "Continental Drift" dance.  Seriously fun.  We're all out of breath when it ends (from a lot of giggling and a little bit of exercising).

http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=uMuJxd2Gpxo

 

I also have been using Will.I.Am's "What I Am" song to clean up and  transition from math tubs to our math lesson in the meeting area each morning.  Such an awesome way to start the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch/?v=cyVzjoj96vs

 

I think I need to do another post about some of the brain breaks I've found.  I could go on and on.  I'll just give you the link to my pinterest page for now so you can check them out if youre interested.

http://pinterest.com/amyj38/videos-websites-for-smartboard/

 

 

3. Studying Spiders

The kids reeeeallly enjoyed our spider unit.  The coolest thing EVER (for a first grade teacher, anyway) happened on Friday.  We were finishing up our spider unit, eating spider cookies, making glitter webs, etc.  and a real spider spun a web right outside our window and stayed ALL DAY LONG.  Bless his heart. 

 

 

The kids named him Larry.

 

We got to count his legs and body segments.  

I think the kids were in awe that I arranged for the spider to come.

 

Am I good or what? 

 

We invited the other first graders to come see our class pet. It was delightful.

I hope Larry has a long, happy life...preferably outside somewhere where I never have to see him again. 

 

Here are some of the spider projects we worked on last week.

 

 

Spinning Spider Webs

 

We used paper plates with the middle cut out and holes punched around the inside.  Then, we just strung yarn between the holes and made torn paper spiders to go on it.  You MUST have a spider ring on when making these though.  ;)

 



 My teacher friend next door told me it looked like fall exploded on my bulletin board.  I told her to hush. ;)

 

We made "Spider Diaries" after reading "Diary of a Spider" by Doreen Cronin.

 

 

 

The kids pretended they were a spider and came up with a different adventure to write about in their diary each day.  This one says "On Monday I went to California." Fun!

 



 

 We ate oreo spiders on Friday

 (mostly because I wanted an excuse to buy oreos).

 

 

3.  We are gearing up for Fire Safety Week, Christopher Columbus, and some MONSTER writing.  We are reading these books this week to get us started.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then...we will be making our own "pinterest inspired" monsters and using these templates to write about them.  One template is meant to be a prewriting and the other is to write sentences describing your monster.

 

  Click on them to get your free copies!

 

This was my inspiration for the monsters.  I just cut out different bright shapes and had them add everything else.  I just used black strips for arms and legs.  Aren't they precious?

 

I found them on pinterest but here is a link to the original source.

http://www.houseofbabypiranha.com/2010/09/shape-monsters.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.  My brand new "Fall for All" Math & Writing Pack is ready!  It includes the spider diary project listed above along with 11 other FUN activities for you to use in your classroom including some SPIDER RING math games. 

 

 

Here are some samples of what's included...check it out in my TPT store.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

  Have a happy week!