Freebie Friday!

Short and sweet tonight, ladies (and gentlemen? maybe?). 

 

I am all kinds of exhausted but wanted to make sure I linked up...and reminded everybody to check out all of the awesome freebies today at Teaching Blog Addict!

 

 

I'll be back soon to share all of the red glitter, glue, gingerbread, grinch, elf, Santa festivities that will be taking place in Room 106 beginning MONDAY!

 

Until then...try a BACKWARDS word problem with your kiddos next week!  I like to tell them they will STRETCH their brains.

 

Sometimes, they stretch mine too.

It doesn't take much. ;)

 

I originally saw this idea on pinterest as a whole group activity, and I made a few for my babies to do on their own (with LOTS of modeling) to include in my Dazzling December math pack because we tried them out at Thanksgiving and LOVED them. 

It's an awesome way to integrate math and writing and challenge our students to use some higher level thinking skills.

 

Enjoy.  Be sure to check out all of the freebies at TBA! 

Click on the picture below to grab this one. :) 

 

 

 

Happy December!

 

 

 

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!

 

 

Thanksgiving Ends & Odds

I am insanely jealous of my teacher friends who have started their Thanksgiving break.  Wednesday afternoon can't come soon enough! I'm ready for some time at home with my boys.  We had our big family Thanksgiving last weekend with my brother's wife's family.  Clear as mud? We started that tradition several years ago when my brother and sister lived in Chicago and couldn't get off of work for "real Thanksgiving" and even though they live close by now...we continue the tradition.  My brother couldn't even go this year because he was presenting at a conference and we still went!  They are fun and we love them like family, so it works. :)  We have an annual cornhole tournament and shuffleboard tournament.  I came in second in cornhole and close to dead last in shuffleboard this year!  Lucky for me, Andy is way better than me and won us some cash!

My kids have been LOVING this little video for a quick brain break the past week or two.  I come home singing  it every daggone day. 

I hope you all are gearing up for a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend as well.  I'm going to try some Black Friday shopping online this year.  We are usually out of town on Thanksgiving but with Andy's firefighter schedule...we just have to go with the flow each year depending on what days he works.  This year...it's Thanksgiving day.  Don't forget to add firefighters, police officers, ER workers and many many others to your thankful list this year!  They are at work when no one else wants to be. :)  It's new for me because I'm big on traditions but I'm starting to embrace the change and the different possibilities for each year. 

I know it's a little late...but if any of you need some quick Thanksgiving "stuff" for the next couple days...feel free to grab!  If not, tuck it away for next year!

We made scrapbook paper turkeys today and wrote about what we were thankful for.  We were interruped a million times for random things when we got ready to write and we were kinda rushed...so they totally surprised me with their sweet, thoughtful writings!

"thankful for my dog because my dog is happy to see me"

So true!

"thankful for my mom because she loves me and thankful for my dog because he "cudls" me"

Precious.

"thankful for my school because I'm in my favorite class...thankful for my mom because "everything."

Well Said.

"thankful for my dogs because they are part of my family and thankful for my teacher because she is nice."

She may get exra credit. ;)

 

If you need a Thanksgiving writing template, you can grab this one for free in my TPT shop.

 

If you're interested in making scrapbook paper turkeys...I just cut out squares of fall themed scrapbook paper and used a simple turkey template and we traced and assembled...and had a blast doing it! 

 

 

Have you heard about the TPT sale?? All of my products will be 20% off as well as many of my FAVORITE sellers.  TPT is throwing in an extra 10% off...awesome time to stock up!

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  Bless you!

 

 

Math FREEBIE!

I hope your November has been full of joy so far! I love reading everybody's blog posts and posts on facebook about everything they are thankful for.  I wish we could remember to reflect on how blessed we are all year long!  My list is way too long to type. It is ridiculously long.  I am a blessed girl. 

 

These guys are the top two things on my list!

Another thing that I am VERY thankful for is YOU! I love all my friends who stop by my blog to see what's going on in my little first grade corner of the world.

 

As a little thank you...I'd like to share a free math game I hope your kiddos can enjoy before Thanksgiving break.

 

We have been working on adding 0,1, and 2.  This is an easy game called "Give me Two More" to reinforce "adding on" 2 more.

 

You just need game boards, dice, and something to cover the numbers.

 

Enjoy! Click on the picture to download your copy.

 

 

 

Happy teaching to you! XO

 

THANK YOU for stopping by.

 

 

Thanksgiving Recipe Book: A FUN seasonal writing activity

Happy November!

 

I follow the fabulous Erica Bohrer on facebook and I saw this pop up today and thought it was the most fantastic idea...I wanted to share it with you in case you hadn't seen it. 

 

Erica lives in New York and created this packet both to answer students' questions and inform. She is donating the proceeds from this pack to help the victims in her hometown of Lindenhurst.

 

 I grabbed it from her TPT store and it is a fantastic resource.  I am saving it for a weather unit this spring.  If you haven't checked it out...click on the picture below!

 

    If you haven't already checked out her blog...it's a fantastic teacher resource...but right now she also has some inspiring pictures of her hometown after the storm.  It's worth looking at for a little bit of hope! 

 

Erica inspired me! I was getting ready to post a new Thanksgiving mini-pack to my TPT store tonight and I decided it would be a great opportunity to do the same. 

 

I wish I had something bigger, but this is all I had ready.  It is only $2 in my TPT store, but the proceeds will go towards the Hurricane Sandy relief fun via a donation to the Red Cross.

 

I know I sure am THANKFUL to be in my warm home with my favorite boys...and I am praying hard that my friends up north have some safety, warmth, and peace very soon, too.

 

If you are looking for a QUICK, FUN writing activity to do with your kids one of these days leading up to Thanksgiving...check out my Thanksgiving Recipe Book writing activity.

 

Students select a dish that they *think* they know how to make and write a recipe for it. 

 

Y'all don't even know how funny these turn out.

 

Here is a little example from our cookbook from last year:

 

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

-two boxes of noodles

-one slice of cheese

-1 cup of salt

-1 spoonful of sugar

-3 pieces of garlic

-8 sticks of butter

 

Directions:

Put the noodles in the water and turn it on real hot. Put the cheese on it and stir it up.  Pour in the salt and sugar and garlic.  Put the butter on.  Put it in the oven for 3 hours on 700 degrees.

 

YUM!

 

Too darn cute. 

 

This "cookbook"  also makes an awesome gift for parents and office staff at your school 

(and a fabulous conversation piece at your Thanksgiving table)!

 

Directions, templates, covers for the class cookbook (color and black & white) are included.

 

 

Happy teaching to you!

 

 

Be the "best lady ever" at school tomorrow!

These are the ingredients to be the "best lady ever" at school.

 



 

I got this thermos dispenser on Amazon for 30 bucks a while ago.  My mother-in-law "to be"  put me on her Amazon Prime account and it's pretty much the best thing ever.  Free shipping...usually one day shipping!  I rarely leave the house to shop anymore. :)  When I do, I get annoyed and wonder why I didn't order what I needed online!

 

Anyways...we were supposed to go on a field trip today to the pumpkin patch but "Sandy's" winds had other plans.  Plus, all of the area school systems were closed, except ours.  We never close.  Ever.

 

So I knew my babies were disappointed about the field trip and their lack of a "wind day" so I picked up some pumpkin donuts yesterday afternoon and we did hot chocolate and donuts this morning. The thermos dispenser made it so easy. I just heated the chocolate milk on the stove this morning and poured it in my dispenser.  YUM. It kept it really warm all morning!  It was so easy to dispense and make their drinks.

 

They sat around with their hot chocolate and read books all morning.  They were beyond excited.  They looked little grownups sitting at a coffee shop.  Too cute!

 

When the reading specialist came to pull one of my kiddos out for small group, she had some students from another class already with her and I felt bad when they looked in and saw the the hot chocolate and all the goodies so I asked her if she minded if they took some to group. 

 

She told me later that when they got to her room one of the boys said "She is the best lady EVER!" 

 

I don't think I've ever been called the best lady ever.  Wow.  I'll take it. 

 

 

Is there anything that makes a first grade teacher happier than seeing kids engaged in a book together?  I think not.

 

(Being called "the best lady ever" might be a close second.)

 

PS - Several of you have asked how my date with Josh Lucas went. 

Check out this post if you missed it.

 

It was SO COOL to see the farm out in the middle of nowhere turned into a movie set.  So much equipment and so many people making everything tick.  Very neat experience. 

 

 

 

Josh was filming a scene the whole time we were there so we didn't get to officially meet but it was really awesome to watch!  Andy's mom even got put in a scene in the movie with him!  How cool is that?  A real live movie star in the family.  I absolutely can't wait to see the finished product!

 

I stayed quiet and followed directions because I was terrified I was going to be the one to make noise and mess up the scene! 

 

This was a major improvement from my last encounter with a celebrity, so I'm proud of myself.

 

You see...my best friend, Maegan, and I *may* or may not have become Bon Jovi groupies for a short while.

 

And we *might* have traveled to 5 states over the course of a few months to go to different shows.

Annnnnd...it's *possible* that we may have joined the Bon Jovi fan club for a short while and won some pretty fantastic tickets to a show in Denver.

 

 

Wow. That's embarassing to type.

 

But that's not all.

 

There is also a slight possibility that there are some YouTube videos floating around the internet with some footage of us dancing and touching his leg...repeatedly...while he tried to sing.

 

Ahem.

 

No. I will not be providing links to those videos.

 

I WILL, however, provide you with a few free things. :) Click on the pictures to download free from my TPT store.

 

Here is a subtraction mat I made to help my babies who are still struggling with subtracting without manipulatives. 

 

 

Start in the green box.  Slide whatever you are taking away to the yellow and slide down your answer or "what's left" to the red. 

 

 

 

Grab yourself a copy of this "one less" game board and you have a math station ready for next week (or tomorrow!).  You just need two dice and something to cover the numbers.

 

 

 

And lastly...I know there are a million copies of this out there for grabs, but just in case you need a desk fairy note...here's one you can use.  Sprinkle some glitter on there and you're good to go.

The desk fairy that visits MY classroom has been extremely busy and she JUST made her debut last week.  Sheesh, desk fairy...get it together. ;)  She is going to try to come more often from now on. 

 

May your halloween be filled with lots of sugar and tons of giggles tomorrow. 

 

Ahhh...nothing like halloween in a first grade classroom.  I gotta go rest up! 

 

 

*My heart breaks for everyone affected by the hurricane. I am praying hard for you to have some peace in your heart and for you to be safe and warm very soon. I am saying extra prayers for all of the animals affected, too.  I always worry about them when things like this happen.  Don't forget to add them to your prayers!*

 

 

 

Hollywood, Pumpkins, and a Freebie...Oh my!

Guess what I'm doing tomorrow after school?

 

Having a conference with a parent?  Faculty Meeting? Staff Development?

 

Nope.  Something *slightly* more fun. Just slightly.

 

Give up?

 

I'm (hopefully) going to watch this handsome guy film a movie.

 

 

Remember him from Sweet Home Alabama? LOVE that movie.

 

"Hollywood" has invaded my fiance's little family farm in Giles County, VA. :)

 

 There is a movie being filmed there and we are going to head over tomorrow afternoon and see what it's all about.  I'm looking forward to seeing how everything is set up and watching them do some takes.  I'm hoping we make it in time to see some of the action.

 

Unless I get discovered tomorrow on the set and run off to Hollywood...I'll be studying PUMPKINS with my kiddos this week.

 

So, basically...I'll be studying pumpkins with my kiddos this week. ;)

 

I'll be using several things from my Fall for All Math & Writing Pack.

 

 

 

I also stumbled upon Jennifer's awesome pumpkin freebies (over at First Grade Blue Skies) tonight.  I think I'll have to squeeze a few of these things in too.

 

My favorite part of the week will most definitely be watching "Spookley the Square Pumpkin" movie.  Usually I run around like a mad woman while the kids are watching a video...getting things done, pulling kids to make things up, etc.

 

 

 

I can't ever tear myself away from Spookley, though. It's ridiculous.

 

Love the book, love the movie...and I'll have the song stuck in my head for days.

 

I can't wait to make our "Spookley Inspired" pumpkin patch, too. 

 I love how different they all turn out! I'll be sure to post pictures of them when we're finished.

 

The directions and template is included in my Fall for All pack as well.

 

As I was grading spelling tests today, I happened to think that someone might be able to use my spelling test paper. 

 

I use word study in my classroom.  We sort and do all kinds of word work activities during the week. At the end of the week, I call out words like a traditional spelling test for the front of the test.  On the back, students write review sentences that I call out loud.

 

For example, this week we are working with ot/og/op word families.  So I will call out mop, top, jog, fog, hot, shot, etc. for the front of the test.

 

On the back I will call out sentences that use all of the past word families we've studied as well (at/an/ad/ag/ap/it/in/id/ig/ip, etc.)

 

This cat can jog.  My mop is in the van. Dan is a pig that likes to nap.  etc. 

 

I like to make my sentences extra weird to make the kids giggle.

 

That's just how I get my kicks.

 

Click on the picture to get your free copy!

 

 

 Happy teaching to you!