My First "Back to School" Purchases for My New First Graders!

About Me

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Ohio
Welcome! I hope to use this blog to share some of the amazing things my class and school does to make learning fun! I have been teaching for 15 years already! I started teaching 3rd grade in a Parochial School, then I was hired to teach 1st grade for three years, was moved to 5th grade for 2 years, and then came back to 1st grade in the district where I attended school. I love that I'm able to give back the the school district that guided me to become the teacher I am today! I have a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, certified 1-8; a Master's Degree in Curriculum and Instruction; and my Administrator License Pre-K-12.

Blogs I Love!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Leap Day!


Okay real quick!!
We talked about March coming in like a lamb or like a lion and made these 2-sided projects out of paper plates...one side is a lion and the other side is a lamb! They're hanging from the ceiling and look pretty cool! (Even though this lamb looks kind of like a mouse.) :)
Then we made Sarah Cooley's Leap Year Time Capsule. When we were all finished we went outside to do some leaping...in the 60 degree temperature...at the end of February in northern Ohio! Once in a lifetime!
Okay...time to go shopping over at Teachers Pay Teachers! Thanks to all of you teachers who have put your shops on sale! Woot! Woot!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Passing Along Some Blogger Love!


Yesterday I was awarded Teaching Blog Addict's Top 10 Award! Today I'm ready to pass along the award to the following blogs who inspire me with their creativity, make me laugh with their stories, and help me become a better teacher by letting me peek into their classrooms each week. There are hundreds of amazing bloggers (many who have already received this award) out there but here are a few of my new favorites...










My credit card is out of the freezer and thawing on the counter so that it's ready to be used at tomorrow's Teachers Pay Teachers sale! I don't have a shop over there yet but make sure you enter the code L2P9Y when you check out for additional savings! I'm going to work super hard at school tomorrow so that I can come home and shop, shop, shop!


Monday, February 27, 2012

Melody Monday...and a few other things!


Well! First up...Melody Monday! It's that time during the year that I'm in the mood for a little warmth and sunshine...a beach would be great too! Anyway...my kiddos are loving Ziggy Marley's album, Family Time (yep...Bob Marley's son!).

It's just so cool! Check it out!

I woke up this morning to a comment left by Miss S over at Just Teaching Kindergarten! She awarded me with Teaching Blog Addict's Top Ten Award! So, thanks a bunch Miss S! If you haven't checked her out you totally need to do so!
I'm supposed to pass my new award onto 10 new bloggers which I will...but it's going to take me a little bit of time to find 10 bloggers who haven't received it yet. I'm a little distracted tonight...

There was a shooting at a high school less than 2 hours away from me this morning at Chardon High School. The shooter was caught but there were several students injured and as of tonight, two have passed. It's just a little too close to home and it's not setting well with me. As a teacher, I worry if my district is truly safe and ready to react if something as horrible as this would happen. I think we are but I guess one never knows until a tragedy occurs. As a future principal...well, I'm not sure I would ever be prepared for something like this. I just can't even imagine...prayers to Chardon School District and the students and families of Chardon, Ohio.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Permission to Pin and TPT Leap Day Sale


Whoa! This whole Pinterest thing makes me a little nervous! I'm always pinning things from your amazing blogs so that I can stash the idea away on one of my boards and then revisit the idea and your blog when I'm ready. And other times I just repin what has already been pinned. I'm going to do my best to make sure I only pin things from blogs with the "Permission to Pin" button from now on. Everyone seems to be blogging about it this weekend so I'm just making sure I'm doing the right thing! My little "Permission to Pin" button is on the right hand side of my blog.
So I'm granting you permission to pin away!
If you click on it, the link will take you to Laura Candler's Corkboard Connection and she'll explain everything!

Also...did you hear about the Teachers Pay Teachers sale happening on Leap Day? Looks like a lot of my most favorite bloggers are going to be having a sale and if you enter the code: L2P9Y at checkout you'll get an additional 10% off! Looks like I'll be making another dent in my cart this week!

Can you believe it's going to be March! Holy cow! This year is flying by!
Hope you're all curled up on the couch watching the Academy Awards!


Saturday, February 25, 2012

Read Across America


Happy Saturday!
I should already be working in my classroom, but I've had this idea in the back of my head all week and woke up this morning inspired to make it happen! So we're all aware that NEA's Read Across America Day is Friday, March 2nd and many of us are also busy turning this coming Friday into a Seusstastic Day for our kiddos! Well...I wanted to create something that I could use as we complete our America unit but also work in Read Across America. While we continue learning about America's symbols we're going to literally read our way across America! (A little voice in my head is screaming..."CRAZY!!!!" right now! Ha! Ha!)

If you click on the link below you should be directed to a google doc with my pages. Each page has 4 states represented with a vintage postcard picture of the state and a place to write or glue in a picture of the book read. As we read across America the kiddos will add a card to their ring so that when we're finished they'll have a ring with each of our 50 states that they can take home.


For example...On Monday we're going to read a non-fiction piece about Texas. (There are tons of non-fiction books about each of the states. My library has a series of books on each state but I can't remember the name of it right now.) We'll then read a fiction piece of literature (there are literally zillions out there) about Texas. This is one of my absolute favorites to read aloud!
We'll then glue an image of the book cover on the Texas page and add it to our ring! Hoping this makes some sense...I'll post pictures on Monday!

If you have any ideas for fictional stories that represent each state please share them! I'm always on the hunt for new books!

Now I MUST get to my classroom! So much to do! :)
Have a great day!

Friday, February 24, 2012

What a Week!


Well, this week flew by!
We've been very busy!
A little Mardi Gras fun...
The beginning of our unit on American symbols and Presidents that I should have started two weeks ago...geesh!
We designed these shopping bags to hold all of our American themed projects. This way everything can be sent home in the bag at the same time in a few weeks. (Counting and placing the red stripes on our white bag was a bit of an issue...as you can see.)
Some Pinterest inspired Presidents...

We had a curriculum meeting this afternoon so I left what I thought would be a cute Mount Rushmore project that the kiddos could create using their own head...yeah...not the best idea I have ever had...but I learned my lesson. We'll be remaking Mount Rushmore on Monday!

Off to a friend's surprise birthday party tonight but wanted to quickly post what we've been up to! Spending the day in my classroom tomorrow...I'm so in the weeds (waitress talk for HELP!!!!!)! Tomorrow needs to be VERY productive! :)
Hope everyone had a great week!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Melody Monday


Happy President's Day!
From what I'm seeing it looks like some of you are off to work this morning! My district is finishing the last day of a 4 day weekend before we head back for 6 more weeks of school until Spring Break! That sounds like forever...but my brother-in-law has the count down...I think we're at about 39 days! I like the day count better. It seems more manageable. :)

So...Melody Monday!
I want to share kind of an addicting site with you that has TONS of television and movie tunes on it...for free!
To be honest, I kind of forgot about this site until I was thinking about what tunes I wanted to share with you today. So first of all, when you click on the image above you'll be directed to the Television Tunes website. You can type in what you're searching for like "Welcome Back Kotter" and you'll be able to listen and download that magnificent theme song! :) Oh! And you can send it to your phone to use as a ringtone! A presenter used this theme song to get a group of teachers back on track after a break a few years ago. You can also find the theme songs for Arthur, Clifford, Martha Speaks, The Brady Bunch...ANYTHING! I also found music from The Electric Company (silent e, _tion, the or song...), Sesame Street, and Reading Rainbow. There's also sound clips from ABC, NBC, CBS...I even found the 1972 broadcast music that introduced the Apollo 16 mission. And who could forget Misfits of Science with Courtney Cox! (I know...you forgot about it.) I have no idea why I liked that show so much...I just watched some You Tube clips of it and was laughing out loud! For some reason I really dug that van/old ice cream truck thing they all drove around in while on their science missions!

So anyway...you're probably thinking yeah Jenn...it's fun to explore but how in the world do you use this site in your room? Well...who says you can't get your kiddos back on track with the "Welcome Back Kotter" theme song? And how about using the "Fantasy Island" theme song as a writing prompt? "The plane! The plane!" (Who is on the plane? Where is the plane going? Why...) And how about using the "Family Feud" and "Jeopardy" theme songs with all of those kid-friendly Family Feud and Jeopardy games that are out there? And I'm thinking I'm going to be using the "Misfits of Science" theme song with the units I'm hoping to create this summer when I embrace my new science standards! I just download what I want then I attach them to my smart board slides! My kiddos usually laugh at me when the "nostalgic" tunes are being played in our room. I treat "The Love Boat" theme song like it was the best song ever! :)
Click on the link below to "sail" down memory lane...it's okay...I won't tell anyone!
When will this show make a comeback?
Hello Hallmark Channel or TVLand...you need to start playing this series!
You're missing the boat!
Oh my gosh! I'm a funny one today! :)
Hope my silliness wasn't too much for you!
I just think that the Television Tunes website is a lot of fun and can totally be utilized for classroom use!
Have a great Monday!


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Lazy Sunday and A New Blog to Explore


Oh my goodness! I am loving my 4 day weekend! But...holy bloggerland! My Teachers Pay Teachers cart is totally filling up!

I came across a new blog this weekend and they're trying to reach 50+ followers! I told them I'd mention them and help them reach their goal! Click on the link below to visit the girls at "Awesome in First"! Lots of cool stuff! Can't wait to curl up on the couch later and look at all of their fun!
There are so many awesome freebies out there for Read Across America Day! Our school doesn't do anything (so sad) for it because our Right to Read Week is scheduled for mid-March...but I'm kind of getting into a Seusstastic mood and I just might celebrate it in my own way!
Did you see these cute Seuss inspired freebies?
Baggie Toppers and Cards @ Classroom Confections (Tons more stuff here too...great blog!)
Dr. Seuss ABC Order @ First Grade Delight
Oh the Punctuation you Will Use! @ Awesome in 1st (Yep...the same site who's trying to reach 50+ followers!)
And there's a zillion more out there, I'm sure! :) Heading to Pinterest to search for more Seuss fun after I go to my first Open House...at a house. Kind of getting the itch to start looking for a new home. Love my place now...just thinking it's time to move on to something different! It's cute on paper so we'll see!
Have a great Sunday afternoon!



Saturday, February 18, 2012

Another TLC Art Project


We completed Kaye Espinoza's "Animals in Winter" book this week!
I just love her projects! Takes time to precut everything but they always turn out so cute! And it's so easy to find and read a non-fiction story to complement each page. Here's a few of my friends with a page from her book.
I know I've said it before...you should totally check out Kaye Espinoza @ TLC Lessons! Tons of fun things for your cuties to make!

Friday, February 17, 2012

3 Letter Blend Freebie


So my little friends are sort of struggling with this whole 3 letter blend thing so I decided to make a little something to help us out. They can read them...but to spell them in their daily writing appears to be a little tough! We always talk about how blends are sort of easy because if you just stretch them out, you can hear all of the sounds. We always pretend we're stretching a really big rubber band when we're doing this but I decided that maybe this group needed it to be a little more concrete. I want their sticky little fingers (I say that in the most lovingly way) to physically stretch these blends out and practice reading and writing their words. :)

Here's what I've made...nothing too exciting but I'm hoping it's the ticket to blend heaven for us next week!

I cut a rubber band and taped the letters so that we can s-t-r-e-t-ch them out!
I printed them out on regular paper and it seemed to work. The plan is to then add the word ending and practice reading them with friends.
Once we're done reading them, we're going to write with them. I made up this simple worksheet for them to practice writing sentences. Again, nothing fancy shmancy but hopefully it's to the point and will help them out! If you're interested, click on the image below for the worksheet.
Here are the individual blends and word endings I made. Help yourself! (We use Treasures as our reading series...I don't use the series as much, but I do follow the same skills the series uses. These blends are taught in Book 3 Week 5. I think the story is Gram and Me.)

The sun is shining in Ohio! I think I'm over this whole praying for a snowstorm thing so we can have a snow day...bring on Spring!



Thursday, February 16, 2012

"A Moment" and Tech Thursday


So my hopes for a calm day yesterday didn't really happen.

My kiddos are just a "little off" this week...maybe the past two weeks. We had to have a little heart to heart yesterday afternoon where I told them that they have two jobs right now...listen and do. That's it! Listen and do. I think I'm going to make a t-shirt that has "Your Job: Listen and Do" on the front and "My Job" on the back and I can list everything I need to do, have to do and should do. I'm still feeling overwhelmed with everything I need to be doing with my cuties (yep...they're still cute...we just drive each other crazy sometimes). At the end of "my moment" yesterday, I said, "I think we all need a little vacation." And one brave soul blurts out, "No kidding!" I had to duck down like I was looking for a book on my bookshelf because I was cracking up! I mean, in the midst of my rant, he still has the confidence and feels comfortable enough in my room and with me to "talk back". But he's right too...we do need a vacation! We've been going full throttle since January 2...no snowdays, no delays...well we had a 3 day weekend in January but first grade is hard this time of year! Thank God for a 4 day weekend! I don't want to brag, but today is our Friday! YIPPEE! No PD tomorrow...and I'm pretty sure I have all of my ducks in a row so that I don't have to go into my classroom this weekend. I'll be working on things from home...in my comfies with my coffee made from my amazing Keurig! :)

Oh! Today is Tech Thursday! Here's a safe site for kiddos that has tons of videos on just about everything. Think of it as You Tube for kids. I've used it several times and so far so good! :)
I'm hoping to use this site next week when we have the mobile lab in our room. The plan is to have the kiddos choose a video and then create a graphic organizer using Pixie that will tell me the main idea and supporting details of the video they chose to watch.

Well, I'm off to finish my week...but wait! Are you following Traci @ Dragonflies in First?
She made the cutest George Washington bulletin board using her kiddos faces with George Washington's hair and hat! With a cute writing prompt to go with it...talk about ADORABLE! I'm going to be squeezing her project in next week! Maybe that's why I'm feeling overwhelmed...I'm finding all of these amazing teachers who share the coolest stuff...and instead of filing their ideas away for next year, I make myself do them this year! Oh well! I can't help myself! I'm so grateful to be in a profession with new blogger friends who share so much! Hoping to share some things I've been thinking about this weekend!

Have a super Thursday!