A New Blog!

Hello Friends!

Last year I created a website to use in my classroom but I don't think it was really used by my families.  My students used it when they were on our iPads to look at our pictures and access their favorite websites, but I wanted something more collaborative for this year.  This year I'm going to try using a blog to keep my families updated on everything that we're doing in our classroom.  I'm hoping to post on a daily basis and as the year progresses I'd also like to delegate some of the posts to my students.

I needed to find a blog designer so I was checking out all of your blog layouts and finally came across Christi Fultz @ Design by Christi.

She's also a third grade teacher and blogs about her classroom happenings @ Ms. Fultz's Corner.


If you're looking for a new blog design I highly recommend that you checkout Christi's amazing talents!  She was so easy to work with and each of her blog designs had a different look to them.

Our school mascot is a Pirate, so of course I needed my new blog to have a pirate feel to it and since our school colors are red, black and white, I wanted to include that too.  I think I've said it before, but I think it's so important for my children to have pride in our school and I think it's easy by incorporating our school colors and mascot into my classroom design and instruction each day.

After I contacted Christi about designing my new blog, she sent me a document filled with questions so that she could get an idea about what I was looking for.  I made a deposit into her PayPal account to secure the date she was going to begin her work.  A couple of days later she sent me some digital art to pick from and within a week, ta-da!!  I have a blog!

When I say, "She was so easy to work with," I totally mean it!  She sent me the first proof of my blog design and I was able to make any suggestions I wanted and she tweaked it to meet my needs immediately.

I'm so excited to share my new classroom blog with my families this year!  If you have a classroom blog that you use to share things with your families, we'd love to connect with you.  I don't want to post a lot on the new blog quite yet but I will once the school year nears and my new families are aware of it.

Hope everyone had a great 4th!

July Currently

Happy July!  I'm linking up with Farley's monthly linky!

I think a new washer and dryer are in my future.  They both are making a sound that I haven't heard before.

I am loving these slow summer mornings.  I actually cherish them.  During the school year, it's always rush, rush, rush for me in the mornings.  During the summer my sister and I wake up before the sun and go for a run, and although I don't love rolling out of bed that early...and it's not always pretty, I do feel like I get a ton accomplished in the morning before we head to the pool or Soak City.

I am not a TV Talk Show kind of girl, but I have started catching a few episodes of Oprah's Super Soul Sunday series after church on Sunday mornings.  Sometimes, it's just background noise for me while I'm reading the paper, but sometimes the people she has on kind of inspire me.  I love how she can sit under an enormous oak tree with beautiful furniture...and not one bird, bug or other living thing makes their presence known in an inappropriate manner during the whole episode!  Anyway, there was an episode on with a husband and wife who lost their child in the Sandy Hook shooting...broke my heart, but their strength and faith astounded me.  Last week I caught an episode where Oprah interviewed Steven Pressfield who was talking about his book, The War of Art~ Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles.  I just started reading it but it's already making me think differently.  I love when that happens.

I'm wanting a home makeover...wouldn't that be fun?

My need...has a little to do with Steven Pressfield's book...a little to do with my community...a little to do with my future...and a lot to do with life in general.  Ha!  I bet that cleared some things up!

Plans for the 4th...a good old family picnic with some relatives I haven't seen in awhile and taking my 94 year old grandmother to Cedar Point to see the fireworks with the family.

I'm off to link up and meet some new blogging friends!  I've been a little out of the loop during the school year as far as blogging goes...thank God for summer and extra time to catch up!

Have a great day!

We're Off to See the Wizard...

Hello again!

I wanted to share another unit I created earlier this year.  

I read The Wizard of Oz with my children each year.  I love reading it aloud to my first graders and they always seem to be glued to it.  Thanks to some amazing teachers, I've been able to purchase several of their units and it's always fun to pick and choose from each of them.  I don't like doing the same exact thing each year so it's nice to have a "stash" to pull from.  I love being able to do all of the different activities they develop, but I wanted to have more of a comprehension based unit for my students.  This way, we could read a chapter and then complete the complementing comprehension page(s).   Here's a little peek at what I created:

You can click here to see it in my TPT shop too.

I am so grateful to all of those teachers that have created Wizard of Oz units that I included a "Shout Outs!" page that shows each unit I've purchased as well as the link for you to purchase it too.  The unit includes a cover page and then additional pages that complement each chapter in the book.  There are also a few writing activities for the children to complete at the end of the unit too.

I read Frank L. Baum's original version of The Wizard of Oz to my students.  I chose this version, published by Penguin (Penguin has a whole line of classical literature called Puffin Chalk...the covers look like they were created on a blackboard with colored chalk.)  

I just love the look and feel of this version.

I love exposing my first graders to classical literature but I was also reminded the hard way that it's very important to read the entire book first.  I know...that was rule #1 in our undergrad courses but I was on a time crunch at this particular moment during the year.  We started reading the original Peter Pan during the winter but I had to make a quick switch to a different version after we started reading a few chapters...that Tinker Bell has a real attitude in the original version!  :)

So, I'm trying to change and update what I'm using as read alouds in my classroom this year.  I've read a few great books that I've fallen in love with but I think they have parts that might be a little too heavy for my first graders.  I'll post about those later...because they were amazing.

Have you read any new chapter books that would be a good fit for first graders?  I'd love to hear what you're reading!

Have a great weekend!

Well, hello again...finally!

I'm blowing off the dust again on this little blog!  

Geesh!  What a year!  Like a GREAT year!  I had a super group of kiddos and got to teach with 2 amazing teachers and their students.  We departmentalized this past year again and it was a really good thing for our children.  Unfortunately we won't be able to departmentalize next year for a few reasons and I'm okay with that, but I'm already busy planning for next year.  I've been the Reading/Writing teacher for the past two years so I need to brush up on Math, Science and Social Studies for my first graders.

Our school used Fundations this year in Kindergarten and First Grade.  Second grade will start it this coming year.  The program was originally presented to us as a scripted program that you read directly from the manual to teach your class.  I am so not a scripted teacher...and I believe that there's not just one way to teach children as they aren't little robots either but...a year in and a few sessions and words of encouragement from a representative from Fundations, I feel a little more comfortable entering our second year in Fundations and tweaking it a little bit as needed.  

A few things I learned...

1. My children who didn't receive Fundations in Kindergarten were behind the 8-ball from day one.  I really think that there should be an intensive Kindergarten Review for those who didn't have Fundations prior to first grade.  There was a huge discrepancy in ability right from the get-go.

2. Some of the children who were new to our district and didn't have Fundations in Kindergarten at their previous school qualified for Title I/Special Reading.  They received a second dose of Fundations daily in a small group setting which helped, but by the end of the year, they were still the ones who were struggling.  Again, they made progress through the year but it wasn't enough to make them confident readers.

3. I wish there was a handwriting component for the first grade version of Fundations.  I feel like my new first graders (who had Fundations the previous year) came to me with impressive handwriting, but as the year continued, it regressed.

4. I wish there was a little more practice with the words introduced.  All of the words were on our word wall and in their notebooks, but I would still see them struggle reading and spelling them in their daily work.

5. The pace (as scripted in the manual) didn't meet the needs of all of my children.  My top readers had a hard time staying on task during the lessons because they were ready for more.  I also feel that the words learned weren't as intensive as years past.

So...I created a few packets to go along with Fundations this year and thought I'd share them with you.  I plan on using them with everyone at the beginning of the year but as the year continues, I might use them to help differentiate with my struggling students.  I've linked all of the the titles to the units in my TPT shop.

Handwriting Practice for Level 1: Trick Words and Words of the Day

We'll be using these all year to hopefully keep our handwriting neat and tidy.

Word of the Day Workout for Level 1

Trick Word Workout for Level 1

Each day a new Word of the Day or Trick Word is introduced, we'll use the complementing page from this packet for further practice.

Trick Words and Words of the Day Unit Review-Level 1

This packet includes word cards for each unit as well as a small assessment piece.  The word cards will be copied and sent home for extra practice throughout the year and the assessment piece will be used to help me document who is mastering the words and who is struggling.

If only I could learn how to code...I could develop a quality tech component to Fundations!  I would love some apps or software that would offer a "Fundations focused" practice for my children.

So, that's what I've been up to since school let out!  Hope your summers are off to a great start!

Start Filling Up Your TPT Carts!

Hello Friends!
I'm sure you've heard about the big Teachers Pay Teachers sale on February 27 and 28!  All you have to do is enter the code, TPT3 when you checkout and you'll get 28% off!  I just emptied my cart the other day because I needed a few things right away, but my wish list is always growing, so I'll be purchasing some things I've had my eye on for the spring and end of the year!

Thanks to Meredith Anderson for the sale button!

My little shop will be on sale too, so if you haven't stopped by, go and take a peek!  I don't have a ton in there, but thanks to our snow days the past few months, it has grown a bit!  Here's a link to my shop:

My TPT Shop

Have fun shopping!

Book Bargains!

Hello friends!

I'm sure you've seen this, but just in case you missed it, I found some $1 STEALS at Scholastic's Teacher Store recently!

Our school mascot is a pirate, so I picked up a class set of Corinne Demas's Pirates Go To School to use as my "Welcome to First Grade" treat for next year's class at my Open House.  Now I just have to make sure I don't lose them or forget I bought them between now and August!

Pirates Go to School

 For literature circles next year I purchased a set of Felicia Bond's The Day It Rained Hearts:

The Day It Rained Hearts by Felicia Bond

And, then I found Robert Munsch's The Sand Castle Contest:

The Sand Castle Contest by Robert Munsch

Don't tell, but this is going to be the book I'll give to my children at the end of this year.  We usually do a Beach Day and this will be a perfect gift!  I actually bought several more copies to have on hand to use as literature circle books at the end of the year too.

I had to have a little self control (which is not my best quality when it comes to children's books)!  I picked up a few more $1 books for our classroom library too...the books are only priced like this until February 28 so go and take a peek!

Have a great day!

Valentine's Day Recap and a Freebie!

Hello Friends!

Well...we're home with another snow day today!  I believe this is #9 for my district.  We haven't had a normal full week of school since before Christmas!  It's hard to believe, but it's true!  No wonder we're all a little "off" lately!  Hopefully winter is just about done and we can try to get back to normal.  There's so much to do before our year end assessments (which are scheduled for the first week of April...)

I know it's late, but go ahead and file this for next year...I did Valentine's Day in my classroom a little different this year...and it was fun for all of us!

The first thing I found was Natasha Wing's The Night Before Valentine's Day for $1.00 at a discount store in my town called Ollie's.  I thought, why not and purchased a book for each of my kiddos.  They were so excited!  There's something about giving everyone the same book...it's their own, but they can still work with a friend and not have to argue over who holds the book or turns the pages.  :)

 I then decided to make up a few activities to go along with the story.  To be honest, I had fluency checks and progress monitoring to do and needed a few things that my children could work on quietly while I was doing 1:1 assessments.  Even though I developed these activities for my children to do with their own copy of the book, they would work well as a whole group activity too.

 

At the end of the book, the principal arrives to the classroom dressed as Cupid with a surprise for the class.  I made up a worksheet that the children could create a Cupid costume for our principal and draw what kind of surprise they would want from her.  Their drawings were super cute!

If you're interested, I uploaded a FREEBIE in my TPT shop that includes all of the activities we used to go along with The Night Before Valentine's Day!

A Little Fun with Natasha Wing's The Night Before Valentine's Day!

I also found some fun "Minute To Win It" games with a little Valentine flair on Pinterest!  These were so much fun!  You can just search for "Valentine Games" and a ton come up.

Heart-a-Stack...we used the Heart Marshmallows to see how many we could stack.  Definitely harder than what we thought!

Valentine Shoot-Out...We used the Heart Marshmallows and tried to toss as many as we could into a small bowl.  (I love this first picture...true teamwork...if you could have only heard them helping each other.)

The Cookie Shimmy...the children had to start with a cookie on their foreheads and shimmy it down to their mouths without using their hands...too fun!

And of course, our Valentines...I love watching them open their Valentines.

Hope you all survived your Valentine's Day!
Take care!

Pirate Literacy Centers and Snowy Ice Cream

Hi Friends!
We're in another deep freeze in my neck of the woods.  School was canceled again this past Friday and the weather isn't looking too promising for the beginning of this week.  I like snow, I love a white Christmas but I'm kind of over it…bring on the spring!  A nice warm spring!

A few weeks ago I posted my Pirate Literacy Centers in my TPT shop.  I was in need of some simple activities that my children could do in small groups while I was testing so I whipped a few up for us.  We were supposed to work on them this past week, but we only had 1 3/4 days of school…so they're now laminated and ready to go for this week.  I thought I'd give you a close up look at them so you know what we'll be working on.

Pirate Punctuation
The children will match the sentence to the correct punctuation.

Pirate Contractions
The children will match the cards to build contractions.

Pirate ABC Order
The children will will use the three sets of cards and put them in ABC order.

A Treasure of Compound Words
The children will match the cards to build compound words.

Pirate Rhymes
The children will match the words that rhyme.

Noun and Verb Sort
The children will sort the cards by nouns and verbs.

 They're pretty basic because I wanted the children to be able complete them with little help from me since I'll be testing each of them 1:1.  Each activity has a worksheet for the children to record their answers…and I can hold them accountable for their work.  
Click here to find my Pirate Literacy Centers in my TPT shop.

Being snowed in, has given my plenty of time to get lost on Pinterest…did you see this one?

I thought I better try it out on my own first...

and it's pretty tasty!  

The recipe above made about 2 cups of ice cream.  If we ever get back to school, I think I want to make this with my first graders.  They'll love making their own snow ice ream!

Keep warm!

Well, hello!

I know…I've been missing in action again!  I'd love to promise you that I'll be more consistent…but I think I just get so wrapped up in school life that my little blog gets put on the back burner.  I've not even had time to blog stalk like I used to…ugh! 

I'll try to be a better blogger though…I'll really, really try!

I have been creating a few things for my little old TPT shop in the past few weeks.  If you follow me there, you've probably "felt" me blowing the dust off of it recently and opening up the doors again.

Our Student-Led Conferences will be in a few short weeks and I wanted a book study that my children could complete on their own and then share it with their families at conferences.  A few years ago I purchased a class set of Jan Brett's The Mitten from Scholastic.  They were like $1 a piece at the time…wish I could find that deal again!  We'll use this book for a whole class read aloud and then the children will each have their own copy to use to help them complete the book study.

Click here to see this unit in my TPT shop!

We're in need of a little extra help with contractions, so I created a simple matching activity for the children to use to practice on their own or with a friend or two.

Click here to see this unit in my TPT shop!

Our school mascot is a pirate and it's our annual Pride Week this week.  It's a week that we celebrate the pride we have in our school, district-wide. We've been reading Peter Pan but we're also going to be reading a few more fun pirate stories.  One of my favorites is Tough Boris by Mem Fox.  I like to use this book to introduce adjectives to my children so I whipped up a little activity for us to complete together.

Click here to see this unit in my TPT shop!

It's also "testing season" for us and I'm in need of some literacy activities that the children can complete independently while I'm doing one-on-one assessments.  There are 6 literacy centers in this packet that will serve as a review and/or extra practice for us!

Click here to see this unit in my TPT shop!

And since I've been MIA for several months, I'm going to hold a quick flash sale in my shop for today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!  Everything is 20% off for the rest of today!

Here's hoping your 2014 is off to a wonderful start and that hopefully,  I can get back into the swing of things again in blogland!

Take care!