Five for Friday!

I'm linking up again with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! I'm a little late, but hey, I'm here. 

We are finally up and running with Daily Five! I still have to introduce Work on Writing (I didn't go in order this year), so I guess we were doing Daily Four this week, but they did an awesome job! 

A few years ago, I convinced my principal to buy a site license for TumbleBooks for us to use for Listen to Reading, and I'm so glad she did! My kids love it! If you're not familiar with the site, click on the link to check it out. The books are leveled, and the kids can access it from home, too. 

These Read to Someone pairs are making and confirming predictions (from Deanna Jump's Interactive Reading Notebook pack) and Tuning into Interesting Words (from the CD included with The Cafe Book. 

Engagement. LOVE it. 

 Just like everyone else on the planet I think, we spent some time on apples this week. They got to taste red, yellow, and green apples. They chose their favorite and wrote an opinion about why that was their favorite. And then we painted some apples to accompany the writing. 

We broke out the math mat this week, too, to learn about the 100 chart to reinforce place value concepts and prep for comparing numbers next week. We stepped on numbers that were 10 more, 10 less, 1 more, and 1 less than a given number. Who needs hands-on when you can have feet-on? :) 

On Thursday, my PBIS team and I led a faculty meeting/PD to refresh everyone on our school-wide and classroom expectations and acknowledge them for all of their hard work. We have had A LOT of changes this year, and we all know how hard that can be. Part of our PD was on using GoNoodle brain breaks to help with behavior, and I was so grateful that the fabulous GoNoodle folks donated some goodies for my staff. Thank you, GoNoodle!!

My final thought for the week…my kids love Wonderopolis! If you've never tried it, check it out. I use it most often for morning work. There is a "Wonder of the Day" that always asks a question. I have my kids answer the question in their writing notebooks and draw a picture to go with it. The best part is that you can "explore wonders" and choose the one that is most relevant to your class. Then we watch the video and read about the answer. They like listening to the automated voice! It's an awesome way to build in a little curiosity and creativity into your day! 

Hope you all have a great week! :)

September Currently!

Today is the first day of September, so I'm linking up with Farley at 

for CURRENTLY! 

Here's a peek at what I'm up to right now: 

Listening: My four year old LOVES books, and she's recently started "reading" them. This makes my teacher heart cup runneth over to see her use the pictures (and what she remembers) to tell the story. 

Loving: I don't really know who came up with this whole five days of work and two days off schedule, but I'm not a fan. Four and three seems like a MUCH better balance. I love being at home with my babies! 

Thinking: My plans for the next four days are definitely not done. We have a new evaluation tool in my district this year, which will be tied to our pay, so my lesson plans have become a lot more detailed. I started using Planbook.com this year to plan lessons, and I love it, but it takes me FOREVER to plan. 

Wanting: We were under a heat advisory for a week. Temps in the 90's but felt like 105 with humidity like you wouldn't believe. It felt like bus duty on the Equator. We had to have indoor recess every day, and the air conditioning went out at least twice. Not fun. I'm really hoping September brings cooler temps our way! 

Needing: I think my baby redhead may have an ear infection again. But of course, it's Labor Day, so her pediatrician's office is closed. I thought the After Hours clinic was open tonight, but it was actually open during the day, so by the time I called, they were booked. And all of the Urgent Care centers have two hour waits. It would be more torturous to make my baby girl wait in a germ-infested room for two hours than to just treat her at home until I can get her into her doctor in the morning. Darn back to school germs! 

3 Trips: I need a teleporter. I HATE traveling. It takes forever, and something always goes wrong. On the way back from Vegas this summer, I set off the scanner thing, and the TSA employee yelled, "I NEED A FEMALE SUPERVISOR!" You'd think they'd have walkie talkies or something, but nope. After waiting an eternity for a female supervisor to show up, I was escorted to a private room for a lovely pat down. Not the way I like to start my day. I love visiting new places and actually being on vacation, but getting there sucks. So who knows if I'll ever actually GO to these places, but I'd love to see them eventually. 

Hope you all have had a fabulous long weekend!!

Beat the Heat with a $1 Sale!!

In case you are not living in the midwest right now, it's HOT. 

As in indoorrecesseverydayduetoheatadvisory HOT. 

To beat the heat and reward everyone for surviving the sweat, I've teamed up with some blogging buds to bring you another fabulous $1 sale! 

Here are the products I've marked down to just $1 (discounted 50% or MORE)!!

First up is my BEST SELLER: Finish the Picture Writing Prompts

I gave my new group of STARS this one last week, and I love what they came up with! 

In case you're not fluent in First Grade-ese, I'll translate: "Mrs. Number had a tiny brain. It was filled with mischief. Her new class was coming into the room. 'Who's ready to do some ring fighting?' she said. 'I am!' said the class. She said, 'I mean learning!'" 

"One day I planted a seed in my garden, and I watered it, and I waited a couple weeks, and it grew big and beautiful. And I picked it, and I put it in a vase, and it smelled good in my house." 

"There was once a mother bird flying onto her nest. The baby bird was in the nest. The egg hatched that the baby bird was in. The mother bird taught the bird how to fly. The end. I love birds."

PRECIOUS!

One little picture starter, so many stories!

This packet can be used with almost any grade level and includes several different versions of lined paper. Encourage your kids to be CREATIVE!!

Click the picture below to get it for just $1 today and tomorrow only! 

Next up are some fabulous Back to School packs for you!

Click the pictures to check them out!

 My kiddos LOVED these activities! The "I'm a Star" posters are hanging up in our room and make an awesome display!

 These activities are perfect to use as a quick assessment, morning work, to make a class book, or just to give you a few minutes to put some supplies away! Why wait till May to do a zoo theme when it's probably fresh in your kids' brains from summer fun? 

And finally, if you use National Geographic's Reach for Reading series, you have a star theme, or just want some cute headers, here is your Word Wall for the YEAR! 

Happy three-day weekend SHOPPING!! 

Check out all of the fabulous products below marked down to just $1 for two days! :) 

An InLinkz Link-up

Five For Friday!

It's FRIDAY!!!

I just finished my third week of the school year. Looking back now, it seems like it's gone by quickly, but the days have felt very LONG. Especially with this midwest heat wave. 

Heat advisory + Indoor recess + Roofers constantly hammering + AC going out = One grumpy teacher and wound up kids! 

But we made it and actually managed to get a lot accomplished! 

Here's a snippet of my week: 

I started the week with a big change! 

I got nine inches of hair cut off and am sending it to Children with Hair Loss. I love my new short 'do! 

On Tuesday, we started our BLOGS! 

I am long overdue for a full-blown KidBlog post. I'll get it together soon! 

For now, just know that using KidBlog with my first graders was one of the best teaching decisions I've ever made! 

On Wednesday, one of my all-time favorite parents brought in caterpillars for us (and the other three first grade classes) on HER birthday! 

This never gets old. It is AMAZING watching these creatures transform. 

I also started #geniushour during our enrichment period last week. I let the kids brainstorm ideas for what they were interested in/wanted to learn more about, and then the research was on! This is also something that needs a post all of its own, but here is a shot of one of their presentations this week. This group's passion for Minecraft was infectious!  

This just made me smile this week: 

I'd totally "plik" all of you, too! :) 

And finally, today was the day I got to introduce my class to…

wait for it…

Our school's brand new iPad cart!!! 

{Insert singing angels here}

I'm beyond excited about it, and I'm sure you can imagine the squeals from my very eager kids! 

This cart has to be shared between 18 classrooms, but I'm hoping to be able to use them at least once a week! Send your favorite apps my way! 

Happy three-day weekend!! Give your brain a break! :) 

My Where, My First Week Back, and a Giveaway!

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' to show you my "Where," and tell you about my first week!

And if you make it all the way to the end, you will find a little
*GIVEAWAY from A+ Images*!!

Whew! Is anyone else already throwing your alarm clock across the room in the morning??

"Ain't no tired like back to school teacher tired," is TRUTH, people. 

Add to that a sick husband, a mandated longer school day, AND a full first week WITH kids, and you'll find this teacher-mom wiped. out. 

BUT, we survived the first week, and I want to show you my room and what my brand new STARS and I did! 

This is my library/whole group area. I used to set my rug up in alternating colors because I liked the way that looked better, but this way is soooo much easier for turn & talk.

I can say "the red row turns and faces the yellow row and talks first, and the green row faces the blue row and talks first." No question about who their partner is. I LOVE IT. Student-centered learning is where it's at, folks.

This is the back wall of my classroom (it was overcast and rainy the day I took these, so I apologize for the super crappy lighting/quality). The clothespins hold student work, and of course I want my kids to know they are STARS!

This is the wall opposite the library/whole group wall. All ready for anchor charts and pictures of each week's STAR! Can you tell I'm hoping our "temporary" assistant gets to stay??

This is the view from the back of my room during a GoNoodle brain break.

I posted this photo on my Instagram, and GoNoodle used it in a blog post!! Click here to check it out! Seriously if you're not GoNoodling yet, start ASAP! Your kids will LOVE you for it! I'll be posting more about my GoNoodle obsession soon, but for now, just trust me and get started. You won't regret it!

OK back to the first week…

We practiced writing letters...

This is from my Back to School Zoo Review pack on TPT - I used it as a little first week assessment. 
They just thought it was a maze! :) 

And building words...

And writing numbers (I love the different ways of thinking about writing numbers)…

And practiced counting Marcy Cook style...

We also spent a lot of time getting to know each other, which is always my favorite part of the first week back!

You can find these posters in my Be A Star pack on TPT! I love how they turned out!

And of course I had to wear my new favorite shirt from A+ Images...

Because First Grade Rocks!!

A+ Images also ROCKS because they have agreed to give away a teacher shirt (up to a $20 value) to one of my readers! Check out their site here to shop! :)

These are some of my favorites (all $20 or less as of 8/19/14, and most can be found under "General Teaching")…

We all need this little reminder sometimes :) 

 For all my math friends :)

For any 'stache lovers :)

Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win!! The giveaway closes Saturday night, so don't wait!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To those of you who are back in the swing of things like me, I hope it's going well! 

Good luck to those who are preparing to start! Stock up on your caffeine now! :)