Five for Fraturday ~ January 23

Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching is hosting her weekly linky party Five for Friday. I am fashionably late this week like Kristen at A Teeny Tiny Teacher often is. That makes it okay, right?

I'm totally going out of order here, but I wanted to give Snowmageddon the respect it deserves! I live in Georgia, and any snow is good snow! #happyboys #snowballfight!!

I know the picture doesn't look crisp; that's because I took it through the storm door while drinking coffee in my jammies. #dontjudge #itwassupercold

Hidden Picture: Numbers 1-30 is my latest creation in my TpT store. You may not know this, but just 2 short years ago I completed a decade in kindergarten. The little people have my heart!! Drawing on that experience, I created a packet to go along with a game my kiddos loved to play. I used it as part of my calendar time, but I also used the card pieces to have individuals and small groups practice ordering the numbers 1-30, practice ordering/naming patterns, and can it even be used as your calendar pieces.

I put the cards in my pocket chart. You hide a picture behind one of the numbers, and the kids try to guess where the hidden picture is located. I always made mine say the number and also point to it to make sure they truly recognized the number and not just the name. The first kiddo that found the hidden picture got to be the teacher and hide it again. He/She would then get to call on classmates to guess and we'd play another round.

The hidden pictures are 2.5" x 2.5" while the numbered cards are 3" x 3" so they truly will be hidden!

This game can also be used for accelerating and differentiating. For example, you might give the following clue: I'm thinking of a number with 2 ones and 1 ten. What's my number? You can use it in small groups and only use the numbers 1-10 with your struggling group. You can pass out a number card to kiddos and have them build it with tens and ones using unifix cubes. The options are nearly endless!!

My kiddos loved this game so much that they would ask to play during free choice center time. #kidwin #teacherwin

This packet will be 20% in my TpT Store until sometime Sunday evening.

The Groovy Book Fair has arrived!! I will be busy selling books to happy readers all next week. I'm so thankful it arrived on Friday ahead of the nasty weather. I would have been the least popular teacher in the school if I had to tell children the book fair didn't arrive on time!

I saw this parody on Adele's Hello on FB this week by third grade teacher Mary Morris. It's titled Snow. It sums up how most teachers feel about snow days perfectly! Added bonus....she can actually sing!!

Last but not least...since the weather outside is frightful, I am surfing the web. #imaginethat

I have two nonteachery (pretend that's a word) blogs that I love to stalk! One is all about fashion and the other is more about food with a dash of fashion and family.

Pinterest Told Me To is penned by Sheaffer. It's all things girly: clothes, jewelry, makeup....Sheaffer finds the fabulous sales and links it all up for your shopping pleasure! Love, love, love her site! 

For my favorite foody blog, I go to Mix and Match Mama. She has some fabulous, easy (read no weird ingredients) crock pot recipes that my children will actually eat!

Shay has really yummylicious desserts as well.

I made Slow Cooker Chicken & Noodles earlier this week. My sons (ages 11, 9, and 7) devoured it!! #hugewin 

And I'm telling you, the ingredients were regular, normal people food I already had on hand!! I've linked over so you can check it out. It's not too late to make if for dinner tonight!

Stay warm friends...enjoy some quality weather induced time with your family!

Ready to be Inspired? Teachers Pay Teachers Sale!

The New Year brings resolutions- both personal and professional. Teachers Pay Teachers is hosting a fabulous sale to help you reach your professional goal of engaging students in meaningful learning!

The DIY Farm Wife is hosting a linky on her blog. Teachers have linked up some of their favorite units; it's a one stop shop of fabulosity!  Head on over to see what teacher authors are loving these days.

The sale will be running Jan. 20th and 21st.  I'm heading over to fill up my cart for easy checkout tomorrow! I'd love for you to check out my store HERE.

Take a Closer Look ~ January Edition

I am linking up with Latoya from Flying Into First Grade and Jessica from Elementary Nest for their Take a Closer Look Linky.

I am taking a closer look at my 100th Day Celebration unit.

This unit is perfect for doing a grade level celebration in the cafeteria or a commons area. It has directions for the volunteers to run the stations with examples of what the finished product should look like. That frees the teachers up to supervise and troubleshoot any problem areas. 

The packet includes all of the direction sheets, checklists for materials needed for all of the centers (purchased and items found in your classroom), and hints on how to organize it all so it runs smoothly.

You will also get materials for a class book with a color or black and white cover, a memory page, a template for a 100th day crown, and so much more! This unit actually lays it all out there; all you have to do is follow the steps to success!

You can click HERE to see the freebie unit.

This is the color cover for the class book. My students L.O.V.E to read books written by their friends!!

This is the individual student memory page. The student can draw his favorite activity in the picture frame, or you can take a photo and cut it to fit. Either way, it's a cute keepsake from the day!

100th Day Self Portraits are too cute for words! The student gets lots of practice with fine motor skills if you let them help you rip the paper into smaller pieces prior to the 100th day. Remember to have them wrinkle up the paper for the face before it's glued down; it makes for nice wrinkles!

Below is one of the checklists to help keep you on track for the big day. 

You can check out my whole unit HERE.  

It will be 20% off for the next 2 days!!

Don't forget to check out Latoya and Jessica's blogs to see what other bloggers have on sale!

100th Day Celebration- Freebie, too!

This unit is packed full of fun, meaningful activities incorporating the number 100! It includes:

-100 Year Old Self Portrait- patterns, directions, and samples

-Hershey Kisses 100's Chart Matching

-100 Piece Puzzles

-Move It, Move It...100 times!

-Mystery Pictures

-100 Piece Snack

-100's Day Crown- pattern

-Name Patterns- grid, directions, and example

-100 Stack

-100 Seconds Freeze Dance

-Class Book- color cover and black and white cover

-Individual Memory Page

-Letter to Parents for Dress Up Directions

Volunteer direction cards are included, patterns for the art activities, and many examples of the various activities.

Click HERE to check it out in my TpT shop. There is also a small freebie sample pack in my store.

Flash Freebie! January 14

Happy Little Kindergarten is hosting her weekly 

Flash Freebie blog hop!

The beauty of this blog hop is that for 24 hours you can get some excellent resources for free- as in zero dinero, no Benjamins required!! All of the bloggers are offering items that you typically must purchase. In exchange for free, I'd really love it if you'd leave some feedback on the product so that other customers can see what you liked about the unit.

For the next 24 hours (or until I make it back to my computer sans children), I am offering my 102 at the Zoo: Celebrating the 102nd Day of Second Grade unit for free. This unit could actually be done by 3rd grade with no problem as just a zoo animal themed learning day!

Please check out my unit and then head on over to Happy Little Kindergarten to see what else you can get for nada thing! :)

Markdown Monday: January 11

Markdown Monday linky party is up and running over at Kelly and Kim's Kindergarten Kreations! For the next 24 hours my Martin Luther King, Jr. pack will be on sale....

50% off!!

Click the link above to head over to Kelly and Kim's blog for the links to all of the other fabulous products on sale!

Are you searching for a fun way to teach American Heroes, Martin Luther King, Jr., or expanding your Black History unit? Do your students need to strengthen their fine motor skills? Does your school system require you to teach character traits to students?

This lapbook is a fun, interactive way for students to learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. It covers Georgia standard SS2H1, but the unit can be used to teach many other standards as mentioned. It includes the following components:

*Directions and pictures for assembling the lapbook
*Helpful Hints
*Cover page
*2 Timelines - a primary and an intermediate version- your choice
*Character Traits Booklet: honesty, compassion, and civility
*Vocabulary Pocket
*12 Programmed Vocabulary Cards
*Editable Vocabulary Cards- create cards of your choosing
*Interesting Facts 
*My Life Compared to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Life
This lapbook can be used with a variety of reading passages, books, or websites.

Click HERE to go to my TpT store. Remember, the 50% off is good for the next 24 hours (give or take a few hours)!  ;)

Ten on Ten

Rachael over at The Classroom Game Nook is hosting a fun linky!

The point of the linky is to share ten pictures on the tenth of the month showing things that have been happening in your world. Here we go!

We started a tradition where we buy the boys a meaningful ornament each year so they'll have something for their first tree when they move out. I love the stories behind the ornaments and of course the ones they've made at school go on the tree.

Fortunately, we got to spend Christmas with my husband's family (and they traveled to us this year!!!). The boys had a blast with their aunt and uncle. #familyfun

Speaking of Christmas and decorations, this was our tree in the library this year. The media specialist before me didn't do much in the way of decorating, so the kiddos were thrilled! I got lots of compliments from my students (and parents and staff). #gome #andthevolunteerthatbuiltit

I spent a lot of time over the holidays watching football. My Clemson Tigers are playing in the National Championship tomorrow.

GO TIGERS!!!

"Cookies in the Castle" took place the last week before our break. Essentially, students got a little cookie snack and time to read for pleasure. #happyreaders #happylibrarian

I finally completed this unit! I started it the end of last spring, but life happened. #movedfromclassroomtolibrary

You can find it HERE.

My 100th Day Celebration pack is complete!! I am just waiting for it to come back with the green light from my proofreader and then it will be added to my shop. #justinthenickoftime

Check my shop for this one. It will be on sale 20% off when I add it. There will also be a small freebie pack of samples. :) 

My favorite Christmas present this year!!  #lovethestructure  #compartmentsgalore

Two of my littles have December birthdays. We celebrated at Urban Jungle with laser tag and other games. We brought the cake and they provided the pizza, drinks, and paper products. The boys had a blast, and I had nothing to do but watch them have fun. It was well worth the money in my book! #nostressparty

I have a fantastic principal!! She let me go and meet with a more experience media specialist in my county for some mentoring. I snapped some pictures of her floor plan because we need to tweak ours a bit to make more effective use of our space.

That's my Ten on Ten! Head on over to The Classroom Game Nook to see everyone else's month in pictures!

Five for Fraturday: January 9

Kacey over at Doodle Bugs Teaching is hosting her weekly linky party. It is always super fun to see what everyone has been up to in their classrooms and in their personal lives! Here is my week in a 5 snapshots.

My Alma Mater is in the College National Championship game!!! Be still my racing heart! Do not call me on Monday evening as I will be busy cheering, yelling, moaning, jumping up and down, etc. as if I am actually in Arizona watching the game from a front row seat! (Or possibly an extra coach / referee that they had no idea they needed!)

I L.O.V.E. that our Coach Dabo Swinney gives the glory to God as does our quarterback Deshaun Watson. This team just has my heart! I want them to win soooooo badly!!

GO TIGERS!!!

I took my 3 boys to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens over the holidays. Oh.my.goodness.  They were enthralled! It was the best $30 dollars I spent the entire break. No bickering, no arguing, no rolling around on the floor like wrestlers....#enthralledboys #happymomma

I am working on my next unit. If I don't get extremely busy this weekend, this celebration will come and go before I get this uploaded to my TpT store. It's time to brew some more coffee and find my motivation (which is hard to do since it is raining.....again. ~sigh~ I could never live in the Pacific Northwest.

I spent every spare moment this week continuing to clean out nooks and crannies in the media center. Our building is getting renovated this summer which will include new carpet, ceiling tiles, updated light fixtures, and paint. Since this is my first year as a media specialist, I was a little reserved in the cleaning out this summer since I wasn't sure what I would actually need. Well, if I haven't used in yet this year, I've started purging. The custodial staff either loves me or dreads the sight of me!! #ibribewithdonuts #noworries

Marting Luther King, Jr. day will be here before we know it! I have a fantastic lapbook in my TpT shop that covers the main events surrounding his life, positive character traits that he embodied, a timeline, relevant vocabulary, and an opportunity for students to compare themselves to MLK. You can check it out HERE.

One of my favorite activities to help students understand that people have the same needs and many of the same wants involves using eggs. I bring in 2 eggs- one white and one brown on the outside. We discuss how the eggs look the same and different on the outside (with the obvious difference being the color). We then crack the eggs and compare them. Of course the inside looks essentially the same. We then apply that same principal to people. This works really well in the younger grades where this concept can be somewhat abstract. The students would then record their observations and conclusions.

Have a fabulous weekend!