Five for Friday

It's FRIDAY and I had today off.  This gal is officially on Spring Break.  I made it!  I was in need of some time away from my school.  I love my job.  I love my students.  I love my coworkers.  But, some issues that have popped up in the last few weeks have been very stressful.  I am thankful for a week off. 

I'm linking up with Kacey from Doodle Bugs to share 5 random things about my week.  I just love this linky. :-)

Number 1: 2 weeks worth of problems at work=retail therapy.  I spent WAY too much money, but I was in need of a new wardrobe.  Here's a few pictures from my outing today.  

2 HUGE Belk's bag...yeah I bought that much stuff.

I bought several items from the "Jessica Simpson" clothing line.  I didn't even know that she had become a fashion designer.  I LOVED this shirt. 

What's retail therapy without shoes??

Number 2: A LOT of my bloggy friends are throwing a Spring Cleaning sale.  I'll be cleaning out my wishlist this weekend.  Thanks to the ADORABLE Krista Wallden, Creative Clips, for the super cute graphic.  

Number 3: I saw this floating around on Pinterest.  Yep, I agree whole-heartedly.

Number 4: Sunday at 6:00 in the morning I will be heading to the beach.  Oh, I cannot wait.  We are leaving at six in hopes that my Brayden will go back to sleep and sleep at least half of the way down.  He's never been in a car longer than an hour at a time.  This is his first vacation, too!  So, so, stinkin' excited. My only worry is the car ride to and from the beach. We'll see what happens...

Number 5: I blogged about my fear of getting into a bathing suit.  Well, I bought one.  It's super duper cute, but I still don't have my body back to the way I want it to be.  After Spring Break, I plan on starting Insanity.  Anyone tried this?  I've gotta get my booty in gear.  

Happy Friday!

Lots of love,

Five for Friday

Oh, Friday how I love you.  Another stressful week for me.  Spring Break is right around the corner (4 more school days) and the kiddos and their teacher are needing break.  

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs again to share 5 things about my week.

Number 1: Yesterday I posted 2 truths and 1 lie.  Well, I still have a baby tooth.  I'm probably the only adult in the world with a baby tooth.  So, that was the truth.  I have actually never ever left the South.  One day I would love to travel.  Hopefully, I'll get that opportunity.  My lie was that I love cheese.  I cannot stand cheese.  The only way I'll eat it is if it's on a pepperoni pizza.  The cheese has to mozzarella.  Cheddar cheese is the worst.  Yuck, yuck, yuck!

Number 2:  I've made a new packet that I can't wait to share.  My kiddos cut pictures out of a National Geographic magazine and made their own non-fiction booklets.  They turned out super cute.  Here's a few of my kiddos in action.

Number 3:  We worked on life cycles this week.  We made all sorts of fun crafts to help learn all about reptiles, mammals, amphibians, insects, and birds.  Well, we took a test today and they did FANTASTIC.  Happy, happy teacher here.

Number 4: I posted this week about my kiddos reviewing double and triple digit addition with a game I created with QR codes.  Check out my free packet if you're interested.  I'll have to create another packet with QR codes.  My kiddos loved it and asked it they could play every day.  

Number 5: My Brayden has a chair of his own.  Check out my big boy.  Typical boy already...lounging back while watching TV.  

I hope y'all had a wonderful week.  It's the weekend...smile!!!!

Lots of love,

Let's Get Acquainted: 2 Truths and 1 Lie

Hello, dear friends!

There's a super cute linky going on from Flying Into First Grade that I hate I didn't get to participate in last week.  I just knew that I had to do it this week.

Has anyone ever played the 2 truths and 1 lie game.  I played it with my students when I taught 5th grade and they loved it.  Then, when I moved down to 2nd grade I tried it again.  My little munchkins didn't quite understand the concept.

So...here are 2 truths and 1 lie about me.  Leave me a comment on which one you think is a lie.

1.  My top teeth are crooked.  More like vampire's teeth, actually.  I have been to the orthodontist throughout my life and they were waiting for my last baby tooth to fall out.  Well, to this day I still have a baby tooth.

2.  I've never left the Southern part of the United States.  I've went as far as West Virginia and Florida, but have never ventured out of the South.

3.  I love cheese.  Isn't everything better with cheese?  My favorite side dish is macaroni and cheese.  Yummy! 

So, which one is a lie?  Hmmmm......

Leave me a comment.  I'll blog about it tomorrow.  

Go link up so I can get acquainted with y'all! :-)

Lots of love,

Life Cycle Fun

Hello, friends!

My smarties have been learning all about life cycles this week.  They LOVE learning about animals and there are so many crafts to make.  I love teaching all about animals.  So much fun!

First, if you haven't purchased Amy Lemons Frog and Butterfly Unit you need to check it out.  It's super cute!  Check out our pictures!

We made the butterfly life cycle using macaroni noodles and rice.  

Ribbitt!  We made frog hats with the life cycle wrapped around a sentence strip.

Click the picture below to check out Amy's adorable packet to find the crafts for the butterfly and frog life cycles.

Next, I couldn't find any crafts already made for the life cycle of reptiles, mammals, and birds.  So, I had to create my own.  Here's what we came up with.

Cock-a-doodle-do!  Check out some of my chickens!

Sea turtles are one of my favorite animals.  I LOVED the adorable sea turtles in the movie Finding Nemo.  I just knew that for a reptile life cycle, sea turtles would have to be made. Our sea turtles came out ADORABLE. 

The lovely Beth of Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs is making me some clip art of reptile and mammal life cycles.  I'll be sharing my bird and reptile crafts with all of you as soon as she posts her new set.  I can't wait.  Since I was already teaching these units, I had to have my kiddos draw the life cycles instead of  printing out the pictures.  They came out great without them, and my smarties learned so much!

We are making a squirrel hat tomorrow.  I saved mammals for last because we already know so much about them.  My kiddos are so excited.  

Aren't life cycles so much fun to teach???

I hope everyone had a wonderful day.

Lots of love,

Why, Yes, I'm Still Here!

Hello, long lost friends!

I feel like it's been FOREVER since I've blogged.  I've taken lots of pictures to share with y'all and haven't had time to sit and write a post.  Where oh where is my Spring Break??? I'm in desperate need of a break and I can hear the beach calling my name.

Anyway...my kiddos love using QR codes in the classroom.  If you have an iPad, then you need to definitely let your kids play.  They'll LOVE it.  Trust me!  I made a packet to review double and triple digit addition and posted it on TpT for FREE for all of you to try.  Of course it's got a cute Easter theme.  I used the super talented graphics from Creative Clips that she made for free.  I returned the favor and made a free packet with them. 

To use the packet, you will need a device that can read QR codes.  On my iPhone, I use Red Laser.  The iPad has a QR app for the iPad.  Just type in QR reader and up will pop lots of good apps to use.  

So, friends, click on the picture below if you would like to use it.  

I'll be back tomorrow to share some fun crafts we have made to learn life cycles.  They turned out super duper cute!





Here's a few of my kiddos in action!

Lots of love,

St. Patrick's Day Fun

Hello, friends!

Today, I am linking up with 11 FANTASTIC bloggers to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and blogging. 

Be sure to check out all of these fabulous bloggers.  They are such a talented group of teachers.  :-)

• Sweet Tea Classroom
• Simply Skilled in Second
• Teach 123
• My (Not So) Elementary Life
• Journey of a Substitute Teacher
• Peace, Love, and First Grade
• My Life as a Third Grade Teacher
• Flying Into First
• Fabulously First
• 2nd Grade Surprise
• Fluttering Through First Grade
• Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas

Each of us are sharing our favorite St. Patrick's Day unit.  I chose my St. Patrick's Day Roll and Graph.  My students LOVE rolling their tissue box around while graphing.  It makes graphing and learning so much fun.  I can't wait to use this in my classroom next week. 

Need some more St. Patrick's Day activities?  Check out these links below.  There are so many great packets to choose from. LOVE it!

Click on the links below to take a look at all of the other St. Patrick's Day goodies from these fantastic bloggers.  I'm going shopping! :-)

Lots of love,

Five for Friday

I want to yell "THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY" from the top of my lungs.  It has been quite a week.  

I'm linking up with the lovely Kacey from Doodle Bugs for her weekly Five for Friday linky.  LOVE doing this every week. :-)

Number 1: Suspension...Biting...Stressed Out Teacher
Well, one of my smarties got suspended yesterday.  He broke down with the school resource teacher and then decided to try to leave the building.  But, to top it all off he tried to bite our principal.  So needless to say, he won't be in my classroom all all next week.  When I said it's been a rough week, I meant it!  WOW!

Number 2: Geometry has been so much fun in my room.  I have a new packet in the works that I can't wait to share with everyone.  We started our Geometry unit on Tuesday with a pre-test.  This week we have been working on shape classifications.  Here's a couple of pictures of the fun game we played.  It's similar to the game HeadBandz.  I printed off shapes and glued them to index cards.  The students used a rubber band to let the index card stick to their heads.  Then, they had to ask their groups questions and figured our which shape they had on their had.  So much fun!  They LOVED it. 

Number 3: What's a geo-board?  This has been my third year teaching 2nd grade and I have never got out the geo-boards.  Last year I was on maternity leave during this unit, but I don't know why I haven't go them out before.  My kiddos loved them.  Here's one working in action. 

Number 4: We had a blast reading mysteries this week.  One story, my smarties just didn't know what to think of. We read The Mysteries of Harris Burdick this week.  My kiddos didn't like the story at all.  They thought it was weird and creepy.  One little smartie asked me to not read that story again.  The introduction page tells about this man named Harris Burdick.  He takes some pictures to a publishing copy and they loved them and told him to bring the stories that go along with the pictures.  He never returned and no one could ever find him.  Students attention level: engaged with mouths wide open.  

Number 5: If warm weather doesn't get here fast, I'm gonna lose my mind.  That's all.  I'm tired of the cold.

Lots of love,

My First Attempt At Visual Plans

I'm attempting something for the very first time.  After seeing so many fantastic bloggers share their weekly plans, I thought that was a great idea.  What better way than to see how we are using resources inside our classroom. So, I'm linking up with the fantastic Deedee, the original Visual Plans creator. 

I usually do my lesson plans in Microsoft WORD and was having the hardest time transferring my file to PowerPoint.  Next week, I hope everything goes a little smoother.  My lesson plans are 7 pages long.  Click the picture below to see my visual plans.

I LOVE the way that Greg from Kindergarten Smorgasboard breaks down each day for his followers.  I am a day by day kinda gal! :-)

Monday

We have a Plan for Success day from 8:15-11:30.  That means that I get to plan with  my team and talk about what we want to do for the rest of the year while our students are going through stations around the school.  I am really excited about this.

Reading-I am so excited that we are doing a week of mysteries.  Love, love, love.  My students are always so engaged.  

Shared Reading-Excerpt from Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery

Interactive Read Aloud: Grandpa's Teeth  

I am so excited to read this one! Grandpa's teeth are stolen from his bedside so we makes everyone smile to find them.  Super Cute!

Literacy Centers and Guided Reading-None due to Planning for Success Day

Math-Due to our Planning for Success Day I won't be having math today

Writing-We've been writing Non-Fiction Books and we will be editing them all week. Their books are looking so cute. Today's focus in on using a dictionary.

Social Studies-My students will be learning about the contributions of Native Americans.  My teammate has made a flipchart for us to use so I can't share it with you.  Sorry, friends!

WORD-This week we are learning the -eigh sound.  We will be drawing -eigh pictures today.  My smarties love to draw!

Show and Tell wraps up our day!  

Tuesday

Reading-Continuing Mysteries

Shared Reading-Excerpt from Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery

Interactive Read Aloud: Miss Nelson is Missing

We've all read this story.  Miss Nelson is messing and the kids are faced with a substitute.  I LOVE this story and I know my smarties will, too!

Math-We are starting our Geometry Unit.  Day 1 is always a pre-test. Every unit I give my students a pre-test so I know what they know about the topic.  My students love to see what's going to be on their next test. Boring day in math today!

Writing-We've been writing Non-Fiction Books and we will be editing them all week. Their books are looking so cute. Today's focus in partner editing.

Social Studies-My students will be learning about the contributions of African Americans.  My students will be watching a video on Duke Ellington.  

WORD-Computer Lab on Tuesday's so no work

Show and Tell wraps up our day!  

Wednesday

Reading-Continuing Mysteries

Shared Reading-Excerpt from Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery

Interactive Read Aloud: The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

This is such a neat book. There are 14 black and white pictures with hardly any words.  Students have to make up their own stories.  Such a neat idea!

Math-We are using geo-boards today and playing around with making shapes today.  I have 5 math centers.  

Center 1-ME.  I see every group EVERY DAY.  This way I know exactly what they know and how they're doing

Center 2-Students will be drawing shapes at their seats

Center 3-I'm using Christina Bainbridge's Guess My Shape in our game center this week.

Centers 4 and 5 are skill review centers.  This week I am reviewing money and graphing with both of my Gangnam Style packets.

Writing-We've been writing Non-Fiction Books and we will be editing them all week. Their books are looking so cute. Today's focus in partner editing.

Social Studies-For the next few days we are learning about how immigrants have contributed to out culture.  We are using A LOT of Compass videos. 

WORD-We are playing hangman today.  They LOVE this game.

Show and Tell wraps up our day!  

Thursday

Reading-Continuing Mysteries

Shared Reading-Excerpt from Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery

Interactive Read Aloud: Where's the Big Bad Wolf

The Big Bad Wolf goes missing and the detectives have to use clues to find him.  Adorable!  I know my kiddos will enjoy this story.

Math- Quadrilaterals here we come!

Center 1-ME.  I see every group EVERY DAY.  This way I know exactly what they know and how they're doing

Center 2-Students will be drawing Quadrilateral People

Center 3-I'm using Christina Bainbridge's Guess My Shape in our game center this week.

Centers 4 and 5 are skill review centers.  This week I am reviewing money and graphing with both of my Gangnam Style packets.

Writing-We've been writing Non-Fiction Books and we will be editing them all week. Their books are looking so cute. Today's focus is on strengthening our writing.

Social Studies-For the next few days we are learning about how immigrants have contributed to out culture.  We are using A LOT of Compass videos. 

WORD-SPARKLE! We play is every Thursday.  My students beg me to play this.  They can't wait till Thursdays!

Show and Tell wraps up our day!  

                                         Friday

Reading-Continuing Mysteries

Shared Reading-Excerpt from Cam Jansen and the Secret Service Mystery

Interactive Read Aloud: Tuesday

This is another story with little words.  My students will have to figure out what happened on Tuesday using the illustrations and times given by the author. This book is adorable, too!

Math- Classifying Shapes?  Easey Peasy!  We'll start off by reading The Greedy Triangle.  

Center 1-ME.  I see every group EVERY DAY.  This way I know exactly what they know and how they're doing

Center 2-Students will be creating a shape booklet with their attributes. 

Center 3-I'm using Christina Bainbridge's Guess My Shape in our game center this week.

Centers 4 and 5 are skill review centers.  This week I am reviewing money and graphing with both of my Gangnam Style packets.

Writing-We've been writing Non-Fiction Books and we will be editing them all week. Their books are looking so cute. Today's focus is on strengthening our writing.

Social Studies-For the next few days we are learning about how immigrants have contributed to out culture.  We are using A LOT of Compass videos. 

WORD-SPARKLE! We play is every Thursday.  My students beg me to play this.  They can't wait till Thursdays!

Show and Tell wraps up our day!

Literacy Centers

I'm doing these separately because they are split up by days.  Since we have our Plan for Success day I will be having centers on Tuesday-Friday.  

Here's the plan for Tuesday and Wednesday:

Reading Center-we will be working on my new packet.  Students will be reading inference stories and figuring out who the missing hat belongs to.

Writing Center-My kiddos will be creating their own mysteries using this adorable packet from The Teaching Reef.

WORD Center-I'm bringing the Play-dough out.  Yep, they love it!

Theme Center-They will be drawing pictures of cultural contributions.

Computer Center-RAZ Kids-check out their website if you haven't heard of them.  Students read books on their independent level and earn points by taking quizzes.  This is a favorite for my kids!

Here's the plan for Thursday and Friday

Reading Center-we will be continuing to work on inferences.  I'm using a packet from Fourth and Ten that is super cute.  Students will make inferences to figure out whose shoe is whose?

Writing Center-Still Writing Mysteries

WORD Center- Students will be spelling their words using the word tiles I have.  

Theme Center-They will be drawing pictures of cultural contributions.

Computer Center-RAZ Kids

So...that's my week!  I hope you get some ideas from it!

Have a great week friends,