Saturday, September 29, 2012

We Had So much Dog-Gone Fun!

Hi Y'all!
Well the title says it all!  My grade 1's needed to work on numbers 11 -20, make tens frames, and tallies and I decided to finally use my Clifford graphics from MelonHeadz.  They had a blast counting dog food, and recording numbers that I had Modge Podged to dog cookies!  They thought this was the bomb!

The absolute fav. activity was when the kids got to scoop dog food into their dog bowl ~ count it, show it in tens frames, and then in tallies! This center was DEFINITELY the WINNER!

This unit was so much fun!  I was really happy with how it turned out!  I just uploaded the unit to my TpT store so if you are interested in it then you can click HERE and grab a copy.  Here's the preview of everything that is included.




I hope you are having a super, terrific Friday night!

Bye for now,
Natalie



Saturday, September 22, 2012

I'm Having A Sale!

Happy fall friends!
I am happy to announce that in celebration of this colourful season I have put everything in my TpT store on sale for 20% off!  The sale will run all day Saturday and Sunday.  I hope you find something you like:)



Bye for now,
Natalie

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Two New Math Units With One Groovy Cat!

Howdy!
I know you aren't going to believe this but I only discovered Pete the Cat this summer!  Where have I been? Well I am in love with this groovy cat and so are all my kids!  They just can't get enough of him and they love to read the books during read to self!  I am teaching a split 1/2 class this year so I wanted there to be some continuity in theme for our first round of math centers.  Pete (and Nikki from MelonHeadz) came to the rescue!  I just uploaded 2 new math units to TpT.  The first one is called  "Learning Number Words With One Groovy Cat" and this pack covers number words to ten.   My little firsties are doing an awesome job working independently!  I am sooooo super proud of them!





The second unit is called "I Love My Number Words" (sound familiar?....Goodness, Yes!) and it covers number words to twenty.



The activities are similar in the two units and they run for 2 weeks.  My class has loved these centers and are doing a super terrific job of mastering number words!  

They are such a sweet group of kids!  I sure am lucky to have them this year:)

I hope you're all having a terrific week!

Bye for now,
Natalie

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Anti-Bullying Booklet

It's hump day!  I just wanted to let you know that I have added a student booklet that goes with the anchor chart I posted yesterday.  I liked the idea of having something for the students to take home.  It is my hope that this will make the anchor chart more meaningful to the kids.  If you've already downloaded the anchor chart from TpT then just go back and redownload it and you will get the booklet.



I started Daily 5 this week and I am bursting at the seams with pride for my little kiddos!
I am getting some freebies together to share with you so I will be back soon to share:)

Thanks for stopping by!

Bye for now,
Natalie

Monday, September 10, 2012

Anti-Bullying Anchor Chart Freebie!

Happy Monday Everyone!
This is just going to be a 2 second post.  I wanted to let you know that I just made an anti-bullying anchor chart called "How I Will Stop Bullying" that I uploaded to TpT for free!  I made it to match my "How To Be A Great Student" anchor chart {also available for free HERE} and of course the graphics are from the uber talented Nikki {who I love!} over at MelonHeadz!  So if you are interested then pop on over to TpT and grab yourself a copy!

  


And for anyone out there that watched Bachelor Pad tonight ~ Nick is evil!  I can't believe that he took all the money!!  I think I will need to read over my anchor chart so I don't want to knock his block off!!  Honestly!
Bye for now,
Natalie

Friday, September 7, 2012

Awesome First Week!

I had a fabulous first week back!  Although I have no idea how you all seem to have the energy to teach all day and then blog every night!  Now I only started my blog in July so this is the first school year I will blog about:)  I realize I have a lot to learn....I kept forgetting to take any pictures of the kids actually doing any of the activities!  Before I go any further I must tell you I love all 19 of my little chicklets!   Last year I taught a 2/3 split with 16 boys and only 6 girls!   Yikes!  It was quite the year to put it mildly.  I had a type 1 diabetic who needed constant monitoring, 5 kids with horrible home situations, a little girl whose mother walked out on her family, 2 very behaviour kids and boy they didn't stop!  This year I have a 1/2 split and they are adorable!  I spent a  lot of time getting the classroom ready and it made my heart smile to see them delight in our room!  The reading nook is a HUGE hit and I am so glad I got rid of my desk!

As much as I like to establish routines the first week I really like to get the walls covered with their work.  We have our open house the 3rd week so I like the room to have their "foot print."  I bought an amazing pack from D Conway called "Back to School Emergent Readers and Craftivity Bundle."  I love it!  She has created 4 emergent readers that cover back to school rules and routines and each has an adorable follow-up craftivity!  My absolute favourite was "Marshmallow Toes" which addresses how you should walk quietly in the hallway.
Who could resist gluing mini marshmallows on your toes!!

We also made "Bucket Filler Cuties" by First Grade Fever.  This was a terrific activity for the first day!

My kiddos LOVED the first day of school frame that I made this summer and I used their pictures to make a  display on our door.   I soooo wish I could let you see their precious little faces - some of them just sparkled!
Okay so I will try and remember to take more pictures and I promise to share some actual work next week. I have been working on some Daily 5 things so check back soon to get your freebies!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Bye for now,
Natalie

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Classroom Reveal ~ Finally!

Okay I think we've got it all wrong!!  Why is it we get rested and relaxed over the summer only to spend four frantic, crazy days {or more!} trying to get our room ready?  I am exhausted and I don't have kids yet!
I need a month to recover!  I have decided that when the kids arrive on Tuesday they are not allow to touch ANYTHING!  That's right ~ they can sit and admire all my hard work!  Will 6 and 7 year olds appreciate how clean and crisp everything looks?  Will they appreciate all my efforts to make sure everything is perfectly colour coordinated?  They better!!!!!  As much as I am delighted with how bright and cheerful my classroom feels it will not be complete until it is decorated with the beautiful artwork that only children can create!  In my pictures you will see several blank walls ~ but not for long!  I will spend the first 4 days having the kids making and creating things to put on display.  Of course I have tried to leave room for those oh so important anchor charts.  My school could certainly use a make-over.  There hasn't been much money put into classroom furniture and everything is a bit drab.  Enough is enough!  We spend the next 10 months in this room and I wanted it to feel like we were learning on a rainbow.  I am also a big believer in the idea that you can't expect the kids to give you the best quality they are capable of while the room is a mess.  I am implementing the Daily 5 this year and so it was the perfect time to make some big changes.  I finally took the plunge and got rid of my teacher desk!  Yikes!  I didn't think it would be a big deal but I was wrong.  Not because it held valuable resources but because I had so much crap!   Sorry but it's the truth!  So here goes....drum roll please!  Okay the first 2 pictures are the before shots - don't be jealous!
And this lovely piece is an old kitchen cupboards - nice storage eh?

Now the fun part ~ I just know you are shaking with anticipation!!

All the turquoise paper you see is covering all the blackboards.  I hate dislike chalk so bye bye boards:)
I forgot to take a picture of the chair book pouches but you can see them if you look closely.
 My reading nook is now where my desk was ~ a much better use of space I think!
 I have used pink ribbon to hang the word on my word wall.  All the words are attached to the ribbon with velcro tabs.


 So I can make crafty things for my room but do you think I could get these tissue paper balls to work!
 To the right of this picture you can see 3 turquoise frames {from Ikea}.  I covered the plexi-glass with adhesive dry erase paper and I am going to write on them what we are learning and why.



 Look at the cupboard now!   I love it!  Isn't it amazing what a couple of coats of paint can make!
 The clipboards on the wall above the cupboard is where I display the kids writing.
I display the success criteria with the piece of writing.  I will post more pictures once this wall is being used.

If you stuck with me all the way to the end ~ thank you!

I am off now to try and get my head around my first Daily 5 lessons.  After 19 years there is always something new:)

Bye for now,
Natalie