I'm Back With 4 New Christmas Literacy Units!!

I have said this before but I'll say it again...how on earth do you all find time to teach, create units, and blog? I just simply do not have enough time in a day or in the month based on the fact that I have not blogged since October!!  Well that is certainly no way to get new followers!   I have been crazy busy and in the past 2 weeks I have made 4 new Christmas units!  I worked like a mad woman because I desperately needed to get ahead of the game!  I got a new student and wow what a difference one child can make!  We are slowly getting back into routines and the new little guy is settling in {sigh of relief!}.  If you are still looking for some ideas leading into Christmas come and take a peek....

I just loaded this first unit on TpT so it will be on sale for half price until Tuesday, December 4 at midnight my time:)
You Are A Mean One {10 Literacy Activities About The Mean Green Guy}
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/You-Are-A-Mean-One-10-Literacy-Centers-About-The-Mean-Green-Guy

Mooseltoe {Math and Literacy Activities Plus Craftivity}
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mooseltoe-Math-and-Literacy-Activities-plus-Craftivity

Pete The Cat Saves Christmas {10 Literacy Activities Plus Craftivity}
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pete-The-Cat-Saves-Christmas-10-Literacy-Activities

Tis The Season For Writing {Someone, Wanted, But, So, Finally}
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Tis-The-Season-For-Writing-Someone-Wanted-But-So-Finally

I am going to try and blog more regularly....thanks for stopping by!

Bye for now,
Natalie

Get My Bat Unit for Half Price ~ 3 Days Only!!!

I know there are tons of talented teachers out there that have made bat units but I just love these furry guys and I really wanted to put my own twist on things!

This product will be on sale for half price for the first three days it is posted so you better grab it now! The sale will end Friday, October 19 at midnight my time!

I have included:
*a 7 page nonfiction book and a corresponding student booklet for your students to record information
*4 bat poems {Bats Are Neat, Bats, Five Batty Bats, Little Bat} with a coloured version and a black and white version ~ all the poems have follow-up activities to extend their learning ~ tons of graphics to support all levels of readers
*student booklet for your children to make that corresponds with the book "Hello, Bumblebee Bat"    by Darrin Lunde
*all the pages you need to make a cute Stellaluna lapbook that covers; comparing bats and birds, author's message, problem and solution, and facts from the book {photos included so you can clearly see how I put it together}
*coloured pages with the answers so you can make a lapbook example for your students to see or you can show it on the Smartboard
*Someone, Wanted, So, But, Finally ~ Stellaluna writing activity

This is a super easy unit to implement! All you need to do is photocopy and gather bat books ~ presto you have a unit ready to go - love

Here's a peek!

My favourite part in this unit is the Stellaluna lapbook!  It is a super cute {but simple} way to showcase your students' work.  Here are some photos of the finished product - this is the teacher example - obviously the kids would write and colour their own.

Front Cover

Inside

Back Cover {oops it's sideways!}

So, like I said, you can grab it over at my TpT store for half price until Friday at midnight:)

I hope you're having a great week and thanks for stopping by!

Bye for now,
Natalie

Monster Madness With 2D Shapes!!

Hi Folks!
I desperately wanted to make my 2D shape unit Hallowe'en themed but I have learned from experience that this isn't the best idea because it only works if you are doing 2D shapes in October.  So the compromise was ...monsters!  Monsters are good at any old time of year!  I decided to make this unit a bit easier on the printer pocketbook:)   The only thing that needs to be printed in colour is the posters ~ everything else is blackline masters.   Yipee!!  No prep ~ just print and photocopy!  I have included super cute shape posters {with poems} for the circle, square, triangle, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, and octagon. The monsters graphics are done by Krista Wallden and they are fabulous!  The unit is packed full of 2 weeks of 2D geometry activities that will have your little monsters 2D pros by the end!  Here's a peek...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Monster-Madness-With-2D-Shapes

Thanks for stopping by:)

Bye for now,

Natalie

Happy Thanksgiving, 2 New Products, a Freebie, and a Flash Sale!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian buddies!
Thanksgiving is not the big holiday that it seems to be in the US but I thought I would get into the festive spirit and throw a flash sale:)  Everything in my TpT store will be 20% off today and tomorrow.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Natalies-Nook

In honour of our buddy the turkey we did a quick little writing activity and craftivity to go with it.  We read the book, "Run, Turkey, Run!" and then talked about Thanksgiving from the Turkey's point of view ~ poor fellow!  I had the kids write 6 good reasons why we should "spare" the turkey and eat something else and then they wrote about what they thought we should eat instead.  It's funny that McDonald's came up a lot...lol!  You can pick this mini pack up if you're interested.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Run-Turkey-Run-Writing-Activity-and-Craftivity

I am super excited about the other new product I posted last night!  It's called "Sight Words Hide and Seek {Dolch Primer Words}".  I made 11 pages with 21 sight words hidden in each picture.  I gave my kiddos magnifying glasses and they went to town!  They went crazy LOVED this activity!  Boy they were engaged!  It was well worth the price of the magnifying glasses ~ thank you dollar store!  Each of the 52 Dolch Primer words are used at least 5 times in the pack.  I had my kids highlight the word when they found it and then print it in the space at the bottom of the page.  This way they were finding all the words and no words were duplicated.  Then they coloured the picture when they were done.   The graphics are from MelonHeadz {who just opened a TpT store!} and Krista Wallden LOVE!   Here's a peek....

Now since you were so good and actually stuck with me to the very end ~ your freebie!

Grab a copy of the scarecrow page from my sight word pack HERE!

Have a great Sunday!

Bye for now,

Natalie

If I Were A Place Value Superhero!

It wasn't my intention to use my blog as simply a way of advertising my products on TpT but having a split class means that right now I am constantly creating curriculum.  I want to blog in between and just let you know what I'm up to but there aren't enough hours in a day:)
My grade 2s have been working on place value for the past 2 weeks.  They have all successfully become "Place Value Superheros!"  The first week the kids used lots of different manipulatives to show tens and ones.  They had a great time creating 2-digit numbers using pretzel sticks and Cheerios:)

The kids made the first letter of their name using Base 10 Blocks.  Then they used pictures of Base 10 blocks to record how they made it and recorded how many tens and ones they used.

The second week was done independently and we covered place value blocks, place value words, and expanded form.  I was super pleased with their progress over the two weeks:)
Here's a little peek and the unit.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/If-I-Were-A-Place-Value-Superhero

I have no idea if anyone is visiting this little blog of mine but if you stopped by ... please know that I appreciate it and would love to hear from you:)

Bye for now,

Natalie

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.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Counting-With-A-Big-Red-Dog-Numbers-11-20-Tens-Frames-and-Tallies

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

Bye for now,

Natalie

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:)

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Natalies-Nook

Bye for now,

Natalie

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