Saturday, January 25, 2014

Five For Saturday! {Better Late Than Never!}

Okay so I finally got my computer back from Staples and it turns out I didn't have a virus.  Thank the lord ~ since I hadn't backed anything up since October!  The guy said there wasn't a virus, however I had 130 Micosoft updates!  I guess that explains why my computer simply stopped working!!

So I am back and am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!

We have been digging into my "Incredible Polar Bears" unit and learning all about nonfiction text features. Penguins will always have my heart but I did penguins last year and a bunch of my kiddos looped up with me.  My kids are loving every second of this unit and are learning a ton!  Every page in the booklet uses a different nonfiction text feature.  My kids are absolutely LOVING this unit!  Here are some pics:
I have also included 5 literacy centers, 5 word work activities, an emergent reader, and a craftivity in this unit so it covers it all!


In math we have been working on graphing.  This is probably one of my favourite units to teach:)  I have four different graphing units in my store I change up the ones I use each year.  This year we are using "Graphs Galore" and "Arctic Antics".  "Arctic Antics" ties in perfectly with our polar bear unit.  Most kids pick up the graphing part quite quickly, however, explaining their thinking using mathematical language is a bit trickier.



I love Kimberly Geswein fonts!  They are cute and creative!  I wanted to use them in my products but I couldn't afford to buy her lifetime font license.  So as a solution Kimberly will let you buy 50 single font licenses a bit at a time.  Once I bought my 50 single font licenses I emailed Kimberly and she gave me a lifetime font license!  I am so glad I did it this way!

I finished up my Valentine's Day unit a bit early this year so I wasn't having to worry about getting it prepped right in the middle of writing report cards!
Guess who's coming to Toronto!   My daughter is a HUGE One Direction fan and so we will be seeing her boyfriends in concert (for the third time) on August 1st.  We have great seats and we always have soooo much fun!

So there's a look at my week!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend ~ it is freezing here!

Toodles!
~Natalie
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownJanuary 26, 2014 at 8:32 AM

    I can attest to the fact that your graphing units are amazing. I find for some kids that I have to take off the borders though as there is too much on the pages. I can't wait to get the polar bear one! I really liked your level anchor chart as it clearly lays out what a good response is. I laughed when I saw "I looked" - boy, have we all got that answer!
    I am also eyeing that polar bear unit for next year if I get some of the same kids. We are totally into your penguin unit right now and I expect the polar bear unit will be just as good.

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  2. CorinneJanuary 29, 2014 at 4:38 PM

    I am looking forward to the sale on your TpT store tomorrow... just a few things on my wish list, including Incredible Polar Bears! My 2s and I used your Graphs Galore unit the week we returned to school in January. Thoroughly enjoyed. My favourite, however, is the paper bag "Air and Water in the Environment" unit we completed in the fall! Threw in some experiments and it was a wonderfully comprehensive and instant unit (except for the gluing ;) Last week, we used your "I Wanna an Iguana" persuasive letter writing unit. What a great preview it has been for where we are going in science - growth and changes in animals. Students are thoroughly enjoying "May the Shapes Be With You." Your units have been my first purchases on TpT, and I just wanted to say thank you! I'll also use any ideas you have for the Olympics ;) Thanks, Natalie!

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