A (late) Five for Friday!

Linking up for Five for Friday again this week (only a date late!) 

#1 - Self-Manager Badges

I've seen these badges used with older kids in a few schools and thought it would be a great idea for an end-of-the-year behavior boost. I whipped these badges up really quickly on my computer and got the lanyards from the school secretary. I chose the kiddos who have been exemplary all year (6 so far) and they get special privileges with these badges. First to pack up, first to recess and specials, and (my fav part), they get to be "scouts" for us in the hallway and during carpet time. They get to watch for good behavior and choose the best listeners to get "super citizen awards". The kids love them and everyone else is motivated to earn a badge too!

#2 - The Three Billy Goats Gruff

Our ELD kiddos put on a play of The Three Billy Goats Gruff for us. It was SO cute. Better believe I took video and lots of photos!

#3 - Spring Writing

I got this idea and acrostic poem template from another blog, but now I can't remember which one!! We put together this "spring words" anchor chart as a class, then taught the kids about acrostic poems. 

#4 - May and June Activities

    

 My May and June Activity Books are done and up on TpT now! I've been letting my kids use them as morning work and as early-finisher work. Debating creating a general Summer Activity Book to send home with the kids at the end of the year.

Linking up with Mrs. Wheeler's monthly mishmash for May. Click on the button for more great May items for your classroom!

#5 - My new favorite store!

We just had a few of these stores open in Portland in the past few years. I finally went in last weekend to have a look and I was in LOVE. Such cute clothes for work and the store is adorable too. I had to take a picture of the fitting room, because I loved how it was decorated, haha. (Couldn't fit the awesome wooden door and crystal chandelier in the picture)

The Magical Product Swap!

I'm taking part in this fun TpT product swap and was paired with Rich from Mr. Giso's Room to Read!

It must have been fate that we were paired, because we are both former reading teachers who have returned to the classroom teaching 1st grade. What a coincidence!! Not to mention, he has the most AMAZING and fun looking classroom, you must check out his classroom pictures! I was in awe of all the books and cool things he has in his room.

For the product swap, I chose his Read and Write the Room bundle, but he was so kind he sent me bundle #1 AND bundle #2! Each bundle includes over 50(!) pages of fun word hunts. I hadn't been using my word wall very much and was wanting to change that, so finding his pack was perfect!

{Click on the pictures below to go straight to his TpT store}

I told my kiddos they were going to be "word detectives" and used the word hunt from bundle #1 that has children searching for names around the room of people, places, things, and animals. This was the perfect way to introduce nouns. Each student grabbed a mini whiteboard and pencil, and got to work. They were excited to see who could find the most words and it was a great way to get them up and moving. Some pictures of my firsties "hunting" for nouns:

 

Look at all of the different resources they found around the room for words! The kids had a lot of fun with this activity. They were engaged the entire time and I had to pry them away when it was time to move on. At the end, we reviewed the words and looked at the long lists everyone wrote. 

The best part about the Read and Write the Room bundles is that there are SO many word hunts to choose from, you can use them for all ages and abilities. These worksheets are so convenient too - you can run some off to have them on hand for subs or for those times when you need something quick. 

 Next my class will be tackling the math word hunt, then the hunts for letter blends. Be sure to check out Mr. Giso's Room to Read for yourself! =)

My 1st Ever Five for Friday!

Linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for my first ever Five for Friday! 

#1 - Parent/Teacher conferences were this week in my district. Teaching all day on Wednesday, then staying until 8:30pm conferencing = EXHAUSTING. To treat myself for the looong days, I've been going to Dutch Bros. each morning to use a gift card a lovely parent gave me last week. (A weird fact about me = I HATE coffee. Hate the taste, the smell, everything. I know. This isn't natural. So what did I get? A large hot chocolate! Sugar wakes you up too! muahaha)

#2 - I'm LOVING my new summer TOMS. I always struggle with finding cute but comfortable shoes to wear to work when it gets warm. Not a fan of sandals because inevitably my toes will be stepped on 1 MILLION TIMES throughout the day (no pedi can outlast firsties!). Wore them, loved them, ordered two more colors. haha

#3 - SO excited for the Creative Mathematics workshop I just signed up for in August! I keep hearing how wonderful Kim Sutton is, so I'm joining a group of 10 co-workers to attend her 2-day Building a Strong Elementary Math Program seminar. I haven't been to a workshop in ages! My co-worker and I are already scheming about writing grants next year to buy all of Kim's math resources!

#4 - Tomorrow is Jessica Stanford's Magical Product Swap! I swapped products with Mr. Giso of 

Mr. Giso's Room to Read and will be posting about it tomorrow afternoon. A sneak peek of my kiddos in action:

#5 - My co-teacher and a parent were both raving to me about The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. I'm excited to check them out because I haven't had a good book to read in ages. I'm debating just buying the boxed set. Has anyone else read these books? 

BONUS #6 - The lovely Jen of Runde's Room is having a sale in her TpT store this weekend to help raise money for a little boy with cancer. 100% of her proceeds will go to his family. I know I'll be checking out her store! It's a win-win - getting awesome products and helping out a family who really needs it. 

My Book of Healthy Food + freebie

First up, my new freebie, just in time for Earth Day! A cute Earth Day mini-book I put together last month.

Just click on any of the images to get it FREE from Google Docs.

I've had this idea hatching in my head for awhile now, and thanks to the gloriousness that is known as Spring Break, I finally had time to make it a reality!

This product includes a 30-page workbook, a new 9-page emergent reader mini-book, and a little activity with writing sheet which can be displayed on a bulletin board.

Just for fun, the first 3 people who leave their e-mail address in a comment will get this workbook for FREE!

Spring has Sprung! + a freebie

I'm SO excited for spring to be here and for winter to be over! I wanted to brighten up our classroom and hallway with a cute spring art project, and found this adorable craft from A Cupcake for the Teacher!

I made the egg shells with various scrapbook papers I had, so each one turned out unique. The kiddos loved it. Teri makes the cutest crafts! <3

Since April is National Poetry Month, I wanted to add a poetry element to the project too, so I created this little couplet and worksheet to go with it:

 Just click on the image above to get this, along with some variations for older kids, for free!

For a fun springtime math activity, I just posted my new Jelly Bean Math pack.
I've made a candy math packet for all of the holidays/seasons and my kids LOVE them.
The first 3 people who leave a comment with their e-mail address will get it for FREE! =)

Just click on the picture above to go straight to my TpT store!