tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45624135188896811512024-03-12T22:34:20.297-05:00First Grade O.W.L.sFirst Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-26062298139362993252017-07-03T16:22:00.000-05:002017-07-05T16:17:19.540-05:00GIVEAWAY extended!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It can't already be July?? It seems summer just arrived and I'm starting to see back to school stuff in stores. YIKES! I love back to school time but I am enjoying spending my days with my 8 month old. He's so much fun right now... {I could talk babies all day but that is NOT what this post is about} So I finished a project recently that I wanted to share with everyone. I had a request to create a Nautical Theme Classroom Decor Pack... which is something totally new for me! I wasn't even sure where to begin. UM well actually I knew exactly where to begin because I absolutely love <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Melonheadz" target="_blank">Melonheadz </a>Kidlettes and sure enough there were Sailor Kidlettes! YAY! So my Nautical Pack is finally done and EDITABLE. It's the Fourth of July and this pack is full of red, white and blue so what better way to celebrate then have a GIVEAWAY!<br />
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<img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="529" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWp5OraoOoU31lOrrETLUHMku9zh3tZXa4XqaT8Uvmiq1cVV0MDhBoAn3ZQuVKqocypOUPa7KHrvN4T7mJOMapBMpLts_jWpFiQsB1AP6HF7DE0fOwpoK8mtenPl-2mteG6nCAF-6atix/s320/Nautical+Cover.PNG" width="320" /></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nautical-Theme-Decor-Pack-3222732" target="_blank">Nautical Theme EDITABLE Decor Pack</a></div>
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I am giving this whole pack away to a lucky winner OR if you don't like or want a Nautical Theme you can choose ANYTHING from my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Jenkins-First-Grade-Owls" target="_blank">TPT Store</a>! I was going to pick a winner today but I want to extend it over the holiday weekend and see if I can get more likes for my First Grade Owls Facebook Page. My old page went kaput with my old account so I'm having to start over ... {sad face} long story short... I'd REALLY love it if you would come on over and follow my facebook page! </div>
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Here are the terms of my giveaway... </div>
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1. Like and Follow my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mrsjenkins1stgrade/" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a> </div>
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2. Follow me on <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Jenkins-First-Grade-Owls" target="_blank">TPT</a></div>
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3. Leave a comment if you want Nautical Theme or something else!</div>
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That's it! I will choose a winner Wednesday, July 5th! And I'm also having a SALE! 20% off everything in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Jenkins-First-Grade-Owls" target="_blank">TPT Store</a> until Wednesday, July 5th! Happy Fourth of July! </div>
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This Giveaway has ended - Thank you to all who entered! </div>
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I decided to pick TWO winners! </div>
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First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-15081301218208287972017-03-11T15:16:00.001-06:002017-03-11T15:18:15.674-06:00<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2715917/?claim=tnffc6387he">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-64971762062289841782014-07-29T14:50:00.001-05:002014-07-29T14:50:28.416-05:00Rainbow Brights Chalkboard Kids... AND a FREEBIE!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi Ya'll! I have been busy working on this classroom set for a fellow teacher for a WHILE now. She gave me some ideas what she was looking for and I started creating. I have to admit this has turned out cuter than I ever imagined. She wanted BRIGHT colors, she wanted chalkboard and she loves the <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Kidlettes-3-bundle-by-Melonheadz-1231816" target="_blank">Melonheadz Kidlettes</a>. So I meshed all three and came up with this.<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rainbow-Bright-Chalkboard-Kids-Decor-Pack-1354827" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq_A0YElcwBP1W-79vId-QpRt7Y5TEaPlLWVL1aV-YQtKqZc2SsPZKQXTPrfU-_F_7XM3jJzbA8IdgnADAVsJ_rJK-8yazlwzdlb424u-nVUfGa-w6fRx2KFmUhm4drtExrw_I1Qpkg1YF/s1600/Slide1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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As usual I've bundled lots of stuff in this pack so here's a little sneak peak of some of the items:</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNsiyv2eHnLMEVWY5QIzVfPHBuNDOA8qSA5uT5DZa7GmWDnWFnlkXl8Qz-OatQL-its4fPB_Y7qSvHgqUa9DOl37Zpqx7UawTv_ayaq8_IQy-qhDbpKMtptxGwZ3VHHhx7xXvGFoCljIy/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijNsiyv2eHnLMEVWY5QIzVfPHBuNDOA8qSA5uT5DZa7GmWDnWFnlkXl8Qz-OatQL-its4fPB_Y7qSvHgqUa9DOl37Zpqx7UawTv_ayaq8_IQy-qhDbpKMtptxGwZ3VHHhx7xXvGFoCljIy/s1600/Slide2.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alphabet</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_w4um6VYDlaEdufLhW1INE6eNY1KzaMeDfjHU2F6ZOKT8ffmL4Qls9IMdD40Yjtp79tHZpBDVw_fKAUXQTo7nK9Nhcq2XnQ3CgLBZsSrJKUN51PWqSt5ze1t85hWjcmKPlkzwIf74SED/s1600/Slide29.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_w4um6VYDlaEdufLhW1INE6eNY1KzaMeDfjHU2F6ZOKT8ffmL4Qls9IMdD40Yjtp79tHZpBDVw_fKAUXQTo7nK9Nhcq2XnQ3CgLBZsSrJKUN51PWqSt5ze1t85hWjcmKPlkzwIf74SED/s1600/Slide29.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH572rbkLBvsbxpycLuBoHxlLHTmndB2SUxSmPPpXw48ZYpMtsSl5iOd7mYaywSCWQ9b3IInrqAIsHN-0WF7vavVCz0cwNQG7lhntifdNICbABsnDc15nlTxSldPmdh0LPCED3KMYtMe-/s1600/Slide30.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH572rbkLBvsbxpycLuBoHxlLHTmndB2SUxSmPPpXw48ZYpMtsSl5iOd7mYaywSCWQ9b3IInrqAIsHN-0WF7vavVCz0cwNQG7lhntifdNICbABsnDc15nlTxSldPmdh0LPCED3KMYtMe-/s1600/Slide30.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of my favorite things in this set are the shape posters... I love the polka dots!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6GRKwLeVmyxuf3fZ2j0mdcYryVKCVu4v9bJBNv3OxzEFiugM3yRks90T5r2KI2Q1bJNYCCvnn4_mlfGbhKvrrsS_RImjxSHo9iBMHpxc8j24YcTJr4cvxeRe6nYlyNgLmylzgimBrAU1/s1600/Slide52.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ6GRKwLeVmyxuf3fZ2j0mdcYryVKCVu4v9bJBNv3OxzEFiugM3yRks90T5r2KI2Q1bJNYCCvnn4_mlfGbhKvrrsS_RImjxSHo9iBMHpxc8j24YcTJr4cvxeRe6nYlyNgLmylzgimBrAU1/s1600/Slide52.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGd6SGGwqCdrYiG3ktt7piVY0mg0IY0WAOnanU-xsDKJ6F85Ddi0Sxil6YXThweXkZDSYsB4LeCeaKfOvANiJ79WM-fjILexlK4NWJc-yisWZYd7HnA1FZoDo-lQ2Ei3ko5_8bTU9fLaIg/s1600/Slide92.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGd6SGGwqCdrYiG3ktt7piVY0mg0IY0WAOnanU-xsDKJ6F85Ddi0Sxil6YXThweXkZDSYsB4LeCeaKfOvANiJ79WM-fjILexlK4NWJc-yisWZYd7HnA1FZoDo-lQ2Ei3ko5_8bTU9fLaIg/s1600/Slide92.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are even calendar pieces that go with this set. My FAVORITE part of this set are the Color Posters! I know they don't go with my room but I want to print them out and use them anyway!!!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJl4RasSDf_vnMNtncPQdikyY-E1M2ja6LNHarcGVAR4UvzfnJx5tG0oizzG5robFyONnG6lnWZjpK20j7hX_-9t3TPPHvZH7N3d8L5cYvgTXWXKbQmfiPd0Lf6PfHxYVsn98lpB7C2ys/s1600/Slide134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBJl4RasSDf_vnMNtncPQdikyY-E1M2ja6LNHarcGVAR4UvzfnJx5tG0oizzG5robFyONnG6lnWZjpK20j7hX_-9t3TPPHvZH7N3d8L5cYvgTXWXKbQmfiPd0Lf6PfHxYVsn98lpB7C2ys/s1600/Slide134.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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There is a ton more to this set and I won't bore you with all the details but if you would like to check out the preview file you can go <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rainbow-Bright-Chalkboard-Kids-Decor-Pack-1354827" target="_blank">HERE</a>. I am having a GIVEAWAY on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/firstgradeowls?ref_type=bookmark" target="_blank">facebook page</a> right now... so if you want to enter, like my page, share the post, tag a friend and they can win the pack too! If you don't like bright colors or want a different theme, I have lots of other decor packs in my store you can pick from if you win! I will be choosing a winner tomorrow at 5 p.m. CST! If you just can't wait, everything in my store is 20% off today and tomorrow! (July 29 and July 30) </div>
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I mentioned in the title of this text that there is a FREEBIE today! This pack inspired me to create some posters with cute rainbow sayings... they turned out like this:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rainbow-Bright-Chalkboard-Kids-Inspirational-Sayings-1355812" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBm4itfsz_vxraXQTGHEgZEkGdtjetY1gpQ0t_K5KVGS4My_0equk6O5FaEOKSamEYjcjj2RpCovI9XchTpXtXsHbtMwoIgRyyEz8nhu1QfTpgeRmdio0NY-iJg38GWt12UpT2v8Bdu5Kx/s1600/Slide1.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rainbow-Bright-Chalkboard-Kids-Inspirational-Sayings-1355812" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv9sVvyk_G21IM6JRrXW-NOdKmrai3z2gNP6R7IGUvhA3kXnk9h4qDDQd9g8KRkgKDvK3Y40DMIzK-gmDzntMRgs5HqtxGNbOAlEHyPx48rv3ZtjF9su9i4Jqu2bk7xYRxFYyqUP65Z-2t/s1600/Slide2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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With all her cute kidlettes, Nikki makes it SO hard to choose which cutie patooties to use ~ so I made two different options.</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rainbow-Bright-Chalkboard-Kids-Inspirational-Sayings-1355812" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKhOQIvkf74AY9Xe77tzTVwrhGsvUH2bCHCaVNS0_HMcEQtiXHsccTJXxN470IZrjKb2lnXwcN1LGQm6lXg6ZqLKWqlktf5itSwZ3gvdSoeXPxacw54CfJjhJ-ASbsNZOMQz32mT8ALFg/s1600/Slide3.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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And this is definitely my new mantra... Enjoy your last few days of summer break and don't forget to play in the rain, laugh often, smile, paint rainbows, believe in fairy tales, sing silly songs and DREAM BIG! Click on any of the pictures above to grab this for your classroom! Happy Tuesday!<br />
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First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-29692910406094018542014-07-24T00:06:00.000-05:002014-07-24T00:08:17.259-05:00Updates and More Updates! Jazzin' things up a bit!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As I've been updating a lot of my products on TPT this summer, I can't help but think about Erica Bohrer's post about "<a href="http://ericabohrer.blogspot.com/2014/02/getting-started-on-tpt.html" target="_blank">Getting Started on TPT</a>". She talks about what her first products looked like versus her more recent items. I had to chuckle as I look back on things I made years ago compared to my more recent items. I think I had some really good concepts but visually some of my stuff just didn't cut it. I realize it's a process... I've learned and grown and still have so much more to learn but I do feel like my newer items are so much more appealing. (Side note: If you haven't read Erica's post and are thinking about using TPT ~ it is a must read FULL of valuable information!) </div>
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Here is an example of what I'm talking about:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grammar-Posters-Reading-Street-Unit-1-2011-Version-275105" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHYr111QzKR97gT22ZHBZ04PTnOWmSXoYtMSgl5Yd8flZTREHIIdNLb7mVZ34uGX5nsAnoLybSs_SU3OQCNab6RlBgeOoLgX5zXoat0mWU0OQmsubtEuPINPlga3TppnPNNItEXXrdFggd/s1600/Slide3.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This poster has been updated with all new fonts, backgrounds and clip art. </div>
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Here is what it looked like before the updates:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0vHjEmDkeWx6ZRiFChcq00485LiV7205ms3AL5PBN36yKnQCbI6-w8XRLJclJBN6GvDcFnK-ySXww0sgl67P41E5amOrugSLcTd4f_dK-hHeNCaJl-Myip692bOBUKamSubkW4818H7v/s1600/RS+OLD+POSTER.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc0vHjEmDkeWx6ZRiFChcq00485LiV7205ms3AL5PBN36yKnQCbI6-w8XRLJclJBN6GvDcFnK-ySXww0sgl67P41E5amOrugSLcTd4f_dK-hHeNCaJl-Myip692bOBUKamSubkW4818H7v/s1600/RS+OLD+POSTER.JPG" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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UMMMM.... I loved these posters and used them for each unit of Reading Street... But seriously they I had to revamp! If by chance you purchased these posters... They have ALL been updated and you can go to your purchases on TPT and re-download. </div>
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Not only did I update THESE posters but since we are using the new Common Core Edition of Reading Street... many of the concepts changed. SO I created a new product that I am in love with... and I can't wait to use them on my focus wall! </div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grammar-Posters-Reading-Street-Common-Core-Edition-Unit-1-1342497" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5jH8ZDPr9YCM_LHWFk3BWjr6cELddhwTwQqmJCa-rDm4VTd5tIw7KCD27Seb20xaYd_c9ihYCcyjrZXAXahEbk6n1g4GB-_4cMljmmOGpLjD_cU_ug9qI2izP-lm6Oo04XbIjcL9cUscC/s1600/Slide3.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is the same concept as the first poster but slightly different terminology for Common Core. I created these all new Common Core Versions and I have to admit I'm loving the look of them! Here is Unit 1:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyhCqgapksUAW-icCx9W4dLL75Y_aieKMQ_AS7C4Asdxg2l9Tr7X9kdSRFPGd4j0Fuip67BWJ9cYgbPG6JuJzNFLc86Yf9g2TizEuCrLgEmzGAEEqPsKHLMwo1Rn9Otf9IUVeUmkpG9yy/s1600/Demo+CC+Unit+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeyhCqgapksUAW-icCx9W4dLL75Y_aieKMQ_AS7C4Asdxg2l9Tr7X9kdSRFPGd4j0Fuip67BWJ9cYgbPG6JuJzNFLc86Yf9g2TizEuCrLgEmzGAEEqPsKHLMwo1Rn9Otf9IUVeUmkpG9yy/s1600/Demo+CC+Unit+1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I made each unit a different color and tried to make them as visually appealing and kid-friendly so that my students can use these as a reference as we learn each grammar concept. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0eagQmy6wZ_guqE-xdUXj_lzoCq4m57Dnog1SMq9HN5z664HxeiamxwcYH57eTgEqfI8SDQibWh1HOArpF5Ds6vPoNuaM4Dr4VyM3m2QapLLTbm_ejD-cJUjX_oNzSKNERVg9m2vKrOb/s1600/Demo+CC+Unit+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0eagQmy6wZ_guqE-xdUXj_lzoCq4m57Dnog1SMq9HN5z664HxeiamxwcYH57eTgEqfI8SDQibWh1HOArpF5Ds6vPoNuaM4Dr4VyM3m2QapLLTbm_ejD-cJUjX_oNzSKNERVg9m2vKrOb/s1600/Demo+CC+Unit+2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I especially love the <a href="http://melonheadzillustrating.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Melonheadz</a> clipart. I am a COMPLETE ADDICT... Serious UH-DICT-ION! Okay ya'll... one last image to share ~</div>
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I have updated tons more but just thought I'd share some of the updates I've made this summer. I just got the word that I can get into my classroom on Monday so I guess it's time for back to school mode! I've been pinning and getting lots of ideas on ways to set up my classroom this year. YOWZA! So excited! </div>
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First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-69754897304555088512014-06-30T09:04:00.000-05:002014-06-30T09:07:44.183-05:00Last Day of June... July already?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hello all! I know it's been forever... It makes me so sad just to think about how long I've been away from the blogging world. I've still kept up with things.. I just didn't post about my own happenings. I've gone back and forth about whether or not I should share about the things going on in my life and why I haven't posted but I think that will come in time as I get back in the swing of things. I am in a good place now, emotionally, spiritually, physically (location wise - yes I moved) so let's just say there was a lot going on but I'm very happy with where I am now and my kids are doing well also!</div>
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Sooooo..... I can't believe that July is tomorrow! Where did June go? I wanted to share a new theme pack I created for a teacher as a request. It's the largest classroom set I've done and I'm very excited about it. If you are looking for a new theme or if you are doing a Camping Theme you may want to check it out!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Camping-Theme-Decor-Pack-1299199" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgazt0a7qaxN8-_tymZWfGizktILFS4jQ8tTAAjAS6iPZyBbs26xhhY9u7J-mZLKaBT2Rh0FcF7nSfhk71a0pS3OUkMFrdOHql1kQkw-Ahnhdx4EZlX3WmkaUI29RwW73FSBE7UA6Z5D-Mw/s1600/camppic4.JPG" height="320" width="236" /></a></div>
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What I love about this set is all of the Summer Camp Kidlettes and the Woodland Animals. This set includes everything you could imagine...plus a little more! Here are some examples of what's included.</div>
<span style="text-align: center;">I love the Alphabet Cards with all the camping items! All of the vowels are outlined in your choice of either pink or aqua blue.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBb9U5xQ0RBfU-NWRXoLwe4njuE0rRiKuNgkWdroNcWpAhGMajSN5Yq0cr_-xgPk2FFgbGuwqfRvGQ2t2oMTT_MAodLQLc1uO_98mJiBCDbMwl8wWtwuWAXDndcUFyIeKlizqVJ-UMmA4/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBb9U5xQ0RBfU-NWRXoLwe4njuE0rRiKuNgkWdroNcWpAhGMajSN5Yq0cr_-xgPk2FFgbGuwqfRvGQ2t2oMTT_MAodLQLc1uO_98mJiBCDbMwl8wWtwuWAXDndcUFyIeKlizqVJ-UMmA4/s1600/Slide1.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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How cute are these number posters? The set displays the numeral, the number word, tally marks and ten frames so students can refer to these all year long! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfNiYzDu1SFleTe1vwsX0b5vKgmxtaKtG3KEvwSTpZUzVh56nlSQnEF2KC85olgTxSQsTPqiBgkpyKd9aykLVZCn0tIE878Y_qIYjy6cukbibzzDsISRUFoDDbdH7_l3pWAH03hLZUp6_/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfNiYzDu1SFleTe1vwsX0b5vKgmxtaKtG3KEvwSTpZUzVh56nlSQnEF2KC85olgTxSQsTPqiBgkpyKd9aykLVZCn0tIE878Y_qIYjy6cukbibzzDsISRUFoDDbdH7_l3pWAH03hLZUp6_/s1600/Slide3.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I love the camp signs to display the 2D and 3D shapes!</div>
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What camping theme could be complete without bug jars? What a great way to display color words in your classroom!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJBhHiiKIJN0gMdJdt4dB_MeAQlpqvGoaThHaOILk1OdPIN-AfvBj9_hV0pXIJ5LbWq_dOxDAy-KdRDurS264FpVhIRmLT0G9jvpfJ-CouCLmSEBZCZABywuS2Jeo_R63Qf_9w40Ykt5q/s1600/Slide10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuJBhHiiKIJN0gMdJdt4dB_MeAQlpqvGoaThHaOILk1OdPIN-AfvBj9_hV0pXIJ5LbWq_dOxDAy-KdRDurS264FpVhIRmLT0G9jvpfJ-CouCLmSEBZCZABywuS2Jeo_R63Qf_9w40Ykt5q/s1600/Slide10.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Months and Days of the Week</td></tr>
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Nameplates in different designs and colors!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyapgRooCilnAueQ_CFV5njYu7pgPK4BaFLhpGRWsMZWmNhSmq0VrYT-qEw1AU3KcBf2giIWDAnMZx8V30C_WVJ-ebDuBB7pFvpsUCDzk4h2QRWqwPyTsGNh1tOUbXhmElcrmxm5xwAce0/s1600/Slide7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyapgRooCilnAueQ_CFV5njYu7pgPK4BaFLhpGRWsMZWmNhSmq0VrYT-qEw1AU3KcBf2giIWDAnMZx8V30C_WVJ-ebDuBB7pFvpsUCDzk4h2QRWqwPyTsGNh1tOUbXhmElcrmxm5xwAce0/s1600/Slide7.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I love how the word wall headers and banner turned out! All the vowels are blue so students can distinguish the vowels from the consonants.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-kNtKf3h6cf03kOUfKDlSsIpGd_xHOlGJzdPHoTby2UzY0xPBW1rHTevSLYvEb5y-TF_kWJ6dj97RgR47pu1tWr47QXBF3iSycnLja9bLf1rEpRGbySL_DwIKCbeZvJn_UWAZ98BIxbJL/s1600/Slide5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-kNtKf3h6cf03kOUfKDlSsIpGd_xHOlGJzdPHoTby2UzY0xPBW1rHTevSLYvEb5y-TF_kWJ6dj97RgR47pu1tWr47QXBF3iSycnLja9bLf1rEpRGbySL_DwIKCbeZvJn_UWAZ98BIxbJL/s1600/Slide5.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwSxBFkUtGHZinT3Z_Fvw-GwUigVS4jPpj03iHuEPsxkV-amXFW1dNklkmmnXzAFYE8oVSIpH2DcD7hob9Ltybl4-M66b18jeleYg6jO4xnWD88-HCu8HVuYuix2ncZtteqFQ_gUjjYe4/s1600/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwSxBFkUtGHZinT3Z_Fvw-GwUigVS4jPpj03iHuEPsxkV-amXFW1dNklkmmnXzAFYE8oVSIpH2DcD7hob9Ltybl4-M66b18jeleYg6jO4xnWD88-HCu8HVuYuix2ncZtteqFQ_gUjjYe4/s1600/Slide4.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2T2yg6U56OZQeqrBMxLtQQkcGUSXXwB77-oi3r_l-5OlpSLE4zgnRrHWJvXQUU-v-2Mahu3MvypW9MBgGHsXoN-4vu8LfuUOP1Q5L82rMY9Jui69xKte6ezTu91ValHCHG0aX1IIyV1x_/s1600/Slide8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2T2yg6U56OZQeqrBMxLtQQkcGUSXXwB77-oi3r_l-5OlpSLE4zgnRrHWJvXQUU-v-2Mahu3MvypW9MBgGHsXoN-4vu8LfuUOP1Q5L82rMY9Jui69xKte6ezTu91ValHCHG0aX1IIyV1x_/s1600/Slide8.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Classroom Jobs! How adorable is this??!! I'm in L.O.V.E.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUvtNtnBPODITqlL8pYlFcKWWqAVuqpkKdXntWX_hJAS8PmGgRhzKn_k_1iBqQApWrXchIAoaDQrGQKbu_ezt2yyIf6Crj0da3-rV6U2GSXoWsqytmAIvBeJOis0SasPuiwWLPTC-Qqrx/s1600/Slide13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZUvtNtnBPODITqlL8pYlFcKWWqAVuqpkKdXntWX_hJAS8PmGgRhzKn_k_1iBqQApWrXchIAoaDQrGQKbu_ezt2yyIf6Crj0da3-rV6U2GSXoWsqytmAIvBeJOis0SasPuiwWLPTC-Qqrx/s1600/Slide13.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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The set includes a welcome banner and a banner that says "READ S'MORE". This will be so cute hanging in the classroom library! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOe_nFcurUbx7A8p4VMzxAMTA2LlNli1nOwLmThELj8lP1_2b7pvZbgsZcqUzCmN_Q4ttavaOiwHA4UUV8R7CpMJdwItSfJJSV0peXbR1M319BKscVLpPhpv2G2hKj6tz2iopsQuNtKBgj/s1600/Slide11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOe_nFcurUbx7A8p4VMzxAMTA2LlNli1nOwLmThELj8lP1_2b7pvZbgsZcqUzCmN_Q4ttavaOiwHA4UUV8R7CpMJdwItSfJJSV0peXbR1M319BKscVLpPhpv2G2hKj6tz2iopsQuNtKBgj/s1600/Slide11.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nbhmDjgR5AjUMeBQOk8ChumUXU6qgWFTpzsmNcLs8zPK_d5ALZYB-HKQLX6-0jrifPOCl0gwDB8y_4c4hZqOPNI5I2BmrGMbErkKD3x6LRJnMvGRin38A8TnqOlXbUxzpZye-pVKVmfj/s1600/Slide9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9nbhmDjgR5AjUMeBQOk8ChumUXU6qgWFTpzsmNcLs8zPK_d5ALZYB-HKQLX6-0jrifPOCl0gwDB8y_4c4hZqOPNI5I2BmrGMbErkKD3x6LRJnMvGRin38A8TnqOlXbUxzpZye-pVKVmfj/s1600/Slide9.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you are like me... I want everything to match. So I made tons of supply labels for tubs, bins, boxes, whatever you'd like to use them for. </div>
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These will be adorable attached to a baggie filled with marshmallows, graham crackers and a small chocolate bar! I thought this might be a cute back to school welcome gift!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapiC9623gVOhjaVA801-HRUb5gBdorOhjGoAlmdrfIUjxGuiXCr8CBQIpIkZRXL7sZuVuuZ37ptr7Dpl2rOTnieDOw_N3fvT7TfSlX9xM5HOWdNNmYqE_A7VpFSHjgdo3T2DollcYooMK/s1600/Slide14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgapiC9623gVOhjaVA801-HRUb5gBdorOhjGoAlmdrfIUjxGuiXCr8CBQIpIkZRXL7sZuVuuZ37ptr7Dpl2rOTnieDOw_N3fvT7TfSlX9xM5HOWdNNmYqE_A7VpFSHjgdo3T2DollcYooMK/s1600/Slide14.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finally, I included tons of colored pennant flags so you can make banners for your classroom.</div>
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After I finished this pack, I decided to make all the labels, banners and binder covers editable. So I created this add-on pack. You can check it out here: </div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Camping-Theme-Add-On-Pack-EDITABLE-1299248" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_SZgSSxT5m17xwZcx8QJsudoz8ybyVeAg53Xkf3zPfEaDee7NyyzhKE3qC2vP3XPJ1G5YCr19K3mnHQC4CPbMwQ3iyQFv6fL9Kf1EdTPqANU59P2TJlk3ybJzfXuyZKRMJHg11YaOflZF/s1600/Slide1.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Last thing, I promise! LOL My friend requested a behavior chart to match so I'm very pleased with this new chart. It includes 2 different behavior logs and a chart explanation for parents. Plus, when students reach the top, they get an Eagle Badge! Take a look:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bee-a-Happy-Camper-Behavior-Clip-Chart-1299226" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVhiJ7eCFxtas7BnoFahH4uspvJqBPd2kP3dtmA9lnBIS28sXv86IfrkF5UCMigVmJMpEV1ryd2PovcbMQfzX4RSMxPcYKZqtVuqbUFqKa176QJ8gVfsypnGvCGnHAlBBGjVRlR9xyFgD/s1600/happycamper1.JPG" height="320" width="243" /></a></div>
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I also created these in Chevron... but I think I like the solid backgrounds more.</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bee-a-Happy-Camper-Behavior-Clip-Chart-1299226" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyqCcD9SbtHJ7tlaxe5OyZZNIEdImZPtBtJCGdqqQa82cuJ6kwWwqt-t9iXAHPMj_bnOcfeER-TRpMe2vdsLSEOkuAA4TczL2wlzYpLmXnshZP89EylHXN_qFkkCdiVx5y-EwZkw5En1dg/s1600/happycamper2.JPG" height="320" width="243" /></a></div>
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When students reach the top, they earn an Eagle Badge. Here they are:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOMaSdHnVOCE3QeQaaemPo8WA5B1dVwIqOGd-4gG0E2VuDgF7b8TByliJ2GIyBCmLlhJOGj7L5hZz-AybO-_xf2lU7mHszpdf2Ub0FHlvjDDKl1-6PfE0YTYF-cm3SUjnfLJWaZwIp9dD/s1600/happycamper3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOMaSdHnVOCE3QeQaaemPo8WA5B1dVwIqOGd-4gG0E2VuDgF7b8TByliJ2GIyBCmLlhJOGj7L5hZz-AybO-_xf2lU7mHszpdf2Ub0FHlvjDDKl1-6PfE0YTYF-cm3SUjnfLJWaZwIp9dD/s1600/happycamper3.JPG" height="320" width="242" /></a></div>
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I also created an Explanation Chart to keep in your students binders or folder all year for the parents!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bee-a-Happy-Camper-Behavior-Clip-Chart-1299226" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6qGu1atitQwvSoPVqryk4ofodDB0FkxEzkDj3S4vnXU725d5_Qxko3CL6EY3s1syIKrYho_FBsQrUs8z0FsfKKfUxeCil5gD1F-XIDkZK9kihDEvvCqQycFt3dQyZu4NqBRkElnBHL7Vg/s1600/happycamper4.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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I wasn't sure if I would even be able to make this work since my friend wanted straight faces and a sad face on the campers at the bottom. (She teaches Kindergarten)... but I talked with Nikki from Melonheadz and she gave me permission to use the versions I modified slightly. She is so wonderful! I love her clipart and wish I could own every set! I'd really like to be in Vegas this summer at the TPT Conference so I could take her class. I asked her if she would consider doing an online tutorial... so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that!</div>
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I guess I've posted quite a bit for one day! I am currently reading the new version of Daily 5 and can't wait to post some about that. I have done Daily 5 in my classroom for 4 years now and my co-workers were lucky enough to go see Gail Boushey and Joan Moser in person! (Can you detect a little jealousy there?) It has totally transformed the way I run my classroom and I can't wait to share some things with you! I've been loving all the posts so far! </div>
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By the way ~ all my Camping Theme Decor is on sale TODAY (June 30th) and TOMORROW (July 1st)! 20% off ~ please share if you know a teacher choosing camping as their theme this year! Have a wonderful day! </div>
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First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-34194090475038525832013-09-02T23:47:00.000-05:002013-09-02T23:47:57.682-05:00First Week Survival ~ Daily 5 Up and Running<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I can't believe this three day weekend went SO fast... entirely too fast! I would love to have just ONE more day! And even though I'm dead dog tired I told myself I had to blog and share with you a few things from our first full week back. I know many of you do Daily 5 and we have gotten it up and running piece by piece. I'm still not taking groups yet. I want to make sure they are doing all activities properly and can problem solve and take care of situations without interrupting my group. I love the first few weeks of Daily 5 because I am able to meander around the room and listen to kids read, watch them write, watch them build words and really get to know my students by having small conversations with them during this time. We start out with Read to Self and here are a few pics I took during that time.<br />
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We talked a lot about choosing just right books and using the five finger rule. We also practice getting our book boxes and having them by our side during Daily 5. After they all got the hang of Read to Self I introduced word work. We began our first weekly word study last week and took our first spelling test on Friday! I was amazed that 90% of my class spelled and wrote 100% of the words correctly! Usually the first test is a doozy just because it's their first one. I was blown away! Word Work allows my students to practice these weekly words. They always have a "must-do" and then they can choose several different activities to practice spelling and making words. My "must-do" varies daily. I use many of the pages from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Short-A-Word-Work-Activities-170387" target="_blank">Abby's Short Vowels Pack</a> and some word family activity pages from the great <a href="http://www.wordway.us.com/LetterA.htm" target="_blank">Cherry Carl </a>. I start out only introducing magnetic letters, rainbow words using smelly markers and glitter pens and stamps. I add more throughout the year as I feel they can handle it. Here are a few pics I took during word work.<br />
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As you can see our first week is short a. She spelled "we" but as long as I see them building words it makes me happy. I love hearing them read me the words they have made.<br />
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These words were off of our word wall. We start out with about 15 words on the word wall from Kindergarten or High Frequency words they will use a lot. As you can see I think it's time for me to get some new ink pads! <br />
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I also have introduced writing. I know that seems like a lot but we have writer's workshop every morning. I like to introduce some "fun" writing choices so students can write and illustrate with markers. One of our first writing activities is making a card. I use the monthly premade card templates from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Work-Stations-The-Complete-Set-269850" target="_blank">Deedee Will's Writing Work Stations</a>. I also use her monthly vocabulary cards to hang in my writing center and I also use the corresponding page of the monthly words in my student's writing folders for writer's workshop. <br />
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Students are able to color and be creative during this time but are writing to their friends or their teacher. This gives them more practice using the strategies we are learning during writer's workshop like stretching out the sounds in words. <br />
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On Friday I wanted to do something fun and yet connect it to our curriculum. Since this week was short a and we worked with -at words, I found the cutest craftivity that allowed the students to write a story using at words and they got to make their own "Cat on a Mat". The activity is by <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Cat-on-a-Mat-Craftivity-Paper-Craft-and-Writing-for-Word-Families-664597" target="_blank">Mel From the Pond.</a> I fell in LOVE with it and my students did too! So after students wrote stories about their cat (and some were SO hilarious) we broke out the scissors and glue and began making our cats. I love standing back and watching how my new first graders use scissors and glue. <br />
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I wanted to take pictures of their stories too and forgot to take them before leaving for the weekend (it wasn't like I was in a hurry to start a three day weekend or anything ;) I'll try to post them another time because they were so adorable! Here is some more pics of our super cute craft!<br />
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Next week is only four days but we will be working with short i. I will be introducing more writing choices, our listening station and read with someone next week. I love to hear how others use Daily 5! I <strike>steal</strike> grab ideas from teachers all the time. It has to be my favorite time of the day!<br />
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Hope you had a fabulous three day weekend! </div>
First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-90993043638423544602013-08-07T14:14:00.000-05:002013-08-07T14:14:46.919-05:00Freebies and Birthday/Back to School Sale!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The last few days have been super busy! As I'm sure it is for all of you... back to school is here and I'm checking things off my to do list only not as fast as I want. I don't have much to share today - because I'm getting ready to head out the door to celebrate my birthday! Nothing spectacular other than spending the day with my kiddos and having a dinner out ~ (Actually that's pretty spectacular) but I feel like I need a little break from it all. :)<br />
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I recently went to a whole brain teaching conference and absolutely L.O.V.E.D. it! I used whole brain some in my classroom last year but now that I've experienced the workshop I'm ready to give it all a try this year. First freebie I'm sharing is the WBT rules and signs I made:<br />
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You can download them for free <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Whole-Brain-Teaching-Rules-and-Signs-Cute-Kids-810369" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</div>
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I have included these WITH and WITHOUT backgrounds in case you want to save some ink :)</div>
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I'm really excited about implementing Whole Brain and one piece that I'm SUPER excited about is the Super Improvers Wall. All students start at the bottom and work their way up to the top by accomplishing goals... not just accomplishing but by showing IMPROVEMENT. Students strive to make it to the top! You can always visit the <a href="http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/" target="_blank">Whole Brain Teaching </a>website for more information. SO - My next freebie are the super improver wall headers (10 levels and 10 different colors):</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Super-Improver-Wall-Level-Headers-Kid-Theme-814836" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eDHV9cE1hhw/UgKT723HYUI/AAAAAAAABoc/wXs8z-k7LDc/s320/sikids.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Click on the first image to download for FREE!</div>
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But wait ~ there's more! LOL For those of you who are interested in a Forest or an Owl Theme this year, I've had some requests for Daily 5 Posters in those themes. So I've recently posted those for free also in my TPT Store.</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Daily-5-Posters-Forest-Theme-814545" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qGjSLFhRI20/UgKYMS2e8FI/AAAAAAAABo0/GPb9TGB8kuk/s320/d5forest.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are the Forest Posters. Click on the image to download :)</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Daily-5-Posters-Owl-Theme-814554" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SgUaZhOiSM8/UgKYDvQg6CI/AAAAAAAABos/bf81fuvhZhI/s320/d5owl.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are the Owl Posters. Click on the image to download :)</div>
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Both of these poster sets also come with and without the backgrounds to save on ink.</div>
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There are so many other things I've been working on for Open House and the First Day of School... but I will save them for tomorrow. </div>
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My daughter surprised me this morning with a homemade card. It was super sweet... but I could've done without the birthday candles on the cake. :) Takes the guessing out of how old I am! </div>
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I just realized she left the d out of birthday. She's really into writing in cursive right now. As far as I'm concerned homemade cards are 1,000 times better than Hallmark ;)</div>
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One last thing...I'm throwing a sale in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt" target="_blank">TPT store</a> today through Saturday! EVERYTHING is 20% off!</div>
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How many more days for you? Our first school day is Wednesday, August 14th. I'm already getting the jitters! Have a great day!</div>
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First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-27679951338316120362013-07-28T12:46:00.001-05:002013-07-28T12:57:16.554-05:00Too much Chevron.... Really???<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ok... so I'm in LOVE with Chevron. I began making all sorts of chevron items... I tend to gravitate toward chevron pillows, rugs, fabric, clothing. {I admit I may be addicted} So when I began putting up things in my classroom I had to STOP and look at things again. I decided my Chevron alphabet was just TOO much! AND I didn't like all the owls along the bottom. I mean ~ WHAT! Too much chevron, too many owls??? I just didn't think it was possible. So I kept some chevron, added some different patterns with the same colors and I liked it SO much better. I also took off all the owls but kept them ONLY on the vowels. I'm thinking what a cute way to distinguish the vowels... they can be our Owl Vowels. Or maybe Vowel Owl Pals. Hmmm. Don't know yet but here is what the new version looks like:<br />
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It makes me wonder if I feel this way - will others also? Should I change all my items to this? If you have an opinion, I'd love to hear it!</div>
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I have changed my color scheme this year to the blues, greens and browns because first grade is getting new desks and chairs. I am super excited but I knew I had to change from my colorful scheme because of our new chairs. They are really bright but very nice. Here is a pic:</div>
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So I started incorporating this color and took out all the pink and purple. I am surprised at how well the aqua blue, navy blue and royal blue go together. Here is a picture of my word wall and the banner I created to go above it: </div>
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Don't mind the mess on the shelves. I'm still sorting and organizing so I have piles everywhere :)</div>
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I had already laminated and cut out my word wall headers so they are gonna have to stay the same this year. There's only so much time before school starts. </div>
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I also found a new rug for my reading area. I have to say that I love the factory seconds from Sensory Edge. I know they are a bit more expensive but I have always purchased a $20 rug from Wal-Mart in the past and at the end of the year have to throw it away. They just don't hold up. But I splurged a little this year and hopefully it will last forever ;)</div>
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I wanted to give my reading area a little something so I added poms in my colors but instead of spreading them out... I hung them in a group over this area. I've seen so many pictures on Pinterest and loved this idea! How do you think it looks?</div>
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Again, please mind the mess on the back shelf. My room isn't finished yet. </div>
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I love these fabric boxes (I get them at Target). They hold all my seasonal books. I am thrilled I found some in different blues and added another brown and it really brings the color scheme together. I had to get rid of my purple, pink and orange from last year. </div>
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I also came up with an idea for a title above my Literacy board. I think it turned out very cute although the picture is not great. I used blue chevron border and then decided too much... so I decided to layer it with the brown border and I think it looks much better. However ~ I ran out! :( So have to run out and get another package!</div>
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Here's another picture that might be better but has an awful glare (I should invest in a digital camera):</div>
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I love using the animal strategies for reading. My kiddos just seem to make connections as we learn each one and I leave put them on a bulletin board by my guided reading group area. Last year the borders were all bright colors so this year I had to change them up a bit. I like how they turned out and am in love with the mini poms on the corners. :)</div>
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I also use small caddies for my tables that hold crayons, glue, and markers for students to share. I always match my caddies to the table color. I had a bright blue and green already, I found a royal blue one (at Dollar General) but no such luck finding a brown. :( But I was able to find a gray and decided to use it at my brown table. Hopefully, this will work out ok. The label matches the table color so it should be. </div>
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I love grouping my students into tables or pods. Last year I used the paper circle fan decorations for my table signs. This year I decided to go with lanterns and hang my table sign from the lantern. Here is a picture which also gives you an overall feel of my room. I am making new curtains for my windows so they are not hung yet and still have lots more organizing to do. Our desks haven't arrived yet so still using our old ones until they get here (hopefully before school starts).</div>
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I have lots more to do but I can see it coming together. I could spend hours looking at pictures of other teachers classrooms. I believe it is important to walk in and feel at home since we spend so much time there during the school year. I see so many awesome pictures and get inspired each time I see such beautiful, homey classrooms! Hope you have a fabulous week!</div>
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P.S. If you didn't notice - I also got a BLOG DESIGN MAKEOVER! I love this color scheme so much I decided to make over my blog with these colors too. I have to say thank you to <a href="http://thecutestblogontheblock.com/" target="_blank">The Cutest Blog on the Block</a> for making such a great design! </div>
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First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-84792205214616374012013-07-11T15:07:00.001-05:002013-07-11T15:07:13.435-05:00I'm now on Bloglovin'!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm now on Bloglovin'!</div>
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<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/2715917/?claim=9tckvd7rgam">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>
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First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-44850963440033964312013-07-11T12:28:00.002-05:002013-07-11T12:30:22.795-05:00Prepping for the new year! And Hello again {SMILE}!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I can't believe it has almost been a year since my last post! I will have to say I have MISSED blogging and wanted to sit down and share with you classroom and life happenings so many times... Needless to say last year was a whirlwind but since then I've finished my Master's Degree and am ready to dive back in! <br />
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So as I thought about getting back into my classroom this summer (yes already!) I have done the dots on chocolate theme for a couple years now and wanted to change it up a bit. I have seen so many CUTE ideas and just couldn't figure out what color scheme I wanted to use. OH - Did I tell you that we (first grade) are getting NEW desks and chairs this year? {I promise that was not a RANDOM thought} The chairs are ROYAL BLUE - So my new theme HAD to incorporate this color (or at least coordinate with it). <br />
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Anyway - I was walking through party city {I adore their lanterns and poms} and saw this:<br />
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I LOVED the royal blue with the green and aqua! And I really think a chocolate brown would look great with these colors too. So I started thinking chevron (I have to admit I am loving all of the chevron stuff) so I started looking for borders. I ended up ordering these from <a href="http://www.creativeteaching.com/" target="_blank">CTP</a>:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HIjtyso1FJw/Ud7bd_X7HuI/AAAAAAAABgs/fvvQPc3hrKw/s1600/chevronborders.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HIjtyso1FJw/Ud7bd_X7HuI/AAAAAAAABgs/fvvQPc3hrKw/s1600/chevronborders.JPG" /></a></div>
I think they will look great with my new theme... And I plan to layer some to create the effect I want.<br />
So now all of my items that I created last year ... it is to do all over again. I've had a camping/forest theme for 4 years but the last few years I've been adding in more and more owls. {smile}<br />
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So I came up with a few things for my room and thought I'd share them and gather some feedback! Please let me know what you think!<br />
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First for some name plates for my new {squeal} desks:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brown-Owl-Chevron-Nameplates-Blue-Green-Aqua-Brown-764356" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c1U8GVjLo_k/Ud7dlYRPBwI/AAAAAAAABg8/cBPQeu7Lp8E/s320/chevowl2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I did these nameplates in all four colors above. See... OWLS!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brown-Owl-Chevron-Nameplates-Blue-Green-Aqua-Brown-764356" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l0Ar1Fu347M/Ud7eJccHK3I/AAAAAAAABhE/JnrWfFoGiWE/s320/brownowlname.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I decided to change my alphabet line to also fit this color eme but couldn't decide whether to stick with the forest theme or change to owls. SO ~ I created 2 versions!</div>
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Here is the camping version:</div>
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<img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kxGeELmufYs/Ud7faizPcLI/AAAAAAAABhc/MzPMkxr-tUY/s320/alphachevron2.JPG" width="320" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CampingForest-Theme-Alphabet-Cards-Chevron-764315" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ocxqtJktJb8/Ud7f9On2o-I/AAAAAAAABhs/tiCsXgcPLW0/s320/alphabetcamp.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And here is the OWL version (which I think I'm leaning toward):</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aSnGdutwxuY/Ud7fh44uIAI/AAAAAAAABhk/Af4nzhUcb6U/s1600/owlalphachev2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aSnGdutwxuY/Ud7fh44uIAI/AAAAAAAABhk/Af4nzhUcb6U/s320/owlalphachev2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Alphabet-Cards-Brown-Owl-Chevron-Blue-Green-Aqua-Brown-764329" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wjTZrmG7gzM/Ud7gN67m3hI/AAAAAAAABh0/XfPBKbjF48Q/s320/alphbetowl.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also created cubby labels, table signs, banners and I'm changing out all my word wall stuff. I am so excited about my new word wall headers :</div>
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I can't wait to hang these banners up!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brown-Owl-Chevron-Bunting-Banners-Blue-Green-Aqua-Brown-764898" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5LQK_nPYPeA/Ud7i_s1mGFI/AAAAAAAABik/TH73ethweEo/s320/welcomebanner.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I guess I went a little crazy and I'm still thinking of all kinds of other things I want to add (labels, charts, etc.) So hopefully I will get them done before school starts. I created a bunch of forest animal items and some BRIGHT owl items while I was at it and added those to my store as well if you are interested. Here's a sneak peek:<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Alphabet-Cards-Bright-Owls-Chevron-764306" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--gmLAJPPpRk/Ud7kht94QVI/AAAAAAAABi0/6EVCvpMe6PA/s320/alphabetbrowl.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Alphabet Cards </div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bright-Owl-Nameplates-Chevron-blue-pink-green-yellow-purple-764345" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lBikl0CCOy8/Ud7kri0CPhI/AAAAAAAABi8/EFlM1QeAWww/s320/nameplatesbright.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Nameplates</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/WoodlandForest-Theme-Nameplates-Chevron-Blue-Green-Aqua-Brown-764361" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--JbrJH4SvLM/Ud7kwLognrI/AAAAAAAABjE/wO8wDluVrG8/s320/nameplatesforest.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And the cutest forest animals ever! I just LOVE <a href="http://www.scrappindoodles.com/" target="_blank">Scrappin Doodles</a>!</div>
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I am really looking forward to getting back to blogging. I am SORRY this post is super long! I hope to get back in the swing of things and be ready for Throwback Thursday next week. I'm attending a Whole Brain Teaching conference in a couple of weeks and I'm the coach for our PBiS team and we are implementing this year {More to come on both subjects}. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!</div>
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"OWL" see ya later! </div>
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P.S. ~ Everything in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt" target="_blank">TPT Store</a> right now is 20% until Sunday, July 14th! </div>
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First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-23630261985410124932012-08-13T06:39:00.000-05:002012-08-13T06:39:15.981-05:00AND The Winners ARE...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I want to say thank you to EVERYONE who entered my giveaway! And thanks for all the wonderful birthday wishes as well. Today is my first "official" day back to school. We have a PD technology day today. We don't start school until Wednesday, August 22. So I still have plenty of time (maybe) to get my TO DO list done. OK - On to the winners...<br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0c3c870/" id="rc-0c3c870" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script><br />
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Congratulations and I will email you the files shortly! Hope everyone has a fabulous day... if you didn't win, don't forget the <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt" target="_blank">TPT sale</a> going on today. Everything is 20% off, PLUS another 10% off with the promo code BTS12! <br />
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"OWL" See Ya Later!</div>
First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-55543530481324505482012-08-11T22:54:00.001-05:002012-08-11T23:01:10.289-05:00TPT Sale and a TON of Freebies!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's Back to School time and I've been a shopping mama... taking my kiddos to buy school supplies, new shoes, clothes and all those things they "think" they need. I found some AWESOME sales today and my kids are all revved up for school! Now that I got my kids all ready for school ~ I'm so HAPPY I get to "back to school" shop tomorrow at TPT! {I have lots of items on my wishlist and tomorrow is my chance to get some goodies!} They are having a super duper sale. Not only do you get 20% off but use the TPT promo code BTS12 and you get another 10% off! Most stores are participating... including <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt" target="_blank">me</a> - but you can always check out all the fabulous teachers who are participating over at <a href="http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2012/08/back-to-school-tpt-sale-with-blog-hoppin.html" target="_blank">Blog Hoppin'</a>. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ro2F3AXxeJs/UCcMBhTOKeI/AAAAAAAABRs/eLJIRe15W6U/s1600/back+to+school.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ro2F3AXxeJs/UCcMBhTOKeI/AAAAAAAABRs/eLJIRe15W6U/s320/back+to+school.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Thanks to <a href="http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Amy Lemons</a> for creating this CUTE image! </div>
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Even though we don't start school for another week ~ I've been working in my classroom so that I can have several days to rest before my students show up and prepare lesson plans and all those last little things that just HAVE to get done {like pinterest inspired projects I really really want to do - SHHH}! </div>
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[WARNING: The following post is LONG ~ I got a little carried away but there are many freebies throughout.]<br />
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One of the first things I'd like to share with you is how I turned an UGLY green chalkboard into a whiteboard for only $13! I was going to try and use the white board paint but it was $30 and you still had to prime the chalkboard first! UGH! Too expensive and too messy! So I found some shower board (I've heard many bloggers talk about how they have cut it to make small white boards for their class). It comes in sheets of 4 ft by 8 ft - so I took my measurement and had them cut it to fit! YAY! Instant whiteboard. How to attach it???? I thought about using liquid nails - but worried if it ever had to be taken down it would absolutely ruin the chalkboard. So - I put magnets on the back (since the chalkboard is magnetic and slid it underneath the metal track by lifting the screws and then tightening them.) I have to give credit to my dad for doing this for me. He's such a handy dandy guy!</div>
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But wait... this is the before picture. </div>
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Here is the after picture!</div>
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I love how the border filled in those tiny gaps where you could still see the green chalkboard - PLUS I put up my scoreboard in preparation of using some <a href="http://www.wholebrainteaching.com/blog/Chris-Biffle.html" target="_blank">Whole Brain Teaching</a> strategies! If you want my Happy/Frowney Face - You can download them <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMSkJPV3FFUEd6aVU" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </div>
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I've done ALOT {like a TON} of labeling this year. I've had these baskets for years full of read aloud books that I use during my mini-lessons for Reader's and Writer's Workshop but just never took the time to label them. Well friends ~ I FINALLY made some labels!</div>
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I also keep a basket of my favorite read alouds and science read alouds nearby. Here is a close up of one of these labels:</div>
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I tied these labels on my baskets with some cute ribbon... I think they turned out a wee bit cutey patootey! If you would like them ~ you can download them <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMLThnWlY1WUk3Y0E" target="_blank">HERE</a>! </div>
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Even though I plan to implement whole brain teaching this year, I am still using my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/OWL-Standing-Behavior-Clip-Chart" target="_blank">clip chart </a>as I get more familiar with whole brain teaching practices. I started out with a HUGE owl but decided real quick I just didn't dig him. He was too big and made it difficult for the clothespins to attach to the chart. I ended up with this idea and I am completely in LOVE with it!</div>
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I hot glued a "branch" I made out of construction paper to the top of the bulletin board, then used ribbon between each piece of the chart and finally hot glued the ribbon at the top to make it look like it is hanging from the branch. Here is a close-up view:</div>
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I am so excited about implementing a new behavior reward system. {NO MORE TREASURE BOX... NO MORE CANDY!!} Not that I am against those things - I just about go broke trying to keep the box and the jar stocked! Plus, last year I had a kiddo with diabetes - so I did away with my candy jar last year and I realized that the kids didn't miss it at all! Then on those special days when they did get a treat it was REALLY extra special! </div>
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This year I am going to use "Warm Fuzzies" as my rewards. This by no means is my idea... I've adapted this from Mel D. over at <a href="http://seusstastic.blogspot.com/2011/09/behavior-coupon-freebie.html" target="_blank">Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations</a>! </div>
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She has an awesome presentation that explains her behavior management plan in depth as well as freebies for all the behavior coupons that go along with this system. </div>
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I have decided that depending on the color that a student ends on for the day they will earn "Warm Fuzzies". What is a "Warm Fuzzy" you ask? They are just regular {or fancy} pom poms.</div>
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Here's what my bucket looks like on the inside.</div>
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So if a student ends up on green for the day - they have earned 1 warm fuzzy. If they got to move their clip up to blue... 2 warm fuzzies. If they were Outstanding... then they've earned 3 warm fuzzies. However, if they end up on yellow {warning} for the day - they do not get a fuzzy. If they end up on orange {consequence} for the day - then they OWE me a warm fuzzy. If they end up on red for the day {parent contact} they will owe me 2 warm fuzzies! Heaven forbid!</div>
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But if they get OFF THE CHART - when they are better than outstanding... which is a RARE occasion - they get a GLITTER FUZZY! {WHOA - Stop the world!}<br />
These are worth 5 {YES I SAID FIVE} warm fuzzies!</div>
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Just take a look at these beauties!</div>
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They will put their warm fuzzies in a paint cup labeled with their student number... I didn't take a picture of the cups but I think you might be able to see them inside their book baskets in their cubbies in this picture.</div>
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But what is all the fuss about fuzzies? Every 2 weeks my students will get to shop for reward coupons. Each coupon is worth 5 warm fuzzies. {Hopefully an incentive to earn a fuzzy a day by at least staying on green}. These coupons I printed on cardstock {I got them from <a href="http://seusstastic.blogspot.com/2011/09/behavior-coupon-freebie.html" target="_blank">Mel D</a>} laminated them and put them in a craft box to keep them organized. These coupons are things like - sit by a friend, 15 minutes computer time, kick your shoes off in the classroom, bring a stuffed animal to school, read a book to the class, etc. There are so many more and they cost me NOTHING! But the kids go crazy over these kind of rewards! I'm so excited about this idea and will keep you posted how this new system works out. OH and if you liked those cute Warm Fuzzy and Glitter Fuzzy Labels - you can download them <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMVTNGNHZQN20tUjg" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</div>
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Do you do the Daily 5 and Cafe? We changed CAFE to FACE so that our first graders would relate a little better to the concept "the face of a reader". I redid my board this year {Yep - you guessed it - OWLS}!<br />
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What I am super excited about this year is that all of my strategy cards have been redone, match the color owl on my FACE posters AND {wait for it} have the CCSS on the card! Give me a 10 finger WOO everybody! LOL</div>
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Take a look at what I mean:</div>
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The purple owl is on all of the fluency cards, outlined in purple and if you look very carefully the CCSS {and there are sometimes more than one} listed on the strategy card by the owl.</div>
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Here is how I have mine organized:</div>
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I said there was gonna be a TON of freebies... so if you've made it this far in this post - Here you go!</div>
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You can find my FACE posters AND all of my strategy cards with the CCSS {FOR FIRST GRADE} <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMaEpNUGNCU2d1OVk" target="_blank">HERE</a>!</div>
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Do you do a "Star of the Week"? This year since I have kinda drifted away from camping but still have that outdoorsy forest feel... I decided to go with "Ranger of the Week". I ran out of room on my walls so put our display on the inside of our classroom door.</div>
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I found the cutest little polka dot rug and some owl pillows - I will probably regret it but they were impulse buys - you know - just too cute too pass up! </div>
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I know there are not many Saxon users out there - but we use Saxon Math - and I just HAD to get rid of all that YELLOW for our calendar wall. So I cut around each piece and made labels to put above each concept area on our wall. I don't mind it as much anymore. :)</div>
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If anyone does Saxon and would like my labels - just email me and I will send them to you.<br />
WHEW! I told you it would be a long post... I hope I didn't bore you.</div>
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Don't forget about the "Back to School Sale" at TPT tomorrow and Monday. I know I will be shopping! Oh and don't forget tomorrow is the last day to enter my giveaway for <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Work-Stations-The-Complete-Set" target="_blank">Deedee Wills Writing Work Stations The Complete Set</a> and my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Everything-OWL-Classroom-Bundle" target="_blank">Everything OWLS Classroom Bundle</a>! There will be 4 winners that will receive both items. I will announce the winners on Monday, August 13th! </div>
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0c3c870/" id="rc-0c3c870" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script>
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"OWL" See ya later!</div>
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</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-31396579545367680622012-08-07T06:00:00.000-05:002012-08-08T20:45:04.392-05:00Whole Brain Teaching Freebies and a Giveaway!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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CLAAAAASSSSSS! (Then you say .... YEEEEEESSSSS?) I am just lovin' the Whole Brain Teaching strategies. The first day of school is just around the corner and I wanted to be ready to teach my class the 5 rules. There are so many cute WBT rule signs out there and I really liked Stephanie's over at <a href="http://www.3rdgradethoughts.com/2012/07/whole-brain-teaching-rules-signs.html#.UCB9nk1lRVU" target="_blank">3rd Grade Thoughts.</a> I used the same graphics as her, but made them to blend in with my dots on chocolate decor. Here is how they turned out:</div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMR01tQjdqQlgwNnM" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7GpXl2IOVfc/UCB-IjmEWHI/AAAAAAAABM4/iA7u6sT6NKo/s320/Aug+2012+Vacation+061.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you would like a set for your classroom, just click on the picture above to <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMR01tQjdqQlgwNnM" target="_blank">download</a>!</div>
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I am also lovin' the concept of the Super Improvers Wall. I think this will really motivate students and I love how motivating it is for individual students. This can really tie in with RTI and student goals for improving. I really liked Tara's Super Improver Wall over at <a href="http://littlemindsatwork.blogspot.com/2012/07/whole-brain-teaching-super-improvers.html" target="_blank">Little Minds at Work</a>. I especially loved the wording she chose for each level. But to keep with my theme - I can't help myself - I decided to create my own Super Improvers Wall using OWLS (imagine that!) I did change the wording just a tad but here is how it turned out.</div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMa2c1cTdHQnE5cUU" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Otm0_IKoREo/UCCAcOH1biI/AAAAAAAABNA/LXdAVWyzIPw/s320/Aug+2012+Vacation+068.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I used our die cut at school and punched out stars in each color that I will hang next to these signs. If you would like the owl signs- click on the picture or you can download them <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMa2c1cTdHQnE5cUU" target="_blank">HERE</a>.</div>
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So I've been working in my room the last few days and I am by no means finished but I think my room is coming along. Here is a sneak peak of what I've done so far:</div>
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Thanks to Pinterest, I decided to use my four bookshelves to separate my tables this year. I'm finding all sorts of ways to organize all my math manipulatives, table caddies, etc. I'm already LOVING it this way. I also made the signs over each table from tissue fans from Party City and the BIG Dots on Chocolate from <a href="http://www.creativeteaching.com/p-3969-dots-on-chocolatesupsup-dots-10-jumbo-designer-cut-outs.aspx" target="_blank">CTP</a>. The idea, of course, was from Melanie over at <a href="http://www.schoolgirlstyle.com/" target="_blank">School Girl Style</a> [I just ADORE her creations!]</div>
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I would love to show you SO MUCH MORE but I have bigger and better news! I am having a GIVEAWAY! To celebrate back to school and my birthday [let's just say it's a milestone for me]... I decided to have a giveaway. I just happened to mention it to my friend <a href="http://www.mrswillskindergarten.com/" target="_blank">Deedee Wills</a> and she kindly offered one of her best sellers... so get ready to enter! Have you seen her Writing Work Stations? They are FABULOUS! Well I will be giving away 4 (yes - I said 4) <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Work-Stations-The-Complete-Set" target="_blank">Writing Work Stations THE COMPLETE SET</a> worth $32.00! AMAZING! </div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writing-Work-Stations-The-Complete-Set" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-86AKZPRfARA/UCBv5NPGEmI/AAAAAAAABMk/Oov0TOgSG6k/s320/Writing+stations+complete+set+%25281%2529.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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BUT WAIT.... THERE'S MORE! In addition to the Writing Work Stations, the four lucky winners will also get my new <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Everything-OWL-Classroom-Bundle" target="_blank">Everything OWLS Classroom Bundle</a> worth $20.00. It includes my OWLStanding Clipchart, OWL Write! Writing Choice Board Packet, Owl Themed Desk Nameplates (in both Brown Owls and Bright Colored Owls), Cubby Labels Numbers 1-28, Blank Labels for book boxes, baskets, material tubs, etc., Color Word Owls to display color words, and OWL themed Restroom Passes (3 different designs for boys and girls)! Take a look:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Everything-OWL-Classroom-Bundle" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U3hyoWxt4bU/UCCF-BcmXLI/AAAAAAAABNc/cIDtNquSf0A/s320/owlbundle0.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are 4 ways to enter - so there will be 4 winners! The giveaway starts today - August 7th - and ends Sunday, August 12th. The winners will be announced on Monday, August 13th! </div>
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In addition to my giveaway, I will be running a Birthday Sale in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt" target="_blank">TPT Store</a> today. Everything is 20% off for today only! Happy 4- th to me! [Can you tell I'm having issues?] </div>
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"OWL" see ya later!</div>
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/0c3c870/" id="rc-0c3c870" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
<script src="//d12vno17mo87cx.cloudfront.net/embed/rafl/cptr.js"></script></div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com179tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-91050587652910744782012-07-24T11:35:00.000-05:002012-07-24T11:35:48.406-05:00Christmas in July - 1 Day ONLY!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ho ho ho! There's a Christmas in July sale going on over at TPT starting tomorrow, Wednesday, July 25th. I decided to get JOLLY and join the fun by having a sale at my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt" target="_blank">TPT store</a> tomorrow (one day only) also!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IRsk1CmJlLw/UA7Jb0XQQeI/AAAAAAAABMM/LmVfXUNGYqk/s1600/christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IRsk1CmJlLw/UA7Jb0XQQeI/AAAAAAAABMM/LmVfXUNGYqk/s320/christmas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">This cute button was designed by the fabulous <a href="http://theinspiredapple.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Babbling Abby</a>! </span></div>
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Click on the link below and check out all the awesome teacher bloggers that are having a sale too!</div>
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<a href="http://imbloghoppin.blogspot.com/2012/07/christmas-in-july-sale-and-link-up.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WNSx_0Tw0tg/UA7Nol76QFI/AAAAAAAABMY/RJso_aA3vOE/s1600/BlogHopperButton-1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 25px;"><span style="color: magenta; font-family: inherit;">Please note that Teachers pay Teachers will be offline from 12:00am-8:00am EST for upgrades so please plan your shopping with that in mind.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 25px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Merry Christmas in July! </span></span></div>
</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-17489638847776129702012-07-22T19:49:00.000-05:002012-07-22T19:49:50.898-05:00OWL-Standing Behavior Chart!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hi ya'll! (My family and I are back from vacation from Tennessee!) We had the best time! I can't believe that summer will soon be coming to a close... the stores already are stocking up with back to school supplies and I actually made my first trip to my classroom to take a look around. </div>
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Even though I only did a bit of furniture arranging and cleaning - I had time to put together an idea that I've had for a while to see if it would work. This year I thought I would use an owl behavior chart. I put together a large owl but after I got it done realized I didn't bring my poster printouts to attach to him! Ugh!</div>
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So I took a picture of my owl and then placed photos of my charts on him to see how it will look eventually. I'm asking everyone to VISUALIZE here... so hopefully you get the idea. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WU5S0xsSeXU/UAyWBoQ6aiI/AAAAAAAABLw/fE-EhVQTIb0/s1600/owlstanding.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WU5S0xsSeXU/UAyWBoQ6aiI/AAAAAAAABLw/fE-EhVQTIb0/s320/owlstanding.JPG" width="238" /></a></div>
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I think he will eventually look pretty cute... I still have to add a little detail and laminate him but I think he will work out perfectly. I am loving my new charts. However, I could not decide between polka dotted owls and solid owls so I made charts using both. Here is a close up!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/OWL-Standing-Behavior-Clip-Chart" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qQ5CQJGdkjQ/UAyXEkOj_LI/AAAAAAAABL4/aPohBajgr-s/s320/owlstanding1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/OWL-Standing-Behavior-Clip-Chart" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X2I30bCsUI0/UAyXJVOAYlI/AAAAAAAABMA/disDkSsiBLU/s320/owlstanding2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see, I included Purple and Pink as color choices for Outstanding. With my last behavior chart, I had many requests to change it to purple - so I made charts using both colors. If you would like to see a better preview you can check it out at my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/OWL-Standing-Behavior-Clip-Chart" target="_blank">TPT store </a>or click on the pictures above. </div>
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On another note, does anyone out there use Whole Brain Teaching? A bunch of teachers from our school went to a session recently and I am excited about using some of these methods. I would love to hear your thoughts about WBT and results if you've used it in your classroom. At the end of the year I began using the class-yes and liked it. I'm a little iffy on the scoreboard, mirror, class-teach stuff. I have been watching videos and reading more about how WBT works in the classroom. I would love to hear thoughts and experiences! </div>
</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-34797399878722770062012-07-11T06:19:00.000-05:002012-07-11T06:50:38.682-05:00OWLS, Reading Street, and a Freebie!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well ~ we've had a break in the weather... high today 98! At least we are out of the triple digits. <span style="background-color: white;">Yesterday, I found some of the cutest clipart and decided I had to make a few things using owls. {I just LOVE owls!} I bet you didn't know that!? So for ALL the owl fans out there, I hope you like these. I started out by creating some nameplates using bright colorful owls. I thought these were just the cutest... take a look:</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bright-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-ANY-GRADE" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PsM2PPAbMNo/T_1VOsA1dqI/AAAAAAAABIU/yReHQpgEf_s/s320/brightowls1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bright-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-ANY-GRADE"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kKeumOkOxlM/T_1VnnM84KI/AAAAAAAABIs/28rpg9Bj4Zw/s320/brightowls6.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bright-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-ANY-GRADE" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-48qfSUEu-0Q/T_1VojN2TGI/AAAAAAAABI0/10ReuNc6D60/s320/brightowls7.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bright-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-ANY-GRADE" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ANLoWkXOVqM/T_1VkGN7MJI/AAAAAAAABIc/Bisq8PS3_ec/s320/brightowls3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bright-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-ANY-GRADE" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SWdqKKATrKU/T_1VlLb5jqI/AAAAAAAABIk/gmXQuWOLoR4/s320/brightowls4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bright-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-ANY-GRADE" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xxGvRn1v-n0/T_1VqxKOTSI/AAAAAAAABI8/v6p_lLV6-gM/s320/brightowls8.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you notice - some of the nameplates have cute sayings and some do not. I made them both ways so you could choose if you wanted the sayings or not. There are actually even more nameplates in the file. I used 6 different backgrounds. Click on any picture above to take you to my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bright-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-ANY-GRADE" target="_blank">TPT store</a>.</div>
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As I started using the chocolate brown backgrounds (which I love since it is the theme in my room) I began creating another file using brown owls. I fell in love INSTANTLY!</div>
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<img border="0" height="234" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MIQX_E8EBIM/T_1VrhdLRzI/AAAAAAAABJE/vX-mpUBpRIw/s320/brownowls1.JPG" width="320" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brown-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-All-Grades" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aTon21oeQxA/T_1Vswnej1I/AAAAAAAABJM/XQZbRMvE9ig/s320/brownowls2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brown-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-All-Grades" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SGasHnt1E0M/T_1Vt4EpDtI/AAAAAAAABJU/IPUnOxu5_do/s320/brownowls3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brown-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-All-Grades" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0TLfVGODex0/T_1Vwp-cxvI/AAAAAAAABJc/x0YYiYXJaKw/s320/brownowls4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure which one I'm going to use this year... I may just use one of each! Again - I created these so there are 2 copies in each file - one with the cute sayings - and one without. Just print out the ones you want to use. If you are interested, click on any picture above or <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Brown-Owls-Desk-Nameplates-for-All-Grades" target="_blank">HERE </a>to go to my TPT store.</div>
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If you teach Reading Street, I created some grammar posters that I plan to use this year as we make our way through each week. I will post these as references for each unit and then make them available in my writing center either on a ring, or in a binder, etc. I'm not sure yet. I wanted something that I could project on my Smart Board as we learn about each grammar concept. Here are a few examples of what I came up with:</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zTrJ8cyGzpc/T_1Wa2AS_YI/AAAAAAAABK8/Np_6IywrWNQ/s1600/grammar1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zTrJ8cyGzpc/T_1Wa2AS_YI/AAAAAAAABK8/Np_6IywrWNQ/s320/grammar1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vwQX9J-zK0Y/T_1WdFFH6II/AAAAAAAABLM/mh1qK7IFGHM/s1600/grammar3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vwQX9J-zK0Y/T_1WdFFH6II/AAAAAAAABLM/mh1qK7IFGHM/s320/grammar3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are both from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grammar-Posters-Unit-1-Reading-Street" target="_blank">Unit 1</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WfIQlX5OhkI/T_1WSQBCMcI/AAAAAAAABKM/yaQXE8CgsYs/s1600/grammar21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WfIQlX5OhkI/T_1WSQBCMcI/AAAAAAAABKM/yaQXE8CgsYs/s320/grammar21.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cZ9VWC05M74/T_1WUCRwDKI/AAAAAAAABKU/3z4Pzj3FSc4/s1600/grammar22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cZ9VWC05M74/T_1WUCRwDKI/AAAAAAAABKU/3z4Pzj3FSc4/s320/grammar22.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grammar-Posters-Unit-2-Reading-Street" target="_blank">Unit 2.</a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRFLyvL5J6c/T_1WU96M03I/AAAAAAAABKc/nauEBbdN1lI/s1600/grammar31.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cRFLyvL5J6c/T_1WU96M03I/AAAAAAAABKc/nauEBbdN1lI/s320/grammar31.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L23bIUZKEm8/T_1WWirepoI/AAAAAAAABKk/uXJmd2qUBIs/s1600/grammar32.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L23bIUZKEm8/T_1WWirepoI/AAAAAAAABKk/uXJmd2qUBIs/s320/grammar32.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grammar-Posters-Unit-3-Reading-Street" target="_blank">Unit 3</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V6arwMCivOk/T_1WZ2AL9pI/AAAAAAAABK0/5g62E5UZd50/s1600/grammar43.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V6arwMCivOk/T_1WZ2AL9pI/AAAAAAAABK0/5g62E5UZd50/s320/grammar43.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cEd67uz52_Y/T_1WYatV3rI/AAAAAAAABKs/7YrInGGU1j0/s1600/grammar42.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cEd67uz52_Y/T_1WYatV3rI/AAAAAAAABKs/7YrInGGU1j0/s320/grammar42.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grammar-Posters-Unit-4-Reading-Street" target="_blank">Unit 4</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y6zTDjBrUKY/T_1WNpzAOsI/AAAAAAAABJ8/p2i8WhHW_sk/s1600/grammar51.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y6zTDjBrUKY/T_1WNpzAOsI/AAAAAAAABJ8/p2i8WhHW_sk/s320/grammar51.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i0PmI_0RmAo/T_1WLqIk-8I/AAAAAAAABJ0/WqUBD6yUb60/s1600/grammar5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i0PmI_0RmAo/T_1WLqIk-8I/AAAAAAAABJ0/WqUBD6yUb60/s320/grammar5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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These are from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grammar-Posters-Unit-5-Reading-Street" target="_blank">Unit 5.</a></div>
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Each unit has 6 different posters for each of the weekly skills. These are all available in my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt" target="_blank">TPT store</a> if you are interested. </div>
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NOW for the freebie! I hope all you OWL lovers out there will like this. You can get one brown owl and one bright owl name plate for free by clicking <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMYlZLMlFpZENkYVk" target="_blank">HERE</a>! I am thinking about creating new book box labels, binder covers and cubby numbers using these cute owls. What do you think? Hope everyone has a great week... I am off to take my kids to Six Flags today. Thank goodness it has cooled down a little. (Heh heh)!</div>
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</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-69162765934665453772012-07-06T18:46:00.001-05:002012-07-06T18:46:07.310-05:00Saxon Math FREEBIE!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's still H.O.T. in Missouri ~ 107 degrees today! I was going through all my math stuff today and thought I would share my printable math calendar pages I created to go along with our Saxon Math Meeting. I know many of you do not teach Saxon but if you use any of these same components, these pages might work for you. If you teach Saxon (1st Grade) then this should be perfect!<br />
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Last year, I found that my kiddos needed something more to keep them engaged during our math meeting. We started using white boards - but some aspects were hard for them to do on a blank white board and then I saw lots of doodling... SO - I came up with these pages to help keep them engaged, on track, and as a nice reference for many of my kiddos - especially my intervention students. I used these two pages copied front to back for the first 40 lessons:<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Saxon-Math-Meeting-Calendar-Pages-1st-Grade"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JeMECeCNpls/T_d1YLpmVbI/AAAAAAAABH0/3B1v_y0E1Qg/s320/saxonprintable2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Saxon-Math-Meeting-Calendar-Pages-1st-Grade"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yprObvq8d7w/T_d1bo5gurI/AAAAAAAABH8/hCdFPkInXaQ/s320/saxonprintable3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After the first 40 lessons - I began using one page with all the calendar components. To save paper, I placed these pages in plastic sleeves and students used (skinny) dry erase markers to interact with their calendar page. It definitely helped keep my kiddos on track, focused and my intervention students loved having the resources at their fingertips to answer questions and follow along. Click on any of the pictures to download for FREE!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Saxon-Math-Meeting-Calendar-Pages-1st-Grade"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TeflgrWN9PY/T_d1idwKHfI/AAAAAAAABIE/UoYjdTvoKRo/s320/saxonprintable1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'm not sure how many Saxon Math users are out there ~ but I hope you find this to be a good resource. I would love to hear your thoughts! My TPT 20% off sale ends tonight, Friday, July 6th at midnight. Have a wonderful weekend and stay COOL! </div>
<br /></div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-32419092575066004342012-07-03T16:43:00.000-05:002012-07-05T08:58:03.149-05:00Camping/Forest Theme Classroom Ideas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white;">Is tomorrow already the 4th of July?! Yikes! I don't know about you - but it is H-O-T here in Missouri! Since I have been spending a lot of time indoors due to the heat, I have been able to sit down and create some things that I want to use in my classroom next year. Many of them were pinterest inspired but I thought I would share what I've been up to.</span></div>
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Don't you just LOVE the writing choice boards that have been floating around pinterest? I have seen several that I love but I wanted to create one that went along with my camping/forest themed classroom. So I sat down and came up with this... Warning: I had to lay these out on my table or my bed to see how they will look on a bulletin board. Sorry for the ugliness - but hopefully you can use your imagination and see the possibilities with a cute background and border. We cannot get into our classrooms until August!</div>
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This will give you an idea of what my bulletin board will look like:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fbbGLQWtG0Y/T_NaaQ9P2AI/AAAAAAAABFU/XLHQk-uWA88/s1600/Summer+2012+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fbbGLQWtG0Y/T_NaaQ9P2AI/AAAAAAAABFU/XLHQk-uWA88/s320/Summer+2012+002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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So then I thought it was too dark of a background so here is another picture:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pedG25qGnLw/T_NasOWtY2I/AAAAAAAABFo/iGSlr3UWQHU/s1600/Summer+2012+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pedG25qGnLw/T_NasOWtY2I/AAAAAAAABFo/iGSlr3UWQHU/s320/Summer+2012+013.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After I cut these out - I decided I wanted to have the option to just cut out a square instead of all the little nooks and crannies! Whew...my hands were aching! So I came up with this - I haven't decided which one I will use yet - So I printed this one out on paper so I could see how it looked.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qc2wWOfW1SY/T_NaU8h6M4I/AAAAAAAABFM/U3OHON1fjFY/s1600/Summer+2012+007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qc2wWOfW1SY/T_NaU8h6M4I/AAAAAAAABFM/U3OHON1fjFY/s320/Summer+2012+007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I made some generic list cards to go with "Make a List" part of the board. There are 12 cards but here are a few of them. I plan to laminate, put on a ring and hang on my board next to the "Make a List" choice.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Pp4NmY854M/T_NahtRCM_I/AAAAAAAABFc/ztiGwYnOcmM/s1600/Summer+2012+003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Pp4NmY854M/T_NahtRCM_I/AAAAAAAABFc/ztiGwYnOcmM/s320/Summer+2012+003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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While I was at it, I created some recipe cards, letter templates (forest themed), list templates, and created the cards to make the title of this board. I'm not sure how many out there do a camping theme - but if you are interested you can find them <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Woodland-Writing-Choice-Board-Packet">here </a>at my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt">TPT store</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Woodland-Writing-Choice-Board-Packet"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sB3jjmSVfVE/T_NerLa5nrI/AAAAAAAABF8/UxgkVV-RoDg/s320/write1.JPG" width="284" /></a></div>
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I also made some new name plates for my student desks. I print these out and laminate them and then USUALLY adhere them to my desks with contact paper. This year I think I'm going to use velcro to attach my name plates. I like to use cable ties to hold my desks together so when I need to move students around - I don't have to move their desks - just their name plates! </div>
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I made 2 sets - one set is specifically geared for <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-Camping-Theme-First-Grade">FIRST GRADE</a> and the other is for <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-Camping-Theme-Any-Grade">ANY GRADE</a>. Here are a few examples:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-Camping-Theme-First-Grade"><img border="0" height="126" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KYZYmcplDTQ/T_Nf9C-9tgI/AAAAAAAABGE/MAZaT7Dqhc0/s320/desk2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-Camping-Theme-First-Grade"><img border="0" height="128" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cTmUrolsk04/T_NgDW9sfmI/AAAAAAAABGM/WMYtqe5azD4/s320/desk4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-Camping-Theme-Any-Grade"><img border="0" height="129" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bCQKjxQjV5k/T_NgIwcsV9I/AAAAAAAABGU/x4hkWNnaGm0/s320/desk5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can find the <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-Camping-Theme-First-Grade">first grade set</a> below and the one for <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-Camping-Theme-Any-Grade">ANY GRADE here</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Desk-Name-Plates-Camping-Theme-First-Grade"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jrq1YfN1jTQ/T_NgSfOb59I/AAAAAAAABGc/tVwnlSWHZhc/s320/desk1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next year we are going to be focusing more on the six traits and I decided that I wanted some posters that went along with my theme that students could reference after I teach each trait. I just LOVE how they turned out... here are a few:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/61-Traits-Writing-Posters-Woodland-Theme"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gxj7HI9tQDI/T_Nhu12dlZI/AAAAAAAABGk/zJhijtjJafc/s320/six1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/61-Traits-Writing-Posters-Woodland-Theme"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-foLNFvgpKx0/T_Nhz24HQqI/AAAAAAAABGs/jgmD1YJclLQ/s320/six2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I tried to use simple language that my first graders could understand. I made a poster for each of the traits plus 1 for Presentation. If you are interested here is the <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/61-Traits-Writing-Posters-Woodland-Theme">link</a>:</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/61-Traits-Writing-Posters-Woodland-Theme"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VeOI0Vl7n8g/T_Nh4hN3EQI/AAAAAAAABG0/yWXm5KLgg9c/s320/six3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Last, I just love some of the alphabet cards that I have seen lately and I have been wanting to do something that was "foresty" or camping related so I sat down today and made these cards. I printed some of them out and hung them in my office just to see if I would like them. I can't wait to replace my old, faded, ugly alphabet line above my Smart Board! Here is a picture but it was very sunny so it is a little dark:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eKKrZYq0axQ/T_Na-UsibAI/AAAAAAAABFw/RH2NProw5-E/s1600/DSCF6202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eKKrZYq0axQ/T_Na-UsibAI/AAAAAAAABFw/RH2NProw5-E/s320/DSCF6202.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are some of the cards included in the set... I just LOVE dots on chocolate!</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Alphabet-Cards-Camping-Forest-Theme-Dots-on-Chocolate"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yU-VpVE232U/T_NiFQQHaHI/AAAAAAAABG8/GsQlYC3fiMs/s320/alpha2.JPG" width="218" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Alphabet-Cards-Camping-Forest-Theme-Dots-on-Chocolate"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gjK6ekRamKY/T_NiNuQ_uBI/AAAAAAAABHE/ysaJeynpURU/s320/alpha3.JPG" width="221" /></a></div>
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I decided to outline the vowels in pink so they will stand out a bit from the consonants. I am so excited about these - I am ready to head to the laminator! Click on the picture below to go to my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Nicole-Bunt">TPT store</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Alphabet-Cards-Camping-Forest-Theme-Dots-on-Chocolate"><img border="0" height="274" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SiZoP7ZlRHw/T_NiT3Xf8FI/AAAAAAAABHM/LafLqf_6VJY/s320/Alphacards.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Well - I didn't mean for this post to be SOOOOO long. I had several emails asking me to create some more woodland themed items. I have a few more ideas that I hope to add very soon - but I almost forgot - I am having a SALE in celebration of the 4th of July! Everything in my store is 20% off until Friday, July 6th. Hope you are keeping cool in this 100+ degree heat! Have a great day!</div>
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</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-69312594091565936302012-05-14T19:20:00.001-05:002012-05-14T19:20:34.401-05:00End of Year Student Gift<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have two and a half days left of school! I am already feeling the tears coming on. I know my students are ready to move on and I think I'm ready for summer but the last day is always bittersweet. I get so attached to my students and I will miss each and everyone of them. I decided to create a little gift bag for summer for my students. It looks like this:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dg-wsEkeK78/T7Gcz5wdi3I/AAAAAAAABC0/rBguXkbeRi0/s1600/IMG_1046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dg-wsEkeK78/T7Gcz5wdi3I/AAAAAAAABC0/rBguXkbeRi0/s320/IMG_1046.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Inside you will find a water gun, a splash bomb, a diving stick, a crazy straw and a Hawaiian Punch Singles Packet. Here is what it looks like from the back:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hAQPf3H6tYQ/T7Gc3gQoXLI/AAAAAAAABC8/-ItpGX962KU/s1600/IMG_1047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hAQPf3H6tYQ/T7Gc3gQoXLI/AAAAAAAABC8/-ItpGX962KU/s320/IMG_1047.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I made some cute tags that say "Hope your summer is a SPLASH!" I gave these away last year and the kids were excited! If you would like the tags you can get your free copy <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMREU2ZWRPVGpGRG8">here</a> minus my name.</div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMREU2ZWRPVGpGRG8"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6PWgE-rBTP4/T7Gf9zplilI/AAAAAAAABDM/ZYHdIrjFpRY/s320/splash.JPG" width="247" /></a></div>
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I would also like to thank everyone again for the nomination of One of the Most Fascinating Teacher Blogs of 2012. I am thrilled, honored and so thankful to be a part of an awesome blog community. Thanks in advance if you would like to vote for me. Just click on the Vote for Me button at the top left hand of my blog. Have a great week!</div>
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</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-92123831017423330732012-05-13T16:40:00.001-05:002012-05-13T19:12:13.953-05:00Countdown Finale and a freebie!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So I've been an awful blogger and haven't kept up like I said I would. Everyday I am just keeping up with what is due the following day, plus planning, grad work and my own kiddos at home...my head is spinning. But I thought I would catch you up on our countdown. By the way, a few had commented about seeing the balloon pop on Pinterest. <a href="http://www.mrsgrayspond.com/2011/04/countdown-to-end-of-year.html">Mrs. Gray</a> works down the hall from me. Last year I introduced this idea to the other first grade teachers in the building and our classes participated last year. She was already blogging, so she blogged about our days last year. {I just didn't want you guys to think I was not giving her credit or stealing her idea}. Here are some of our days from the last few weeks:</div>
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Extra Recess, Bring a Snack and Drink Day - or as we like to call it a "Read and Feed". [Students get to read while enjoying a snack and drink]. They LOVE this! We also had Sit by a Friend Day, Hat day (in the classroom only), and Stinky Feet Day - students got to kick off their shoes and walk around in their socks all day as long as they were in the classroom! I was out 3 days of this week and did not get many pictures. We also had Lollipop Day and I managed to snap a picture with my iphone:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NF-IUZx_vv0/T7APdOCRgEI/AAAAAAAABCE/m21pecQWOd8/s1600/IMG_0941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NF-IUZx_vv0/T7APdOCRgEI/AAAAAAAABCE/m21pecQWOd8/s320/IMG_0941.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We had several dum dum suckers throughout the day and then these multi flavored ones at the end of the day. Needless to say they were a big hit!</div>
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The following week we celebrated Cinco de Mayo and had a Mexican party - complete with quesadillas, maracas and pinatas. We also did the Mexican Hat Dance! One of my awesome parents came in and made the cheese quesadillas and we had chips, salsa and sour cream with them... delicious!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-alEEyuSTMek/T7AGwyut1PI/AAAAAAAABA0/W5iWzKoW2oc/s1600/DSCF6102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-alEEyuSTMek/T7AGwyut1PI/AAAAAAAABA0/W5iWzKoW2oc/s320/DSCF6102.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We made maraccas with paper plates and beans. One of my kiddos brought in some real maracas from Mexico to share with us!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7feN_ueoJz4/T7AFsWxMChI/AAAAAAAABAk/FI7IpmBPwsg/s1600/IMG_0998.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7feN_ueoJz4/T7AFsWxMChI/AAAAAAAABAk/FI7IpmBPwsg/s320/IMG_0998.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Finally we made pinatas out of paper sacks. We created them in groups and then I filled them with a little candy and trinkets and we headed outside to have some fun!</div>
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We began by using my long pointer to hit the pinata. My pointer BROKE! Oops - should've brought my wiffle bat from home. So we improvised and used my broom.</div>
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I had each of them hit it very softly the first time around so everyone got a turn.</div>
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And then once everyone had a turn, they could whack away! I had to include this picture of this little guy busting down the pinata! He hit it with all his might!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Af532RksM6c/T7AHauPX0eI/AAAAAAAABBU/npzusTZWeQA/s1600/IMG_0987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Af532RksM6c/T7AHauPX0eI/AAAAAAAABBU/npzusTZWeQA/s320/IMG_0987.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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We also have a park day every year. Our grade level classes get to go to the park to play for a day. I had to include it in my balloon countdown. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the park:<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xw7D9S74ZVw/T7AH8eYwYdI/AAAAAAAABBs/QJCx_jHRwnk/s1600/DSCF6141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xw7D9S74ZVw/T7AH8eYwYdI/AAAAAAAABBs/QJCx_jHRwnk/s320/DSCF6141.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Such cutie pies!</div>
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I just LOVE this one!</div>
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We also have a Reading Counts Party at the end of the year. Every student that has earned their points for the quarter gets to attend. It is outside and includes tons of events. We have Rockets through Rings, Art in the Pavilion, Water Balloons, Bubbles, Football throw, Volleyball, Kickball, Playground, a Wii hooked up in the Art Room, Open computer lab... and so much more. Students travel around to the different stations and each teacher is assigned to the stations. Kindergarten teachers stay with their class and rotate with them through each station. We also had our Field Day last week. We've spent lots of time out in the sun this week. I have gone through almost a whole bottle of sunscreen between me and my kiddos.</div>
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We also do a day called "Mystery Guest Reader". I arrange in advance several parents that come in to read to the kids. I keep some books handy for them but a lot of them will bring in a book to read. I give the class 3 hints before they get there and they try to guess who will be our next guest. Here is a picture of our poster I made to help us keep track of all the guests who came to our classroom:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-maLGTaTvUxU/T7AFEDjzqVI/AAAAAAAABAM/CtMjwErT48U/s1600/DSCF6165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-maLGTaTvUxU/T7AFEDjzqVI/AAAAAAAABAM/CtMjwErT48U/s320/DSCF6165.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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We had a visit from our current Principal, our new Principal for next year and the other first grade teacher. We switched classes so we could read to each other's class. It was so much fun!<br />
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Here are a few pictures of some parents reading.<br />
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This parent read Walter the Farting Dog... always a favorite!</div>
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We have 3 and a half days left! I can't believe it! It has passed by so fast. This week we are having a popsicle party, arts and craft day, and game day. Game day is scheduled for the last full day of school. The kids get to bring in their DS or other electronic games and we usually hook up an XBOX or Wii to the smartboard. Last year the kids loved playing Just Dance on the Wii. The last day we have an awards assembly and the kids wear their class shirts and sign each others shirts to say goodbye! I am including my countdown ideas in a printout in case you can use any of these ideas for next year. I just cut them apart and fold them up to put them in the balloons. Hope someone out there can use them. There is also a science experiment day we had planned to make homemade icecream but we ran out of time. I plan to make an activity packet over the summer with lots more details and activities that go with each day. Click on the picture below to grab a copy:</div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMa3RodXJwaHowWGM"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MYSpV9oSY0k/T7AnULhqu_I/AAAAAAAABCc/YRZZYEOMWsU/s320/balloon.JPG" width="253" /></a></div>
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Last, but not LEAST, I have been nominated as one of the most fascinating blogs of 2012! Wow! I am so honored and want to say thank you! There are so many fascinating blogs out there I really don't think I measure up, but if you would like to vote for me I would be so appreciative! You can click on the button at the top left hand corner of my blog to vote <u>beginning tomorrow, Monday May 14th</u>. </div>
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Voting is open until May 21st so thank you, thank you, thank you! </div>
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<a href="http://www.accelerated-degree.com/2012-fascination-awards-elementary-teacher-blogs/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Accelerated Degree Programs" border="0" src="http://www.accelerated-degree.com/wp-content/plugins//2012/05/fascination-awards-nominated-elementary-teacher.png" /></a></div>
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Have an awesome week!</div>
</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-42334663748616332932012-04-30T22:47:00.000-05:002012-04-30T22:47:54.624-05:00Catch up on the Countdown!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It has been one C-R-A-Z-Y week! What happened to me trying to post everyday??? This past week I had a graduate project due, I am teaching an enrichment class after school, our spring concert was Thursday night (which was fabulous - BTW) and my son's jr. prom was this weekend. Whew! I think the craziness is over but I begin a new class this week that already has tons of reading.... I'm not whining (ok, maybe just a little). Here was a little bit (actually A LOT) of our days last week:<br />
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Last Friday was BUBBLE day! I bought all my students their own bottle of bubbles. We read this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bubble-Trouble-Margaret-Mahy/dp/0547074212/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335841204&sr=1-1">adorable book</a> about a baby that gets trapped in a bubble and floats around town with everyone trying to catch him. <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bubble-Trouble-Margaret-Mahy/dp/0547074212/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335841204&sr=1-1"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nMfGeXTZSPs/T55w9swFDGI/AAAAAAAAA_I/VL9KbD4gWFA/s1600/bubble.jpg" /></a><span id="goog_1124330354"></span><span id="goog_1124330355"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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What a great writing prompt... What would you do if you were trapped in a bubble? I don't have any pictures of their creativeness but I do have a picture of all of our bubble fun! It was such a beautiful day!<br />
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We had a few large bubble wands that the kids took turns with making HUGE bubbles. Not necessarily big enough to trap a first grader but pretty big! :)<br />
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I couldn't resist this picture. This little guy is being bombarded with bunches of bubbles!!! </div>
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Monday we planned a ton of Earth Day activities. We read tons of books and talked about what we can do to protect the Earth. One of the activities was from <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Earth-Day-Writing-Craftivity">Fun 2B in First</a>. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of how they turned out, but let's just say Super Cute! As a culminating project, my students planted marigolds. I bought all my kids little clay pots at the Dollar Tree and they decorated them with paint pens. Again, (do you see a theme here?) I didn't get pictures of us planting them but I do have a picture of their finished product. We will be watering them and watching them grow for the next several weeks. They will get to take them home around Mother's Day. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-47kQNTM_PpY/T55qOk8lkoI/AAAAAAAAA8k/VizQrW_6aeo/s1600/April+2012+Other+041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-47kQNTM_PpY/T55qOk8lkoI/AAAAAAAAA8k/VizQrW_6aeo/s320/April+2012+Other+041.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Tuesday was EXTRA RECESS! Tuesday was supposed to be a different activity... but last minute my principal wanted our first grade team to attend a workshop about transitioning to the Common Core Standards. So I moved Friday's activity to Tuesday since it could be done with my sub. Since I wasn't there, I didn't get any pictures... but I'm sure they had an awesome time!<br />
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Wednesday was Picnic in the Classroom! My kids were so excited. What is so exciting about eating your school lunch in the classroom? Let's just say we didn't eat much but enjoyed each other's company. To set off our Picnic Theme we read the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=two+bad+ants">Two Bad Ants by Chris Van Allsburg</a>. It is one of my FAVORITE books.<br />
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What is so great about this book, is that is it written from the ants perspective so the wall is a mountain, the grass is the forest, coffee is referred to as a hot brown boiling lake. I love having the kids tell me what the ants are actually describing. The pictures help them with the clues. I wanted this to turn into a writing activity but we just didn't have time. I may revisit this book later this week and have them write as if they are an ant and describe what is happening from an ant's point of view. We will see what happens... and I will update my post if I do. Here is a little sneak into our classroom picnic:<br />
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Yes! We had bananas for lunch! Hello? Is Orange calling?</div>
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Cheers!</div>
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The reason why we didn't get to our writing activity is because our Ant Book inspired an edible project. Have you ever made edible ant hills before??? They are delicious and fun to make! Here's how:</div>
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Start with clear cups and 2 snack packs of chocolate pudding. Spoon it into the bottom of the cup. This is the dirt!</div>
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Next, smash up a whole graham cracker. You could use graham cracker crumbs, but I found the kids like to do their own smooshing (is that a word?) </div>
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Place the crumbs on top of the pudding in a heap if possible. This is your ant hill. WAIT - we are not done! You can't have an ant hill without ants, so...</div>
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Add some chocolate chips and you've now created an edible ant hill! </div>
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Here are a few pictures of our work in action!</div>
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Let's just say I never knew how hard it was to open a pudding cup!</div>
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We even had some teamwork going on!</div>
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Yummy!! It was delicious!</div>
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Thursday was BEACH DAY! Yep! We wore beach attire (sunglasses and all), had a bit of a luau theme in our classroom and brought our beach towels ready to soak up the sun! We began by sharing our experiences of the beach... very few have ever been to the beach or have seen the ocean so it was fun listening to what they knew first hand. Then we read a few books about the beach and the ocean. I love the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Commotion-Ocean-Giles-Andreae/dp/1589253663/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335842362&sr=1-1">Commotion in the Ocean by Giles Andreae</a>. </div>
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We also read some non-fiction picture books about the beach and other sea creatures. After reading and talking about all of the things we could see at the beach, my kiddos created their own ocean scenes. I gave them light blue construction paper and they made an underwater ocean scene - some included the beach and wrote about "What I see at the sea..." A great way to sneak in a little homophone review. But guess what? I didn't get any snapshots of their pictures or their writing. I did however, manage to snap some pictures of us reading on the beach... well, at least we tried to pretend. There wasn't much sand between our toes, but we definitely soaked in some sun!</div>
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Buddy Reading outside is even better!</div>
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From soaking up all those rays, we had to have a cool beach drink. So I picked up some cups, little umbrellas and some Hawaiian Punch to cool us down when we came back inside. </div>
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Aloha! </div>
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We have finally made it to FRIDAY! It was Donut Day! You would have thought we were going to Disneyland! I never realized how much kids <strike>like</strike> love donuts! I'm sure everyone can guess what book we read to celebrate donut day.... <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Commotion-Ocean-Giles-Andreae/dp/1589253663/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335842362&sr=1-1">If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff</a>. </div>
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So my activity today was ... If you give a first grader a donut...! Here are some pictures of "the best day ever" as many of them told me. </div>
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If you made it to the end of this post... WOW! I just have to say thanks. I will try to post a little bit at a time as we go forward this week. I am going to PBS training on Thursday and Friday (I hate being out of the classroom during these last few weeks). But I'm very excited that our school is initiating this School Wide Behavior Initiative next year. We are also in the middle of our assessments this week. Busy, busy! I know you are too. I just want to say thank you to everyone who comments and I love to hear what you have to say! 13 more days left! </div>
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</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-39402579196445569402012-04-19T21:43:00.000-05:002012-04-19T21:43:03.966-05:00The Countdown Begins...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I can't believe we only have 22 days of school left! Well, as of Tuesday. Every year I do an activity that I call Balloon Pop Countdown. Depending on the number of students I have - determines how many balloons I fill and what number I begin counting down the days. This year I have 22 students so we began this week. I hung 22 balloons from the ceiling filled with slips of paper that have some sort of special activity on it.<br />
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The kids are SO excited to see all the balloons in our room... but the best part is each student gets to POP a balloon to help us count down our last days of school. At the end of each day, I pick a stick and that student gets to pop our next balloon to tell us what tomorrow has in store for us. Here is a close up of one of our balloons. See the slip of paper inside?</div>
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So what did day 22 have in store for us? It was BUBBLE GUM DAY! I bought a HUGE tub of bubble gum - enough for the kids to have 4 pieces that we spread throughout the day. It wasn't just about chewing gum but there was much more in store. First, we read about how bubble gum was invented. Here is the book we read:</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pop-The-Invention-Bubble-Gum/dp/1416979700/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334888185&sr=1-5"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VleFZiYnlWc/T5DGeXfTgUI/AAAAAAAAA6k/xj4UCsD6xbc/s1600/pop.jpg" /></a></div>
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Then we read the book "Lester Fizz, Bubble Gum Artist" by Ruth Spiro.</div>
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This book is about a boy who grows up in a family of artists. Lester doesn't seem to be good at anything. Members of his family can paint, collect, make sculptures... but Lester is good at blowing bubbles. He finds out that he can blow amazing art bubbles the shapes of things like the Mona Lisa, the Statue of Liberty or a portrait of his whole family! This book is not only adorable but it uses a lot of alliteration that you can touch on throughout the book. After reading this story, students had to think about what would they make if they could blow a magnificent art bubble? Just look at what they came up with:<br />
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I took a picture of each student like they were blowing a bubble and then they used pink construction paper to design their bubble after writing about it! I thought they turned out super cute!</div>
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If you would like a copy of our writing paper, please grab your copy <a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMb2Mzc1l4aWg5eDQ">here</a>:</div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMb2Mzc1l4aWg5eDQ"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T86yYimRGGw/T5DJ4nEyQOI/AAAAAAAAA60/VRk41li2zes/s320/bubble+gum1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have a bunch of days planned with lots of fun activities. I will be posting them (hopefully) every day or every other day as I get pictures uploaded. My students look forward to what tomorrow has in store and the activities help to "curb" the last day blues. </div>
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I would also like to add that Charity Preston over at <a href="http://theorganizedclassroomblog.com/">The Organized Classroom Blog</a> has encouraged bloggers to take the <a href="http://theorganizedclassroomblog.com/index.php/blog/are-you-ready-to-take-the-5-star-blogger-challenge">5 Star Blogger Challenge</a>! Are you up to the challenge? Go check it out! </div>
<br /></div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-51934151513598656282012-03-25T18:28:00.000-05:002012-03-25T18:28:07.928-05:00Sums of 10 Lickety Split ~ Freebie!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;">Our class has been working on adding sums of 10. I really want my students to be fluent with these facts. I tell them all the time they should know their facts "Lickety Split". So, I made up a game to help them practice. There are several ways you can play this game, however, we started out like this. I made a target on our whiteboard with 10 in the middle. I explained to them that 10 is our target - we need to add 2 numbers to make 10. I then put numbers from 2 to 9 around the outside edge of the target and chose a student to come up to the board. The rest of my class had the same target at their desk. I put them in plastic sleeves so they could use a dry erase marker to write on and wipe clean easily. The class will be racing against the student at the board to try and fill in their target first. When a student has their target filled in (whether they are at the board or at their seats) they yell "Lickety Split"! If all of their answers are correct - they win! The students erase their sleeves and I pick a different student to come to the board. If the student at the board wins - they get to stay at the board until someone at their seat beats them. I hope that made sense. ?? Here is a picture of one of the targets in a sleeve using a dry erase marker:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IEUUa0e1SFU/T2-eePUPXzI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/kt68JWAjzHk/s1600/DSCF5866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IEUUa0e1SFU/T2-eePUPXzI/AAAAAAAAA5Q/kt68JWAjzHk/s320/DSCF5866.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">After we played several games using this target, I decided to create some different targets with the numbers in random places. This way I could give students different game boards and those with wandering eyes couldn't just write down their neighbors numbers. They HAD to concentrate on their target. They loved trying to be the first one to say "lickety split". I have also had two students say "lickety split" at the same time. That's ok... we can have a tie! I let one person go to the whiteboard and the other person use our smartboard. It gets quite competitive but I have seen great improvements in the fluency of these facts. I also place these targets in one of our math tubs with a sand timer and students can race against the timer or each other. </div><div style="text-align: center;">If you are interested in trying this game with your students, I recently uploaded this game for FREE at my TPT store. Click on one of the pictures below or go to my store using the link on my sidebar.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sums-of-10-Lickety-Split"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZGMdK1-roPo/T2-fJizhk_I/AAAAAAAAA5U/I_R11J7hSlE/s320/licketysplit.JPG" width="273" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sums-of-10-Lickety-Split"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BK2isKTHr80/T2-fJh8rl7I/AAAAAAAAA5Y/iIi1KQYjQUU/s320/lickety+split1.JPG" width="284" /></a><span id="goog_1897467568"></span><span id="goog_1897467569"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Sums-of-10-Lickety-Split"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l_EknTDl4-Q/T2-fJjqbfVI/AAAAAAAAA5c/KDWc1c-I7Pk/s320/licketysplit2.JPG" width="266" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">I would love to hear what you think about this game! I hope you can use it with your kiddos too! I love my students to know their facts "Lickety Split"!! </div><br />
</div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-33313985182621417822012-03-22T22:17:00.002-05:002012-03-22T22:22:19.514-05:00Leprechaun Twist and Super Scientist in Full Swing!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So I know it's been forever since I've posted, and I could tell you all about my horribly busy life...(teacher, mother, student, wife, etc.) - so pretend I did {Blah, Blah, Blah} - Now I feel better! :)<br />
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I just had to share these Leprechaun posters we did when we returned from Spring Break. The wanted posters are from <a href="http://ericabohrer.blogspot.com/">Erica Bohrer</a> and you can find them <a href="http://ericabohrer.blogspot.com/2012/03/leprechauns.html">here</a>. Instead of drawing a picture this year, my kiddos dressed up as leprechauns. Yep! I bought a green plastic hat, bow tie, shamrock sunglasses, and some stick on beards and my students were transformed! We laughed so hard and had so much fun taking these pictures. Here are some of my <strike>students </strike> leprechauns!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Even the GIRLS wanted the beard and mustache! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">I printed out their pictures, cut them to fit the poster and they loved writing about the wanted leprechaun (themselves)!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jLSm_Rz06EU/T2vef73Ws4I/AAAAAAAAA2M/xx2vRsoYGkc/s1600/DSCF5843.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jLSm_Rz06EU/T2vef73Ws4I/AAAAAAAAA2M/xx2vRsoYGkc/s320/DSCF5843.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I wanted to share some photos of my SUPER scientists (and I do mean SUPER)! I am amazed every year at how excited and very serious my first graders are about their experiments. If you would like to know more about the Super Scientist Experiments in my room, you can read my <a href="http://firstgradeowls.blogspot.com/2011/04/super-scientist.html">original post</a> along with some <a href="http://firstgradeowls.blogspot.com/2011/07/super-scientist-repost-freebie.html">freebies</a> that accompany this project. Now to see the magic:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tom_yFuRTjE/T2vjXTRKGAI/AAAAAAAAA48/mDCofYgXKvU/s1600/January+2012+038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tom_yFuRTjE/T2vjXTRKGAI/AAAAAAAAA48/mDCofYgXKvU/s320/January+2012+038.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D7u8nUqJsQ0/T2vjcH0bS0I/AAAAAAAAA5E/JXZ-kym125o/s1600/January+2012+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D7u8nUqJsQ0/T2vjcH0bS0I/AAAAAAAAA5E/JXZ-kym125o/s320/January+2012+042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Erupting Volcano</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zc4IJA2HOwk/T2vgfx0X24I/AAAAAAAAA34/D6P95xDNzNI/s1600/DSCF5751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zc4IJA2HOwk/T2vgfx0X24I/AAAAAAAAA34/D6P95xDNzNI/s320/DSCF5751.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zc4IJA2HOwk/T2vgfx0X24I/AAAAAAAAA34/D6P95xDNzNI/s1600/DSCF5751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zc4IJA2HOwk/T2vgfx0X24I/AAAAAAAAA34/D6P95xDNzNI/s320/DSCF5751.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Tornado in a Bottle</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iDcaEavmzwA/T2vgNvZJ5MI/AAAAAAAAA3o/lzz8nKZQV0o/s1600/DSCF5736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iDcaEavmzwA/T2vgNvZJ5MI/AAAAAAAAA3o/lzz8nKZQV0o/s320/DSCF5736.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lz_X_k0yAz8/T2vgTznezeI/AAAAAAAAA3w/VquChSfoLYA/s1600/DSCF5738.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lz_X_k0yAz8/T2vgTznezeI/AAAAAAAAA3w/VquChSfoLYA/s320/DSCF5738.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Oil Bubbles</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pBQsT2NLek/T2vfcx9fnQI/AAAAAAAAA3E/a62DR7E3IdI/s1600/IMG_0753.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_pBQsT2NLek/T2vfcx9fnQI/AAAAAAAAA3E/a62DR7E3IdI/s320/IMG_0753.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rkMk-OgMSH0/T2vfjWor7EI/AAAAAAAAA3M/iHI-9ztZo48/s1600/IMG_0755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rkMk-OgMSH0/T2vfjWor7EI/AAAAAAAAA3M/iHI-9ztZo48/s320/IMG_0755.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Rising Heat</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z-z_BeMJyKE/T2vf8l6lJ9I/AAAAAAAAA3c/8UJZi6vyrj0/s1600/IMG_0685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z-z_BeMJyKE/T2vf8l6lJ9I/AAAAAAAAA3c/8UJZi6vyrj0/s320/IMG_0685.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7rvzc-s8MuE/T2vf02VgWxI/AAAAAAAAA3U/MI1vqO51Bjg/s1600/IMG_0687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7rvzc-s8MuE/T2vf02VgWxI/AAAAAAAAA3U/MI1vqO51Bjg/s320/IMG_0687.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Magic Milk</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ITb8DUsRlSU/T2vhBz687OI/AAAAAAAAA4I/YTKYAavY1F0/s1600/February+IPHONE+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ITb8DUsRlSU/T2vhBz687OI/AAAAAAAAA4I/YTKYAavY1F0/s320/February+IPHONE+034.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Liquid Mix-Up</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-srGxPrlBi1I/T2vhrZVE6PI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/HfBzeFaRU84/s1600/DSCF5715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-srGxPrlBi1I/T2vhrZVE6PI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/HfBzeFaRU84/s320/DSCF5715.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2f54_yq_02w/T2vhv8qlJPI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/Ogwmr9mZpf0/s1600/DSCF5712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2f54_yq_02w/T2vhv8qlJPI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/Ogwmr9mZpf0/s320/DSCF5712.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Screaming Glass</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6Ryj9Fi60c/T2vh42KgNMI/AAAAAAAAA4g/tbXEDnxMt_Q/s1600/DSCF5724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6Ryj9Fi60c/T2vh42KgNMI/AAAAAAAAA4g/tbXEDnxMt_Q/s320/DSCF5724.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PAZ2Vfh0uJY/T2vicNTcqaI/AAAAAAAAA4o/IrmE5N8OEXM/s1600/DSCF5719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PAZ2Vfh0uJY/T2vicNTcqaI/AAAAAAAAA4o/IrmE5N8OEXM/s320/DSCF5719.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Acid Test</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3SDw9Uv7tRU/T2viyAT-tfI/AAAAAAAAA4w/JnVprzxzT4g/s1600/January+2012+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3SDw9Uv7tRU/T2viyAT-tfI/AAAAAAAAA4w/JnVprzxzT4g/s320/January+2012+023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dancing Raisins</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hGpL6YKB2Bw/T2ve_T8KCVI/AAAAAAAAA20/dCWaSfFVE0Y/s1600/DSCF5800.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hGpL6YKB2Bw/T2ve_T8KCVI/AAAAAAAAA20/dCWaSfFVE0Y/s320/DSCF5800.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Air Pressure Water Rocket</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We still have many more left and they can't wait until it is their turn. I love to see their eyes light up, and the "ooohs" and "ahhhs" and "wows" as they perform their experiments. I hope to make a presentation with all my super scientist experiments so that students (and parents) will have a keepsake of all the awesome science experiments we did throughout the year. </div><div style="text-align: center;">Tomorrow is Friday... Yay! Going to see Hunger Games this weekend. Any fans out there? Can't wait!</div></div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562413518889681151.post-26391612507336068712012-03-07T18:43:00.001-06:002012-03-08T09:57:49.222-06:00Have you lost your rainbow?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: center;">Have you read the book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Leprechaun-Who-Lost-His-Rainbow/dp/080754454X">The Leprechaun Who Lost His Rainbow" by Sean Callahan</a>? We created some rainbows this week! In this story, the leprechaun is named Roy G. Biv. We talked about the colors of the rainbow and the order of the colors using this leprechaun's name. The little girl in this story has to help Mr. Biv build a rainbow by putting items into his hat that match these colors. When he has something for each color a rainbow magically appears out of his hat. This story inspired me to create this fun writing prompt and craft that goes along with the story. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2jD6wSMKsA8/T1f4urUGp5I/AAAAAAAAA1Y/n7cQ5TdbfVA/s1600/IMG_0831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2jD6wSMKsA8/T1f4urUGp5I/AAAAAAAAA1Y/n7cQ5TdbfVA/s320/IMG_0831.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The students had to think of items that belonged to them that were a color of the rainbow and write about it. In the story, the little girl had to place one item that was very special to her that she did not want to give up, but sacrificed in order to make the rainbow. At the bottom of the paper, the students had to tell me which item was the most precious to them and why. Here is a student example. I apologize for the pics. I took them with my iphone and they are just not very good. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d5EdvMaSySU/T1f46aMvuDI/AAAAAAAAA1g/5DfHWB-lcuM/s1600/IMG_0836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d5EdvMaSySU/T1f46aMvuDI/AAAAAAAAA1g/5DfHWB-lcuM/s320/IMG_0836.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Here they are lined up in the hall:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFKcuVwzwlI/T1f5ECQNp4I/AAAAAAAAA1o/IlOsSQhs7Is/s1600/IMG_0833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CFKcuVwzwlI/T1f5ECQNp4I/AAAAAAAAA1o/IlOsSQhs7Is/s320/IMG_0833.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I guess it's time to take my snowflakes down. They are clashing with our spring writing!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">The kids enjoyed coming up with items they would put in the hat and what item they would sacrifice. I have included the writing page I used below. The kids loved this book and as soon as I put it back on our seasonal shelf, they were fighting over who gets to read it again first. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9iDS05w_zOMUzFRUkJ5aGpTWkNBcC1vbGliYXZOZw"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0TCHoHe72iM/T1f5cILZ3bI/AAAAAAAAA1s/fRWLKcAQxWk/s320/rainbow+writing.JPG" width="320" /></a><span id="goog_212155444"></span><span id="goog_212155445"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On another note, our super scientists have been going great! I can't wait to paste some pictures and information about what awesome scientists we have in first grade. Happy Wednesday!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div></div>First Grade O.W.L.shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14445128363500746533noreply@blogger.com16