Made (way too much of) It Monday...

Ohmigoodness! I have got to stop blog stalking and pinning! You all have WAAAYY too many good ideas! This is what I was able to accomplish this week...

The grossly popular seat crates. I tried to resist, but couldn't. I have such a tiny room that I always thought, "there's no space." I finally realized that these would be great in my reading corner. Just wait until I can get into my room and set it all up!!

The tattle monster was another great pinterest inspired project. Hopefully this will eliminate the mindless tattle telling that goes on day-to-day. There's a poster I'm going to print and laminate that goes with it, too.

Here's my no name board. I forgot to take the little pieces of paper out of the clip before I took this picture. Whoopsie!

Here's my writing process pencil. Again, this is one of those ideas I have seen over and over, but thought I didn't need it. Now that I've come to my sense, I'm excited to laminate this and post it with my writing process posters!

Last, but not least, this week I wrapped up my latest TpT product. May I present...

Owl and Polka Dot Reading Strategies and Skills

Aren't they just adorable?! The first 5 to say they are will get 'em for free!

As if that wasn't enough, I'm almost finished with my Common Core packet. Be on the look-out (you know I like giving things away)!!

I know it's late, but there's still time to link up and show up whatcha got!

Best wishes,

Back to School linky...

Back to school is always my favorite time of the year! Everyone comes back re-energized, goal oriented and looking sharp in their new threads and tans! Plus classrooms are bursting with sparkling, new decor (that surely won't stay that way for long)! Well, for the second year in a row, Jodi at Fun in First Grade has just created an awesome linky just for this time of the year! It's all about your favorite back to school activities. So, here's a little about what going on in my neck of the woods....

Of course I read The Kissing Hand. I usually do this as one of the first activities in the morning. Since I'm at a VERY small private school, most of us already know each other. However, it's still reassuring for those who are a little timid about having a new teacher. Then we trace our hands and form them into the sign language "I love you." We draw a heart and glue it in the middle. Sorry for the poor quality photo!

This is a picture I took of the memory books I make each year. I save this hand and glue it to the cover so they can remember their first day of school.


One of my other favorite back to school activity is making this...

The kids and I get together and talk about what we want to learn this year. This is one of my first opportunities to see what they're interested in, which is always useful information!! As they participate in our discussion, I pass out some paper and a cloud template. I try to keep this conversation very informal. I REALLY want everyone to be honest and not just repeat what their friends have said. Once everyone has had a chance to share (remember, my class size is teeny) I ask the students to trace the cloud. I did try having the kids draw their own clouds one year, but I found they would tend to draw too small. Then they would have a difficult time fitting everything inside. After they trace, they are asked to finish the sentence frame "This year I want to..." and draw a picture. There's absolutely nothing fancy about this activity. All you need to do is make some cloud templates on cardstock and cut some construction paper. I love it because I'm learning about each student in so many ways: how they write, draw, color, trace and cut; what things they're interested in; if they're able to stay on task; who is sharing and who isn't; and if they're comfortable participating in class conversations. And in case you're interested, I use this as a segway into talking about rules and why they're important... We need them so we can accomplish the things we want to do. Otherwise, there would be chaos!


This year, I'm going to be trying something NEW! I've spent the summer creating center after center to use in my class. Again, being in a private school presents a unique set of challenges. Our students tend to be VERY DEPENDENT. One way I try to promote independence is by integrating centers into our routine. Believe it or not, last year was the first year I did this. The result was well worth the time and effort it took me to put them together. Now that I have a small clue as to what I'm doing and how I want it to help, I'm really working on creating! So, if you're interested in a few back to school centers, you should check these out.

Leaping into Learning

"Whooo's Ready for First Grade?"

As I mentioned in a previous post, these centers are almost identical. The main difference is, of course, the graphics. Other than that, the owl pack includes one additional math center. As a reward for you patient readers who stuck with me and made all the way to the bottom, I'll (again) be emailing the first 5 commenters a free copy of their choice. Please don't forget to leave me your email and tell me which pack you prefer.


So, what are some of your favorite back to school activities? Link up and share!


Best wishes,

Oops, I did it again...

I spent waaaaay too many hours blog stalking last week and not enough actually working. This addiction is really overwhelming at times. Hmmmm, maybe I need to go to bloggers anonymous meeting or something. Anyways, besides surfing the web, I did a little shopping for my next Made It Monday. I bought material, styrofoam, candy, a flower pot, some canvases and crayons. This is what I did with them all...

Curtains to hang along my "teacher shelves." My friend helped my since I didn't have a sewing machine. We made 4 curtains. It will be a nice change from the ones I have previously used for 6 years!

After we finished the curtains, there was still a bit of material left. I didn't want to throw it all away so I decided to make some pillows for my reading corner. By this point, my friend was already all sewed out, so I got to make these all by myself! I was so proud!! Hehe

I know we have all seen these before. My classroom is going to me so heavily decorated in black and white polka dots with a hint of red. I thought this sign would add a much needed pop of bright color! I'm not 100% thrilled with how some of the wax leaked under the tape so I may try it again. However, I'm definitely keeping the work try. So many of my students like to say they can't do something before they even try it. Drives me bonkers! If you make this, here are a few tips: 1. make it somewhere that can get dirty or be easily cleaned (I choose my kitchen counter since it's in the middle of a remodel) and 2. use Crayola crayons. I used to cheapies and the wax seemed a little too runny.

This little beauty is another one we've probably seen plastered all over pinterest. However, I liked Rachel's addition of the sign at the top. So, I painted a flower pot, added polka dots and stuck a bunch of dum-dums into a styrofoam ball. Then I created a sign at the top, printed and cut it, and glued it to some straws. Easy peasy! In my class, red is the highest color on the color chart. At the beginning it's pretty easy to get there. I want all students to have the feeling of success. As we get farther into the school year, my expectations rise making red a little harder to achieve. At the end of the day, I reward those on red with a treat. It used to be otter pops, but this year I'm making the switch to dum-dums. Otter pops were awesome and the kids loved them, but they were not given on cold days and sometimes getting to and from the freezer was a task. The dum-dum tree can sit right in my class. Love it!!


So, what did you make??


Link up and show off!

Best wishes,

Newbie Bloggers Blog Hop...

Hiya friends! During my daily blog stalking I can across a linky party that is perfect for me and probably many of you! It's for new bloggers!! A way to meet other teachers in your same boat. So, here's to making new friends...

    1.  what state you are in

    2.  your current teaching position

    3.  your teaching experience

    4.  when you started blogging

    5.  share a blogging tip / blogging resource

1. Sunny California

2. First grade (and parts of second grade... long story)

3. 7th year (9th if you count student teaching and a year of substitute    teaching)

4. I tried briefly last year but wasn't committed. This time around, I've been going strong since June of 2012. Go me!!

5. Set a timer!!!! I can't count the number of times I've spent all day/night on here hopping from blog to blog. I would always say, "Just one more..." Now I decide how much time I can afford to spend stalking and I set a timer. When it goes off, I stop. It takes some discipline, but I now have time for the other necessities. Best of both worlds!!

Hope you'll link up so we can get to know more about you! And thanks to Janis at Grade Three if For Me for creating this linky!

Now I'm off to continue working on my calendar and other classroom labels! 

Best wishes,

Made it Monday...

I'm so excited ladies! It's my first linky party!! Hope I'm doing this right...

So I've been sitting back for weeks watching all of your overachievers produce adorable homemade goodies while I attempt to resist the urge to learn how to pin things on pinterest. This morning when I rolled out of bed, I realized today was Monday (funny how summer time throws me off so much. The other day somebody asked me what day of the week it was. I said, "July.") and I was going to make something! After milling around Wal-Mart and Michael's for HOURS, I remembered the "read" signs so many of you had made. So, that's what I choose. I bought paint, brushes, glitter, wooden circles and band aids (just in case) and got to work! I even used my husband's saw... all by myself! After a lot of squinting and bending over and wiping, this is my finished product!

I can't wait to hang it in my room! BTW as I was trying to figure out how to join a linky party, I found even more projects that I want to do!! I wonder how long Michael's is open...


Lastly, you should definitely stop by Rowdy in Room 300. She made those adorable burlap signs to hand on her door. If you're not crafty to attempt one yourself (like me), then enter her giveaway! She's giving away 2 personalized signs!! Good luck!


Best wishes,