Monday, December 23, 2013

New Year's Giveaway!!!

It is time to set the year off right with a MEGA BIG blog giveaway! I am so lucky to have this opportunity to host this NEW YEAR CYBER CELEBRATION! For this giveaway, I linked each donated product to each blog participant for you to explore and see. Please click on each blog's button to take you to the {blog, bloglovin', tpt store, instagram, OR facebook} that each blog participant would like you to follow in order to enter the giveaway! I tried to make it easy on everyone so that we can let the giveaway fun begin! FIVE New Year's Giveaway Packs means FIVE WINNERS! The winners will be chosen at MIDNIGHT on January 1 to start the new year off on the right foot. Happy entering and…
 "May the odds be ever in your favor" 
{Shout-out to my Hunger Games Friends}

{Featured Kinder Teachers}
Mrs. Price’s Kindergators-  I  will  incorporate  more  real  life  experiences  for  my  kids  so  all  can  be  successful. {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}

Keepin’ It Krazy with Mrs. Berns- My teaching New Year's resolution is to get my kids excited about writing and dive more into our new writing curriculum. This is one subject area that I'm always seeing a need for improvement for me and for my kinders! {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}

Kinder Sisters- To do more art with our kiddos! We need more time for the fun stuff! How can we make it all fit? There is just not enough time in the day! In all seriousness, we always want to better our resources, ideas, etc. We hope we are always getting better at what we do! {$10 to spend in TPT store & a head wrap}
Enchanted Kinder Garden- I plan to be more planned. Does that make sense? Planning ahead and having everything written down makes my life so much easier. I have started making visual plans for the week and they have seriously saved my life! That will be my "teaching" resolution to the year. I know I will be able to STICK to it. I have to speak that into existence. =) Have a wonderful New Year everyone! {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}
Adventures in Kindergarten- My teaching New Year's resolution is to blog more often, take more photos of my little ones in action and to {somehow} get iPads for my classroom! {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}

A Kindergarten Life for Me- My "teaching" New Year's resolution is to CLEAN my small group table each day before I leave!!! Sometimes, I have so much going on during the day that this table becomes a dumping ground! Bad, Bad habit!!! I really want to make this resolution last! HA! :) {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}


{Featured Firsties Teachers}
Laugh Love Learn- My teaching New Year's resolution is to find simple ways to help my first graders monitor their progress and set goals. {Winter First Grade Math Activities and Centers}

Searching for Teacher Balance- My "teaching" resolution is take time for me, through yoga.  Like all of you, I work ridiculously hard and forget to make time for me.  For the sake of myself and my students, I plan to practice yoga more. {Squiggle Book-Creative Writing Journal}
Adventures in First with Mrs. Key- I would love to dig deeper into our new Common Core Reading Series. There is so much, and I have a hard time getting through each day without running out of time. {Winter Unit}
Learning is for Superstars- To use QR codes in my instruction - they scare me right now! {Benjamin Franklin Mini Unit & Christopher Columbus Reader}

A Sunny Day in First Grade- My teaching resolution is to have more fun!  With so much testing and data collecting, it can be easy to get bogged down with what needs to be done.  We sometimes forget that our kids are KIDS!  We need to slow down and have fun with them! :) {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}
Follow A Sunny Day in First Grade on TPT

Mrs. Peterson Loves to Teach- My New Year's resolution is to be able to do a pull up within the year.  I am a Crossfit Lover and this is the one thing I have been working on for a while.  This is the year for me :)) {Winn'er Choice of 1 item from TPT store}
Follow Mrs. Peterson Loves to Teach on TPT
An Apple a Day in First Grade- To blog more and create more products! {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}
Once Upon a Classroom: The Tale of Two Teachers- My "teaching" New Year's resolution is to give more detailed and specific feedback. This is so valuable to my students' learning and sometimes I catch myself slipping! {Synonyms and Antonyms}

The Busy Busy Hive- I am going to try my hardest to figure out how to work the Smartboard that is now in my classroom.  No one in the school wanted it and I just couldn't let it be put away or sold. I figure if I can learn how to use  it my first graders will have a ball with it during centers. {Wizard of Oz Time! (Writing & Labeling Packet) and Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}

Taming My Flock of Firsties- I would like to try to keep up with the classroom blog so that my parents have a glimpse into their day. :) {Winner's Choice of 2 items from TPT store}

Learning is Something to Treasure- My teaching New Year's resolution is to continue to make learning hands on and fun for my students. I want to make the most of every minute every day! {Plenty of Penguins: A Non-fiction Unit on 10 Different Species of Penguins}

One Fab Teacher- My teacher's New Year's resolution is to not call in one day for the rest of the school year. My first two years of teaching I didn't call in one day. :) {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}

My Mommy Reads- Just like every year, my resolution is to be more organized! :) {Penguin Place Value, CCSS NBT, First Grade!}
Follow My Mommy Reads on Facebook
Missing Tooth Grins- My "teaching" New Year's resolution is to be more organized and to keep learning fun and enjoyable for my firsties! {Build a Snowman Literacy Activities}
Tales of a First Grade Teacher-My Teaching New Year's resolution is to take 1 day at a time. It's easy to get overwhelmed with projects, assessments, Common Core, grading etc.... I am going to work to balance my teaching day, so I can be less stressed at home. {February Fundamentals}
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 {Featured 2nd Grade Teachers}
Bright Concepts 4 Teachers- I want to be more "present" each day with my students. We all get so busy juggling all the different hats that we wear as teachers. Sometimes we forget to appreciate and take in all the little things that happen with our students each day and celebrate them. This new year, I want to do a better job at being in the moment with my students.  {New Year's Resolution Craftivity and Class Book}

Sparkling in Second- My teaching New Year's resolution is to start the Daily 5 in my classroom in order to reach more of my students in different areas of struggle. {Skip Counting Centers}
Covered in Glitter and Glue- To enjoy the students! It often feels there are so many things put on us as teachers, stresses coming from every direction, that I sometimes forget to stop and enjoy the moment and the little ones that I spend my day with. {Winner's Choice of 2 items from TPT store}

Today, in Second Grade- I would like to incorporate more technology into my lessons. The students love it and although I use it often, I know there is so much more to do with technology and teaching. {Winter Activities Mega Bundle Pack}

Primarily Speaking- I don't typically make resolutions, personally or professionally, but I certainly believe in, and live by, the idea of continual improvement.  I am always looking for ways in which I can do things better, to make things more efficient, and so forth.  This not only keeps my teaching fresh from year to year, but it keeps me excited about my job day after day. {Winter-riffic Addition Centers (Common Core Aligned)}

The Balancing Act I Call Life- My teaching resolution is to choose 1 evening a week to put down the laptop! I LOVE creating and making and organizing and blogging about anything and everything for my classroom, but I need to make time for me (and hubby), too! {*Snow* Many Synonyms and Antonyms}

My Second Sense- {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}

Tori’s Teacher Tips- Don't let Common Core bog me down! {Winner's Choice of $10 in TPT store}
Hippo Hooray for Second Grade- I usually work on my lesson plans for the week on Sunday night. My goal is to get started on them on Thursdays for the following week, so that I can have a stress-free weekend :) {Main Idea Mania}

The Teacher’s Chair- I have a bunch of little artists this year, so to really tap into their learning style, I would love to bring my curriculum to life with as many hands-on artistic projects as possible! {Problem Solving with Bar Modeling: 'Problem Solving Magic & Happily Ever After'}

Second Grade Superkids- My "teaching" New Year's resolution is to find more ways to support positive staff, student, and community involvement and pride in our school! {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}

Meet Miss Parker- As a new teacher, my New Year's resolution is to continue to learn from all of you! I have been so lucky to venture into the online world of teaching at an early point in my career. Between the blogs, pinterest, IG, and tpt, I have already learned so much! I hope to continue to stay active with all of you, despite the craziness of my search for a full-time job! (cross your fingers for me!) <3 {Differentiated Reading Comprehension Passages- Common Core}
Super Sparkly in Second- My New Year's resolution is to organize my teaching materials by placing them in folders by theme/holiday. Although I'm digitally organized, I'm not organized in the physical world. {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}
The Applicious Teacher- Get more organized and stay a head of the game! Feel like I've been WAY behind on my prep work this year. {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}
a Rafflecopter giveaway
{Featured 3rd Grade Teachers}
Inspired Owl’s Corner- My teaching New Year's resolution is to keep learning as much as possible about Common Core State Standards, because we will be fully implementing CC next school year. I'm so excited for this change in education! {Winner's Choice of 2 items from TPT store}

School Days with Smith- I am going to make it my goal to grade papers in a more timely manner! I want my students to receive more accurate and prompt feedback, and I also want to maximize my time at home with my baby! {2 and 3 Digit Addition and Subtraction Math Games}

The Craft of Teaching- My teaching New Year's Resolution is to remember that, no matter how stressful teaching gets, laughter and smiles in the classroom are a MUST! {$15 Starbucks gift card & Quadrilaterals: 2D Shape Sort}

A Classroom Full of Smiles- My "teaching" New Year's resolution is to file my extra copies into the correct folder in my file cabinet. I usually just leave them laying around until the pile is so big that it takes an hour to file everything away. I need to be more prompt at putting things where they need to go. {Snowman at Christmas Activity Pack and Craftivity-ELA Common Core Aligned}

Teaching With Hope- I will take the time to have a conversation with each every student every morning! Even if it is just a short snippet about their night I will take the time to listen! {Multiplication Centers and Activity Pack & Bully Prevention Pack}

A Tall Drink of Water- My"teaching" resolution is to find more ways to incorporate arts into my math lessons! {Multiplication Fast Facts}

Third Grade Tidbits- Worry more about my students than the "other stuff." {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}

a Rafflecopter giveaway
{Featured Upper Grade Teachers}

The Unique Classroom- Since I continually self-reflect, I am always looking to improve my teaching approach to guided reading. I am fortunate to work with lots of talented and dedicated teachers, and I strive to be as successful and effective as they are! {Fiction and NonFiction Text Elements Response Pages Bundle}
Learning to Be Awesome- To keep a balance between my class, and all the other responsibilities I take on in my school so that my kids don't miss out on anything. {$10 gift card to Teachers Pay Teachers}
Follow Learning to Be Awesome on Bloglovin'

Magic Mistakes & Mayhem- To implement Flipped Classroom principles into the day to day teaching and learning. {Winner's Choice of 2 items from TPT store}

Where the Wild Things Learn- To make learning fun, hands-on, and interactive for my students! {Winner's Choice of 1 item from TPT store}
Everyone deServes to Learn- My resolution is to get better at planning youtube videos and interactive whiteboard games ahead of time! I usually scramble to find them in the morning or RIGHT before class, so I'd like to be more on top of that! {How to Eat an Oreo (Writing Unit)}
Beach Lovin' Teach- My teaching New Year's resolution is to start planning on how I will incorporate technology into my classroom. I am so thrilled that my class will be receiving a set of laptops after the New Year. I want to make sure I am ready for them by being planned with engaging lessons and technology tips! {Figurative Language Posters in Chevron}
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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Elf on the Shelf

Well the day has arrived....the North Pole deliveries are here!
We just couldn't resist a little fun in the classroom during this holiday season and the First Grade Parade's freebie made it even easier to put this little activity together!
Erin's elf made her appearance this morning and she was FREEZING from that cold North Pole.
She was dubbed Olive Flame Robinson. The final choices came down to Olive and Flame. Olive won the vote but the students suggested we use Flame as her middle name. The middle name addition of course led to, "what is her last name?" Again, the students chose her last name as a representation of our class. Kids and their name choices are SO funny! I think just picking a name is a comedy in itself.
Amber's elf made her arrival after specials. The kids were SO excited! We watched the Elf on the Shelf book on video. There is a great one on YouTube! Did I mention I lost my son's book? I'm assuming it's still packed up in a Christmas box in the attic. Don't know how I missed it.
Someone said Jesse as a name suggestion, someone else said "That's my mom's name." and before I knew it every kid wanted to name their elf after their mother. Oh brother. I mean mother. Thankfully it came down to Cherry & Snowflake so we went with Cherry Snowflake Hatch. I think it sounds pretty nice :) Welcome to the family Cherry!
What about you? Do you Elf on the Shelf?

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Christmas Questionnaire

Hello Blog World! Erin & Amber here! We are pretty new to the blog world so we wanted to link up with Fabulous in First so you can get to know us a bit more and we can know you!
Alright here goes!

Hot Chocolate or Eggnog?
Um neither?! We are both big fans of the Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks. Erin doesn't like chocolate. So there's that.
Amber: I do like hot chocolate. I just am really addicted to the apple cider right now. Eggnog is definitely a NO though.

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them underneath the tree? 
Erin: This will be our first Christmas experience with Santa visiting our house since our daughter is 4 months old but Santa will be wrapping the wrappable items. I believe his is bringing a gift that will remain unwrapped this year;)
Amber: Santa wraps the presents! Last year our son got a bike so obviously it wasn't wrapped ;) But normally he wraps them!


Colored lights or white?
Erin: White! I love the clean look.
Amber: White. It's the only way. 




When do you decorate? 
Erin: What Amber said...ha. We have always decorated on Friday. 
Amber: The day after Thanksgiving. It's been a tradition since we were little.

Real or Fake Tree? 
Erin: We currently have two fake trees. We grew up with one "nice" aka fake tree and one "kid" aka real tree. I do miss the real tree at times. 
Amber: Fake. Although I do love some fresh tree farm garland!

What Tops Your Tree?
Erin: The dinning room tree is topped with glittery branches and the living room tree has a natural topper made of twigs and pinecones. 
Amber: Feathers, Berries, and lots of random?! I've kinda made my own!

Favorite Christmas Memories or Traditions?
Erin: One of our childhood traditions was visiting our grandparents house on Christmas Eve. After dinner, the adults would make contact with Santa to know when he would be arriving. Once he was on his way, all the grandkids would cram in one room and listen to Santa making noise on the roof and all through the house as he delivered the goods. Our dad and uncles were always outside helping Santa unload. When we came out of the bedroom, the living room would be overflowing with gifts. 
Amber: Since having kids my favorite tradition is taking our kids to Dry Gulch to ride the Christmas Train. It tells the story of Jesus and it's like an old west movie set. You can drink hot chocolate, sit by the fire, see Santa, watch puppet shows, eat, etc. It's SO fun and meaningful!

Do you remember your favorite gift as a child?
Erin: In the words of our little brother...."We got a pooter!" Ha
Amber: I remember the first time we got a computer! It was a BIG deal! We still have the video ;)

Do prefer giving or receiving?
Erin: I love giving. One of my greatest joys is watching other people receive a meaningful gift. 
Amber: Giving. I love to buy for my hubs and sons. I never know what to tell people when they ask what I want ;) But I sure to love to spoil others!

What is your favorite Christmas song? 
Erin: All of them! Once of my favorite additions in recent years are the Straight No Chaser Christmas songs. 
Amber: Harry Connick Jr. When My Heart Finds Christmas CD I love it all!

Candy Canes. Yuck or Yum?'
Erin: Yum! I am content to enjoy just one during the season.
Amber: Yum, I don't go overboard but I enjoy the occasional candy cane.

Favorite Christmas Movie?
Erin: Elf!
Amber: Charlie Brown Christmas & Elf.

Do you shop online or at stores?
Erin: I have done both this year. I typically accomplish a lot of Black Friday but due to a baby, I didn't pull an all nighter this year. 
Amber: A little of both. I love the stores at Christmas time but with little ones around the house it's been easier to shop online.

Photo Cards, Letter or Store Bought Card? 
Erin: Photo Cards! I am soooooo visual. 
Amber: Photo Cards! I love seeing people faces! I do enjoy receiving the letters too to hear what everyone is up to!

Thanks for reading! We hope you link up to! Go join the fun!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Gingerbread Week!

Sorry for the lack of blogging! Have we mentioned that our other (not Kinder) sister got married, our mom was in the hospital and then we celebrated Thanksgiving?! Whew! What a whirlwind!
Hopefully somewhere there is a picture of the three of us together but this is Amber and the bride!
And just when we thought things might settle down we're having the Apocalypse in Oklahoma y'all. Seriously they think we're getting 1-2" of snow and the grocery store looks like a war zone and schools are already cancelled. We do not lie.

Anyway, here is what we're up to in the classroom this week! It's Gingerbread week!
And we're using Growing Kinder's Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice unit! It's GREAT!
Here's some what you'll find in the center drawers this week:
Vowel sort! 
CVC Words! 
Counting by 10's & 1's. 
Counting from any given number! 
Nonstandard measurement!
And we're practicing the -an word family for the Gingerbread MAN! And you can download a copy of this activity too! Just click the picture!
We're also working on the five senses and comparing Gingerbread stories! More on those soon!
What are you working on this week?

Monday, November 25, 2013

Bloglovin'

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Christmas & Ordinal Numbers

Can you believe it's Thanksgiving week?! We are SO excited for some fun with our little turkeys and our feast! But we're also planning ahead because it will be December when we get back to school! What?! Can you believe we're just a month away from Christmas Eve?
We put together this fun and festive ordinal number activity. You can use it in SO many ways for whatever the level of your kiddos!
It includes an ordinal number book!
And sentences! (Why are these gray?!)
And work mats for center practice!
AND we're giving one away! Just leave a comment that you follow our blog! We'll pick a winner on Tuesday evening! Happy Holidays! We are SO excited they're here and hope they fill you with much cheer! {Yep, we just made a rhyme!}
Leave a comment & good luck!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

That Time We Met James Dean

Our Librarian (best one on the planet, by the way) got a phone call from Barnes and Noble that said James Dean was available and in the area to come visit our school. We were ecstatic!
He was SUPER fun! The kids absolutely thought he was the coolest. And let's face it, so did the teachers. He drew for us, let the kids draw, sang "I Love My White Shoes" and read us his newest book. He sat in the audience with the kids and was the most friendly down to earth guy you can imagine.
In case you don't know the story, he really did have a cat named Pete. He was an engineer, wasn't looking to be a children's author and always loved/did art and so did his father (his father was an artist I believe). This was his original drawing of his cat Pete, it didn't become a book until a man on the street told him he wrote him a song. When he sent James Dean the song it was none other than White Shoes. Put all that together and now we have Pete the Cat and his shoe song!
He was so kind to autograph books for us and we both had then autographed for our kids at home too ;) So that inspired our November illustrator study to be James Dean. (It's not an author study because he did not write all of the Pete the Cat books).
So we combined Thanksgiving and Pete the Cat!
Take this Starbucks/Mayflower craft Amber's done for several years (thank you to whoever posted this on their blog, we LOVE this!) 
And we combined it with a Pete directed drawing! 
And there you have one cutesie Pete saying "Land Ho!"
We love author/illustrator studies! Do you do them? How often? How do you tie yours in with curriculum, holidays, etc?