Moms, Motivation, Big News, & a Flash Freebie

Better late than never, right?

1

We are working on classifying animals this week. I fixed up my old Vertebrate Characteristics Booklet.



It is amazing what a little clip art can do! I just added this to my TpT store as a flash freebie. Check it out before the price increases!

2

Tuesday night I purchased this Mother’s Day Breakfast in Bed Shape Book. I printed everything as soon as I got to school on Wednesday. I opted to have the students trace the patterns onto construction paper and cut them out. The finished products were bright and colorful.



We planted some flower seeds in our newspaper planters a few weeks ago.



I do not have a green thumb at all, so I was pleased that they had something living to being home!

3

Speaking of Mother’s Day, I am happy that we finally have hot water! There was a problem with the electrical panel that led to ordering a replacement part. Thursday after school we took the kids to the pool. It is a sad state of affairs when the pool shower is warmer than the home shower! I’ve enjoyed nice long, hot showers this weekend!

4

I’m linking this next one up with Joanne’s Student Motivation Saturday.

May can be rough. Thursday I added “bring beach towels” to the homework in the student planner. My class didn’t exactly know what “Beach Reading” meant, but they were excited!

(Graphics from http://frompond.blogspot.com)

Friday morning we took our books/e-readers, towels, and snacks outside for independent reading time.  It was quick, easy, and fun!

 5

Several weeks ago my principal sent me an email and asked me to stop by to talk about ideas for next year. The meeting went very well, and I’d been waiting for the all clear to share the news.

Next year I am going to teach technology and art for K-5. I am SO excited! 

I was at a conference earlier this year where I heard a presenter say that with the upcoming computer-based testing, the expectation is that students should be computer literate by second grade. A big focus in my new position will be making sure that our students are prepared to use the technology for the PARCC test.

I have taught third grade for ten years and I am excited about the change. I have been in the same classroom for nine years, so I am not looking forward to packing up and physically moving my classroom. I *might* have snuck in to my future room last week to start planning.

I have so many ideas. I am really looking forward to it! It is going to be a huge change!

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Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

St. Patrick’s Day Flash Freebie!

Telling time has been rough for my kids this year. To help, I came up with  QR code game to help my students practice. My class used it twice, but I never got it posted.



Because I’m Irish by marriage, I have posted this as free in my store for today (St. Patrick’s Day) only. Enjoy!

In other news, I have recently surpassed 100 followers and am thinking of doing a giveaway at the end of the month. I am still working out the details, but that is my plan!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Reading Temperature Freebie

My student teacher is now at 100%. As a result, I keep volunteering to create things for the class with an ulterior motive. So far it is going well! My students are loving the things I’ve made for them!

Today we needed something to use to assess students’ ability to read temperature. I’ve added this one to my TpT store, so check it out!



I had a few questions about the table I painted with chalkboard paint. I took some pictures this afternoon and I hope to post later in the week with the “how to” and details about how I use it when teaching.

Our Boosterthon pep rally is tomorrow. Jeans and a t-shirt? Yes, please!

Have a great week!

Show and Tell Tuesday: A Free Valentine’s Font

I was reading blogs this afternoon and I was disappointed because I didn’t think I had anything to share for Valentine’s Day.

 

Then I remembered this font I’d started a few weeks ago.

 

That was the push I needed to finish it up!

I plan to use the font for my the class list I send home before Valentine’s Day. It is just a little something fun. Enjoy!

Join in the fun at Sunny Days in Second Grade!

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It is a little late, but here are the results to my mini-giveaway.

The Irishman is soundly snoring next to me, so Random.org had to do instead! Congratulations to Amanda and Stacia at Collaboration Cuties & Catherine at The Brown-Bag Teacher! I’ll e-mail you (Math) Operation Snowball Fight tomorrow.

New Year, New Fonts

Happy new year! I am still on break and trying to fit in as much family time as possible. I can see the end of the break looming ahead.

New Years Eve we went out to eat as a family and treated the kids to ice cream. The Irishman and I debated whether or not to stay up for midnight. By 11 he was dozing on the couch next to me so I decided to try the app I’d been eyeing for a while now.

I brought in the new year by creating my own fonts. To be fair I did shake my husband awake before the ball dropped. I *might* have then stayed up another hour getting things just right.

The next night I was again up past midnight figuring out how to download the font and post it to my TpT store. They are freebies – be sure to check them out! I have a heart themed font in the works I hope to post in the next week. I think I found a new hobby!

Here is the first one I did:

 

My second attempt:

You can click the pictures for the link to my TpT store. Check them out!

"Who Am I?" and A Pumpkin Freebie

I was up late last night entering end of quarter grades in the online grade book and adding items to my TpT store. It is still a slow process, but I'm getting there!

 I added my back to school "Who Am I?" activity. I always do this on the first day of school and post on my bulletin board until after open house. The parents come and try to find their darling. I usually do an owl "Whoooo am I?" theme, but this year I was all about polka dots. I ended up with "Can you spot me?" I was happy with how it came out.








 Yesterday was a hurricane day and it lived up to expectations. It just brushed the coast so we didn't get any damage other than some beach erosion. It was a rough day to be stuck inside with two kiddos that woke up WAY too early though!

Thankfully today is a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the weather is cool(er), and the cranky children I put in bed last night woke up early but refreshed! We've already made banana bread and are making plans for the day. 

On my list of things to do today is a trip to the post office to mail some Halloween Cards I ordered with a Shutterfly coupon code a couple of weeks ago. I decided to create a little note card for my daughter to write on in each of the cards and the result is this Pumpkin Notes Freebie.

Enjoy