100th Day, Groudhog Day, and Valentine's Day

Although our local weathermen are not predicting March to begin with Lion-like weather, I'm just going to pretend that is what's happening.  That way, March can go out like a Lamb, which is the more important part of this whole process.  How does that sound?  If I just pretend and believe it, maybe it will come true!   So as far as  I'm concerned, March is coming in like a lion and WILL BE GOING OUT LIKE A LAMB!!!  Anyone else on board with me?????

So to make it official I am having an In Like a Lion Sale on TpT and TN.  Check out my store from Friday March 1st - Sunday March 3rd.  

Next up is a new Linky Party!!!!  If you are thinking Spring like I am, then head on over to Second Grade Nest for Jessica's March Link-Up.  You can find products for Dr. Seuss, St. Patrick's Day, Spring, and Easter!  It's like a one-stop shop!!!  



Now for a little recap of what my room looked like in February.  As I explained in my "I'm A Slacker" post, I was a little pooped once February hit because I worked my little tush off all January long.  It was the end of our 2nd marking period so report cards were due, I was creating new units like crazy to get myself all the way up to St. Patrick's Day and then I had to sit back and coast a little.  So long story short, I didn't take a lot of pictures or post much about what we were doing.  So here is a quick (VERY quick) rewind to show you what we've been working on.  I hope you find some new ideas for next year - sorry I'm late :-(

Let's start with Groundhog's Day:

We started off our day by reading the book, Go to Sleep, Groundhog by Judy Cox.  So cute!!!


Then we went into the typical Groundhog Graphing and making predictions about whether the Groundhog will see his shadow.  I used activities from these two items on TpT.  When I got them they were free --- but I'm sorry to say that they are not free anymore.  However, both authors added some adorable activities to them before pricing them and they look super cute!  So click on the picture to check out the updated version!


From Sharing Kindergarten I got this adorable poem that the kids cut up and put in order.  I wanted to make it a little cuter so I drew..... that's right, for those of you who know me, you can pick your jaw up off the floor.....I did draw this little guy!  I've figured out that I am capable of drawing but ONLY when I'm looking at a picture.  Trying to create something from scratch is not my thing.  I give SO much credit to all you wonderful Clip Art Artists out there!!!!!  

I don't have this drawing scanned in, but if I get to it I will upload it on here if anyone wants it :)
(I like the kiddo who added a little COLOR to the groundhog --- brown does get boring :-)

100th Day:

We had a little snack to celebrate 100!  I thought this was my original idea since I was standing in the supermarket wondering what to get and this came to mind.  Now I'm wondering if there may have been some "Pinspiration" that I saw somewhere but I never pinned it.  So I'm not sure if this was mine or not!


Read a couple books...


 Made this cute little gumball machine.  The idea came from Little Miss Glamour Goes to Kindergarten.  We used bingo dobbers and it was SUPER easy.    


Click below to get the label for the gumball machine.  

One more thing we did was this writing activity.  I completely forgot to get pictures of these, and they came out SO cute too!  We made a class book out of them.  Click on the picture to get your FREE copy too.  



Valentine's Day:

I used a lot of activities from Erica Bohrer's Valentine's Day Pack.  She has since added more to this pack, but I won it in a giveaway so I don't have the updated version.  You can click on the picture to go to her store and check it out.  I especially loved her "Some Bunny Loves You" card using a handprint.  They came out so cute - sorry no pics again :(


We also worked with the centers and activities in my Valentine's Day pack.


 At our Valentine's Day party we played Bingo.  You can get your FREE copy of these sheets by clicking on them.  I used a 4x4 so the games went faster and we had more winners.  The kids chose which words and where to put them on the board.  A little cut and paste and you're ready for bingo.  Of course, we used conversation hearts as markers.  



President's Day:

Finally, we ended the month with President's Day.  


After reading and learning about both of these presidents, the kids had the chance to "Show What You Know" in these two projects from my Happy Birthday, Mr. President Pack.  









I'm sorry that was a VERY BRIEF recap of our month.  I'll try to be better in March with taking pictures and sharing more often.  I hope you are able to grab the freebies to use next year!

Don't forget to enter these two amazing giveaways........only a few days left!




Happy ALMOST Friday!!!!



Teacher wishlist


 I don't know about the rest of you, but I get really excited when order time comes around.  I'm a little worried this year; however, because we are usually done ordering for the next year by now and I haven't heard anything yet.  I'm wondering if, because of the economy, we will not be getting as much money to order for next year.  That would mean we would have to seriously consider what we need vs. what we want.  We are lucky that we get a budget per classroom, but outside of that money nothing is provided for us.  We have to use that money to order anything and everything we think we need for the  next year that we don't ask students to bring in like: pencils, staples, paper clips, folders, etc.  

I decided to give you a list of some of the things that I LOVE and buy every year - My FAVES.  Then I also have a few things that I have my eye on for next year - My Wishlist.  My Wishlist will most likely be the things I will need to purchase with my own money if I really want them, but we'll see.  

I would love to hear from what's on everyone else's wishlists - your 
Faves AND your Wishlist.  Link up below!

Ok - here we go....

MY FAVES

You will see a trend in the things I like to order.  I am all about COLOR!  I know that buying colorful pens and folders are more expensive, but dangit they make me happy.  

So my first FAVE is the markers I use on my charts and posters.  The Sharpie markers are really great for anchor charts, but I just love Mr. Sketch and all the different choices of colors too.  So I get both :)



Then, of course, it makes me happy to use different colored pens for checking papers, writing in my desk calendar, jotting down ideas, etc.  


Every teacher knows you can never have too many file folders.  And remember I like colorful things.  I like to use different color folders for different subjects, holidays, month, etc.  It helps me feel more organized because I remember the colors I use and I can find things easier.  


This is a set of bulletin board borders from Carson Dellosa  that I already have, but I want more of them because I love them.  This year my room has tons of polka dots.  The black border with polka dots on top of a bright background color looks awesome.  It really makes the bulletin board pop!  I also really like the black with swirls.  

And finally, as any teacher who creates or uses computer generated center materials or games, you know you need lots of cardstock to print on so the supplies are durable from year to year.  I plan on getting tons of white cardstock, but I also like (of course) the colored pack too!




MY WISHLIST

My goal this year - really it's my goal EVERY year is to be more organized.  Each year I feel a little better about my organization, but I really think being organized depends on having the right materials to organize with.  So I'm looking for some things to get to continue organizing myself and my students.  

First up are plastic drawers.  I have one of these in my room right now, but I really think I could organize better with a couple more.  




Next item are these cute boxes I found at Really Good Stuff.  I don't know what I'll use these for, but I'm sure I will find something - probably centers and games.  




 I also really liked these magazine boxes I found.  I found them HERE, but I'm sure they are in teacher supply magazines too.  I want to use them for students' browsing book boxes.
This next item is one of my students' favorite things we have in our classroom - a whisper phone for quiet reading.  This one is from Really Good Stuff again.  Right now I only have 1 of these and 2 that are made out of PVC pipes.  The kids really LOVE using these.  I use them during guided reading.  A couple kids use the whisper phones (we alternate) so they can hear themselves reading and don't get distracted by the others.   I would love to have a bunch more of these for center time and quiet reading.  




Another thing I've been looking at are these canvas book bags for students to take classroom books home.  Again, these are also from Really Good Stuff - I love that site!!!  Right now I send home books each week in gallon size Ziploc bags.  It works, but these would be so much nicer!





Finally - and this is a total WISHLIST item.  I don't expect to be getting this this year, but a girl can dream :)  For those of who don't know, this is a Silhouette Cameo machine.  You can cut out letters and  shapes and SO much more!  This would be such a time saver and I could create AWESOME bulletin boards.  Who knows if I'll ever get one, but I'll keep it on the list!
So, link up and let us all know what you cannot live without and what you REALLY want :)  Don't forget to check back and see what everyone else wants.  



Prepping for President's Day

So I've been preparing for Groundhog Day, 100th Day, and Valentine's Day like crazy lately - not to mention working our way through our Penguin Unit........I had kind of forgotten that President's Day is also right around the corner.  I hope I'm not the only one.  

So I sat down to think about what I wanted to teach my students about Lincoln and Washington.  I knew I needed something to read with the kids that was appropriate for them to read.  I also wanted them to be able to show what they learned.   So as my inspiration hit, I decided I needed to work until all hours of many nights in order to finish this President's Day pack.  I'm so happy with how it came out - especially knowing that my kiddos will be having fun while learning, which is always my ultimate goal :-)   So here it is!!!!!



This is a 4-door foldable that opens to reveal lined paper for the students to write what they learned about George Washington.  I plan on reading the nonfiction readers with them and then allowing them to reread them with a partner and draw pictures to match each page.  After that, we will go over the 4 W's (yes, I know there are 5 W's but I didn't want to get into the why for this project).  I wanted something simple enough for my firsties, but still informative and fits in with common core standards, of course.  


We would then move onto Abraham Lincoln and follow the same format.  For this writing activity I made a shape book in the shape of ----- OBVIOUSLY, a top hat.  This follows the same format as above, but there are 4 top hat shaped pages for the students to write on with the 4 W Questions.


I don't know about other school districts, but our school has a Mid-Winter Break during the week of President's Day, so we will be completing these activities the following week.  Maybe we'll have a little birthday party for our wonderful presidents too.  Hmmmmmm - now more ideas are coming!!!  What could we eat for snacks??????  White House cookies....Presidential punch.....Democrat Donuts and Republican Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.......

Let me know if you have an idea for our Presidential Birthday Party - I'd love to hear it :-)

I'm actually a little excited about President's Day now ---- I'm pretty sure that teachers are the only ones that would ever say this!