Polar Express Unit Ready for Christmas

I just finished my Polar Express Unit in time for Cyber Monday!  The unit is 147 pages long and if it doesn't knock someone's socks off, I don't know what will!  There are all kinds of activities, experiments and lessons inside.  You even have a final exam and activities for a Polar Express movie day.

Veteran's Day Friendly Letter

Thank You For

Keeping Us Safe!

This morning I was scrambling because I realized my students brought $1 per red, white and blue outfit and that money was being donated for veterans.  It was a school wide event.  I had a really neat booklet to use from Second Story Window, but needed a writing piece to use....











So, I came up with friendly letter paper.  You are free to use it!  Sorry it is late, but you may still be able to use it this week.  There are all different types with both boys' and girls'...Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, etc!  Click on the pictures to get the Google Doc.

Thankgiving Quick Write Freebie

I know that your next couple of weeks are going to fly by!  So, I'd like to give you a few pages for quick writes!  Quick writes only take 5 minutes for students to complete, then everyone gets a chance to share!  Spelling is usually not important, however, you can do a quick brainstorm on the board before setting the timer.  I highly suggest this if you have students who won't write anything without being perfect!  When the timer goes off, the sharing part is so important, because you see students editing their wording as they are reading their writing outloud.  It's usually one of those "ah ha" moments! And, for those students who have U-G-L-Y handwriting, you get the chance to visit with them later about their inability to read their own handwriting!  I don't make students share if they don't want to read their piece aloud, but after doing several, they are usually comfortable enough to volunteer.

There are 3 writing prompts included in this freebie! They are..

1. On Thanksgiving I look forward to...

2. Once a turkey ran away from...

3. On Thanksgiving you might find me cooking...(boy and girl paper)

* Just click on the picture to get the GoogleDoc.

One Special Lady!

This year I decided to take my blog and revamp it!  So, a mom friend of mine sent me to Andrea from A Kay Web Design. Let me tell you Andrea is AMAZING!  Hooking up with her to accomplish the task was the best thing I could have done! Andrea is knowledgable, hard working and humorous!  I think she made this place look great!  If you want your blog to scream "I teach and love it!" you should head her way!  Her blog design packages are very reasonable and she is superspeedy, especially for having twins!  I would have Andrea create another blog for me in a heartbeat!  Click on her picture to go to her website!  She has her design process and examples on there!

"THANK YOU ANDREA!"

Superhero Readers

Okay, my son comes into my classroom after kindergarten each day.  Sometimes this is a good thing, and sometimes he is into everything!  Last Friday, he saw my new copies for my Syllable Types Reading Hero Unit.  Well, he decided he wasn't leaving for the weekend until he could create a mask himself!  Glad to know that the mask I created fits the face perfect.  I guess he completed the trial and error check!  Tada!

During tier time next week, my class will be using the mask to look through books for words with different syllable types.  My son used all of  the colors in the box to decorate his mask (shown above)  Your students can color their mask any way they like.  Or, you can go the quick route and copy the masks onto colored cardstock.  In this unit there are several pages of word cards to sort, a booklet for students to keep track of words with the rules, and an I Spy page.  I just love the Melonheadz Graphics sets!  The clipart tickles my heart!

Shout Out!

I need to give a shout out to some very special men in our community.  These men are from Station 35.  They've been very active with the students in the school.  Lately they've put on a production titled Fire Clowns, where they left their everything on a stage to teach students about fire safety.  They've also been in the classroom working with small groups on math facts.  Last week they played a game of mine called Super Hero Subtraction Sticks. And last, but not least, the 2nd grade class visited their station to conclude our Readers Theater titled A Trip to the Fire Station.  During the fieldtrip the firemen set up an obstacle course (resembling a bedroom, window and safety area) to help students practice techniques for how to get out in an emergency.  They also showed us the manly tools on the fire truck.  Let me tell you, the jaws of life are for real! 

Thank you Station 35 for making a positive difference in the lives of children. Your support in the classroom is appreciated!  Click here for a writing page freebie my class used when they learned fire safety rules.  Maybe you can use it next year during Fire Safety Week.

Laundry...I Usually Hate It!

My students helped me with the laundry this week.  But, we didn't put it away in drawers and hang it up like I usually do!  This is the dreaded job around my house!  I usually fold and transfer, no problem, but taking it to the closets seems to always get put on hold! 

I created a new lesson that you don't want to put on hold though!  My students had a blast getting to act as endmarks!  Who knew punctuation could be so much fun?  The worksheets attached to this lesson (located inside my TPT store) have enough questions for students to all get a chance to wear the shirts.  The class read each sentence with expression and picked the correct person for the job (sentence). 

I made the t-shirts for $8 total using my Michael's Craft Store Teacher Discount.  The shirts were 2 for $5 and then I flashed my teacher id!  What a steal!  T-shirt paints were rummaged from an old stash of paints I used a few years ago with Girl Scouts.

Healthy Snacks Freebie

This week I had each student bring a healthy snack to school. We are currently learning about the food groups and starting to graph in math.
 So, I sent home a note and everyone brought a smorgasbord of snacks.





On Thursday, we graphed, completed a worksheet and had a small plate of treats during science. You can grab this healthy snack freebie with parent note. Just click for the GoogleDoc here!

Thankful for So Many Things!

I can't wait until next week? Can it be Thanksgiving yet because I've got a lot of lessons up my sleeve!   Also, I can't wait to see one of my cousins who is coming back from college!  She is my Black Friday shopping partner!  The booklets from my unit are created and copies are made.  Now, it is time to share it with you!  If you are looking for an easy unit to implement and a cute craftivity, you've found it!  Click on the picture to snab it from TPT.  I will post pictures of the craftivity when my students finish.