100th Day..Hip Hip Hooray!

On Monday, we celebrated the 100th Day of School!  It took quite a while to get to this point, but we made it!  Here's what the door looked like when the students arrived at school...

I just used bulletin board paper above the door, sliced it, and created the sign.  I wish I had time to laminate it, but a page protector had to do.  Click on the pic below to get the sign for free.

We also spent the day using tons of math skills!  We added double digit numbers with sums greater than 100 and measured classroom stuff that was less than and more than 100 centimeters.    This awesome freebie can be found on Yvonne Dixon's website Sassy in Second!  Click on link below!

Printable Created by Yvonne Dixon

Sassy in Second

That it for tonight!  

I'll be back tomorrow with the Black History Month Project my super smart kids created.  

Goodnight friends!

Super Shopping Sunday

I hope you are enjoying the huge Super Sunday Sale going on over at Teachers Pay Teachers.  Many teacher authors are throwing amazing sales.  I picked up quite a few goodies from many teachers and I can't wait to use them.  If you haven't checked out the sale, head over to teacherspayteachers.com, grab some goodies in your cart, and don't forget to enter SUPER in the promo code at checkout.  My entire store is on sale..so go grab some stuff HERE!

My latest unit filled with President's Day centers, activities, and an All About Abe Craftivity will be available THIS WEEK.  I have worked many nights on this unit and I'm excited to begin it tomorrow with my kiddos.

While I'm on the topic of shopping, I want to introduce you to my latest obsession.  I stumbled upon two awesome websites that have great jewelry, clothes, decorative housewears, and all types of cute things on sale EVERY DAY.  Both websites sometimes have similar items or completely different ones.

One website if GroopDealz.com.  They have so many handmade items at very reasonable prices.  I purchased a 3 stone bubble necklace for 7.99 and I can't wait for it to come in.  

If you haven't been to Very Jane.  You must go NOW!  I bought these two jewelry hangers from Very Jane since the OCD in me needed some organization in the jewelry section. (see GroopDealz today if you want these hangers.  They will only be on there for 1 more day.)  I wish I had a picture, but I also bought some really cute handmade earrings for $1.99 a set.  \You can't BEAT that!  I even bought some for my dear friends, too.

Click the pic to get them while you can at GroopDealz!

Now that I've gotten all my shopping out of the way...it is time to get ready for the BIG game.  Let's just say I'm not rooting for anyone since my BOYS aren't playing.  But, a piece of me wants the 49ers to win so I will have a happy husband Monday morning. :)

Biography Boxes

TGIF!  I don't know about you, but it has been the looooooongest week EVER!  My kids have been super busy, so you would think time was flying by.  Maybe I just try to cram too much in, but I can't help it.  I need to fill my students minds with knowledge and the best way to do it is to keep them busy with lots of hands-on learning.

This week my students have been building our "Black History Biography Boxes".  We started them on Tuesday by building one piece at a time.  Since the Common Core is all about informational text, I thought it was important for my students to use biographical books and wikipedia to research a famous African-American for Black History month.  I put my students into small groups of no more than 3 and their job was to find out as much information as they could on the person they picked.  They have been having a blast with this activity.  It not only promotes HOTS (Higher-Order Thinking Skills), but is very hands-on.  I am all about HANDS-ON!!!

Next week, we will finish our biography boxes, but I wanted to give you a sneak peak at how my students are creating their boxes.  I will  post this pack next week once the entire project is complete with pics and all.

Check out these cuties!

Well, I'm off to make some hot chocolate.  It is supposed to be 19 degrees here tonight and I'm already freezing.  YIKES!  I'll be dreaming for warm days with my feet in the sand.  Goodnight.

Inflectional Endings- {s versus es}

This week my 2nd graders are working on adding -s, -es, and -ies to nouns.  Most of my students know -s and -es from 1st grade and we've moved on to -ies.  They love saying "drop the y and -ies".  I even think I've said it over and over in my sleep this week. :)

Though they know this concept, I still notice in their writings how confused they are when it comes to adding an inflectional ending.  A handful aren't sure about the rule of adding -s versus adding -es to nouns.  So... I made this little poster and activity sort to review the concept with them tomorrow.  I just know they are going to love it and hopefully get a better grasp on inflectional endings.  Feel free to use it with your kiddos!I've included colored and black/white so you can use it as a center or cut/paste activity.  Click on the pic to get this freebie!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a blessed Thursday friends!

nearpod

Have you ever heard of "nearpod"?  Since our school received our iPads, we have been training each month on different apps to enhance learning.  Recently, we had a training in "nearpod".  It is an interactive app that allows the teacher to create pdfs on certain concepts and upload them.  Then, you add polls, quizzes, videos, etc.  The teacher begins the presentation and the students log on using a specific code on their iPads.  The interactivity and engagement begins!

I created this one to train our teachers at our school.  Note:  These are only slides and are missing the inetractive quizzes, polls, and videos.  If I could share the nearpod file with you I certainly would.  However, I haven't upgraded to the $10 a month membership yet.

 Poll- Have you ever used nearpod?

 Video: How nearpod works!

 Video-nearpod in the classroom

 Quiz: What have you learned?

For more info about nearpod, click HERE.

I can't wait to start using this with my students!  I'll share some pics and videos soon.

MLK Craftivity Freebie and One GIDDY Class

My, oh, MY!  I had the worst stomach cramps after school yesterday and they decided to show back up today.  No worries...I had my flu shot this year.  I just can't figure out if I have some little bug that I am sure is traveling around.

Aside from my issues, my class has been very GIDDY this week.  I can't seem to keep their little hands busy while I assess.  So, I created this MLK craftivity to use with the book "Martin's Big Words".  We read the book, watched the short video to review the words (differentiated instruction!) and then focused on using quotations around spoken words.  I tried to guide my class into picking a variety of different quotes, but some just insisted on doing the same ones.  Whatever sticks in their little minds is fine by me.

Click on the pic for a template of this craftivity!

Later in the day, our boxes from Donor's Choose came in.  These interactive games are a lifesaver this week while I'm assessing.  We received a total of 9 for review of Word Work and math skills that we have been learning.  They are a must have and can be purchased through Lakeshore or you can always write a grant.  You could have heard a pin drop before I opened the box...and then it was LOUD chaos or should I say "excitement".  :)

This is the Place Value Mystery House Game.  The students played on teams.  It has some cute surprises along the way.  Just when one team thought they were winning, another team was awarded a shortcut and ended up winning.  Which led to a discussion of sportsmanship.  Oh, the joys of 2nd grade (or really any grade for that matter)!

Tomorrow I will be assessing more students on running records.  I am also planning on continuing to use my MLK unit since it will be the last day for students before the holiday.  

I am off to my warm bed.  Have a Wonderfully, Wacky Wednesday!  This week is almost half-way finished!  WooHoo!

3 Day School Week and Lots to Cram In!

Hey Friends!
This week is going to be super short.  We only have 3 student days this week and 2 teacher workdays.  There is so much to cram in!  I'm feeling a little crazy.  You see, we have so many assessments that are due by January 25th.  My school tests using mClass 3D reading which is more than amazing.  I love it!  We just began doing this January 7th with our new iPads.  If you want more info, check out the mClass website HERE.

 In addition, we continue to give a 26 word spelling assessment (paper and pencil, blah!)  which is based on words their way.  The students must also do a mid-year writing over the topic of my choosing.  This is done at BOY, MOY, and EOY to measure student growth in writing.

For math, the students take a STAR math Test (computerized, woohoo!), a county math assessment (paper and pencil, once again) and an M-Comp and M-Cap paper/pencil test.  Last week, I began testing, but it seems there is always at least one child out and I have to give the test to that student one-on one the next day.  So, this week we will continue testing, but I have lots of MLK activities to keep the kids busy while I continue mClass assessments and such.

I thought I'd share my lesson plan for this week with you since I included some activities from my Mini Unit on MLK.

I found this video on you tube to use later on in the week to review the book "Martin's Big Words".  the only problem is that we do not have access to YouTube at our school so I am trying to figure out a way to download this.  It is perfect!

I'm off to enjoy Sunday with my little family!  Have a terrific week friends!