Blood, Sweat and Tears!

GEEZ, am I ever so glad that this week is OVER.  It has been a very long and emotional roller coaster of a week.  I'm blaming it on the full moon because we all know how crazy everyone acts when the the moon is full.  My week started off great, until Wednesday and by Friday I was broken into pieces.  I have just been overdoing it...teaching, lesson planning, paperwork, keeping my daughter in good spirits while daddy is deployed, and the list goes on.  By Friday afternoon, all of the stress has knocked me off of my feet.  I have the most wonderful, down-to-earth principal who is such an inspiration.  She definitely knew the words to say to pick me back up.  Sometimes we all just need a pat on the back and to be reminded that we are doing our best even when we feel less than perfect. I also have some amazing teammates that make a girl feel loved.  I don't know what I would do without those girls!

This morning I woke up refreshed and renewed.  I had promised many people I would set the schoolwork aside for the weekend and relax.  So, I'm blogging instead...that's okay right?  It is my way of venting which is what I need.  My husband will be back in about 2 weeks and I am beyond excited.  He is truly my best friend and knows how to inspire me when the world seems to be pushing me down.    I have a feeling my broken pieces will be glued back together once he is home.

I wanted to share two activities my students completed last week.  First, they did apple abc order to review since some students continue to struggle with abc order.  They all did really well!!!  Another day, I had them work in small groups of 3 to practice identifying statements and questions.  They loved the fall trees and it really got them into the autumn spirit.  I had each group write the correct punctuation at the end of each sentence and then color all of the statement leaves the same color and all of the question leaves another color.  This made it easy to identify and sort when they cut out all of the leaves.  You can pick up by clicking on the pic!

Checkout Classroom Freebies for more ideas from amazing teachers!!!

5Ws and H and I'm Taking It Back to the Old School

Common Core has been on my brain!  I've been creating new activities to help my students identify with the Common Core.  We've been studying Common Core Standard RL 2.1-Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate key details in a text.

I got this bright idea from 1988 when I was in 2nd grade.  I remember my 2nd grade teacher making a huge poster and making us recite "who, what, where, when, why, and how" over and over and OVER again.  Good thing because it is stuck in my head FOREVER!  So, I made an anchor chart and posted it on the wall.  I already notice how it is helping my students ask questions while reading

Do you remember watching "The Electric Company"?  Oh my goodness, I think every teacher I had from Kindergarten through Grade 4 in the 80s put it on the tv at least once a week.  Man, how silly the show was, but I loved it!  I found this video and played it for my students.  The smiles on their faces brought me back to my childhood.  This is the newer version with Good Charlotte. Check it out!

My students created problem solving magnifying glasses by writing down the 5Ws and H.

If you are a blog follower (or stalker) you can get the magnifying glass template for free by clicking the pics below!

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Be back soon with more fun activities we are creating!!!  Happy Fall FRIENDS!!!

It's Almost Fall, Y'ALL!

Happy Sunday!  It is a very dreary Sunday here in NC.  It makes me wish fall would hurry up and get here.  The county fair starts next week and I'm already craving turkey legs, funnel cakes, and caramel apples.  I've been busy creating some fall activities for math based on the Common Core Standards for 2nd Grade to help me get ready for fall.  Pumpkins, Apples, and Scarecrows, OH MY!  Yes, this math unit is packed with all things for fall minus the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks.  Can you say yum?!  Click on the picture below to view this item in my TPT store.

Click on the picture below for a freebie from this pack.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday friends!

Weekly Spelling Tic-Tac-Toe

Spelling ideas are always a task to come up with.  I have seen many Tic-Tac-Toe games for spelling, but I wanted something easy and simple and I mean way simple.  I love giving students choices when it comes to completing spelling homework.  Last year, I created a monthly spelling ideas page, but it was a task to come up with new ideas each month and consumed so much paper.  Thus, I wanted something more consistent that students could choose from for the entire year.  I wanted to share this Tic-Tac-Toe Homework page.  I give weekly homework on Monday in my class and I don't see the homework folders until Friday.  Instead of inserting a new page and using too many papers each week, I will put this in a page protector that stays in their folder all year.  No need to color in each square to form a tic-tac-toe.  I don't know about you, but there is already a growing pile of paperwork for me.  Here is my template if you would like to pick up a copy for yourself.  Click on the picture.

That's all I have guys!  

I haven't had a moment to breathe these first 2 weeks of school.  

Hopefully, things start to slow down a bit.  

Technology Tuesday - Edmodo & Mimio

I'm back again today bringing you two technology tips.  

1} Edmodo

Funny name, but really cool website.  It is almost exactly like Facebook, but is meant for education.  I learned about this last week in a technology training.  We are using it to communicate to each other about our training for the technology grant our district received.  However, I have set up my own classroom and I can communicate with parents through this about so much.  You can post assignments, quizzes, polls, etc.  This will be a great communication tool this year especially for field trips and assignment due dates.  Plus, the kids will think it is so cool that they can join and be friends with me.

2}Mimio

Our school currently only has 2 Promethean boards and 2-3 Smartboards.  I really, really, really wanted one, so I chose to write a DonorsChoose grant.  I had heard about a Mimio and knew that would be perfect!  It is a small piece that unfolds and sticks on your board.  you connect it to a laptop and projector and !BAM!  you now have an interactive whiteboard.  there is a mouse pointer that you use with it and you have to calibrate it each time you turn on the Mimio.  My students are always engaged and actively involved in learning with it.  So, if you are looking for an alternative this would definitely benefit you.  The price is around $500....not a bad deal at all!  Just make sure you have a projector and a computer to hook up to it.

You can read more about it HERE!

Thanks for stopping by and becoming a blog follower!  Hop on over to Blog Hoppin' for some more great technology tips!

 

Blog Hoppin' Must Haves

Happy Monday Friends!  

I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' to share some of my teacher must-haves.

1} Mr. Sketch Markers....Not only are they the most awesome markers, but they have a yummy smell too!  I use them on all of my charts.  Nothing.Else.Comes.Close!

2} Stickin' with the smell good things....I love, love, love smelly stickers or as they are sometimes called "stinky stickers".  My 2nd grade teacher had them back in the 80s and we used to try our hardest to get one and then we compared the different ones we got.  They were called Scratch 'n Sniff Stickers back then.  Now, I use them as rewards for my students.  They are inexpensive and sugar-free!  Ha!

3} PowerPoint!!!  Everything I create is created in PowerPoint!  Many times I tried to create cute frames and designs in Word and well...it is so much harder for me.  If you have any tips, I would love to hear them.  But, for me, PowerPoint is my go-to program for EVERYTHING!  Look at the latest packet I am creating using PowerPoint.

What are your must-haves???  

Link up with Blog Hoppin' & Share!!!

iPad Training (STEM GRANT)

It's only 1 week until we meet our new students for "Meet the Teacher" night and I am going crazy!  I was able to get into my classroom Tuesday and Wednesday, but I'm in training for the next 2 days.  Why?  Our school along with a few other schools in the county received a very generous grant to improve technology in our school system through the Department of Defense.  We are so blessed to be the recipient of this grant.  I'm sure our students will be beyond thrilled when they find out!!!

 Each classroom will be enhanced with this...

iPad 3

And this...

Apple TV

And this...

70" flat screen

Today we "created" (USING BLOOM'S, of course) any type of technology driven project to introduce our group to the rest of the teachers at this training.  We created a slide show about our group.  Here's a pic of my group showing our crazy faces since we are just "CRAZY" about our new technology!

{Love these women!!!}

Back to training again tomorrow and (fingers crossed) finishing up my classroom.