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May 4, 2015

What Works! Teacher Appreciation Linky & Giveaway


 It is Teachers Appreciation week! As a teacher you work hard and we want to thank you for all the hard work that you do! What better way to do that than by giving you lots of great teachers tips and the opportunity to win some FANTASTIC prizes. So let's get started!  
My first teacher tip is all about organization. I store all of my centers and theme materials in bins above my cabinets.  I don't have much storage space in my class so I had get creative.  I have one bin per month to hold my activities. 



Inside each bin are envelopes that hold all task cards, spinners, etc that are needed for the activity along with any recording sheets needed.  Then I label the outside of the envelope.  Nothing fancy, but it works.  


When I am ready to use the activities I take out what I need and transfer them into my weekly center bins.  I have 8 for ELA (blue numbers) and 8 for Math (green numbers). I also have a bin for each day of the week to hold whole group materials. Also inside each daily drawer are folders for the different subjects that I teach. I put all books or extra materials for the week in a book bin on my counter next to my computer. 



I have bins for each month/theme behind my guided reading table so that I have all the books I use for whole group lessons. This makes it easy to always find what I need. The better organized you are the easier it is to plan and get ready for the week ahead.


My second tip is to use a focus wall.  My kiddos love to come in first thing each Monday and see what we are going to be learning about.  I have all of my letters, sight words, shapes, etc laminated and numbered on the back by week in my files. So it is super easy to pull out what I need and hang it up on the wall each week. It is easy to modify this for your grade. You can put the book you are studying, phonics, math, science or even social studies concepts.  In fact my wall morphs and changes over the course of the year. 



Once we are done studying letters, it becomes digraphs, then blends and finally vowel teams. My color spot moves on to word families. As you can see there are endless possibilities. It helps build excitement when the students know what they are learning about each week.
My final tip is all about weekly objectives.  Our district requires us to post the objectives or standards up in our room that we are working on each week. It can be quite a pain to write these over each week.  So I came up with a plan.  I post my objectives on the side of my white board in sheet protectors.  


I typed out all of standards in kinder friendly I can statements.  Then I put them in a binder organized by strand/category. 


So each week I just look through my binder find the objectives I need and put up the sheet protector on my board with the magnets and I am all done.



  It literally takes me 5 minutes or less.  This allows my kiddos to see our goals for the week and what they should be striving to learn by the end of the week.

Now what you have been waiting for.  Below you can enter to win some FANTASTIC prizes.  Believe me, I wish I could win. Just enter using the rafflecopter below.  Remember the more entries you have the better chance you have of winning. 
Just take a look at everything you could win...One lucky reader will win this entire prize package!!!
Prize Bundle #1 Includes
PLUS....$140 Gift Box of Fabulous Teacher Supplies sent to you from Amazon
We aren't finished yet....take a look at everything a second lucky winner will win!!!
Prize Bundle #2 Includes
PLUS....$140 Gift Box of Fabulous Teacher Supplies sent to you from Amazon
Be sure to enter both rafflecopters for a better chance at winning one of these amazing prize bundles!

Enter to Win Prize Bundle #1 Here

Enter to Win Prize Bundle #2 Here

You won't want to miss out on all the other great secrets being shared by successful teachers!  Be sure to check out all the other great posts below.






May 3, 2015

We Love Teachers Freebie Blog Hop

Teachers Rock! We work hard to meet the needs of our students and let them know just how much we care.  If you're like me, you feel like they are "your children" for the year.  Sometimes however, teachers don't receive the recognition and thanks that they truly deserve.  With this week being Teacher Appreciation week this fabulous group of bloggers want you to know just how much you are loved and appreciated.  



We have joined together to each offer you a little freebie as our way of saying Thanks for all you do! Just read through, grab your freebie and click the link at the bottom to be taken to the next blog on the hop to collect your gift. Super easy, lemon squeezy!

I don't know about your students, but mine love any activity that incorporates a clip board and walking around the room.  We use "write the room" and "count the room" to practice sight words, theme vocabulary, math facts, place value, pretty much anything.  It is super easy prep. Hang up the task cards around the room. Make copies of the recording sheet and have clipboards ready to go. That's it. 

The first activity is a count the room.  The students need to complete the 20 frame and write the number of objects on each card.




Next up is an Adding up the Farm activity.  Students count the different objects on the card to write and solve an addition equation.




Then you will get a sight word write the room activity. Students just write down the words they find. To differentiate this activity I have my high students write a sentence using each word on the back of their paper once they have found all the words.




Finally I have a Write the Magic E Words activity for you.  They look for the picture cards and write the corresponding magic E word.





Click here to get your  Farm Freebie  Hope that you enjoy it and can use it in your room.  If you like these activities this is a small sampling of my upcoming Farm unit.  If you like this freebie won't you consider following my store and blog to receive notifications when new products and additional freebies are posted. Now head on over to Tales of the Sassy Teacher for your next freebie!


Thanks again for all you do and Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

May 2, 2015

May Currently

How can it be May already? I think I say that every month... It is time to refocus, regroup and survive, 24 more days that is. The start of a new month also means it is time to join one of my favorite linkys Currently with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade.


Listening...What can I say, if we are not the race track there is racing on the tube if the boys are home. Such is life with a house of all boys.

Loving...this beautiful sunshine.  It has been in the high 80's here. Just perfect. 

Thinking...I can not believe we only have 24 days of school left.  This year has just flown . I am looking forward to a break this summer, but boy am I gonna miss this group of kiddos!

Wanting...A massage.  I have a gift certificate that I have been wanting to take advantage of, for the last 8 months, and I have not been able to find the time to go.  I need a break so I am scheduling the appointment this week!

Needing...I am sure I have said this a time or two, or five or ten.  With this beautiful warm weather it means no bulky sweaters or jackets to hide behind.  I need to get to the gym, like yesterday!

Summer yes, hopes, dream...Well I am super excited to be going to the I Teach K conference and the TpT conference in Vegas this summer.  I can't wait.  I hope to go to the beach for at least a week. The beach is one of my favorite places to be.  We always take a few weekend trips during the summer, but I am hoping to talk the hubby into a full week! Dreaming... we have hard wood floor in all of our house except the master bedroom.  Our carpet is 20+ years old.  Yes you read that right.  We keep saying we are going to put the wood in our bedroom too and I am sooo dreaming we can get to that this summer. 


Thanks for stopping by and I love to read your comments, so leave me some love.  Then be sure to head back to Farley's and check out all the other Currently's. Have a great May!