Lately…In My Classroom

I’ve been doing a few things that I’d like to share!

So, I’m  not the greatest at thinking of bulletin board ideas for the outside of my classroom, so I often end up looking through the Pinterest bulletin board page or elsewhere on the internet. This is actually my March bulletin board but I kept it up through April because I’m lazy I also had to do the bulletin board in my school’s hallway. I borrowed this idea from here and modified it a bit.

First, my students colored an egg that I printed onto cardstock.

I decided that it would be better if I cut out the eggs! (for good reason!)

Next, I took pictures of my kids. I told them to pose like they were coming out of an egg. They loved posing! After I took their pictures, I printed them at Walgreens (they always give large percentages off on their pictures) and cut them out.

After cutting everything out, I stapled the pictures of my kids in a position that showed them coming out of their eggs. This was my favorite bulletin board that I’ve put together.

Here’s the bulletin board I did for the hallway for testing this month. Sorry for the blurry image! I borrowed this idea too from here.

The last thing I have to share is a writing activity my firsties completed during our study of adjectives. We were studying adjectives for how many, so I had my students sketch a monster and use adjectives to describe its different parts.

Using their sketches, I drew and cut out different shapes for the bodies. I also cut out eyes, mouths, moustaches, arms, legs, tails, and teeth. The students re-wrote their sentences on the lines and underlined the adjectives. I added the orange frame also.

Here’s one student’s monster.

Here is the monster that I created and wrote about. Pretty nifty, huh?

Enjoy your Saturday!

+Sincerely, MrsMc

Let’s Get Acquainted!

Happy Monday! I’m linking up with Mrs. Reed from Flying Into First for her Let’s Get Acquainted Linky. I’m sharing three of my favorite areas in my classroom.

1. My Floating Word Wall: I created this because I had very little board space in my room. With this, my kids are able to access our word wall any time! I’ve created a product for my floating word wall here.

2. My Focus Wall: I use my focus wall to display everything we are learning each week. It’s a great reference for my kids who forget our spelling words or HFWs. It’s also a great reminder for me as to what we are doing throughout the week because my mommy brain makes me forget everything! Did I mention I have a product for this??? I know…I know… #shamelessplug

3. My Clip Chart: I’m sure you’re wondering why this would be my favorite. Since I began teaching, I’ve only used the green/yellow/red behavior system. I found that this only “rewarded” unacceptable behavior. Those students who always did the right thing never got much attention besides getting a “green” for the day. So…I researched and found the clip chart behavior system. I like the fact that students get a chance to clip up. It gives them something to word toward! In my classroom, each student has a punch card. If they clip up during the day, I poke a hole in their punch card. If they fill it up in the month, they get to attend a reward party. So far I’ve done a nacho party, a popcorn party, and this month will be a cupcake party. My students really strive hard to get their punch cards filled, which translates to better behavior overall with my kids. You can view my old post to get everything in the pic below.

+Sincerely, MrsMc

New Products & A Giveaway

I don’t know about you, but I am officially counting down the days until summer vacation! My firsties are getting a little antsy (just like me), but I have to keep reminding them that school isn’t over quite yet.

Although school is winding down, I’m still creating lots of products:

 

I’ve added another Common Core Double Trouble pack. This one features activities for counting, recognizing, and showing to 120. Usually my Common Core Double Trouble packs have 2 activities and 2 worksheets, but this one has 3 activities and 3 worksheets all for just 2 bucks!

I’ve also added I Have…Who Has? for practicing counting money. There are 165 cards and several sets of various coins for counting.

So what do you have planned for your kids for the last weeks of school? Do you have any ideas for fun activities that you will do? Feel free to share below in the comments section. I will give both products above away to the first two people who leave a comment and their email address! I’m looking forward to seeing what you have planned.

+Sincerely, MrsMc

Product Swap with Cindy!

Happy Saturday everyone! I am very happy to be participating in my first product swap hosted by Mrs. Stanford.  

 

The product swap allows bloggers to review each other’s products. I was lucky to be paired with Cindy from Granny Goes to School.
 

I am reviewing Cindy’s “Space-tacular” Long and Short Vowel Sound Games and Activities from her Teachers Pay Teachers store.

 

Cindy describes it as a 55 page packet containing long and short vowel sound games for grades Kindergarten through 2nd. It is also great because the activities align with several Common Core standards. As you can tell by the name of the packet, it has a space/planet theme!

 

The packet has four games. The first game is called Word Sort. With this activity, students choose a word card and read the word. Then, they must determine the vowel sound (either long or short) that word contains and place it in the appropriate area on the sorting mat. I love that Cindy includes practice for long and short vowels.
 

All of the word cards are included along with the sorting mats for each vowel. There is also a recording sheet where students can write down the words after they have correctly sorted them.

The next game is called Read the Room. This is designed to get your students moving! The teacher places word cards (the same word cards from the Word Sort activity) around the classroom. Then, students take their recording sheets and write down the words that they find while exploring the room.



The next game is called Read It, Write It, Draw It. This is yet another activity designed to get your students moving and is similar to Read the Room. The teacher places word cards (the same word cards from the Word Sort and Read the Room activity) around the classroom. Students will first find a word. Then, they must use their recording sheet to write a sentence using the word and draw a picture that tells about their sentence. I can see this being used as an independent and a paired activity.



The last game is Vowel Sound Tic-Tac-Toe. This activity is like your traditional Tic-Tac-Toe game but it uses the same vowel word cards instead. Students will place the word cards on the Tic-Tac-Toe mat and practice saying the words while placing “X’s” and “O’s” on the mat. In my example below, I’ve used counters instead, which is something Cindy suggests using.

 

Space-tacular” Long and Short Vowel Sound Games and Activities is packed with lots of fun for your students. Make sure to pick up your own at Cindy’s TPT store for only $3.00. I’d like to thank Cindy for being my partner in the Product Swap. I got to make a new friend! Be sure to visit Cindy on her blog, at her store, and on Pinterest and also check out her review of one of my products. 

+Sincerely, MrsMc

Nonsense Word Freebie

Gosh, life has been so busy lately! I apologize for not keeping up with updates y’all! I promise to do better. I’ve had so many new followers on my blog, Pinterest, and TPT and I am so thankful for all of you. To show my appreciation, I created a freebie this afternoon to share with you.

We are getting ready for our last round of DIBELS, so I’m kicking the practice into extra high gear. For those of you who do DIBELS, you know that nonsense words are a section of the assessment. My kids love playing I Have…Who Has? with sight words, so I created one for nonsense words.

Click on any of the pictures to pick up this freebie! Make sure to leave me a nice comment once you download it!

+Sincerely, MrsMc