Teaching Blog Round Up!

Just a quick check in here... I had a PD for my school's area today, and it drained me even more than 29 six and seven year olds in the last month of school do!

Anyways, I just wanted to let you all know of a great collaborative blog that I'm so excited to be participating in...

There's tons of great ideas, freebies, and more. Check it out by clicking on the button above!

Happy Tuesday!

TpT is throwing a big Teacher Appreciation Sale!

Stop by and get 28% off my store, today and tomorrow only!

(Click the cute image from Graphics from the Pond below!)

Five For Friday... On a Saturday, and May Currently!

So, I've been meaning to link up for Five for Friday for for.ev.er! But of course, time seems to slip away, and on Friday nights, after getting the kids to bed, this happens:

I know I can't be the only one this happens to. Right? RIGHT???

So, I'm a day late, but here goes!

1. We have FINALLY started getting some warm weather! First it was cold, then rainy, and finally this week, we hit the 70s!

We enjoyed a little time at the park. They both look so big in this picture!

2. We finished up our plant unit this week. This is the awesome work of one of my kiddos. (Check out that handwriting!)

If you're interested in this craftivity and the other experiments, reading responses, and other goodies from my unit, check it out by clicking below:

3. This week marked the beginning of our end of year testing. What?! We go until June 20 (gulp!) but we started testing our kids with BAS already.

Which, of course, necessitates lots and lots of this:

(Iced, french vanilla, cream and sugar... Yum...) 

And maybe this is a weird thing to notice, but on the cups in the ads, there's always like the flavor above the "coffee" (like where "iced" is on this cup), but that's never what it has at the store... Hmm...

4. I posted my Friday Folder comment sheets a few days ago, and came back to tell you a little more about them. First of all, a sweet reader notified me of a typo on the Spanish version, so I fixed it up and it's available to redownload on TpT.

 (Click the image above to download for FREE)

I was asked about how I used this form, so hopefully I can give a couple helpful hints!

For several years, I've used the communication folders from Nicky's Folders. They are awesome... I've used the same ones for about the past three years and I'll definitely be able to use them again next year. (Plus they're only about $1 a piece... Totally worth it.) They have a view pocket on the front, like a lot of binders do, and I slip the sheet inside. I print them on cardstock - it's easier to slide in and out that way.

I fill out the date, behavior and work habit codes, and make notes on them about any tests, things to work on at home, etc. Then, I fill the inside, which comes with printed labels on each pocket:

Any work that needs signed goes on the left, and other work to keep at home goes on the right.

My students bring the folders home on Fridays and back on Mondays, and it works like a charm!

5. Finally, I gotta brag on my own kiddos a bit... Check out my daughter's drawing (she'll be 3 in August):

(That's a face with hair, eyes, a circle nose, a smile - which is hard to see - and the straight line up is a tongue! Plus an A in the corner for Avery.)

And as an added bonus, in being even later than usual even for me, here's my May Currently!

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching and Oh' Boy Fourth Grade!

Friday Folders Made Easy - Free Download!

This week, I printed out my last Friday folder cover sheets of the year (sniff sniff). I've used Friday folders for the past few years and LOVE how it helps improve communication with parents while minimizing the random graded papers in kids' backpacks. I used to have these really intricate behavior and classwork forms and comments for each student. I typically run about 30 kids a year, which meant slaving away over those forms each Thursday night.

The form I used this year has been the easiest yet (I found something similar on Pinterest and modified it to fit my students, although I can't find the original post to save my life!).

I have many Spanish-speaking families, so I use a bilingual version, but one in English is available in the same download.

Just click the picture above to get this form FREE!

Also, I hit over 300 followers on TeachersPayTeachers and I'm ALMOST at 150 here... Maybe it's about time for a celebration? Check back soon!

Have a great start to your week!

Finally! Updated Clip Chart Calendars

Well, I thought I could outsmart this whole flu thing that had been going around. I didn't get a flu shot and ended up regretting it... BIG TIME. I was totally out of commission for like four days, and I'm just FINALLY starting to feel like my normal self nearly two weeks later. Sigh.

But now I feel back to normal (almost), and I've finally finished something I've been meaning to do - updating my clip chart calendars for parents! I use a clip chart in my classroom (I have two for free downloading in my TpT store), and I have been using these charts to communicate how students do each day with parents. It has worked WONDERFULLY! The students have poly folders with prongs that we use for homework folders. I print one calendar per kiddo each month on cardstock (easier for the kids to slide in and out) and slip it into a sheet protector in the prongs. If you don't have access to color ink, I've included a black and white version that the students can color in the key for. The kids color the calendar themselves as I circulate to make any little notes, and BAM! In about 2 minutes my 28 kiddos have their clip chart colors available for parents to see and sign off on.

It has been GREAT for documentation, because each month I pull the calendars and file them away for each kiddo. Plus, it's rewarding to see good behavior (or improving behavior) charted out for the kids in a visual way.

This is what each calendar looks like:

Click the pic below to snag your free clip chart calendars:

I'm linking up with Manic Monday!

Plants Unit, Currently April, and a FREEBIE!

Well, spring break is over.

Sad.

On the bright side, we started new units in ALL subjects today... Holla! Well, I love our plant and Kevin Henkes units, which we began today, so I'm in a happy lesson planning place. :)

I worked away during my break to get my plants unit updated.

 

This is what the old unit looked like. It makes me want to throw up a little. So I did a little PowerPointing, and this is the result:

MUCH better! 

What's included in this unit:

- Unit planner for 10 days of lessons
- Suggested books to read aloud
- Instructions for all activities
- Plant life cycle mini book
- Labs including observing soaked bean seeds, fruits with various seed types, growing bean plants, and water transportation
- Root, fruit, and leaf sort
- Flower facts craftivity (NEW for April 2013 update)
- Original plant song
- Unit assessment (NEW for April 2013 update)

If you'd like to grab the unit, click on the picture above to take you to my TpT store!

We did the first activity today, a RAN (a form of a KWL that allows for misconceptions... Which we all know firsties can have a LOT of!):

(Those kiddos are inquisitive - our Post-Its of questions spilled into the misconceptions box! Gotta get smaller Post-Its!)

Tomorrow, we're going to start talking about the life cycle of a plant. I made this little freebie for you to snag:

Click the picture above to go to my TpT store to download the freebie. It is a short reading passage with a brief five question true/false quiz to check comprehension.

Also, I thought I'd post my Currently April. :)

It's about time to call it a night... I am in for a LONG day tomorrow!

TGISB (Thank God It's Spring Break!)... Plus a Quick Freebie

Today was the first official day of spring break.

It. Was. Glorious.

It certainly helped that I had the house (well, condo) cleaned professionally. That is a much-deserved little luxury, right?

Well, my big project is overhauling my plant unit this break, since we're going right into it as soon as spring break is over.

But in the meantime, I'm sharing this little freebie:

(Click either one to go to Google Drive for the download)

I love me some Scholastic book orders. Inexpensive books, titles the kids like, BONUS POINTS... What's NOT to love? Well, as much as I love 'em, paperback books with stapled bindings don't hold up too well with 29 little firsties. So rather than having my students come up to me at inopportune times ("Look! Look! A page fell out!"), I'm going to be laminating and slapping that sign onto one of our large, clear book bins and placing it right near the library. The little slips will be copied and placed in a little basket next to the bin. Your book has something wrong with it? Take a note, fill it out, and stick it like a bookmark into the book, then place the book in the Book Hospital box. I can get the book back to the right kiddo, I know what's wrong, and I can confer and meet with groups in peace.

Enjoy!