Graduation Freebie!

This is an activity that I did with my kids the week before we got out...but because things were so hectic, I never shared or finished the pack =)

Well, I finished it today!! Yay!!

Hope you love it!!

The freebie below is available on TPT here if you click "download preview"

Click on either shop to check out the pack!

                   

Everything in both stores is on sale 20% off until tomorrow night! =)

BragTags Winners!

I am super excited to announce the winners of the BragTags Giveaway!

Congrats!!

I need merrell to contact me asap with an email address: laughinbrunette@hotmail.com

I will be forwarding all of your email addresses to

 Kim at BragTags (who is awesome, by the way!!)

She will contact you to find out the details for your super cool 

BragTags and your shipping info.

Don't forget the TPT and TN Sales!!!

I hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend!!

Love our Troops =)

Memorial Day Sale!

My last day was yesterday and I think I have been a bit in shock...exhausted, is more like it.  I just got up from a nap and wanted to share some things with my sweet followers =)

I am linking up with Kindergarten Lifestyle and a whole lot of other great teachers 

to have a Memorial Day Sale!

Click my stores below to visit and save!

          

Oh, and don't forget to visit 

She is having a HUGE Giveaway to celebrate 200 followers!!

And one more thing, my own BragTags Giveaway ends tonight!

Be sure to enter...there will be three winners!!!

Working with Words Freebie

As I finish up the year, I am thinking about next year.  At the beginning of first grade, so much of your time is spent with sounds and working with words!  This is one easy and cheap way to make it a little more hands-on and interesting for your students either during whole group or at the table in small group.

(like the table?  Find out more about how I did it here:

http://firstgradeblueskies.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-table-not-quite.html)

I have seen these used in workshops and also for sale, this is just my version...made with cardstock and kept in my kids pockets (on the back of their desks).

We use StoryTown and there is always a section in your morning routine (getting started area) where they want the kids to take a word like 'rat and take off the r...add a b and what word do you have?'  This is very tough for my firsties in the beginning.  So these little pockets are a great way to get them used to the idea of seeing patterns in words and sounds.  When we get the pockets out (in the beginning) I will list on the board all the letters they will need for that day, the rest go into their baggy (which is stored in the middle of the pocket)  I always have extra letters to replace any that have been misplaced.  

Here are directions to make your own!

The kids love the activity and after we practice a while, I often will let them get with their turn and talk  partner to work on words together...letting them take turns taking away and adding letters/sounds.

Maybe you can use this idea next year =)

Here is a quick little pack of letters to get you started. There are 4 pages, and the vowels are in BW and also in red.  You'll notice I didn't use my color printer to print the red vowels, I just used the BW ones and let the kids color the vowel cards yellow. Click on the link or the picture below to get your copy =)

Don't forget my Teachers Notebook Shop is open again 

and everything in it is on sale right now!!

And also...I am hosting an easy and awesome BragTags Giveaway right now,
check it out by clicking the link or the picture below!!

BragTags Giveaway!

I know you have probably seen these before, but I am loving the BragTags from imagestuff.com!!

Kids are awarded the tags for any number of things, great work, perfect attendance, progress, so many things to award! They have an abundance to choose from - dog tags along with other "shape tags". Students can wear them on a neck chain, or attach to their backpack with a ball key chain. 

How fun is that?

 imagestuff has agreed to award three of my readers a fun pack of their choice that includes 35 BragTags!!  They ship the next day, so you might even be able to get them before school is out! Of course, if you are one of those lucky dogs that are already out for summer, you could always choose a tag that fits for the beginning of the school year!

To enter, it couldn't be much easier!  

All you have to do is go and follow 
imagestuff.com's blog by email 
...click the link given 
or any of the pictures to visit and follow! =) 
(there's a box on their blog to follow in the bottom, right hand corner of their page)

That's it!  
Leave a comment below saying that you are following their blog and 
three winners will be chosen using random number generator. 

 Giveaway ends next Saturday (May 26th) at 9pm central.

 How cute are these? 

Perfect awards to your kids as they learn their sight words!!

Super Exciting News! A Grand Reopening and Sale!

Ok...for those of you who are long time followers of my blog, you know I have had issues with Paypal... (they hate me) which caused me to not be able to keep my
Teachers Notebook Shop open.  But now...I have exciting news...
IT IS BACK OPEN!!

Yay!!

I am super excited!  
To celebrate, I am throwing a sale at my 
Teachers Notebook Shop and hope you will all
CLICK over there right now 
and show some love by adding my shop to your favs!!!  
I appreciate all of your patience and support over the last few months during all of this.  I also want to give a HUGE shout-out to Steve and Debbie Esemplare for all their help in getting my shop back open.  They are AWESOME!

I will be adding over the next day or so a lot of my newer units...so don't forget to click over and take advantage of my Grand Reopening Sale!!
Hope you all have a great weekend!

What I've been up to! ~Freebie~

I always seem to forget how hectic these last couple of weeks are.  For some reason I get this urge to purge...I need to empty shelves, throw away junk, give stuff away... you know the drill!

On top of that, I am trying to finish up memory books, testing, and of course keep my kids contained.

Here are a couple of the things we've been doing:

Our Grassheads!

 Cute, right?

Last summer I created a whole pack to go along with step by step picture directions to create and have fun with your own Grassheads! Find it here on TPT or click the picture below!

I also revised an oldie but goodie...a fun way for your students to introduce YOU to next year's kids...I keep them and usually hang them up in the hallway to greet parents and kids on at 

Open House in August.

Click here for the freebie

 ...It has two versions, one for us girl teachers and one for boy teachers =) 

They had the BEST time describing me...apparently I do not like talking...

I yell when I am angry...and of course, I am nice and pretty! lol

 Oh, and in exciting news...look what I got today!!!  

(which only increased my need to cleaning and rearranging!)

Finally....a SmartBoard!!

Yay!!

Now if I just knew what to do with it! lol

Intervention Help, Freebie, and More

I have been thinking about Intervention a lot lately...trying to think about ways to make it more meaningful and to provide accountability...how to extend the learning past that 30 minute slot.  Then I began to reflect on the things I do during Intervention (good and bad).  One thing I have always done is to  keep a running record of miscues as my students read.  I also have a habit of scribbling the words they repeatedly miss onto a piece of paper and giving it to them to practice throughout the day or as homework.  I decided I wanted to create something that would make it a bit more formal...and a bit more fun.  I created pages (two to a page) that would be quick and easy to use for recording words they need to practice, in other words, an individualized list for reinforcement.  They are super easy to use. As a student reads, I jot down on one of the pages any words they seem to struggle with...not everyone gets a list every time. They take the list after Intervention is over and are required to read the words to someone throughout the day...2-5 times, depending upon the page I choose. Each time they read the list correctly, they get to color a picture at the bottom of the page.  (that provides the fun =)

Hope these will help you, too!

Click here to visit my TPT store and purchase your own pack 

of 16 double list pages for only $2!

Click on the picture below to get your freebie page:

On a personal note, I just want to say Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.  

Being a mom is just about the hardest, most rewarding job out there. 

My kiddos:

My mom died one year ago this Friday.  I miss her =)

Summer Bucket List

I am joining Hadar, Teri, and April and sharing my Summer Bucket List!

Here are just a FEW of the things I have found on Pinterest that I plan on doing this summer:
The Teacher Wife's Magnetic Wall:

First Grade Sweetie's Behavior Chart:

Banners on windows like The Inspired Apple's Classroom...and less clutter on the walls like her room, too!

A Day in the Life of a Classroom Teacher's Sentence Strip Organization:

Follow me on Pinterest here:

Link up by clicking below and share your summer projects!

Come See What I Got!

I went a little crazy today...and of course, I still have a list a mile long of things I want!!

Here is a bit of what I snagged today:

Click on any of the pics above to visit their stores before the sale ends tonight!!

Link up with Erica and share your loot!