Hello friends!! It's that time of year again...time for our BACK TO SCHOOL BASH 2016!!! This year we have teamed up with even more bloggers so that we can bring prizes-a-plenty to you!!! Mark your calendars for August 7th because you will NOT want to miss out!!! Each blogger will host a Bash Basket that contains a prize valued at $100 or more! Make sure to follow the blogs below so you don't miss a single thing! Check back in on August 7th so you can get your hop on! See you August 7th! ... Read More
Science for Beginners…Setting The Stage for a Year of Science FUN!
How many of you feel like this when it comes to teaching science? When I visit schools and talk to teachers in between sessions at conferences, I always hear something along the lines of, "there's just note enough time for science & social studies!!!!" Teachers. I feel you. I really do. There's barely enough time in our day to teach the skills we need to teach in the first place! And then every teacher on Earth said... So often, we as teachers look at our curriculum and see everything through compartmentalized lenses. If we're teaching literacy skills, it must be done during our ELA block. If we're ... Read More
Launching Guided Reading Small Groups & Independent Centers
How many of you have already gone back to school? One question I'm often asked at the beginning of the school year is, "When do you start guided reading?!", so I thought we'd chat about how all that gets started in my classroom today :) The beginning of the year is important not only for establishing rules and routines, but also for assessing our students. We need to know where are babies are so we can determine how and what we need to teach. We're all given grade level objectives and standards to teach, but our kids also need differentiated instruction to meet their individual needs. Where does this fit in?! Most of my ... Read More
Making Math Fun!
Happy Saturday! I know this is going to sound cliche and all, but seriously....where did the summer go?! August is only a couple of days away and most of my teacher friends are starting school either this coming week or the next. Oh summer...we loved you so!!!! Now it's upward and onward and we're getting ready to embark on a new journey with a whole new crop of babies. Exciting and bittersweet all in the same breath!!! There are so many things to anticipate with the start of a new school year. Organization...classroom management...centers....small group...and everything in between! I love ... Read More
Sight Word Sunday!
Hey you guys!! HAPPY SUNDAY! If you've been reading along this week, then you know we're still celebrating my birthday with a little birthday SALE-A-BRATION! Tomorrow's the actual "big day" and I'm so excited to be turning 29....again ;) Now let's get right down to it and talk about what we're really here for...SIGHT WORDS!!! As I was writing this post, I realized I had written a pretty detailed sight word post back on June 24th. At the risk of sounding redundant, I'm going to repost here in case you missed it the first time. I wanted to start with a couple of things I hadn't blogged about in the ... Read More
Integrating Curriculum…Science Saturday!
This week of celebrating sure has flown by fast! I meant to post on Thursday and Friday, but y'all...I was on VEGAS time. Ha! So I'm sorry that didn't happen! I fully intend on circling back to both Thematic Thursday and Guided Reading Phonics Friday on Monday and Tuesday. Since my actual birthday isn't technically until Monday I figured an extension on celebrating would be perfectly fine :) So here's what the next few days will look like.... Speaking of Vegas, I had the absolute BEST time at the I Teach conference! It's my favorite event of the year and this year's did NOT disappoint. It's ... Read More
Write On Wednesday
It's Wednesday and the 3rd day in my weeklong birthday SALE-A-BRATION! Today we're talking all about writing... I know I've blogged about my writing station several times before so I won't go into great detail about it here. However, I do want to take a minute to tell you how much I love it. I've always had a writing center, but I struggled week-to-week with planning writing activities that kept my kids truly engaged. Keep in mind that my writing center is completely separate from Writer's Workshop. While I love for my kids to choose what they're going to write about, when they visit the ... Read More
Back To School Ideas & Freebies!!!
It's "Time To Go Back" Tuesday! Let's celebrate! Today I'm talking all about my back to school favorites. Tried and true ideas and activities that have helped me start my year off on the right foot. If you're anything like me, you love to mix it up and try new things from year to year. Maybe not everything, but some new things can be fun :) I'm hoping this little list of favorites gives you some new ideas to try out this year or tuck in your pocket for the future! Here's my favorite piece of encouragement for the new school year...... HAHAHAHAH!!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!! I think one of my most favorite back to school ... Read More
Math Monday…And a Weeklong Birthday SALE-ABRATION!
Happy Monday! God willing I will be celebrating another year of life next Monday, so this is technically my birthday week. Does anybody else draw out their birthdays and celebrate for a week?!?! If I'm being honest, I don't do that anymore, but when I was younger I sure milked my yearly milestone as long as I could :) This year I'm celebrating in VEGAS, baby!!! We just checked in and got settled and tomorrow I'll be presenting at the I Teach K conference! This year I thought it would be fun to bring back that weeklong tradition I used to covet, only now I want to celebrate with YOU! So each day this ... Read More
Starting the Year With Comprehension
Hey y'all! How many of you are already in the midst of back to school preparation? Or have already gone back to school?! We're so often on a one-track mind when it comes to going back to school...meet the teacher, school supplies, classroom decor...and the list goes on. As much as I think about all those things, my mind is also focused on organizing everything I need to have a successful year in guided reading, math, and other subject areas. What can I have at my fingertips to help me make sure I target important skills and strategies I want my kids to master throughout the day?! Yesterday I talked a bit about how I ... Read More
