Cara Carroll

100th Day & Valentine’s

I got the sweetest email from a darling reader who wanted to know if I was okay because of my lack of blogging lately :)  I’m a-ok, but my boys…well…they’re a different story.  They both tested positive for type A flu last week and I was one busy momma!  No time for anything other than snugglin’ the heck outta those kids.  Even though the snuggles were sick induced, I’ll take what I can get!  HA!  I’m SO happy that they’re finally on the mend and back to normal!!  I hope that’s the last of the sickies this season!!  Because I was tending to my mommy duties, our 100th day celebration didn’t exactly go as planned :)  I have the most amazing ... Read More

Boggle – Making Words

I love Boggle.  One of my most favorite apps. While writing about my love for this game during Writer’s Workshop one day, I realized that my kids sorta love this game, too!  A few of them said that their parents play it on their phones and some of the others talked about playing Boggle Jr. at home with their families.  Love it!  So I combined their love for Boggle with their love for the SMARTBoard and now they ALL have a FAVORITE Work Work activity!!  At least once a week, I have the kids visit the SMARTBoard to play Boggle…and they LOVE it!!  They each take turns connecting words and then recording them on a corresponding sheet.  You can ... Read More

Groundhogs & Their Burrows

The kids have loved learning about burrows and how groundhogs dig tunnels.  Did you know they dig up to 700 lbs. of dirt when digging their burrows?!  WHOA!  We talked about burrows and other places animals calls home…dens, lairs, nests, caves, etc.  Then I had the kids pretend like they were groundhogs and do a little descriptive writing.  First they had to draw their little burrows.  CRACKING up that this one has a TV & a bed!  HA! Then they had to write a few sentences describing their burrow as if they were a groundhog. Finally, they made a little groundhog.  I LOVE this little art piece.  It takes all of about 5 seconds to put ... Read More

Valentine’s Ideas

Since we’re on DAY 4 of NO SCHOOl, I’ve been surfing around some of my favorite blogs and have found some darling Valentine ideas!  Just wanted to pass along incase you need some Vday inspiration :) The Idea Room has these awesome Valentine Bingo boards you can download off her site for free!!  These would be awesome for a class valentine party OR even just for a fun math activity.  I totally would’ve used these to reinforce number recognition in K, but I think I’ll use these to reinforce addition/subtraction facts (maybe even place value or coins) with my firsties!!!  Can’t wait!!!   Love this fun snack idea ... Read More

This & That…and a Couple of Valentine’s Day {Gift} Ideas

 Now onto Valentine's…because it’s just around the corner! How do y’all celebrate?!  Do y’all do anything fun for the class party?!  My last year teaching Kindergarten, I decided to make it cutesy…and I loved it.  Y’all…I LOVE this commercial “holiday”!  I made a little banner… I semi-decorated the tables… And we made these cute little bags to hold all our Valentines.     What about gifts?!  What do y’all like to give to your kids?!  Here are a couple of fun, very inexpensive ideas!!  I’m all about giving the kids something fun & cutesy without breaking the bank!    Channel your inner Martha and make these fun little love pops!  SUPER ... Read More

Chocolate Pudding & Penguins

I’m trying to catch up on a few little things, but thought I’d share this in the meantime.  We’re stuck INSIDE today…no school…with tons of ice on the ground and temps too cold for me to talk about.  Yuck.  But the upside to this little sleet day is that I’ve got a clean house & chicken noodle soup on the stove.  Speaking of soup, if you’re dealing with stay-inside-weather like we are, you’ve seriously gotta try THIS SOUP.  Y’all….it’s DANG good.  Perfect cold weather meal!!  Moving on… This week we’re learning about the “-ch” digraph.  My firsties are LOVING the Digraph Kids and talk about each of ‘em like they know them personally!  ... Read More

Inventors & Inventions

This past week we started wrapping up our study on Inventors & Inventions in Science/Social Studies.  I guess I underestimated the interest my kids would have in the subject because they were SO into it!!  We started by learning about a few very important inventors…Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and The Wright Brothers.  We made a little anchor chart for the kids to refer to throughout our little unit of study. After we learned about each inventor, I had the kids add to their “Inventors and their Inventions” notebook.  {click the pic to download} I forgot to take pics, but after we studied Alexander Graham Bell, we made tin can ... Read More

Celebrity of the Week

When I found out I would be moving from 2nd down to 1st last year, the wheels immediately started turning.  I’d had a jungle theme in my room for several years, so I was ready for a change…and I knew “Hollywood” was the way to go!  Last year, my star of the week was aptly named King/Queen of the Jungle.  This year, my kiddos get to be “Celebrity of the Week”…and they LOVE IT!  I have a special little celebrity corner decorated with paper lamps and pics of Disney stars, and a special celebrity chair that only the honorees are allowed to use {for the week}.  Can I just tell you how much I love this chair?!  I ... Read More

Penguin Fun!

Oh how I LOVE learning about penguins!!  They are just the dang cutest things, aren’t they?!  I’ve tried to get my boys into Happy Feet, but they aren’t big fans just yet.  Boo.  Anyway, we had a lot of penguin fun this week and I can’t wait to continue with more in the week to come!  First off, if you haven’t had a chance to purchase Deanna Jump’s Penguin Unit, GO.NOW.  It’s FULL of awesome ideas and activities which is one of the reasons I’ve extended our penguin learning for another week.  AND…you need to check out Babbling Abby’s post about her week of Penguin fun!  She has some DARLING ideas too and a 5-day lesson plan to download.  LOVE ... Read More

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