Happy (ALMOST) New Year, friends! 2017....really?!?! Have you made any resolutions? Me...notsomuch. Of course, I always want to be a better version of who I was the year before, but resolutions never quite "stick" if you know what I mean. Sure...I want to eat healthier. Work out more. Get more organized. Keep the house clean. Do the laundry...regularly ;) Yes...I want all those things. And to eat all the things and still be able to fit into my jeans. But really...I just want to have a great year filled with lots of laughter and more memories than I can count. I'm still … [Read more...] about All About January (and a few freebies!)
winter
January Science…with Math & ELA, too!
One of the common things I hear almost in every state I visit with every set of teachers who come to my sessions is that teachers are in need of more science resources. Not just an experiment to do here and there, but science with "meat". Science activities that have cross-curricular connections and can be fit in at any time during the day. Science lessons and activities that not only reach specific standards for a set amount of time, but lessons and activities that span a variety of concepts and skills so that instruction and practice can be reinforced through spiral review all year long. I get it! I do!!! … [Read more...] about January Science…with Math & ELA, too!
Snowman Fun, Freebies, and a Place Value Sneak Peek!
Happy New Year, friends! 2015....really?!?! Have you made any resolutions? Me...notsomuch. Of course, I always want to be a better version of who I was the year before, but resolutions never quite "stick" if you know what I mean. Sure...I want to eat healthier. Work out more. Get more organized. Keep the house clean. Do the laundry...regularly ;) Yes...I want all those things. And to eat all the things and still be able to fit into my jeans. But really...I just want to have a great year filled with lots of laughter and more memories than I can count. Instead of a … [Read more...] about Snowman Fun, Freebies, and a Place Value Sneak Peek!
There’s SNOW Time Like Winter!
Just stopping in for a quick minute tonight to share a few things that have been keeping us busy this week. Write the Room has been keeping us up on our feet and moving around. This is my kids’ absolute FAVORITE activity so it’s no surprise that I have to change these out quite frequently. These last couple of days my kids have been identifying word families and writing CVC words {from my January Write the Room packet}. In our sight word center, the kids have been digging through the snow to find words. Once they find a word they know, they count out the number of letters in the word and use the … [Read more...] about There’s SNOW Time Like Winter!
Digging Through the Snow
After looking through my Facebook feed, I think it’s safe to say that MANY of you are digging your way through the snow this week! Well aren’t you lucky?! I was chipping away at the frost on my windshield this morning, but then it warmed up to the high 50’s and all was *almost* right in the world :) I’ve been a little MIA this week because we’re testing our Kbabies! Have I told y’all how much I LOVE mid-year testing?!?! Because I honestly really DO!! I LOVE seeing all the progress my kids are making!!! Sure…it’s definitely time consuming…but I LOVE the results! I’m SO unbelievably proud of my … [Read more...] about Digging Through the Snow
Place Value, MLK, and Snowmen!
Here's a fun little place value activity I made for my kids to do in their math tubs last week. It’s a snowman place value spinner! Graphics courtesy of Digi Web Studio Last week we were working on place value with teen numbers, so that’s what this particular activity reinforces. The kids spin the spinner on the middle portion of the snowman and collect that amount of ones cubes...or whatever kind of counter you want! Then they spin the spinner on the bottom portion of the snowman and collect the same amount of ones cubes as well. Then they count their cubes and see if they can make a set of ten. I always tell them, “If you can … [Read more...] about Place Value, MLK, and Snowmen!
Snow Day Stats
So…which of you has been the lucky recipient of a snow day, or two, this week?! Don’tcha just love those days?! I thought we’d for sure have one Monday because the entire city shuts.down. at the sight of flurries. It snowed cats & dogs & fluffy white rabbits on Sunday. You KNOW I was up about an hour earlier than normal checking the local news to see if our district was giving us a day to cozy up by the fire. No such luck, but I did get to sleep in. We were on a 2 hour delay. I’ll take it! Since snow is such a novelty in these areas, I knew the kids would have nothing but SNOW on their minds, … [Read more...] about Snow Day Stats
Mitten Loads of Fun!
We hit the ground running the first week back from break and it was so nice to be back in a routine. We did a lot of mitten themed activities and the kids loved it! Hope you enjoy them, too!!Of course, we started the week reading The Mitten, by Jan Brett. There was SO much to do with this book!! We created a flow chart to sequence the events, used puppets from the Jan Brett website to retell the story, discussed the story elements using a mitten themed story map, and lots more! {I kept forgetting to charge my camera, so I didn’t take many pictures :(}We also read, The Hat by Jan Brett and compared it to The … [Read more...] about Mitten Loads of Fun!
Symmetrical Snowflakes
Even though we don’t see much snow here in Texas…with the exception of last year’s record snowfall{s}…we “let it snow” this week with a fun little symmetry activity. This is one of my favorites of the season! This week we were reviewing shapes and patterns so this little lesson fit in perfectly. We reviewed repeating patterns & growing patterns and revisited the concept of symmetry and our symmetrical turkeys. Then I had the kids create symmetrical snowflakes… And just like real snowflakes, no two were the same! To make the snowflakes, I cut 4 8x2” strips of blue paper and assembled into “snowflakes”. I die cut tons of white … [Read more...] about Symmetrical Snowflakes
Winter Math Games
Happy first day back after a niiiiiiiiiice long break :) I know we’re all excited, right?! Just 10 short weeks ‘til the next vacation, but who’s counting?! Seriously though…I’m already missing my little boys during the day, but I’m SO happy the whole family is back in a routine! Since I’m currently raising the two wildest boys under the age of 4, I didn’t have much time to create a whole lot over the break. I had to spend all my *down time* {yeah right} being a mommy & tending to domestic duties. Thankfully I had lots of planning time today to try and get caught up! Here are a few little games I’ll be putting in our math tubs this … [Read more...] about Winter Math Games