Seuss Update, My Gerbie, A Sale, and Sad Target News

1.) Seuss Update:
I assume if you are using the "Cat In a Hat" graphics set from Scrappin' Doodles that you received the e-mail about the set and how we can't be calling anything we sell or share from that set "Seuss" related.  SO- if you downloaded my "Seuss" pack from Teacher's Notebook, be advised that the materials are still the exact same, but I had to change some of the wording.   I am so sorry!   I wanted to change the name of the pack to "Celebrate the Feline in a Fedora Day!" but my husband talked me out of it!  You'll probably be hearing and seeing this a lot from others who used the same set!  Oh- and I had to change one graphic on the flippy book for this issue too, but the content is the same!

2.) My Gerbie:
I didn't really share about this after it happened because it was just too sad... I spent an ENTIRE day crying about it... but my first class pet ever, the gerbil, Lily, had an accident over Christmas break.  She was staying with a student and had a wonderful Christmas where she was loved and spoiled like crazy!  But, she did not return to school... my kiddos were very sad but we reassured them that she was probably living a fabulous life in the walls of the home she stayed at over break.  But we missed her like crazy!  Well, about three weeks ago, that family brought us a new gerbil and we named her Gerbie!  That's right.  I used my "teacher power" to help influence the name selection.  I love calling her Gerbie!  Also... she might actually be a "he" but we don't really know.  He/she came to stay with me over this weekend as we had Friday and today off.  My husband and I went to do errands today and bought her an addition to her cage- so now she has an outside of the cage wheel, a fun loopy thing, and a 2nd little house to live in.  Here's the addition...

We spent way too much time when we got home watching her run in her new wheel and then abruptly just *stop* and she'd go flying around and around!

Here she is peeking out from her new wheel!

3.) A Sale:
I'm having a "Why Not Have a Sale" Sale over at my Teacher's Notebook Shop!  Everything is 20% off until Wednesday!

4.) Sad Target News:
I was so jealous when I saw all the great stuff Amy at the Resource(ful) Room got at Target so I had to get right down there today (even though I was already there on Friday and Sunday- I'm sick, people).  But Target had NOTHING for me.  NOTHING.  Can you believe that???  That has never happened before!

I did get these St. Patrick's Day pins at Target on Friday... if you go after them, be careful!  Some feature mugs of frothy yellow beverages which I can only assume is some sort of soda or carbonated lemonade... just wouldn't want to send the wrong message!:

BUT... the Dollar Tree came through for me!  I got these large foam dice:

These Easter goodies- pencils and foam shapes!

 

And these St. Patrick's Day foam shamrocks, a banner, and garland which I run across in front of my windows at school:

 

So that was my day.  It's back to the grind tomorrow!  Friday night my husband and I have tickets to see "In the Heights" which is (of couse!) a musical since I am not only addicted to Target but to musicals as well.  So, I'll be counting down the hours until I'm sitting in my seat ready to enjoy the show!

Have a great Tuesday and, for those of you who worked today, hope it was a good one!  :)

The Longest Blog Post Ever... Stuff, Pics, Freebie, Giveaways, and a Gerbil!

Ok.  It was a Monday.  Did anyone else have a friend who was hysterical for 40-minutes today and also refused to do work?  And also refused to move from laying in a ball on the floor?  And also wouldn't speak?  Luckily, my friend perked up by the end of the day... but it made for a long morning!

On to the longest blog post ever.  Probably not, but in my mind, it's pretty long right now.

Up first... stuff.

Last week we did a solids & liquids writing assignment.  Students were to write to a poor snowman/girl/lady/boy/kid/etc... who was melting and explain to them what was happening using our matter vocabulary and changing states of matter.

They turned out SUPER cute and so full of learning!  I was impressed!

Here's a picture of one of my kiddo's good work:

And, if you click the image below, you can get a copy of the "liquid" and "solid" words and the "title" one of my girlies colored to put with our display.  The snowman pictures came from Today in First Grade's blog.  I just used two of the pictures and blew them up.  We colored on them and then pained my cool blue dye over them; it resists the crayon and just looks super cool!

 

Next... pics.

Last Thursday and Friday we had work days in the afternoon and, on Thursday, I recruited some child laborers who were here due to parents on staff.  One of my first grade teacher friends bribed encouraged them to help me by buying them a candy bar!  :)  They worked their tails off and helped me change the set-up of my room...

To this:

So, the "meeting area" moved from the back of the room to the front.  The main reason for the move is the Active Slate that I'm using.  I've always been a teach-from-the-rug kind of teacher, but having that slate makes the need for a meeting place closer to the board so important!  I'm loving the arrangement!

Freebie:  See "stuff" above.

Next on the list... giveaways!  Who doesn't love those?!

I'm currently involved in two.  One for all of my themed Valentine cards AND a cute tumbler from Ann-Marie at K&K Designs.  If you've not yet entered, it's a MUST check out!  You can click that text to head over there.  I'll be choosing a winner on Wednesday.

The second ends TOMORROW and is for my Groundhog's Day mini-activity pack and one created by my friend Sandy.  You have to enter that one at Ms. Fiorini's blog... click the graphic for more info.  There are only 18 entries right now so you still have a super chance to win!  All you have to do is "follow" us on Teacher's Notebook and our blogs.  Easy peasy lemon squeazy!  This file is still on sale at my shop (along with everything else!) until midnight!

And last... a new gerbil.  I tried a class pet for the first time this year and LOVED it!  We got a gerbil and named her Lily.  Sadly, she did not return to school after Christmas break.  And we've missed her ever since!  Well, one of my classroom families got us a new gerbil last week.  I used my powers of teacher persuasion to help her get the name "Gerbie"!  :)  The other choices to vote on were Sugar, Missy, and Sally... and Gerbie won by one vote!

Here she is!  She was being shy this morning, so it's not great.  I'll keep working on her!

Also... she might secretly be a he.  So... yeah.

Tomorrow my hubby and I have tickets to "Rock of Ages"... and I can't wait!  I got the tickets for Christmas, so tomorrow Christmas is officially over for me.  Ya'll know I'm a nut for musicals and this one sounds like a great one!  All 80s and hair band-ish... YES!

I did it!!!! I'm a gerbil mama! (and class party freebie!)

My dog-sons officially got a sister today! Of course she'll be living at school... but for a few days anyway, Sam and Squeaks have a sister! I think I'm going to have parents and kids write down potential names at Open House next Wednesday and then we'll choose one from those the first week of school... for now, I'm calling her Roxie! :) (And don't be shocked if it stays that way after the name contest either!)


Thank you so much to everyone who shared their opinions with me about class pets. I truly appreciated your input! I think I'm going to have a kid each week write up a paragraph about what we did and learned for my blog (or maybe website... not sure yet) and it will be what "Roxie" saw us doing in class that week!

Ok... 2nd thing... I posted on my Facebook yesterday to find out how everyone organizes class parties. In the past, I've had parents sign up but then I ask them to bring specific things and I plan the activities. This year I want to try a different approach and have one parent plan each party and they will take care of organizing snacks, games, and help. I got some great feedback and ideas from people on FB and so, here's what I came up with:

I made this sheet which I'm going to have out at my Open House next week. On the "other celebrations", I will be the "Party Planner". Check out The Teaching Oasis for a class party sign-up without a "Party Planner" and a class e-mail list to put out at Open House! :)
All right... that's it! What do you think of my Roxie? :)

Class Pets... What do you think?

For some reason, the notion of having a hamster in my classroom crept into my consciousness the other day and I can't shake it!

Tonight my husband and I went to the pet store purely for harnesses for our dogs... but I peeked at the hamsters and I am in love! The Teddy Bear Hamsters are my favorite! My husband is skeptical though and asked me to "sleep on it". I think that is husband speak for "You're out of your mind".

So... I'd love to hear what you all think. Do you have a class pet? Do you send it home with students over breaks? What about the summer? How often do you clean the cage? Do you spend oodles of money to upkeep your pet? How can I make it meaningful in my classroom?

When I was in third grade my teacher, Mrs. Chiaccho, wanted a dog and her husband said no. So she had us write him letters to try and convince him to let her get the dog (talk about an authentic way to practice persuasive writing... with a real audience and everything... HA!). And she came back the next day and said we made him feel terrible and he actually cried! But she was getting the dog! So... maybe letters to Mr. Bainbridge are in order when I head back to school next month? ;)

(Just a friendly reminder to head over to my blog FB page to snag a back-to-school freebie!... the FB button is on the right side of my blog!)