So TIRED, a Great Book, and a Freebie!

I am EXHAUSTED! Having a week off and then going back to work has kicked my butt!

My kiddos have been amazing and I have gotten a TON of good teaching in the past two days. Today we started collecting research for a weather report. They are working in small groups and they were buzzing away with interesting facts and highlighting like crazy! :)

 

 

We're also working on persuasive writing AND reviewing main idea this week. Yikes, I know. BUT... I found this great book called A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea and we used it today to, not only identify the author's purpose and the effectiveness of his argument, but also to locate main ideas and details.  They *so* got it.  We'll see if I can strike gold again tomorrow with main idea in a non-fiction text.




I'm posting my fillable end of the year awards pack on TpT and Teacher' Notebook tonight. It has 40 awards that are fillable... so you don't have to write everyone's name out if you don't want to. There are awards for good friends, good partners, good spellers, growth in reading and math... and some unique awards too- "No Dust Bunnies" for kids who keep a neat and tidy area, "Marvelous Musician" for that one who is always humming or singing a tune, and even a "No Peeping" award for that kiddo who is always so quiet!

You can download the perfect attendance award for free at my TpT shop- just click the link below!

TpT (for the freebie!)          Teacher's Notebook

Check back in later this week for a great giveaway!!!!!!!  My kiddos are currently testing out a product and will be writing persuasive pieces to review it and I'll give you one for free!  (Actually, Learning Resources will... but I'll do the giveaway!!!)

The linky party for split/multi-age classrooms is still open... I hope you'll link up!

Split Class & Multi-age Linky Party!

I've had a few e-mails about the logistics of a split class and I thought what a better way to answer those e-mails than to collect advice from other experts!

I would love for you to grab the button and link up to share your best tips and tricks for managing a split class- from academics to behavior.

Come on and join!

**Here is my advice to anyone taking on a split class- this is my 2nd year teaching 1st and 2nd grade combined and I love it.  It can be challenging to juggle two different sets of academics, but my best tip is to continue to teach at high levels.  It has AMAZED me what first graders can do when they are exposed to high expectations... not that other 1st grade teachers don't have high expectations, because you all rock and I know that you do, but I have to teach everything so my 2nd graders get it and my first graders rise to the occasion beautifully.

**We also do everything together except math.  Daily Five and CAFE have been a natural fit with a split class because I teach so many mini-lessons each week, I can differentiate over and over and hit multiple skills and skill sets.

**For math, I teach one grade level while the other does Debbie Diller inspired math workstations and then we flip-flop.

**One of my favorite things about a split class is seeing friendships blossom that would not have otherwise existed!

So, I guess that is more than 1 tip or trick... feel free to grab the button at the top, link up, and share all that you have!  Let's make this linky a big one!

Easter Goodies- someone wins AND a freebie!

Happy Easter friends!

This morning the hubby and I are puttsing (how would you spell that?!) around the house... well, actually, he's outside putting in the little lights that go in the landscaping around our house and I'm on the computer doing what I do.

First up... someone wins!!!!!

Congrats to #5 Mrs. Hodson @ Today in First Grade!  You win my First Grade Treasures Spelling pack!!!!!  All 248 pages for free!!!  I'll be getting ahold of you ASAP.

Second up...  a FREEBIE!

Why did I not have an Easter flippy book?  That occurred to me this morning.  So, I quick whipped one up and it is available for free at my TpT and Teacher's Notebook shops.  Granted, you'll have to keep track of it until next year, but it is there for you!

Third up...  everything in both of my shops is 15% off until the end of today... you know, to UN-celebrate the end of spring break.

TpT          Teacher's Notebook

Enjoy your day everyone!  I can't wait to head to my parents' house this afternoon for ham and my mom's totally different and utterly amazing green bean casserole... and my grandma's totally different and utterly amazing potato salad recipe!  YUM!

If You've Never Been Tagged...

then I'm tagging YOU!

Holly from Crisscross Applesauce tagged me and she's just so sweet that I had to play along.  BUT... I'm going to cheat and give an open TAG invitation to anyone who hasn't been tagged instead of actually tagging 10 others.  I'm a slacker, I know.

But... here are the 10 questions Holly had for her tag-ees:

1.  Do you have any bad habits?  Care to share?

I bite my nails.  I totally wish I didn't.  It's so gross and they are SO hideous!  How can I stop?  Help!!!

 

2.  Outdoors or Indoors?
I'm a wuss.  Indoors.

3.  Books:  Real deal, Kindle, Nook, iPad, other?
I love to read.  A lot.  If you've been following me for a while, you know I just got a Nook and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  Before that I was a crazy real deal book lady who was terrified of getting an e-reader because it might destroy literature as we know it.  Now I LOVE MY NOOK SO MUCH!  I want to shout it from the rooftops!

I shouldn't share this with you because it's an unorganized mess... but here's my bookshelf so you can see my collection of books... the shelves are two rows deep.  And I have read most of them.  The ones on the tippy top I got for Christmas and haven't read yet... I'm trying to talk myself out of re-buying them for my Nook.  You know, because I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

Now I have a neat and tidy virtual bookshelf on my Nook!  Did I mention that I LOVE IT?

4.  Night owl or early riser?
Early riser

5.  Do you have a best friend?
Yes!

6.  Favorite room in your house?
No.  Can I choose the computer chair?

7.  What do you pride yourself on as a teacher?
Hmmm... I'm a really good classroom manager.

8.  Where do you blog?
Do you want to know the physical location?  The blogs I contribute to?  I'm confused!

9.  Your home alone, somebody rings the doorbell, you don't know them, do you answer the door?
My town has like 1000 people in it.  I know everyone.  But, I would make sure to hold one of my ferocious little dogs just in case I needed protection from the stranger:

10.  When telemarketers call do you listen, tell them you're not interested politely, hang up on them?
I listen.  It might be a survey!  And the survey might be about politics!  And I love giving my opinion!  Other than that, I say, "We're not interested" and then I hang up.  Does that make me a bad person?  Once someone kept calling and calling me and they were talking in this absolute gibberish.  I got so mad!  So the third time they called I jibberished back into the phone at them.  And then they spoke some English.  And they were speaking Dutch and looking for an Amish friend who had given my phone number accidentally as their contact number.  So, I felt like a real jerk!

So... if you want to accept my tagging... please answer the following questions:

1.)  Do you scrapbook?  If so, what's your favorite tool?  If not... why?

2.)  Favorite 80s TV show

3.)  Do you keep your toenails painted?

4.)  What is your favorite bean?  (Mine is lima, in case you're curious!)

5.)  What was your favorite doll's name as a kid?  (Meggie Kay!  And I still have her!)

6.)  Coffee or tea?

7.)  Bath or shower?

8.)  What is your favorite item in your classroom?

9.)  Funniest classroom moment summed up in 10 words or less...

10.)  Either one name you'd NEVER name a child or one name you'd LOVE to name a child based on students you've had in your class... and you don't even have to tell us if it's a NEVER or a LOVE... just the name!  ;)

Jamie at Thrills in Third Grade tagged me too... here are her answers:

1. What state do you teach in?

Michigan

2. What is your all-time favorite movie?

Anne of Green Gables (love the books too!)  The movie makes me laugh and cry at all the same parts every time... and I'm crazy in love with Gilbert Blythe!

3. Are you a sports fan? What's your favorite team?

GO LIONS!!!!

 

4. If you could be anywhere RIGHT NOW, where would that be?

New York City... I was BORN for that life!

 

5. What was your reason for becoming a teacher?

I love it!  I walked into an elementary school when I was in high school and a choir of heavenly angels sang down upon me as a shaft of light illuminated the foyer of the school from the Heavens.  I am meant to do this!

 

6. If you had to change professions, what would you do?

I'd be a professional student.  Can I say that?

 

7. What technology do you have in your classroom? (i.e. Smartboard; document camera; computers;responders, etc)

Document camera, 2 Nooks, Mimio Pad, LCD projector, 3 student comptuers

 

8. Do you own a pet? What kind? What's your pet's name?

2 dog-sons named Sam and Squeaks

 

9. If you had to recommend a book for  me to read, what would it be?

One of my favorite favorite books is The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers.  It chronicles a piece of land that is in an African American family from the family's history in slavery until the present.  It's amazing.  I'd also recommend Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta.  That book is AH-MAZING!

 

10. What is the best thing you cook?

Hmmm... stuffed meatloaf?  Chicken enchiladas?  I get a lot of recipes from Gina at Skinny Taste.  If you don't know her, you must check her out!

Ok!  Now YOU'RE it!  I'd love for you to answer my questions if you haven't been tagged... then come back and let me know what you did it so I can see what you have to say!

Also, my sale is still going on until Sunday at TpT and Teacher's Notebook!  See yesterday's post for details!  If you'd like a chance to win my 1st grade Treasures spelling units, comment on yesterday's post and I'll choose a winner on Sunday morning!

And then there were three... (and a little giveaway and a little sale!)

...days left of spring break that is.  So, I'm celebrating a file finished, doing a miniscule giveaway, and am having sales to un-celebrate the end of spring break.

Sale at TpT          Sale at Teacher's Notebook

I finished my 1st grade Treasures spelling list packets!!!!!!  I only worked on them for almost 20 hours, in a zombie-like stupor, hunched over my computer, whilst ignoring my husband, dogs, and all I hold dear!

But... I think they're pretty darn good!  And now it's old hat, so the 2nd grade ones should go much quicker!

It's been a process, to say the least, to get them posted though... after several tries, they are finally up and WHOLE on TpT and Teacher's Notebook.  (At first, I had them up as halfsies, because the whole pack wouldn't upload!  SUCCESS!  Now they are there and you get all 6 in the one download!)

Here's what they look like... and if you click HERE, you can get a free copy of Unit 6, Week 1!  I'm closing in on that week, so I figured lots of you probably were too!  If you get a copy, I'd love to know what you think.

And here is what is included:

If you're a 1st grade Treasures user and you think you'd like this set for spelling, leave a comment and I'll pick a lucky winner to get them for free this weekend!  I still can't get over the 248 pages.  That's right... TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY EIGHT.  It's only $2 per unit!

Yowza!

Hubby has today off so we're heading out to have some fun on this... last weekday... of... my spring... break.  Can you just hear the sniffles in my voice?

What I'm Doing and What I Got For YOU Today!

Thanks for the tips on the teacher bag!  It looks like the 31 bag is a must have for me!  I actually have one of the utility totes that I got from a parent for Christmas last year... I never thought of using that for my teaching stuff, but I'm going to give it a try.  The one I really want is the "Cindy".

Now... what I'm doing...

I've been using spelling "boxes" as the format for my spelling tests this year.  You know- the boxes where there are tall boxes for letters like d and b and long boxes for things like g and y.  It has greatly helped my visual learners and has helped my kiddos so much.

Well, I've been re-vamping my spelling stuff for TpT and it has been a HUGE undertaking.  That's what I was asking for feedback on yesterday.  Well, it turns out that Adobe wasn't embedding my fonts into the documents so now I have to do Word Art to bypass that... which means sizing each piece of Word Art.  But wait!  If I print it with PrimoPDF, it appears to accept the font!



So far, I have Unit 5 and 6 completed for first grade.

So... now (four hours later) I am done with first grade!  I'll be putting it up on TpT and Teacher's Notebook later tonight... I would be so thankful if a 1st grade Treasures user would agree to look at every single one of these packets... it's 252 pages in all... just to make sure everything is correct as, after about 10 hours total of working on this, my brain is totally FRIED!  Which would also mean you're getting it for free!  Drop me a comment with your e-mail if you would do that.  And, I hate to be pushy, but the sooner the better!

It looks something like this:

Each week has word cards (for a word wall or focus wall or sorting activity center or whatever!), two different word lists (vertical and horizontal), spelling handwriting practice, a practice page for writing words in frames, and then the spelling test form.  I have my kiddos write a sentence each week on their test.  Sometimes I dictate it, but most of the time they can write whatever they want.  They have to use at least one spelling word and I check the sentence for caps and ends and spelling.

You could use the lines for whatever- have them write more words that follow the spelling pattern, do a grammar check for the week, have them correct a sentence, etc...

So... I'll be working on Units 1-4 today for 1st grade and *hopefully* I can get them done!

Now... what I got for YOU today...!

Learning Resources sent me a package... here's what is inside:

A "Luna" document camera (which Rachel is having a giveaway for on her blog RIGHT NOW!!!), an Easi-Speak USB recorder, and a "HearAll" voice recorder!  Over the next few weeks, I'll be testing each of them out in my classroom and then offering you one for free as part of a giveaway!

I am so excited!  I'll also be getting another item in the mail to do a test and giveaway with... more on that later but I think you'll love it!

Alright- off to work on the spelling stuff!  Have a good Thursday!

I Need a New Teacher Bag, What I'm Reading, and Need a Volunteer!

Ok, bloggy friends, I need your help!

I need a new teacher bag.

Mine is old and just not cute!

What kind of bag do you have?  Where can I get one?  What do you love about it?

HELP!

AND... I've just made my first post over at The Best Endings!  I just finished the Gemma Doyle trilogy and I'd love for you to check out the post and see if it's something you'd like to read too!




I'm very needy today... I need you to help me choose a bag, need you to read Gemma so we can talk about it... well, now I need someone who uses "Treasures" to look over a file for me for spelling.  I'd love a 1st and a 2nd grade teacher.  If you'll look over a file for me and provide LOTS of feedback, let me know.  I'll take the first few volunteers and, when the file is done (it's just a skeleton now), I'll send it to ya for free!  Leave me your e-mail address please!

Scooper Giveaway Winners!

Congrats to...

 

Check your e-mail ladies!

The pack is available at my TpT and Teacher's Notebook shops too!

Today I'm spending a lazy day at home, hoping to work on some new files and read on my Nook!  I was going to go to school but... house slippers, coffee, and listening to "Will and Grace" won!  I think I'll do school on Thursday.

Have a great day!  I'm almost done with the third book in the Gemma Dolye trilogy by Libba Bray and can't wait to finish because 1.) it's great! and 2.) I can finally do a post over at "The Best Endings"!  I'm so excited to be a contributor there, but I've been waiting to post until I've finished my series!

Fractions are SCOOPer Giveaway!

Whoo hoo!  It's the first (and last, I guess) Monday of SPRING BREAK!

I'm headed out in a few to get my roots touched up... they desperately need it.  A few years ago one of my students rushed up to me in a panic and yelled, "Mrs. Bainbridge!  I think your hair is changing colors!"... I've been waiting for that to happen again, that's how bad my roots are!

Anyway... last night I finished up a fraction set using super fun ice cream graphics!  I've posted it in my stores at TpT and Teacher's Notebook, but I'm going to do an impromptu little giveaway too!

I'm especially excited about the game "Serve It Up!".  Students choose a customer card and then spin the spinner to try and build the ice cream the customer requested.  And there's a "Connect 4" type game too that I know my kiddos will LOVE to see in their workstations when they return from spring break!

I also added a little bit jazzier version of the freebie I shared the other day- the fraction ice cream.

All you have to do is leave me a comment with your e-mail and let me know that you follow my TpT store and tomorrow morning I'll choose 4 winners using a random number generator.  That's it!

I'm off to become slightly blonde again... winners tomorrow!

PS- Thanks for your help yesterday with my TpT payment question!  For those of you who were also wondering- Jennifer and Alisha explained that, if you make over $500.00, TpT will automatically mail you a check that takes about 10 days to arrive!

Spring Cleaning & Question for TpT Sellers... Help!

My husband and I have been cleaning our house since 10am.  It just started out as a routine cleaning, but has developed into a crazy, hardcore day of cleaning EVERYTHING.  I'm taking a break while my husband vacuums upstairs... I'll be heading up to deep clean the carpets when he comes back down!  That's him- over there in the yellow... and you can see me below in the green. 

Anywho- I noticed my "current quarter" reset on TpT, so I assume they will be releasing payments... how does that happen and when?  I only just opened my TpT shop about a month ago, so I've never been through their payment system before.  I know it will go to my Paypal... right?  Do they automatically send a check if you make more than a certain amount?

If you have any insight, I'd love it!  I looked around on the site but couldn't really find an answer.

Hubby is back downstairs... so I guess the break is over!  He just said I should make the caption on the pictures "spring cleaning sucks".  ;)

I'll be posting a new fraction unit in my stores (hopefully!) tomorrow and will give away a few copies on here too... so stay tuned!