letter writing

I hope you have recovered after Thanksgiving and are settling back in to your routine at school!  My husband, Josh, and I had a wonderful visit to Indianapolis to spend time with his family.  Since they live 500 miles away, our visits only happen a couple of times a year, but we had no trouble packing in a lot!  We saw our youngest nephew play basketball and then Josh's brother coached a high school game later that same night.  Trips to three, yes - three, different malls and a stop to Lakeshore Learning!  Our closest Lakeshore store is in Washington, DC, which is still several hours away, so I took advantage that we were nearby and got everything on my list (and a few extras!).  The trip went too quickly and we look forward to going back this summer.
Looking at the calendar before Thanksgiving, we realized that we have four long weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks.  We are trying to plan as many fun things as we can, while still teaching everything that we need to!  This week we are working on writing friendly letters.  We have talked about the parts of a letter and looked at our message everyday.  The children have picked up very quickly on these terms!  Today we wrote a letter to our principalI wanted them to think about 2 questions they want to ask and 2 things to tell her.  My favorite question to ask was "How old are you?"  This came from my birthday boy!  I had to explain that it is not polite to ask an adult - especially a lady - how old she is!  We all signed the letter we finished and took it up to the office.  Unfortunately, the principal was in a meeting and we couldn't give it to her in person.  She found me after school and is writing a letter back to them!  The kiddos will see it in the morning!
here's our letter to Mrs. Moore
Here's my mini-packet for letters.  Enjoy!  Click HERE to download.
 
 
Happy writing to Santa!

highlighting December Words, new January Words, and a freebie

Have you checked out my December Word Packet?  Here's a picture of the words up in my room.  My children use these words throughout the month to help them in their creative writing.  Click HERE to get the words for your classroom!  Use them in a word work station, a writing station, or display as you see here.  There are 39 cards on 13 pages.  I laminate everything in my room and then use my scrapbooking paper trimmer to cut between the word cards.

I am trying to get a head start on some of my projects and have just completed my January Words Packet.  I have included 30 cards on 10 pages.  We teach animals in the winter in January, so I have included many animal words (adaptation, camouflage, Arctic fox, polar bear, just to name a few), as well as winter and snow words (such as hot chocolate, mittens, and scarf), as well as New Year and Martin Luther King, Jr.  In this packet, I have a check off list included for those children who need a challenge on their word work.  Click HERE to view it and purchase in my store. 
 
Cyber MondayDon't forget that through tomorrow (November 27th), you can get this packet 28% off when you use CMT12 through my TPT store!  Now is the perfect time to fill your cart while getting everything on sale!



And as a thank you for reading to the end of this very long post, click on one of the images below for the initial consonant blends activities.  There are 3 sets of blends, along with a word box activity for eachPlease leave a comment if you download with what you think!


Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Happy Thanksgiving! Announcing a Sale! Christmas Products!



Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you and your family are having a blessed day as you gather together.  My husband and I are visiting with family and have had a wonderful time together!

As you make your shopping list for the weekend, I hope that you stop by my TPT store for the Cyber Monday sale!  Be sure to use the promo code CMT12 to get the full 28% off all products in my store!  Click on the image or HERE to go to my store.  Happy shopping!
CM250x120

I have recently uploaded a number of products to use in December.

December Words - use in a writing station or part of a word wall; includes a header card (pictured here) and 39 related words.  Click HERE.

December Packet - includes the December Words packet, 15 picture puzzles, word problems (addition and subtraction), roll, add, and cover game boards using 2 or 3 number cubes, word work activities, and contraction concentration.  Click HERE.

Christmas Patterns - 6 pages of various Christmas themed images, along with a 2 page evaluation.  Click HERE.

10 More or 10 Less/1 More or 1 Less - includes a completed hundreds chart and one with blanks; 18 number cards (Christmas themed); and 4 printable pages.  Click HERE.

Santa Claus reader - follows the "Brown Bear" story.  Click HERE.

What Rudolph Saw on Christmas Eve - includes reader in a big book, printable reader for children, pictures to match text, and 2 comprehension activities.  Click HERE.

Christmas Themed Sight Word Games - 2 different games; uses all the words from the preprimer and primer word lists; play 2 different ways - (a) print 2 copies of each page of words to play concentration, (b) use the "Ho Ho Ho!" cards and one set of the word cards; when a child pulls the Santa card, he/she loses all of his cards.  Click HERE.

The first 2 to leave a comment sharing a Thanksgiving tradition and email address will receive your pick of any one item listed above!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Until later.



vowels freebie

One of my groups is ready for long vowels and I decided that I want to introduce long vowels (in which they will be required to spell) through distinguishing the difference with short vowels.  I have a separate sorting activity for each vowel, along with a sentence completion activity.  Click on the image to grab yours!


I know Thanksgiving isn't here yet, but if you're like me, you are already planning your Christmas activities.  Here is my Christmas Addition Activity pack.  It includes number cards 0-20, addition problems with sums of 0-20, 10 blank cards, and 4 roll, add, and color activities.  View the complete unit here.

 
The first 2 to comment on what you enjoy most about the Christmas holiday AND leave an email address will receive the addition pack for free!

This post will be linked with Manic Mondays and Friday Freebies!

Freebie FridaysClassroom Freebies Manic Monday

Sight Word Linky Party

I'm linking up with Teacher to the Core for a Sight Word Linky Party!  Click HERE to go to her webpage to see what other sight word goodies you could score!


Here are several pictures from my 2nd grade sight word game.  There are 2 games in this packet, both are in the "I have ... who has?" format.  Click HERE to grab these games.  My firsties LOVE these games!




I also have created new "I have ... who has" sight word games in other levels.
For primer, click here.
For 1st grade, click here.
For 3rd grade, click here.

Check out my TPT store for other sight word games!


a geometry freebie

This is my last week before Thanksgiving break with my children, so I'm trying to cram everything in that I need to before a week off!  The teachers report next Monday & Tuesday, but the kiddos don't. 

We are learning about different shapes this week in math.  Have you ever read The Greedy Triangle by Marilyn Burns?  It's a fun story to teach all different shapes!

Greedy Triangle
To "kill two birds with one stone," I created this little geometry/graphing activity for us to complete.
Click on the image or {here} to get this activity for your children.  Be sure to check out my TPT store, as I have a geometry sorting activity using real shapes.  Click {here} to get the sort.

I am linking this up with Manic Monday!  Be sure to check out the site for many other freebies!  Click HERE to go to the site.

Number Equality

After our first math benchmark about a month ago, I realized my children did not have a good concept of number equality.  I researched how others teach this difficult concept to first graders and worked on this unit.  We finished it this week, and more of my children have a better understanding.  In this unit I have included: (a) a letter to parents explaining the unit; (b) homework assingments; and (c) class work assignments.  We practiced this over and over and over again on dry erase boards this week!  Click {here}to get this equality activity.




Have a good weekend!
 
 

Thanksgiving Mini Packet {freebie}

In honor of Thanksgiving, here's a mini packet with a suggested book list, Pilgrim and Indian writing/drawing activity, alphabetical order, and word search.  Click {here}to download your packet.
 
for both Pilgrims & Indians; space to draw a picture and write 3 things he/she has learned
 
 
 Please leave a comment below if you download this.  I'd love to know what you think!  I have a November Packet in my TpT store.  Click {here}to purchase it.
 
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