Find me on FB; February Packet; substitute preparation

Boy!  What a title!  Okay - diving right in!

{1} - I'm on Facebook!  I would {LOVE} for you to like my page and follow me!  Click here to go to my Facebook page!  I am trying to figure out how to do the Facebook like page that so many other bloggers have.  If you know how to include it, would you please help me?

{2} - February is almost here!  Are you ready??  This set is priced at $8.00.  If you purchase other sets separately, you will spend $8.50 and not receive everything in the packet!  Click here to set the February Packet.  [Hint: there will be a sale on Sunday, February 3!]

My newly finished (77 page) February Packet is in my TpT store and includes ...
- calendar cards (AAB pattern with extra cards for holidays)
- February Words (February header and 23 key words on 7 different pages)
- February Words Roll, Read, and Cover (1 board)
- Roll, Add, & Cover (2 different boards for 2 dice and 3 dice)
- 14 picture puzzles on 10 different pages
- compound word cards matching game (8 pages with 3 sets of words on each page, for a total of 24 words)
- 3 pages of seat work using compound words (Build It, Draw It)
- 3 alphabetical order activities (February theme, Valentine's Day theme, and Dental Health theme)
- February Word Search
- 3 color sight word pages
- sight word game ("Don't Get a Cavity" - 22 pages; "special cards" make the game fun!)


I am offering 3 smaller sets if you don't want the whole packet.  
option A - sight word game - click here to see this set
option B - word activities - 10 pages of alphabetical order, word search, sight word color pages - click here to see this set
option C - word wall set - 23 words that cover February activities, including Groundhog Day, Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day, and Dental Health Month themes - click here to see this set
 
{3} - What do you do when you have a substitute?  Or when something happens after school hours and you can't make it in to your room the next morning?  Well, over the last 11 years of teaching, I have had different systems of organizing my room and desk, but this one works best for me.

At the end of the day, I gather everything needed for the next day - books that we'll read and any hand outs we might complete, as well as my attendance cards, lunch count page, and substitute info folder.  
Then just before I turn off the lights, I try to remember to get the date on the board, as well as the Morning Message written.  Tomorrow my students will complete a writing assignment first thing instead of working on our Math Fair activities.  {More on Math Fair at a later date!}
What do you do to get ready for a substitute??


Math Center Saturday!

Yesterday most districts around us canceled or decided early on to dismiss school early due to a snowstorm that was to come through around lunch time.  My district, however, did not make a decision until 7:00AM to dismiss early; by the time we left (elementary schools are dismissed first) the snow was beginning to stick to everything!  It made for an interesting 30+ mile drive home!  Even though it warmed up today and melted everything, I am enjoying a quiet Saturday at home!

So ... I have been touching up a couple of my recent math centers and worked on a new one.  We have been learning about tens and ones in my class and with this unit, the children need LOTS of manipulatives and games to understand this concept!

Yesterday we played an ice cream themed tens and ones game.  I just added it to my TpT store; click here to get to my store.

playing the game with my firsties; I added magnets to the back of each piece
I have also included in my store a bundled unit of 3 tens and ones activities for your classroom.  Use whole group or in a center.  I have a large class this year, so I think about including all of my firsties when creating new products!  If you don't want to use all of them at one time, separate them into different bags.  Here's a couple of pictures from the bundle - the ice cream activity from above is also included!  Click here or on one of the pictures below to see the bundled unit!



winter fun and blends

Today a package arrived at our school - full of handmade hats!  Our guidance counselor handed them out to many of our children and I was blessed to receive one, as well!
with my friend, Denise, one of our kindergarten teachers

We have been working on blends this week and finished up my week long activity packet!  I am tickled to see how many of my kiddos were able to read more difficult words, once they understood the blend!
the header cards in my pocket chart
some of the picture cards before we started sorting
The l blend read/write the room activity includes: fl/cl/pl header cards, picture cards (to use in a pocket chart), word cards, recording page, word/picture sort, and word boxes activity.  We had a blast!

The l blends activity has been added to my TpT store.  Here is the preview picture to see the activities that are included!  Click on the picture or the link here to go to my store.
 
 

200 Followers - February Freebie!

Hip - hip - hooray!  I hit 200 followers today!
I decided not to do a giveaway with a rafflecopter, but instead a giveaway to everyone who comments on this post!  Be sure to leave your email address!

My February Word Activities includes 3 alphabetical order activities, a word search, and 3 color sight word activities.  Priced at $3.00, but yours for free!

My "Don't Get a Cavity!" February sight word game includes 22 pages of word cards.  There are "special" game cards to change the game up a little bit.  Priced at $3.00, but once again - yours for free!

My friend and co-worker, Andrea, at Reading Toward the Stars! is having a 400 follower giveaway.  I am donating any one item from my TpT store! :)  Check it out - she has some great prizes!




Don't forget about Mrs. Leeby's 200 follower giveaway!

I will "end" my 200 follower giveaway on Wednesday evening (9:00PM EST) and will start emailing out the two February activities to everyone who has left me a comment with an email address!  Thanks for following!  
 

A giveaway and a math freebie for you!

I have "happened" upon Mrs. Leeby from Learning With Mrs. Leeby and she is having a 200 follower giveaway!  Click on the image to follow her page and enter to win some great gift cards!  I have seen much of her work through Pinterest and she is fantastic!

We have been working on tens and ones in our math unit and I have created several activities, but this is a freebie that I'm sharing with you - it will not be a freebie in my TpT store. There are 24 cupcake cards and 24 bowl cards to match.  Great for a math center or an energizer during your Morning Meeting!  {Click here or on the picture below!}
Click on the picture to get your freebie!

My tens & ones Scoot game is a hit with my firsties!  It is uploaded in my TpT store. {There are 24 cards and 2 different recording pages to choose from, depending on class size.  I have also included number cards for each desk, answer key, and instructions in case you haven't played Scoot before.}  Click here or on the image below.


Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

Five for Friday {or Saturday!}

Happy weekend!  I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday {on Saturday!}.

fiveforfriday This has been a CRAZY week!  

We have had strange weather here - outdoor recess with no jackets for the middle of January in central Virginia is very unusual!  Then we had lots of rain - with flooding in our basement at home ... to a 3 hour early dismissal on Thursday for the soon arriving snowstorm!  The week ended with cancelled teacher workday on Friday!  {We got about 4 inches of snow in 2 hours on Thursday evening, but then the snow turned to rain/ice, which made Friday morning very interesting!}

Photo: Enjoying a snow day!

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Since I didn't have to go in on Friday, I got a lot of work done from home!  I finished a couple of projects for my firsties.  The first is a beginning sound game board with cards.  I have created other game boards, but this is my favorite!  I can't wait to get it printed and laminated so my kiddos can have at it!  We have "Fabulously Fun Friday" each week, in which our afternoons turn into game time; we usually review a skill from the week, but sometimes I pull out comfort games for them - this would be one of those - a skill that they know and can use correctly (well, most of them) and a game that they would need very little help from a friend or me.

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I started my own Facebook page for Learning is for Superstars!  I would *LOVE* for you to like the page!  I have ideas for the page in the upcoming weeks and months!  Click on the image below to go to my new FB page!

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I have been reading One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp.  Her book is changing my life!  She shares how she was very bitter after losses in her life, but a friend challenged her to find the gifts that God gives us daily in very simple ways.  I picked up a copy of the book after my in-laws said they read it together last fall, so during Christmas break I started in.  I have started my own list and am amazed how it is changing my attitude towards everything!  When you look for the positive in things and how God blesses us over and over again each day, there is less time to be negative.  Click here to go to Ann's Facebook page to check it out for yourself! I dare ya!  Last night I added #40 - take out for dinner - no dishes!

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I am very excited about the package I received this week from Barnes & Noble - 2 new cookbooks!  I have been watching The Pioneer Woman on TV and tried several of her recipes - which we loved!  Looking forward to more of her creations!

 
 Have a great week!

word work packets (with a giveaway) and a snowman FREEBIE

Back to school following Christmas break means a lot of things ... including testing!  The end of our grading period is on Wednesday, so I scrambled last week to get as much of my testing finished in order to have data in my report card comments to parents.  

As I finished a big chunk of my testing yesterday, I noticed that my firsties are struggling with identifying patterns in long vowels, as well as nasals in spelling.  The long and short vowel activity packet I made has 40 picture cards, 20 word cards, and a recording page.  Click here to view and purchase the packet.  

Today I worked on a packet for nasals (mp/nd/nt/nk/ng sounds).  This packet has 20 picture cards and 20 word cards, as well as a recording page.  Click here to view and purchase this packet.
The first two people to comment and leave his/her email address will receive the packet of your choice!

And here's a freebie for ya!  Click here to get 3 snowman, roll, read, and cover word boards!






Classroom Freebies Manic Monday

"This is a Snowman" booklet freebie

**edited on 01-10-2013 with the correct link

We are back in full swing!  These last three days have been beyond exhausting - that seems to be the case with most blog posts I have read!  Getting back to a schedule is hard!  To help make things easier with the transition back, I have a freebie for you!

We are working on adjectives this week.  I can't think of a better way to learn about adjectives other than describing a snowman!  Our snowman booklets are just adorable!  The children have done an amazing job of describing how the snowman looks and are very creative.  

The booklet has 7 pages (the first page is the title page); each page builds for various parts of the snowman.  Have the children write an adjective and then illustrate that one part of the snowman.  The first page says "This is a snowman.  He has a _____ hat."  Instruct the children to find an adjective for the hat and then use that word to color the hat.  I have my children use the same adjective for hat, nose, mouth, etc. all the way through the book.

There are pages for hat, nose, eyes, mouth, scarf, and buttons.

Click on one of the images below to get your "This is a Snowman" booklet.  Hope you enjoy!



Currently + Fabulicious Freebies on the 1st

Happy 2013!
I hope you and your family have a wonderful 2013!

I have two "link ups" today - the first is with Farley.
click on the picture to go to Farley's blog
I have so much to be thankful for, which leads me to my OLW (one little word) - I am blessed.  Blessed with my husband, our family, my job, friends, our church ... I do not want to take any of them for granted.

I am also linking up with Freebielicious for Fabulicious Freebies on the First!  
I have an alphabetical order activity to share with you, all with January/winter themed words.  Click here to get your own copy!  I haven't linked from my dropbox before; please let me know if you are able to get it!

 
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