Christmas Phonics Freebie!

Merry Christmas!

We had 2 days off of school this week for ice. Back for one day and then off for break! This was a quick activity that my students completed at the end of our reading block. The words are ones that we have either had in spelling or part of our phonics lessons. I didn't even print all of the ornament pictures - just displayed them on my Smart Board from my computer! Click on the image or HERE to download a freebie for your classroom.

Merry Christmas!

Number Sense {comparing numbers}

Number sense ... something so very important for our younger students to understand smaller numbers or else they won't understand much larger numbers.

Math: 10 More, 10 Less, 100 More, and 100 Less

We are working hard through our number sense unit this month. We have covered rounding, comparing numbers, and using base ten blocks through the thousands. This week we are working on 10 more, 10 less, 100 more, and 100 less up to 999.

Yesterday we began with 10 more and 10 less using a hundreds chart. We started with two digits numbers and then moved to three digit numbers. This mini unit has a set of task cards with recording page and 7 printables. If you aren't sure about purchasing the unit, download this one page freebie which is similar to what is in the packet.

This will finish up our number sense unit, just in time to take our second quarter math assessment and have a couple of fun math days before Christmas break!

1,000 Followers Announcement!

Some people think of Monday like this .....

Hopefully I can turn your Monday around!

Last week I reached 1,000 followers in my Teachers Pay Teachers store!

I wanted to thank YOU with a gift! We have been working on alphabetical order to the second and third letter in order to work on guide words, so I created this Christmas tree package sorting activity to practice. Included are 6 trees with presents to sort with the correct tree. I put 2 trees in a bag, making 3 centers. I have also included an alphabetical order cut, sort, glue printable, and a guide word cut, sort, glue printable in this freebie. Click here or on the center picture below to download!

One of my reading groups is working on my Rudolph reader this week.

And we are continuing to work on number sense in math. Today we began rounding. About half of my class "got it" in the first couple of numbers. Hopefully tomorrow we will have light bulbs going off everywhere! I have a rounding activity in my Christmas Place Value Unit, but I also created 2 sets of task cards and some printables in my Rounding to the Nearest Ten Unit.

I have 12 more school days until Christmas break! Here's to the countdown!

It's Christmas!

Thanksgiving has come and gone. It's hard to believe how quickly November passed by! We had a different kind of Thanksgiving this year, as we headed to our nation's capital for several days and enjoyed visiting the memorials, monuments, and Smithsonians.

December temperatures are here in central Virginia! We went from warm to cold! Our Christmas parade was on Sunday evening and as my husband and I waited, the rain came! It was quite chilly, but we had a great time talking while we waited for our daughters on the float from our church.

Christmas Book Recommendations

I LoVe kids books! What elementary teacher doesn't?! I have bins of books and bins of bins of books! Books on every bookcase and stacked everywhere! My bookcases at home are ridiculous. The books are spilling out of the shelves and onto the floor! Maybe I should have asked for another bookcase for Christmas!

Here's some of my favorite collections of books from posts in the past.

And now ... some of my favorite Christmas books!

Mrs. Claus Takes a Vacation

What happens when Mrs. Claus needs to be recharged? She takes a vacation, of course! But what happens to the North Pole and Santa when she's away?

Franklin's Christmas Gift

Franklin learns first hand the importance of choosing the right gift to give away. And that it's more blessed to give than to receive.

Santa's Stuck

Check out this book to find out what happens when Santa gets stuck!

I have used Nancy's "Oh No! Santa's Stuck" unit for several years to accompany this book. Check out the link to see her wonderful activities!

How Santa Got His Job

Did you know Santa had other jobs before he became ... well ... Santa? This story tells about his other jobs and why he wasn't any good at them!

Jerry Pallotta is one of my favorite authors! 

Who Will Guide My Sleigh Tonight?

Santa thinks maybe he should have some different animals guide his sleigh on Christmas Eve night. 

Who Will Help Santa This Year?

Santa needs some help in the workshop this year. Who will he get?

And Rob Scotton's famous Splat books!

Merry Christmas, Splat!

Splat wonders if he's been good enough for a really big present this year. Will he get it??

Splat the Cat: Christmas Countdown

This touch and feel book is a fun one as you read through how Splat's family gets ready for Christmas!

Happy Christmas book reading!

Merry Christmas to YOU!

While I'm enjoying what is bound to be the last few hours of my *snow* day (we got ice instead of snow!), I wanted to quickly share with you a freebie that I will be using in my word work station!

 

Christmas Vowel I SPY!

My children LOVE I Spy!  This is a fun way for them to practice long and short vowels with a Christmas theme while having fun!  There are 5 different pictures with a recording page.  There are different words on each page, but each picture has 5 short and 5 long vowel words to find.  Click HERE or on any of the images below to download your set!

Have a great week!

 



Five for Friday {December 6}

Today I am linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for my Five for Friday!



I rarely get coffee in the afternoon because it wires me up and then I can't sleep, but it has been such a long week that I stopped on my way home for a Peppermint Patty mocha at the local drive thru!

 A group of local women from Adele's Legacy visited our school today.  Every child in our school received a handmade knitted hat, scarf, and sweater.  Then every staff member also had the opportunity to pick out a hat and scarf.  Here I am with Leah, one of our teachers.

our front door with the new "wreath"

 a couple of my kiddos practicing long vowels with my new Christmas Trees unit

 we got together tonight to celebrate my sister's birthday; here she is with her oldest, Tyler

I am so crazy proud of my sister for homeschooling with a very busy and young family.  These are PROUD smiles for Tyler after he read these two books to me tonight!  (Thank you, Annie Moffatt!)

Logan in Uncle Josh's shoes!

Just before I snapped this picture, Katie was walking on the end table to get into my mom's lap!  She wanted a spot with Logan, my mom, and my grandma!

  Josh and me with our youngest nephew, Micah

Happy Weekend!

 

Book Talk Thursday: Mrs. Claus

I am linking up with Andrea, my friend and colleague from Reading Toward the Stars! for her Book Talk Thursday.

 

We, like many of you, are working in some of our favorite Christmas stories in the next few days!  One of my new favorites is Mrs. Claus Takes a Vacation, by Linas Alsenas.

 

In this story, Mrs. Claus is tired of all of the snow at the North Pole, along with the fact that Santa is the one who gets to leave each Christmas, so she packs up and takes off!  But will she be back in time for Christmas?

When we read this book tomorrow, we will complete this little writing activity to go with the story.  Click on the image below to grab the page to use in your classroom!

 

Check out the other books on Andrea's linky!

 

Happy Thursday ~ just one more day until the weekend! :)

 

 

 

 

December Currently

Is it possible?!  December?!?!  I am linking up with Farley for my December Currently at Oh' Boy 4th Grade!

I am so glad that Josh had the weekend off!  We had a lot of fun shopping and eating out (hey - we had 13 people at our house for Thanksgiving, so I didn't want to do any more cooking after that!) and just hanging around the house.

 

As much as I look forward to all of our fun Christmas projects and activities at school, I would love another day off!  I have so much to do before tomorrow morning!

 

We upgraded our phones to iPhones yesterday!  But I am having trouble getting all of my music synched from my iPad mini to the phone, so that is on the to-do list today.

 

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is the Christmas Eve service at church.  It is usually a candlelight service, along with communion.  It is a great way to refocus on the true meaning of Christmas and Jesus' birth.

 

Are you ready for the BIG sale tomorrow?

 

EvErYtHiNg in my store is 20% off!  Be sure to use CYBER to get an extra 10% off, making your purchase 28% off!

Here's a couple new items in my store ...

great way to review long vowel sounds - colored version and a black and white version

printing right away to have for morning work and homework

20 printables ready for morning work or centers, all with a Christmas theme!

Happy Shopping!