VA is for Book Lovers

VA is for Book Lovers!

I am thrilled to be joining my fellow Virginia bloggers for a blog hop that embraces our love of reading! Each of us is happy to share a book and resource that we LOVE to use in the classroom for this very special hop. Not only that, but you'll find a book giveaway on each page of the hop, with a super huge giveaway at the end!

My love for reading comes naturally.  I remember sitting especially with my mom and grandma and a pile of books.  Summers meant endless trips to the library to explore and be involved in the various activities.  

As a teacher, I have a sickness ... a book purchasing sickness, that is.  I cannot leave Barnes & Noble empty-handed!  My bookshelves are stuffed full of books ... some I allow my students to touch and others are hands off!

I LOVE the "Old Lady" books that accompany the different holidays.  With St. Patrick's Day coming, I wanted to share There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover!, by Lucille Colandro.  Her books are perfect for story recall and sequencing, as it repeats throughout the book.

This blog hop is special because each of us on the hop are giving our readers a freebie to accompany her book choice, along with a chance to win a copy of that book!  Click here to grab a freebie for my book.

Click here to enter to win a copy of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

To celebrate our love of reading, Virginia bloggers have also put together an additional mega-giveaway. One lucky winner will win ALL of the books (that's 19 wonderful books) in our hop! Each blogger will send you the book they've talked about. Imagine receiving 19 wonderful books for free on your doorstep and sharing them with your lovely students! Be sure to finish the hop to have a chance to win all of the books!

Click here to visit Karmen at Tales from a Naturalista Teacha.  She is featuring one of my favorite books for elementary students!

Thanks for stopping by!  The winner will be announced on Monday for the book!

The Sunday Scoop! {March 1}

I am linking up with the ladies at Teaching Trio for my Sunday Scoop!

Here it is!

Stay tuned for a blog hop later in the week!

Happy Sunday!

It's Penguin Time!

Happy Wednesday!

My fellow VA blogger and friend, Carla, from Comprehension Connection, has a linky on Thursdays to focus on sharing ideas for different themes.  This week's theme ... penguins and Arctic animals!

I LOVE our penguin unit each winter!  Here's the link to my penguin post from last year.  

I found these adorable stuffed animals to bring in for penguins and polar bears.  The kids loved having them!

Here's a fun things for your penguin unit.

"Cool Compound Penguins" freebie - a fun craftivity for compound words!

And here's my Penguin Pals task card packet.  It includes 6 math centers perfect for first graders!  It's in the giveaway on Carla's blog, so be sure to check it out!

Spelling Homework

What kind of homework assignments do you give your children?  Especially with younger students?  Our reading curriculum, SuperKids, has high expectations for primary learners.  When we started the curriculum a year and a half ago, our first graders were not successful on the spelling tests.  The tests included 5 or 6 memory (sight) words and 4-6 spelling pattern words.  The only assignments and practice were from the book we completed together in class.  We knew that since the group did not have SuperKids in kindergarten, they were a bit "behind" in the requirements of the curriculum.  So I worked like crazy all year to create assignments for the children to complete at home to practice the memory words and understanding the pattern words.

The first semester homework packet included 4-5 printables, along with a reading activity to practice with mom or dad to read the pattern words.

The second semester homework is a tic-tac-toe board.  The child chooses 3 in a row and is to complete the assignments and return to school.

A bit of a rabbit trail ... this fall my husband and I became foster parents to 2 girls.  Sorry, can't resist not sharing a pic of us from our Christmas trip to Indianapolis!

Back on track ... the younger one is in first grade.  Well, let me tell you, it's very strange getting my homework assignments in her Monday Folder each week!  We are finishing the first unit in the second semester this week and this has been happening at our dining room table the past few nights!

I am giving you two of my tic-tac-toe boards.  Just attach the words to the board and send it home!  Click HERE or on the images below to download.

We have a two hour delay for tomorrow, as ice is expected overnight, so we are staying up a little later to watch a movie!  Have a great week!