My Must Have Picture Books

Who could resist a linky party with favorite picture books??  Not me!  But how can I choose just 5??  It took a while, but I finally narrowed it down.

Zoomer is a very creative dog, and much to his dad's dismay, does not want to get ready for school.   I purchased this through Scholastic and it came with a CD recording - my children love this story and requested it over and over again!  Click {here} to get your own copy!

Roar!, by Robert Munsch, is a story about a brother and sister who want to roar like lions (from a book they read!), but encounter trouble when they go on a nature walk at school.  This is another favorite in my classroom!  Click {here} to get your own copy!

Stuck in the Mud takes place on a farm; Hen tries to get help for Chick - who is, well ... stuck in the mud.  Various barnyard animals try to come to Chick's rescue. This book has great ideas for rhyming lessons!  Click {here} to get your own copy!

Who doesn't love the There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some ... books?  These are great for concept of word with the repeating phrases, as well as how silly they are!  I try to find these in big books - check Scholastic for those, but click {here} to get a "regular-size" copy for your classroom!

Thunder Cake, by Patricia Polacco, is a story about a girl who is so scared of the coming thunderstorm that she is hiding under her bed.  Grandma finds her and together they make thunder cake.  This is a great story to read during a thunderstorm!  Click {here} to get your own copy.


Be sure to join Lindsey's linky party at the teacher wife to find more great books!

Blessings,

Manic Monday - more on beginning sounds

With my current group of summer school kiddos, I've spent a lot of time in the last week and a half working on more beginning sounds activities.


The first activity includes 4 pictures on each card.  The children are to find the 2 pictures which begin with the same sound.  I've included a recording page for you to check student progress.  Click on one of the two pictures below or here to get this activity.

 The second activity includes sorting activities that accompany the Smart Board I shared last week.  You can check out that post here and then grab the activity pages here.  I made one sorting activity to go with each Smart Board sort.

the sort as it appears

the recording page to accompany the sort

the completed assignment by one of my students

Find this activity at Manic Monday!

Blessings,

50 -- nifty!

I reached 50 followers!  Instead of doing a giveaway, in which you need to enter, I'm giving away 2 of my products as a thank you!

Here's my Blends Literacy Work Station Activities - there are 4 work station activities and 9 seatwork assignments.  This is on my TpT page, but if you click here, you can get it free!

And, here's my number sense through 50 activity.  Unfortunately, I don't have my picture anymore, but by clicking here, you can check it out for yourself!

Thanks for the friendships that have been made in the last few weeks!

Blessings,

just for fun

I received The Versatile Blogger award from my friend, Andrea, at Reading Toward the Stars!  If you haven't already, check out her blog; she's a reading specialist and has a lot of great ideas to use in your classroom.  I know this personally, since we teach in the same building!

There are 7 rules to follow when receiving this award.

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Include a link to their site.

3. Include the award image in your post.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated.

Here's the random facts ...

1. Tomorrow is my ninth anniversary!  Josh and I met at church while in college (we were both students at Liberty University, but never met at school!).

2. I've only lived in Virginia.  I love this part of the country!

 

3.  I've only wanted to be a teacher.  I am fourth generation teacher in my family - my great-grandmother taught in a one-room schoolhouse in northeastern Ohio beginning in 1919.  My granddad was an elementary teacher and principal and my mom is nearing the end of her teaching career - she's a high school Spanish teacher.

4.  I love to visit museums, especially ones about history.  My mom and I took a trip to Philadelphia a few weeks ago to sight-see.  This is a tribute to my granddad, who was the forever teacher.

"with" George Washington at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia

5. Montvale is the only school where I've taught.  I got my job there because of being a long-term substitute just after finishing my student teaching.  Although it's a 70-mile round trip drive each day, we're like a family and I love it there!

6. I love to read!  Since moving to first grade (I was in fourth for eight years and had a TON of reading to do to keep up with my lesson preps and what the kids were reading), I have a little more time to read for me.  I carry my nook about everywhere I go!  Just added books to it for the rest of the summer!

reading with one of my nephews

7.  My family is originally from Cleveland and my husband's family from the Pittsburgh area.  It's very interesting in our house during football season!

I am passing on The Versatile Blogger and Liebster Blog Award to the following:

the 2 Crazy Texas Teachers

Heather at Kickin' It in Kinder

Lisa at Learning is Something to Treasure

Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives

Haley at Following Optimism

The rules for the Liebster Award are:

1. Copy and paste the award in your blog.

2. Thank the giver and link back to them.

3.  Nominate five other bloggers and let them know by commenting on their blogs.

I also received this award from ...

Andrea at Reading Toward the Stars!

I know that I broke the rules, but so many of you have already received these awards!

Until next time - I have some more ideas for summer school or when you return in August that I'll share later in the week!

Blessings,