My Favorite Easter Read-A-Louds

hApPy SpRiNg!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of you are off this week or next week for Spring Break. I had mine last week with a three-day weekend for Easter this week. State testing is next week, BUT let's not focus on that.... Let's focus on happy thoughts, like spring and the Easter Bunny! I've picked out a few of my favorite books to read this time of year. I've also included (as usual) free activities with links to go along with them. :)

Happy Easter, Mouse!" is a cute story about our old friend Mouse. He leaves Easter eggs ALL OVER!!! It is a great story to read to your students before they go out to hunt their Easter eggs. You could also leave eggs hidden in the classroom for them to find as a special treat. The treat could be a coupon for a pencil or an eraser, or put a piece of candy inside it. I'm not a big candy-treat-kind-of-teacher, but each to his/her own. Here is a list by delicateconstruction.com that is useful to help you decide what to put in the eggs.

Pete the Cat books are everyone's favorites! In this book, Big Easter Adventure, Pete helps out the Easter Bunny. Making bunny crafts and directed drawing are great to accompany this book. This bunny craft is from Michaele Sommerville's blog Kindergarten's 3 R's. It combines an egg and a bunny! Directed drawings are very popular right now. There are several teacher/bloggers who have them but I especially like Jennifer's from First Grade Blue Skies.

Pinkalicious is a very cute story about an Easter egg scavenger hunt. There are sooooo many activities to do with this story. Coloring Easter eggs, Easter egg hunts and, of course, making an Easter egg craft. I especially like this one from School Time Snippets. The tissue eggs look 3-D!

I hope you enjoyed your Easter. I will be back in April to share about some spring books and activities I do with my class. Until then, enjoy!

Easy Teaching Tools: Level your classroom library by lexile

Easy Teaching Tools: Level your classroom library by lexile:  If you want an efficient,easy way to level your classroom library, click the link! Kristen at Easy Teaching Tools has a great post explaining everything as well as a helpful product on TPT to make it even easier! Enjoy!

March Read-A-Louds

March is my favorite month! I love St. Patrick's Day! Spring is on its way! ANNNNNNDDDDD, it's my birthday month! Very special! I'm lucky enough to have my birthday off every year from school because it falls during Spring Break! Yipppppeeeee! Happy birthday to meeeeee! I wanted to share some of my favorite books for the month of March. All of them are St. Patrick's Day themed, of course.

I love this book. I've been reading it for years. The little ones can really relate to "not being big enough" to get to do things. They also get to learn about a traditional St. Patrick's Day parade in Ireland. There's always lots of questions and oooohhhhh's and aaaaahhhhh's. Love it!

The "Old Lady Who Swallowed Everything!" LOL! I remember waaaayyyy back when she'd only swallowed a fly (and some other animals)! The kids really enjoy reading books about the Old Lady and making a craft to go along with it. There are several on Pinterest and TPT, so go take a look! Here's a link to a craft from Make Learning Fun .com. Super Cute!

Green Shamrocks is a great book to read before making lucky shamrocks with your class. You could also have a class parade and decorate headbands, bracelets, etc. to wear during the parade. :) Here is a list of 50 Shamrock Crafts from Penny at Meet Penny Save, Serve, Love.

The Night Before St. Patrick's Day is a great book! It's a great comparison to The Night Before Christmas. Kids really see the connection and love to point it out if you read both! Here is a really cute rainbow and pot of gold craft from Crafty Morning.

This is a super-funny book about Leprechauns and their antics! Here is a craft from Housing a Forest to do after reading. You can also can "trap" a leprechaun for your class. Cheryl from moms & munchkins has a whole blog post loaded with ideas to bait and trap a leprechaun.

This book is great for great for the little ones who are still learning their numbers one to ten. There are several number game options to use with this one. Here are some great ideas from Vanessa over at Pre-K Pages for counting and number recognition using play dough mats.

Last, but not least, The Luckiest St. Patrick's Day Ever! This is such an awesome book! You can really do some great activities with it. Here is a great writing assignment and craft from Cara over at The First Grade Parade.

I hope these are useful for you! Have a great rest of February! (Don't forget about Leap Day!) I'll probably post some fun activities about it this weekend. See you soon! Enjoy!



February Read-A-Louds

February is halfway over and I'm just now catching up with my blog posts! Yikes! That's okay because I've crammed put all of my favorites into this one post. :) Trying to be efficient here! Anyway... Here they are! Enjoy!

For 100 Day, I've always read these three books. I realize there are more out there now but since I've been doing 100 day since 1998, I stick with what I like, no matter how old - 100th Day Worries, Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100 Day and the 100th Day of School. All of them are available through Amazon in case you can't find them through Scholastic Books. I've blogged about 100 day before and all of the activities I do. I'll try to upload some more with pictures this weekend. (No promises! LOL)

Next are my picks for Valentine's Day. I LOVE all of the crafts and goodies associated with Valentine's!!! Yummy!!!! Okay, anyway... Here is the link to my Pinterest Boards to find TONS of ideas for Valentine's Day (or any holiday, for that matter!). I really love all of these but The Day It Rained Hearts has to be my favorite. I like to have 'raining hearts' in the room! So much fun!

And finally, my picks for Presidents' Day. Students really get a kick out of My Teacher for President! They've always told me that I should run for president, especially my kinders, LOL! My personal favorite is Abe Lincoln's Hat. It gives a different perspective into the life of our most famous president. Kid's love making his hat and filling it with 'important things'!

Have a Fabulous February! See you soon! Enjoy!

To do, to do, to do...

We all have so many "to do's" that it's hard to keep up with them, especially this time of year. I made a little calendar to keep up with what I have on my lists personally and professionally. I just print it out on card stock, laminate it and use a dry-erase marker to write down what I need to remember. I made one in black and white too so you can print it on white card stock, or use a fun color card stock. You can add a piece of magnetic tape to the back and put it on your refrigerator at home, or a filing cabinet in your classroom. And best of all, it's FREE! Just click HERE to get your copy. Enjoy!

January Read-A-Louds

As we're all trying to get through the last week before Winter Break, we (as teachers), are already thinking about January. I've compiled a picture of my all-time favorite read-a-louds. Some are fairly new, but some are what I consider 'classics'. There are so many activities to be done with each of these books from making snow like this activity from Momma's Fun World, to drawing a picture of Martin Luther King like this one from Kindergarten Monkey Business (and they're FREE)! You know I'm all about sharing with other teachers to help each other! "My Brother Martin" and "Back of the Bus" are super for teaching perspective too! "Snowflake Bentley" was a wonderful read-a-loud for my Kinders and 4th graders. I used it as a part of a fiction/non-fiction close-read at both levels which can spill over into science. I hope you have a restful and relaxing holiday break! Enjoy!

Thank You Cards - FREEEEEEEEE!

Hi everyone! I've been making things again.... (I'm not going to mention all of the things I've made and haven't even had time to prep and upload for TPT!) I've made some cute thank you cards in winter/Christmas theme ready to be downloaded, printed on card stock, cut, signed and sent home!

Just click HERE to get yours now! Enjoy!

Teacher Gifts and a FREEBIE!

Hello everyone! Just five more days until break! Yippppeeeeeeee! We have two half-days Thursday and Friday too! I just finished making my teacher-friend gifts. I made my own tags because I don't think teachers should have to pay for everything. ;) Just click below the pictures to get your freebies from me and Easy Teaching Tools.

Click here to download a copy of my gift tags

I print out these weekly planners from Kristen in color on card stock. I then laminate them with my Black and Decker personal laminator that I got for free from Amazon with my points :). I buy my pockets from SAMs in bulk (200 per box).

I use TAPE trendz from the Dollar General to attach the gift tags. I bought the glitter kind for more of a Christmas feel. I give each teacher a bag with Hershey kisses and mini candy canes. And there you have it! Inexpensive Christmas/Holiday gifts for all of my friends, principal and colleagues!

Enjoy!

Out with the old, in with the new!

Hey everyone! Long time no see... LOL! I've been busy jumping grade levels again! Yes, high school to grade school, then back to high school. I had taken a position for 2nd grade but was put in 4th grade the week before school started! Talk about scrambling! It was self-contained 4th also... Whew! It was fun but the hour and a half commute started to wear on me, so I took a position close to home in high school again. I've been having a lot of fun with the big kids but have been writing new K-1 curriculum. I plan to post several new lessons on TPT soon. I'm also going to include a lot of high school stuff I've made along the way for those of you that teach the bigger kids. I also had to buy a new pencil sharpener this week. My old one disappeared after having a sub... Go figure! I decided to get a fun color this time. Last time I bought one, the only color it came in was blue. If you don't have one of these, you really should consider it. They are amazing! Have a good week! I'll see you soon!

Currently June

I'm joining the Currently for June with Farley's Oh Boy 4th Grade! I'm just getting started on what I plan on being a very busy month!

Going to the Middle

Hey all! It's finally summer! Whew! What a year!  I am happy to report that I will be teaching 6-8 ELA next year. I'm super excited! I will also be going back to private school... A much needed change. Teaching to the test in NOT my idea of teaching and preparing kids for life! I've been spending a lot of time on IG too. You can follow me. My name is cool_teach on there. I've found quite a few wonderful teachers to follow! I will be doing most of my planning this summer, which is a nice change. I will feel so prepared for school! Getting my TE's the week after school started was not ideal! LOL! I hope to hook up with other middle school teachers now that I've embarking on this adventure. Stay tuned! Have a great summer!

Farm Day at the Texas State Fair!

We had an awesome time at the fair even though we didn't get to see Big Tex. Maybe next time. The kids learned about trees in Texas, milking cows, different kinds of livestock, things we grow in Texas and got to see a HUGE PIG! It was a great learning experience for them since most of them had never seen some of these animals before! Enjoy! (Yes, that's me in my socks!)

 

We were photo bombed by a second grade teacher!

1st Steps in Math and TPT

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been gone for a while but.... You know how it is with school starting and all. I have been busy teaching 4th grade this year! Whooo hooo! But boy am I tired!!!!! I have also been going to a lot (and I mean a lot!) of district training. One of those is called 1st Steps in Math. It is awesome! They have share so many hands-on ideas and RTI for kids :). I really needed it too being an ELA person by nature (and trade!)

I've also decided to start uploading all of my teacher-created stuff from when I taught high school. I figured since I created it and used it for so many years, maybe someone else can benefit from it. I just uploaded a taste today. I uploaded some of my SAT for freshmen word lists, tests and powerpoints that I made and used every year. Here's a pic of the powerpoint for word list #6. I hope you can use these. It will take me a while to upload all of them I have 20 lists, 20 tests and 20 powerpoints for each grade level from 9th through 11th. I think I'll start with 9th!  Hopefully I will have that level all uploaded by this weekend (fingers crossed!). Enjoy!

Click Here to check out the powerpoint!

Teacher Talk Tuesday - Shopping, shopping, shopping!!!!!

I went to Target last week and found these amazing $1 items. They had only put out a few things. The girl at the register said to check back in a few days, that they would have a lot more! Yay! Going back today :))))))

Monday Made It :)

Happy Monday! (It is summer though!) I figured I had better start using my blog(s)! I've been slacking... procrastinating... really busy lately! Oh well... I did manage to make my pillows from the fabric I found at Joann's for 1/2 price on clearance. I am doing a tropical theme in my classroom - pink flamingos, palm trees, etc. Sooooo, this flower print is perfect because it includes all of the colors in my room and definitely looks tropical! I had looked at floor pillows and bean bags like I had in my Kindergarten room a few years ago. I had given them to someone when I started teaching high school. The price has really gone up!!!! I found floor pillows for $29  and bean bags for $15. Waaaaaayyyyyy too much! I got the fabric for $20 (8 yards) and the stuffing (10 lbs. of Poly-fil) for $19. Much more economical and my pillows are twice the size! (with a few smaller ones :) ) It only took a couple of hours too... Stuffing them took for-e-va! I hope you like them! Enjoy!

Bloglovin...

Come on over to Bloglovin :) and see what's going on... http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5737117/cool-teach-adventures-in-teaching

Kindergarten Tales: Mystery Show & Tell

Kindergarten Tales: Mystery Show & Tell: Welp! It's definitely warm here in Texas.... Rain on the way tomorrow though :) I've been sort of saving this for a while. I used it...

On a roll!!!!!

I am on a roll tonight! Not only have I uploaded two new lessons to TPT, I have also posted to both of my blogs! Check out my Kindergarten Tales blog post about literacy ideas! They were a lot of fun and feel free to change them around and adapt them to suit you. Here are pics of my latest lessons I uploaded to my TPT store. One is a Virtual Safari Adventure and the other is an interactive power point about Living and Non-Living Things. Enjoy!

More Classroom Organization & Photos

These are my ID/Press Pass boxes by periods

Add caption

These are posters for the getthebearfacts.com and BearsOnline Pinterest

These are my rules

These are my Dr. Seuss, Now What? and Sound Advice Posters

These are posters for BearsOnline Twitter and BearsOnline Facebook

This is our schedule and part of my target and weekly assignment board

This is the yearbook board with sections and assignments that are open

This is my "Who's Out of the Room?" and inspirational quotes wall

This is my writing wall along with our daily points

This is to remind my students not to make me send out the flying monkeys! LOL

Classroom Organization (Finally)

I know, I know... I've been promising to share photos of my Journalism classroom for months now. I finally took some photos to show everyone, especially the Red Light editing system that I created and use.

 

As you can see from the photo, the copy editor gets the story, photo with caption or page layout for proofing. He or she puts their sticker on it and initial it and give it back. It then goes to the editor for the same process after corrections are made, and eventually to me after corrections from the editor. This would work well for an English class as well. It cuts down on how many times I have to see the same copy, and expedites the publishing process.

 

Here are the trays I use for students to turn in copy. They are clearly marked. We have an online newspaper as well, so I use a blue turn in tray but she still uses the yellow stickers like the yearbook editor. These desks are actually used by my editors. I have an office in the suite that I use. I am usually at my computer table in the classroom.

 



 This is my form bin. I have everything from photo work orders to Studio Works manuals for students. They fill out point sheets and brainstorming sheets every week. That, along with their deadlines, is how they are graded. Below is a picture of my posted points system. The students all receive it at the beginning of the year and I print it on the back side of their points sheet for easy reference. Points are negotiable if they do something that is not listed.

 

As you can see, there are different points for different assignments. They are also divided up by class since they are all expected to various things to achieve their 100 for the week. I just created these on Power Point using different backgrounds and fonts. I also created our weekly schedule shown below.

 

I took a lot more pictures of other organizational things in my room that I created but I'll save them for another time. Enjoy!