Hundred's Day Freebie!

Hundred's Day has come and gone again! For weeks I was trying to think of things that would make this 100's Day different, special and unique. I wanted to really wow my students. I was trying to plan THE BEST DAY EVER!! I'm so glad I realized that it is all new to my owlets. I feel like we did "the same old thing," but realized after hearing many, "This is the best day ever!"s that the same old thing to me is exciting for my class.  The smiles, the hugs and the excitement will never be the same old thing to me. They will forever be precious and meaningful! One of the things I love about six year olds is their enthusiasm... They love everything.

I did do one thing different this year. It got a little bit long, but they hung in there and finished! They had to follow the directions in a PowerPoint presentation to find a picture hidden in a hundred's chart.  We got up and moved around for a while half way through. I think I'll try doing some more of these for different occasions. Feel free to use this if you'd like! You'll need THIS and THIS!

We put the finished products on the back of our 100's Day vests which we covered with 100 little pictures 

100's Day wouldn't be complete without a visit from our friend Zero...

or 100 snacks!

My backyard tonight looks like this...

All this snow fell today! I'm wondering if I'll be awoken by an early
morning phone call!!

Our collections of 100 spread across the floor. 

Currently and Kid Blogs

Who hosts the best party on the web? You know who it is...Farley! It is Currently time! Go check out some new and old bloggy friends and join the party!

Do your kids blog? I only teach first grade part time. The other part of the time I teach technology classes to k-8. The other part of the time I teach Literature to seventh and eighth grade. I love all the hats I wear, but my favorite is (as soon as I say it I'm going to think, "No, I really love the other!" Thing is kids are my favorite people...Please don't be offended!) Anyway, my favorite is first grade. They are the funniest people I know, and I love to laugh.

What was I getting at...Oh that's right kids blogging. My technology students all have a blog and last month they started doing Currently for Your Classroom . I love all the choices that come with this product and it is easy to print out black and white copies for kids to write and color on even if you don't want to dive into kids blogging. It would be a great thing to add to a writing portfolio! Here are two of my kid bloggers currently(s)...

Want your kids to blog?  It is easy!! Here is my class blog roll HERE! I set it up, so I have to approve all comments...You would want to, too! My students have to comment on three other blogs on days we blog. The comments must be kind or helpful and complete sentences!

I'm out to shovel snow. I love being outside when it's cold and snowy because nothing feels better than coming back in for HOT CHOCOLATE! 

In case you missed it yesterday...

SURPRISE FREEBIE!

Elephun! Give Away and a FREEBIE!

Have you seen this book? If you use the Treasures curriculum, maybe you even have it. It is an astonishing book! My students were glued to the pages. It is a book they have gone back to over and over.

We were thrilled to find the website where elephant paintings can be purchased. They were pretty sure I should buy one for the classroom for $600.00! I suggested we pretend to be elephants and paint our own picture. One thing led to another and we ended up painting an elephant...

The elephant is saying, "I'm a full-sized baby elephant. I am called
a calf. Do I make you laugh?"

Here my owlets are painting like an elephant...

Most of them agreed that they would rather paint like a kid, and that an elephant would have a hard time painting like a kid! I wouldn't sell the finished product for anything. I just love our little class pet. We're going to continue learning about elephants next week when we use a wonderful unit on elephants that I found on TPT! I wish I had waited for the big sale on Sunday, but I couldn't wait to get started using it. Speaking of sales...Don't forget to use this code on TPT on Sunday:  SUPER

While you are waiting for the sale head over to a new friend of mine Dinah. She has some amazing pictures to look at and she's having an awesome Give Away!

Here is a FREEBIE for you...I hope you like it! I use it often with my class. It is part of my students 15 book genre challenge.

You can get the whole unit on Sunday for 28% off!

SNOW DAY! Freebie

My daughter thought this birdhouse's hairdo was pretty funny!

I was happily surprised by yet another SNOW DAY! What is better than a Snow Day? A Snow Day on a Monday. I'm looking forward to playing games, updating some TPT items, and perhaps venturing out to do some shopping at my favorite store...Barnes and Noble!

Last Friday my class and I finished up a project to share with other classes around the country. SPOILER ALERT!! If you are participating with the Winter Wonderland Exchange Project at First Grade Carousel, you may not want to read on! These are the projects my class decided would be fun to send to my friend Maria who organized this fun exchange. We put A LOT of glue in a zip-lock bag and then added wiggle eyes, a carrot nose and three buttons. We sealed it and attached a song to sing as students look for and arrange the snowman parts to look like a snowman! Only one bag broke on us and I hope that the ones we sent all arrive in good condition to Maria! Thank you Maria for organizing such a fun project...I can't wait to see what everyone else did.

What ever the weather where you are...I wouldn't trade! I love my Michigan!

A Whole Half-Day and a Give Away!

I can hardly wait until tomorrow when my owlets bring a brown bag to school with half of something in it. I'm still trying to decide what I will bring. Their mission is simple...Put half of something in a brown paper bag and write three clues on the bag so we can guess what it is. PARENTS: I WAS VERY CLEAR THAT THEY SHOULD ASK YOUR PERMISSION BEFORE CUTTING SOMETHING IN HALF!!!

We have made it to the "Half" day of school.Eon't you think "Half-Day" should be half a day of school? It happened to fall on a whole day! We are half past first grade. It came at a perfect "time" since we were studying and practicing keeping track of time. I've added times to the daily routine so that they become more aware of times passage and they love to tell me when we run out of that precious commodity, especially if it is cutting into their lunch or snack time. In order to celebrate we spent a "whole" lot of time talking about and cutting things in half...including ourselves.

You don't want to waste any more time here. Rush over to Liv to Teach to enter her amazing Give Away. You will be amazed at half the items being given away and wowed by the other half!

Saturday Sayings

Guess what? No, not chicken butt! I had a student say that to me this week. It was really hard not to laugh hilariously. I had to tell him that some things are funny at home and some things are funny at school. I even told him that has been one of my favorite jokes since I was a kid. My little sister even has it on a T-shirt. Anyway, he apologized and I haven't heard it again.

Guess what? When I walk through the door Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday it isn't about me. It is about the owlets in my nest. Period. They think I'm beautiful. When I don't wear make-up, I'm still beautiful. When I wear socks with holes they don't care.  Their smiles, hugs, laughter and learning are what matter to me when I get to school. Any problem that may have reared its ugly head at home is forgotten. I must give my whole heart to these learners, so they  in turn can trust me to do what is right for them.

Some of our students may not have had breakfast. They may have to listen to parents fighting night after night or listen to worries about how they're going to make the money stretch a little further. Do they really need to hear about my bad day? Do they really need to be quiet because I'm going through a rough time? Nope! They need to know that I'm going to be the same today, yesterday and tomorrow. They need to trust that when I greet them at the door they are walking into a room where they are loved and valued.

I heard a speaker at the beginning of the year who gave some great advice. When a teacher starts to complain about a particular student, say, " I love that kid!"
Honestly, you probably do love that kid. If he's having a hard time at school, he needs you to love him. Even if he isn't in your class, you can change his world by loving him. You know the sad looking kid walking down the hall avoiding any and all eye contact. Make a point of seeking him out each day and watch his countenance change. Show him the love in your heart...He probably needs to see it. That's why I chose this Carole King song as my Saturday Saying...

I love this Carole King song. I wake up singing it many mornings! Don't say, "Oh! It's easy for her to say!" It isn't always that easy. I battle depression. I've had my share of sadness. I've had struggles.  Life is full of disappointment. The things that have been the hardest things for me to live through are also the things I've grown most from. Hardships can solidify our character either good or bad. Choose today to become more loving, more empathetic and more approachable! Be the teacher that shows love to EVERY student.

Head over to Forever in First to see some more Saturday Sayings!

Too bad the kid hadn't said, "Guess what?  OWL butt!" I may have to allow that one!

Snow Day Calculator! Snow Day Freebie!

The Snow Day Calculator redeemed itself this morning! It has been WRONG  about 100% of the time until...Today! I am thrilled to tell you that  I have a Snow Day. I think it is more about the frigid air than the snow. The temperature is hovering just above zero  and there really isn't that much snow out there. So, here I am with the whole day ahead of me. I've had my second cup of coffee and I'm going to sit here watch birds and read all day. I'm about to shut off my computer and bake cookies, put together a puzzle and get reacquainted with the laundry equipment. It is going to be a great day!

Before I go I want to share the activity that my students worked on yesterday during the Daily Five. This was in the Word Work Station. I read The Snowy Day before letting them get down to work. They loved the book and I put it in the Read With a Partner Couch Box. I'm always excited when I see partners EEKK up together with a book I've just read to them. Don't you agree that re-reads are important for first grade owlets?! I hope you might be able to use this FREEBIE in your class, too!

One other thing.  I just got a sweet Circus packet from a new friend of mine. I especially love the Peanuts for Sale Place Value section. Maria is new to blogging, so go show her how friendly we all are! I wish it wasn't a Snow Day so I could be at school right now sharing the fun, but here's always tomorrow...