Sunday Savings - 10/26/14

Good morning! It's a beautiful day for a Sunday Savings link up with my friend Nicole from All Things Apple in 2nd. Have you linked up yet?

I cannot believe we are now in the end of October. Time flies!!! Before you know it, Christmas will be here! In honor of the end of the month and the fact that fall is about half way over, my fall products are 15% off today.

 Here's a close up of all the goodies on sale! Click on the picture below to see larger previews of each product in my store.

Check out some of my favorites!

 Our pumpkin play dough was also a perfect lesson to add into pumpkin season. You can read more about that here. This STEM Jr. activity is also on sale in my store today!

Thanks for stopping my! Head back to All Things Apple in 2nd to see more Sunday Savings!

Fall Favorites Blog Hop - Taste Tests!

Welcome to the Fall Favorites Blog Hop! I hope you enjoy hopping from one blog to another to hear about many different fall lessons and activities. Maybe you can try one in your classroom...Stay tuned for a freebie at the end of this post!

I absolutely love fall. I don't get much of it {FL girl, born and raised}, but it is my favorite. I incorporate many thematic units from September-December in order to keep the kids engaged and hit all of the necessary curriculum in a fun way.

In October, we spend an entire day looking at pumpkins. We write, read, sequence, create, and experiment with pumpkins. We count, practice math skills, plant, and predict with pumpkins. In November, we spend an entire day acting like the Pilgrims and Indians (Colonial Day). We write, read, sequence, create, and experiment with colonial items. We practice math with corn and design maps of the Atlantic Ocean.

Pumpkin Day!

But today, I would like to introduce you to the student favorite of both themed days - The Taste Test.

DISCLAIMER: Please, please, please check your students for allergies before including this in your classroom.

Pumpkin Taste Test

The idea is quite simple: Just buy some foods, place them on the table, print the graph, and EAT! Let me tell you, the kids have a fabulous time! It is also quite cute to hear all their Mmmmmmmmm's and Ewwwww's. Amidst all this excitement, the students don't even realize that they are practicing graphing!

Thanksgiving Taste Test

You can choose whichever foods you prefer or have access to. Here is a list of ideas that I have used in the past:

Pumpkin: pumpkin bread, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin pie, pumpkin coffee cake, pumpkin ice cream.
Thanksgiving: biscuits, corn bread, popcorn, apple pie, cranberries, cranberry juice.

Thanksgiving Taste Test

You may be able to get some donations to have a fun day like Pumpkin Day or Colonial Day! Ask parents in advance! Get volunteers to come in. Make a day of it! If you are interested in the entire Pumpkin Day product, you can check it out by clicking the picture below. The Pumpkin Taste Test graphs are available in this pack.

All students can use practice graphing! Soooo...here's a little freebie for you. Click on the image below for the graphing freebie! Also, be sure to hop over to my store to check out some fall product discounts!!! Happy Fall Ya'll!

Now be sure to hop on over to my friend Kristen's blog for more fall fun!

Sunday Savings - October 19

Good morning! Today I'm linking up with Nicole from All Things Apple in 2nd for Sunday Savings! I LOVE this linky because it gives teachers the opportunity to highlight their products. Thank you, Nicole, for setting it up!

Today, I am discounting my reading strategy posters and student guides. They are only $1. I mean, who doesn't love dollar deals?!?

Here is the first deal of the day! I print this poster 2-sided in color. Then I laminate it and put it in a folder that students can easily access. I also print them 2-sided in black and white and send it home so that students can reference this while doing homework or reading at home. Second and third grade teachers at my school are using this in folders and during small group for the students who need some reminders. :) You can grab my Good Readers Posters for $1 today only!

The second Dollar Deal is my Reading Strategies Placemat. I am head over heels for these! They are printed on legal paper and then laminated. Kindergarten and first grade teachers at my school use them at small group. It's just like a placemat at dinner. Place it under your plate....or in this case, your leveled reader. While students read and decode, they are able to reference this chart. Grab this great reading resource here!

Have a happy and relaxing Sunday!

Wordless Wednesday - 10/15/14

Hello and Happy Wednesday! I am starting this day off BRIGHT by linking up with Christina over at Miss DeCarbo!

Today is Birthday Dress Down Day! On the third Wednesday of each  month, we have Birthday Dress Down Day. Anyone (kids and staff!) who had/will have a birthday that month can wear jeans or whatever they want. This is a BIG deal because we are not allowed to wear jeans at all...not even on Fridays {gasp!!!}. So, here is my Birthday Dress Down Day outfit! My previous school gave us these fun shirts, and of course, I'm taking advantage of the jeans!

My question today is: What does your school do to recognize birthdays of students/staff/both throughout the year?

Have a wonderful Wednesday, and be sure to head back to Miss DeCarbo to catch up with more teachers!

Wordless Wednesday - 10/8/14

Hey all! :) Today, I'm linking up with Christina over at Miss DeCarbo Sugar and Spice for Wordless Wednesday! 

We use Post-Its for many things throughout the year - from keeping track of AR to using them on assessments. Post-Its are my favorite. Period. End of Story. They are brilliant! Here we are using Post-Its to record our details and sentence ideas for an informational paragraph.

So, tell me...How do you use Post-Its in your classroom?

Be sure to link back up to read more from other teachers!

Sunday Savings! A Linky Party!

I'm so excited about this new Sunday Savings link up with Nicole Swisher from All Things Apple in 2nd! I absolutely love sales...especially on jewelry and clipart! I just can't pass up a cute little drawing that is on sale. This link up is a perfect way to grab some items for your classroom and save money at the same time!

This Sunday, I'm featuring all things pumpkin. It's October which means pumpkin patches, pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin everything!  I always love sharing these cute activities with my students, and my hope is that your students will enjoy them also! Click on the preview pictures below to stop by my store for 20% off these pumpkin-y activities...

First up, PUMPKIN DAY! This is by far my favorite activity for fall. My classroom is transformed into a pumpkin paradise for students to explore and enjoy! Here is a preview of the 11 activities included:

 ...and here it is in action!

Also on sale today are my Pumpkin Pronoun task cards. These are only $2.00 regularly, so you are scoring them today for less than that! These task cards will help your students to practice changing nouns into pronouns. Each task card is themed with pumpkin clipart and pumpkin sentences. Enjoy!

And last, but certainly not least, is one of my best sellers in fall! These 4 close reading passages will keep students engaged in the text while practicing informational text structure and features. This pack includes 4 passages about pumpkins, vocabulary and reading response handouts, graphic organizers, and writing prompts. I use one passage per week as homework - students complete a different activity each night with the SAME passage. This works to increase fluency and comprehension. By the end of the week, students and parents know all about the topic!

Stop by next week for more Sunday Savings & be sure to link back up at All Things Apple in 2nd! 

The Primary Pack

I am so excited and blessed to have the opportunity to work behind the scenes with the fabulous bloggers of The Primary Pack!  We are collaborating to bring you a rainbow of ideas!  Make sure you follow along to grab a bunch of colorful freebies, as well as enter our giveaway with $300 worth of prizes!

Hi! I'm Meredith blogging from Creativity to the Core. I am a South Florida teacher who loves coffee, clipart, and the color teal. I interned in a high achieving kindergarten class, taught high achieving first grade in public school, and am now working as the Communications Director and Character Education teacher in the private school I grew up in.

Although I do not have my own classroom this year, teaching is truly my passion, and I look forward to teaching full time again in the near future! 

Last day of school with my sweet firsties!

I have been married to my goofy (see below!) best friend, Nick, for almost two years. He keeps my A-type personality in check! We love to sleep in on Saturday mornings, relax at our pool, and volunteer in the Children's Ministry at our church.

I am in the last year of my Master's program in Reading and plan to continue into a Doctoral program in literacy studies. Even though I love reading and creating reading resources for the classroom, I absolutely LOVE math. Math centers are my thing! 

To celebrate our new collaborative adventure, The Primary Pack is hosting a giveaway with tons of fabulous prizes!

Enter the rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway AND here's my "colorful" freebie!  Just click on the image!

 Hop along to meet our other bright bloggers and to grab a rainbow of freebies!

 

An InLinkz Link-up

Wordless Wednesday - Fall Fun!

This morning, I'm linking up with Miss DeCarbo at Sugar and Spice for one of my favorite linky parties --- Wordless Wednesday! AND...it is officially FALL! Not so much here in Ft. Lauderdale, but I can dream!

In first grade, we went crazy for pumpkins. Here you can see our "Harvesting New Skills" bulletin board. I'm so sad I couldn't find a full length picture with clear writing, but this will do. Each pumpkin is a graphic organizer that focused on 1 of 4 skills: Story Elements, BME, Author's Purpose, or Main Idea. The pictures show us enjoying Pumpkin Day! This is my all-time favorite unit to do in the fall.

Today's Question: What is your favorite fall activity, craftivity, or unit?

Be sure to link back up with Christina to enjoy other pictures!