30 March 2012

Knuffle Bunnies…Chicken Little…and Jelly Beans…Oh My!

It was so nice to be back with my sweet little loves today and finally out of the house! It may have been that much sweeter knowing that it was my last day before…wait for it…SPRING BREAK!

All I have to say is praise the Lord for my amazing student teacher. When I walked into my classroom today, everything was finished…work was displayed…room was cleaned! I am going to need for my principal to hire her ASAP! I could tell my little darlings were working up a storm in our Knuffle Bunny Unit. Here is some of the cuteness that they cooked up this week.

To begin the unit, it was all about some Trixie lovin’!  After reading the first two books, the students had to use context clues to identify “The Trixie Traits.”  The students also had to complete a chart where they identified the exact text clue that they used to infer a new trait.

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Next, the students were busy working on some Mo Willems inspired art while learning about dialogue between characters. I wish I had a picture of every one of my students illustrations, because they were too stinkin’ cute!

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After all three books were read, they created their Knuffle Bunny glyphs! Presh! The kids completed all of their data collection today and were anxious to share the results!

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So since they have been into all things “bunny” this final week before spring break, today was about all things jelly beans, chicks and eggs!

We began the day reviewing fractions with jelly beans!

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(Found these cuties at the dollar store! Love…love…love the dollar store!)

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The students had to write a fraction to represent each color jelly bean and then they had a little practice with comparing fractions. If you would like a copy of this activity, click on the picture below.

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After they completed their fraction activity, we did a little graphing activity that I have had for years!

After math, we read Chicken Little. I was amazed at how many students have NEVER heard this fable. After reading, we discussed the moral of the story and the students wrote a letter to Chicken Little explaining how he could have changed his fate. They had some excellent ideas! We then created our own Chicken Littles inspired by a cute card that I saw on Pinterest.

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Next on the list…a little jelly bean science. During this experiment, the scientists were experimenting with the different effects that several liquids have on jelly beans. We busted out the goggles and everything. I am telling you…they were big time! Ha!

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My little scientists ready to experiment!

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The set-up!

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Action! They were amazed! And to be honest…so was I! I may never eat a jelly bean again after seeing that the Starburst label actually peels off the jelly bean as if it were plastic. Yikes! If you look close…you will see the complete label!

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You can snag a copy of our experiment by clicking on the picture below.

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And finally…we dyed eggs! But wait…even dying eggs can be 100% academic! We will begin our big animal study after SB, so today, we introduced oviparous animals. After a little introduction of some pretty interesting oviparous animals, the students created their own animal egg. To show what they learned, they wrote riddles to describe which animal would be hatching out of their egg.  

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If you want the stationary that we used, you can click on the picture below.

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Alright…Done and Done! Literally! The beach is calling my name! Have a blessed weekend, sweet friends!

Don’t forget…you can find Knuffle Bunny and lots of other resources at my TPT store which is on SALE until tomorrow!

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29 March 2012

The Pit and the Peak

One of my favorite celebrity families to watch {guilty pleasure if you will} is none other than the Kardashian Klan {with a K no less}. Don’t judge!  I can’t even tell you how many times my husband will roll his eyes as I laugh hysterically at all of their craziness…but I just can’t help it! I LOVE THEM! But not in one of those creepy/crazy fan/stalker{ish} kind of ways! I just think they are way TOO MUCH!

 KAnother little confession: Scott is my favorite! Oh my word…he ALWAYS has something to say and it just never ceases to crack me up! 

So..I know you are asking…what on earth do the Kardashians have to do with school/teaching/activities for the week?!? Well…absolutely nothing! But follow me here and I may be able to make some sort of connection.

Although their show is purely for desperate entertainment seekers entertainment purposes, they do a little something that I kinda like!  When they were younger, every night, the family would share the pit and the peak of their day. The high point and the low point. I think it is always nice to do a little reflection and I have definitely had some time to reflect this week {you’ll see why in a minute}…so here is my pit and peak of the week!

My pit of the week is the fact that I have been sitting at home for four days and NO…it is not spring break yet…and no…it was not my choice! {This is why I NEVER go to the doctor! Ha!} I have missed more days in just this one week than in my entire teaching career. {I am one of those…sub plan making haters…I would rather just go than to write sub plans!} Well, to make a LONG, LONG story short…this girl has always thought that living on 3 or 4 hours of sleep a night was pa-lenty! Of course! Right? I mean, who needs sleep? My thought behind this brilliant lifestyle: “I just don’t require much sleep…I am totally fine! I have been this way since college…trust me…I’m fine!” Well…FYI…my husband and mother definitely got to say “I told you so!” Let’s just say that it hasn’t been pretty…and…3 or 4 hours of sleep is definitely not enough…and…well, although it has been tough…I have now realized that I am no longer in college! {Dang!} If my student teacher had not been full time this week, I would have had to explain to the doc that it would have been more of a stress for me to stay home than to be at school. You know what I mean? But thankfully…she has it all under control! Praise the Lord! So…the moral of the pit…if you are one of those crazy night owls like me….BEWARE! GET YOUR SLEEP!  BUT don’t worry…I am on the mend and will return to school tomorrow for one whole day before spring break! :) Just in time for some fun Easter{ish} activities! So, if you have been wondering where my poetry and measurement units are…it may be a few more days, but I promise to get them up soon! 

Now, for the peak! I seriously could go on and on with peaks, but this week’s peak is definitely the fact that it is time for SPRING BREAK! Yes…next week…I will be out of school for the entire week…BY CHOICE! And yes…I will be sitting poolside or beachside with my magazines and books! Hallelujer is all I have to say about that! :)

I hope you have all had a fabulous week and just incase you have some pits…here is a little peak for you…my TPT store is still on sale until March 31st! You can visit my store by clicking on the link below!

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What is your pit and peak of the week?

25 March 2012

March Madness SALE!

Just to say thank you for all of your support, kind words and comments, and inspiration, I am throwing my own little party over at TPT. My entire store will be on sale now through March 31st! Go get your shop on! Hopefully you can find some things to help you survive until the end of the year.  :) Click on the picture below to view my entire shop!

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Happy Sunday! 1 week until my SB! Praise the LAWD!

21 March 2012

Buyers and Sellers

Last week, we finished up our big social studies unit on economics. The kiddos have been working hard for  the past few weeks learning all about buyers, sellers, factories and businesses, advertisements, currency, and much, much more! It was a pretty intense study, but I don’t even think that they realized how detailed the information was, because they were way too busy having fun!

We completed our unit by having the students put their new learning to good use through a project-based learning project. The students designed a business that would appeal to a first grade audience. We had some very creative ideas and had the perfect mix of both goods and services. The students then designed advertisements and commercials to display and broadcast to our firstie buddies. In addition to the business creation, our kids were also in charge of designing a currency which the first graders worked to earn through good behavior and work in their classroom. Finally on Friday, we set up the classroom “business style” and the firsties came to purchase their favorite goods and services! It was such a rewarding experience for the students and they really learned the value of proper planning and good customer service.

Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

Slide11Here is a look at the currency that the students designed. {Who is that historical hero on the $5 bill? I should have been the $10, but I guess our principal was MVP for our currency!} Ha!

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Here are the girls behind “Fashion Story”. The duct tape bracelets were a hit! They were our highest profit of the day!

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Our St. Pat’s Day cookies and green lemonade! {Funny story: The “boss” of this little business kept raising the price with each customer. I heard him charge one little 7 bucks for a cookie! I thought I would die! It was super cute and oh so funny! We had to have a little chat about maintaining consistent pricing! Can we say money hungry???…sheesh!}

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One of the services for the day was origami lessons. I was a little worried about whether or not my kids would actually teach the firsties! I should know better than to underestimate my little darlings! They were amazing!

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Another big money maker was Super Star Nails! They made the MOST adorable commercial that featured some pretty big names in the celebrity world!  Oh the power of persuasion! They are scary good at that!  :)

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AND…finally at the end of the day…it was all about profit! The students divided the money equally and spent some time shopping around the room as well!

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This will definitely be a yearly event!

This week, we are into all things measurement and loving some poetry. I am putting the finishing touches on two new units and hope to have them up by the weekend! Here is a peek!

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7 school days until SB! :)

20 March 2012

Calling All Knuffle Bunny Lovers!!!!

If you are not caught up with all of the Knuffle Bunny lovin’ going on out there in teacher land…let me assist you! Here are three of THE most precious books you will ever read! {I am pretty sure that I may have even shed a tear…or two at the end of the third book. AND I am not even a parent!} Seriously, these books are darling and a perfect fit for any of our K-third grade friends!

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My kiddos fell in love with Mo and his Knuffle Bunny series last year, and so I knew a Mo inspired unit would be a perfect spring lovin’ unit! It is a great way to incorporate a little     Easter{ish} activities into the classroom. My kids began this unit this week and are already loving the activities. They are so into the illustrations and of course can’t get enough Trixie! Here are a few activities that they have been working on.

Caldecott Worthy Illustrations and Judging

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Our Classroom Winners…

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Trixie Traits {Character Profiles}

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A Little Cause and Effect

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And I can’t wait until they get to make their glyphs at the end of the unit.

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We have so many more activities to complete in this unit, so I will be sure to post lots of pictures. If you would like to pick up a copy, it is FINALLY on TPT. Check it out below and click on the pictures to check it out on TPT.

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It is bedtime for this teacher! Happy Wednesday {well…close enough!}