Measurement, Jeeps, & Animals...OH MY!

Is everyone ready for one CRAZY week?!? Y'all do remember that Valentine's Day is Thursday...right?!? Well, don't be too jealous when I say that I get Friday off! Yes, that's right! I won't have to face what teachers refer to as the..."Holy Sugar High". In fact, I will be spending Friday-Sunday in New York City! I hope y'all still love me after all of that. If it makes you feel better, I will say an *extra* special prayer for all of my teacher friends who will be in school on Friday! :) Moving on before you guys start throwing tomatoes at me...

Last week, we finished up learning about capacity. Check out our football gallon men...




The kids (including my sweet girls) loved this activity. We played with a little "Gatorade" {colored water} to help us grasp the whole idea of capacity. I made a mess as usual. :) After  our little experiment, the kids created their gallon men. Tomorrow, they will use these cuties for our Gatorade Gallon Challenge! 

We have also been adding to our measurement playbooks: 


My boys think these are fabulous! They even wrote Coach ________ for their name. Thanks to football...we are all about some measurement right now! 

Here is a look at the inside of our "top secret" playbook! 



I used a folder to create each playbook. Then, we are adding a section for each type of measurement that we study. This is a great way to practice note taking and is a perfect reference during measurement practice and activities. This is something we will keep on hand for science experiments as well. 

So...what are we doing *this* week {along with Valentine's Day}? Why...going on Safari, of course! We just finished up our study of the Revolutionary War and are moving into our science unit for this nine weeks. Let me tell you...science comes as a welcomed break from social studies. We adore SC History...don't get me wrong! BUT...that is a crazy amount of material to learn! Hopefully this little hiatus will allow them to process all of the information that we just learned! I am convinced that they are WAY smarter than I ever thought about being in the 3rd grade! 

This week, as we take off on Safari, we will be learning about animals around our world! Check out our Jeeps that we will be traveling in. My husband is super jealous! He has been *dying* for a jeep! However, his comes with a much bigger price tag! :) 


This year, I worked smarter instead of harder and used material for our extra large jeeps. That worked like a charm...saved me tons of time...and is reusable for later! 


I also have a few desks in my room. I used bulletin board paper to create these jeeps. Let's just say that the kid's will be super pumped in the morning! 

During our animal study, we will be using many of the resources found in my On Safari Unit. You can check out some activities from last year's animal study {HERE} or {HERE} . 

If you would like to check out my unit at TPT, click on the pictures below! This unit includes lots of great ideas for engaging lessons, projects, and experiments!  





Hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend and are excited and ready for the new week ahead! 

Happy Sunday! 

A Football Gallon Man!

Can you guess what we are learning about tomorrow?


Can't wait to make these little dudes to help us learn all about capacity! That and a little Gatorade Gallon Challenge should help us put all of the pieces together! We are all lovin' this whole football theme we have going on with our measurement unit! More to come... 

Happy Wednesday, Y'all! 

Lately...

Our past few weeks have been crazy hectic! We are smack dab in the middle of MAP testing, and that always throws us for a loop. Add in 100th Day, academic pep rallies, and a field trip...I would say that puts this teacher two steps away from the crazy house! Ha!  I must say that my kiddos have been rocking it out with their testing, and I couldn't be more proud of them. Like I *may* have twirled a few of them around! :) Once they take a test, their brains are pretty much fried. Honestly, mine would be too! Each test takes for-ev-ah! However, we have still been chugging away in our classroom. 

We have managed to finish up our polar bear research. The kids loved, loved, loved learning and writing about these animals. We learned some pretty amazing facts along the way. I mean, how cute are these little guys? 


I love how each polar bear looks so unique! 


If you want to implement polar bear research into your classroom, check out my Ultimate Winter Writing Bundle over at my TPT shop! 

Along with our research, we have also been taking a closer look at the many different genres that we read by using my Backpacking Through Genres unit. We did this same study last year in second grade {You can check out the post from last year {HERE}.} Since that was a whole entire year ago, we needed to hit the refresh button one more time! ;) This year, we have added a few more genres to our study and have changed things up just a bit! 

As we study a new genre, we add the matching poster to our classroom library...just to keep 'em straight! :) 



At the beginning of our study, the kids made their genre backpack. After visiting each genre, the kiddos collect a ticket to add to their pouch. 


They also complete a page that describes each genre to use throughout our study. Our backpack is divided into two sections nonfiction/fiction. This is a great way to help the kids really grasp which genres are identified under each classification. 

P.S. If you have purchased this unit, I will be adding updates this weekend including folktales, fairy tales, fables, and tall tales. Be sure and stop by TPT to download the updated version. 


Annnd...we have been in the football mood as we have worked our way through linear measurement. More about this later...

Hope y'all had a fabulous Monday! 

Super Sunday SALE!!!




I know that so many of you are football fans, but me??? I would rather be shopping! Which is perfect, because TPT is hosting a GIGANTIC sale all day tomorrow. So while your hubby is watching the game, or during halftime, stop by TPT to check out the big event! You won't want to miss out! If you are looking for some units to spice things up during the month of February, you may want to add these units to your shopping list, or you can check out my entire shop by clicking {HERE} or on the link below. 

Valentine themed activities that your boys will love...

Friendly letter writing in the month of February...


If you haven't yet made it to the 100th day...

Get your boys excited about writing...

February and March Math Centers...
{Math centers can also be purchased in bundles}
Set #1
Set #2 
Set #3


My Ultimate Winter Writing Bundle will warm your kiddos up to writing during these next few months...

While you are at TPT, you will also want to check out some of the goodies that my blogging buddies have in their shops as well! These ladies are truly remarkable! 




















Happy Shopping!