Super FREE Super Bowl Craftivity

The weekend is wrapping up and tomorrow is our 100th Day Celebration.  My team has had to reschedule two times because of weather.  Starting the week with a special day is not always my favorite.  We usually try to plan special days for Fridays, I'm sure you totally know why.  But, just to be safe we decided to not push it back any further.
Later in the week I'm going to fit in a few football themed activities.  One is a craftivity that you can use for spelling practice or as a writing activity.  If you would like your own FREE copy of this project, click on one of the pictures below.

writing sample

spelling sample

The clip art is from Melonheadz.  There are four different recording sheets to choose from.  I plan on letting the kids pick which team they are rooting for to determine the colors on each helmet (black and purple for the Ravens or yellow and red for the 49ers).

My team is not in the Super Bowl this year.

 

We are Titans fans and this year was not even close.  But . . . there is always next year.  Football seasons are like school years, you always get a fresh start.

I hope you have fabulous week.

Super Bowl Shuffle

It's football time in first grade!

We are counting down to Super Bowl XLVII.  It is just a little over a week away.  I'm trying to put together a few little fun activities for the Friday before the big game.  One activity my firsties will do (as a review) is a sentence sort where they determine if a sentence is a statement, a question, or an exclamation.  

It includes three sorting mats, twelve sentence cards, and three different recording sheets.  I plan on making enough sets of the cards to use as a partner activity.  You can also use it as a literacy station or maybe as a whole group pocket chart activity. 

The clip art is really cute and is from Melonheadz.  

You can grab a free copy of my Super Bowl Sentence Sort by clicking on the picture below.  

A  agreed to demonstrate.

As you can see we are pretty excited about sentence sorting at my house.    

One book I plan on using that day is Kick, Pass, and Run by Leonard Kessler.  It gives a simple introduction to football as a group of animals organize their own football game after watching a young team play.  I think I bought my copy through amazon.

I hope these suggestions inspire you to add a little Super Bowl learning to your classroom.  If you have any questions, please email me.  

Have a fun Friday.

There Was a Cold Lady

Hi Friends.
Like most of you, I have been "off" from work today to honor MLK.  I use quotes because I have spent a good bit of time working on school stuff.  I have to get a substitute this week.  I am taking off for my daughter's preschool conference (and a dentist appointment-YUCK).  It's pretty strange to be on the other side of the table on conference day.  But I must say it gives me a new perspective on how I conduct conferences.
Anyway, back to sub prep . . . I am leaving the book There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! by Lucille Colandro.  My students love these books.  They love the the rhyming text and the funny outcomes.

I have a couple literacy activities for the kiddos (sequencing and predicting).  I also created a few math activities to go along with this book.  I made a word problem mini book, a missing addend printable, and a number comparison printable.  The clipart is from Scrappin Doodles.

You can have a free copy of my activities by clicking on the picture below.  

Hopefully with the Cold Lady will keep my little darlings engaged while the cat is away :).

Let me know if you have any questions.  Have a wonderful week.

100th Day Yes or No Way (A Math FREEBIE)

While I was sitting at  A's  gymnastics class this afternoon going through my school bag, I pulled out my common core standards checklist.  A standard that I have not fully taught is the one that requires students to add two-digit numbers within 100 with a multiple of 10.  Although we have worked quite a bit finding ten more and ten less of a given number, I haven't taught adding multiples of 10.  Since this standard focuses on numbers within 100, I thought this skill would be a perfect addition (no pun intended) to our 100th Day learning.
So I came up with a little activity to practice this skill.  I plan for my firsties to complete it with a partner on the 100th Day of School.  However, you really could use it any other day you are working with this standard.  It also doesn't have to be a partner activity.  It can be a math box or it can work as part of a whole group lesson.
The activity includes sorting mats, equation cards, and a recording sheet.  The clip art is from Melonheadz.

You can have a free copy by clicking on the picture below.

I use the Yes/No Way line of questioning with my sweeties as an informal assessment during whole group lessons.  It is a simple part of Whole Brain Teaching that I really like during instruction time, as well as carrying it through in various sorting activities like this one.  (If you would like my FREE Easter themed activity that practices this same skill click here.)

I hope you can find a use for it.  Questions, let me know.

Just a quick pic update from the 100th Day.  Old Granny Monroe had a surprise visitor.  My sweet mom and  A  made a 100 stamp shirt and arrived for lunch and stayed on for a couple of our 100th Day activities.  I think my firsties get just as much of a kick out of her stopping by as I do.

Snow Day!

I almost can't believe it.  We have had our first snow of the season.  I live in the south and the past couple of winters have been  very  d i s a p p o i n t i n g  on the snow front.  Last weekend we were in the 70's.  I wore shorts and t-shirts on my runs.  I even said to D, something about not getting any snow again this year.  But today . . . real snow!
I'm most excited for  A  and my sweet first graders.  They have had so little exposure to snow.  Whenever we read about it, talk about it, or try to write about it, it seems so distant and foreign.  Our snow drought finally ended this afternoon.
After dinner our little family went on a walk and  A  was beside herself.  She played a bit of snow soccer in the front yard and thankfully got some use out of the snow boots I bought last year that she was never able to use.

So YAY for snow! and YAY for snow soccer! and YAY for things happening when you've kind of lost hope that they would!
Have a fab Friday.

100 Days Smarter FREE Craftivity

Our first grade celebration of the 100th day of School is just a few days away.  I think I have too many activities planned.  But better to have too many than too few,  r i g h t ?

Hopefully my sweet students are working on their projects to show and share on that day.  They have to make a 100th Day t-shirts.  If you're not familiar, students can paint, draw, glue, stick, stitch (with help), pin (you get the picture) anything to their shirts to represent 100.  It's always pretty fun to see what they come up with each year.

I wanted to share one activity we will be using during the week leading up to the 100th Day.  Students will be making a little 100th Day cutie to help them practice their spelling words.

If you click on the picture below you can have your own copy of this craftivity for free.

The pattern also includes a recording sheet for a 100th Day writing assignment.

It will be best if you use construction paper colors to match the features of the each student in your class.  I used scrapbook paper for the arms of my samples.  But, plain construction paper will work just as well.  You may also want to play around with the positioning of the arms.  The clip art on the recording sheets is from Melonheadz.

*Please note, this pattern has been updated with legs and feet.  However, you can still make it the same as pictured above even with the updates)

I hope you and your class have a fun day of learning on your 100th Day of School.  Let me know if you have any questions about this project.

Have a great week.

MLK Day Is On the Way and So Is a FREEBIE

Our first week back to school has come to an end.  My first grade sweeties were more like first grade sleepies.  They were so worn out all week.  At dismissal, this afternoon, I looked down and three of my students were laying on the sidewalk with their heads on their backpacks while waiting for their rides.  If they can make it through one more week, they will get a well deserved three day weekend thanks to our Monday off honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
MLK day is an opportunity to learn about a very important American.  My bachelor's degree is in history.  Any time I can work history into my first grade curriculum, I am a happy lady.  I created a language arts activity just for this occasion, The Martin Luther King Jr. Sentence Scramble.
Click on the picture below for your own FREE copy.

A  tried her little hand at the scramble.  She is in a pre k readiness class and not quite ready to complete this activity by herself.  But with a little help from daddy in the reading department, she was able to figure the sentences out.  She loves doing "big kid" work.

The activity includes eight sentences to mix and unscramble, as well as two recording sheet options.  The clip art is from Melonheadz.

For my class, I plan on printing enough copies of the sentence cards for the students to work on this activity with a partner.  You can also use it as a literacy station.  This sentence scramble is a great way to practice sentence order and expose your students to Dr. King.

Happy Friday!

Welcome Back and a FREE New Year's Craftivity

Day one of the second semester . . . check.
We are now officially over the hump.  I spent the first half of the year working to change my kindergarten darlings into my first grade sweeties.  Now my goal is to turn them into fabulous second graders.  I must say the thought of my class moving on up already gives me a little lump in my throat.  I have a group of kids that (on most days) work together really well.
I can't think about all of that right now.  So moving on . . .
I did want to share one last New Year's themed activity.  It's actually a craftivity (I love that word, although my spell check doesn't agree with me) to go along with a fun New Year's themed counting book, P. Bear's New Year's Party by Paul Owen Lewis.

It's a jazzy P. Bear paper topper and a couple of different lined paper choices.  You can use it for any type of writing assignment you want.  You can have students write their spelling words, their New Year's traditions, or their New Year's resolutions.  It's really up to you.

If you click on the picture above you can have your own FREE pattern for this craftivity and two different recording sheets.   

Of course if you do not have a copy of this book, this activity can certainly stand alone.  But, I would really recommend adding it to your library.
Happy New Year.

Number of the Day FREEBIE

Yesterday was my first day back from winter break.  We were in meetings for the first half of the day and (thankfully) got to work in our rooms during the second half.  Although I had to leave before everything was checked off my to do list, I was glad to have that time.
As I was getting ready for my first grade sweeties, I ran across something you might find useful in your class.  It's one of my number of the day printables.  It is a good review activity for this time of the year, since we've worked a bit with place value.

I like to use it for morning work once or twice a week.
I've also included a 1-120 chart.  It's a nice addition for the back side of this number of the day practice or it can be a stand alone.

Click on the picture below if you would want a free set of these pages.

If you would like a version of this activity that I use a little later in the year you can click here.
I hope you have a wonderful week.

Spread Some Cheer This Year (With Some FREE Printables)

Winter break is almost over.  My first graders will be bopping through the door in a few days.  We will be hitting number comparisons for the next couple of weeks.  Every time I teach greater than and less than, I think about my second grade teacher and the little rubber alligator she got out when she introduced the > and < signs.  The open alligator mouth was the visual I needed to remember how to use those signs from that point on.
Now the alligator is certainly my go to, as I'm sure it's yours too.  When I started teaching I found this great puppet.

In class he's known as My Pal Al.  My first grade sweeties LOVE him.  He's silly looking and has some really pointy teeth.  I bought him at Target years ago.  He is still available.  I recently found him at Amazon.  He's made by Manhattan Toy Company.  He's is pretty fun to have in your class when your are teaching greater than and less than.

Something else I plan on using this year is a poster and poem I found on Pinterest.

I tracked it down to teacherbitsandbobs.blogspot.com. 

I've included a few printables I will be using this year as well.  (The clipart is from Scrappin Doodles.) 

You can get your own free copies by clicking on the picture below.

Finally I thought I'd leave you with a shot from my last celebration of the holiday season.  My birthday is on New Year's Day.  After a late night, we had a low key brunch at my parent's house.  If you look closely at all the candles, A is about to help me blow out, you'll know how old I am.  She made sure she put on exactly the right amount.  She's such a sweetheart.

Have a fabulous day.

Good Bye 2012

Happy New Year!

D and I had a date night to celebrate New Year's Eve.  

We went to two different parties.  Both very fun with loads of yummy hors d'oeuvres and lots of chatting with my buddies.  One party was for grown-ups only and one was family friendly.  I loved my tulle skirt find.  I thought I'd show you a picture of the completed ensemble.  We had a great night.

Here's to the New Year . . . new hopes . . . new joy and surprises.

Happiness to you always.