Word Family Fun!!!

Hey! Just wanted to let everyone know that I just finished a great lil unit that is PACKED with word family fun and full-color centers! And you have to check out these aDoRaBle lil Cat in the Hat cutie patooties!!! I'm ready to dig out my Dr. Seuss hats out and have some Rhyme Time Word Family Fun! Dr. Seuss is awesome-why wait til March? I'm using a Dr. Seuss-themed word family board all year long! I'm also in the middle of making "My Lil Word Family Book" that the students will be able to write the word family words and use it for reference in their writing folders. I will share this lil book freebie with you guys as soon as I'm finished with it! Anyone else love Dr. Seuss? I'd love to hear your "Seuss" ideas that you use in your classroom-just leave a lil comment!

Check out my lastest unit..."Rhyme Time Word Family Fun!"

Check it out at TEACHERS NOTEBOOK or at TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS!

Have a super weekend!

SPELLING WORD FUN! and more Classroom Labels!!!!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Not sure what the weather is like where you are but, it is dog-gone HOT here!!  Took a lil walk this morning with my kids and I looked like I lost a fight with a fire hose by the time we made it back home-Whew! The bright side is that it was just too hot for me to do yardwork (oh, well! ha ha!) so I finished up my next set of classroom labels. After I posted my Classroom Supply Labels, I had oodles of requests for more so....here they are! Can anyone say FREEBIE!!!!

If you like these, just click the pic for your copy. Happy to share with everyone-all I ask is that you become a follower (if you are not already) and leave me a lil comment-I love getting feedback from you guys!!!

I am also SuPeR ExCiTeD to have my "Spelling Word Fun" unit ready!!! This is packed with fabulous activities that can be use with any spelling words. I love 'em & so do my kiddos! I just alternate the activities-we do one each morning right when the kids are arriving. Once they understand the directions, its a breeze for them to work independently! That gives you a few minutes to take care of all of that morning housekeeping-attendance, lunch counts, sorting notes, etc... You know what I'm talkin' about!!! These activities are a real life-saver for me! Well, take a look and see what you think!!!

Click to preview at TEACHERS NOTEBOOK

Click to preview at TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS

I really appreciate all the positive comments from everyone about my other units and freebies. Thanks-you guys are awesome! Hope you enjoy "Spelling Word Fun!" and the freebie labels!!!

Check this out... Favorite Back-to-School Activity and FREEBIES!

It's time for a PaRtY!!! A Linky Party that is Jodi @ Fun in First is hosting "What is your favorite Back-to-School Activity?" Linky Party. What a great idea-thanks Jodi for getting all these amazing ideas together in one spot! So, here is one of my favorite books to use on the first day of school...
Dr. Jean Feldman performs this song on Is Everybody Happy? CD. You can also buy a digital download of the song. (I think I found it on the Dr. Jean website.)

Rules Rap
Dr. Jean

Omigosh! Dr. Jean is awesome! You have to hear the rap to this book-the kiddos LOVE it!!! I put on my sunglasses and a backwards cap, fold my arms across my chest (so I look really cool-like a rap singer! lol) and read the book. Then we sing/rap the song-soooo fun!!! It goes something like this...

The rules, the rules, the rules of the classroom.

(Snap fingers as you sway back and forth to the beat.)

Follow, follow, follow directions,

(Point index fingers in the air.)

Feet and hands, feet and hands,

(Point to feet and then each hand.)

Small voices inside, tall voices on the playground.

(Put finger over lips and then point out the window.)

Take care of your things, and keep the classroom neat and clean.

(Brush palms together to the beat.)

Work together, get along, and respect each other.

(Clasp hands together and then make circular motions like you’re

stirring a pot.)

I've changed a few of the rules just a little bit to match up with my classroom rules. We sing all through the year. If my kiddos are being really noisy, I might say "Do you remember our rule about tall voices?" and it usually inspires the class to immediately sing that verse of the Rules Rap-I love it!!!

Activity:

*Partner students or put in small groups to have them come up with a good rule for our classroom.

*Record ideas on chart paper or Smart Board.

*Rap the rules that the students came up with. (or at least attempt to!!!) The kiddos love this part even if its not quite as smooth as the verses from Dr. Jean!

*Each student completes the writing reproducible below-"My Rule!" (Click HERE if you would like this freebie!)

*Make a classbook with the rules.

Ok, so there's my favorite Back-to-School idea for my kiddos. Now, a Back-to-School activity to help organize all those supplies without going CrAzY!!! I used to hate sorting school supplies but now I LOVE IT! It's no longer my job-it's the kiddos job! I created some really cute supply labels and put them on crates. Then I call a few students at a time to sort their supplies into the appropriate place-(they love having a job to do right away). Ta Da!!! Supplies are organized!!!!

Oh ya!!! You guessed it-Here is your Back-to-School FREEBIE!!!!

There are 22 labels in this set for sorting all of your back-to-school supplies! Happy sorting!!!

A Back-to-School Giveaway EVERYONE can Win!

Hey teachin' friends! I'm hosting a giveaway that you just can't beat... Sorry! Contest ended August 1st! Wish I could keep making these but it's time for me to get ready for back to school. Check my blog for lots of other freebies!) I just finished making up these cute back-to-school nameplates and postcard/ poster! I also remade my Goody Bag note that I give to each of my students at Back-to-School night. I wanted something that kinda matched up with my new door canopy/jungle theme, so check it out!!!! I am soooo lovin' the zebra print-can't get enough!!!

This one is the postcard that I will be mailing to my students and I also made it in a larger size for a poster at my door. I will personalize it with your name and grade!

What kiddo wouldn't feel like the king or queen of the jungle with these nameplates on their desk!?!

I fill a colored paper lunch sack with "goodies" from this poem and have it waiting for my students when they come in the room at Back-to-School night. They LOVE it! {who doesn't love a freebie!?!}

Anyway, back to the details of this giveaway...it's really simple, just do these 3 things and YOU ARE A WINNER!!!

1. Become a follower of my blog (if you aren't already).
2. Give a quick mention of this giveaway on your blog (be sure to include a link back my blog).
3. Come back to my blog and leave a comment below telling me you've done both those things and (here's an important part)...tell me what name and grade you would like me to personalize your poster/postcard with and leave your email for me to send you your personalized files.

That's it!!! Pretty simple huh? But you have to hurry cuz I will be offering this giveaway from now only until August 1, 2011. (That's when I can get back into my classroom-sooOOO excited!) So, tell your friends-let's see how many winners we can get in a week!

READY, SET, GO!!!!!!

Here's how I made it...My Wild {and So Fun} Canopy Tutorial!

I know many of you asked how exactly I made this. And here is the little problem...I'm not a "follow the directions" kinda girl! But I do take lots of pictures of things so I gave the tutorial thing a whirl! Check it out and see what you think. Just give me a shout out if you don't understand something. These directions turned out to be 5 pages long (DON'T let that scare you-its mostly pictures!) Anyway, since it would be a r-e-a-l-l-y long blog, I just put a link to the tutorial. Click here for "My Wild {and So Fun} Canopy" tutorial.

Good luck! And don't forget to send me pics of your incredibly cute canopy when you're finished!

Just posted my "Build-A-Word Workshop" literacy center!

Hey! Just a quick lil post before I head off to bed...This is a super cute, ready-to-go word work center. I'm gonna dig out my hard hats for the kiddos to wear while they are working at this center! I think that will be F.U.N!!! This center is ready to go...just print, laminate & you're set! I use plastic letter tiles with it but you could also use magnetic letters or small letter cards. There are 15 high-frequency word cards PLUS a blank set of word cards so you can add your own words to this center. There is also a reproducible sheet for the students to write the words that they build. Click here to check it out at my lil shop at Teachers Notebook or at Teachers Pay Teachers! It's a real bargin!!!

My WILD {& So Fun} CaNoPY is Finished...Check It Out!!!

I am soooo excited to have finally finished the canopy for my classroom door! I've been working on this little {well I thought it was going to be a little project}for about a week. Since my theme is jungle this year, I made the canopy out of zebra-print and was going to try to trim it with that grass skirt stuff UNTIL...I read Babbling Abby's post on Sunday. She made the absolute cutest banner I've ever seen!!! That's when I got the idea to trim my canopy with a banner. So, on Monday guess what I did...YEP! I made another trip to Wal-Mart AND Hobby Lobby AND the Teacher Store AND Target!!! Whew! I was kid-free that day so I took advantage of it. Don't get me wrong-love my kiddos but...my 7 year-old son transforms into some type of uncaged wild animal when he walks through the door of Hobby Lobby!!! YIKES!!! Anyway, check out the goodies that I found! Oh Ya!!!

Ok, so I finally finished up this canopy and it turned out soooo gosh diggity wild & cute!!!!

Thanks so much Abby for inspiring the finishing touch on this project!!! Be sure to check out her awesome blog-The Inspired Apple. Don't look too close cuz I just grabbed a couple of clips and clipped it to my curtains to see how it looked. Well, here it is...

I'm sure it will be much cuter on my classroom door than it is on my living room window!!! {My son walked in and said, "I love our new curtains Mom!!!" Oh, to be 7!!!} I can't wait to take it to my classroom!!! {10 more days til I can work in my room-that floor waxin' thing is going on now.} I'll be sure to post more pics when I get it all set up with my jungle vines, palm tree, monkeys and a pink flamino!

My next project...those Adorable lil Crate Stools! Have you seen those?

What are you in LoVe with? Linky Party

Jennifer over at First Grade Blue Skies is hosting a "What are you in love with?" Linky Party! What a great way to see lots of really cool stuff all in one spot-great idea girl! Be sure to check it out!

Well, I have become addicted to fun animal print. I'm doing a "Wild About Learning" jungle theme this year so everywhere I look I see ZEBRA print!!! I found this cute pattern about a month ago when I made a quick stop at the teacher store (I know! I know! What the heck was I doing in the teacher store just a couple weeks AFTER school got out???? lol) Anyway, here it is.... COLORFUL LEOPARD by Frog Street Press. I think I bought EVERY coodinating piece they sold!!! Love it!

I also really love Lettering Delights! It has some really cool fonts-{WARNING: the font thing can get a little addicting!!!}

Speaking of "Adorable Animal Print," I am almost finished with my newest classroom project: a jungle-theme canopy for my doorway. I will be posting the pics very soon {it is turning out soooo darn CUTE!!} Time to get back to my project!

Hip, Hip, Hippo-Ray FREEBIE!

I love the zoo! Visit the St. Louis Zoo if you ever get the chance-it is soooo cool! My friend and I ventured out yesterday morning with our kiddos for an 8 hour visit at the zoo. Yep! I said 8 HOURS at the zoo with 4 kids...Whew! We were lucky enough to have free passes for absolutely everything so we decided to take advantage of it. (Thanks Dad! We love ya!) Feeding the stingrays was the cOoLeSt thing ever! 

 I was sure to take lots of pics and check this out...I'm already finding a good way to use one of them for a back-to-school activity!

This lil back-to-school writing activity was inspired by our zoo trip (and it goes great with my jungle theme!) If you'd like this FREEBIE, just click here: Hip Hip Hippo-Ray for Summer!

Be sure to follow my blog so you don't miss any FREEBIES! Hip Hip Hippo-Ray for FREEBIES!!!

Don't forget to leave me a comment! Love that "Chit-Chat"! :)

Blog Mixer Linky Party!

Denise at Yearn to Learn is hosting a Blog Mixer Linky party! So...I thought I'd join the party! Everybody loves a good party-right!?! Right! :)

Here are the rules:

1.  A blogger who is a "New Kid on the Blog"
(Let's say someone who has blogged 2 months or less and has less than 200 followers)

2.  Post a blogger in your same grade level

3.  Post a blogger in a different grade level

4.  It's all about the button. Find a cute blog button and post it.

Here I gooooooooo... 


1. New Kid on the Block goes to Funky in First.

2. Same Grade Blogger  goes to Mrs. Berg at First Grade School Box. I’m really excited to have found her blog! 

3. Different Grade Blogger goes to Kindergarten Crayons. She has oodles of super  ideas and freebies. LOVE IT!!!

4. So Stinkin’Cute Button goes to Teaching Blog Addict. Dr. Seuss is just irresistible! (And I am addicted to Thistlegirl!)

There were sooooooo many more blogs that I could list here-I just love this bloggin' thing!!!!

WILD ABOUT SCHOOL! Jungle unit just posted! plus a FREEBIE!

Woo Hoo!!! All of this computer organization stuff is acually coming together! You know how it is during the school year...trying to be organized but just can't quite seem to get there. Well, I'm feelin' pretty darn good about finding most of my jungle unit stuff-yeah! I just posted my WILD ABOUT SCHOOL unit on my store at Teachers Pay Teachers and also on my new lil shop on Teachers Notebook. If you haven't visited Teachers Notebook, you need to check it out. It's similar to Teachers Pay Teachers and...they have FREEBIES too! Gotta love those FREEBIES!!!  Our school-wide theme is "Wild About Learning" this year and I'll using these activities right away in August. So, I'm sure I'll be creating some more activities to add to it. (Can't help it...I'm addicted to all that stinkin' cute clipart!) If you purchase this unit, please give me a shout out and I'll email you any additions that I come up with.

And speaking of FREEBIES...here is a FREEBIE from the Wild About School unit! Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!!

Click HERE for your Sentence Scrambler FREEBIE!!!

Happy Summer!

Funny Quotes about Teaching!!!

Well, it's another HOT day (110 degree + heat index!!!) Whew! Now that's hot! So...I went back to my computer for a little more organizing and ran across these funny little Jeff Foxworthy-type sayings online that literally made me laugh out loud. Need a little giggle this morning-check it out!

You know your a teacher when...

1. You want to slap the next person who says "Must be nice to work 8 to 3:20 and have summers free."
2. You can tell if it's a full moon without ever looking outside.
3. When out in public you feel the urge to snap your fingers at children you don't know and correct their behavior.
4. You get a secret thrill out of laminating something.
5. You love decorating ... a classroom, not your home.
6. Your classroom is decorated nicer than your home.
7. You've trained yourself to go to the toilet at two distinct times of the day: lunch and prep period.
8. You believe the teachers' lounge should be equipped with a margarita machine.
9. You have a frequent shopper card at the local "teacher store".
10. You've mastered "the glare".

Hope that put a smile on your face! I've also found another "hidden" file on my computer-so that means I will be posting another FREEBIE soon!

Classroom Rules with Officer Buckle FREEBIE!!!

Yes! It's a FREEBIE! I've uploaded some of my back-to-school/classroom rules activities. These hot summer days are forcing me to spend a little more time inside so...I decided to start organizing some of the stuff that had been so quickly saved on my computer during the past school year. (I hate it when I can't remember where I have saved something!) During all this "technical organizing" I will be posting more of my activities and units so check back often. The first things that I ran across were activities that I use with Officer Buckle and Gloria,  (by Peggy Rathmann), at back-to-school time. The kiddos love this silly story and it's a super fun way to introduce classroom rules. There are 7 pages in this download. One page is a copy of a venn diagram, which I also like to put up on the SmartBoard. I have this in a Smart Notebook file if you are interested-just email me and I will share it with you!

Click here to get your FREEBIE!!!

Color Word Fun Unit Posted!

Happy summer everyone! My summer can now officially begin since summer school is over! Yeah!!! I am really excited to have my "Color Word Fun" mini-unit posted on Teachers Pay Teachers. I always start right away at the beginning of first grade with color word activities so...I decided to put some of these things together in a mini-unit. This packet has a fun word work page for each color, several different math activities and a reproducible mini-book. Let me know what you think! Hooray for summer!!! Click here to take a look at "Color Word Fun".