Summer! Where are yoooouuu??? (FREEBIE here...)

Hiya Peeps! Kerri here...

I have 5 weeks of school left. Five. Long. Weeks. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kidlets and I am going to be super sad to see them go, but man, I am TIRED already! And, we are in the midst of Open House preparations, which is making me lose clumps of hair on a daily basis! I know, I know...It's my own fault. I do this to myself EVERY year, and in the end, I am always so proud of the hard work my kids put in, but the process can definitely be stressful sometimes. Anyone with me?

So, I hear that some of you are already out, or close to being finished for the year. W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R. (Can you hear how jealous I am??) We still have 5 weeks. Oh wait, I already said that. Yup, 5 weeks! Sigh...

Today, in order to psyche myself up for this last long push, I will be cutting out miles and miles of lamination from my newest creation...(cue Grease soundtrack!) Summer Lovin! (had me a blast....) Math and Literacy Centers. These babies are sure to get my kidlets in the mood for their Summer Vacay, whilst keeping them engaged and learning until the very last week of school. Here are some closer looks at all the centers included in this pack (10 in all!)....

I have a little At the Beach Summery FREEBIE for y'all, to help your kids work on sequencing events. All they do is cut out the At the Beach story strips and glue them in the correct order, and then illustrate each sentence. Easy Peasy fun for your kidlets! Click the picture below to access via google docs...

Have a wonderful week, friends!
XOXO Kerri B

Scientifical notebooks!!

Hiya Peeps! Kerri here...

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day weekend! I TOTALLY did, cause A-my family spoiled me, B-I got to spend time with my mommy, and C-it was the Survivor finale (the hubs and I are die hard fans!). I was soooo happy that my little Harvard nerd Cochran won! Awesome sauce (as the teenagers say)...

I wanted to share a little bit of how I do science in my classroom. I use a notebook. More specifically, a spiral notebook that costs me 10 cents in the summer at Target. Everything we do for science gets written inside it, or glued inside it if we are doing some sort of worksheet. Here are some examples (with some shout-outs to my Peeps!)...

In October we learned all about owls, so we made an Owl Circle map in our notebooks...

We also made Deanna's Owls Tree Map and glued it in...

Followed by a double Bubble Map comparing owls and bats...

When we learned about Solids, Liquids, and Gases, we wrote in a table in our notebooks...

We also sequences the steps when we did our Solid-Liquid-Gas experiment...

 In December, we learned about the moon, using Cara's Moon unit, and since the pages wouldn't fit, we folded them in half and glued them in...

In January, we learned all about Penguins, using Deanna's Penguin unit...

Then, in April for Earth Day, we made a tree map showing how we love the Earth and glued it in...

Now, for our Rainforest Unit, we drew the layers and labeled them...

 Because our Rainforest Unit is such a big deal, it gets it's own book, and all of our tree maps, bubble maps, diagrams, and Facts writing paper are inside. When we learn about a new animal, the kids find that section and we get to writing! 

My kiddos LOVE looking through their Science notebooks. They feel sooo big and fancy! AND, it helps me stay organized, plus the parents can see how scientific we are!

Well, that's my science notebook is a nutshell. Hope you found something you might be able to use next year, when you teach science!
XOXO Kerri B

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday, Peeps!! Kerri here...

Per my usual Friday routine, I am linking up with Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky! I just love Fridays!

Number 1: Mother's Day plates! We busted a move on these bad boys this week and they came out FABULOUS!! On Monday, I needed some time to mod podge their pictures to the bottom of the plate, so my M&M math packet came in quite handy for a good 40 minutes while I worked magic with the mod podge! Candy+ Math=HEAVEN!

Then, the next day I solicited the help of 3 very cute helpful dads to come and help the kids finish up their projects, and it was AMAZING!! Normally, I am a sweaty, crabby mess while we make our Mother's Day plates (probably cause I'm so anal when it comes to art!), but with 3 cute helpful dads, I was able to put on my Harry Potter soundtrack (yes, I'm a geek. So sue me...), take pictures, and be a source of light and happiness. It was GLORIOUS!

Fabulous plates and one of my helpful dads!

Second up...

Do I really need to say anymore? I mean, DAMN! This was seriously the most amazing thing I have ever eaten. Teacher Appreciation Week was so wonderful on so many levels, and this made it over the top!!

Third... juicy juicy writing about the rainforest!

I love first graders during this time of the year, when they're all independent and stuff, writing up a storm. Then they leave me, and I have to start ALL.OVER.AGAIN. Sigh...

Fourth...American Symbols Oral Reports. My kidlets gave their American Symbols reports today and THEY ROCKED those reports' faces off! Like, for reals!! And yes, I did wear this vintage American Flag dress for the special occasion...

This pic is from 4th of July 2010, but I've had this dress since I was 20!

Here are some pics of their projects and their reports...

I think these 3 liked the flag cake a little TOO much!!

Finally, I leave you with this, and I hope you'll all take the 3 minutes to watch it, because I think it is so powerful. I am attending a Women's conference at my church this weekend, and they showed us this video, which I had never seen. This Mother's Day weekend, I hope we can all see ourselves as beautiful, like our own children and students see us...

Thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and love to our little blog for the past 2 years. We love our Teacher Bits and Bobbers!!
XOXO Kerri B

Teacher Appreciation SALE, baby!!

Good morning, Peeps!! Kerri and Lindsay here...

Thank you Ashley Hughes for the adorable button!!

Good news, friends! TPT is throwing another one of it's HUMONGOUS sales again this TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY and Lindsay and I can't wait to shop until we drop! I am super excited to buy some new centers and clip art for my classroom next year. 
We will both be having our stores discounted 20% off, which, combined with TPT's 10% off, will make everything on a SUPER 28% Off SALE!! I LOVE me some bargains!!

Here are some goodies from Kerri's store you might be interested in, to finish this year off, AND prepare you for next school year...

My latest Summer Lovin' Math and Literacy Centers Pack!

 Re-live the glory of the Summer Olympics with these Math and Literacy Centers...

Looking for an Open House theme? Check out my Rainforest Art and Writing Unit and Rainforest Centers...

Stock up on all sorts of Writing Centers to last you the whole year through...

My Writing Centers Bundles will be SUPER cheap during the sale!!

Get ready for next school year with lots of different learning packs!

Teach your kidlets about the 6 Pillars of Character...

WOW!! That was just a small snapshot of the 110 products that I have in my store. I hope you can find something that your kiddos will enjoy during the SUPER SALE! Happy Shopping!

In addition to all of the goodies in Kerri's TPT store, here are some things you might want to check out from Lindsay as well:

Check out my Fun At the Zoo pack.

Or how about a little ocean fun with I Wanna Be Under The Sea {Math & Literacy Centers}:

Get a head start on next year's math planning with my Nifty Numbers pack:

One of my favorites!  Poetry from A to Z {Songs & Rhymes for Learning}:

Blast off with learning - get your There's No Place Like Space {Math & Literacy Centers}:

A writer's workshop tool for your blossoming writers - Wee Ready Writers Kit:

Thanks for taking the time to check out some of the goodies from our TPT stores!  We are SUPER excited to do a little shopping for ourselves as well!

Hope y'all have a great week! 

Lindsay & Kerri

Summer Lovin'!!

Good morning, blogging friends!! Kerri here...

I have finally finished my Summer Lovin' Math and Literacy Centers, which are sure to keep your kidlets engaged in learning these last few weeks of school, or all the way through Summer School! We have 7 more weeks. How many for you??

This pack includes centers on EVERYTHING Summer, such as surfing, going to the beach, having a pool party, going on vacation, going camping, and having a BBQ. Lots of Summery goodness! Here's a closer look...

And, of course, here's a little description of each center...

I also have a Summer Words Writing Pack available to keep your kiddos writing until the end of the year, or even through Summer School!

Alright, my friends!! Thanks for listening to my Summer Centers informercial! Have a wonderful Saturday!!
XOXO Kerri B