Teacher Bits and Bobs

Dr. Seuss Graph Freebie and TPT Store Opening!

2012-02-23T22:46:00.000-08:00

Hey there my bloggerific peeps! Lindsay here . . .

As Kerri mentioned earlier, our district gets this WHOLE week off from school. Sounds nice, right? Well, I have come to discover that that are quite a few things that can take the joy right out of a week off from work . . . like getting sick perhaps. Or a teething baby. Or maybe a funeral. Or online traffic school. Ooooh, or if you are REALLY lucky like me, maybe you will get all that in one week. Don't be jealous people. Don't be jealous. ;)

Okay, I really didn't get on here to tell you about my pathetically non-relaxing vacation week. I DID come here to tell you that I love Dr. Seuss. Like SO much. In fact, this week I have planning and preparing for Read Across America and Dr. Seuss's birthday next week, and I kept coming across these GREAT quotes from all of his books that I just had to share . . . So, may I present the Top 11 Dr. Seuss Quotes of ALL TIME!! (There were just too many to only do a Top 10.)

Drumroll please . . .

11. And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

10. I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elepahnt's faithful, one hundred percent.

9. From there to here, from here to there. Funny things are everywhere.

8. A person's a person, no matter how small.

7. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

6. Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

5. You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so . . . get on your way!

4. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

3. Today you are you. That is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.

2. The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go!

1. Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the think you can think up if only you try!

Yep, he was a pretty amazing guy. I plan to celebrate him all next week with my kidlets with some fun activities, centers, etc. AND most of all by enjoying as many of his books as we can possibly squeeze into one week!

At the end of the week, we will be tallying up our class's favorite Dr. Seuss book. I have posted a Dr. Seuss Graph freebie for you to download at Teachers Pay Teachers. (Click the image below to access this freebie.)

Be sure to keep your eyes open . . . there will be more to come soon in my brand-new TPT store!

Well, I am off to bed, seeing as how I will be up at 5:00 a.m. with my precious little teething munchkin. Tootles!

Lindsay

March Words Posted!

2012-02-22T17:17:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! Happy Wednesday! Kerri here...
We saw the movie "We Bought a Zoo" today and it was SO darn sweet! I loved it! Anyone else seen it?
I'm gonna keep it SUPER short, because we are about to go and check out the BRAND NEW Fresh and Easy that just opened up TODAY on our neighborhood! I'm so excited! Have you ever been to a Fresh and Easy?? They are totally cool, and their food products have NO partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup in them, which is AMAZING!

I just finished and posted my March Words Writing Pack, just in time for March, which is (gulp) NEXT WEEK!! I'm freaking out just a little bit! Where did February go, man?? I am one month older to turning 28 (plus 10...sssshhhh)! I better get cracking on these so they'll be ready for my chitlins next week when I go back to work (sniffle sniffle)!
Here's a sneak peek...

Here's what you get... 6 activities~(the numbers are all WONKY...just ignore them!)

1. Words Mat/Book Cover/Lined Paper-

Make several copies of the March Words on cardstock and laminate for durability. Copy writing paper back to back ( I use 6 pages per book and this lasts the whole month) and fold in half to make a little book, with the cover on the front. I copy the cover on colored paper to make it more festive! :)

Use this writing activity in your writing center for the whole month and allow the kids to write describing sentences about each March word, one word per page.

March Words ABC Order-

Cut apart laminated March Words mats to make individual cards. Students choose 5 words, place in ABC order, and illustrate!

3. St. Patrick’s Day, Dr. Seuss, and Weather Writing Paper-

Use individual cut up March Word cards. Students choose 2-3 cards and write a story using lots of describing words, and then illustrate their story in the box.

4. March Making Words-

Students choose a picture from the March Words Mat, write it in the box, and illustrate it. Next, they find the letters to spell the word. (Letters included in packet-copy and laminate as many sets as you need for students to use). Students will make as many words as they can using the letters from the March word that they chose and write in the boxes.

March Words “Describe Me!”

Students will choose a card and write down a list of as many words as they can think of to describe it. Then, they will use those words and write “I have... or I am...” sentences, such as “I am green and orange.” on the back of the Describe Me! worksheet and illustrate the word they chose in the box provided.

6. March Words Match-Ups-

Students will match up each Cut-up March word card to the laminated sentence card that describes it. After matching, students will choose 5 pictures, write the corresponding sentence on the lines, and illustrate the pictures on the back.

You can click on the sneak peek pic to head on over to my store! Thanks, my friends!

P.S. Is anyone else SO SUPER SAD that next week is Parenthood's season finale? WTH?? In FEBRUARY?? I have to wait 7 months to see a new episode?? That is just plain RIDONKULOUS!

Tale of the Tattoo...Part Deux!

2012-02-20T09:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, Peeps! Kerri here...
If you notice, it is 9:09 a.m. and I am HOME, NOT at school since we get the WHOLE WEEK OFF!! Aahhh, how glorious it feels! Here is a little pic of my newly completed family tattoo, and I heart it!

I am officially Brent's girl now, there's no turning back!! HA!

That's all I got! We're off to the dentist (praying for no cavities) and then Target, laundry, and more Harry Potter lego madness with my little Katie Bug. She is WAY into it!

Have a great day, friends!!

Happy Sunday!

2012-02-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps! Kerri here...
Happy Sunday! I just have 3 quick things before I have to head off for church!

1. Saw Moneyball last night, and I REALLY liked it! I'm not just saying that because Brad Pitt is in it, although that is always a good thing :) I don't even understand or like baseball, and I was totally fascinated! Didn't even fall asleep on the couch, which is HUGE for me!!

2. I am getting my hubs and my initials on my tattoo today! SOO excited!! Pictures to follow...

3. I just uploaded 5 more writing centers to TPT, and I PROMISE this will be it for the Writing Centers for a while. I am completely OUT of ideas, and I need to focus on my Katie Bug's 9th birthday, which is this week. Soup Plantation with 10 little girls, here we come!

Here are the newbies for you to check out. Maybe something will strike your fancy?? You can click on Jack and the Beanstalk to go to my TPT store...

I ABSOLUTELY love and ADORE Kirsten from KPM Doodles! She has the raddest blog EVER! Check it out and buy some of her clip art. It is so so cute and whimsical!

P.S. I also got rid of that annoying word verification thing on my comment box. Thanks Kristin (Teeny Tiny Teacher) for reminding me to ditch it! I just know now the comments will flow in, like hers do! :)

Hope you have a relaxing and blessed Sunday!!

Lincoln Art, 100 year old writing, and Writing Centers laminated!

2012-02-17T16:50:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! Kerri here...
I SURVIVED!! Our black and white report day was TOTALLY WICKED! I love every minute of it...Here's a little sneak peek! You can pick up your copy of the report and parent letter here...

We also made our Lincoln Art this week, and wrote about old Honest Abe...since I was feeling lazy and didn't feel like cutting all the pieces for him, we direct-drew him, and glued him on red paper-Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy and so darn adorable!!

Um, is this a Jack Skellington Lincoln?? And, he died at the movies? Really?? Too funny!

He had a long hat-so cute!

We also drew ourselves as 100 years-old and wrote about what our lives would be like. You HAVE GOT to check these out...

Denters (dentures) HA!

I will read Harry Potter? He's just kissing up to me! :)

I will have pennis. WHAT THE??? It should be "I will have pennies" Dangit! I missed that spell check!

Finally, I laminated and pretty-fied all of my new writing centers! They are all shiny and sparkly!

Zoo Animals, Garden, and Farm Friends

Prehistoric Pals, Forest Friends, and Ocean

America, Alice in Wonderland, Cat in the Hat!

Weather, STAR WARS, Space!

Winter Games, Arctic Life, and Classroom Critters

Fairy Tales (FREEBIE) and Pirates!!

You can get any of the these writing centers by visiting my TPT store! Click here...

And, don't forget to get your Once Upon a Time Writing Center by clicking on the picture below!

More to come, including Goldilocks and Jack and the Beanstalk. But now, off I go to dinner, my daughter's talent show, and then it's the couch for me!! Toodles, Peeps!

100th Day Wrap-Up and a Presidents Day Freebie!

2012-02-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday folks! Lindsay here . . .

Well, as Kerri mentioned, today we had our wet and rainy 100th Day of School! That's right. Nothing says fun like torrential downpour and fruit loop necklaces, right? :)

I just had to share picture of some of our cute projects (more pictures to come later, I promise!).

First, we made our 100 year old selves for art and wrote all about what it will be like to be 100 years old!

I love what the bearded gentleman on the left wrote: "I will sleep as long as I want. I will buy a dog and call him Jingle." Priorities people . . . priorities. If you want to enjoy your golden years, you most DEFINATELY need a dog named Jingle!

My favorite of our 100 year old art were the little old ladies with their hair in white buns . . . AND this particularly cross looking 100 year old man. Isn't he hilarious?!

Then of course we made necklaces, decorated crowns, wrote about what we would do with $100, created gumball machines with 100 gumballs, glued our 100 items brought from home, and made trail mix. Phew!!! We were busy little bees today - and my kids got everything done and said it was the best day ever! (Cue warm, fuzzy feeling in my heart!)

Here are my kidlets counting 10 groups of 10 fruit loops for their necklaces.

Writing their "I Wish I Had 100" poems.

Well now that all that ~~madness~~ fun is over, there is still more to do with Presidents Day! I created this little Venn Diagram freebie to do with my kidlets now that we have learned about both Lincoln and Washington. They were already making so many great text-to-text connections between the books we had read about both men. I can't wait to stretch their little brains a bit more and really make them think of more similarities and differences between the two.

Click on the image below to link up with the document.

But the BEST moment of all during our mini-lesson on George Washington came as I was asking some questions at the end of the read-aloud . . .

Me (to students): Now do any of you think you know why they nicknamed Washington "The Father of Our Country?"

Student: Because he looks like my grandpa.

Classic.

Anyhow, enjoy the freebie, and hope you all have a great Presidents' Day holiday. Our district gets a whole week off . . .not to rub it in or anything! ;)

Happy teaching!

Lindsay

Writing Center FREEBIE!! and 100th Day madness!

2012-02-15T16:58:00.000-08:00

Happy 100th Day, Friends! (well, 100th day for us, anywayz...) Kerri here...
Today was our 100th day of school, YES, the next day AFTER Valentine's Day. YES! I am BEYOND exhausted, but we still have 2 WHOLE days of school left before our ski week break. OH yeah, AND it was raining today, but at the end of the day, so I guess it really doesn't count. Maybe I am just looking for some sympathy?? :)

Here are some pics of our 100th day. WE LOVED LOVED LOVED Deanna Jump's fab idea to have the kidlets dress like they were 100 years old. Here are a few of my faves...

We had SO MUCH DARN FUN today!! Onward and upward to Friday's black and white reports, after which time I will collapse in a heap from exhaustion. My Friday night will consist of PJ's, couch, warm blankie, and GOLD RUSH on the Discovery Channel. Mmmm, I can't wait!

A BIG OLE thank you to those of you who have purchased my little writing centers!! Since I made the Star Wars one with the boys in mind, here is a little FREEBIE for the girls!!

Introducing, Once Upon a Time Writing Center!! TADA!

This clip art is some of my favorite from DJ Inkers. I just love love love it!! I hope your kiddos will enjoy using this little writing center. Click on the picture above to download it, and if there are any other themes you are interested in for writing centers, let me know and I'll whip them on up for you!
XOXO Kerri

Alice and Cat in the Hat up and Running!!

2012-02-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps! Kerri here...
I just uploaded a couple more writing centers tonight...Alice in Wonderland AND Cat in the Hat!
Here they are... along with all the others!

Two more tomorrow...Goldilocks and Jack and the Beanstalk, PLUS a FREEBIE you won't want to miss on Wednesday!! My TPT sale goes through tomorrow night, and all of these writing centers are only $1.60 right now! WHAT the WHAT?? Click on the Alice in Wonderland! Writing Center to head on over to my store...gotta go! SMASH is on!

FEEL THE FORCE, ladies!!

2012-02-12T16:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday Kerri here...
I found a way to excite my boys about writing!! Holy Cannoli, check this out...

Yes, you are not mistaken! When I saw this clip art on Scrappin' Doodles, I about fainted! Did you know that I am a huge fan of the ORIGINAL (notice I said original, not NEW) Star Wars movies?? I was this little lady for Halloween when I was 6 (circa 1980-the year Empire Strikes Back came out)...

I had the full set-up, buns and all. For all of you young-uns out there, the last 3 Star Wars movies PALE in comparison. Don't even get me started on Jar-Jar Binks, or whatever you call him. I suggest you rent the first 3, have a movie marathon with your hubs, put this writing center into your Literacy Stations, and watch your boys go BANANAS!!!

I also uploaded some other newbies to my TPT store, including this...

and this...

plus all these....

All on S.A.L.E. now through Valentine's Day!! Soon to come...Dr. Seuss, Going Buggy, Zoo Animals, Goldilocks and the 3 Bears, Alice in Wonderland, and Jack and the Beanstalk! I am melting over the cuteness of it all, and I CANNOT wait to put these in my writing center and watch my kidlets GO. TO. TOWN! Click on my friend Princess Leia to go to my TPT store :)

Off to Tar-jay for my weekly fix! I wonder what wonders the Dollar Spot will have in store today??
Kerri XOXO

I Heart You! TPT Sale... and some new goodies posted!!

2012-02-11T16:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Saturday, Friends!! Kerri here...
Thank you all for your kind words after my last "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day" post! Things were MUCH better on Friday, for myself AND my kiddos. Of course, it DID help that we had Flag Deck, Talent Show Performance, Library, Computer Lab, Fun Friday, AND P.E. (Did I teach at all on Friday?? A little bit, I think!) This week is bound to be BANANAS, what with V-Day, our 100th day, and our Black and White Report day on Friday. However, I will be following this C.R.A.Z.Y. week with a WHOLE WEEK OFF!! YIPPEE!! We call it ski week, but I WILL NOT be skiing. I will be sleeping, blog stalking, watching my stories, and celebrating my baby girl's 9th birthday!! Sooo excited!

In honor of the upcoming festivities, I will be throwing a 20% off sale from now until Valentine's Day!! I just uploaded a WHOLE BUNCH of new themed writing centers for only $2...but right now only $1.60! What a CRAZY bargain, right?? Check them out...

Aren't they such Cutey McCuteness?? If you have bought any of my Monthly Writing packs, you will see they are similar to those but a smaller version, and include the writing mat, writing paper, and materials to make little writing books, if you want to use the mats for an extended period, such as when you are teaching Dinosaurs, perhaps?? :)

This little diddy is also on sale right now...

Click on the pictures above to mg to my TPT store...and Thank You in advance for all of your support and encouragement!

I'm off to Date Night with the Hubs!! Marios by the Sea-Dana Point here I come! XOXO

Love Monsters FREEBIE!!

2012-02-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

Hiya Peeps! Kerri here...
Do you ever have one of those days where you feel like you're in the TWILIGHT ZONE?? Like today, for example, my kids lost their minds. Plain and simple. Lost their ever loving minds! Rules that they have been following since Day 1 (well, maybe Day 5) went totally out the window. I felt like I just kept repeating "When is that EVER okay??" all day long!
I declare, combine an upcoming holiday, plus the upcoming 100th day of school, plus a whole week's vacation after that, and first graders LOSE IT!

I have to admit, I might have had to become Viola Swamp today. Just a little bit. As I was guiding them through how to write about all of the people they love in their lives with a furrowed brow and "angry eyes"-yeesh!! This is definitely going to cause me to eat chocolate tonight, I guarantee you. Probably chocolate chip cookies, with double the chips...

We DID manage to make our Love Monster Art today, which was inspired by Miss Rachelle over at What the Teacher Wants (Did you know she's one of my favoritos??) Click here for her post.

Last year, when I was a newbie to the whole blogging scene, I saw her post and about died right there from the cuteness of it all. Our Love Monsters came our pretty cute too!!

OMG-HOW embarassing! My bony foot made it into this shot-how gross!!

Our Love Monster writing...

At least none of my kids wrote "I love my teacher even though she is so strict today!" HAHA!!

Here are the dimensions for our Love Monsters:

black background-9 by 12
pink body-9 by 9
antennae- 2 turquoise 1 inch by 5 inches
red feet-4 by 3 folded in half so they can cut once and get 2 identical feet
blue mouth-2 by 3
white teeth- 1 by 2
black eyeballs-1 by 2 folded in half for the same reason as the feet

Heart eyes and tops of antennae are foamy hearts from Michaels. I have a bunch out and they can choose. I especially love the cut out hearts because they look like glasses!! :)

Click here for the paper, courtesy of DJ Inkers clip art...

We also worked on this little center this week. Check it out... Heartbreaker Long Vowel Word Family Sort!

My kiddos were VERY successful completing this center, and had a BALL thinking of ways to use the words to write rhyming sentences of the back of their recording paper. I was shocked at their creativity!!
You can snag a copy of this little Valentiney Center just in time for V-Week, for only $2-HOLLA!!
Click below to head on over to TPT!

Happy Thursday, friends! TGIalmostF, for real!!

Candy Heart Math and Happy Anniversary to Us!

2012-02-08T20:26:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! Lindsay here . . .

Yeesh. Next week is a busy one. 100th Day. Valentine's Day. President's Week Kindergarten performance. Need I go on? There is just TOO MUCH fun stuff that I want to do with my kidlets for the month of February and it seems like there are just not enough hours in the day to squeeze in all of the fun!

Last week I did Deanna Jump's Candy Heart Probability activity and it was SO fun. The kids were so funny when they kept drawing the same color over and over from their bag! Then they had such great reflections as to why that happened once they examined the contents of their bag. I highly recommend you try it!

Another fun candy heart activity I do every year in centers around Valentine's Day is our Candy Heart Graph. I am giving you this FREEBIE for you to enjoy! You can laminate the colored sorting mat, and then have your kids count each color, graph each color, and then practice their addition! Math + candy = Good times!!

(Click on the heart to download)

One more thing . . .

Have any of you every forgotten an anniversary? I am USUALLY really, really good with remembering important dates, birthdays, etc., but last month one got away from me. Last month was mine and Kerri's 6th anniversary. Sigh . . . Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday that I was her lowly student teacher who she was ordering around and sending to get her coffee all the time. Wait a minute, that was last week! (Just kidding!)

Anyway, yay for the Dynamic Duo of Bordelon-Messner! Even though we are fiercely competitive when it comes to the cuteness of our classroom art projects, and even though I sometimes drive her crazy with my fear of change and she drives me crazy with her Scotch tape obsession . . . and even though she was often WAAAAAY too eager to "help" when one of my kinders earned the right to slime me each year after our Jogathon Fundraiser (umm . . . that poor kid didn't even get to hold the bucket!) . . .

. . . Kerri is the best and I truly am inspired by her on a daily basis for the amazing, creative teacher and wonderful mommy that she is every single day. You rock Mrs. B!!

Alright, alright . . . enough of all that mushy stuff. Hope you enjoy today's FREEBIE and have a very Happy Thursday tomorrow!

Lindsay

Holy Hedgehog!! And, a Patriotic FREEBIE!

2012-02-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! Kerri here...
I just had to share about what visited my classroom today!! Look at this little munchkin...

Meet Delilah, a 4 year old hedgehog!! I think I'm in love, friends! Seriously, this little critter was SO CUTE! And, my kids were so stoked because we read The Hat a couple weeks ago, so they TOTALLY got into it!! Well, except one little guy, who freaked out a bit (I think it was her prickles!) but, overall, WOW!! What a neat experience! Here is what they wrote about her...

"VARe quot"? Gotta love that phonetic spelling!! I especially heart his Hedgehog drawing!

I also just uploaded a little FREEBIE on TPT to go along with my "We Heart America! Math and Literacy Centers" just for all y'all to go and grab!!

My kiddos have been working on counting on and counting back on a hundreds chart, and some of them are just not quite getting it, especially the counting back part, so I made this center to help them practice. Maybe your kidlets could use the practice as well?? You can also use these cards to practice place value, if you have sets of cubes and rods in your class. DOUBLE BONUS, RIGHT?? :)

Click on the Capitol Building to go to my TPT store and grab your copy!!

Gotta go, Parenthood AND New Girl is calling my name!! Hope you like your freebie and you have a great Hump Day tomorrow~
Kerri

Cargo of Dreams...and a "Going Buggy" Vowel Sort!

2012-02-05T08:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday, friends! Kerri here...
Yesterday my family and I had the opportunity to help out at our church, painting a GINORMOUS shipping container that we are turning into a fully functioning classroom to send to India! We are working with an organization called "Cargo of Dreams", and the mural we were working on yesterday is AMAZING!! Check it out...

Isn't it RAD?? (My daughter Katie is walking through the middle by the painted schoolhouse!)
We are also going to be filling it up with backpacks filled with school supplies and reading books, and we are sending over a playground so the kids have something to play on, instead of just playing in the dirt with rocks, like they do now! Which made me think how INCREDIBLY blessed I am to teach in here, with a beautiful classroom, school supplies out the wazoo, textbooks at my disposal, and a clean campus with lots of places for the kids to play! I hope this portable classroom will bring some joy to the kids in India!

Lindsay and I had such a great date night at our Grant Dinner on Thursday night...Here we are, all gussied up!

Lindsay made this one all artsy fartsy with her fancy camera app!

And, of course we had to take a "sexy" shot.

I know, I know, we're looking pretty amazing, right?? :) HA!!

Finally, a Sunday freebie for y'all! I actually posted this freebie WAY back last April, when we had like 12 followers, so I thought I would post it again today, since many of us are working on differentiating short and long vowel words. Plus, is it FAIRLY adorable, and will work in February or March, or Aril for that matter, since it is a ladybug theme! Kiddos sort the long and short vowel bugs into their correct jars and record the words on the corresponding worksheet! (Clipart by DJ Inkers)...

Going Buggy Vowel Sort

Click here for the recording sheet... Going Buggy recording sheet

Hope your Sunday is relaxing and fun. Oh, and GO FOOTBALL!! I could care less, but I feel like I had to say something football related...While the hubs watches with his Dad, I'll be getting a pedicure! :)

Black and White, Baby! and a freebie or 2-TYPO FIXED!

2012-02-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Is this door not the cutest thing EVER?? I just had to share. An adorable mom, and fellow teacher in my district did it for me. I think I may just need to marry it, I love it so much! (Remember saying that when we were kids??)
Happy Thursday, Peeps! Kerri here...

Here is what we've been up to... Arctic Life Learning Centers!!

Arctic Life add 3

Arctic Life! Noun and Verb Sort

More Adding 3!

Arctic Life! Place Value

More Place Value!

This Unit is only $4 in my TPT store, and includes 3 Lit Centers and 3 Math Centers. Perfect for a week of learning with our friends at the Arctic and Antarctic!

**Please re-download the Black and White Letter to parents. I fixed the typo! :) see below...

Here come the freebies...How many of you like that song "Black and White" by Michael Jackson? I know I do, but then again I love all things Michael Jackson, well, the MJ before he made his face all freaky. Sorry, MJ. You were so darn cute before that! Well, these freebies have NOTHING to do with MJ or his songs, but they do have to do with all things black and white!

I am so excited because we will be having our firsties do an oral report on a black and white object the week of Valentine's Day and our 100th day. Crazy, you say?? WAY too much in one week? You may be right, but I say, LIVE LARGE and suffer the consequences later. As in, I will probably be comatose on the couch for the entire weekend after, but it will be WELL worth it!!

Back to the Black and Whites...You can do this great activity in your class too!! Print up the freebies and send them home. Your kiddos will research a black and white object: dice, oreos, zebras, black and white movies, what have you...you catch my drift, right?? and fill out the report form. Then, on a designated day, they present their report to the class. Here is the best part! Ask them to all wear black and white on Report Day, and your ENTIRE class will be ADORABLE!!! The first grade teachers at my old school did this every year, and I was always in awe of their CUTENESS on the day of their reports!
While each child reports, the rest of the class fills out a paper with their classmates' names and a picture or word showing what they are reporting on. This keeps the others engaged while they listen to their friends giving their reports! Then, they can take the paper home and IMPRESS their parents!! Pretty neato, huh?? (This is NOT my invention. I got it from my dear teacher friend, Kim, who I love and miss so much. I just re-wrote the report forms! You go, Mrs. Mac!!) You can click on the pictures below to get your own report forms. I hope you find time to this FABULOUS project with your kidlets!!

Letter to parents and classmate recording form

Black and White report paper

Well, I'm off!! Lindsay and I have a DATE NIGHT tonight!! (Well, plus my hubs too. He's the third wheel!) We both got grants from our District's Foundation and tonight there is a celebration dinner! I can't wait for some quality time with my girl, Linds!!

Thanks to those of you who have already purchased my newest unit, We Heart America!! I am excited to use this with my kids this month!!

More Magic Spoon Madness, 100th Day Art, and Thigh Rolls

2012-01-31T19:29:00.000-08:00

Happy last-day-of-January folks!

Were you as taken aback as I was today when all of the January calendar and things had to come down and February had to be put up? Yeeesh! I have said it EVERY month . . . but seriously, where did the time go?

Okay, first things first . . .I hope you all are loving your magic spoons as much as I am. Their golden-ness truly delights my kidlets every time. No really. EVERY time. And the look on their face when the decode their words and master the whole mat is priceless! However . . . I have had SOME students at my center who claim they have read every single word on their mat (in a matter of fifteen seconds as I had my back turned) and are ready for another spoon from the fancy-shmancy magic spoon bucket. Hmmm. Looks like they love those spoons too much . . . They are just so anxious to try out every single one!

Anywho . . . I created this little Magic Spoon recording sheet ~~to keep 'em honest~~ to record the words they decode that are "real" words (none of the nonsense words). When they come across a word they write it, and then illlustrate it. Cute, right? Click below to download.

On a completely different subject . . . I love February. And the 100th Day of School. In fact, I could skip right over Valentine's Day completely. (I don't need all that chocolate . . . I have been eating WAY too many Girl Scout Cookies as it is!) One of the most fun projects we will be doing is our 100 Year-Old Self-Portraits. Deanna Jump had such a cute bulletin board display that she blogged about, and I LOVED how she put her little people in what looked like oval frames! (See it here!) I stole that idea, adapted my old sample from last year, and voila!! I like to use yarn for the white hair, and I am thinking that instead of solid construction paper for the background, I am going to use funky scrapbook paper that will look like old wallpaper. Love it!!! (Sorry for the terrible photo . . . I was totally rushing out the door at school!)

Here are the dimensions:

shoulders 6x4 inches (whatever color you would like)
face 5x5 skin color
neck 1x2 skin color
ears 1x2 1/2 (cut piece in half and round corners for ears)
mouth 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 pink
background 9x12 (trace oval onto back of paper so kids can cut out when they are done and mount onto 9x12 black rectangle)
and . . . white yarn for the hair (You can do a swirly bun, mustache, comb-over . . . well, you get the idea!)

I also made up some writing paper to go along with our artwork Click on the 100 below to download it.

What cute things will you be doing (or have you already done) for the 100th Day? I can't wait to see!

Lindsay

P.S. I know you are dying for a recent picture of Jack, right? Well . . . here you go! Check out those thighs people! I am signing off now to go squeeze those hamhocks!!

We Heart America! Michaels finds, and Groundhog dimensions!

2012-01-30T18:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday, friends! Kerri here...
I am excited to announce that I just uploaded my latest unit, We Heart America!! Take a little look...

This is my biggest one yet! And, let me just tell you, it was a MAJOR PAIN in my rear end to get it to upload to TPT because it is so many pages!! I was literally cursing at the computer last night (my poor hubby had to hear me ranting!), but I finally figured it out, and it has 10 fun filled centers included!! Here's what you get:

Literacy Centers:

-America Sentence Scramble-

laminate and cut out word cards. Students unscramble sentences and complete the worksheet, adding correct capitalization and punctuation.

-American Symbols ABC Order-

laminate and cut out word cards. Students put cards in ABC order and complete the ABC ORder worksheet.

-We Heart America! Word Mat-

Use this mat in 2 ways: As a word bank for students to write their own America story, and for the We heart America! Noun Sort

-America Writing Paper-

-We Heart America! Noun Sort-

Cut apart laminated America word mat. Students sort the words by person, place, or thing and compete worksheet

-Betsy Ross Contraction

Match-Ups-

Students match up the contractions with their root words & complete worksheet.

Math Centers:

-American Symbols: Spin, Tally, and Graph-

laminate spinner mats.Students use a paper clip as a spinner, and complete the spin, tally, and graph worksheet.

-American Pride! Missing Addends-

laminate and cut out cards. Students match up the addition sentences with their missing addend, then record the addition sentences on the worksheet.

-Patriotic Fact Families-

laminate and cut out cards. Students use the 3 numbers on each card to write out the fact family number sentences on worksheet.

-National Number Sort-

laminate & cut out cards. Students sort number cards by if they equal 10, 12, or 14, and complete worksheet.

-Constitutional Counting-

Students sort numbers and put in order by 2‘s, 5‘s, and 10‘s and complete worksheet.

You can click on the picture above to go to my TPT store! Thanks, Peeps!

In other news, I SCORED major big time at Michaels and I just had to share, so hopefully you will be able to find some too! Look at these beauties...

Wait for it...these were only 9 cents!! I am not even lying! 9 cents each!! I about died when the Michaels guy told me! So, of course I HAD to get them for my kidlets! We will be mod podging (LOVE!) them with tissue paper and putting a love note in them for my kiddies to give to their moms! Awww! Isn't that so sweet? I couldn't resist for only 9 cents!!

I also saw (and purchased of course-I DO have a problem with self-control) MORE heart boxes!! 99 cents from Michaels and these are even cuter than the other ones!

The heart baskets are to store the heart boxes in. Can you tell I also have a storage obsession?? You should see my purse. Tons of baby bags inside the big bag-and each one has a name that describes what's inside...let's see, there's the medicine bird bag, the iPod owl bag, the "tweety" treats bag, and so on, and so on...

ANYWAYS, I also got some very apropos Valentine scrapbook paper from the Dollar Spot at Target, perfect for cutting into squares and teaching my kiddos to cut a heart out of...

$1 each...Easy Peasy!! We will use them to decorate something with, maybe our Valentine bags??

Finally, the dimensions for this guy here... you can get the writing paper from my previous post, but here are his dimensions. Remember, I am the NO PATTERNS! lady, so this is all cut by my firsties free form...

12 by 18- light blue background
9 by 12- green grass (cut wavy like)
6 by 6 light brown square for body (half a magic circle)
5 by 5 light brown square for head (magic circle)
1 1/2 by 9 light brown for paws (folded in half and rounded)
1 1/2 by 3 light brown for ears (folded in half and rounded)
1 1/2 by 3 white for eyes (folded in half and cut into magic circle)
1 by 2 black for eyeballs (also folded in half and magic circle cut)
1 by 1 dark brown for nose (triangle or circle)
1 by 1 white for teeth
3 by 3 yellow for sun (or you can make a gray cloud if he doesn't see his shadow, your choice)
Sharpie for details

That's it! I think actually Lindsay MAY have invented this one way back when, but since I can't really remember, I'll just take all the credit!! HEE HEE!!

I'll be posting more We Heart America! freebies this month, so keep checking back!! And, as always, I heart you guys!!

Penguins, Punxsutawney, and Printables for my Peeps!

2012-01-27T21:04:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! Kerri here...
I'm gonna keep it short and sweet, cause man, I am T to the I to the R to the E...you get the picture!

We had a busy week this week. We made our Jan Brett project on Golidilocks and the Three Bears-sorry, no pics this time. :( , learned about penguin habitats, and made our Dragon art (love!).

My student teacher taught the kidlets to draw and label an Emperor Penguin's habitat, and man oh man, they were CUTE!! I decided to live on the edge and have them draw ONLY in sharpie (I know, playing with fire, right??) because we didn't have time for pencil AND sharpie, and they really rose to the occasion!!

Of course I had to preface the lesson with, "YOU NEED TO LOOK, LISTEN, AND LEARN. DO NOT ASK QUESTIONS, DO NOT MAKE COMMENTS, AND DO NOT ASK IF YOU CAN ADD DETAILS UNTIL THE END, GOT IT??? (Imagine my most serious face ever)...
Maybe sharpie only be our new "strategy", they like it when I make things our "new strategy"...we sound so sophisticated when we use the word "strategy" instead of "we were in a hurry."

I just heart first grade art so darn much!! It is so authentic and real!! And my kids LOVE to label! They would label the whole everything if I let them!

Up next week, good ole Punxsutawney Phil! Here he is...

If you want the dimensions, let me know and I will post them this weekend. Too tired now.

This year we are going to add a little bit of writing and glue it on the grass. We will probably write about whether or not he saw his shadow. Click on the groundhog for your own copy of the paper...it's cute, I promise!

Sooo....last year, when I started blog stalking, I came across this post from Cara Carroll, and OF COURSE, I ran out immediately to the Dollar Tree to get my own heart boxes. Unfortunately, I got there the day after Valentine's day and ALL the heart boxes were put away. Wah, wah, wah, wah!

Well, this year, I happened upon a Dollar Tree on the way to ~~have lunch~~ have some samples at Costco with my hubs (I joke, half the stuff we can't eat cause we're veggie heads, but I could eat their pizza ALL the live long day!!) and I dragged him in there so fast!! Drum roll please!!

I GOT MY HEART BOXES!!! I was GIDDY with glee when I saw them (my husband thought I was a NUTTER!!) but I got my durn heart boxes, BABY!! Whoot whoot!!
So, of course I will be doing her super cute spelling scramble AND I made this little heart addition and subtraction diddy to use with them as well. I will put 2 numbers in each box and my little darlings will either have to add or subtract the numbers, depending on the number on the worksheet.
Done and Done! Click on the heart for your copy, and for goodness sakes, girls, don't wait until the day after V-Day to try and buy them!!

Note to self...Sharpie paint pens MAY look pretty when you first write the numbers on the boxes, but the ink rubs off after about 30 minutes!! Dagnabit!! I rue the day I bought THAT paint pen!

And, thanks for buying my little February words writing packet! You guys are so sweet! I am excited to introduce it next week!

I know I said it would be short, but obviously I have a blogging problem. I'm off to watch Gold Rush Alaska, snuggle under my blankie, and PROBABLY fall asleep on the couch until all hours of the morning. I CAN'T WAIT!!
XOXO Kerri

February Words are Up and Running!!

2012-01-24T22:34:00.000-08:00

Hi Gals! Kerri here...

Finally!! My February Words Writing Pack is posted to TPT, and I have to say, this might be the cutest one EVER! :) I mean, who doesn't love candy, teddy bears, and hearts galore, not to mention my friend Punxsutawney Phil, and throw in a couple of famous Presidential Types, it is ADORABLE! Take a little looksie...

I added another writing activity, making a grand total of 6 fabulous, fun-filled reading, writing, and vocab building activities for the month of February. Here's what you get:

Words Mat/Book Cover/Lined Paper-

Make several copies of the February Words on cardstock and laminate for durability. Copy writing paper back to back ( I use 6 pages per book and this lasts the whole month) and fold in half to make a little book, with the cover on the front. I copy the cover on colored paper to make it more festive! :)

Use this writing activity in your writing center for the whole month and allow the kids to write describing sentences about each February word, one word per page.

February Words ABC Order-

Cut apart laminated February Words mats to make individual cards. Students choose 5 words, place in ABC order, and illustrate!

Valentine and President Story Writing Paper-

Use individual cut up February Word cards. Students choose 2-3 cards and write a story using lots of describing words, and then illustrate their story in the box.

February Making Words-

Students choose a picture from the February Words Mat, write it in the box, and illustrate it. Next, they find the letters to spell the word. (Letters included in packet-copy and laminate as many sets as you need for students to use). Students will make as many words as they can using the letters from the February word that they chose and write in the boxes.

February Words “Describe Me!”- NEW ACTIVITY!

Students will choose a card and write down a list of as many words as they can think of to describe it. Then, they will use those words and write “I have... or I am...” sentences, such as “I am red and pink.” on the back of the Describe Me! worksheet and illustrate the word they chose in the box provided.

February Words Match-Ups-

Students will match up each Cut-up February word card to the laminated sentence card that describes it. After matching, students will choose 5 pictures, write the corresponding sentence on the lines, and illustrate the pictures on the back.

Click on the picture to head on over to my TPT store...

Yikes! Can you believe February will be here next week?? I hope you all know how blessed I feel every time you purchase one of my products, leave a sweet comment, or even just stalk my page (you stalkers, you!!) You all continue to renew my passion for teaching, and I am so grateful to be a part of the blogging community! Have a great night, friends!!

P.S. The first person to leave me a comment with an email, telling me your favorite Valentine Candy OR your favorite President of ALL TIME will get this little pack for F.R.E.E!! That's right, sistas!!

Valentine House

2012-01-23T20:11:00.000-08:00

Howdy Bloggers!

Lindsay here . . .

Okay, first of all, can I just make a confession? I just started my Pinterest account. Like last Saturday. And I am already wholly and utterly ADDICTED! I am loving all of the fab teacher ideas that are just floating around, WAITING to be found! (However, like any good Pinterest purist I get very annoyed when there are random pictures of handbags or photos of cats floating around the "Education" section. Wrong category people! Wrong category . . . (You don't have to take my word about how oddly particular I am about things like that . . . just ask Kerri. She used to put bow-ties on EVERYTHING and it drove me crazy. True story. Who ever heard of ducks wearing bow ties anyway?!)

Okay . . . focus Lindsay. Must finish this blog (so that I can get back to pinning!!). I am so glad you all loved the Magic Spoons as much as I did. Todays tidbit isn't quite so educational, but it sure is cute! I am typically WAY late in posting cute seasonal ideas, but I wanted to give you a heads up on a cute Valentine holder idea. Presenting . . . a "heart house"! (I thought the name "love shack" was catchier, but sent the wrong impression.)

Basically, using a large manila envelope, you trim the top into a point, so the envelope becomes the shape of a house. Then you fold the shorter side of the envelope into the inside, to create a little pocket. I step-drew the cute parts of the house and had my kidlets use die-cut hearts for shingles, flowers, etc. This year I am thinking of using some cute heart foamies AND I was able to find bigger, white envelopes - Yay!

Anyhow, the kids just love playing mailman (or woman!) and "delivering" their valentines to all of the houses.

Happy house-making!!

Lindsay

A Hodge Podge of stuff, plus another FREEBIE!!

2012-01-22T15:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Sunday, Bloggy friends!! Kerri here...
So, I just need a little therapy session here, girls, so bear with me...

On Friday, I found out some news that made me REALLY question a process that I used to have ALOT of respect for, and when I found out this news, it made me realize that, for at least this year, that process is a TOTAL SHAM. That sometimes it's more about WHO you know, than WHAT you really deserve. (Sounds political, right?? Yes, you are CORRECT.) And, it made me really disheartened by the whole process.

BUT....then, I came home and looked at these 2 beautiful faces...

And, I woke up Saturday morning to this wonderful husband and father...

And, I realized how incredibly blessed I am, and that I know in MY HEART what is true. So, I am OVER IT. Moving on, and keeping faith that in the future, the process will be what it once was, NOT what it became this year. Nuff said!!

Many of you asked me for the words to the Chinese New Years Dragon poem, so here you go:

"Gung, Hay, Fat, Choy!"

In China, every girl and boy

Celebrate the New Year

In a very special way.

With fireworks and dragons,

Colored red and gold,

They welcome in the New Year,

And chase away the old!

Hope you can use it in your classroom!!

I spent the bulk of my weekend cutting out my newest creation, Arctic Life Math and Literacy Centers! But, you know, there is a certain satisfaction I get from cutting out lamin, while watching Dateline NBC!! Who's with me??

Here's what's included in this math and literacy center pack...

Sentence Scramble

ABC Order

Noun and Verb sort

Arctic Adding 3 Numbers

Time to the hour and half hour

Place Value!

I will be using these little centers with my chitlins this week, and I think they are going to likey mucho!

Click on the picture to head over to my store to pick up your own set...

And, now on to your FREEBIE!! I got many kind words about the Super Sentence post I wrote at the beginning of January, so I decided to use my Arctic Friends clip art and make some "Super Sentence Frames" for you to use in your classroom, whole group, small group, or even individually. These are different because they are blank, and...
Use these sentence frames with your class to brainstorm ideas for writing “Arctic” themed super sentences. Place frame under document camera, or project onto white board to use whole group. These frames can also be passed out as individual worksheets, to allow students to think of and write down as many words for each column as possible!

6 different frames are included in this packet, AND it is F.R.E.E....because I love you guys, like ALOT!
Click on the cover picture above to get your own copy from Google docs!

I leave you with this little bit of cuteness...our bearded dragon Beaker watching the rain on homemade lego steps!

Thanks for listening, friends. I feel like I got some closure today. Hope you have a blessed week!

Art projects up the WAZOO! :) And a FREEBIE (of course!)

2012-01-21T09:33:00.000-08:00

Happy Saturday, Peeps!! Kerri here...
I woke up to the sound of rain this morning!! I know, I know, you East, South, Northwest, etc. Coasters say whoopidy doo, right? Well, here in So. Cal, we haven't had ANY rain since the beginning of December! AND, since it is Saturday and I don't have to worry about RAINY DAY SCHEDULE, I love it!!

I finally got pictures of the Jan Brett "Three Snow Bears" project we did this week, and our Martin Luther King, Jr. Art! Here we go...

We filled out the story map together, because this is the first time I introduced them to this type of Story Map. You can get your own copy of this here! The igloo I found on Jan Brett's website and I shrunk it down to half the size. Click here for the igloo.

We also made our Martins this week. When I taught Kinder, I always did the TLC art Martin, and he came out Fantastic! Last year, we step drew him, also great, so this year I thought I would combine the two and make a "Mixed media" project (how you like those arty words, huh??) Here they are...

We wrote the poem that I posted about here. It is actually a song, so I taught it to them first, and then we wrote it. You can also grab the writing paper from that post and save it for next year!

Looking ahead to next week, we will be making these fun little Chinese New Year Dragons made totally from die cut shapes. These are oldies but goodies! I created these in 2001, so maybe you could call them "vintage??" HA!!

The poem glued to the top is for Kindergarten, but my Firsties will be copying the poem in their very best printing! Click here for some writing paper to use...

We also found out that our little blog was nominated as a "Most Fascinating Teaching Blog" in 2011!!

WOW! What an honor! We feel so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful community of dedicated ladies and gentlemen who are passionate about children!! YAY for Teaching! Can I get a whoot whoot??
Have a great weekend, Peeps!!

Story Map freebies AND a Valentiney Word Family Center!

2012-01-18T19:42:00.000-08:00

Oooohhhh, isn't that pretty?!?! More on that in a minute, but first...

Hi Peeps! Kerri here...
Well, Lindsay sure is Miss Popular! Her "Magic Spoons" post has caught on like WILDFIRE on Pinterest and we have had soooo many views of that one! I told her I'm gonna write a post using SPARKLY spoons with googly eyes and bowties, just to one-up her! HA!!

That has been our long-standing joke...when we taught next door to each other, she did art on Wednesdays and I did it on Thursdays. Every Wednesday, I would go in her room, take a look at her art projects and then one-up her by adding a bowtie to the ducks, or bells to the reindeer, long, curly eyelashes on the whatevers, etc. She would get SOOOO DARN MAD at me! It was pretty hilarious!! Aaahhh, those were the good old days!

Anyway, I had good intentions today to take pics of our "Three Arctic Bears Jan Brett" project, but wah, wah, wah, I forgot! Durnit! I do have three Story Map freebies for you though, a favorite part one, a beginning, middle, end one, AND a problem/solution one! YAY! These can be used for listening centers, story response sheets, what have you...Click on the pretty heart to download...

Which brings me to the next thing on my agenda...

Melanie from the Pond's graphics on TPT. This girl ROCKS!! Her clip art is SO cute, she is totally sweet, and she's from Australia! Even cooler! I asked her about making me a special set, and she whipped it up just like that!! Please click on the link to visit her shop. The heart clip art from my newest center is hers, and it is FABULOUS!!

So, back to my newest TPT Valentiney Word Family Center...Checkety Check it!

All yours for only $2...HOLLA!! Come on, you know it is just calling to you, all pink and pretty and Valentiney!! Click on the pic to check it out!
We'll talk Friday...Toodles!

Magic Spoons

2012-01-16T20:07:00.000-08:00

Why hello there my fellow blogger buddies!

Were you wondering if I fell off the face of the Earth? If I did not, in fact, survive the madness of the holiday season? If a pack of rabid kindergarteners ate me alive??!! DON'T FRET!! I'm back. :)

Not only am I back, but I have a great little somethin' to share! Now, let me first just say that this is in no way my idea. Nope. Negative. All the credit for this idea goes to one of my fellow kinder teachers, who got it from another kinder teacher, who . . .well, you get the idea. Not original, but just one that I thought ought to be shared.

So this little phonemic awareness activity is called Magic Spoons. Basically, in order to help children with sounding out words, even those pesky nonsense words, you take a pack of spoons and on each spoon write a consonant. (For the letter Q you write a "qu" combo - because those two are always together.) These will be used as the initial consonants of the words the students will be reading. Then, students practice with one spoon at a time adding the first letter to various different word family endings. As the Magic Spoon moves from word ending to word ending . . . POOF! A new word appears! Magic.

When my teacher friends were sharing this idea with me, I immediately envisioned shiny, glittering, golden spoons that were oh-so-magical. So, when it came time to make my OWN Magic Spoons, I had to track down . . . you guessed it . . . golden spoons. (The power is in the golden-ness, right?)

Anywho, I found these packs of golden spoons at Party City for cheap (AND was able to walk out of there with ONLY the spoons - yay for self control!).

Next, I wrote on my spoons. (Best kindergarten printing!!)

Finally, I created three sheets to use with my magic spoons. On the left is a sheet of two letter word family endings, the middle sheet is three letter word family endings, and the final sheet is ONLY consonant letters. My plan with that sheet is to then create a second set of magic spoons where the word family ending is on the spoon. Are you following all of this?

For a PDF file of these three sheets, click on the image below. (I plan to copy each sheet on a different color of cardstock and laminate for durability . . . and for protection from all the magic-ness!)

But wait, there's more! If you would like to use this idea in a whole group setting, fear not! I plan to (in all of my spare time . . . whenever that may be) get large wooden spoons to use to get the whole class involved at once! Gold spray paint . . .here I come!

Anyway, I would love to hear about if and how you use Magic Spoons in YOUR classroom! Or maybe you yourself are the inventor of this great idea . . .in which case, thanks!

Happy teaching this week!

Lindsay

WInter Words Photos, TPT SALE, and some Writing FREEBIES!!

2012-01-14T16:30:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps!! Happy Saturday! Kerri here...
Geaux Saints! I just had to say it. Actually, I am NOT a football girl, but my husband's whole family is from New Orleans and he was born there, so by marriage I am a Saints fan, I guess. He and his dad are busily watching the game as I write this! Too many turnovers, Saints!! (WOW! I just impressed myself with my football lingo! HA!)

I finally got around to taking pictures of my kids doing their Winter Words Writing Books, which they do every Friday as a Lit Center. We are working superdy hard on being more descriptive when we write, and I am quite proud of how their writing is coming along, AND they really SUPER love this center! Check out their work...

You can pick yours up by clicking on the picture below, and what the HEY, why don't we just say that I am throwing a MLK, Jr. Weekend SALE!! Everything on sale until Tuesday!!...

You can also get this little number...

AND this one...

I also have some writing paper FREEBIES for you! Snowman, Penguin, and Martin Luther King, Jr. themed. We will be making our Martin Art project this week, and also copying this song/poem onto the writing paper in our "very best printing!" to go with it. Our music teacher teaches the kids a really sweet song called "Sing About Martin" (have you heard it?) and we are going to use these words as our poem:

Sing about Martin,

Sing about caring,

Sing about peace,

All around the world.

Sing about Martin,

Sing about loving,

Sing about peace,

All around the world.

Click on the pictures below to download your writing papers...

Enjoy your 3 day weekend!! I know I'm gonna, fo' shizzle!!

What's Happening ?!?!?!

2012-01-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

Hi Bloggy Friends! Kerri here...
Do you read the Tacky the Penguin books to your class?? Of course you do!! Who wouldn't?? They are absolutely hysterical and probably my all-time favorite series of books to read to my kids. I went on AMAZON and STOP. THE. PRESSES...there are 2 Tacky books that I do not own (well, didn't own. Of course, I ordered them the minute I saw them. Because, as my husband tells me, I HAVE A PROBLEM.)
ANYWAYS...here they are...Seriously, have I been under a rock or what!! I can't WAIT until they come in the mail. (insert giddy squeal!!)

Well, today we made our Tacky Art, which I have been making for years and is one of my all-time faves, and they came out RIDICULOUSLY silly, of course. Many of my kids asked if they could do "CRAZY" eyes, cause you know Tacky is an ODD bird, so of course I said SURE!! Here they are...

I used scrapbook paper from the dollar spot at Target for the shirts, because we didn't have time to design our own shirts. Come to think of it, we forgot to add his bowtie too. Oh Barnacles! Too bad...

I also wanted to share the most beautiful, sweet, kind thing my room mom has been making for me. Every few weeks, from September, she will hand sew a little piece of fruit out of wool and put it on my front table. It has become a little game for the kids to come in and see if there is any new fruit in the bowl. One of my boys found an old piece of green felt on the floor before Christmas and was all excited to give it to her so she could make a strawberry with it, and yesterday, I found a strawberry in the bowl!! This is SERIOUSLY one of the most thoughtful things any parent has ever done for me. Take a looksie!

Aren't they precious?? I appreciate her so so much. I wish I could knit cute little things like that, but ALAS, all I can do is sew on a button.

That's it for today, friends!! Thank you a GINORMOUS bunch to those of you who have already purchased my Arctic Life Unit. I can't wait to bust it out starting next week with my little friends!!

Of course, I will be making some FREEBIES to go along with this unit, and I'll be back this weekend with other fun stuff!! TGI almost F!!

Jan Brett Author Study and New Arctic Unit Posted!!

2012-01-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps!! Happy Tuesday! Kerri here...
First of all, thank you for all of your kind words regarding my new tattoo. I KNEW you wouldn't judge me for telling you!! I plan on adding my hub's initial and my initial to it, so our whole family is represented. One of the male teachers at my school made the comment, "So, he got your initial and you didn't get his??" Whatever, dude...way to lay on the guilt!! :)
Don't worry, I'm not going to get all crazy and tat myself up, but it IS quite fun! :)

We started our Author's Study on Jan Brett last week. We study her books for 8 weeks and create a project for each book. At the end, we make a really cool cover and bind the projects into a book. Many of the ideas I got from my dear friend Kim who I used to work with (miss you, Mrs. Mac!!) and some I added myself last year. I also got some FAB ideas from my fellow bloggers!!

We read The Mitten last week, and created this project:

Where did I get this worksheet?? It is FABULOUS!! Is it yours? Please let me know so I can give you all the credit!!

We glued the animals in the order they appeared in the story...

This week we read The Hat, and made this little project...

We step drew Hedgie the Hedgehog, which came from www.janbrett.com (this website is AMAZING, and she gives sooo many great ideas!!) We also filled in this Venn diagram together comparing and contrasting The Mitten and The Hat, which is from the lovely Cara Carroll, of course!! My kids LOVED drawing Hedgie and they especially loved adding their own hat!
Next week, we will be reading The Three Snow Bears and I will be back to share the project that we make for it. It is the perfect book to introduce the Arctic, which is the perfect segway to my newest unit that I just posted on TPT...

Here's what you get...

Literacy Centers:

-Arctic Life Sentence Scramble-

laminate and cut out word cards. Students unscramble sentences and complete the worksheet, adding correct capitalization and punctuation to their sentences.

-Arctic Life ABC Order-

laminate and cut out word cards. Students put cards in ABC order and complete the ABC Order worksheet.

-Arctic Life Noun & Verb Sort-

laminate and cut out word cards. Students sort words into nouns and verbs and complete the noun and verb worksheet.

Math Centers:

-Arctic Life Add 3-

laminate and cut out cards. Students sort the number cards by their Arctic characters, add the 3 numbers together, and record the addition sentences on the worksheet.

-Arctic Life Place Value Match-

laminate and cut out cards. Students match the place value cards to the number and fill out the corresponding worksheet.

-Arctic Life Telling Time-

laminate & cut out cards. Students match up the clock cards to their time cards, and complete the worksheet.

The clip art is SUPER fun, and the 3 Lit and 3 Math Centers are perfect for this time of year!! You can click on the picture above to go to my store!!

One more thing...I will be back later this week with a RAD Giveaway. Here is a little teaser pic, Timree, the artist who made this, is offering her best selling product to one of our followers!! Check it out...

Ooh, la la!! Isn't it fantabulous!! Stay tuned...

Got inked...and a TARGET find!

2012-01-08T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hey Peeps! Kerri here...
I debated whether or not to tell you this, and my Bestie told me that I should ABSOLUTELY not tell you, for fear that you might judge me, or worse yet, UNFOLLOW our blog! (The horror!!) But, I have faith that you will still be my bloggy friends if I tell you that yesterday, the hubs and I (in honor of our 13th anniversary, which we celebrated on December 21st)...got INKED!! Yes, that is right. You heard it here, inked is the cool way to say WE GOT TATTOOS! Now, if you know anything about my hubby, he is NOT the tattoo type. Me, on the other hand, well, let's just say that this was my 5th tattoo. The other 4 I got in college, when I was a self-proclaimed hippy. It's all a blur now, but what I DO know is that my guardian angel was working over time for me back then. Thank you Jesus for your Grace and second chances!!
Anyway, back to the big reveal!! My hubs doesn't like wearing rings, so he got our initials on his ring finger (cuz he's gonna be marked as mine ONE way or another-HEE HEE!!) and since my fingers are SUPER bony, thanks alot Mom, AND since I LOVE my wedding ring, I got my girls' initials on my wrist. TADA....

I absolutely LOVE them!! And, if you live in Orange County and are willing to get inked yourself, then I HIGHLY recommend Life After Death Tattoo in Costa Mesa. The owner, Chris Perrin, is an awesome Christian guy, was SUPER cool and easy to work with, and his shop is FABULOUS!!

In other news, I found these adorable little gems at TARGET today in the Dollar Spot (of course!!)

Little Valentines take out boxes!! Aaaawww!! Aren't they soooo cute! I plan on making some Valentined freebies to share with you that utilize these boxes, so HURRY out to Target and pick yours up!! Also, I would love some suggestions on what I can use them for! I am thinking some sort of SORTS, language arts or math themed obviously, but I welcome your ideas!! I'd also love to know how many of you have tattoos...I know there must be some of you out there!!

P.S. A big huge hug to those of you who have purchased my newest unit, Winter Games Math and Literacy Centers! I feel so honored that you like my TPT stuff!! Don't forget to pick up your Winter Games Number Order to 100 FREEBIE!! It already has 624 downloads-AMAZING!!

Winter Games FREEBIE and Snowman ART!

2012-01-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps! Kerri here...
Well, I am now officially back in the swing of things. I'm not gonna lie, those first couple days were R-O-U-G-H, but now I feel back in teaching mode. YAY!! I even created a little FREEBIE for you, my peeps, mis amigos, meine freunde (excuse the German, I took 4 years in high school and that is almost all I remember!!) But, first things first...
Here are our uber-adorable, TLC art made Snowman! I tweaked the nose a tiny bit, but other than that I got this project from the TLC Art Winter book. Have you ordered yours yet?? It is THE BOMB-DIGGIDY!!

I heart snowmen sooo much!! And, did you notice the Moon labeling art that we also did this week? Yes, it is straight out of Cara Carroll's Moon Unit, which I also heart a whole lot!!

I finally have all my Winter Games Math and Literacy centers, laminated, cut and ready to roll for next week. Here's a little looksie...

Snowmobile Addition Sort

Winter Games Sentence Scramble

Winter Games ABC order

Snow Much Fun Short and Long Vowel Sort

Winter Games-Spin, Tally, and Graph

Ice Fishing Fact Families

Ski Trip Subtraction Sort

Winter Games Story Writing Paper

And...now for your FREEBIE!! Let me just preface this with saying that this center was a TRUE LABOR OF LOVE, because I lost almost the WHOLE DARN THING after finishing it and saving it without making sure it was all there...I know, I know, what a loser, right?? I have NO IDEA what I did, all I know is I was P!$$&D (Can I say that on my blog??)
After freaking for about 30 seconds, I re-made it and it is so very cute! It is a Winter Games Number order to 100 Math Center which is a perfect companion to my Winter Games Unit (thank you, by the way, to those of you who have already purchased it!!) Just look at this freebie...

You can click on the cover picture to go to my TPT store. While you're there, be sure to pick up my Winter Games Unit! Thanks, Peeps!!

Winter Writing Freebie!

2012-01-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years, Ladies and Gents!! Kerri here...
I hope you all had a wonderful New Years Eve and New Years Day!! I have to go back to work tomorrow, so my New Years Day has been filled with Target shopping, laundry, newsletter writing, etc. Not exactly relaxing, but it will be good to be back in the swing of things again. We had SOOO much fun last night watching football and some motorcycle jumping thing (the boys) and playing Pictionary and Taboo (the girls!) At midnight, we went outside and it was wicked foggy, which was weird and wacky. All the kids lit sparklers and ran around like maniacs! See exhibit A...

And Exhibit B...

I hope the neighbors weren't TOO annoyed with all our shenanigans!! All in all, it was fantabulous and I cannot believe it is 2012 already!!

I have a little FREEBIE for your Lit Centers! My firsties will be working on writing Super (who, what, when, where, and maybe even why) Sentences when we go back tomorrow (is it really tomorrow?? I think I'm in denial still!!), so I created this little chart for them to use to get their Super Sentence brains working....

They choose one word from each column to create an excellent, fabulous, maybe even a little silly, SUPER SENTENCE!! I also created this little diddy so they could make their own little book of super sentences...

BTW, I am LOVING this font called "Fontdinerdotcom Sparkly" from www.dafont.com! It is so much fun!
Anyway, back to the center directions. I plan on having my kids use the chart, choose a word from each column to write SUPER sentences in their little books, and then illustrate their sentences. Easy Peasy lemon squeezy!! If you click on both pictures above, you can get your very own copy of the chart, AND the cover + writing paper for the book! TADA!! Instant writing center!!
For those of you who get to sleep in and watch the Rose Parade/Rose Bowl game tomorrow, well PIN A ROSE ON YOUR NOSES! :)
Just kidding...enjoy every last second of your break!! I will try not to be TOO jealous!

One Room Schoolhouse and TPT SALE!!

2011-12-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

Good Evening Friends! Kerri here...
Are you all ready to party like it's 1999 tomorrow?? Over here is the B household, we are gonna play board games, watch football (well, the male half of us is) and eat, eat, eat. I may as well just wear my fat pants to the party, right girls?? :)
I wanted to let you know that I am throwing a sale in honor of New Years Eve tomorrow! All of the items in my TPT store are officially on SALE, effective NOW through January 1st! You can pick up my newest unit:

This unit is filled with Literacy and Math activities that center around winter games...skiing, snowboarding, sledding, hockey, ice fishing, ice skating, bobsledding, and snowmobiling. I know my kiddos are gonna be stoked to use these cutey cute centers!

And, you can get your little old WInter Words Writing Pack for 20% off! Here it is...

All bright and sparkly and just waiting to be laminated!! Mine are actually in the corner of my living room right now in a big ole roll of laminating film, just begging to be cut out!! click on either pic to head over...

Enough of that...onto the One Room Schoolhouse! I went to Knott's Berry Farm today with the Fam (note to self...DO NOT EVER go to Knott's the day before New Years Eve...it is BANANAS over there!! Seriously, I think we went on one, maybe 2 rides. People were EVERYWHERE. UGH...)
But, I did get to go in the one room schoolhouse that they have there. Mr. Knott brought it over from Beloit, Iowa way back in the 50's. It was built in 1879 and it is the actual, SAME schoolhouse. Peeps, it was GLORIOUS! Every teachers dream to see. Can you say Little House on the Prairie? (One of my all time faves growing up!) Check out the pics...

Isn't is sooo precious!

I love #5..." After 10 hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or any other good books. " H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S.!! Also, #6..."Woman teachers who marry... will be dismissed." WTH??

I had a desk like this in my room growing up. Santa brought it to me for Christmas when I turned 7. It was filled with school supplies and I played school with it everyday. I was in HEAVEN!

Aren't we such studious pupils??

The teachers changed every single year almost. They all must have gotten married or just GAVE UP! HA!!

This stove is FABULOUS! And, it was actually working! NO LIE!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed these photos as much as I did! And, if you are ever in Cali, I suggest you head on over to Knott's to see it for yourself, but NOT right before New Years Eve. Please! You will rue the day you made that decision, trust me!! HA!
Talk to you in 2012!!

Holiday Survival and New Year Cheer!

2011-12-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everyone!

Lindsay here . . . I feel like I blinked and December is gone! Am I the only one?

I somehow managed to survive the last week of school before break . . . let's just say that those may have been the five loooooooooongest days of my life. We are talking FOUR students throwing up in class (on the rug, in the middle of a lesson, on rainy day schedule so we were stuck inside all day!), bloody noses, Holiday program practice, and art projects galore!!!! And on top of everything I was sick . . . nose running like a faucet on top of those nights with faaaaaaar too little sleep! (Thanks Jack!) I was sooo excited when Friday came and I got to go home to my precious baby and amazing husband . . . and GO. TO. SLEEP! :)

Christmas was great with the fam this year . . it was Jack's first Christmas!! As you can see, he was FULL of holiday cheer . . . or not!

Of course, his tempermental disposition may have been due to all of the absurd holiday outfits he was forced to wear . . . sorry buddy! But those Santa footie pajamas are soo cute - mommy couldn't resist!

Random highlight from our family Christmas - my husband just may have gotten the worst stocking stuffer EVER . . . a random bag of tuna. That's right people . . . tuna. (Try to top THAT!)

Another highlight of the break was having a "Bloggie Date" with some of the gals from the blogger world . . . Annie from Moffatt Girls, Kristin from A Teeny Tiny Teacher, Fran from Kindergarten Crayons, Hadar from Miss Kindergarten and others . . . We met up at Ruby's on the pier in Huntington Beach and enjoyed some gab and good grub! I felt so fortunate to spend time with this group of talented ladies - I am seriously loving all the goodies they have to share on their blogs! Thanks gals! And let's get together again soon!

Okay, changing gears now . . . I'm not sure I'm quite ready to head back to work next week, but ready or not . . . January is right around the corner! I love coming back from break because I feel like my kinder kiddos are always QUITE grown up when they return, and ready to learn! I am super excited to pick up right where we left off in December . . . with lots of writing, practicing our reading, and MATH! My kiddos are still needing some practice with writing their numbers to 10, so we have been listening to "The Numeral Song" by Dr. Jean on repeat. Its the best EVER!! The kids LOVE the cute little rhyme that helps them learn to make each number and soon . . . VOILA! They have mastered writing their numbers!

I decided to update a little number book that I have my kinders do every year, and included the lyrics to Dr. Jean's "Numeral Song" so the kids could take their books home and teach their parents! On each page students will trace the number, write the number, locate and circle the number, and represent the number.

Click on the Dr. Jean Sing To Learn CD image below to access the number practice book!

Hope you can use this book with your kiddos, and don't forget to pop in Dr. Jean's "Numeral Song" to go along with it!!

Hope you all enjoy your last few days of break before returning to school! Make sure to sleep in and don't get out of your PJ's until at least noon!! :)

Lindsay

WInter Games and Long TIme, No Blog!!

2011-12-28T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps!! Kerri here...
DUDE!! Long time, no blogging from me! Over a week now! I feel so out of the loop, but with good reason. The week before Christmas was BANANAS...what with the shopping, wrapping, celebrating my 13 year anniversary with my honey (we went to San Clemente and stayed in a room called...wait for it....the SHAG room. Seriously?? Don't they know we've been married 13 years already?? I would rather the "Fall asleep at 8 p.m. on the couch room!) Anyways....
Here are a couple of pics from our Christmas...

YUP! Still making my girls wear matching PJ's...of course OWLS!

My little family

Mommy and her girls

How did that one get in here?? :)

I'm gonna keep it short cause A...It's 11:45 and B...I am TIRED! I am super excited cause tomorrow I get to meet up with the blogging girls from Little Miss Kindergarten, the Moffatt Girls, Kristin from A Teeny Tiny Teacher and a bunch others. Wheee! I can't wait! Before I sign out, I wanted to let you know that I just posted my newest unit on TPT-Winter Games Math and Literacy Centers...Check it out!

I'm so excited about this one!! Being from Southern Cali, we have ABSOLUTELY NO WINTER GAMES, unless we drive 2 hours to the mountains OR watch the X Games in TV. My dad grew up in Canada and has all kinds of hockey, ice skating, snowball throwing stories. JEALOUS! I hope these centers will help my firsties experience the Winter Games, such as bobsledding, ice skating, skiing, ice fishing (reminds me of Grumpy Old Men), and lots more!

You can pick yours up, ON SALE for only $5 until January 1st, at my TPT store!! Click on either picture above to go right on over! PLUS, my Winter Words Writing Pack is also on sale until the 1st! Thanks so much friends!!

Oh Tannenbaum, Oh Tannenbaum...and our class shirts!

2011-12-15T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hey there Peeps! Kerri here...
Yawn...I am BEYOND exhausted! And as of right now, I am not sure I will make it through tomorrow. You know when your kids are working nicely in centers and then there is a Fire Drill that is louder than the loudest thing in the world, so you have to get up and exit the classroom, and when you get back, your kids have lost their minds?? Yeah, that was my day. Thanks alot, Fire Drill Scheduler! Seriously... whatever.

We did manage to do one more bit of Christmassy art in the afternoon...Check out our Tannenbaums!

I tweaked this idea after seeing it on kinderbykim.com. You should check out her website. It is RAD!! One more here...

And with all our other art, the room is officially ready for Christmas!! I heart Lindsay's Santas! Too bad it all comes down come January...

On an exciting note!! Our class shirts from Whitney Daniel Designs came today!! They are so deliciously cute!!

Me loves!!!

That's all I got tonight. I'll be back this weekend with something I have been working on for January! Hope your last day is smooth sailing, easy peasy, and calm, calm, calm. For those of you with another week, I'll pray for you!! For reals!

Reindeer dimensions, snowman directions, and a TPT SALE!

2011-12-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

Hiya Peeps! Kerri here...
I have three words for you...RAINY DAY SCHEDULE. ALL. DAY. Catch my drift??? Sigh... But guess what my hubs brought home from his Secret Santa today??

HOLY REESES HUGENESS! Have you ever seen such a glorious sight in all your life?? It is hard to tell from the picture, but those suckers are at least 4 inches in diameter!! and 2 inches deep!!

We just HAD to compare and contrast...hee hee!

Here is a close-up of Mr. Reindeer...

Is it just me, or does this guy have "crazy eyes"?? Maybe it's the rainy day schedule talking! The following dimensions are all in inches:

Body = 6 by 9 dark brown (magic Oval)

Head = 4.5 by 6 dark brown (magic oval)

Handprint antlers = 6 by 9 light brown folded in half and the kids hand traced onto the folded paper. Then they only have to cut once!

4 Feet = 6 by 1 dark brown (no cutting necessary by the kids. They love this step!)

4 hooves = 4 by 1 black folded twice. Unfold and cut on the lines to make 4 perfect hooves!

Tail = dark brown triangle saved from when you cut the body

Eyes = 1.5 by 3 white folded in half and 1 by 2 black folded in half (magic circle cuts)

Straps = 1 by 6 red (no cutting necessary by kids)

4 Bells = you will need (2) 1 by 2 yellow folded in half, magic circle cuts

Some of my kids were insistent upon adding ears, which I made optional, because they were VERY insistent! :)

Sharpie for detail!! And, I told them "NO SNAGGLY TEETH, NO CRAZY MOUTHS, NO OPEN MOUTHS" but some of them did it anyway. DANGIT!! Those little rogue artists of mine! :)

Some of you requested the snowman plaque directions so here they are:

Step 1: Paint white with acrylic paint. Let dry.

Step 2: Add the dot pattern around the edge with acrylic paint and the top of a pencil eraser. I did mine in small groups and they all finished in 15 minutes. Let dry.

Step 3: Step draw the snowman in sharpie and add color with crayon. Tell them to color DARK so it is bright and beautiful. Bubble cut around the edge (meaning leave a border).

Step 4: Using a SHARPIE paint marker in blue, add snowflakes around the edge. I had my kids place their snowman in the middle so they would know where to put the snowflakes and I also had my student teacher (me loves her!!) pull them back one at a time to do this step.

Step 5: Using mod podge and a foam brush, glue down your snowman and then cover the whole top and sides with the mod podge as well. My student teacher and I did this in about 20 minutes. Let dry and you are GOLDEN!!

Hope these directions are of use to you!! In honor of having only 4 days left, I am throwing a little S.A.L.E. on TPT!! Everything is 20% off until Friday. Go get your Winter Words, ladies (any gents out there??) Click on the pic to go to my TPT store...

Happy Monday!!

Cozy Snowman Cuteness and family wreath letter!

2011-12-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! Kerri here... 5 more days!! I have GOBS and GOBS to do in those 5 days, and I promise I will be back tomorrow with a close-up of the reindeer art and dimensions/directions!!

Are you looking for a SUPER CUTE, inexpensive gift for your teammates or office staff at school?
Well, look no further!! Thanks to Lindsay's HOT TIP for the cozy socks from Old Navy, I picked up a bunch of pairs today for my parent thank you gifts. Who doesn't love cozy socks?? I decided to get some for my teammates as well and wanted to cutesify them up....Checkety check it!

I got HUGE Hershey's bars and Symphony bars, took off the wrappings and replaced them with plain, white paper. My daughter, who is uber-artistic, did the eyes for me (She also made 3 for her friends at school!) and I added a carrot nose and a coal mouth (of course!) Ribbon tied to the top completed the cuteness!! I can't wait to give them to my First Grade teammates!! Hope you like 'em!

Also, some of you wanted the info on our Family Wreaths. Here is the letter I send out. Nothing fancy schmancy, but the parents have a clear idea of what to make. I am always so impressed by their wreaths every year!
Click on the pic below to download...

Parent Volunteer Christmas Gift Idea

2011-12-10T14:24:00.000-08:00

Hey there fellow teachers! Lindsay here . .

Okay, this morning I created a GINORMOUS to-do list for this weekend . . . Ya know . . . Finish all the Christmas shopping, wrap the presents, clean the entire house, go to the grocery store, bake cookies for the teachers and staff at school for next week . . . oh, and wrap the presents for my wonderful parent volunteers!!

So this year I found a great deal on cozy socks from Old Navy online on Black Friday - only $3 a pair! I love my cozy socks and thought that was something all my wonderful helpers could enjoy.

Today however . . . I was at Old Navy with the fam and lo and behold . . .

That's right . . . cozy socks are now 2 for $4!! Dangit! An ever better deal than I found on Black Friday, so I just had to share!

I also decided to "cute-sify" this gift by creating a cute little poem to go with each one. Here is a picture of my practice run gift wrap job. (Please ignore the lime green tissue paper - this is just practice!) I will also run off the little poem on cardstock to make it a little more sturdy.

Whaddaya think? If you like, hurry on down to Old Navy today! Click on the image below for a link to the poem.

Happy Saturday!

Lindsay

ANOTHER Magic Elf Freebie and more Holiday art!

2011-12-08T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps!! Kerri here...I am going out tonight for one of my Bestie's birthdays to BJ's (can you say PIZOOKIE!!) so I'm gonna keep it quick!

I made another Magic Elf FREEBIE for those of you who purchased my Magic Elf Unit (Thanks so much!!) It is a Magic Elf Acrostic Poem paper! YAY!! WE made ours as a class today and theu came up with FANTASTIC ideas. Check it out (along with our Magic Elf art!!)

I love the last one, "Fills our buckets!" OH MY WORD...what a proud teacher moment!!
Click on the picture below to download your own copy!

You can still pick up your Magic Elf unit from TPT! It's not too late, I promise you. You can do this unit in only 1 or 2 weeks. PLUS, you get all the freebies that I have been posting as a BONUS!! Who doesn't love bonuses?? My kids were SO RIDICULOUS on Tuesday that Magic Elf didn't move on Wednesday and they were HORRIFIED. Their behavior made a complete 180 and he ended up moving at lunch time! They were VERY relieved! I tell you, he is MAGIC!!

Click on the pic to go to my TPT store...

We also finished our Snowman Plaque Parent gifts today and they are SO STINKING CUTE!!

Don't mind the FUGLY, super old dropcloth. It has been with me for years and serves it's purpose so well!!
Here are a couple of other art projects we have made. We have the kids make a family wreath at home and we display them after they bring them in. They always do such a fantastic job, and they all turn out so unique!!

AND...we made our reindeer which are always a sight to behold!! I love their crazy eyes!! Let me know if you want the dimensions...

One more craft we will be making next week is this little beauty...

Pipe cleaners, pony beads, and yarn. Easy peasy, and they look so pretty on a Christmas tree! Hope you can use one or more of my ideas!!
Gotta jet...BJ's is calling my name!!

My blog has gone INSANE!!

2011-12-07T19:33:00.000-08:00

What in the heck is wrong with our blog title?? I have no idea what happened, but I am FREAKING out!! How do I make it back to it's original size?? Help Peeps!! HELP!!

Holiday Crafts Galore!

2011-12-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

Hiya Peeps!! Kerri here...
Are your kids as ~~CRAZY~~ excited as mine are?? Whooeee...Can I survive 8 more teaching days?? I am seriously having to psyche myself up for this, and the only things keeping me sane are: A-Magic Elf, and B-the promise of the calmness and maturity that January will bring to my chitlins (fingers crossed!).

I wanted to share the potpourri of crafts that I have made with my students over the years...Here goes!
I made this reindeer footprint/handprint felt hanging every year when I taught Kinder, which was so cute, but after a while I got tired of the stinky feet and fugly toenails that some of my students had when I had to paint their feet (just sayin'...)

So then, we made the handprint tree with fingerprint lights. I LOVED these! I especially loved going with Lindsay and having to use the saw at Home Depot to cut the dowels. Boy, were we sweating by the end of that task every year!!

When I moved to First Grade last year, we made these tiles because we are fortunate to have a kiln at the school. Yes, the parents got both. (overachievers...) I liked 'em, but I wanted the kids to have more involvement, sooo...

...this year we are making these wooden plaques! I like how old-fashioned they look and I like that the kids have a lot of work to do on them. My favorite part, of course, is the Mod Podged snowman. SWOON! I wish I could mod podge the WHOLE WORLD!

I also make every year for my students a simple ornament with their picture on a die cut shape using Ellison dies. While I'm at it, I make my daughters one for our tree and for the 2 Grandma's trees. I have been making these since Sarah was only a year old, so we have them ALL OVER our tree and every year, I get a little misty eyed when I see the ones of my daughters when they were babies!

I even made one for Roxy!! Aawwww...

Well, there you go! A variety of Holiday Crafts for your viewing pleasure!! BTW, thank you Friends SO MUCH for purchasing my Winter Words packet! I am still in denial that I have to go back on January 2nd, which means I have GOT to get all my ducks in a row next week for the week we get back! YIKES!!
You can get your Winter Words Writing Pack ready to go for January by clicking on the picture below!!

P.S. Does the title of our blog look pixilated when you view it?? For some reason it does on my computer at home and it is making me BUG OUT!! I'd love some comments on how it looks your end!
Thanks so much!

Magic Elf FREEBIE and Winter Words

2011-12-04T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps! Kerri here...
Aren't Lindsay's Santas ADORABLE!! I heart them!! She invented that one and I am SOOO making him next week!
As promised, I have another Magic Elf FREEBIE for you! It is a Magic Elf Sentence Scramble for your Literacy Centers! YAY!!

You can download it from TPT, and while you're there, you can pick up your Winter Words Writing Pack...

because January will be here before we know it. Especially if you only have 2 weeks left in December, like I do! Here's what you get...

Words Mat/Book Cover/Lined Paper-

Make several copies of the Winter Words on cardstock and laminate for durability. Copy writing paper back to back ( I use 6 pages per book and this lasts the whole month) and fold in half to make a little book, with the cover on the front. I copy the cover on colored paper to make it more festive! :)

Use this writing activity in your writing center for the whole month and allow the kids to write describing sentences about each Winter word, one word per page.

Winter Words ABC Order-

Cut apart laminated Winter Words mats to make individual cards. Students choose 5 words, place in ABC order, and illustrate!

Winter Story Writing Paper-

Use individual cut up Winter Word cards. Students choose 2-3 cards and write a story using lots of describing words, and then illustrate their story in the box.

Winter Making Words-

Students choose a picture from the Winter Words Mat, write it in the box, and illustrate it. Next, they find the letters to spell the word. (Letters included in packet-copy and laminate as many sets as you need for students to use). Students will make as many words as they can using the letters from the Winter word that they chose and write in the boxes.

Winter Words Match-Ups-

Students will match up each Cut-up winter word card to the laminated sentence card that describes it. After matching, students will choose 5 pictures, write the corresponding sentence on the lines, and illustrate the pictures on the back.

Click on the preview above to got to my TPT store where you can get the Magic Elf FREEBIE and your Winter Words Writing Pack!!

I'm off to church, then errands, then a Ducks Hockey Game! Never been before. I'm excited!

Getting Ready for Santa

2011-12-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

Hey there folks! Lindsay here . . .

I have been TERRIBLE at keeping up with the blog these past few weeks. Here's a recap of my life in November: I cried and cried about leaving Jack and going back to school (can you say GUILT?), I met my sweet students and got so excited to be back teaching again, and then had my first whole week back at school last week . . . and I. Am. Exhausted. Between those middle-of-the-night feedings, waking up at 4:45 to start my day, and jumping back into the crazy kinder routine, I am one tired teacher momma!! It really is great to be back though, and I have a super sweet class this year.

I really can't believe that it is already December already and that Christmas is right around the corner . . . For those of you who haven't yet, you MUST check out Kerri's Magic Elf unit on TPT . . . I started it with my class last week and it was the cutest thing! Here is a picture of our elf, Winkle, on Day #1:

After we read Winkle's Day 1 introduction, we had a great discussion on what the "true meaning of Christmas" means. And one of my kiddos reminded the class ALL DAY to keep their voices down so they wouldn't scare "TWinkle". Love it!

As we have been getting ready for the holidays in my class, I decided to have my students write their Christmas lists for Santa. Although some of them are still working on mastering their letters and sounds at this point of the year, many of my kiddos are really taking off in their writing, and spelling phonetically with confidence and delight! (Isn't teaching Kinder the best when it all starts to click and they just take off and write, write, write?!) Using the template below, my students wrote the three things they wanted to ask Santa for, and drew a picture to go along with each one . . . ya know, to help Santa make sure to get the right thing! I love Erica's third wish from Santa - a pretty flower. How sweet, right?

(click below for link to worksheet)

To go along with our letters to Santa, here are our sweet Santas that we made in art. . The kids did great, even in spite of the fire drill that we had right in the middle of the lesson . . . grrrr!

And (drumroll please), here are our Santas and letters across our room! The kids are so proud of their great work!

Hope you are enjoying these last few weeks of fun with your kiddos before the holidays. Don't forget to get your Magic Elf packet this weekend if you haven't already - its not too late!!!

Okay, okay . . . and just had to share this cuteness with all of you. Here is Jack at three monthes - all ready for the holidays! (Proud mommy, can't you tell?!)

Signing off for now!

Lindsay

Magic Elf art!!

2011-12-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

TGIF!! I am so so happy it's Friday already! Only 10 more teaching days to go (but who's counting, right??) Do any of you have to teach until the 23rd?? That would be HORRIFIC! But, we have to come back January 2nd, which is almost as bad. :(
Guess who's gonna be doing laundry and going grocery shopping on New Years Day? Yup, that would be me. Grrr....

As promised, here is the Magic Elf art to go along with my Magic Elf unit on TPT...

Disclaimer... (picture me standing on a soapbox) I never, ever, ever, use patterns or tracers in my classroom. All of the art I have my students make is either a direct draw project or cut and paste using squares and rectangles that are turned into circles and ovals. This Magic Elf project is created only using glue and scissors, NO PENCIL, no drawing the pieces before cutting. I know it sounds scary, but IT REALLY WORKS, and the kids learn how to be creative, independent, problem solvers! Plus, each one is TOTALLY unique and it forces the kids to LOOK, LISTEN, and LEARN. Okay, off the soapbox. :)
I created this elf a few years ago when I taught Kinder, and he has been a class favorite ever since. Here he is....

Here's what you need and the dimensions for each piece. Per child, you need (in inches):

1 green = 7 x 4 for the body/chest (cut the top corners and round)

6 yellow squares = 1x1 for bells (make a "magic circle"-cut the big corners and then the baby corners)

5 red rectangles = 1 1/2 x 2 for the triangle collar (cut a diagonal piece from each side meeting at the top)

1 peach square = 5x5 for the head (magic circle)

1 peach rectangle = 1 1/2 x 5 folded in half for the ears (if it is folded they only need to cut once and they get 2 pieces!) (cut an elf ear shape...I don't know how to describe it, but this part turns out the best because the ears the kids come up with are H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S!)

1 red rectangle = 1 1/2 x 6 for the brim of the hat (magic oval. Same as a magic circle but it turns into an oval)

1 green square = 4x4 for the top of the hat (fold in half. Cut diagonally and unfold. You will get a great triangle!)

1 pink = 2x1 for the cheeks (fold in half, cut one magic circle and you will get 2 when you unfold it)

I always start from the bottom and work my way up when showing my students each step, so you can make sure they have glued it correctly leaving space at the top and as you can see, we add detail with sharpie. :)
We will be gluing our Magic Elf letters next to the art and I also save these for our end of the year "First Grade Adventure" book.
Hope you can use him with your class! I'll be back this weekend with another Magic Elf freebie! BTW, today my students wrote Christmas is a time for "love" in their little books and their illustrations were darling. Warms my heart!
Kerri B

I'm so excited!!

2011-11-30T15:46:00.000-08:00

Hi Peeps! Kerri here...
I'm soooo excited cause tomorrow I get to introduce Magic Elf!! He is all set up and ready to roll...

AND...I found another super adorable elf at VONS today for only $6!! Check out this cutie!!

His name is Winkle! Isn't that too cute?? You can pick one up for yourself if you have a VONS near you to go with my Magic Elf unit (click on pic to go to my store)!

I'm also excited because we have started Cara Carroll's Moon unit (click here) that I purchased and the kids are OVER THE MOON (excuse the pun!) about it. Like seriously into it. They also can't wait to take home the moon bag and draw what it looks like each night (such a FABULOUS idea from Cara!!) Here is my moon bag...isn't it pretty??

Okay, that's all for now. Gotta go make me some enchiladas for dinner! Yummy!!
BTW, I would LOVE to know how Magic Elf is going in your classroom! Please, pretty please, leave me some comments if and when you start using it. :)

Another Magic Elf Freebie, revised Magic Elf unit, and world's most embarassing moment!!!

2011-11-29T16:55:00.000-08:00

Aaarrgh!! I made a tiny boo boo on the Magic Elf unit!! I forgot the word "to" in the first clue!! BOO! I am so sorry! I have revised it, so you can re-download it if you want to from TPT-or you can verbally add the word "to" when you read the clue to your kiddies. :) Sooo sorry, friends!

I'm gonna keep it short tonight, seeing as how I stopped up the garbage disposal last night and my husband had to work his booty off to fix it (ON his birthday, no less!!), so today I have a mountain of dishes that didn't get done AND my kitchen in total disarray. I owe my husband, big time!! (Sorry, Pook!)

Thank you, my Peeps, SOO much for purchasing my Magic Elf unit on TPT!! I got a comment from Amy, who is already using it and she said her kiddos are SO EXCITED!! I'm not starting mine until December 1st, but you can use it for 1, 2, or 3 weeks! There are enough clues for the whole month, but a week long unit will work wonders too! Click on the link to check it out!

Here is another Magic Elf writing paper that you can use this month. This one has a cutey cute border from DJ Inkers. Click on the elf to download!

I'll be back on Thursday or Friday with Magic Elf Art, and I will be posting more freebies the whole month. so keep checking back!

Last thing, my embarassing moment today. I woke up with my allergies OUT. OF. CONTROL. Like a whole box of kleenex, about a brazillion sneezes, and my nose running like MAD. It was seriously making me CRAZY. During our reading lesson, (An Egg is an Egg-cute story) I bent my head over the big book to read, and SNOT literally dripped out of my nose onto the book, for God and all 24 Firsties to see. GREAT!! Of course, they were disgusted, as was I, and I had to jump up to grab a kleenex to stop the flow. I cannot express how mortifying it was...seriously! I can only imagine the dinner conversation tonight that my Firsties will have with their parents...(insert imagination bubble) "Today, Mrs. B got snot all over the book she was reading! It was soooo gross!" Sigh.

Toodles!!

Magic Elf FREEBIE, and Cyber Monday TPT Sale!

2011-11-26T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends! Kerri here. How cute is he??

I'm in love with his cuteness!! I ordered him ON Thanksgiving and he arrived today! That is some kind of service!! Here is the link to the ebay store I got him from: click here
I had to get a new elf, because my Magic Elf from last year is "hiding" somewhere in my classroom and I CANNOT find him! Oh wait, isn't that the point?? Maybe he'll magically show up on December 1st! HA!

Thank you sooo much to those of you who have already purchased my Magic Elf activity packet:

Click here to go to my store!

Here is a freebie to go along with my Magic Elf activity packet on TPT (the clip art is DJ Inkers, hence I could not include it!) Every day, Magic Elf will "catch" 2 or 3 kiddos who were showing the true meaning of Christmas and leave a little note on their desks. On the last day before Winter Break, all the kids will have received a note and they will get to turn it in for a special gift from Magic Elf, which in my classroom is...wait for it...BRAND NEW CRAYONS!! YIPPEE! Since most of my kids have broken, lost, or eaten their crayons from September (seriously!!), these will be perfect for the New Year!
Click on the photo below to snag a copy!

Also, here is the code for the SUPER FABULOUS Cyber Monday sale TPT is throwing! All of the items in my store will be 20% off, plus an extra 10% off using the discount code below! 30% off!! I know I plan on taking advantage of it...there are quite a few beauties on my wishlist as we speak!!

I'll be back later this week with my Magic Elf art project (CUTENESS BEYOND ALL REASON!!) and I'll be posting more Magic Elf freebies all month, so stay tuned!!
XOXO Kerri B

Giveaway Winner, Magic Elf, and Black Friday SALE!!

2011-11-24T20:49:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! Kerri here...
Happy Thanksgiving! I don't know about all of you, but I. AM. STUFFED. What a day of PURE DELICIOUSNESS, thank you to my wonderful mother-in-law, and my mom and step-dad's fantastic cooking. I just brought rolls and pumpkin cheesecake (both store bought...don't judge) so I cannot take ANY credit for today's Thanksgiving feast! But it sure was YUM!

In other news...WE HAVE A WINNER, WINNER, TURKEY DINNER!

Random Number Generator (which I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to capture as a screen shot so I can show you the actual number! Grrr...) chose Number 28!!

Delighted said...

I follow your blog.

First Grade Delight

YAY!! I will email you, First Grade Delight with all of the details so you can choose your framed print from Karen's ETSY store!

I am SOO excited about this...

...my newest activity packet that I just uploaded to my TPT store!

Magic Elf!

If your students are anything like mine, the holidays tend to make them extra rambunctious. Last year, I introduced them to “Magic Elf” and it truly was like magic happened in my classroom! My students became more engaged, more motivated, and better behaved because they knew “Magic Elf” was looking for good behavior that he could report back to Santa, as well as teaching them about the true meaning of Christmas, which we all know is so much more than presents! I bought my “Magic Elf” on Ebay (see picture), but you can use any elf that you find in any store. I have included in this packet a “Magic Elf” clip art buddy for you to use if you cannot find a suitable stuffed elf. Just laminate him and hide him in your class as you would a stuffed elf! :) 4 activities are included for the month of December:

Magic Elf and Daily Messages-Purchase a stuffed elf or laminate the clip art elf that is included in this packet. Laminate messages for durability and cut out. Each morning before your students arrive, hide “Magic Elf” somewhere in your classroom along with one of his messages about the true meaning of Christmas. I have included 17 days worth of messages, so you can choose the ones that work best for you, depending on how many days you are in school the month of December.

Story Paper-Students can write a story about Magic Elf visiting their classroom, and then illustrate their story.

Magic Elf Letter-Students can use the writing paper to write a letter to Magic Elf about what he has taught them, or what they would like him to tell Santa!

Magic Elf Book-Copy the cover and inside pages back to back, including as many inside pages as there are school days in December. Instruct students to draw Magic Elf on the cover. Every day, after reading Magic Elf’s clue each morning to your students, instruct them to write what Magic Elf’s meaning of Christmas was for the day and illustrate what that means to them.At the end of the month, your students will have their own book on the meaning of Christmas to take home and share with their parents!

Click on the picture above to go to my TPT store! In honor of Black Friday (which I plan on sleeping through!), all of my products will be 20% off starting tomorrow, all the way through Tuesday! Let the madness begin! You can also pick up your Holiday Words writing pack for 20% off...Whoot whoot!

Talk to you soon, blogging buddies!

Thanksgiving Art, a couple freebies, and a CUTEY CUTE Holiday Craft!!

2011-11-22T20:38:00.000-08:00

Whew! Can I just say how stoked I am that I get 5 whole days off for Thanksgiving!! YIPPEE!
Hi Friends! Kerri here...
I know this is AGAIN too little too late (just like my Haunted House post!) but here are a couple of art projects my firsties did this week to get into the Thanksgiving spirit...
Check out Mrs. B's Turkey Rescue...

Eat more coconuts?? WHAAT?? I love it!

This guy's waddle is fabulous!

We made these little guys after we read this super cute, vegetarian friendly (like me!!) story...

We also made Pilgrim and Wampanoag Portraits, and wrote a poem about their first Thanksgiving...

Have I already talked about how much I love First Graders' artwork? It is just so authentic and charming!

Click the pictures below to get your own copies of the "Save a Turkey" paper and the Pilgrim and Wampanoag paper (for next year!!)...

Save a Turkey

Pilgrim & Wampanoag Paper

We also made Stone Soup as a class after reading the story, retelling it as a class, and sequencing a Stone Soup poem...Here is our Stone Soup chart that helped us retell the story. I let the kids label our chart this time (you would have thought I let them have a puppy for a class pet!!) and they did a great job!

All of the kids brought in the ingredients and we cooked the soup all day today in crock pots. Of course, we HAD to have pumpkin pie with it!! The pumpkin pie went over a little bit better than the soup, but the kids had a ball making it!! :)

And...Here is a SUPER SIMPLE, uber-adorable Holiday craft that I cooked up with the help of my daughter, Katie Bug! The wooden plaques are 5x7 from Michaels ($1.29 plus my 15% off teacher discount), and I used white, blue, green, and red acrylic paint, and OF COURSE, my favorite teacher's helper of all time, MOD PODGE!! (Please excuse the smudge next to the snowflake...I was being impatient and the paint was not all the way dry when I started to mod podge on the snowman. DURNIT!)

TADA!! I am so proud of Katie's artwork!! And, it is so simple and old-fashioned, which I also LOVE! Hope you can use this idea, if you are in need of a Holiday gift for your parents from your kiddos!

One more thing...don't forget to enter our giveaway for one of these beautiful hand-crafted prints and frames made by Karen at

Wishing You Happiness... (click under the first picture to enter!)

link to giveaway

I'll choose a winner tomorrow morning, after I sleep in! YAY!!

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends! Hope you have a blessed Holiday!

Digraphs, Contractions, Fact Families, and a FREEBIE (of course!)

2011-11-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! Kerri here...
I found these absolutely ADORABLE clipart sets on Scrappin' Doodles (don't you just LOVE Scrappin'Doodles! I know I do!) Here they are...

Aren't they the cutest!! I love the classroom pets one because the lizard reminds me of OUR class pet, Mr. Bojangles, who is growing HUGE, and who the kids LOVE to watch eat crickets...Nasty, I know, but he LOVES them!
We have been working on digraphs, contractions, and fact families in my classroom, so I whipped up these little centers to reinforce what we are learning. I wanted to use this clip art so it would not be holiday specific, and you all could use it any time of the year! :)
3 of the sets are on sale for only $2 each at my TPT store, and the 4th is a sentence scramble for FREE on TPT! YAY!
Click on each picture to go the my TPT store.... And don't forget to enter our giveaway by clicking here!! I appreciate all of you who have commented to win the beautiful prints my friend Karen has created, and for voting for my grant project. :)

Here are my newest center creations...

Have a beautiful weekend!!