Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Winter and Christmas Crafts for Kids

Here are six cute Christmas and winter crafts for kids:

1) Footprint Reindeer from Baby Photography Studio

2)  Pine Cone Tree from Crafter's Delights

3)  Homemade Snow Globes from Martha Stewart

4) A Birdseed Wreath from Canadian Family

5) Paper Plate Christmas Trees from I Heart Crafty Things
 * I heart people who heart things like me!

6) Snowman Socks (doubles as a hand warmer!) from The Purple Pug

Do you have a favorite winter craft?  Share a link to your favorite below!

Cyber Monday & Tuesday Sale

The Cyber Monday and Tuesday Sale is almost here!

To help you get ready, here is a list of some of the stores who are participating:

Cyber Monday & Tuesday Sale on TPT!

Load up your wish lists now!  The Cyber Monday & Tuesday Sale is coming to TPT.

All items in my store will be 20% off, plus get an additional 10% with promo code CYBER for a total of 28% off!

Also, my December Writing Prompts and January Writing Prompts have been posted just in time for the sale.  You can find them here:

1st Grade:
December 1st Grade Common Core Writing Prompts
January 1st Grade Common Core Writing Prompts 

2nd Grade: December 2nd Grade Common Core Writing Prompts
January 2nd Grade Common Core Writing Prompts 

3rd Grade:
December 3rd Grade Common Core Writing Prompts
January 3rd Grade Common Core Writing Prompts 

4th Grade:
December 4th Grade Common Core Writing Prompts
January 4th Grade Common Core Writing Prompts 

5th Grade:
December 5th Grade Common Core Writing Prompts
January 5th Grade Common Core Writing Prompts


*That cute image above is from Ink-N-Little-Things.  You can check out her store here: Ink-N-Little-Things

Happy Thanksgiving!

For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving today, I hope you have a wonderful day with family, friends, and food.

For those who do not, I hope you have an equally amazing day!

Homemade Apple Pie!

Quote of the Week

December Writing Prompts are Here!

December Common Core Writing Prompts are here!

Each packet of writing prompts includes a total of 33 Common Core aligned writing prompts:

• 11 opinion prompts
• 11 informational/expository prompts
• 11 narrative prompts

All prompts also come in three different forms to meet the needs of your classroom and your students:

• Posters for Classroom Display
• Individual Writing Prompt Cards
• Individual Lined Writing Paper

Each packet is only $5.00 and you can check them out with the links below:

1st Grade Common Core Writing Prompts

2nd Grade Common Core Writing Prompts

3rd Grade Common Core Writing Prompts

4th Grade Common Core Writing Prompts

5th Grade Common Core Writing Prompts

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Snacks for Kids

Whether you want a snack for your own kids or for your students, the little ones (and big ones) are sure to enjoy some of these cute Thanksgiving treats:

Acorn Cookies from It's Written on the Wall

 Cornucopia for Kids from Sippy Cup Mom

Corny Cookies from Spoonful

Healthier Options:

Turkey Veggie Cup from Be Different Act Normal

Fruit Turkey from Clean and Scentsible

Apples & Peanut Butter Turkey from The Party Animal

Enjoy!

Conferences, a Cold, and Upcoming Holidays... Oh My!

Unintentionally, I have taken quite a break from posting with the exception of my Quote of the Weeks. 

I planned to take a short break during conference week, then the following week I was preparing for and hosting a Family Literacy Night, then this dang lingering cold hit me, and now Thanksgiving is very much on my mind. 

Where did the time go?

We'll I'm back, still a little stuffy, but back!  Keep your eyes open for some last-minute Thanksgiving ideas and upcoming December and Christmas posts. 

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Halloween Fun!

Our pumpkins this year didn't turn orange in time to carve them, so I did a little DIY project:

My husband helped out too...

By creeping in the window!


Hope everyone has a great last week of October!

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Resource Round-Up: Letter Recognition

Recognizing letters is a foundation skill that all learners need.  True, you don't need to know the name of a letter in order to read: knowing the names of c, a, and t won't help you read the word cat. 

Nevertheless, knowing letter names is important.  If you ask, "How do you spell cat?"  The answer you'll hear is, "C. A. T." 

While many kids learn the names of letters quickly, others struggle.  Here are some resources that will help those who struggle catch up:

1) 10 Ways to Build Letter Recognition from Moms of Dyslexics {And Struggling Readers}

2) Alphabet Activities for Every Season from No Time for Flash Cards

3) Letter Identification Activities from PreKinders

4) Letter Recognition: Kindergarten and 1st Grade RTI from my TPT store

 

  

What are your favorite letter recognition activities?

TeachersPayTeachers Sale!

TPT is having a 10% off sale to celebrate 100k likes on facebook.  If you don't already follow them/like their page you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/TeachersPayTeachers

To celebrate my entire store is 20% off!  So head on over to TPT: iHeartLiteracy and stock up on some goodies!


Remember, use promo code FB100K at checkout to get an additional 10% off!

Happy shopping!

Friday Freebie: Pumpkin "Following Directions" Activity

Many of the students who see me for reading intervention struggle with other academic skills like following directions. To help emphasize why following directions is important and to open a discussion about directions in terms students can easily understand, I created this fun, fall-themed freebie: Pumpkin Design - A Following Directions Activity.

The steps are easy:

1. Students design their own pumpkin.
2. Students write out step-by-step directions on how to color a pumpkin exactly like they did in Step 1.
3. Students get another student's directions and color a new pumpkin following those directions.
4. Share and discuss the importance of following directions.

Here are a few examples from my class:

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week

Resource Round-Up: Healthy Halloween Snacks

Happy October! 

Today's resource round-up is not focused on academic resources, but instead hones in on one of my favorite activities: eating!

Here are a few fun and healthy snacks for October and Halloween:

1)  Banana Ghosts & Orange Pumpkins!
*You've probably seen this one floating around pinterest.

Quote of the Week

Resource Round-Up: Fine Motor Skills

A handful of my kiddos always struggle with handwriting, and especially for the younger students, it often ties directly into their motor skills and their ability to hold a pencil properly.

So here are some resources that can help build fine motor skills, and in turn, help students develop their handwriting:

1.  Fine Motor Skill Activities from Mom's Library

2.  20 Fine Motor Activities for Kids from A-Fun-Day

  

3.  10 Things Kids Love When Working on Fine Motor Skills from Frogs & Snails & Puppy Dog Tails

What are your favorite fine motor activities?

Fall Word Family Leaves: A Fun Game & Literacy Center Idea

Autumn is officially here!  And it just might be my favorite time of year. 

The air gets crisp.  The leaves turn into a rainbow of reds, browns, and tans.  Football.  Hot chocolate. Curling up under a blanket with a good book... there is just so much to love!

To help celebrate fall in my classroom, I created a new literacy center: Word Family Leaves.

Students get to search through piles of leaves to find their word family words and record them on their sheet. 

My second grade kiddos played the game today and LOVED it.  (I do not point out, however, that they are essentially practicing a chore they may have to help out with in the next few weeks.)

If you're interested, Word Family Leaves is available in my TPT store.  You can access it here: Word Family Leaves.