End of the Year Student Gift

'Chews' to have a BALL this summer... READ!
After hours of practice and hard work... why not encourage our students to continue reading throughout the summer as our goodbye gift. Fill a small craft bag of bubble gum balls and staple the topper on the bag. A fun poem and directions are printed on the topper for students to receive instructions. Basically... telling them to chew a gumball each day until the flavor is gone, then color in one gumball on the machine (I've included June, July and August). My hope is that our students WILL continue to read over the summer break and not lose skills we have worked so hard on all year. The printables are available in color and black and white. I have also created the directions and 3 gumball machines to fit on 1 page/student to save on paper and work for us ;)
Happy summer. Be sure to save a bag for yourself... think of the novels we've stacked up on our nightstands ;)

CoUnTdoWn and Giveaway...closed

Drum roll.... #23... Amelia... you are the winner!!!

Thanks for playing with me everyone!!

T.G.I.F.

Who said a teacher can't be in 2 places at once!!

This little blue tool allows you to do just that and so much more.

Learning Resources has thought of everything... this particiular goodie is called HearALL Assessment Recorder.  It is durable, easy to assemble and very entertaining. 

It is basically a lightweight portable recorder that is small, compact and requires NO batteries!!!  wAHOO!.  It charges by USB to your computer and doesn't require software to be installed. It has microphones on all four corners and a built in speaker in the middle, allowing you to capture sounds fantastically.  It was fabulous in groups because everyone's response could be heard clearly.

I've also used it with parent volunteers... during reading assessments.  After recording my kiddos I was able to take the device home and listen for myself.

The kids enjoyed  listening to various faculty members read some of our favorite pictures books and of course they LOVED recording themselves and playing it back.

I plan on picking up a couple more this summer for next years reading time.

It's a great deal and device for any classroom at $99.99!

But, tonight I have one to GIVE away... yep, for free.  Trying to keep my teacher friends happy for the final few days.  Just leave me a comment and follow my blog.

Be sure to follow Learning Resources on facebook and twitter.

We'll have a drawing Friday the 25th ;)

Summer Olympics

Let the Games Begin!!! 

I LOVE the summer games... although I won't be in school during the games... we've been chatting about the historical event. I decided to end the year with a Summer Olympic review of Language Arts and Math.

 Hopefully this will get the kiddos involved in the games in a couple of months.  For those that ARE in school during the game, this file contains everything you'll need to create a bulletin board to track the medals the U.S.A. wins!!

ShaRks!

We are testing our EOL Math this week so we needed a little bit of fun and excitement for the other part of our day.  I purchased the Shark Glyph from the Glyph Girls and we've had a ball!!  We read fiction/non fiction... watched movie clips, completed a bit of writing and created a darling glyph.  I had to adapt a couple of ideas... one being the actual glyph.  They turned out so cute... I had to have the kiddos put them into their portfolios.  All I did was shrink them down, down, down to fit on a 8 1/2x 11...which is their portfolio size... if you need a bit of fun ... check these talented ladies out!

Glyph Girls  - Shark Glyph

Happy Birthday... a four footed, furry friend

 

My baby celebrated his 5th birthday today with the extended family. This angel is a blessing  in our lives and happens to have us all wrapped around his tiny little finger.  While opening gifts we was quite surprised to find a fluffy furball in a traveling box.  "Bob!"  Max uses only about 10 words, including mom, dad, bubba, no, yes and up...  he signs and expresses a few others.  In the small vocabulary one word that he says perfectly is, "Bob!"  We don't have a Bob in our family (for generations), no Bob in the neighborhood, no Bob classmates... now thanks to Aunt Jen... Max has his own little furball Bob!!   He couldn't be happier... and nothing makes a mom's heart swell  more than seeing her children healthy and happy!!

Happy Mother's Day to my dear blogging friends!



M&M Math

After completing our Language Arts EOL testing we enjoyed a little treat and math review.  Next up  Math EOL next week.

M&M Math

Mother's Day Gift

This fun little Mother's Day project has evolved over the years... my dear co-worker and friend introduced us to the 'sea salt/pedicure' idea for our mothers.  She wrote a cute poem and a wrapping was created and now it's colored and smells delicious... it's a great way to freshen up the classroom on a hot afternoon.

We bought Epson salt (at Walmart in the pharmacy... about $5.00 for a bag), scents and small jewelry zip bags at the craft store and brought the food color from home. I literally follow the directions on the pictures... pretty simple.  I bring 5 kids up at a time (5 because I have 5 tupperwares that I reuse every year ;)  we scoop and dump the salt, add the scent and color and shake, shake, shake!! We made a quick funnel to get the salt into the little bag and just zipped it up. 

I always have to explain how much I enjoy getting a pedicure.  I actually bring in a price list from the salon I go to regularly for them to see.  We do a little math to see how much it would cost Mrs. Evans to purchase pedicures for EVERY mom in our classroom... we realize it is a bit out of my budget... but realize that WE can offer this wonderful experience to our mom ourselves... with a warm bucket of water and this little kit.  I show the kids how to put a little oil in the palm of their hand and add a bit of salt... rub them together and then rub it on their mom's feet.  We talk about creating a relaxing atmosphere and enjoy a quiet conversation with their mother expressing their love and appreciation for them. 

Some kids go WAY out... with music and candles ... some keep it simple... either way we have received many sweet comments about the kind gesture.
poem

Debbie Diller Style Monthly Math Stations

September Math Stations

JUST POSTED!!

Projector Giveaway & Sale

Projection Camera GIVEAWAY!!! closed

Mrs. Shaw is the lucky winner of the $199 Luna Interactive Projective Camera.

Wahoo!! Happy Teacher Appreciation Monday Mrs. Shaw!

Thanks to everyone for entering!!

Wahoo!! A week ago I received a Luna Interactive Projective Camera from Learning Resources to use in my classroom... it has been so much fun!! It is a little machine with lots of great technology tools.  It contains a digital projection camera, a web cam and photo/video camera.  The Luna has 8 bright LED lights, 3.0 MP camera, bendable gooseneck, built in microphone, and a photo button.

It was very easy to set up with the program launching immediately. 

This new technology is fabulous... and exceeds my expectations.

The kiddos have loved taking pictures, videos and engaging in hands on learning with quality discussion all while showing student samples.

Do you want one for your own classroom???

Let's give one away THIS weekend... a good intro into Teacher Appreciation Week ;)

There are 3 ways to enter...

1- follow my blog

1- visit Learning Resources on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube

3- post about this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, Pinterest or Forums.

Wahoo... TGIF... I'll choose one winner Monday the 7th!!

Good luck and happy weekend!!