January Word Work Freebie

I enjoy this time of year in kindergarten because (most) of the kids are ready to move beyond basic alphabetic principals and really work with words.  Everything grows in the next 3 months:  writing, spelling, reading, sentence building...and on and on.  Now is the time of year the kids are more independent and are excited for some new/harder work,  Love it! 

As I'm sitting watching Kung Fu Panda 2 with my kids and it is FINALLY snowing outside I decided to finish my January Word Work pack and put it on TPT.  I probably won't print my own out until I go back to school on Tuesday but thought I'd put it in my store early.  (I had planned to try and go into work for at least a few hours...but it's just so nice being at home! I will suffer slightly for that as I have no specials on Tuesday and my January calendar is not ready.  Oh well!)

Anyhoooo......Click the picture above for a free mitten/glove making words activity and click here to see my January Word Work packet on TPT.

Let it snow...let it snow....let it snow!!!!!!

Thistlegirl Freebie

I am so excited!  Thistlegirl had a 50% off coupon so I used a little of my Christmas money and bought myself a reseller's license!  I can't share my DJ Inkers creations but now I can share my Thistlegirl creations! Click on the image above to get my first Thistlegirl freebie!

DJ Inkers Freebies

Tammy from Live, Love, Laugh Everday in Kindergarten posted today about a copyright issue with DJ Inkers and freebies.  I did not know we couldn't share DJ inkers projects.  I knew we couldn't sell them but didn't know we couldn't share them.  So sad.  A few of my freebies will have to come off.  So sorry.  DJ Inkers is missing out on a great market.  Love their stuff but won't be purchasing more if it means I can't share!

A few things I had to remove because they contained DJ inkers clipart and/or fonts:
ABC Posters
Thanksgiving Bracelet
ABC Writing and Drawing
SANTA

I will try to redo these projects without DJ inkers but it might be awhile before I get them replaced.  Ugh.

Flip Flap Resolutions

Anyone love Flip Flap books as much as I do?  They can be use for absolutely anything!  Here's one I used to do with my first graders.  They would write a New Year's resolution under every flap.  I might try it this year with my kindergarteners....if I can explain the word "resolution."  Hhmm....maybe I'll try it next year....

If you haven't made Flip Flap books yet here are the directions:
Fold on the solid line.
Unfold and cut the dotted lines until the reach the fold (stop at the fold!)
Fold again and your book will flip and flap! Lift up the flaps to write your resolutions.

Live, Laugh, Love Everyday in Kindergarten is hosting a linky party about New Year's Resolutions.  Here are mine:

Personal:  Spend more time with my family.

Professional:  Organize!!!

Blogging/TPT:  Increase sharing and thanking others for their sharing!

 

Holly Bloggy Christmas

Thank you Lindsay from My Life As a Fifth Grade Teacher for this awesome gift!  It's a Mini Organizer from Thirty-One (Love their products...have LOTS of their stuff!)  This is one I didn't have yet and it's my favorite color! 

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!  My house is a mess...I'm sure the floor is still there I just can't see it right now.  But BIG smile on my face because my kids have all day tomorrow to clean it all up!  Yeah, right.

Happy Holidays from my family to yours.  Here are my 2 beauttiful daughters after round 1 of Christmas at the first Grandma's house.  That's me on the floor looking exhausted...it's a lot of work to eat all day and sit around!  haha!

So Neat!

Head over to Teach On to find out about this very cool classroom management website called Class Dojo.  It is FREE so I signed up right away....love free stuff!  I can't wait to try this with my class.  Think I'll wait until after Christmas Chaos is passed though!  I jokingly told a non-teacher friend of mine that the kids are on Christmas crack right now and that they all need to go home for a week of detox and then they will come back sober and ready to function in society again!  I think only a teacher will understand the truth and humor in that statement!  1 more day....1 more day....1 more day!  I can do it!

A little perspective in a crazy week

The Dash 
Copyright 1998


I read of a reverend who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard,
Are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
To consider what's true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile?
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read
With your life's actions to rehash,
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?

Linda Ellis

What a Day!

It was just one of THOSE days....sigh.   Here are a few highlights:

***First greeting of the day from a student:  Mrs. Rist, I threw up this morning but my mom said it was ok to go to school      HUH???

***report card testing:  students are supposed to be writing dictated letters   ME:  on line 1 please write a capital M      First student paper I look at as I'm walking around has the number 40 written down!! WHAT???

***Each teacher signs up for a month to bring potluck for all the teachers....my group of 9 decides to bring appetizers and desserts...yum, right?  Guess not because we had 5 people telling us there were complaints that "that is not a meal!"   SERIOUSLY???  It's free food!   Who complains about free food???

***DIBELS testing is over and my scores....sigh again.    I want to cry and shout YES...I AM TEACHING THIS YEAR!!

***I thought all day that today was Wednesday...nope...only Tuesday.....and yes I have get to teach all week!

But all is not lost!  When I opened up to my blog today I found this waiting for me:

Thank you Chrissy from First Grade Found Me for ending my day on a high note! 

The Liebster Blog Award goes to blogs that have less than 200 followers so let me pass it on to these sites that I love:

    

Love, love, love your blogs ladies!  Thank you for all your sharing!

Christmas Gifts for Parents

An oldie but a goodie.  I make these every year with my class because when I married my husband his mom gave me his banner he made in 3rd grade.  It was an "awww.." moment and I decided right then and there that I was making one every year with my class.  Unfortunatly I don't think parents like them as much as I do: over the 10 years I've been doing them I've had 2 parents say they liked them....maybe that's normal???  Anyways, I LOVE them and when I get siblings in my class it's so fun to hear them say "My brother/sister has one of those!"

Here's how it looks at my house:  the 2 on top are my daughter's and the one on the bottom is my husbands from 1985! 

Elf Yourself!

Ever seen the site Elf Yourself?  It is so much fun and was the inspiration of this Elf project years ago.  This year, before we elfed ouselves we read the book Who Will Help Santa This Year?  (The cutie in the picture is my daughter.)

 My coworker Jill found an Elf Application on pinterest (don't have the exact site it came from but I've seen it on a lot of blogs and pinterest sites.)   And here is the display we ended up with (complete with 75 elf applications!)

So fun!

Button at Last!!!!! And a Freebie to Celebrate!

I am SO excited!  I FINALLY figured out how to add a button for followers to grab.  YEAH!  I've been puzzled by that for weeks!  Now I've been to all my favorite blogs and grabbed their buttons and hopefully a few will grab mine (hmm...I hope it works!)

If you grab my button and it works let me know...I would be EVER so grateful!

Also...in celebration I made this button themed Read the Room!

How to Accept a Gift (Lesson and Freebie)

I am SO excited....I got my Holly Bloggy gift in the mail Saturday and can not WAIT to open it!  I even made my husband hide it!  The best thing about the gift is that I found a fun new blog to follow.  Check out Linsday over at My Life as a Fifth Grade Teacher.  She has a fun site and a great sense of humor!
Getting the present reminded me of my favorite holiday lesson:  How to Accept a Gift.   I first saw a version of this lesson taught by an awesome counselor a few years ago and have since modified it (a little) to work with my teaching style.  Here it is:

1.  I open a previously wrapped present in front of my class (I wrap up an ugly sock).  I tear the wrapping paper off without looking to see who it's from, I say mean things about it once it's open and then I go throw it away.  Reactions to this are priceless...some stare at me in shock and some laugh like crazy...that alone will tell you a lot. 
2.  Next comes the discussion.  I ask the kids, "What do you think was wrong with the way Mrs. Rist opened that package?"   Hopefully I will get a few clever kids who come up with the words "rude" and "mean."
3.  Then I open another previously wrapped package (it's the other ugly sock).  This time I model the "correct" way by using the High Five Rules:

 #1 Check to see who it's from (I say it's from one of my students and ask them to play along.)

#2 Show gratitude  (Thank you SO much for buying me a gift.  It was so kind of you to think of me!)
  #3 Open it nicely!

#4 Say thank you and mean it!  (I model again a "thank you" that looks like I mean it and a "thank you" that looks like I'm just saying it because I have to!)

  #5 Tell the person why you like it or how you will use it. (I think up all the fun ways I can use 1 sock: puppet, dusting mitt, etc.)

 4.  After my demonstration I will let a few kids try it also (I put random things into a Christmas bag b/c I just don't have time to wrap 24 fake presents!)  I'll use paperclips, scraps of paper, a single pencil, etc. and the kids have to use the "High Five" method to accept the present.

5.  Then we each get a "High Five" paper to color and take home so Moms and Dads can help their child practice.

6.  Each day I'll pick a few more kids to model for us so we keep it fresh in our minds right up to Christmas.

7.  If any of my kids bring me a Christmas  present I make sure I do all 5 steps b/c they will watch and check!  We also exchange coloring books at our Christmas party and we walk through the 5 steps when opening our presents.

That's it.  Hope you find it useful.  The handout is not cute but it gets the job done!  Click on the picture if you'd like a copy.

A Few of My Favorite (Christmas) Things

First of all, I want to say "I knew it!!!"  My class has been NUTS all week and as I was driving home tonight I saw the biggest full moon I've ever seen!   I was thinking either there was a nasty storm headed our way or there was going to be a full moon soon!  Big sigh of relief...there was a reason for their madness!

So, I'm finally getting into the holiday spirit.  Took me a little longer this year (usually I'm on board by November 1st) but I finally got there!  Better late than never. 

In the spirit of the season here are a few of my favorite Christmas things:

1.  My daughter in her Christmas program.  Don't you just LOVE her smile?  She has a zest for life that shines through in everything she does!



2. The view from my bedroom when I walk down my stairs in the morning to get my morning coffee. (I will miss the tree when it's gone.)

Pictures don't do it justice!

4.  The view from my favorite "blogging" spot.  (I'm sure the people driving by wonder if I ever move.)

(If you can't tell...I love Christmas lights!)

5.  Corn Flake Wreaths.  YUM!!!

6.  FREEBIES!  Ok, that's not just a Christmas favorite...that's an all the time favorite!    Click on the word Santa to get a Pocket Chart Freebie of Dr. Jean's S-A-N-T-A Song.



Elf Emergent Reader Freebie

Crazy, crazy, crazy time of year!  I finally got my Holly Bloggy Christmas gift done and boxed up...now to find time to get to the post office! 

If you click on the picture above it will take you to my TPT store where you can download a fun little Emergent Reader for FREE!  Looooove freebies!!!

Here's my funny for the day:  While decorating for Christmas the other day the song Feliz Navidad came on the radio and my 5 year old daughter said, "Oh mommy, I love this song!" and started singing along.  Her version of the song goes likes this, "These naughty dogs...these naughty dogs....you can't see no fleas on these naughy dogs."  HA!  Of course teacher mom in me started to teach her the "right" words but she just gave me a strange look and said, "Mom, that makes NO sense."  I love the 5 year old minds!

By the way....18 days to Christmas!!

Read Room Freebie

One sick kid, me, my laptop (big YEAH for blogs and pinterest!), lots of prayers for my sub, and my Clorox spray....makes for an interesting Friday!

If you click on the pic above you can download a Christmas Read the Room I'll be putting in centers in the next few weeks.  I also left some blank cookies so you can fill in your own words b/c really...how often are we all teaching the same words at the same time?  

Have a great Friday!