Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Linky Party--Let's Get Acquainted!



Favorite Ice Cream Flavor-My old standby is neapolitan! A little bit of all the classic flavors! However, I wouldn't turn away chocolate chip cookie dough if you handed it to me    =)
Favorite Memory from College-My college roomies were the best! I had so much hanging out with these lovely ladies and all of our nutty friends! I believe in this picture, Melissa and I had to make instruments for our teaching arts class, and the other girls picked up something that they could play, too. We've got a glass bottle, two vacuum cleaner hoses, a shaker, and a tambourine. I don't have a clue why we don't have a recording deal yet  =)

Favorite Sports Team-University of Georgia! Goooooooo Dawgs! Sic 'em! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!
 
Favorite Fast Food Place-Subway! Eat Fresh! I don't know why I like Subway so much, especially since I don't eat many of the veggies, but I could basically eat it at every meal (much to my hubby's dismay!)
Wild Card Fact About Me-When I was my student's age, I was convinced I would marry Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I had posters of him ALL OVER my bedroom (thank you Tiger Beat for that). Also, I'm also pretty sure I rigged games of MASH so I would end up with him as my hubby!! Awww, to be young again  =)

Monday, April 15, 2013

Bossy R Freebie!

I can't believe this school year is almost over! Only 26 more days! Some years, I would wish that time away, but not this year. I have such a great little class and I hate to see them go. After all, you never know what little darlings next year will bring....

During this end-of-the-year time, I'm reviewing our phonics skills from the year. My school uses Saxon Phonics, which I like, but the curriculum moves really quickly. It spends one day on a skill and then moves to something else. Whoosh!

I noticed my kiddos having trouble with r-controlled vowels, so we spent last week reviewing good ol' bossy R.
  • We did a "write the room" activity with pictures of bossy R words. The kids had to sort each picture into it's correct bossy R spelling.
  • We talked about the bossy R triplets--ER, IR, and UR--that all make the same sound.
  • We read bossy R books like Shark in the Park. Oh that Timothy Pope and his telescope!
  • In groups, student
  • +s brainstormed as many bossy R words as they could. They came up with some good ones!
  • We made a garden of bossy R flowers.
I was pretty proud of this last activity since I created the worksheet myself. I'm still new at this worksheet-making thing, but I'm having fun learning! My fellow teachers helped me test this activity out and they liked it, too.
Click here if you'd like the worksheet. FREEBIE!
 
Here are some pictures of our finished projects. Each teacher did it a little differently...


 


Tuesday, April 9, 2013

I Made Something!!!!!!!

I did it!!!!! I made something to share with anybody and everybody who wants to use it!!!!! I'm SO excited!!!!!!!!

Ok, let me back up. One of the main reasons I started a blog was because of how much I use other people's blogs. Teachers share so many awesome resources and ideas, and I wanted to contribute as well. So my real-life bestie Melissa from Don't Let the Teacher Stay Up Late helped me set up this blog and taught me how to make activities for my classroom. Thanks, Melissa!

So....TA-DA!! Here it is! My first activity. It's a long vowel sort that reviews vowel digraphs like AI, AY, EI, UE, EY, EE. My fellow first grade teachers helped me test it out today and they approved. I hope you can use it, too! There's two versions to differentiate the difficulty (if your school is like mine, differentiate is the ultimate buzz word!). Enjoy!

A not-related-to-teaching post about a cute little puppy!

Last summer, my hubbie and I adopted a dog. She was a 16 week old lab mix, and she's been spoiled rotten ever since! Neither my husband nor I want another dog permanently, but there's such a huge stray population in our area that we decided to give fostering a dog a whirl. A whirl it has been! Saturday, we picked up our first foster dog--an 8 week old puppy. Let me mention again that we got our dog at 16 weeks...when she was already house broken. I had no idea how much work went into crate training and potty training a puppy! At night we are getting up every 3 hours to let him out and during the day we have to watch him constantly to make sure he doesn't tinkle in the house (thank goodness for hardwood floors!). He's got super hero powers, though, because after all that work, he gives you one little look with those puppy eyes, and it all seems worth it! He's going to be a great dog for someone someday. Just look at him!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

A Few of my Favorite Things Linky


Favorites Survey

Favorite Place to Shop
 I love, love, LOVE NY&Co clothes! They have a great selection of work clothes, casual clothes, and "going out" clothes. Plus, they have a teacher discount!
 
Favorite TV Show
This show is HILARIOUS. I am soooooo ready to meet the mother!!!!! If we don't meet her this season, I'm going to be pretty upset!
 
Favorite Sweet Treat
 One word: YUM!
 
Favorite Food
 
OK, this isn't exactly a food, but I LOVE to drink Coke! I don't like coffee, I don't like alcohol, and I certainly don't like Pepsi, but I could drink Coke all day everyday! I know, I know...it's incredibly bad for me. I try to drink in moderation. Try.
 
Favorite Restaurant
Cheese dip! Gooey, yummy, cheese dip! I probably eat a pound of it every time I go to El Sombero.