tpt sale!

I've been waiting for a Teachers Pay Teachers sale! There are several things on my Wish List I've really wanted to buy but was hoping I could get on sale…and I did! And it's really great because most items are already on sale PLUS you get to add the promo code on top of that PLUS TPT credits if you have some! I found some great CVC stuff and a huge guided reading product! I also bought a story starter bundle…that will grow each month! I was especially excited about that one because I was able to buy it now but have new writing prompts added each month. 

Some of my other purchases:

blends and digraph freebie

I'm making a goal for this year: to blog! Eventually, I want to be one of those extremely creative teachers who make and sell products on Teachers Pay Teachers. Eventually :) But for now, I just want to work on consistently sharing good things I find and what works in my classroom. 

So I'm passing along these great freebies from Mrs. Lemons! I found her original post about two years ago and immediately downloaded the posters. But then this week I couldn't find the file and realize I hadn't pinned it on Pinterest either (what did I do before Pinterest?!). But then after much looking I finally…finally…found what I was looking for!

Not all of my kindergarten kiddos are ready for blends and digraphs but some are. We've talked a little about them off and on but once we get back from Christmas break, I'm going to start talking about them more. I've already backed my posters on teal paper and just need to laminate them. I originally thought about making a cute bunting with them to hang at my small group table but these posters are too big - something to think about for next year though :) Instead, after we talk about a blend/digraph, I'm going to run a string above the bulletin board at my small group table and hang that poster on the string. 

Click here to go to Mrs. Lemons blog and download the posters for yourself :)

~ Amber

to do list

So I found out this past week that I'll be teaching first grade come August! I was a T.A. this past year but taught first grade the year before that. It's a long story but instead of last year being a step back it really wasn't since it's at this school that I was hired! I look at last year as a chance to regroup and be able to watch some great educators as they teach. God works things out - even if we can't see how at the time. So I'm in the midst of starting to make a to do list, preparing to move my stuff to my classroom and getting everything ready! I'm going through my boards on Pinterest, getting lots of inspiration :)

elapsed time freebies

It's been a while but I was looking for some elapsed time ideas to use with my group of second grade kiddos and found these freebies!

task cards

fairy tale writing project

cards

number line

sharing some chevron love

I like patterns - polka dot, mustache and chevron. I came across some super cute chevron freebies I'd like to pass along. Enjoy!

welcome banner

teacher notes

classroom rules 

Here are some more great ideas!

beyond the text

A group of third graders I tutor is going to be reading What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? I flipped through the book and think they'll enjoy it. There aren't a lot of words on the pages but I feel like we can do a lot with it. I'm thinking we'll do a writing piece afterwards where they have to tell what their defense would be if they were an animal. But then I thought about taking this a bit deeper. I went to the library and stumbled upon this great series of books, Animal Attack and Defense. I grabbed all the ones I could find! I was getting a little discouraged because I found random books on different animals but I really wanted...a series...and this is perfect! I'm adding it to my Amazon wish list for my classroom so I can buy them later :) So I think I'll give each kiddo a book and let them pick one animal to focus on. I found a cute graphic organizer on Teachers Pay Teachers they can fill out as they go, telling us about the animal's habitat, what it eats and its defense. If we have time, I may get some butcher paper and let them all share some of their findings with the others!

popsicle sticks

Popsicle sticks are awesome. They can be used for so many things! I used them last year for a sight word game called Boom! This year I found a similar version called Bump! to use for spelling the words instead of just being able to read them. The fifth graders I use the game with really like it and ask the next day if we'll be playing it :) I bought some colored sticks to use with some rereading practice. I found this great idea on Teachers Pay Teachers and instead of printing and laminating cards, I'm going to use popsicle sticks instead. There are some great ideas on Pinterest too - including this one!