MLK Freebies

It's been a relaxing weekend with no specific plans for the first time in a long time. I managed to see the Mockingjay movie and spent most of it stressed out. It was intense! I've read the book, so it really shouldn't have been such a stressful thing, but it had been a long time and I had forgotten a lot of the storyline. 

Sitting down now with some hot chocolate, the pup by my feet, and my plan book to get started on this week's plans. With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day coming up next week, I thought I'd share some MLK freebies that are in my TPT Store. Hopefully they can help with some planning in your class! 

Glitter Text @ Glitterfy.com

The Daily Five Second Edition and Free Printables

I've been spending some time this weekend getting ready for the first week of school (T-minus four days people!) and what I want to teach and how I want to teach it. The beginning of the school year is so critical in getting procedures and routines in place. I feel like there's a small window of time to get the structure I want in my classroom so I like to be very thoughtful in how I go about implementing things. 

I'm recommitting myself to implementing The Daily Five this year and spent some time this summer reading the second edition of the book. 

I've poured over Pinterest and found a lot of great information through some book studies as well. There are so many great resources out there that so many wonderful teachers have put together. 

I finally convinced a friend of mine to join Instagram and Teachers Pay Teachers and they have some great printable posters for your Daily Five room in their store for free! 

Check them out here!

I am excited about these because once I teach the students the basics with all of my anchor charts, I run out of room to put the chart paper posters and my reading bulletin board isn't that big. These printables will be perfect for my size wall. I printed them out and laminated them and am excited about them going up on the wall after I introduce the information.

If you're an Instagramer, take a minute to follow my friend. Lots of flash freebies and giveaways happening on there.  

Glitter Text @ Glitterfy.com

File Cabinet Craziness

Hey hey! Today I'm sharing how I tamed my file cabinet mess this summer by blogging over at The Collaboration Connection.

Check it out if your file cabinet is out of control too and pick up a freebie while you're there!

Glitter Text @ Glitterfy.com

Weekend Freebie

This weekend was spent catching up on my to-do list, cleaning, and planning for the upcoming week. I must say, my favorite cleaning tip recently is to hang a dish brush in the shower that's filled with dish soap for a quick cleaning of the shower. Works like a charm! 

Photo courtesy of Practically Functional

On the school front, my students are just about to finish a unit on three-digit subtraction with regrouping and I feel like it's coming too soon. My kiddos need some more time working on this skill so I whipped up a quick worksheet that mixes addition and subtraction with and without regrouping. I thought I'd share it with you for free because...

If you download this freebie, all I ask is that you leave me some feedback. Thanks!

Have a great week! 

Glitter Text @ Glitterfy.com

February Update, a Freebie, and a Giveaway!

Stopping in today to share some of the things we've been up to in second grade, a freebie, and a giveaway!

We celebrated the 100th Day of School and celebrated with 100th Day Centers. One of the centers was to build a 100 cup structure. Here are some of the kiddos with their structure.

We also celebrated Valentine's Day by making The Teacher Wife's love monster bags to hold our cards. The bags turned out so cute! We used them throughout the day to hold all of our Valentine's Day papers and projects we created, as well as our Valentine's Day cards, and they were perfect to carry home at the end of the day. The back of the bags included a little bio about the monster and the students were pretty creative. I love sneaking writing in to art projects.

We've been working on personal narrative writing and "staying in the moment." We're currently writing about a time we got hurt, and I can't wait to read my students' final drafts! Here's the template we've been using to sketch out our beginnings, middles, and ends, and write our narratives. 

Feel free to grab this freebie if you'd like! 

Outside of second grade, I'm excited to announce that I'm part of a new, fun collaborative blog called The Collaboration Connection.

It's a fantastic group of teachers, clipart creators, and specialists! We're kicking off the blog with a huge giveaway and would love for you to win some great products! Click on the picture to check it out! 

I can't believe the end of February is drawing near! I love seeing all of the daffodils popping up around town letting me know spring is coming soon!

Glitter Text @ Glitterfy.com

Breaking Bad and a MLK Freebie

I recently pulled out my January and February files to do some planning. Don't be too impressed, I never did get to February. And I may have only planned a week or two in January. You know how it goes while on Winter Break...the planbook and files come out, you put on Breaking Bad on Netflix for "background noise" and pretty soon you're four episodes in and nothing is in your planbook. 

Anyway, I came across some Martin Luther King Jr. pages I created for my class last year. If you're looking for something to do with your class in honor of Dr. King, these two pages are a freebie in my store!

Just click on the picture to snag them for yourself. And feel free to leave some feedback if you feel so inclined. 

Enjoy!

The Fantastic Addition of Elf on the Shelf and a Freebie

This is my first year having an Elf on the Shelf in the classroom and I'll start out by saying that I am fully aware of how RIDICULOUS the amount of fun I'm having with our classroom elf is. I'll admit it-I was feeling burnt out. I was feeling grumpy and ready for Winter Break more than I've ever been ready for Winter Break. This elf has made me look forward to going to school each day and I can only hope it's done the same for my students. 

-I love seeing the grins on their faces and the way they all shuffle into the classroom to get a glimpse of where our elf is and what he's been up to. 

-I love hearing the chatter about it as they're on playground and as they're going about their day. 

-I love that their imaginations are at work 24/7 coming up with ideas of things we can add for our elf (he needs a cubby, a stocking, a computer, a book box, and more, according to the students). He is definitely a part of our little 2nd grade family. 

-I love plotting out what our elf is going to do and setting him up. 

-I think the part I love the most though, is a part I wasn't expecting in this elf adventure, and that's the devious collaboration I'm enjoying with my fellow 2nd grade teachers at school. We're sneaking into one another's classrooms and moving the elves unbeknownst to each other, buying one another Elf on the Shelf (or EOTS as I have secretly dubbed it) paraphernalia (DVD's, clothing made for Ken dolls, etc.). 

Here's what's been going on in my classroom:

Our elf arrived from Santa straight from the North Pole. The package was cold and our wonderful school librarian really played it up when she delivered the package to us. 

After reading the story to the students, they each were given a sticky note and told to write a suggestion for a name. The elf was going to pick out his name that night. When the kids came to school the next morning, they found that the elf had chosen the suggestion of...

BACON!

Bacon has been found playing Battleship with some classroom snowmen

Swinging from the snowflake decorations

Sitting in the Christmas tree which he 

recently T.P.'ed 

(a coworker snuck in my room and did this one while we were at recess and the kids thought this was 

SO funny!)

And finally, engaged in, "The Great Snowball Fight of 2013" with another classroom's elf who was unable to go to the North Pole for the night because someone in the class had touched him. 

I even had a student bring in a DVD earlier this week with a home movie of her elf moving. Her parents had set up a video camera in their living room to catch the elf leaving for the North Pole at night. These parents went the extra mile and had the elf walking along the couch, jumping down, walking to the door, jumping up to the door handle, and heading out. There was some great video editing, the help of a fishing pole, and some parents who didn't want their children to stop believing just yet. I showed the class the video and it was pandemonium in the classroom. The next day, a big slew of students had a newly adopted elf at home. A classroom of believers. I love imagination. 

I did a little EOTS surgery this weekend on Bacon and followed this tutorial on how to quickly add wire to his arms and legs to make him bendable. 

I also added Velcro to his hands. A whole new world of possibilities has emerged for this elf!

Each night Bacon writes a letter to the students on elf paper telling them things he was up to, what he told Santa, things he likes in the classroom, etc. Each day the students write a journal entry about what our elf was up to that day. 

If you want a quick journal printable to use for your elf, I'm sharing mine as a freebie. Just click on the picture to take you to it!

 Time to link up your Elf on the Shelf classroom shenanigans with Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations. 

See you over there! 

Olive, the Other Reindeer Fun and a Freebie

It's been a fun week and it's only half way done! With our Elf on the Shelf making his appearance and the Christmas art projects starting to take shape, we are in full holiday mode. 

We're spending this week using reindeer as an inspiration for learning and we started off by reading the book, Olive the Other Reindeer.

Olive is a cute little story about a dog who thinks she's supposed to be a reindeer because she thinks she keeps hearing her name in the lyrics to, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (All of the other reindeer...). The story describes how this dog ends up being a great help to Santa and the reindeer on Christmas Eve. 

After we read the story, we did a fun writing activity in class where the students had to choose an animal that they thought would also be a great addition to Santa's sleigh. 

They planned out their writing

with four reasons their animal would be helpful and then completed their writing on this cute reindeer stationery. 

We talked briefly about great transition words to include in our persuasive writing and then they were ready to get started on their final drafts! 

We had elephants and sharks flying alongside Santa in our writing. They were all very creative and had some great reasons why their animals would be helpful! 

If you'd like to snag a free copy of the writing pages I used, click on the picture below. 

Later this week we're creating some reindeer art from this Pinterest find: 

Source

I can't wait! Love the scarf! 

Enjoy the rest of your week! 

Giveaway and a Freebie

Happy Sunday! My back is still messed up but I am determined to get moving today. I haven't left the house since Thursday and am going a little stir-crazy. Thank goodness this is all happening when school is out, but at the same time, this is all happening when SCHOOL IS OUT! Ya know?

Today I'm popping on to tell you about a fantastic giveaway that I'm a part of, and to bring you a little freebie. First up, Sara from Miss V's Busy Bees is having a One Year Blogiversary Giveaway and she has an amazing amount of prizes for you!

I was playing around on the computer this morning and made a little freebie for ya. It can be used for pretty much anything. As a cover to TPT products, a binder cover, as a poster, whatever. If you do happen to download it, all I ask is for a comment. I'd love to hear what you plan to do with it. Click the link below to download. 

Peach Chevron Freebie Link

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Germs!

Goodness gracious the germs are having a heyday spreading through my classroom! I have had four or five students out each day for the last couple of weeks. Although miraculously they were all at school on Valentine's Day! You can almost see the germies spreading through my room based on who is absent and where they sit. Yuck! I am washing my hands like nobody's business.

Because of the numerous sickies, I had to whip up some extra absent folders that I use in my classroom. I print out the page, glue it on a file folder, laminate, and viola! When a student is out I put the folder on their desk and the person handing out papers adds in a copy for them. This has saved me a lot of time when parents show up unexpectedly to pick up any work their child is missing. I simply hand them the folder from the student's desk and they are on their way.

Our school mascot is an alligator, hence the cute clipart of the gator on the folder (thank you My Cute Graphics! Have you seen that site? If you haven't you must check it out!). If you aren't feeling the gator and have a different request of clipart from that site, let me know and I'll change it for you.

Click here to get your absent folder printable

Two days until Friday! I think I can, I think I can...

Penguins and Valentine's Day

Here's to hoping this short week isn't one of the dreadfully long short weeks! Y'all know what I'm talking about. 

This week my class is knee deep in a penguin unit. Hopefully I'll remember to take some pictures of some of our activities. Penguins are always fun to teach about! Speaking of penguins, here's a little penguin clipart I made. Snatch it up for free by right clicking and save it if you want. 

I pulled out my February files this past weekend to purge the things I've had in there for the past six years and have never used. I swear I do it every year, but for some reason it never seems like it the following year. I'm not really sure how that happens. 

Anyway, I came across the Valentine's Day pages I made last year so I added a Valentine's Day mini language arts pack to my TPT Store. It has five pages of Valentine's Day activities such as: ABC Order, Compound Words, Reading Comprehension, and more. Check it out for only a little over a dollar!

If you're interested in the mini language arts pack leave me a comment. I'll give the first two commenters the pack for free. 

Happy Tuesday!

Blue Covers and a Freebie!

So cold! Brrrrr! The freezing temperatures have forced me to stay inside a little longer than usual and finish up some products. This morning I finished up some blue and green covers that I'm kind of swooning over myself. How lame is that?

The covers can be used for TPT units, binders, or even have lines added to them and be used as stationery. There are a ton of possibilities, really.

Here are some examples and a freebie just for you!

This is how the cover looks before adding anything

Here it is as friendly letter stationery

 And as a binder cover for a penguin unit

Head over to my TPT Store to find 31 other green and blue covers to use your creativity with! 

And, as promised...the blank blue polka dot cover above is a freebie for you! Just click here.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

100th Day

The 100th Day of School is quickly approaching, and while this always seems to be a much bigger deal in Kindergarten and First Grade, The Lesson Plan Diva has some adorable 100th Day writing freebies for all ages! Check it out!

Head on over to her blog to get your freebies!

New Year, New Ideas

I'm very excited today to be a part of Primary Possibilities' New Year, New Ideas, New Possibilities Linky Party! This linky party has bloggers guest posting on other sites so that everyone can share and collect ideas, find new blogs, and "meet" new people. 

I'm blogging today at We Are ALL Special, and I'm very lucky to have Megan from I Teach. What's Your Super Power? guest posting on my blog! I hope you'll take some time to find some creative ideas to use in your classroom and new blogs to follow.

Hi there!  I'm Megan from I Teach. What's Your Super Power?

I like to blog about a mixture of teaching stuff like tips on getting your kids to revise and editing their writing.  Without want to die.

Techy teachery ideas because I'm a closet computer nerd.

And random life stuff like my laundry room makeover.

I'm still on Christmas break right now and am having a hard time getting myself out of fun mode and back into school work mode.  So, today instead of parting some bits of life changing teacher wisdom, I'm going to share a fun Valentine's Day activity.  I can't claim this one.  Another teacher shared it with me a loooooong time ago.

It all starts with this book:

This is a super sweet book.  Each set of pages follows a rhyming pattern.  The first set of pages are:

Every bird loves a bee,

Every flower loves a tree,

Every lock loves a key,

And I love you.

Each page continues this way.  The first three lines rhyme and the last line is always "And I love you."  Honestly, my kids enjoy it but give me a crazy look because it's too young for them compared to our usual read alouds.  After reading it, I tell them that we're going to make a similar book to share with our friends in Kindergarten.

Using this planning page, first I model, and then they plan independently:

Click on image to download planning sheet.

Then they make their final copies.  (I wish I had some old pictures!!)  We put them together as a class book or two and pass them on to Kindergarten.  Since it's a rebus book, all of the kindergarteners are able to read them, regardless of where they currently are.

 If you've never visited I Teach. What's Your Super Power? before, I hope you'll stop by and say hi!

Don't forget to visit We Are ALL Special's blog to see what Covered in Glitter and Glue is up to!


Enjoy your weekend!