Teacher Appreciation Sale

It's time!!!!  Time to celebrate all the love, dedication, time, and energy the wonderful teachers around us put in for our kids year after year!!  To say thanks, everything in my store will be 

28% off June 6 & 7.

Click on the image below to find my store.  

I truly appreciate all of the teachers out there and their encouraging words, thoughts, and support. As a big thank you, I have a little freebie for you as well.

Click on the picture below.

"Thank be unto Go for his unspeakable gift." 2 Corinthians 9:15

Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun Blends & Digraphs

It's finished!! Yeah!!  Set #2 - Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun Blends and Digraphs.  My kiddos just love these because they are a fun little challenge.  Each puzzle has two versions:  with and without a word bank.   I love this activity because several kiddos may need the word bank, while others may be ready to try them without.  Teachers can use the version that is just right for each individual learner.  So....if your kiddos need a little extra fun, check them out.

Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun Short & Long Vowels - Set 1 

Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun Blends & Digraphs - Set 2

"They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share" 1 Timothy 6:18

Crossword Puzzle Fun Freebie

We did it!!!! We learned all 44 sounds in the English language.  Now we are ready to begin our 5 week short vowel review and our 5 week long vowel review.   We will focus on 1 vowel sound a week in phonics and build words centered around that vowel.

My kids love it when I give them a challenge, so why not do it with something that "big" people do - Crossword Puzzles.  This fun set, Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun Set 1, includes words for all 5 short vowels and all 5 long vowels.  Some of my kiddos are ready to spell the words out all by themselves, but some still need a little help.  Each vowel sound has a crossword puzzle with 5 words and matching picture clues in two different versions: with and without a word bank.    

To find the entire Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun set, click on the pictures above.

I thought it would be fun to celebrate with a freebie.  To download the Short A and Long A FREEBIE pages, click on the link below!  

Crossword Puzzle Freebie - Short A and Long A

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:31

Letters - Trace, Say, Glue and Write

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends!!  I love having 5 days off!  We packed up and headed to my mom and dad's house.  It's always great to go home for a few days.  I love you mom and dad!!  :)

I am sooooo excited to show you the phonics pack I just finished - Trace, Say, Glue and Write!  My daughter is in kindergarten, and when I was making this she couldn't wait for me to finish the "Kk" page.  She told me she got an N on her progress report because she was having trouble printing the lowercase "k" correctly, and she needed the "Kk" page to practice.  Soooo, this pack was kid approved, even before it was finished!!! She sat down beside me working on the pages before I even had it finished. lol

I created a page for each letter in the alphabet and then several pages with multiple letters for review.  I wanted a little something extra for when I introduce the letters and sounds.  This is great for independent practice or center work.   Plus, my kiddos love using their highlighter, and I let them use it on the trace part.  Then they find and glue on the pictures that begin with the correct sound, find and glue on the matching letters (I used various fonts), and finally write the uppercase and lowercase letter 5 times each.  Here is an example of the "Bb" page.  Download the preview file to check it out.

A couple weeks ago, I finished Trace, Count, Glue and Write.  It is the same idea but includes numbers, counting, ten frames and number words.  I am working on Trace, Read, Glue and Write with CVC, CVCC, CCVC, and high frequency words.  It will be finished soon!! :)

Also, remember, the HUGE 2013 Cyber Monday sale is coming up!  All of my products will be 28% off.  Check it out for some super great savings.  Click on the picture below to find my TpT store.

"Enter the temple gates with Thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise." Psalm 100:4

Tracer Spacers

I shared this last month over on the Organized Classroom Blog.  I wanted to share it here too!

Teachers are always looking for ways in which their classroom supplies can stretch a little further or serve a duel purpose.  Yep, that's me!!   I have seen those really cute little spacer guys that help kiddos with their writing and make the perfect space, but of course I multi-task, multi-purpose, multi-anything really.  So......I invented the Tracer-Spacer.  Okay, I really didn't invent the pen, but maybe the word.  Heheheheh

At the beginning of our sentence writing process, we do a lot of tracing and copying to work on letter placement and spacing.  Our Tracer-Spacer comes in very handy.  We trace the sentence and then flip the pen around for a sentence spacer when we write.

The kids love the fact that they can pick a different color every time they trace, and I love it because it is so fun to say!!  Say it one time to them and it sticks.  Think about your classroom.  What else could serve a duel purpose?  How could you reuse something in your room?

It's Tower Time - Counting 1-10

We have been working on our numbers 1-10.  This fun little game gets us working with a partner, counting, and writing all at the same time.  One partner builds a tower using blocks and the other partner counts and writes the number.  During this time we also work on praising each other and helping if needed.

Check out this great little pack for printing numbers.  It includes printing pages for 1-10, 1-20, 1-50 and 1-100.  There are also tracing pages for 1-10 and 1-20. 

Click on the picture above to find this great classroom resource.

"For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised."  1 Chronicles 16:25

Lessons From a Lemonade Stand

This week worked on Lessons From a Lemonade Stand.  Yeah!!  What a way to welcome in spring and this warm weather.  Even though it actually snowed on Tuesday!!  Eeek.  30 one day, 70 the next......that is Kansas weather for you.

We read Lemonade for Sale, and the kids a lot of fun.  They were very eager for Friday when we got to put up the lemonade stand for our math graphing activity. 

We made 3 different types of lemonade:  regular lemonade, pink lemonade and limeade.  The kids got to try all 3, and they had to pick their favorite kind.   By the looks on their faces, there was definitely a favorite.

Then came the data collection.  What was our favorite kind?  They had their data collection sheet, and I put our class list on the back.  The kids went around and asked each other which kind of lemonade was their favorite.  We used tally marks to collect our data, and then marked off each name as they went around.

After collecting our data, it was time to analyze and graph it.    The worksheets are created in color, but we are conserving ink, so I had the kids color the cups of lemonade with their crayons.  :o)

Yep!! Pink lemonade won!

There are many other great activities in this pack including cupcake graphing, addition, subtraction, story problems, measurement, verbs, adjectives, punctuation, creative writing, CVC, CVCC, CCVC words, alphabetical order, and letter matching.  

When we found the verbs in our sentences, of course we had to act them out.  If you like these lesson ideas and would love to have them for your classroom, please click on the link below.  

Lessons From a Lemonade Stand

"For as the soil makes the sprout come up and the garden causes seed to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations."  Isaiah 61:11

Easter Fun

I said I would post pictures!!!  :o)  They had so much fun picking out their eggs and graphing the "surprise" jelly beans.  I have to say though......the best part was eating them.  If you missed the Easter Egg Surprise graph freebie I had up last week, click here.

Easter Egg Surprise Freebie

We also read the book The Easter Bunny is Missing.  I had the kids make predictions about where they thought the Easter bunny had gone, and you know what, they were correct.....vacation!  In the story some of the other forest animals try to be the Easter bunny because they think they will be the best.  It turns out that no one can do it.  Good thing the Easter Bunny comes back.

After reading the story, I had them think about why they would make a good Easter Bunny.  We worked on our opinion sentence writing!  :o)  I love it......one little girl said she would make the best Easter Bunny because she........."is good at hiding things."  

I hope your students enjoyed their Easter activities too!

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die." John 11:25-26

A Big Sale & Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun

March is definitely here, and the madness has begun!!  :o)  Does your March schedule seem to be filled with everything?  Take kids here, take kids there, take kids everywhere!

Back in the classroom we are reviewing, building and growing.  After learning all 44 wonderful sounds, we go back through and review.  We are finishing our 5 week short vowel review where we work on one vowel sound a week and focus on reading words with that sound.  

My kids love it when I give them a challenge, so why not do it with something that "big" people do - Crossword Puzzles.  This fun set, Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun Set 1, includes words for all 5 short vowels and all 5 long vowels.  Each vowel sound has a crossword puzzle with 5 words and matching picture clues in two different versions: with and without a word bank.   Next week we start through our 5 week long vowel review, and I can't wait to see how the kids do.  

To find the entire Crossword Puzzle Phonics Fun set, click on the pictures above.

To download the Short A and Long A freebie pages, click on the link below!  

Crossword Puzzle Freebie - Short A and Long A

In math this week we have been working on chance, probability, and graphing.  I introduced the kids to tally marks, and Nicole Lanier from Lanier's Lions has a fun unit that we have really enjoyed,  Little Kitty Kalculations.

It includes some great activities for counting, making tally marks, graphing, and chance or the fancy word "probability."  The kids have loved getting to spin, count and graph the little kitties.  We start addition next week, and we will be ready because this pack includes some fun addition activities too!

Now for the exciting news.......both of these great products will be on SALE this weekend.  YEAH!!  All of my products will be on sale for 4 fabulous days from March 9th -12th.

Nicole Lanier and several other incredible people from Kinderland will be having a sale too, from March 10th - 12th.  Check it out and enjoy the madness!!

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105