My First TPT Product - First 300 Fry Word Rings

I am so excited!!!  I just posted my very first item on TeachersPayTeachers!!! I don't know where I would be without this site and I am excited to be a contributor!!!!  Check it out and get your own copy!!!!

Are you looking for an easy to manage your students' sight word knowledge?  The packet I just posted includes the first 300 Fry Instant Words in a format to print, laminate, and place on rings.  It also includes a letter to parents and words in a list format to place inside fluency folders that can be sent home each evening.  Students practice words at home and at school and as they are tested, you can "hole punch" the graphic at the bottom of each word card.  Once students have 3 holes punched, the card can be removed from the word ring!  I have a "star shaped" hole punch that I use, but any hole punch will suffice!

Check it out and let me know what you think!!!!

A few pics of my room....

I finally uploaded some pictures of my classroom to share.... I hope to get better at blogging more often than once a month during the school year....  "/   Thank you to those of you patient followers out there.... hehe... ;)

This is our "Rule Breaker" word wall....  I was trying to think of something other than the "jail theme" and I thought Mario would be memorable for the students!  The students LOVE looking for new words to put up on our Rule Breaker Wall!  Here is a .jpg file of the image (I use it on our spelling lists that may include rule breakers).

This is a poem I use EVERYDAY to help my babies differentiate between bs & ds.  "Do you touch the bat first or the doorknob first?"....  Usually that's all the prompting it takes to help them remember which way to correctly form their letter.  ;)

This is a picture of our drawing rubric, our coloring rubric, and our Brownie Points board...  Students receive a brownie for the tray every time we receive a compliment in the hallway or score a 4 in the cafeteria.  Once we get our tray filled, I will bring in REAL brownies for us to share!  =)

Here are our rotations for literacy and math centers and my classroom helpers.

Carpet area, calendar, SmartBoard, meeting area...  ;)

One of my favorite things to use in our classroom....  Quincy Questioner, Clara Clarifier, Sammy Summarizer, & Paula Predictor...  Our puppets help us remember to use those important comprehension strategies... I also have matching props that I wear during minilessons....  One day, I was dressed up as Quincy Questioner, with my black wig on, and a parent walked in... I don't know whether she was thrilled or terrified for her child!!!!  ;)

This is the best thing I have done in a long time... I love the fact that my behavior system is now positive instead of always focusing on misbehaviors....


And last but not least, a few pics of my Book Barn inspired by Reagan Tunstall!  =)

I hope you enjoyed your visit and I hope to share more in the near future!!!  ;)  

Nothing like an Award to get the blogging juices flowing!!! ;)

So, apparently, I am not as skilled at blogging and teaching as I am at blogging and sitting during the summertime....  ;)  I am in awe of some of you bloggers out there who seem to have something ready to share each and every day.  My goal is to have a good post with some freebies to offer by Wednesday....  *deep breath, you can do it Jennifer*

Yes, I have not been as faithful to the ol' blog as I should but this morning, my alarm clock goes off at 5:25... I grab my phone, check my email, and the first email I read is from Debbie at Sailing Through First saying she had given my humble blog the Versatile Blogger award!!!!  What a way to start my Monday morning!!!!  =)  Thank you Debbie ~ I really appreciate it a lot...

 

 

Now, for the rules associated with the award ...

RULE 1

Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.

Thank you again to:

Debbie, creator of Sailing Through First

Please make sure to visit her blog!

RULE 2

Share 7 things about yourself.

1. I am the mother of boy/girl twins who are eighth graders this year! I LOVE being the mom of twins...  They are two wonderful kiddos...

 

2. I love the Indianapolis Colts & the University of Kentucky men's basketball team.... 

3. In 2009, I received my National Board certification...  =) 

4. I've been married to my husband Michael for 17 years!!! 

5. I change my hair color about every 3 months....  hehehe.... 

6. We have a Yorkshire terrier named Barkley, a cat named Scottie, and a cocktiel named Kirky...  We also have two "outside dogs" named Rascal & Square (the twins named Square when they were 3 years old in preschool... they were fascinated with shapes, can you tell?)  ;)

7. I say "seriously" wayyy too much....  hence the name of my blog.....  ;)

RULE 3

Pass this award along to 15 recently discovered blogs.

1. First Grade Blue Skies - love these pilgrims & elves...  ;)
2. The Polka Dot Patch - AdOrAbLe!
3. Life in First Grade
4. F is for First Grade
5. Buzzing Along in First Grade
6. Fabulous in First
7. Primary Perspective
8. First Grade Fabulous Fish
9. Reflections on Teaching, Learning, and Technology
10. 1st Grade Learning Stars
11. Teaching in High Heels
12. Sarah's First Grade Snippets
13. First Grade Frenzy
14. Literacy and Laughter
15. Rowdy in First Grade
    
    

Debbie, I told you.... I am paying it forward.....  ;)    Thank you again for thinking of me!!! 

Reading Strategy Posters

Well, school officially started for us this past Tuesday and I have not had a second to spare since!  ;)  We are slowly, but surely, getting into the swing of things - and I'm adjusting to having beginning first graders again...  hehehe...  Each day seems to get better and better.

We have been having a wonderful time with Deanna Jump's Pete the Cat unit --- and let me just say - hearing my students read along and sing that song makes all those late hours and blisters from cutting out endless lamination worth it...  I can't wait to share our "Petes" we made this week...  and I'm very proud of my new classroom...   but those will be another posts for another day. 

Today, I wanted to share three posters that I made to help us concentrate on our reading strategies used in our Houghton Mifflin Reading series.  I wanted smaller, more concise posters than what comes with our reading series (not to mention - everything is better with a cute font, right???)... :)  I have included links to two reading strategy posters including predict/infer, questioning, summarizing, evaluating, and clarifying.  There is also a link to our decoding/phonics strategy - the photo icons help the students to remember the steps....  I hope you enjoy and good luck to each of you starting on your new journey this year!!!!  =)

                     Page 1            Page 2

Poppin' Patterns

I LOVE anything that is the "Poppin' Patterns" design by Creative Teaching Press and I have a LOT of this in my classroom this year...  I don't really have a "theme" this year besides polka dots and lots of colors...  I enjoy making things to decorate my classroom with if I can't buy what I'm looking for ~ and this year, I made a few things using the "Poppin' Patterns" polka dots to match my other classroom decorations...  I thought I'd share in case you could use any of them....  ;)

I promise as soon as I finish my classroom (will I EVER be finished with my classroom????), I will post pictures and more freebies.... 

Numbers to label clock

Passes

 I print these out, laminate them, and hole punch.  Then I thread it onto a wrist keyring - the one with the "coily bracelets" on them?  That way, passes can be worn and don't have to be touched (especially in the restroom - ick)...  ;) 

Just blank "dots" - can be used for anything.  I am putting student names on these for cubby labels...  ;)

Back to work now....   ;)  T minus 5 days......  Can't wait!!!!

"New Year's" Resolution

I love the idea of setting a New Year's resolution in January and usually have several different ones that I attempt to keep...  A new year, a fresh slate, a new beginning........   The same happens around the end of July and first of August when I start thinking of my new SCHOOL year!   A new year, a fresh slate, a new beginning......  So, I couldn't resist taking part in Clutter-Free Classroom's New Year Resolution Linky Party!!!


I have several different resolutions for this coming year... and I hope and pray that I can keep them.

First of all, I want to SMILE more....  Sometimes, I let the smallest things get to me - I'm going to try to let those things go....  ;) 

Second, (I've never been very good at picking just ONE resolution)  I want to be MORE ORGANIZED!!!!!!!!!  Everyone THINKS I'm organized at school but my files are a MESS!!! I don't have a system besides starting a new system at the start of every year so now I have 7 years of randomness!!!!  That is one of my tiny goals for this week ~ to get a solid system in place....  ;) 

And last, I want to do a better job of encouraging better handwriting... Many times, I'm not sure if poor handwriting is from maturity or from laziness..........  I need all the help on this as I can get.... If you have the chance, please link up to my post from yesterday, Handwriting Tips, and let me know your best tips!!!!

Linky Party - Handwriting Tips

I have fallen in love with learning all the tips from you wonderful teachers... I have a question I'd like to ask so I thought I'd host a linky party to get your greatest tips... ;)


In the past, I have trouble with students doing their best handwriting on their work - on having pride in what they turn in... I would LOVE to hear your tips... Thank you so much for everything you're always so willing to share!!!! I can't wait to hear your ideas!