TBA Friday Freebie and Currently

I haven't blogged since December...eek.  I have been missing my blog and all the fabulous ideas that have inspired me from fellow teacher bloggers but for this first post back I'm going to keep it short and sweet.  I have a new freebie that has to do with nouns, verbs and adjectives in my TpT store for Valentine's Day...click the picture below to get yours!

Thanks Farley!

Apple on!

Like a Kid on Christmas Eve...

Like many of you out there I can't even express with words what I have been feeling lately.  I can express what I believe.  Those who lost their lives are with our Heavenly Father.  They are safe and happy and they will see their families again someday.

I am not sure of the original source of this picture.  Since Friday it has gone viral and I can't find the source.

I woke up Saturday morning with a heavy heart and also a fever.  I haven't been able to see my babes this week due to strep.  The first medication I took hasn't worked but the doctor prescribed something else and I am REALLY hoping to be able to be well enough and not contagious by tomorrow night.  That would mean I could see my kiddos on their last day before break.  Tomorrow night will be like Christmas Eve for me!  I am crossing my fingers, eyes, and toes and praying that this med will kick this strep's butt.
 

As promised possibly two weeks ago...sorry :(  I better not make any more promises!  I have added my Magic/ Bossy/ Silent E packet and powerpoint to my TpT store.  Check it out HERE.  When I teach bossy E I use this apron and the kids get to help with the powerpoint by wearing the apron and using the pointer that I use.  They LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  They love being bossy to that other vowel!  They shake their fingers and say, "Bossy e makes the vowel say its name!"

Penicillin on...I mean...apple on!!!

Honor and Remember

Currently, A Freebie, and Counting/ Segmenting Sounds

Thanks to Farely over at "Oh Boy Fourth Grade" for the festive December Currently.  I love the cute Christmas lights on it!  I also have my Friday Freebie waiting for you...click on the picture below to get yours...opps it's really Saturday but I had a hot date with the hubs so the freebie had to wait :)

I just put a set of 6 worksheets for counting and segmenting sounds...you can click on the picture above to get your set.  We have been working on magic, bossy, silent (so many names for a letter!) E in my walk to read class.  I have the lower group and while they are the sweetest kids on the planet it is definitely a challenge.  Getting phonics rules to stick in their little brains takes a massive amount of energy and creativity and maybe me acting like a nut once in a while.  I will share some pictures and other goodies with you that we have been doing in class with magic, bossy, silent E next week.  Happy weekend and apple on!

Liebster Blog Award

Hey everyone! I had an awesome Thanksgiving.  My only complaint is that there was not enough room in my stomach for all the yummy food and also I wanted more of a break!  I was nominated for The Liebster Award thanks to Jessica over at I {heart} Recess. The award is for newer bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  It will help me spread the word about my blog and help me get connected to new bloggers like me!

The Rules:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself.

2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you.

3. Create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate.

4. Choose 11 blogs you love (with less than 200 followers) and a link them in your post.

5. No tag back (but please leave me a comment on this post with the URL to you Liebster post so I can learn more about you)

 Random Facts About Me:

1. My kitchen has an apple theme.

2. I have owned more than a dozen cats (apparently they don't have nine lives)

3. My parents thought about naming me Bevelin.

4. I want to have six children and most people think I am crazy.

5. I love to scrapbook but don't have the time.

6. I love to try new recipes.

7. I hate eating leftovers.

8. I wish all first graders believed in Santa...December would be easier to get through that way.

9. My pet peeve is people who don't listen but I am not a good listener myself...I am working on that.

10. I enjoy James Bond movies more than your average chick flick.

11. I used to read more than I slept when I was 9 and 10 years old.

Questions by I {heart} Recess (Jessica)

1.  What is your dream job (other than teaching)?

Being a stay at home mom!  I will be someday! 

2.  What is one thing you wish you were better at?

 I so wish I was better at lesson planning.

3.  Do you have a hidden talent?  If so, explain.

I think my hidden talent (also a downfall in some cases) is finding the good in every single person/ student.

 4.  Do you have a TpT store? If yes, post the link :)

 My TpT Store :)

 5.  What do you fear?

Wide, open, dark spaces and fish

 6.  What is your favorite holiday tradition?

My husband's family (the whole family) has a white elephant gift exchange every year at Christmas time.  I LOVE attending and it is so much fun! 

7.  Who do you admire most and why?

I admire my dad because he works so hard and had has to change his teaching job dramatically but he never complains.  He always makes it the best for him and others. 

8.  What is your favorite subject or unit to teach?

I love teaching math!  I also love teaching or connecting teaching to anything that has to do with any holiday/ season.

 9.  How many students do you have in your class?

27 little firsties

 10.  Where is your favorite place to shop?

Target

11.  Who is your celebrity crush?

Orlando Bloom, Kyle Chandler, Daniel Craig

Questions to my Nominations:

1. What is your ideal class size?

2. How do you plan at your school...by yourself, with a team, ect.?

3. Do you watch movies with your students? If so, which ones?

4. What rewards do you provide for your students?

5.  What is your favorite thing about teaching/ being a teacher?

6. What technology do you find most useful in your classroom?

7. What do you wish you had more time for?

8. Where do you do most of your holiday shopping?

9. What is your favorite time of year to teach?

10. If you could pick one popular blog (with more than 1000 followers) which one is your favorite to read?

11. What provides you with the most comic relief?

Blogs I am nominating:

NO ONE! I looked for the better part of an hour and every blog I found (lots of cute new blogs) had already been nominated.  I worked on my questions before I realized I had no one to nominate so if you have read this whole post...thank you very much and please answer one question in a comment below.  I promise I'm not being lazy and to prove it I'll be back later this week with new products and hopefully a freebie in my TpT store.  Thanks for the blog love!  Apple on!

Turkey Feathers Freebie

My firsties did this cute little project today.  

We have been working on identifying beginning, middle and ending sounds of a single syllable word (phew...that's one long objective!). I made six different pages of feathers...mostly so my students wouldn't copy off each other.  It takes more time but I really know who knows their stuff!  The body is half of a paper plate.  I apologize that I can't share the cute little turkey head/feet...I have had it for a few years and it is not my original work but I am happy to give you the feathers for free.

Click here to get your feathers!

 I can't believe that Thanksgiving weekend is TWO WEEKS AWAY.  This year is flying by.  I am happy that it is but at the same time I would like it to slow down just a little. I should really blog on other days besides Friday. I love sharing my Friday freebies...it''s kind of therapeutic to know I might be helping another exhausted, hard working teacher like myself!  Apple on!

 

November Currently and TBA Friday Freebie

Happy November!  Did anyone else have sugar coma kids in their class for the past two days?  You know, the kind of kids that when you are directly instructing them they completely ignore you or stared at you blankly with unfocused eyes.  Or did you have the kind of kids that were the exact opposite...getting up constantly, taking constantly, bouncing for no apparent reason except to bounce.  We had fun dressing up for spirit week this week but I am definitely looking forward to a regular week with no costumes or sugar coma kids in my classroom! I'm linking up with Farley and I think her November currently is just gorgeous! Please forgive me...mine is fuzzy...I'm still learning how to work with some of this blog stuff.

On Wednesday (Halloween-don't mind their weird outfits :) I taught my students the relationship between addition and subtraction facts using a part part whole diagram and candy corn!  They were highly motivated for the candy!  We used compartment plates that are separated into three sections…part part are the two smaller sections and whole is the larger section. Here are some pictures of our diagrams in action...

My freebie is a worksheet that I had my students use to show how they use the part part whole diagram to represent related addition and subtraction facts.  Click on the picture to snag yours. Enjoy!

Apple on!