Sunday, December 8, 2013

It's feeling a lot like Christmas...

Hey friends! It's feeling a lot like Christmas - in my classroom, that is! It's certainly not outside. Boo. This girl needs a snow day...or 4! ha I've been flushing my ice cubes, sticking a spoon under my pillow, wearing my jammies inside out...ya know, the whole nine yards - - but no luck so far. I'll stay hopeful for January. Anyways, we are bringing the Christmas spirit indoors and engaging in lots of fun classroom activities. Here is a break down of what's going on. Our elf, Jingles, has been up to a lot this week. 
1. The Super Heroes were trying to protect us from Jingles the villain. 
2. Jingles made a snow angel (out of sprinkles)!
3. Jingles took a Hot Air Balloon ride.
4. Because every elf needs a sick day....

I'm having so much fun with this little guy. ha ha It's seriously ON when I have kiddos of my own. Onward to the ornament making. 
I try to make an ornament a day in December. I know, I know - I've lost my mind! But, in all seriousness, the parents love it and tell me (every year) how much they cherish them. Here are just a few we've made this week. The snowman to the far left is from Oriental Trading...but I found 2 dozen at a Garage Sale!! Score. In the middle, the classic popsicle reindeer. Love! And the snowman on the right is out of a toilet paper tube. We painted them and hot glued pom poms/pipe cleaner to make the ear muffs, then, my students added details. I'm pretty pleased with how they've turned out so far.
I'm also getting close to finishing the decorations to my classroom door. I always do a big scene outside, each year. For those of you wondering, the roof is white paper plates, and the border on the bottom is painted paper plates. Pretty easy and cheap! I'm pleased with the way it turned out. (Note: Thanks to my Dad for his help) Hope everyone has a great Sunday. I'll be back with some freebies this week. Stay tuned for more adventures from Jingles. 

Monday, December 2, 2013

Elf on the Shelf

Happy Monday, friends! I hope everyone had a great 1st day back from Thanksgiving break. I have 13 1/2 days left until Christmas break...but who is counting? There is seriously SO much to do and I am 12 kinds of stressed. Anyways, we kicked the day off right. Santa came to visit while my students were at lunch (wink, wink). He snuck in through the window and when he did, his hat got caught. Oopsie! He even left a few bells from his sleigh. 
I guess there must be a lot of snow in the North Pole, because there was snow everywhere!
Santa left an official letter, reindeer food, and Elf on the Shelf. My students were so excited and could hardly wait to read the book and learn all about their new Elf friend. We voted and decided to name our Elf, Jingles. But it was a toss up between Justin Bieber, Ryder, and Jake. ha ha If you do not do Elf on the Shelf, I highly recommend it  - it encourages great behavior and also gets students in the holiday spirit. 
Stay tuned for the adventures of Jingles. I have lots of things up my sleeve. If you are interested in some great Elf on the Shelf ideas, be sure to visit my Pinterest board. Just click the image below. 

Friday, November 29, 2013

Black Friday (with 15 minutes to spare)

Hey ya'll! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I know, I sure did. Boy, am I stuffed! I sure have a lot to be thankful for this year. I just loved spending time with my little turkey. 
Having a little nephew to love and spoil is so much fun. Anyways, I'm sorry I'm late to the party. I've spent most of my day Black Friday shopping. Eek. On the upside, I got some good deals. Because I'm posting this with 15 minutes to spare, I am extending my 20% off sale through tomorrow at 3pm (EST). 
I hope everyone was able to score some great deals today. Be sure to check back on Monday for TpT's Cyber Sale! 

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A is for Activities like...

It's hump day and today I've teamed up with a few other Blog Hoppin' gals to bring you "Activities like..." 
Hurry on over and check out my post on Family Projects. Don't forget to link up. What are some activities YOU like to do in your classroom? Please share.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on New ideas...

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

H is for Helpful...

Hey friends! Long time, no see. Same ole story here.....too busy to do anything, 12 kinds of exhausted, and so on. Shew lawdy! Anyways, I'm linking up with Blog Hoppin' and bringing you Helpful Hints.
Obviously teachers have a lot of crap stuff and it is absolutely vital that it stays organized or your room will look like an episode of Hoarders - quick!
Every summer, I usually pull out my manipulatives and organize them. I make sure everything is in the proper tub and I have a label with a matching picture on the front. This makes finding the item I need (or my students need) very simple.
Another thing that helps me stay organized are my lesson plan drawers. Everything I need for that day is in each drawer. Extra materials, or things I am working on for later, are stored in the next week drawer. I try my best to stay 2 weeks ahead *cough, cough.*
My library center was always a mess and constantly driving me crazy. I desperately wanted to change it and make it more manageable for my students. I purchased a great unit from Reagan (that's sadly, no longer available) and used it to print tags and matching labels for all my book bins and books. Students know to match the label on their book to the correct label on the front of the tub. This helps my library center stay neat and clean. 
My friend, Misha, shared this brilliant idea with me. When students have a choice to visit their free centers (or as I call them - Discovery Stations), they simply grab their clip and clip it on the sign. The 4 smileys represent the number of students allowed in that center. When it is full, they have to pick somewhere else to visit or wait until a spot opens up. This is such an easy way to manage station time and also puts the responsibility of choosing a station on them. 

Hurry on over to Blog Hoppin' and link up. I hope you found some helpful hints....Happy Tuesday.