Monday Meet Me: What I am Thankful for

It's Monday again, and time for the Monday Meet Me with The Teaching Tribune!!! :)
I have SOOOOO much fun with this on Monday because I LOVE meeting new bloggers!!! :)  Also, thank you yesterday to all of those who follow me!  As soon as I posted my flash freebie I had 6 downloads INSTANTLY! :)  If you don't already follow me on my FB page, please do!  ANY new products I put on TPT will be a flash freebie! :)

So, this week it is three things that we are thankful for.  I am pretty sure that mine are pretty generic, but I can't help that it is what I am thankful for. :)

So, the first thing that I am thankful for is my family. :)  I LOVE my family a WHOLE lot, and it makes it VERY hard to live in another state sometimes!!

The second thing that I am thankful for is the ability to be visiting my family in Michigan right now (see number 1).  Last summer we were not able to go home because our son was in the NICU, so it is VERY special for us to be home this year AND bring our son. What a difference a year makes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

The third thing that I am thankful for is that I have worked in two schools where I have worked with some AMAZING people!!!!!!!!  I have learned SOOOOO much from them, and am a better teacher because of it!  We are in Michigan right now, and got together with the staff from one of those schools.  It's closed now because its charter was not renewed, but this was a school where I met a LOT of amazing teachers (including my husband!!  ha ha).  Even after 6 years, we still remain close!

Our reunion party from Friday!! :)

As some of you may know, I left my second school (in NC) this year to try my hand at middle school.  I know that this school is AMAZING, and I already LOVE my new team, but I also left a great school to take a chance on this, so I really hope that I love it JUST as much! :)

Can't wait to do some blog hopping today to meet some new bloggers, and visit some that I am following.

FLASH FREEBIE TIME! :)

I had a little downtime today, so I finally put the finishing touches on my fractions of a set task cards!!! :)

I made these this past school year in worksheet form for my students because they really struggled with the concept.  I just took the time today to make them all cute and pretty! :)  

As a thank you to everyone that has been kind enough to follow me so far, please go to my TPT site for the next hour to get the entire set for FREE!!! At 6:00 p.m. EST they will become a paid product.  So, please click HERE to get it while you can!  All I ask is that you leave a little feedback love in return!:)

If you happen to have missed out on the flash freebie, they will be available this Tuesday, too in my Two for Tuesday 50% off sale with The Teaching Tribune!

So, thank you again to anyone that has taken the time to follow me.  It means a lot to me that you take the time to read what I have to say. :)

Peek-a-Who: My Tried and True Teaching Tip

Happy Thursday!!!
I'm sorry for not blogging yesterday...now that we're safely in Michigan, I'm going to try to unplug a bit to spend more time with family, but I will be on here from time to time still. :)
I am excited to write about one of my tried and true teaching tips today with The Teaching Tribune.

So..with back to school only a few months away (kinda scary!  wahhhhhhhh) I wanted to share one of my FAVORITE back-to-school ice breaker activities.  When I worked at a summer camp for 3 summers in a row we always played this, and it was so fun (even for adults!!!), but I LOVE playing it with my students.  I'm not sure how it will work with 6th graders, and I may need to find something else.  However if anyone reading this is a middle school teacher, I'm open to your suggestion on if you think that it will work. :)

Here is how you play:

• You split your class into two teams.
• You stand in the middle with another student and hold up a sheet so both sides CANNOT see each other.  
• Then you motion for one student to come up to the sheet on both sides.
• You count to three and then drop the sheet.
• The first person to say the other persons name captures them to the other team.
• If the students do not know the other students' name, then they introduce each other and stay on the same team.

It's a GREAT get to know you activity, and my students have always loved it!!! :)  They even ask to play when it's NOT the first day of school.  I hope that you like this activity, too!!

Two for TUESDAY! 50% off TPT items!

Happy Tuesday!!

I had so much fun yesterday checking out all of the Monday Made Its and Meet Me's!!   This is a blast!!!

Today I'm linking up again with The Teaching Tribune!  

That means TWO items in my TPT store are 50% off!!

This week I am putting the ENTIRE The Best Christmas Pageant Ever unit and my Bud, Not Buddy poster set on sale!

I loved using the Bud, Not Buddy posters this year!  I have always thought that teaching reading was my weakness, so this year I spent a LOT of time and energy doing different things to get my kids thinking BEYOND the text and using text based evidence to support their thinking.  These posters do just that.  It's a set of 5 different posters that you can print on LEGAL sized paper (it makes a prettier poster), but you can also scale them to be letter in the printer settings.  4 posters focus on main characters in the story, and the students need to identify character traits of that character AND give an example from the book to support their thinking.  The other poster is a comparison of two situations in the book.  For those of you that have read it, an underlying theme in part of it is segregation and the depression.  There are two situations in this book that I felt could be compared using higher order thinking skills.  The poster Bud sees when he eats breakfast at the mission depicting a rich white family in a fancy car to what he sees in real life when he gets to Hooverville.  My students did a GREAT job with this and coming up with comparisons and differences it was great!

I wish I would have taken pictures of how they turned out, but they looked really nice, and they were PERFECT for the hallway bulletin board!  I was also happy because they also showed that my students were using higher order thinking when they created them.

The second item I am putting up at half off is my The Best Christmas Pageant Ever unit.  It contains questions for all 7 chapters, discussion cards for all 7 chapters that can be used in literature circles, guided reading, or even in the classroom in place of the worksheets, a biopoem activity, and a final test.  I know it's June, but I guess you can never start thinking about Christmas too early. :)

I will also be having a FLASH FREEBIE one day this week, which I will announce to my Facebook followers!  So, if you haven't followed yet, please do! :)

Meet Me Monday & I Made it Linkies

HAPPY MONDAY!!!!!!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend! Today is one of my FAVORITE blogging days of the week.  First, I am linking with The Teaching Tribune for their Summer Bloggin' Series.  

1.  Yes, I HATE watermelon.  I can't even stand ANY type of melon!  I always feel like an outcast at BBQ's because people will offer it to me, and I say "no thank you, I don't like watermelon" and I get shocked faces.

2.  If you have read my blog a little, you know that I am the proud parent of a preemie!!! :)  He is a 25 weeker who was born at 1 pound 9 ounces last May.  It was a rough road to say the least.  98 days in the NICU, 5 surgeries, and one SUPER close call,  but now when you look at him you would NEVER know he was born that early...actually, when you see him you WOULD know he was born that early because he is EVERYWHERE!!!!  There is no way he would have stayed in until 40 weeks!  You can see pictures of him on my "About Me" page.

3.  I have never, ever, EVER seen the movie Star Wars (insert gasp here).  I know that I should watch it sometime.  I'm not a big movie watcher, though. I can only watch a movie one time, and I am not one of those people that have a HUGE collection of DVD's because I literally will only watch a movie once, unless it's in my top 5.

I can't wait to hop on over and meet the rest of you today!!!! :)

I am also linking today with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics and her

We have been a little busy getting ready for our trip to Michigan, and I also have been still in school up until Thursday, but here is what I've got. :)  It's also my FIRST middle school thing that I have made!

SO, my friend Mallory and I right now taught at the same school last year, and this year we are both taking a leap to middle school (different middle schools).  We have been talking during our work days about what different things would look like as far as processes and procedures.  She was talking about how her school did exit tickets, so I made this for the both of us.  

Essentially, before our students will leave math class, they will solve one last multiple choice problem on a sticky note.  They MUST show their work (we're both math teachers) and put their name on it.  As they walk out the door, they will stick their note up under the matching letter.  A quick little "exit ticket", and honestly, what kid doesn't like a post-it note. :)  The students that have the question wrong, we plan to save their sticky note until the next day and they will can try it again as past of their morning work, or get help from a classmate to coach them on the problem

Ok, well I don't have a picture of this YET, but I will today, and I will post on my Facebook page, so if you aren't follower yet, come on over for a visit. :)  So, I should say that this should be I HOPE I make it.  We leave for Michigan today, and with the advice of some sweet bloggers last week, we are taking the advice and leaving this evening and driving overnight (I have't done that for about 10 years!).  The thing is we are traveling with an energetic 1 year old, 2 dogs, 2 kayaks, ALL of the things that the said 1 year old will need for 4 weeks, everything WE will need for 4 weeks, and the trip is about 13.5 hours!!  Yikes.  Wish us luck!!!  ha ha

Get it While You Can!!! :)

It's up and running:

Please click the cover to go directly to this unit in my TPT store

As a thank you to my followers so far, please download my COMPLETE unit for FREE for the next FOUR HOURS! :)  So, at 2:40, it will become a paid product.  

I will be doing more giveaways like this every time I put up a unit here or there, so please make sure you're a follower if you're not already!! :)

Enjoy your Saturday!!!!

FIVE for FRIDAY Linky

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!
Today is my FIRST official day of summer vacation!  After NINE workdays after the students last day on June 6, I am finally ready to celebrate!!  What better way to celebrate than to link up with Doodle Bugs!

So without further adieu:

ONE  

As mentioned above I am OFFICIALLY on summer vacation!!!  HOORAY!!!  Let the rest and relaxation begin!!!

TWO

Remember I mentioned summer???  Well, this is where I am headed today!!!  The beach!!! :)

THREE

On Monday we head home to Michigan for the first time since Baby B was born!  Now, if you've read about me you know last summer was spent in the NICU, so we missed going home last year, so we are SUPER excited to go this year!!  However, it is a 13 hour drive, and we have never done it with an 11 month old.  We really want to do it in one day...soooooooo, any tips/suggestions (well wishes, prayers...ha ha) would be appreciated from those of you with experience in that department, please feel free to leave them in the comment section! :)  I welcome ALL comments.

FOUR

Today is the last day I am reminding you all out there in the blog world, if you haven't followed me yet on Facebook, Teachers Pay Teachers, or Bloglovin' please do, because this week at some point I am putting my ENTIRE The Best Christmas Pageant Ever unit on Teachers Pay Teachers for FREE for a 4 hour window. I will announce it ahead of time, but the only way you will know is if you are following me.

FIVE

Did I mention that it's summer vacation?!?! :)

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!!!!

TTT AND THROW BACK THURSDAY Linky

Happy Thursday!!!
Today I am linking up TWICE because I think that the two links go hand in hand. :)  First off, I am linking with The Teaching Tribune for TTT (Teacher Tip Thursday).

So...my teacher tip this week is:

What better way to preface my tip than by participating in a good ol' Throw Back Thursday??

So, I would like to throw it back to the post that started it all. :)

Please click on the below image to go back to my first post. :)

Remember, if you haven't followed me yet either by TPT, Bloglovin', or Facebook, please do so for a GIVEAWAY sometime this week!!!! :)

Worksheet Wednesday Linky--FREEBIE and GIVEAWAY!!

WOAH!  It's hard to believe that it's already Wednesday, and there is ONE MORE workday that stands between ME and SUMMER!!!!!!!!  YAHOO!!!!!

It's Wednesday, and you know what that means!!  WORKSHEET WEDNESDAY!  Better yet---FREE worksheet Wednesday!

I'm linking up again with The Teaching Tribune again today:

This week I have not only a FREE ELA worksheet, but also a giveaway (my VERY first!) to go along with it!!!

I finally put the finishing touches on my The Best Christmas Pageant Ever unit this week!!  Hooray!!!  So...today and today only I am offering the FINAL test for free!  Just click on the picture above to get the freebie!

This unit as whole contains multiple text based comprehension questions for all 7 chapters.  It also contains discussion question cards featuring the same questions as the worksheets for all 7 chapters for students to use in literature circles, guided reading, or group work if you don't want the questions in worksheet form.  I have also included a biopoem project and of course the freebie today-the final comprehension test.

Sooo...since this is a Christmas themed printable, and it's June, I figured--Christmas is the season for giving, so I will be giving this unit away for FREE!!!

All you need to make sure that you do is either

1.  Follow me on Facebook

2.  AND/OR follow me on Bloglovin'

3. AND/OR follow me on my TPT store

If you're feeling the "holiday spirit" you can follow me on all 3. :)

At some point between NOW and next Worksheet Wednesday, I will be placing this unit in my TPT Store for FREE for a 4 hour window (don't worry it won't be during the nighttime hours ;)).  I will be putting out a Facebook notice, an e-mail to my TPT followers, and a temporary blog post that the unit is UP and ready to GO!

This is a great book for grades 3-5, and even if you have never read it before, a FREE UNIT is a GREAT reason to start!!!!

I can't wait to meet more bloggers and teacher friends out there!!!!

Two for Tuesday-50% off 2 TPT items!

Happy Tuesday!!

Again, I really enjoyed meeting more bloggers yesterday!  This is such a great link up!!
Today, I am linking up again with The Teaching Tribune for their Summer Bloggin' Series. Today it's TWO FOR TUESDAY!!!!!

This week I am putting two different items on sale at my TPT store this week than last week.

Click on the picture above to link directly to my TPT store. 

One item is one of my BEST sellers!!!  It's my Bud, Not Buddy Project Based Learning Activity project.  I LOVE this one!  I have used it in my class EVERY year I have read the novel (which is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE by the way!!!).  It is the perfect project to end the novel instead of a test.  It allows the students to literally DRIVE the lesson.  They get to pick what project they want to do, how they want to do it, and they work independently with each other to complete the project with only teacher supervision.  It's PERFECT for the 21st Century classroom!!!

The second item is the COMPLETE SET of activities that I gave a sneak peek of last week for free!  The Early Bird Gets the Worm is a complete activity which gets students working with fractions on a line plot...which my class this year had a REALLY hard time with.

I hope that you enjoy both activities this week---and if you purchase both activities it's only a $3.00 total with them half off!!!! :)

Thank you again today for taking the time to visit me, perhaps follow me, and even possibly purchase from me.  I truly appreciate anyone who takes the time out of their day to see what I have to say. :)

HAPPY TUESDAY!!!!!!

 

Monday Made It AND Meet Me Linky

Happy Monday!!
I had SO MUCH fun last week breaking out on the blogging scene, meeting new people!  I truly appreciate everyone who took the time to comment on a post, download a TPT freebie or paid item, and follow me on Bloglovin' or TPT!!!  It means the WORLD to me!!!

Today I am linking up TWICE today!!! :)  First, I am linking up with The Teaching Tribune again for their Summer Bloggin' Series:

 I really enjoyed "meeting" so many of you last week, and I am super excited to get to know even more of you this week!!! :)

I can't wait to meet even more of  you this week!!! :)

I am also linking up with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics for her Monday Made It (for the first time!):

  I don't think that I am NEARLY as crafty as almost everyone out there, BUT I was really happy with how this turned out!  I wish that I could take credit for it as an original idea, but one of my friends posted this on Instagram...her daughter made something similar in daycare.  I looked all over, and couldn't find an original source to credit. :(  So--here is how I tried to make it my own---I made a cute template:

Then did the rest of the artwork with our sons Superhero foot (and I had to print it in black and white because we ran out of magenta ink...grrrr)! :)

I put the template on my TPT for free in case anyone wants to download it and save it for next year, just click on the template to take you to the direct freebie link.  Don't worry!  I took off the 2014. :)

I cannot wait to meet more blogger friends this week!!!!!! I'll be in Google Chromebook training all day today, but if you leave a comment I WILL comment back today.  I also can't wait to check out other blogs today, too!!!

HAPPY MONDAY!

Souped-Up Saturday Linky **FREEBIES**

Happy "Souped-Up" Saturday!!!!

This is my very first linky party aimed at making sure every Saturday I soup-up my freebies page with at LEAST a one page freebie. :)

If you would also like to participate, please use the following button, and link back to this post, please:

My goal is to meet more of the bloggers out there, and I can't wait to visit any pages that choose to link up today. :)  Especially if you're a newbie like I am, it's also a great way to be sure to get your freebies page something that people would like to visit.

Today, my freebie is FINALLY something that I plan to use in middle school!  It's a "Meet Me" questionnaire that I plan to have them do FIRST thing in the morning on the first day.  It's both a get to know them activity, and it's also going to be helpful to me to see which students I have certain things in common with, what they feel their strength and weakness is as far as subjects, and also to get their opinion on what rewards they will want to work hard for (since I still am stuck in an elementary mentality when it comes to that!!).

Click the above cover to be linked to my TPT store to download this for free!!!! :)

Also, last year my class really also struggled with fractions of a set in real world math problems, so I created this to help reinforce the topic:

Again, please link on the cover to go straight to my TPT store to download. :) I hope that you enjoy, and please don't forget to link up with me today, please!  I'm very excited to check out some new blogs, meet new teachers, and check out some freebies! :)

An InLinkz Link-up