Product Swap with The Weekly Sprinkle

 I am so excited to be linking up again for another product swap with Melissa from Jungle Learners.

Jungle Learners


I am so lucky!
I was matched with Ashley from The Weekly Sprinkle.
Just to tell you a little about Ashley:
1. She is so stinkin' cute!
2. Her writing is fabulous!
3. She LOVES her "littles"!


Interview with Ashley…
Me: "What are three things you like to do outside of school?"

Ashely: "Thrifting (may have just made that up)
I love to root through thrift stores and swap shops looking for a great deal."
"Sun/Summer
I love to be outside at the beach or by the creek with my family. We are definitely all beach bums!"
"DIY
I am a total do-it-yourself kind of girl. I am willing to try everything from computers, construction, crafts, and seeing. Anything crafty and I love it!"

Me: "What are three things you like about school?"

Ashley: "Kids
I am genuinely a person who loves kids and especially how funny and entertaining they can be!"
"Interesting
I love how each day you never know what you are going to get! There is always something new and fun to teach or the kids make it different and exciting, but each day is something new."
"Learning
I am really a nerd and love learning. I think it is my type A personality, but how everything seems to come full circle and connect to other things just makes me happy!"

First of all…I want to be in Ashley's class. 
Second…I want Ashley to come and teach in my school. :)

I chose Ashley's Common and Proper Nouns PPT and Printables.


The PowerPoint is so easy to follow and fun to do on the SmartBoard.
My firsties loved going up to circle and cross out proper and common nouns. 



Another part of the powerpoint has some common and proper nouns to identify. I had the students stand if it was a proper noun (uppercase letter) and squat if it was a common noun (lowercase letter). It was a good way to get them moving. 


They loved the sheets that were available for reteaching/extension/practice. 


There are a variety of papers to print out to practice common and proper nouns.




I had been teaching this the week before. Ashley's powerpoint and papers helped my firsties to really understand and practice hands on activities to get it into their brains. 
They get it now! :)

So, now that you know all about the product… here's a chance to win it!!!


Don't forget to head on over to Ashley's blog to see her swap product. 
It's Still Winter (Math Common Core Standards)
You could win it or it is on sale until Tuesday!!!




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Meetings

Today I had two meetings. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. I was only in the classroom for about an hour and a half.
Our first meeting was a data meeting. We went over our AIMSweb results and discussed who needed to be serviced and pulled out of the classroom and who would benefit from staying in the classroom and not be pulled out for services.

Who uses AIMSweb?
We are thinking about moving to STAR. We are already using STAR in second through fourth grade.
Who uses STAR in Kindergarten and first grade.

I think the whole school should be on the same assessment system, but I am not sure how STAR will work for my littles.

My second meeting was our Writing Committee.
We are working on our K-4 writing curriculum. Last week we gave a benchmark assessment for each grade. We used Informational Writing in all grades. It was very interesting to see all the different writing that came in and what we did as administrators of the test.

Everyone of us gave little hints, guidance, modeling, or something else in addition to the script we were suppose to read. It is so hard to sit back and let them "be". We all know we have to do it in order to get the best and most reliable results, but it is soooooo hard!

We discussed how the assessment worked, how we could tweak the rubric to fit our school's needs, and what we needed to do next.

When we meet next, we are going to go over some of the writing pieces together, choose some samples for the school, and score them.

Two meaningful meetings in one day! Woot Woot!!!

Have a wonderful day!



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Morning Meeting Greetings and Activities

Do you do Morning Meeting?
Whether you use the Responsive Classroom approach in your classroom or you just use Morning Meeting, I have some information for you.
Are you tired of the same old greetings and activities?

Help us out! What do you do for Morning Meeting? What is your favorite greeting or activity? What works for you?

Take a look at this article on the Responsive Classroom Website.


After I took Responsive Classroom 1, I was so energized about Morning Meeting. This enthusiasm carried on for months and months. :)
Then you come to a time when you are trying and trying to think of what to do for the greeting and activity. Here is my thinking sometimes, "let's just do an elbow greeting because there is so much stuff going around in the classroom.". I am not saying that the elbow greeting is nothing, but if I am feeling this way about the greeting, how are my firsties feeling?

I have a Pinterest Board just about Responsive Classroom stuff.
Check it out here.




The other thing that I have to remember is that the "typical sharing" is AWESOME, but there are so many other ways to share.
I will be discussing that tomorrow. :)

Have a wonderful day!

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My Alphabet Exchange…Finally

This is the third year I have participated in Chirssy's, First Grade Found Me, Alphabet Exchange.
This is so much fun! Sometimes I think I have more fun going to my mailbox each day to see if we got any letters. :)

Here is how I displayed them this year. I added the class and where they were from beneath. My firsties love to look again and again at where they are from.

We had so much fun doing this project.







We got the letter Q this year. After much deliberation, we decided on Queen. :) The kiddos had a lot of fun decorating their tiaras and using GLITTER!!!! Yes, we did it. That dreaded material. I know it's a mess, but they LOVE it!

We sent a little letter about our class and school district. I really enjoy hearing about all the different schools. 

I can't wait to do it again next year!
Thanks Chrissy for all your HARD work!

Have a wonderful day!!!




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Edutopia/PBL



Have you ever checked out Edutopia?
Oh My Goodness!!!
There are so many amazing ideas and projects by teachers.
I am going to focus on Project Based Learning articles that I have read on Edutopia today.

Ready, Set, GO!!!


If you are thinking about starting a PBL project check out the link above. It gives you some fantastic resources to begin and make your project great!



This was about the student work showcase and a glimpse into the student's projects. 
These students are amazing.
There is a project for providing micro loans in third world countries, creating better digital information for a park, and a "shark tank" project.

Have you eve wondered how you are going to assess a PBL project?


There are some really great resources here to see how to use assessment correctly and effectively in PBL. 



The Buck Institute is another amazing resource. This video was included in the link above. 
I will post more about BIE another day. :)

You have to go check out Edutopia, if you have not. It is one amazing site. 







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Who Do You Run 4?

I know there are a lot of teachers out there that are running, workout, walking crazy people like me. :)
I thought I'd get the word out to you all.


I am part of two amazing groups.
I RUN 4
and 
I R4 Siblings - The Unsung Heros


Timothy Boyle is the mastermind behind all of this. He started running for Michael and then… BOOM!!! It took off!


Here is a video of what it's all about!

Here are my little buddies. I LOVE them to pieces.




We are looking for buddies and runners. The waiting list for runners is quite long, but totally worth the wait. 
If you have anyone that you think would like to have a buddy or a runner, please let them know about this. This has truly changed me. :)



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Sub Plans When You're Sick

What do you do when you are sick and you have to write sub plans without going in and getting your classroom ready?

Oh My! I had to do that today. I have a sinus infection and bronchitis. It happens twice a year. :)

I always feel so disconnected when I am not able to come in and at least get things ready.

This is what I sent into the substitute.



I take my regular lesson plans and shrink them down to one day and add tons of details. 



I cannot remember who I got this template from. I apologize for not giving them credit. I have used this template for two years now. I LOVE it! I have made it my own, as everyone does. :)

What do you do for your sub plans?





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Shared Reading…Scholastic News

Our school has put a lot of emphasis on Shared Reading this year.
This year we are focusing on all students being able to read from the same reading material, whether it be a book, magazine, poem, etc..
My last observation was during Shared Reading.
I used Scholastic News.
I already knew it was an amazing resource, but it is also an amazing observation tool! :)


I had all the students on the rug with their own Scholastic News magazine. I put them on individual clipboards so they could work on them easily on the rug. 
I had the Scholastic News up on the SmartBoard.
From the website we were able to read the entire magazine, watch a movie, go over vocabulary words, and play a game! WOW!!!
Think about all the CCSS you cover in just 30 minutes!


We order enough copies for each student at the beginning of the year. I am amazed at how powerful it is getting the kiddos to learn and retain information from this resource.
I highly recommend this resource.

Have a wonderful day!


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Winners! Woot Woot!

We have our winners.
We will be contacting you to send you your prizes.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


We are so excited to send you your prizes!

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Martin Luther King Jr.




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Just a Little Winter Giveaway

My very good and amazingly talented friend, Nancy, over at Sounds 4 Life and I are joining up for a giveaway! Have you seen her products on TpT?


She has MANY super products, but I think the ones she has created recently are my FAVES!!!

Nancy has made some Interactive Books that my kiddos LOVE!!!
She has broken them down into a few beginning sounds to work on in each book.



Every page has a word and picture to match. Students place the beginning letter in the box. Nancy uses velcro dots to keep them in place. You could use poster puddy or removable tape or nothing.
I think my kiddos love the sound it makes when you take the letters off, so I am sticking to velcro. 
(No pun intended) :)





All letters are kept very well in the back of the book. This is such a great resource for my students. 

Check out the other AMAZING products Nancy has in her store. 


So, we decided to throw a little giveaway. 
Six Winners…Six Prizes
Good Luck!!!


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