It's been a long week for a lot of reasons both in and out of the classroom but it's nice to take some time to talk a little bit about the fun stuff of the week.
So, I recently joined a Facebook group called Carolina Teacher Bloggers. We are a group of teachers from all around North and South Carolina and maybe even Georgia and Florida. Some of us blog and some not but the group has scheduled meet ups every once in a while. This one was last Saturday in Charlotte at the Tyber Creek Pub. Amanda Madden from Teaching Maddeness set the whole thing up and she even had awesome schwagg!
I just happened to be lucky enough to win some of that awesome schwagg!
She had a pair of these of Ja*vies of our choice up for grabs and a $50 off a pair of Tieks gift card! What teacher girl doesn't like shoes!?! I am usually a practical shoe buyer so I went outside the box on these! They should arrive this week so stay tuned for a review!
And on a side note, check out Amanda's Blog Teaching Maddeness! It is really fabulous!
We also did a small gift exchange. We all brought a gift and set them on the table and drew numbers for the order we would get them. We did not do a white elephant type exchange, so no stealing. So happy about that because LOOK AT MY BAG OF LOOT!
Can't wait to do it again! I am working on hosting the next meet up in Columbia!
Although it just decided to get chilly in South Carolina and by chilly I mean we have finally hit some 40's for highs. We have been talking about snow and ice and cold conditions in our classroom. I have done a pretty good job this year with sending home a family project each month and we then make it into a class book. I came across this adorable FREEBIE on Pinterest
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| and tweaked it a little to make it my own and they went home on Thursday for families to complete over the long weekend! I can't wait to see what they bring back on Tuesday! |
My boys can't get enough of board games and I couldn't be happier about that! We played a lot of games growing up and it was always craziness because my little brother is a non-stop-comedian-nut-job and I can remember my mom getting fed up with him 9 times out of 10 because he would shut game night down with his antics. Good times I tell ya! :) The good news is that both he and I are game lovers to this day and have always played games with our kids!
These are my families two latest favorites.
Clue! Which I played as a kid. It has changed a little bit but not enough to matter. I love watching them strategize and fool each other and stretch their brains to figure it out!
We also just got Qwirkle!
Another really cool one that requires strategizing for the win.
Truth be told, I bought the family Settlers of Catan for Christmas. We had heard that it was awesome and we would love it and I had shied away from the hefty price tag but thought Christmas was a good excuse to buy! We opened it, the boys were excited, big punk watched a few YouTube videos about how to play, we punched out the zillion cards and pieces and sat down at the kitchen table to play and after about 15 minutes of Big Punk reading the 32 page (no, I do not exaggerate) rule book, we quietly agreed to pack it all up and take it back. Maybe some day but for now, we want quick and easy! :)
I have been working on my Sight Word Super Hero Books since the beginning of the school year.
I have been wanting to get them on TpT but that next step to getting them together for that doesn't seem to happen...until now! I am putting up the first 6 weeks of words and next week the rest will be added!
The book is 5 pages long so they can do a quick activity each day with their sight words. I only give 6 words a week and they are from the FRY First 100 words. I also will be adding the sight word cards that I give my kiddos each week.
Stay tuned for a big old post in the next few days about how I work sight words in my classroom!
I don't know about you but if we have another rainy day or cold weather indoor recess I might just lose my mind. If it is below 42* here we can't take the kiddos outside! Seriously! I know my Northern friends are rolling on the floor right now but it makes me a little crazy! And the rain seems to never, ever, ever want to stop so that is keeping us inside as well. I was feeling a little desperate the other day so on a whim we went on a walk around the school.
As we walked the halls I took pictures (they didn't know) and when we returned to the classroom I started asking them questions to see if they paid attention to what they saw while we walked. So for instance, I asked if anyone saw any snow on our hike. They had to describe where. And I asked if anyone saw any animals and they told us where. I had the smart board on and showed them the pictures if they guessed right. It doesn't hold a candle to outdoor recess but they sure loved it and it got us on the move!
Hope you have a great week and a relaxing day off tomorrow!
Check out Doodle Bugs Teaching for more great ideas!
