Camping with Books

We've been Camping with Books.  I've only scratched the surface of activities and plan to post more...  Here are a few pictures of some camping fun.

Erica's Seed to Plant File

The Clever School Teacher

Folks, I have to let you in on a secret. There is a CLEVER shop to save you and I a lot of time purchasing rich literature for our lessons.  The Clever School Teacher has a database that can find a 'just right' book for you!  Packages are designed around reading strategies, writing traits... get this..wait for it... AND... Common Core.  You'll find a collection of 300,000 books and prompt service.  

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I ordered this Predicting K-2 set and received the books yesterday.  Today I searched through the endless amount of selections in the Common Core units.  I'm eager to get a jump start of the "NEW" school year in Kindergarten.  YAY!!!

Pinterest Linky Party

Do you pin?  I can't help myself.  One year later and I have 74 boards and nearly 7,000 pins.  My categories are separated by content area, holidays/seasons, and organization.

The Curious Garden:Literature Unit

One day, a curious boy named Liam is out exploring his drab, gray city when he comes across a struggling garden.  The Curious Garden is a magical story about a boy's dream and how the efforts of one small person can help change the world. 

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This has been an exciting book of the month.  The kids are blooming while writing and connecting with this unique and inspiring story.  I will be back this week with additional picture!

I highly recommend this book!  Themes include kindness, diversity, and environmentalism. I love that this story embraces individuality and uniqueness!  Here are a few additional pictures!

I purchase the paper and poster from Target.

I prepare 'kits' with colors preselected. 

Eliminates extra student decisions!

  

Classroom Jeopardy

All I have to say is SHUT.THE.FRONT.DOOR!!! I was offered an opportunity to review Classroom Jeopardy from Educational Insights. With state assessments, I've been knee deep in paperwork and unable to post. We were so lucky to receive the opportunity to play the interactive quiz show the week before FCAT. I reviewed the newly updated 2011 version but when I was hunting the website, I stumbled across the original model. This system usual cost $549 and it's now $49.  Say WHAT!?!?  Keep in mind, my review below is for the EL8000 series!

 I took home the USB drive to use it. The directions in the book were not as clear as going to the Educational Insights website. I watched the videos. Once I did that, I could create games that I had previously used in a Powerpoint form. I then easily transferred these new games to the USB drive. Once I got the batteries in the system, we tried it out. The games, controllers and the Host Control Device took some tries to figure out (The player controllers need to be labeled as to which is 1, 2 or 3) but we did it quickly. The students and I are now having a blast using the system to learn and review!!!! 

Mother's Day

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It's Mother's Day! 

I've been creating these frames with the kids for 6 years.  My students will paint the pieces in the morning.  It's a simple craft.  I purchase the colored sticks at the dollar tree.  I've used the plain wooden sticks and had the kids paint in the past but this year we have a tight schedule.  The kiddos will be pulled to decorate cakes in the cafeteria, a project sponsored by Publix Bakery.

Classroom Friendly Supplies

In February, I read a post from Doodle Bugs Teaching that featured The Quietest Pencil Sharpener.  I was intrigued instantly.  I absolutely HEART the design.  Retro, Pop FUN!  

Another cool fact, Classroom Friendly Supplies is owned and operated by a classroom teacher.  Troy Decoff has a unique product that has out lasted all three of my previous sharpeners combined. 

Note... My least favorite job is sharpening pencils.  The germs, the germs, the germs.  YUCK!  I assigned a job so that I wasn't having to touch the oodles of nastiness but kids + sharpener = replacements.   Without fail... three days - two weeks life span.  Enter the Pencil Sharpener Nazi.  Guys, I hid the previous sharpeners when I had a sub in hopes to come back with a working device.  Not kidding!!! 

I'm most impressed with the durability of this pencil sharpener.  AND now a sigh of relief.  The kids can resume control of the pencils.  The beauty... The Quietest Pencil Sharpener is really quiet.  I was equally as impressed with the wonderful price point.  Starting at $19.99 and free shipping/handling.  Now talk about a good deal!

If you are interested and would like to see more... Troy has set up video tutorials.  

Go Get Your Grind On!

Memoirs of a Goldfish

Today my kiddos dove into Memoirs after reading the story Memoirs of a Goldfish.  We began with their earliest memories.  I worried that I'd loose them with field day looming only several hours away but they really took ownership of their writing.  

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