Chinese New Year Freebie!

Hello everyone!

As you can see our blog has finally been fixed. Hooray!

Well this post is going to be a quick one but I really wanted to share something that I whipped up really quick in honor of Chinese New Year.

I wanted my students to compare and contrast our New Year celebrations to that of the Chinese New Year. I had a really old Venn Diagram so I decided to remake it and make it cuter to look at. Hope you can use it.

Just click on the image and get your freebie because you are all so awesome.

Cindy

Help!!!

First off I don't know what happened to our blog. Ever since the first of the year our graphics went crazy and I don't know how to fix it. If anyone out there knows please inform me because it looks horrible.

Well the real reason I am posting is because my class will soon start a rock unit and as I was looking through the Foss Kits they have some really boring things so I decided to jazz it up a little. I made my own Rock Unit and it is available on

TPT or on Teachers Notebook.

It includes two sorting pages, a KWHL, some writing material, some experiment pages, some teaching material, and a page for their Pet Rock. My students are really excited about having a pet rock this year. They are already discussing names and what they are going to do with them. I love how excited they are getting about rocks. Well if you are interested it is available at our stores just click on the image or on the links.

Cindy

We are still alive!

Hello everyone!

Sorry its been so long but most of you know how hectic this time of the year has been and if you teach in Las Vegas you know how crazy this year has been with all of the changes being made to our standards and gradebooks that don't align and all kinds of craziness.

I wont get into that because that is a whole different post. (YES, I know that was a very long sentence but as frustrated as I am about things going on I will not fix it. Ha!)

I would also like to announce that I am now 4 months pregnant so posting and having morning sickness or more like all day sickness was not happening. I am finally over the sickness and starting to enjoy.

Well enough excuses and sorry this post has nothing to do with teaching but I am on vacation and so my brain has checked out of school mode. Ha! I have so many things to share with you about school since I haven't posted in like forever.

So Anywho! This year I got an elf on the shelf for my son thanks to so many of you posting about it. My son has loved it. Everyday he wakes up and cant wait to look for him. He named his elf Jack. Jack has gotten into all kind of mischief at home. He decorated our tree with my sons underwear. He made rice angels, he tp'd my sons room, he drew a funny face on his picture, and my son has gotten a kick out of all of them. Check out some of the pictures!

Well as Christmas is fast approaching my son has really started asking questions about where Jack will go and how much he will miss him. I was really stumped on what to do since this is my first year doing this tradition so I went to my trusty site PINTEREST for some ideas. I found this really cute letter that the elf leaves the night before he goes away. I thought it would be perfect for my son. Hope you can all use it as well. Just click on the picture and get your copy.

I hope you guys have a great Christmas and an even better New Year. Thank you so much for being faithful followers. My New Year resolution is to make more time to post.

Sincerely,

Cindy

Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere!

Wow! These few weeks have been very hectic. We have been working on apples, plants, Columbus's day, pumpkins, and we had to get ready for open house on top of that. It has been really hectic and I feel like I have neglected our poor little blog.

Well I wanted to share these really cute pumpkins my students did for open house. One of my teamates found a cute unit online where the students chose a favorite character and they transform their pumpkin into it. I am not going to lie I was a little worried at first because it was our first year doing it and I didn't know how many families would really get creative. I guess I was worried because all the first grade team was doing it and I was worried that my class would be looking like a hot mess. HA!

Well let me tell you I was pleasantly surprised. The students and parents did an awesome job. The pumpkins came out super cute and the students were able to write about their character so it was perfect for Open House. The whole first grade team had the pumpkins lining the hallway for Open House. It was a big hit with everyone. I do not know how many compliments we received from different families and teachers.

Here are a few pictures so that you can judge for yourself.

SkippyJonJones

Chicken Little

Fancy Nancy and Penguin (something? I forgot the title)

Thomas the Train, Oscar the Grouch and David

GERMS!

Hello Friends!

Well my class is studying germs next week. So as I was researching (or blogstalking) to see all the fabulous ideas my fellow bloggers have come up with I ran into Saylor's Log.

She has the cutest blog. She also did a really cute unit on Germs. I got some wonderful ideas from her site so if you haven't checked her out it is a must.

Well as I continued my research I found some more cute ideas all over the place so I decided to put them all together for you in a quick Germ Mini-Unit. So just click on the link and head on over to our Teachers Notebook for your freebie.

Hope you enjoy and I always appreciate comments!

Cindy

September is Hispanic Heritage

Hispanic Heritage Teachers Notebook
Hispanic Heritage TPT

Hello!

Ok so I know that September is almost over but if you are like me you are wondering where it went. Didn't it fly by so fast!!!! Well September is Hispanic Heritage Month and along with learning about apples, Johnny Appleseed, and testing I always try to fit it in.

I usually reserve Fridays in the month of September and highlight a different country. I have the students fill out their passports and I even stamp them. Then we buckle up and get ready for our travels. Sometimes if I have enough donations we even have an in flight snack while we go on a tour of the country courtesy of my smartboard. After we have toured the country we talk about the language and some of the music. I always try to download some traditional music on my ipod so that we can listen to it while we color in our flag and find our capital on our map. After we have done that we either have a craft or enjoy some traditional games. I love to show the students some pictures of the children in the different cultures so that they know that they are not much different than them. As September comes to an end we have to finish up our Hispanic Heritage Month and I usually finish it off by eating some traditional foods. I usually have parents donate money so that I can cook some things up. Now that Rio is out on dvd we will enjoy the movie while finishing off our fiesta.

I have uploaded my mini unit on TeachersNotebook and TPT if you are interested. My students really enjoy this unit so I hope you will too. Just click on the link and it will take to our store.

Now I am off to enjoy the last few hours before my weekend ends.

Cindy

Versatile Blogger

OMG! When I got this nomination from Abby over at The Third Grade Bookworm. I was so happy but I have to admit a little surprised. Sometimes it feels like nobody reads my posts since there aren't many comments left but I keep chugging a long hoping I am helping or inspiring someone as many of you have done for me. Thank you so much Abby you made my week and with my birthday being on Saturday you gave me a nice early birthday present.

So according to the rules I have to tell you 7 juicy details about me that you might not know. So here I go:

1. I love to run. I wish I had more time to devote to it =(

I have run a few half marathons and would love to run a full. Its on my bucket list.

2. I hate to cook. Hahaha! I am just not that creative in the kitchen. This is the reason I love pinterest. The ladies I follow over there always have easy and yummy recipes.

3. I was headed to Med School before I decided to become a teacher. I think I made the right decision for my family and I can honestly say I love my job everyday! Even the bad days! Ha!

4. I went to the military right after high school. At the ripe old age of 17. YIKES! I was in the US Navy and I was a gunners mate. Yes, I shot, assembled, and maintained all kind of guns. I know what a 360 turn from that to being a first grade teacher.

5. I love to be crafty. I am not always very good at it but I love to attempt all of the projects I see on Pinterest. I think I fine my inner Chi when I am working in my office/craft room.

6. I secretly desire to be a couple of inches taller. Ha! I am only 5' tall and clothes just don't fit right sometimes and the worst part is that the fifth graders are almost always taller than me. Good thing I teach first grade.

7.My favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning is to wake up early before the hubby and my son and make a good cup of coffee and snuggle on the couch and watch my I Love Lucy dvd's. I love that show she was hilarious and it always starts my weekend off right.

Now I thought that was hard. I have to now choose blogs that I think are worthy of The Versatile Award.

The First Grade Factory

The First Grade Parade

First Grade Fanatics

Step into 2nd Grade

Teacher Bits and Bobs

Ladybug Teacher Files

There is plenty more that I would like to nominate because I am inspired by so many but I have to be honest and I am getting a cramp. HA!

Thank you!

Cindy