challenge time

So, it's been a while. A loooonnnggg while! This TPT Seller Challenge is going to be my motivation to get back into the swing of things. Here I am starting out this challenge:

I haven't been paying much attention to my numbers... and that is probably because I haven't been paying much attention to:

1. Blogging
2. Instragramming (for teacher purposes)
3. Don't even have the twitter app on my phone or ipad! 
4. Have not posted anything new to TPT in a few months! 

I have, however, been pinning up a storm... which is a whole other story! 

This morning I accepted the TPT Seller Challenge, and I've completed the first challenge: Makeover Madness!

This was my first freebie to get started on TPT and it looked super BORING! I have a few products (that are from the beginning) that look like they need an update. This morning, though, I realized why it might be a few weeks before that update occurs. My computer is super sssslllllooowww. It took me at least an hour and a half to get through this 8 page update. Granted the original was made in Word, so I had to start from scratch, but it took forever! I need to seriously clean up my Mac (or possibly, get a new one!!).

Anyway, I would love for you to download this updated version and let me know what you think... It's FREE! You can download it here. While you are checking it out, I would love for you to follow me on TPT. Over the next few weeks I am going to be adding to my shop with some exciting games and I seriously plan on keeping you posted. :)

Have a great Tuesday!

Oooo...It's a Mystery!!

The mystery may quite possibly be... how do I even have energy to post today? Seriously, my kids were crazy today! I mean they would not STOP talking! After conferring with my sister after work today I realized my kids are crazy because...
of me!!
Well, I don't know if this is true but I was thinking about everything we did today and maybe it was TOO fun! Is it possible? Can I provide too much fun for my kids and they just don't know how to handle it all? They were really calm during a traditional reading lesson. Did their seat work like champs. They were even good little workers during center time, then language arts came and POW--they would not shut up! We have been learning contractions all week! Yesterday we did "Contraction Kids" from The Inspired Apple. I did this with my kiddos last year and they LOVED it! I think it is just the cutest thing ever! See below:

Look at that hair! HA!

Anyway today I thought we could do something a little more intensive- Contraction Surgery. You would have thought I gave them a present! They were so excited when I was modeling how to fix the contraction with the band-aid. Then when I turned it over to them it was a melt down! I had kids crying b/c their band-aids were sticking together, they all the sudden couldn't figure out how to cut the word just right so the o was missing, etc. It was like chaos (and of course, my assistant wasn't there!) I was just happy when those 45 minutes finally came to an end!

Then after lunch we were doing place value (again?! when will this unit end!) Yesterday I couldn't find the mats and had them write on their desks with a dry erase. See here. They were freaking out about where they write, how they write, what color marker they have... then during math they would not shut up!

Am I too crazy for my kids? Should I pull out some workbooks? (Oh NO!) I am just going to have to mellow it out tomorrow!

Anyway, the real mystery is my mystery sentence center. At the beginning of the year we did mystery sentences together everyday. We unscrambled a sentence, wrote it, and at the end of the week (after 5 sentences) illustrated the story it became. Good handwriting practice and prediction work. After Christmas I decided to put this into a center. Here is what is looks like [on a Wednesday afternoon]:

Everyday I put a new scrambled up sentence in the pocket chart. The sentences are made from/with spelling words. The kids have to unscramble the sentence then add 4-5 more sentences to make their own story. Most of them love it! Then after center time I have them share their stories and I just love that-- listening to them read their own stories is delightful! Today one of my boys (who isn't especially motivated to do his best work all the time) actually did his best work in this center.

[If you can't read that: Which is shorter your hair or my hair? If I get a haircut my hair will be shorter than yours. I am gettig a haircut this weekend. And I told my mom I wanted it short. I got my hair short so my hair is shorter than yours.]
I was so impressed and had to share what a great thinking center this is. Now, I am going to go eat dinner and try not to think about this day any more--- until I grade papers later! LOL-- I know you understand!

Wordle in the Room

Teaching My Calling is hosting a Digital Learning Day Linky Party. I love using any kind of technology (like most of you!) One staple in my room is Wordle. This is a fab site where you can make word clouds. There is another one that is similar called Tagxedo. Tagxedo lets you pick a shape to put your word cloud in. It is pretty cool (especially if your making a cloud about a specific subject).
I use wordle a lot! I use it for a spelling center! I enter my spelling words on wordle, then it creates a cloud like this:

My kids do ABC order by cutting the words out and pasting them on a different page. You can change the colors, style, and font.

In other news I had an epiphany today during math. I couldn't find our place value mats--- lost somewhere in the clutter! So, instead of freaking out I just thought why don't we just write on our desk! Hello!! Where has this idea been?? I write their names on their desks with sharpie and it seems to come off after a couple of months (no...I didn't give them a sharpie!!)
They used their dry erase markers to make their own place value mats... genius (if I do say so myself!)

(oh and by the way... we did clean our desks afterwards! But we will do this again tomorrow!)

Slide your Words

My fellow first grade teachers and I have a center called "Slide Your Words". In this center, the kids actually slide words out of envelopes and have to segment while they slide to figure out what the word is. This is what it looks like:

We work on a different sound weekly (vowels, diagraphs, blends) and the words used in the "Slide your Words" center correlate with what we are working on that week. There is also a recording sheet that goes along with this center that is available here.

This center can be good practice at home too!

Here is another link for some of the actual strips that are used with the words and graphics. All you have to do is print on cardstock, laminate, and cut into strips.

Hope this is helpful to you, like it is for us :)
Enjoy!!

New Center

I have been super busy the past couple weeks. Only a week and a half left of my graduate classes and for a minute there I was a bit overwhelmed! My room was looking CRAZY and everyday this week I felt like there was one more thing.. almost forgot the progress reports on Tuesday! Finally got it together in time for a 3 day weekend. This morning I made a little center for the next couple weeks using a new grammar concept we are starting: subjects and predicates.

Click here to get a copy for yourself!

I have so much more to share, but of course I forgot to take pictures before I left school yesterday! Have a happy Easter :)