Hello again, long lost friends! I cannot believe that I have neglected my poor, little blog for so long! I do have some excuses, though, and I'm throwing a FLASH SALE as a New State, New Classroom and New Blog Design Celebration (you could also call it an "I'm sorry I've been gone for so long sale, haha!")!
Anyways, in the last few months, my husband and I sold our house and we both got new jobs in our home state of Indiana within about a two week period--talk about blessed! Now we have officially relocated to our temporary home with my sweet in-laws until we close on the purchase of our new home in July (fingers crossed!). Anyway, as things have been crazy--I hope I never move states with a dog, a cat, and two year old again--I apologize for being gone and hope you'll be glad to have a little summer sale in return.
This 20% Off FLASH SALE will run today through Friday! A few of the items you might want to check out as you plan and organize for the new school year include...
I know I've got lots of organizing, unpacking, and planning to do! Here is a before picture of my new room! Hope to be back soon with some progress and updates!
Hundredth Day Heroes and a Super Sale!
What a fun 100th day we had this year! I decided to change things up by surprising my firsties with a super-hero themed bash, and it was sooo much fun! I had them dress up in their 100 year old costumes like I have always done in the past, but this year, they received a letter from Zero the Hero explaining that they were not really 100 year old ladies and gentlemen--they were Hundredth Day Heroes in disguise! You should have heard the gasps when we read those words--gotta love first graders!
Here is what the letter looked like...
Anyways, Zero the Hero (Head Superhero, of course) gave the students several tasks to complete in order to Defeat Dr. Double Digit and save the number 100! They were all contained in specially-labeled envelopes, and the kids really enjoyed opening up each one to see what their next task was. The activities included creating Superhero Capes with 100 designs on them, making a Superhero Snack Mix, hunting for Hershey's Kisses during a Super-Sweet Search, building Power Towers, and more! Here are a few pics...
At the end of the day, my students received a second letter from Zero the Hero congratulating them on their hard work in Defeating Dr. Double Digit, and they were rewarded with Pinterest-inspired Tootsie Pop Superheroes!
It was definitely an exciting day, and it was nice to have a new twist on some of my favorite 100th day activities! I've put all of the activities and templates into a kit, so if you'd like to have a Superhero themed 100th day, you can too! You can find it by clicking the picture below to head directly to my TPT store!
Speaking of TPT, this weekend definitely deserves a triple yay status! Friday ended up being a snow day for me--the only one we've had this year, it is Super-bowl weekend, and Super Sale weekend on TeachersPayTeachers! If you're interested in snagging some goodies (including my new Hundredth Day Heroes Kit) at a HUGE 28% off, just shop at your favorite stores and enter the code SUPER during checkout! I've been filling up my cart already!
Here is what the letter looked like...
Anyways, Zero the Hero (Head Superhero, of course) gave the students several tasks to complete in order to Defeat Dr. Double Digit and save the number 100! They were all contained in specially-labeled envelopes, and the kids really enjoyed opening up each one to see what their next task was. The activities included creating Superhero Capes with 100 designs on them, making a Superhero Snack Mix, hunting for Hershey's Kisses during a Super-Sweet Search, building Power Towers, and more! Here are a few pics...
It was definitely an exciting day, and it was nice to have a new twist on some of my favorite 100th day activities! I've put all of the activities and templates into a kit, so if you'd like to have a Superhero themed 100th day, you can too! You can find it by clicking the picture below to head directly to my TPT store!
Space Case! And a 100th Day Sneak!
Okay, I'm behind...very behind. I have the most wonderful student teacher working in my classroom this month, and I seem to be a bit of a crazy person trying to balance everything (some may debate that I *might* be crazy most of the time, haha!). Anyway, I mentioned a little space freebie a few weeks ago, and that never happened. Well, it did, but I didn't post it :(. So, here are some pics from our space unit and a little freebie...
Here is our Moon facts chart...
And here is one of the ever-exciting moon rock models that we made. We combined about 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, water, black paint, and lots of glitter to make these babies! The kids molded them into rocks, added craters and a little moondust (more flour and glitter). They had so much fun, and they did a little writing activity detailing the adventure of "discovering" their moon rock. By the way, the glitter (which is my personal favorite part) is supposed to represent the sun's light reflecting off of the moon. :)
This next idea came from my super-smart teaching neighbor...we made craters in the moon dust by dropping objects onto a plate of flour--simple, and to the point! Loved it!
Of course, we had to make the oreo models of the moon's phases...
And here comes the freebie, which was inspired by this pin...
Have a great rest of the week!
Here is our Moon facts chart...
And here is one of the ever-exciting moon rock models that we made. We combined about 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, water, black paint, and lots of glitter to make these babies! The kids molded them into rocks, added craters and a little moondust (more flour and glitter). They had so much fun, and they did a little writing activity detailing the adventure of "discovering" their moon rock. By the way, the glitter (which is my personal favorite part) is supposed to represent the sun's light reflecting off of the moon. :)
This next idea came from my super-smart teaching neighbor...we made craters in the moon dust by dropping objects onto a plate of flour--simple, and to the point! Loved it!
Of course, we had to make the oreo models of the moon's phases...
And here comes the freebie, which was inspired by this pin...
All you need for this moon model is some paper and three brads...cheap and easy! These models really helped my kiddos to grasp the concepts of night and day, eclipses, and how the earth rotates throughout the year.
By the way, I would really recommend using regular printer paper instead of cardstock--the cardstock is too hard for little hands to put the brads through! Trust me! :) Just click the picture below to download the Sun, Moon, and Earth Model template.
Since finishing space, we celebrated the 100th day in Superhero Style! It was soooo much fun! I'm working on editing/uploading my unit this week, but here is a little sneak peek at my Hundredth Day Heroes in action!
Have a great rest of the week!
The Magical Product Swap!
Happy Late New Year! I'm popping in really quick for a post I've really been looking forward to! This year, I have been so lucky to participate in the Magical Product Swap Linky hosted by Mrs. Stanford's Class--if you haven't checked out her site, definitely do, she's got fantastic ideas and resources!
My students and I have been back at school for 7 full days, and one thing that has really helped our "New" year get off to a great start was Mrs. Mayas' "Snow Much Common Core Math Fun" Set!
Although this kit is aligned to the Kindergarten common core standards, it was super easy to adapt it for my firstie friends!
The kiddos' two favorite activities were the "Mysterious Snowman" center and the "Which Number is More, Snowman?" centers...
In "Mysterious Snowman," the kiddos found the missing number in an addition problem and recorded the number sentence on an adorable recording sheet...
In "Which Number is More, Snowman?," they chose two number words, then circled two show the larger number. To align to our first grade standards, the students also used symbols two compare the two numbers...they did great!
If you'd like to check out more of Mrs. Mayas' units and activities, please check out her adorable blog and her TPT store! If you want to participate in the next Blog Swap, check out Mrs. Stanford's Class!
Thanks for stopping by--I promise to be back later this week with some freebies for teaching space!