My Fish Door

I promised a picture when I was done with my "swim together" door and here it is!

I put a colorful border I found around the sign to make it stand out a little more. My students LOVED the story and decorating the fish!

The sign is a freebie at my TPT store! Click on it to go to my store and download it for your own classroom.

Happy Sunday!

Updates! Get Your Updates!

Well the 1st week of school 2015 is IN THE BOOKS! (Well, technically 4 days). Here's me:

More like every night this week... MAN! Where did my stamina go?

Anywho, as I've been resting up this morning I realized 9/11 is coming up this Friday. I made some updates to my Patriot Day unit! First, it's technically called Patriot Day (not Patriot's Day). Woops. Fixed that. Next, I made this cute mini book that is focused on teaching children what patriotism is.

I also updated the overall look of the product, added a word find and key and created a letter and graphic organizers for soldiers in addition to police officers and firefighters. Click the image below to check out my preview file at TPT!

Happy September!

Last Day of Summer... Already??

Today is the day when most Wisconsin teachers are trying to savor every last moment of their summer while simultaneously trying to prepare for kiddos to come tomorrow! How does this happen every year?? Well there's only one way to handle these mixed feelings. A SALE!!!

 Click the image to go to my store and have a little shopping spree!!

I was chatting with my friend Megan about mixed feelings earlier in the summer and she had the greatest video clip to sum it up. The Golden Girls have the answer to everything. And in this case... it's magenta.

https://youtu.be/5R05uvTBBzo

Hope you all have a wonderful magenta Monday.

Spring in 2nd Grade Means... Flat Stanley!

It's that time of year again! Birds are chirping, buds are budding, bunnies are hopping and Mrs. Lewis' class is receiving our Flat Stanley projects in the mail! Is there anything better than getting fun things in the mail? And for every one of your students? The fun has begun in room 148! My class makes a "flat" version of themselves then I mail them to family or friends with a booklet to document their adventures. Here's a cute one I've gotten so far...

 This kiddo sent hers to a cousin in Washington state. It turned out so cute! I can't wait to get more!
I also put up a bulletin board mapping where all our "flats" traveled. Once they're all back in Wisconsin I'll post a pic.

Until then... here's the link to my store where you can grab the booklet! Just click the cover image.

Creating Writing with Meaning

It's 10:45 in room 148. I announce it's time to clean up from spelling and take out Writer's Workshop folders. I've learned 2nd graders have two reactions to this:
1. Their eyes light up and they search frantically for their pencil to get started.
2. Groaning, asking to go to the bathroom, their pencil isn't sharp enough, anything that can delay them from starting to write.

I've found the former is much less common than the later. It's true, writing can be a daunting task for a 2nd grader. Not only do they have to try to spell words, make capitals and remember punctuation marks, but they also have to THINK of what to write! No wonder they are overwhelmed when we expect them to write a story with 3 paragraphs. But the thing is, they can do it. And it's easier to do it when they are writing about something they are excited about.

We have spent the beginning of the year looking at real authors who have written stories based on events in their life. As students were generating their own ideas we read many mentor texts from authors such as Patricia Polacco and Tomie dePaola. We kept track of meaningful topics that real writers write about on an anchor chart. I snapped a picture of it...

Happy writing!

November!?

Bye October. It's been real. I went through Target today and they already had all the Christmas stuff out... Poor Thanksgiving. The forgotten holiday. Well, if you're like me, and you're not quite ready for the Christmas spirit, I have something for you! A November Word Work Pack - and isn't the turkey on the cover adorable? It's from JW Illustrations along with the other cutesy pilgrims and native American clip art inside. Her clipart is the best. Click the link/pic below to go to my store and check it out.

Click here! http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/November-Word-Word-Pack-960195

Happy turkey month!

Back to School... Back to School...

Hi folks! I hope everyone is off to a great start of their school year. I've got to say so far things have been looking pretty good in room 148. There really is something magical about the 1st week of school (although giving up summer is pretty rough!). So many shiny pencils, new outfits, perfectly sharpened crayons and friends to see again. This time of the year is exciting, yet scary, because the environment that is created in these first few weeks really sets the tone for the rest of the year!

Here's my classroom on the first day. Take a good look because it will never be this clean again!

The other thing that gets me at the beginning of the year is PLANNING. Why is this still so hard? This will be my 4th year teaching and every fall I feel like a first year teacher again. I wrestle with myself back and forth... back and forth... over the best things to start with. What skills do they need before they can do this? What do I wish they had known earlier last year? Since everything isn't an option I find myself having to make some decisions. Then change them again. "It is what it is" right?

One thing that is sure to be a part of my plans that I don't have to think about so hard is Patriot's Day. So glad to have my Patriot's Day Literacy Activities resource to put into my plans! The link is below:

Cheers to an awesome year!