Take it and MAKE it - #3

Hello!  Are you on spring break or getting ready for spring break?

Only 1 more day for me.  It can't come soon enough...

The lack of attention to details, all those wiggles, the DAYDREAMING....

oh, my...it's REALLY bad, but I'm trying to hold myself under control!!  haha

It's time for another week of 

 

As I've said previously, this link up is for all types of ideas, activities, recipes, free, paid, etc. More or less...a free for all...  

I've tried to show something different every week to highlight some of the many things that can be linked up.

This week I would like to spotlight a paid item from my store.

I have learned SO very much since I started this journey.  I hope my products have evolved and become even better over time.  

To that end, I have revamped my "Springing Into Literacy Stations."

Not only did I change up the graphics on almost the entire unit, I also added 3 new literacy stations.

Here is everything that is included:

If you have purchased this previously, you can go to "My Purchases" and redownload it at NO extra charge!  :-)

You can check it out in my store, TAKE it and MAKE it to have ready for some springy centers during the month of April.

I hope there are several of you who would like to link up your own ideas that others can TAKE and MAKE.  However, PLEASE follow the guidelines...

1) Write a post about ANY activity or idea that others can TAKE away with them and MAKE.

2)  Items can be free, paid, personal, school, ideas, activities, etc.
3)  No direct links to your store.  It must be to a BLOG Post.
4)  You must include the picture with a link directing others back to my Thursday post.
5)  Please follow the rule of three.  Please leave comments for the two links before you and 1 after you.

 

My BIRTHDAY BASH!

On Tuesday, I will have lived, loved, and learned another year.  Reflecting back on this past year of my life it seems that I have done a lot of living and enjoyed many experiences.  I have also had the opportunity to love my family and friends.  Lastly, I have learned so many new things personally and professionally.  I LOVE to learn!  It's been another GREAT year to be alive!  

(And let's face it, who would have wanted the alternative! ha!)

Yes, what I'm saying is that Tuesday is MY BIRTHDAY!!! 

To celebrate, I have made a little BIRTHDAY BASH unit to GIVE to all of you!

I appreciate that so many of you are followers.  However, as a little birthday present to me, I would LOVE for you all to become a follower of my blog, TPT store, and my facebook page.  By doing so, you will also find other FANTASTIC products, ideas, and freebies.  Don't miss out!

Just become a follower of all of these, leave your e-mail address as instructed (along with the # follower you became), and I will send you my unit right away!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for helping me celebrate!

If you feel the need to shop in my store to help me celebrate, I would be over the moon excited!  I  would even give you a freebie of equal or less value!  Just send me an e-mail! 

 (Offer good until Tuesday at midnight)  :-) 

Take it and Make it - Week #2

I'm so glad you stopped back by to find more things to TAKE and then MAKE!

Remember, there's no telling what you'll find to take away with you each week. 

 This week, it's a frugal tip.  (I LOVE frugal!)

Don't throw away your empty foaming soap container once it's empty.  Do you realize there is really NOTHING special about these?   It's simply in the pump mechanism.  You can easily make your own for literally PENNIES!

 Save your empty soap container.

 This particular bottle of body wash has lasted me for WAY over a year.  I got it for $1 at The Dollar Tree and use it to fill 5 pumps.

You need a VERY small amount of the body wash.

Fill the rest of the bottle SLOWLY with water.  Do not fill all the way to the top.

 Replace the pump and shake to mix back together.  

Voila'...  You're very own foaming hand soap.

Now wasn't that EASY?

What else can you find to TAKE with you and MAKE?

Click below for more great ideas.  

I would LOVE for you to link up your own Take it and Make it post by following these guidelines.

1) Write a post about ANY activity or idea that others can TAKE away with them and MAKE.
2)  Items can be free, paid, personal, school, ideas, activities, etc.
3)  No direct links to your store.  It must be to a BLOG Post.
4)  You must include the picture with a link directing others back to my Thursday post.
5)  Please follow the rule of three.  Please leave comments for the two links before you and 1 after you.

And the Winner is....

Leprechauns were hiding everywhere afraid someone was going to steal their gold when they heard there were coins being found in lots of great, fun, fantastic St. Patrick's Day FREEBIES in the Leprechaun Blog Hop.  You might have missed out on your chance to win the $100 in TPT Gold, but it's not too late to grab up some freebies to hold onto for next year. Just click below to grab some.

It's time for the big reveal!  The WINNER of the $100 TPT Gift Certificate is....

Aanika P.

WOW!!!  What a LUCKY gal you are.  I hop you found many new stores on your bloggy hop.  Maybe you even  found a few items to add to your cart.  You should have an e-mail letting you know how to receive your money.  Congratulations!!!

AND just in case any of you were like me and had a super busy week this past week, causing you to miss out on my newest adventure...  Just click below to check it out and grab yourself a freebie.  (Don't forget to check back EVERY Thursday.  You never know what you'll find!)

Have a GREAT week!

 

Thursdays Take it and Make it Linky Party

Welcome to my new weekly linky party!

Here's how it works.  

Each Thursday, be sure to stop by to find ideas, activities, recipes, etc.  (the list is endless) that you can TAKE with you and then MAKE yourself.  You might find things for the home or for the classroom and even things in between.  Items might be free or cost money.  I hope you will find a mixture of all of these things.  But, MOST of all, I hope you can TAKE IT & MAKE IT!  :-)

I have SO many ideas to share.  I think Thursdays may quickly become my favorite blogging day! 

Here's my MAKE IT for this week...

This idea came to me one day as I looked in the trashcan and saw this empty tissue box.

 (The above picture is a re-enactment of the event.
NO tissue boxes were harmed in this event!)

Seeing this cute monster staring up at me immediately gave me an idea!

 Oogey-Boogey Math Facts!  To prepare, print the cards, laminate for durability and cut out.  Place all of the cards in the box.  Above is the set for addition.

 Here is the set for subtraction.  (Different monsters)

 Students will take turns drawing one card out of the box.  If he/she knows the answer he/she can keep the card.  Each student will take turns in the same manner.

If the student draws an Oogey-Boogey card he/she must return ALL of their cards to the tissue box.  Play continues to the next person.  The winner is the person with the most cards at the end of the game.

   If you do not have a box, use a small brown lunch bag or any other kind of container.

The game can be differentiated many different ways... use just addition, just subtraction, or mix together.  Use just the set of facts for 2's, 3's, 4's, etc.  Consider setting a timer if you are working on fluency.  Set the timer for 30 seconds and let one student choose as many cards as possible and give the answers during the time before moving on to the next student.

Your kiddos will have LOTS of fun practicing math facts with this game.

To TAKE away your own set of FREE cards, just click on the picture above.  Then MAKE your own game and you will be ready to go Monday morning!

 You are invited to link up with your own post.  Just grab the pix at the top of this post to add to your blog post directing people back to my site and follow these rules.

1) Write a post about ANY activity or idea that others can TAKE away with them and MAKE.
2)  Items can be free, paid, personal, school, ideas, activities, etc.
3)  No direct links to your store.  It must be to a BLOG Post.
4)  You must include the picture with a link directing others back to my Thursday post.
5)  Please follow the rule of three.  Please leave comments for the two links before you and 1 after you.
(Side note:  I just added a new freebie on my facebook page.  Go grab yours now by clicking on the FREE pix.)
 

My Advice to You

I am linking up with Ms. Fultz's Corner to give some advice.  

This is my 25th year of teaching so I have LOTS, but I'll only give you a few...haha

1)  Don't worry so much about worksheets!  I have found through the years that when I do a ton of worksheets, it only ADDS to my workload (think grading).  Instead I like to use a lot of write/wipe off boards (which also really helps with my limited number of copies I'm allowed monthly). Whether I'm in small group or whole group, it's very easy for me to assess which student's are having trouble with a skill.  Then, I can pull the students into a small needs-based group and work with them while other students are in centers.  How much easier is that than waiting for students to finish a worksheet, then taking them home to grade, and then try to find time in tomorrow's busy schedule to work with those students?

2)  Play lots of games!  Who DOESN'T love playing a game?  What better way to help your students learn than through play.  It doesn't matter what level you teach... all students, ALL ages enjoy playing games.  Play games to learn and games to review.  Students will take away a lot of learning without even realizing that it was "work."

3)  Be a good co-worker!  Share.  Even when people don't reciprocate, always try to include your co-workers by sharing your thoughts and ideas.  By bouncing ideas off of each other, those thoughts and ideas become even better.  Your co-workers will appreciate that you are reaching out.   Working as a team makes life so much better!

4)  Count Your BLESSINGS!  Teaching is your heart's desire and you are getting a paycheck for doing what you love!  Chill out, relax, enjoy this opportunity that God has placed in your life.  Remember to be thankful for it even on the days when the students are wild and you want to pull out your hair!  ;-)

5)  Give words of encouragement to your students EVERY day!  Our grade changes students for reading and math.  When my students leave homeroom at 8:15, I don't see them again until 12:40.  I stand at the door every morning and tell them things such as, "Have a good day!"  "Work Hard"  "Get smarter" "Learn something new to tell me about later" etc.  Then I wait for my reading students to come in the room and I tell them "Good Morning" "I'm so glad we get to learn together again" etc.

As ALL of my students leave my room for the day, I make sure to hug those that want to hug and tell each and everyone of them "I love you!"  After all, doesn't a kind word go a long way to making YOUR day better?

Geometry

We've been working on geometry in our classroom this week.

Since we've not had math books in several years, I have become very adept at making my own things.

In fact, I have always enjoyed making activities for my classroom.

So, when Common Core came out this year, I started making LOTS of my own stuff.

The geometry standards are no exception.

 We've been making Shape Monsters.

 This is only part of the Grandma's Quilt activity.  We've been working on manipulating the squares to form different versions of a quilt to demonstrate rows and columns.

 

 We've been leaving teasers of "What Shape Am I?" in the hallway for other students to enjoy also.

 The mystery is revealed!

 I just posted this Geometry unit  in my TPT store. 

  This 72 page comprehensive unit has I Can posters of the Common Core Standards, Anchor Charts of the shapes and their attributes, Vocabulary cards of important words used in the standards and Essential Questions cards to post.

Lots of fun activities are included to cover each standard throughout the unit.

EXPLICIT directions are included in the Lesson Plans section and gives differentiation for the activities for high and low students as well as additional ideas beyond the printables.

There are ASSESSMENTS to use for pre-tests, post-tests, or other evidence.  (We use standards-based report cards, so these are great for those evidence grades!)

I've also included books and websites for you to use in the Resources.

I've tried to include EVERYTHING that I need in my own classroom and yours as well.  I think this unit will make teaching this unit a breeze whether you teach it for a week or for a month like we do.

You can find it in my store on an INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL at 50% off until 10:00 Thursday night (EST), so hurry over and get yours!

You know I can't leave you without giving you a FREEBIE!  This sort is not included in my Geometry unit, so you'll want to be sure to get this in addition to my unit!

In case you missed the blog hop to find the gold, download LOTS of freebies, and enter to win a $100 TPT gift certificate, it's not too late!  Click here to begin now!

Would you like to win $100??

What do you find at the end of the Bloggy Rainbow? A chance to win $100 in TPT GOLD!

Yes, you read that correctly…ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS….WOWZERS!!!!

I have joined with 16 of my dearest bloggy friends to offer you a bloggy ride like no other.

Jump on the rainbow of fun to visit all fifteen blogs (but 16 friends) to grab a FABULOUS Saint Patty’s Day freebie.  Your planning for the first half of March will be a snap with all of the wonderful goodies you are about to receive.  In each of the freebies, find the hidden coin.  Gather all of the clues and unscramble the mystery phrase.   

Click on the picture to grab my freebie…

Inside you will find your first coin.

I hope in appreciation, you’ll consider becoming a follower of my blog and my store.

(Check out my Facebook page for another freebie.) 

Now that you’ve grabbed your freebie from me, it’s time to hop aboard the rainbow express to  the

Hint:  Be careful of the pirates.  They LOVE to steal gold!!