Happy Birthday, Primary Punchbowl!!!

Happy birthday to the punchies!!!  We are celebrating this weekend in a big way...with sales and a big giveaway!

 

Follow this blog hop to score some great deals and get a chance to win a $50 Target gift card!!  

Here's my #letscelebrate deal!

 

Over 100 pages for $3.00 this weekend!  Woo hoo!  You can also grab other things from my store for 20% off.  

Hop on over to Primary Fairy Tales to celebrate another amazing deal!

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Classroom Reveal 2016!

I'm so excited to share my classroom pics this year!  Over the summer I create Bright & Burlap class decor sets and fell in love with burlap all over again!  Our first day of school was last Thursday and my firsties rocked it!  I have lots of sweet boys this year and feisty girls. :)  It should be fun!

Take a peek at my learning space!!

 Sign in area!

 Reading focus wall (we use Journeys) and our wrinkled heart from Chrysanthemum!

 My beloved working word wall!  Probably my fave part of my room, can't wait till the kiddos use it!

 My writing corner!

 My Ag tree!  Loved making this guy :)

 Can't wait till my guided reading groups begin!

 Teacher besties!!  What would I do without these awesome ladies???!!!

Thanks for stopping by and happy learning!!

Tell All Tuesday! Summer Snapshot

 

 Happy Tuesday, friends!!  I'm linking with the sweet ladies at Teach Talk Inspire and My Day in K for Tell All Tuesday.  

It's super hard to pick one picture out of 100 that I've taken this summer!  We have about a month left, and I still have a road trip to St. Louis and a bday party sleepover to enjoy. :)

But if I had to decide, it would definitely be one from our trip to Gulf Shore, AL.

 My daughters fell in love with the beach!  Can't blame them!

Have a great week, y'all!!

Five For Friday! Increasing Vocabulary & FREEBIES!

Happy Friday, y'all!  These weeks are flying by, especially when I'm taking my masters classes.  One thing I've discovered this summer is how important my read aloud time is with my students!  Check out my blog post below and grab a FREEBIE plus a product that is only $1 today!

My teacher besties and I went shopping at KC last week.  We had so much fun!  Here we are at IKEA & Joe's KC BBQ :)

 

My sweet Lily entered a super yummy cake in the fair and got reserve champion!  I was so proud!  She's got her eye on the big purple rosette, so next year we are bringing the big guns...pecan pie!  LOL!

 

My peeps at the Primary Punchbowl are have dollar deals today!  Type in #freshsqueezedfriday or click HERE for the goods!

Prayers and thoughts go out to the innocent people killed in France this week.  :(  I pray for change in our world, not for me, but for the future of my daughters and all of the students we love!!

Increasing Vocabulary During Read-Aloud Time

Even though it's hot, dry July, let's fast forward to a sweeter time of year.  Let's say... the magical month of September!  The crisp air welcomes our kiddos back to school and our classroom routines actually become routines.  

One thing I will never, ever cut out of my first grade day is our Read-Aloud time.  After our lunch recess, students travel back in sweaty and tired and always ready to relax.  :)  Me, too!

So this is a perfect time for a read-aloud.  I don't care what grade you teach, Pre-K or 8th, you NEED this read-aloud time.  Even if it's ten minutes of your day, trust me, you NEED IT!  There is so, so much you can teach during this coveted time, even when the kiddos don't think they are learning.  But first, let's see my fave first grade read-alouds.

These are just a few of the many read-alouds we complete during the school year.  Longer chapter books, like Charlotte's Web, may take a month, while Junie B. Jones could be finished in half that time.  I love to align my books with the different seasons. Mouse and the Motorcycle is set in the summer, so we read that the last month of school and Charlotte's Web works perfect around October when we study spiders.  

I only read books I love to my students because they need to see you ENJOY the book along with them.  It really matters how you share the reading with students.  By weaving in questions and comments while they read, you are increasing their comprehension and vocabulary!

Here are a few strategies to help you do that:

QUESTIONING: "The word ______ is a tricky word.  What do you think it means?"
PROVIDE DEFINITION:  Giving the students a teacher generated definition.
PROVIDE SYNONYM:  Teacher repeats the tricky word and then gives a synonym for it.
PROVIDE EXAMPLE:  Making a connection by giving an example of how or where you could hear the tricky word.
CORRECT STUDENT RESPONSES:  Teacher clarifies student response on the tricky word.
EXTENSION:  Teacher extends a student generated definition.
IMAGERY:  Using gestures to provide visual meaning to the tricky word.


Now this may seem like quite a list to remember while you are enjoying a read-aloud with your students.  So I whipped up some Read Aloud Task Cards!  Print, laminate, and store on a ring for easy access.  Make it a goal to use at least one of these strategies a day during your read aloud time.

What if you already do this?  What if your students gobble up the read aloud time and want more?  I wanted to put the strategies in the hands of my students.  So I created an Interactive Read Aloud Notebook.  Print and staple/bind to store and bring out when you would like them to focus on a certain vocab word or just copy what you need that day.  

 

Happy summer, friends!  Thanks for stopping by! :)

 

Happy 4th, friends!!  Here in SE KS, we have been watching the rain come down for about two days now.  We definitely have some happy farmers!  I'm in between masters classes, soooo I decided to get my craft on and join in on Monday Made It, my fave summer linky!

 

Last year I did a blog post on chalk painting mason jars.  This year I decided to add some burlap!  

Here's the supply list:

burlap ribbon (wired)

chalk paint (Waverly from Wal-Mart)

mason jars

paint brushes

hot glue gun

Sharpies

twine (extra)

 

The first step is to paint mason jars!  You can clean them with alcohol first if you want.  My yellow took two coats but the teal only took one.  Next, you can take a strip of burlap and hot glue it around the jar.  I did this to one and the other one I drew a ruler using a black sharpie.  You could even draw an initial or ABCs.  

On my teal jar, I created some burlap rosettes.  It's soooo easy! I added a dot of hot glue every so often.  Here's the steps below:

 

 My yellow jar will store my extra rulers and my teal jar will store my newest student tools, Super Sticks!  All you need is wooden skewers, ribbon, and washi tape.  Here's how I made them:

Make sure you trim off the pointy ends!  You can use these to call on students, as pointers for students/you, or for certain games.

That was one big Monday Made It!  You can check out my Bright & Burlap Class Decor HERE!  Have a great week!

Good Morning, JULY!!!  Welcome hot, dry weather and the back to school itch...it starts in July I tell you! With my first masters class completed, I now have 4 days until my next one begins.  So I better blog while I can!

 

Happy 4th of July to everyone!  I plan on spending the weekend catching up on some Monday Made-It projects, eating lots of desserts, and burning up my money on fireworks with the family.  :)

 

Summer camps have started and CB went to her first one a few weeks ago!  She made slime and was floored by it.  

 

Here's my Lily after she got a spare bowling last week.  As you can see, she was a little excited!

 

My Brights & Burlap classroom decor set is almost complete!  Right now I have the Banners and Desk Plates/Supply Labels/Schedule finished, but soon I will have the rest finished and bundled. 

Best part is, it's all EDITABLE!! No more making sure your handwriting is perfect...just type it in!  I used a lot of KG Fonts, especially Miss Kindergarten on these and they are free for personal use.  Sweet!!!

 

 My awesome pals from the Primary Punchbowl are putting some products on sale for $1 every Friday this summer.  Just type in #freshsqueezedfriday on TPT and shop till you drop!

Be my newest follower on TPT and you might win $10 of free products!  Enter the Rafflecopter below!

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