HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!!!!

Hello to my absolute favorite season!!  Is it the cool, windy air?  Or the lovely colors of leaves?  Or maybe the pumpkin-flavored yummies????  I pick all of the above!

This is a great linky to join, especially if you love this wonderful season.  Thank you, Denise!! :)

Now let's start with something delicious....

A lovely autumn day would not be complete without these tasty treats.  Pumpkin Snickerdoodles!  I love the cinnamon and pumpkin combination, and they stay soooo soft! Yummmmm!  Get this recipe here from A Bitchin' Kitchen.

Next, some decor ideas for the season!

I love this hydrangea wreath!  Find the tutorial here.

And this cute idea for your front porch.

Check it out here from Sand and Sisal.  Find all these ideas and more on my Fall Pinterest Board.  Or if you are looking for cute ideas for your classroom, take a peek at my Fall in the Classroom Board.

Finally, my new fall-themed product: Pumpkin Patch Pack!

This pack was actually started LAST fall, wayyyy back in 2014! :)  I've added and updated and turned it into a product I cannot wait to use next week!  You can check it out at my TPT store HERE. Or if you'd like a chance to win a copy:

1. Follow My Store

2. Comment Below With Your Follower Number

3. I will pick a winner at the end of this week!!!

Have a wonderful first day of fall tomorrow!!!

We Love Grandparents!!

September is a month that literally FLYS by!  I love the themes of back to school, apples, Johnny Appleseed....but I always forget about Grandparents Day!  How is this possible???!!  

So I made sure I didn't miss it this year, and created a unit just for our special someones!  Welcome Our Favorite Moments: Celebrating Grandparents and Grandfriends!

I am so excited to use this pack in a few weeks.  My lovely teacher friends at school decided to throw a shindig for our special someones and it will be fantastic!  These activities will definitely come in handy!

Here's a list of what's included:

Draw and Write Templates

Grandparents/Grandfriends Graphic Organizer

Grandparents/Grandfriends Interview

Grandparents/Grandfriends Mini Reader

Grandparents/Grandfriends Are/Can/Have

Grandparents Paper Bag Book Templates

My Favorite Moments Poem (three versions)

Grandparent Coloring Pages

Paper Bag Instructions

My favorite is the paper bag book!  Here are a few pics:

Don't forget to recognize those special people!  Here's a link to my TPT store!

Classroom Reveal: Burlap and Brights!!

It's two weeks since the first day of school and I'm FINALLY getting around to my classroom pictures!  Take a peek at my burlap and brights first grade room!

My writing corner!  I used my Little Writers pack and love it!  I am using the portfolio covers to make monthly writing portfolios with about four pieces of writing per month.  September will be My First Day of School, Apple Facts, and How To Make An Apple Pie.  Below is how I store students' daily work and our writing portfolios and journals.

My Word Wall!  My lucky TPT followers got this as a special freebie :)  I love the colors!

My lime green chair is THE SPOT everyone wants during Read To Self.

My classroom library.  I recovered my bench with cute striped fabric from Walmart and my outdoor rug came from Lowes.

Love my anchor chart display!!  Idea courtesy of Third Grade Gridiron! :)

We have already created apple adjectives, rainbow to 10 in math, and discussed agriculture in charter time.

Alphabet display with paper chain border!  Will definitely be using this idea again!  The alphabet was made by me, but I don't have it uploaded to TPT yet....

The students loved putting up their cupcakes on our birthday graph!  Stole this little gem from the wonderful world of Pinterest ;)

Sight Word Scoops, once a student masters a Fry Word list, they get an ice cream cone!

My desk with cute decor from Target and my DIY Chalk Paint Mason Jars.

Daily schedule laminated with adhesive magnets on the back.  Great to show at the beginning of the year, then move later on once we have got a routine down.

My classroom helpers aka Little Rays of Sunshine!  Found this cute decor from Teach Joy and Love.

Some views of my Reading Focus Wall.  The top pennant banner is from Teach Joy and Love.  I created all the rest with bird clip art and burlap papers.  Love how it keeps me on track with our new reading series, Journeys!

Thanks for stopping by and best wishes for a fantastic school year!!!

Building Back To School: Reading Tools!

Happy back to school, everyone!  I am kicking back right now, enjoying some 'chair' time.  Is it just me or is SITTING DOWN just not happening in the first few days of school???  Actually, it's like that  for most of the year....BUT especially bad at the beginning! 

I'm so excited to join my sweet friend Denise for Building Back To School!  Congrats to her family on welcoming a beautiful baby girl this week!  


I love creating Close Reading units in my spare time and testing them out in my classroom.  Here's a few tips from my Complete Core units that contain lesson plans and resources for a weeklong close reading unit.


1. Share reading editing strategies.  I use: Circle words you don't know, highlight important information, and underline key words.

2. Discuss the topic before hand to gather what we know.  I feel like this warms up the students before their first cold read.

3. Although my close reading units are informational text, I always include a fun fictional mini book.  Balance is good :)


I'm giving away a copy of your choice of my Complete Core units! Here are a few I've creating recently.

Leave a comment below with your email and I will chose a winner later this week!  If you'd like to take a closer look at the units, just click on the pictures and it will take you to my TPT store.  


Enjoy your week!!

Monday Made It: Anchor Chart Display

I'm shedding a few tears for this last Monday Made It, sniff sniff.  It was a fun and crafty summer, but it's time to get down to first grade business! ;)

Sorry for the dark picture! :)  I borrowed this idea from 3rd Grade Gridiron.  I had this huge bulletin board that I knew I couldn't put just anything on.  I needed something that was worthy! ;)

I hot glued some clothespins (I put washi tape on top of them) on to the bulletin board to hold the anchor charts.  To figure out the spacing, I used pushpins first.

It really was easy peasy!  Last year I would shove my anchor charts behind my Smartboard when I was done with them.  I love how I can display the info we gathered as a class and are able to look back and review, too!

My latest TPT product!  I am trying to create some shorter, easier packs that don't require lots of instructions.  I needed something for my early finishers tub, and this is perfect!

No prep cut and paste!  Works on motor skills, plus an academic skill!  Make individual copies of the main sheet (with the picture) and cut the answer sheets in half to save on paper.  Here's another example:

And they are all Fall inspired!  Catch this fun pack at a great price HERE.

Check out the other great Monday Made It posts at 4th Grade Frolics!

Building Back To School: Classroom Tools

It's Back To School, baby!  I am so excited to be joining my sweet friend, Denise from Hashtag TeacherMom, today for her BTS linky.  This week we are focusing on Classroom Tools!

I adore Pinterest...I mean ADORE.  Pinterest is kinda like my hot husband, in the form of recipes, crafts, and teaching tips.  :)

Here's some Classroom Tools I would LOVE to have!

1. Class Dojo for Classroom Management

Last year was my first year using Class Dojo.  It took me a week to get the groove, but after that, I threw away my clip chart and never looked back!  The best part about Class Dojo is that parents can get notifications on their phones about their child's behavior.  I also love the nice pie chart I can create to show behaviors at the end of the 9 week period. :) Very organized!

2. The Daily 5

This is my third year using Daily 5 in my classroom.  Just like Class Dojo, it took me awhile to get my routine, but it pays off!  I love how the students practice each day and build their stamina!  It's just an awesome strategy to teach kids at a young age.  My kiddos last year were so competitive with themselves, our stamina shot through the roof for read to someone!!

3.  Editable Homework Newsletter

This is my own product and I cannot wait to use it!  Last year I spent hours typing up spelling lists and fluency stories on Friday afternoons, barely making copies before the end of school.  

Now all I have to do is type in my weekly info, save, and copy!  I will be copying on both sides of one paper and to make it easier for parents to see, I will use colored paper.  

There are spaces for vocabulary, spelling, and sight words, plus a spelling menu!  Ideas for the spelling menu would be rainbow writing, play doh words, 3x each, or scribble spelling.  Finally, on the back is a place for your weekly fluency story.  Can't wait to use this!

Want to win one for your classroom?  Enter the rafflecopter below and if I draw your name, you can pick the grade!  I currently have K-2, but am working on 3rd, too!

Follow me on Pinterest for more BTS glorious ideas! ;)

Be sure to check out more great Classroom Tools from my friends!

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Big Heartland Blogger Giveaway + $1 Deals!

It's back to school for a lot of us and our new bloggy group, Big Heartland Bloggers, are here to make it easier on YOU!  Through Sunday, you can enter our Rafflecopters for a chance to win awesome back to school products!  Wait, it doesn't stop there...We are also doing $1 deals on Saturday, August 1st!  For a buck, you can find some fantastic resources to start your year off right.  

Writing can be hard, I mean really HARD for students of all ages.  Read on for tips on how I organize Writer's Workshop in my first grade room and enter for a chance to win my pack, Little Writers!: Writer's Workshop for grades K-2.

Here is my writing corner, and I really mean corner!  I have a very odd shaped room so I had to create a bulletin board display with lots and lots of hot glue!  My WRITE banner is included in the writers pack, as well as my Writing Tips posters.  

Tips include: 

#1-Think What You Want To Write About

#2- Draw A Picture

#3- Write 3 Sentences About Your Picture

#4- Use 5 Colors In Your Picture

#5- Make 5 Labels For Your Picture

#6- Add Details To Your Writing

At first, I thought it was too many steps.  But, these are steps to add as you go through the year.  For example, in the fall we will work on tips 1-4, but by spring, our goal will be to be able to do all five steps while writing.  And these are great tips to differentiate for those students who have a lot of trouble.  Maybe have them focus on one sentence and picture.

Next, is my writing tools to get the kiddos where they need to be by the end of the year!

I think the very first time we do writers workshop, I always hear, "But I don't know what to write about!!!"  Oh my goodness, child!!  

Well, I will have no more of that this year!  I created these writing topic cards that will stay in a cute little caddy on my writing table.  If I hear a kiddo say those dreadful words, I will silently point towards my writing table.  End. Of. Story.

Here is my storage for daily writing papers and fun extras, like postcards.  My portfolios are on the top, but I plan to keep those in hanging file folders in a cube.

I've included a portfolio cover for each month, that way you can staple it all together and when you are done, put it away to build a year long work sample for your kiddos!

Other parts of this unit include mentor texts that have descriptive lessons + anchor chart labels!  Super excited about this part since my kiddos usually love to create anchor charts!  Here's another pic of some writers workshop awesomeness :)  Just a few pages out of the 125 page unit!  This will definitely get you through the entire school year.

Now, how about a dollar deal???  Grab my Meet The Firsties unit today only for a buck!

I used this last year during the first week of school and I loved how it introduced my new students and built our classroom unity.  

Here's what's included:

"Meet The Firsties" pennant banner

Individual All About Me pennants

Get To Know Your Neighbor Interviews

Firstie Face (draw pic of your neighbor)

First Grade Freckles graph

Eye Color tally graph

Hair Color bar graph

First Grade Quality cards

How We Treat Our Friends writing papers

My Friend List

Firsties In The Future 

Whew!  That's a lot to cover for the first few days of school, so I've made this pack to be used anytime during the year!  Anytime you need to build on relationships, come back to this! :)

Wow guys, that's a lot of good stuff in one blog post.  Make sure you enter to win my Little Writer's Workshop unit below in the rafflecopter and check out the other Dollar Deals from my friends!

Monday is the kick-off for this bad boy:

Come back for more tips and tricks!!!

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For my friends at Big Heartland Bloggers with giveaways only, please link up here:

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