Spring Cleaning!

Click HERE to get the link and print

It's that time of year-summer break from school. The time to tackle projects that I don't have time for during the school year: Spring/General Cleaning! It is a lot of work and something that is spread out over days or weeks. However, nothing feels quite like a room that is really, really clean and fresh! The first room to tackle is the Family Room.

Reading Group Book Log

Hey everyone! I can't believe it but today was our last day of school for the year! My poor little first graders have had to put up with me being sooo sick with Bronchitis and  weird voice all week. They were such troopers and we had a fun last day of school today! One of my boys came back to hug me three times after the bell.  . .so sweet . . .I do have a quick freebie to share and lots of  ideas in mind to work on over the summer. Have a great evening!

Click here to print

Smilebox and More Bucket Filling Freebies

Hey Everyone!  I hope you had a great day. Did you do anything super fun? We had a bubble party. The kids loved it! I took some darling pictures, made a slideshow with Smilebox and put it on my classroom blog, Funtastic in First

I'm linking up with Charity for

Here are some more Bucket Filling Freebies . . . Click HERE to print

By Request :) A few new Daily Schedule Cards

This is a page of a few new schedule cards for Becky by request. :)

 I originally posted the set in November.

  Here is the link for the set including the new cards. . .

Click HERE to print

Bucket Filler Freebie

Happy Sunday Everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend. We have 5 school days left . . .and leave it to me, I think I am getting sick! Just don't feel super great and have some cough thing going on. Good grief . . .

Anyway, I just purchased some adorable clip art from Nikki that is themed for the "Bucket Filling" program. Of course, I couldn't resist. The super cute frame is from The 3 AM Teacher.

I am going to be making some freebies featuring this set and I will post them as I get them finished.

The first freebie is a "Bucket Filler" Promise.

Click here to print

I'm linking up for Manic Monday at Classroom Freebies!

Crayon Storage Idea

As I mentioned a week or so ago, I  have been working on organizing my classroom and  getting next year's theme ready. I'm sure a lot of you have already seen or done this but I came up with an idea for my extra crayons. My students always have their own crayons but I have lots of extra that come in handy when certain colors are lost. I have included a before and after photo . . .we'll see how this works when school starts next year! 

Before . . .

After . . .

 I ordered this organizer from Amazon. I chose the black so that it won't show crayon marks as they rub on the material at the back of the pocket. I also have plenty of pockets for glue sticks, erasers, extra scissors, etc. It also looks really cute and colorful. ;)

Have a great evening!

Quietest Pencil Sharpener

Happy Wednesday! I am so excited to report that I am the proud owner of this:

and I love it! 

We have been plagued with pencil problems all year. We are on our 3rd electric sharpener! With this in mind, I was eager to try something new. Yay :)

I was lucky enough to try out one of Troy's "Quietest Pencil Sharpeners" from Classroom Friendly Supplies.

 It works wonderfully!

 Easy, quick and sharp pencils. Hooray!

 We tried it out with several first graders and they were able to do it. I think it also cuts down on kids sharpening just because they like to hear the electric sharpener run.

 I am planning to buy a second one in time to start next school year. 

Click on the picture above to check it out for yourself . . .

Behavior Bingo Freebie

Have your students been torturing you with their behavior.  Mine have been a little, rambunctious.  I am sure you have probably seen this on pinterest.

Don't you love pinning...  my husband has threatened to throw my iPad into the toliet, because I am constantly pinning after my little monsters go to bed.  Sorry hubby...

Here is how it works...When a kid is doing what he/she is supposed to be doing and you see him/her, that student then gets to sign his/her name in a box. At the end of the day, you roll a dice for the letter and the number. The student gets a reward....

So here is my version of behavior bingo.

 CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!

Whole Brain Rules Freebie

Hey Everyone! How are you? I am watching "Dancing With the Stars". I just saw Derek and Maria do an amazing dance! My first grade team has been researching "Whole Brain Teaching" and we decided to make some cute rules posters for next year. I made 4 different themes: Froggy, Pirates, Kids and School. Maybe one of the themes will work for you . . .Here is a picture of Rule #1 for each set. . .

online backup storage

Happy Saturday! Daily 5 Management Set

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great Saturday.

 Today I have a preview of something really fun! It is a set to help manage Daily 5. It is 30+ pages total. I am especially excited about the Procedure Review cards. I am going to laminate mine and put them on rings. I just listed it on  Teachers Pay Teachers. 

 We started doing Daily 5 at our school about 4 years ago and haven't looked back since. . .we love it!

Soil Books

Soil Books to wrap up our week long study of soil.  I made a three page staggered book out of buff copy paper(Makes five actual pages).  The student's wrote "Soil" on the top page and labeled the other tabs: sand, clay, silt, texture, and soil.  I had them match the definition of each word to the page with the correct label.  Then they got to illustrate each page (See photos).

Click here for the sentences

By Request :)

Click here to print

Word Wall Makeover! Guess What? And Amber from Sparkles, Smiles and Student Teaching please contact me. You won and I don't know your email . .

Happy Wednesday! I have a question for you-How do you feel about your Word Wall? Well, I used to have a love/hate relationship with mine. What's more, is the children kindof regarded it as a "piece of the furniture." In the past I have utilized a variety of methods of posting the words on the wall-velcro, staples and push pins. I was never really satisfied and felt like it was easy for the children to use. A couple of weeks ago, I knew it had to change. As in, that very minute! I began taking all of the words down during the school day. I am sure the kids thought I had lost my mind! They soon realized I had a plan in mind. Here is a photo of a section of my new and improved Word Wall . . .I think the length in total is about 11 or 12 feet long.

I purchased the Word Wall Alphabet Tags from Melanie at Schoolgirl Style and the pocket charts from Amazon.

The children have LoVeD it and are using it soooooo much more. They are able to come up and borrow the word and then bring it back after using it. Yay!

Have a great evening! Oh! I almost forgot . . .something fun came in the mail  this week . . .any guesses?

                                     Becca, Camille and Chari, you can't guess!