Patriotic Book Series and National Symbols Freebie

I am linking up with Tammy from 123 Teach with Me for the Book of the Month Blog Hop!

In February we learn about National Symbols. I have a lot of patriotic books. One series that I use is this one:

There are several different titles available for National Symbols. I like that they are kid friendly.

Last year, I made this freebie . . .here is a little preview.

Click here to download it for free from my Teacher's Notebook Store.

Books for Valentine's Day and Giveaway reminder.

Hey everyone. How was your Monday. It was 100's Day today. The kids had a lot of fun. It also snowed here today and so we had indoor recess during the morning and at lunch. Are you gearing up for Valentine's Day yet? We are making a Valentine's project tomorrow. Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I thought a list of books would be in order.  I have some of these in my library and there are a few I am excited to get! It is great to see some new books are available because I tend to read the same old ones. . .let me know if you have a favorite to add to the list.

Olive You

 "Knock, knock!

"Who's there?
Peas!
Peas who?
Peas be my Valentine!

Valentine's Day is sweeter than ever in this hearty collection of knock-knock jokes. Lift the flaps and laugh your heart out with a group of kids and a pair of lovesick hamsters. You'll be tickled pink!"

The Story of Valentines Day

"There are so many things in this world for which to be thankful - the sun and the moon, flowers and raindrops, family and friends. Children will delight in counting their own blessings as they follow the pages of this colorfully illustrated, easy-to-read book."

The Day it Rained Hearts

"One day it rains hearts, and Cornelia Augusta catches them. Each heart is special in its own way, and Cornelia Augusta knows exactly who to send them to."

Froggy's First Kiss

"He can't even think straight when she's around. When Frogilina smiles at him through the monkey bars, Froggy falls smack on his head-bonk! So with Valentine's Day just a week away, Froggy gets busy making an extra-special valentine. The fifth book about the irrepressible Froggy, this is sure to keep children giggling with delight".

Who Will Be My Valentine This Year?
"A Valentine's Day story about finding your own special sweetheart.

Tomorrow is February 14th and Hippo is looking for a valentine, but all of the animals she asks-Leopard, Dolphin, Butterfly, Elephant and more-give reasons as to why they aren't good matches for her. Will Hippo have to celebrate Valentine's Day alone?"

Snowy Valentine
"Step out into a snowy Valentine’s Day with Jasper the bunny as he searches the forest valley for a special gift for his loved one."

Lilly's Chocolate Heart
"Lilly has only one chocolate heart left from Valentine's Day, and it's bedtime, so where is the best place to put her chocolate heart until tomorrow?" 

Be Mine
"Whooo Loves You?

Hey Foxy!

You need a Bear Hug!

Love is in the air and these cheerful creations by Brenda Ponnay are the perfect way to share a little love with a child in your life."

The Biggest Valentine Ever

"When Mrs. Mousely asks her class to make valentines, Clayton and Desmond decide to make one together and give it to their teacher as a surprise. But things don't go as planned. First Clayton puts too much glitter on the card. Then Desmond puts on too many hearts. Soon the friends are arguing and they rip the card in half. "I'm going to make my own valentine!" they both say and go home in a huff.
But then Desmond and Clayton realize that by working together they can make the biggest, best valentine ever!"

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for Amazon and Teacher's Notebook!

Click the link below:

Have a nice evening. :)

Red Butte Garden Visit

This past week Red Butte Garden came to our classroom to introduce our plant unit. They generously gave us all of the materials (including the grow lights) for us to continue growing the seeds we planted. The seeds we were supplied are called Brassica Rapa, or Wisconsin Fast Plant. It was developed for use in the classroom. It completes it's life cycle in 40 days. Meaning we planted seeds last Thursday and by March sometime we will be harvesting seeds to use next year. This morning we were greeted with sprouts (even with 6 inches of snow on the ground).

Here are a few pictures from our adventure:

Digraph Freebie, Hawaii Question

Happy Sunday everyone! Are you ready for another week? We are almost to the end of January. Yay! In our area, January, February and sometimes March are cold, wet and dreary. . .

I have a question for you:

Has anyone been on the NCL 7 day  Hawaiian Cruise and how did you like it?

My hubby and I are surviving the cold winter by dreaming of summer vacation! We are considering possible ideas.

I also have a freebie for you this morning that coordinates with my R Controlled and Blend packs.

Here is a peek . . .

Click here to download and print.

I hope you have an enjoyable and restful day!

Great January Giveaway!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Animals UNIT

Hi Everyone,  Did you all see Lory's new diet she is trying out?  I need to join in with her...  Holiday's kill me, I have no self control:(

Before Christmas we were learning about animals, and how we classify them.  I made this little unit to help my kiddos organize their information.  We read several books about each animal classification and then we learned about their life cycle.  I just love learning about life cycles.  Then we would write about each animal using the four square method.  We used what we learned to play some fun get up and move games.  Then to top it all off, each student got to pick an animal to report on.  We used a mobile to display our animal knowledge.  They were super fun!!!  I have posted it on Teacher Pay Teacher, if you are doing animals any time soon!!!  Have a super Tuesday!

 Animal Classification Unit

Diet, Consonant Blends and Currently!

Hi everyone! Gosh, I am FiNaLLy getting around to the January Currently! I have started a diet recently and I think all of the changes are making my brain HaYwIrE. . .It is based on this book:

Click here to see it on Amazon

So far, I am really liking it. My husband and I are both following the first 6 week plan. The most notable part of that is that I have given up

Sweet Tea

and

Chocolate Milk

These were pretty much my favorite things so that is a huge accomplishment for me. However, they were both adding tons of calories to my diet. 

I also want to mention that I just added an item to my Teachers Pay Teachers and Teacher's Notebook Store. I know, amazing that I actually accomplished that! Here is a preview . . .they coordinate with the R Controlled Vowel set that I posted here yesterday as a freebie.

Teacher's Notebook

TpT

And finally, here is my January Currently. Thanks to Farley at Oh Boy 4th Grade for such a cute idea.

 Have a nice evening. :)

R Controlled Vowels Freebie, Pinterest and The Organizing Bug

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a great weekend. We are fortunate enough to have a 3 day weekend, so no school for me tomorrow!

 Have you been to the movies lately? My hubby and I have been to 2 movies lately: " Zero Dark Thirty" and "The Impossible" BOTH were riveting!

I haven't been blogging much since I got back from vacation because I have been spending time organizing dresser drawers, jewelry cabinets, etc. It is always a great feeling when I can get ready for work in the morning and actually find 2 socks that match and the jewelry that I want to wear!

Tomorrow I may tackle the closet . . .

Do you get the organization bug after New Year's?

Leave me a comment and let me know!

I also spent a lot of time last night and this morning organizing my Pinterest boards. Jennifer from First Grade Blue Skies inspired me to tackle this task . . .here is a peek

Click here to visit me on Pinterest.

Tonight, I have been working on a set of posters for the R-Controlled Vowels. Here is a preview . . .

Click here to download and print.

New Classroom Blog Design and Daily Task Form

Happy Friday Gang! I hope you had a nice week. We have had snow and cold here with lots of indoor recess due to extremely cold temperatures. I wanted to share that I recently had a new blog design done for my classroom blog by Honey Bunch Blog Design. They are awesome gals to work with! They have also done my personal blogs for me. . .

I also wanted to share a little form I made that I use each day to help me keep on track with the most critical tasks of the day. . .

Click here to download

Have a great weekend!!

Snowmen

Greetings everyone! I hope you had a great holiday break. Today was our first day back. My brain had a hard time kicking it into gear! For one thing, I spent a week here 

and came home to this!

Good Grief! However, we had this waiting for us when we got home, so it was all better . . .!

At school, we are getting into January with time spent on snowmen . . .

We made these darling snowmen from 

Jennifer at First Grade Blue Skies

and also these . . .

I made a different hat because I had misplaced my pattern for the hat from Jennifer's packet and had already made this  template for something else. We also added the little hearts for the girls' cheeks.

You can grab Jennifer's packet here

Have a great evening!