FREEBIE

Here's a freebie for you!!!  There are 3 Box It In games in this set.  If you've been at my bog before, thanks for coming back!  This is my thanks to you!!  And more to come!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Box-It-In-Reading-Rimes-Game-1588390

Here's another game I made and posted for only $1.00!  With the Cyber Monday - Tuesday sale, it's a STEAL!!!  Your kiddos won't be disappointed.  These games are some of my firsties' favs!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fry-Sight-Word-Practice-Hockey-Theme-1587932

I'm BUSY!!!!  Today I'm parked on the couch finalizing a bunch of games to put on Teachers Pay Teachers.  A good friend of mine, Dori, has been pestering me (in a good way!!) to get some of my games on the site to sell.  We've been using these games for years and years. I usually get ideas from listening to my kiddos.  I've had hockey players in my classroom, so I created a hockey game.  I've had a student obsessed who was in love with kitties, so I made a game focused around kitties.  Pizza?  Yep - got one. Baseball? Snow? Cars? Check, check, check!!!  I LOVE going into the dollar store and finding manipulatives for games.  Inspirations are all around!  I will be adding more and more as I find the time.  I REALLY do NOT know how some of these wonderteachers do it!  Teaching, blogging, creating games and craftivities, FAMILIES - HOW.DO.THEY.DO.IT!  :) I will continue to move into this blogging world slowly.  Maybe I should rename it  - the slothsite -lol!

I added "I Have, Who Has" with Fry sight words 101-200 to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  My next big learning curve is to figure out how to give things away on here - I promise to figure it out!!!  If you know how, please leave me a message!  I know how to use google docs a bit, but not a master, by any means, so help if you can, please.  Thanks in advance!!!!

For anyone in Minnesota, bundle up tomorrow, and prepare for.....indoor recess!!!  We are looking at a -40 degree windchill tomorrow!!!  Sad face!!!!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fry-Sight-Word-Practice-I-Have-Who-Has-Game-1587048

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and is finding some great deals today for Small Business Saturday!  I did a little bit of Black Friday shopping - at the Mall of America, of all places!  That was a first for me!  I don't usually go, because of crowds, but I had a great reason to go. I ended up with a few books from Barnes and Noble for my classroom,  a few Christmas presents bought, and a few things for myself.

Now - on to business!  I just added a new item to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Have you ever played I Have, Who Has?  My firsties LOVE IT!  Seriously!  They will grab as set of these and sit down with a group of 2-4 kiddos and play.  You can play it with a whole class, or play it as a small group, where students get several cards instead of just one.  

Don't forget there is a sale going on Cyber Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 1st and 2nd.  Here's my new item, and the link to my store:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fry-Sight-Word-Practice-1585413

I did it!  I finally did it!  I opened my Teachers Pay Teachers Store!!  Here's my link to my freebie game posted!!! How very scary exciting!
There are 3 different game boards, allowing differentiation to happen without anyone being the wiser. Here's what the basic game board looks like.  

Go get it, please, and give me some lovin'!

              teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Fun-And-Games-In-First 

I was SO excited when I found these boxes at my local ShopKo store!!  They looked like they would hold a deck of cards - I have been trying to ditch my plastic baggy storage system (the early childhood expert in me has been pestered by this for a LONG time)!  The old traveling soap boxes have been replaced by ones with hinges.  We know how long the hinges would work in a classroom, right?!  These babies are PERRRRRFECT!  Here's how my cards storage transformation took place:

I got these cute labels from 

                                 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Chalk-And-Apples

 I tried the old soap boxes, but they just wouldn't hold the cards without bending them.

  MAJOR SUCCESS! I am seriously in love with these containers!

If you don't have a ShopKo near you, maybe you could order some?
Happy Organizing!

Getting Ready!!

Our school does not start until after. Labor Day, but I've been in my classroom getting ready for the new year of firsties!! I'm super excited to meet them!  How much time do you put in to your classroom before your pre-serve workshop days, and what kinds of things do you do to get ready?   I've been cleaning out my cupboards!!!  (It needs to happen more at home, but that's a WHOLE different conversation!)
Happy cleaning, prepping, laminating, cutting, copying, etc!!!!!!

Coming soon!

I have been busy making some new games for my first grade smarties!  I LOVE teaching through games, and so do they!  I will have a differentiated math game for K-2 students, along with a couple of Fry sight word games, and a nonsense word game to boot!
Stay tuned - coming soon!!!

How do YOU celebrate your birthday?

At my school, when a teacher is celebrating a "special" birthday, you get the royal treatment!  Here a few pictures showing how I found my classroom on my 50th birthday - it was also Valentine's Day and 100th Day, too!!!  Oh, and I should mention a FULL MOON, too! Talk about crazy!  We all had a great day, lots of laughs (at me, not with me!) and everyone went home exhausted!  My awesome hubby even bought me gorgeous flowers, which were on my desk at the beginning of the day!  We have a very talented first grade teacher who created a rendition of "Livin' with Gray Hair", by Bomb Jovi (her version of the great artist).

 My desks were arranged in the number 50 - yes, the kiddos LOVED it!

The reading selection for the day was also chosen, along with the rocking chair 

(as old as I am!).  

What do you do to celebrate a teacher friend's birthday?

Combat the Cold Weather

It has been exTREMEly cold in Minnesota for the past several weeks.  My creative co-workers in kindergarten found a way to get their kiddos moving, as well as to introduce the Olympic games.  They borrowed some equipment from the Phy. Ed. teacher and set up an obstacle course in the hallways!  Check it out!

  It's hard to see it all in this picture, but they had bubble wrap, hula-hoops, stepping stones, the hopscotch mat and a crawl path in this area.  In another area, they had a tunnel and a balance beam for their kiddos to use.  They had their students go out in small groups (with a paraprofessional supervising) to go through the course.  What a fun way to beat cabin fever!

Well friends, I am venturing into the unknown!  I love seeing all the great ideas on other teacher blogs, and want to dabble in it!  I hope you will hang in there while I set up an account and get all the bugs worked out!  Please stay tuned!!!