Five for Friday, A Freebie, and a Sale!

It's Friday which means just two and a half short days left of my Spring break... waaaaaahhhhh. I wish it was longer! The upside of going back to school is that the last marking period always FLIES by! I'll definitely miss this bunch of sweeties though...they are an awesome class.

I'm linking up with Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly Five for Friday linky!

We've also got a freebie for you, so we're also linking up with Teaching Blog Addict's Freebie Friday!! 

1. Since it's Spring Break, there wasn't any exciting classroom stuff going on this week, but I want to share something fun that we did a few days before spring break started. I didn 't get a chance to talk about it last week, so I thought I'd share today. On the Wednesday before spring break, I was formally observed by my principal. I decided to teach math instead of reading because I wanted some really good feedback about how I can improve my math teaching skills. I wanted to teach something that wasn't in our EnVision math series, yet a required Common Core skill so I decided to create my own graphing mini unit for my whole group and small groups. I made a prezi presentation to go along with my lesson. I also used fabulous centers during my independent math time created by Reagan Tunstall of Tunstall's Teaching Tidbits and Jamie Pink of Bright Concepts 4 Teachers.  My kids were awesome during the whole thing, and they really impressed me! Overall, I think my observation was a success. I haven't had my post observation conference with my principal yet, but in passing he informally said it was great. Phew!! Thank goodness it's OVER!! =) For obvious reasons, I did not take pictures of my kiddos engaged in their learning, but I did take pics of some of work that they produced.

This is a picture of the mini-unit that I created. It's kind of budget, so this summer I'll work on beautifying it and putting it up for sale in our store. 

This is a picture of work my students did during center time using Jamie Pink's Graphing Through The Year packet. My students LOVED it. There are SO many graphs to pick from, it's common core aligned and it's completely differentiated for all ability levels. I also used some of her graphs for homework that night as well. If you click {HERE} you can find her post about how she uses the packet in her classroom. =) If you click the picture below, you'll be taken right to Jamie's Bright Concepts 4 Teachers product page in her TPT store where you can purchase the packet for yourself. I LOVED using it!! Thanks, Jamie!!   =) 

During center time, I also used a super cute center called Spring Spin Tally Add created by Reagan Tunstall from her awesome Spring Centers pack which I won through a Facebook giveaway!! My kids loved the graphics and had tons of fun spinning their paperclip spinner, tallying and adding it up! I wish I could have taken pictures of them. If you click {Here} you can see how Reagan uses these centers in here class {she's got a freebie there for you too!}. If you click the picture below, you'll be taken to Reagan's product page in her TPT store where you can purchase these fabulous centers... they're for literacy AND math! Thank you for the terrific centers, Reagan... I'm looking forward to using the rest them after our break! 

2. Have you ever used a prezi presentation? OMG. Once you use it, you'll never want to do a presentation using plain old power point again!! Check them out: prezi.com!There are so many to chose from, or you could be super creative and create your own!!  I LOVE Prezi!! Here's a picture  from my observation lesson presentation... I was also able to add Jamie's anchor charts found in her Graphing Through the Year pack to this presentation! Thanks again, Jamie!!! 

3. If you read yesterday's High/Low post, you'd know that I lost my wedding ring, :-( GOOD NEWS!! I found it!! I searched my car again {really well this time} and found it under my seat! Hallelujah! It was pretty far back there and the first time I checked it must have been just out of my reach. Thank you SOOOO much for your St. Anthony prayers!! They really work! =) I'm a happy girl... and my hubby's a happy guy 'cause he doesn't have to buy me a new one! =) 

4. Check out the pretty new Vera Bradley phone case I got this week! I LOVE it!! If you know me, you know that I am a little bit OBSESSED with  ANYTHING Vera!! My purse, wallet, teacher bag, makeup case, lunch box, and a few other purses are all Vera {lots of different patterns, I don't discriminate}. It's about time my phone was Vera too. I accidentally {I swear} dropped phone with my old case last week and cracked it right in half {not an intentional break!}. So this was the perfect opportunity to buy the Vera case that I've wanted since they came out with them last Summer! Now I need a purse to match my phone... maybe some sunglasses too. Just saying.=) 

5. Here's a freebie for you!! We worked on a new digital paper pack this week just in time for your Spring creations, and wanted to give you a couple pages from it as well as a couple more frames from our Spring Swirly Frame Set! Click the picture below to find the freebie in our store.

 Click the pictures below to find both packs in our store. They're both 20% off this weekend!! =) 

On that note... you should "chick" out our store this weekend!! EVERYTHING is 20% off!! It's time to stock up and do some FUN spring cleaning of your wishlists!!!  

Thanks to Ashley Hughes for the pretty paper, Clipart Cuties for the super cute chicks and eggs, and The Enlightened Elephant for the cute frame!! 

I've blogged every day this week... it's definitely a record, so I may or may not take the weekend off! If I do, have a beautiful Easter filled with lots of love, blessings, and family! xoxo

Tried it Tuesday and a little freebie!!

Our friend, Holly is hosting her first ever linky party called Tried It Tuesday! I love this idea, since I like trying new things... some are successful and some are not. =)
Back in the beginning of the school year, probably around the end of September, I came across this pin and traced it back to the original post written by Amy from What Happens In First Grade.  She explained that she uses mystery walker as a way to manage her class in the hallway. I LOVED the idea since I have some kiddos that have trouble controlling themselves once we leave our classroom.  You can find her original post about how she uses mystery walker by clicking on the picture below. 

I tried doing this idea a few different ways. First I tried remembering my mystery walkers. After three days I couldn't remember who I had and hadn't picked. Duh... sometimes I can't even remember what I wore two days ago. I can't believe I tried remembering.  Then I tried this by printing off a roster and crossing off kids as I picked them. This worked, but I'd forget to pick a kid, and then cross it off. Or I'd forget that I needed a new roster etc...  Finally, I had my hubby make a sheet of numbers inside circles {green, pink, and zebra print, of course!} and I cut them out, laminated them, and placed them in a cup labeled "mystery walker- not picked". Once I secretly picked the two walkers for the day, I'd place their numbers into a cup labeled "mystery walker- picked".  My rule for mystery walker is that I pick two kids {they each have a number} and I monitor how they walk in the hallway {to lunch, to specials, to recess, during a fire drill etc...}. At the end of the day, my students remind me to tell the class who the mystery walker was... If they did a great job, they move their clip up on my clip chart. If they didn't do a good job, I explain that the mystery walker had a hard time {staying quiet, keeping his hands to himself, walking, etc...}. That person's number stays in the "mystery walker -picked" cup until the next time around.  I don't say who the mystery walker was when they didn't do a good job because I don't want them to realize that since their number is in the "picked" cup that they won't be picked for a while, and therefor mess around in hallway. I LOVE the mystery behind it!! 

For the most part, this works like a charm. We're always getting compliments about our hallway behavior. I still have a few kids who are either completely clueless about how they walk in the hallway, or they could careless about moving their clip up on the chart. If you're having trouble in the hallway, I highly recommend this method!! =)  

Here are the numbers my hubby made. Click on the numbers to find this freebie in our TPT store! 

Happy Tuesday!! I love blogging during the middle of the day!! I could seriously be on Spring break FOREVER!! =) 

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Five For Friday and a Freebie!

This was a really short week for me! I had off Monday and Tuesday to take care of my sick girl, and today I only had my kiddos for less than half  the day. I have to buckle down next week to finish my end of the quarter testing and get report cards DONE before we go on Spring Break. Oh yeah... I have my formal observation in there sometime, so I have to prepare for that too! Still haven't picked a skill yet... kind of dreading it {biting nails}. I'll be happy when it's over. =)

I'm linking up with Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for another week of her fantastic linky, Five For Friday!! This is two weeks in a row for me! I'm so proud of myself. =)

1. Last week I told you all we were going to see Wicked during that weekend. We did, and it was FABULOUS!! It was my third time seeing it, and I swear it gets better every single time! It was Makenzie's first time seeing it and she LOVED every single second of it. She positively lit up as soon as the music began. She was also such a well mannered little lady and she really took what I taught her about theater etiquette to heart. For being just four and a half, she really acted like an older kiddo. I was so proud of her. After the show, the cast collected money for their charity, Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights Aids and Makenzie was able to meet a flying monkey in person! She was so excited, but was a little shy when she met him. =) Here are some pictures of that awesome day!

2. Today I was out of my classroom the majority of the day for CELLA testing. CELLA is Florida's Comprehensive  English Language Learning Assessment. I administered the listening, reading, and writing part of the test to half of our ESOL second graders. One of my teammates administered the test to the other half of the second graders this past Tuesday and another teammate did the speaking part of the test this past Wednesday and Thursday to all of our ESOL sweeties {that's a lot of kids!}.  I like switching up my routine and seeing different kids for different reasons, but it's really tiring!! I think I talked way more today than I do on a regular basis... and I think I say A LOT! Needless to say... I'm spent! 

Click this picture for your freebie!

3. Since it's almost Springtime {wooohooo}, I thought it would be nice to give you all a Springtime freebie!! Enjoy these two springy colored frames and two pretty digital papers! You can find the full Springtime Digital Paper Pack  , Spring Swirly Frame Set, and Clip Art Frames in our TPT shop.  I hope you enjoy it and make lots of stuff!! =)

4. Do you follow Lindsey, aka. the "Teacher Wife"? She is so sweet and so talented! She blogged about the cutest craftivity ever last week called "Who is worth more to you than gold?". Best of all... she put it up as a freebie!! How awesome is that? I absolutely loved it, and I knew my kiddos would too! We worked on it all this week and our results were super! Here are some picture from my class. I had them write an eight sentence essay complete with opening and closing sentences. We went through the entire writing process and they were so thrilled to finally publish their work. They turned out so cute!! Thank you so much, Lindsey for sharing such a fantastic freebie!! If you don't already follow her blog and TPT store, please do. She's great!! 

Click the picture to find this craftivity on  The Teacher Wife's blog!

5. The other morning I was on my way to my classroom in a not so great mood until I walked down this hallway...

It automatically put me in a great mood!! The 5th grade team from our school put together this science hallway. It's hard to see, but there are stuffed brains hanging from the ceiling and tons of interactive and informational science posters up and down the hall. It's a really nice change from what was here before. I wanted to give our 5th grade team and 5th graders a huge shout out for their hard work and dedication to brighten up the hallways of our school!! 

6. A bonus!! My Dad is a snowbird... he lives in NY half of the year, and South Florida {kinda} for the other half of the year. This weekend, my Sis, Makenzie and I are going to visit him!! I'm so excited because I haven't spent much time with him this Winter. They're not very techy down there though, so I may or may not have access to the internet. AHHH!! It's ok... I'm happy for family time! I should go pack a few board games while I'm thinking of it. 

With that being said... I probably won't be back on this weekend, so don't forget to enter our giveaway! It will be over tomorrow night at midnight. I'll be back Sunday to pick our winners!!! 

Also don't forget to set the clocks ahead... uggg. Losing sleep is not my favorite, but watching the sun set later on is! Have an awesome weekend!! -Jackie- 

Workshop Wednesday, Facebook Linky, New Spring Frames and a Freebie!

Happy Wednesday!
It's nice to say that. For a while this morning it felt like Monday to me. I was pleasantly surprised when my specials alarm on my phone went off at 10:35 reminding me that it was in fact Wednesday and not Monday! I took the last two days off with my sicky daughter. She had a pretty yucky cold and I thought she had pink eye.Thankfully she does not! I'm so glad she's feeling better now... I always feel so bad when my baby is sick.

Jessica from Ideas by Jivey is hosting a new weekly linky party! Her theme is Workshop Wednesday!
Today's topic is: What is your must-have in Writer's Workshop? While I completely forgot to take pictures of my notebooks, I can still give you an idea of what my notebooks are like because "tried" to model them after them AMAZING Beth Newingham. Her website and Scholastic Teacher blog are fantastic and are FULL of ideas which can be implemented in classrooms. If you've never heard of Beth, you MUST go see what she's all about. I don't know how one teacher does so much... and so successfully! Click the picture below to see how she does writer's workshop in her room. You should also bookmark her page and browse when you have time... there's SOOOOO much phenomenal information on her website and blog. Check her out today!

I also like to use the Lucy Calkins "Primary Units of Study" in my classroom as much as I can. Of course I have to elaborate a lot since much of it is written for new writers. On my list of teacher books to buy is her new book "Pathways to the Common Core".  With Common Core being fully implemented next year for 2nd grade next year, I think this will be an invaluable tool to have. 

I came across this awesome Facebook linky party today. If you have a Facebook page for you blog, be sure to link up and "like" other blogs' Facebook pages! Head on over to 1, 2, 3, Teach With Me to link up and "like" some new pages! 

We've made some new frames just in time for spring! I'm LOVING them right now, and I can't wait to create something with them! =) You can find them on our TPT store by clicking on the picture below. =) 

If you'd like two freebie frames to try out, click FREEBIE! 

Don't forget to enter our giveaway... there's just 3 days left to enter!! Click the picture below. =) 

Wooohooo... 2 days left of the work week!! Make it great!! 

-Jackie- 

My First Five For Friday and a Freebie!

I'm finally linking up with the very awesome Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching to share 5 random things from this week and I'm also linking up with Teaching Blog Addict to share a cute freebie! Every Saturday and Sunday I check out everyone's posts from Friday and I always say to myself... I'm going to link up next week! By Friday I'm usually completely spent and can barley even lift my phone up to check facebook {shocker!}. This week, I'm feeling strangely awake and ready to rock and roll with my first Five For Friday and freebie Friday!

Here are my five randoms from the week... 

1. I finally finished all of my Second Grade Number of the Week Display Packs and my very last one {primary polka dots} needed a different sparkly bubble frame than all of the rest. My very terrific husband, Mr. Photoshop, whipped up this very cute and sparkly blue one! It's yours for free, just click on the frame! Please see terms of use.

2. On Tuesday I was on facebook when I came across this very AMAZING Technology Tuesday post from Ahsley Hughes of The School Supply Addict. I must have been living under a rock because I never knew the awesome things you could create with Word Art! OMG! Check out her post to see more! I've been slightly obsessed with word art since then...

3. Today many teachers in my school took part in Accelerated Reader's Read The Most From Coast To Coast. I succumb to peer pressure, so we spent the second half of our morning and the whole afternoon "reading to self" and taking A.R. tests. My class took and passed 113 quizzes. I wasn't completely thrilled about it since I am a believer in reading for the love of reading, not reading to take quizzes. My kids had fun though, so I guess that's what matters too... 

4. How cute is this little munchkin? She celebrated this "FUN" day today in pre-k! I love the hats and little bow-ties that they made. SUPER CUTE!  I had to take a picture of her in front of the props that were made for our school's game night tonight. You can guess what the theme is! 

5. This hasn't happened yet, but I'm so excited about it! 

We're going to see WICKED on Sunday!! This will be my third time seeing it, but it will be Makenzie's first musical EVER! She's been listening to Wicked since the day she was born, in fact she was listening in utero and she didn't even know it! When she was a baby she would dance in her car seat to it, and now she sings it with me in the car. Her favorite song is popular! I can't wait to see her face light up as soon as the orchestra plays the first note. =) 

I'm so thrilled that I was able to stay up late enough on a Friday to talk about my Five or Friday! I hope I keep it up next week too!! 

-Jackie- 

Black History Projects and My Baby's First Field Trip

This week was great... short and sweet! We were off on Monday for President's Day and Friday I took a personal day to chaperone for my daughter's first ever field trip.

We had three days filled with Presidents and black history projects galore! LOTS of Social Studies going on in my classroom! My kiddos can't get enough... they're sponges for informational text and all things American history. I love it since history was always my favorite subject growing up! I would have been a history teacher if I didn't love little ones so much... maybe when I get old and cranky, I'll have something to fall back on. LOL.

Here are a few pictures of the AMAZING projects my kiddos completed at home. I was absolutely speechless when they came is with their fabulous work! I wasn't expecting too much since they're only 7 and 8 years old, but I was blown away by the effort that they put into them.

Click  to grab a  copy of the Black History Project that I sent home with my sweeties. It's NOT fancy in the least bit! I had the idea on a Thursday and assigned it the next day. I will beautify it for next year, but for now it's FREE to whomever would like it!!

On Friday I was a chaperone for the first time ever! My daughter's afternoon Pre-k class along with the morning Pre-k class got together and went to the Orlando Repertory Theater to see their rendition of Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat. Holy moly! They put on such an AMAZING play!! The kids giggled throughout and loved every single second of it! I watched Makenzie most of the time. I loved seeing her laugh and light up each time there was a funny part {there were LOTS}!!  It was her first play and she was so well behaved. She made me a proud Mama! Her class was spectacular as well!

Here is a picture of Makenzie when she first got onto the bus... her first bus ride EVER! She LOVED it... and she LOVED seeing all of the "HUGE" buildings as we passed downtown Orlando. If she thinks they're big, I can't wait to see her reaction in New York City {some day}!!


Here is a picture of Mak's class in front of the Cat in the Hat sign... they're so cute! I wish you could see their adorable faces and I wish I got a better picture of the sign. I'm sure someone did. I hope!

We're only a few friends away from 400! Stay tuned for a giveaway coming up SOON!! Happy weekend everyone!! 

-Jackie= 

P.S. thanks to Dream Like Magic, The 3 AM Teacher, and Glitter Meets Glue Designs for the cute paper and frames above!!

A 300 Follower Giveaway, Polar Bears, and a Freebie!

Happy Wednesday! What an exciting day! We are so blessed and and extremely excited that we now have 300 blog followers! We love and appreciate every single one of you!! I am working on organizing our 300 follower giveaway and it's going to be great! If you're a TPT or TN seller and would like to help us out with the giveaway, please let me know. You can email me at sisterteachers@gmail.com or leave a comment below with your email address.

Speaking of 300 followers, our very wonderful bloggy friend, Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper is having a HUGE 300 follower giveaway with tons of amazing prizes! She's teamed up with us and 17 other fabulous bloggers for this giveaway! Check it out!! {Fourth Grade Flipper}

I am also sooo excited that I have completed my Magic Tree House Polar Bear Non-Fiction and Fiction book study unit! A very huge Thank You to Gina from Beach, Sand, and Lesson Plans for being such an amazing friend and proof reader! Your help is greatly appreciated!

My Polar Bears unit is up on TPT if you'd like to check it out! Please let us know what you think!!

I'd also love to share a freebie from my book study with you!

Click here: {freebie}!

Happy Blogging!! -Jackie-

Hanukkah Literacy Pack, a Freebie, and our 250 follower giveaway!

Happy Sunday Bloggy Friends! I can't believe it's the end of my week-long Thanksgiving break! I've had fun with family, cuddled and napped with my baby girl, and I've completed a few projects on my "to do" list. Overall, it's been time well spent. I have to get back into the swing of school though, so after this post, it's lesson planning for the next few weeks before our next 2 week vacation! This upcoming month is going to fly by!

One project that I've worked on this week is my Happy Hanukkah Literacy Pack. My very awesome hubby was able to create the background, frame, and clip art for this pack! He's so technologically talented!!

I'd like to share this Happy Hanukkah Freebie with you!

If you like it, please check our our TPT store and grab the Happy Hanukkah Literacy Pack during the cyber Monday and Bonus Tuesday sale! Everything in our store is 20% off plus TPT will also take a percentage off for a total of 28% savings!

We are so excited to have reached 250 followers!! We thank you so much for your constant support and well wishes! To express our gratitude, we are going to give away TWO items in our TPT store to one follower! To enter our giveaway, check out our TPT store, become a TPT follower, and leave a comment in the comment section below this blog post. That's it! Super simple! We will randomly pick a follower's comment next Saturday! Spread the word!! Thanks again, and have a relaxing Sunday! -Jackie-

Christmas in Camelot Book Study and a Freebie!

Hi Bloggy Friends!

I am so excited that I'm finally finished with my Christmas in Camelot unit! I am sure my daughter is too... and my hubby for that matter! I absolutely love creating these units, and I plan on making many more!

I'd like to thank my sister, Danielle for proofreading for me. Gina at Beach, Sand, & Lesson Plans, and Melissa at Don't Let The Teacher Stay Up Late were also super helpful peer editors too! Thanks so much ladies!! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Please check out my Christmas in Camelot Book Study Unit on Teachers Pay Teachers. Your students will love it!

To celebrate the completion of this unit, please download this free Adjective & Adverb word sort which is a part of this book study unit!! Enjoy!!

Magic Tree House Christmas In Camelot Adjective & Adverb Word Sort Freebie

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!! -Jackie-