tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88448639171920074592024-03-18T07:50:54.905-04:00Peace, Love and LearningDonnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-82146270371155044182014-08-03T21:54:00.000-04:002014-08-03T21:54:00.290-04:00"Give Me Five" - The Sequel My most popular post BY FAR is my post with the <a href="http://peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2012/08/give-me-five-freebie.html" target="_blank">"Give Me Five" freebie.</a> It's staggering to me that it has been downloaded on TPT over 80,000 times. How crazy is that?<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>? I was just watching a Whole Brain Teaching video and in the background, hanging on the board was the poster. It was so cool to see<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
I've had a lot of requests to add some other materials using the cute little clip art Give Me Five kids, and I've come up with something that I think will be useful when teaching the Give Me Five Routine.<br />
I made an emergent reader to use for shared reading that explains the routine, a student coloring-book version of the book for the kids to complete and matching pocket chart cards. Using these materials to clearly present the routine will help the students fully understand the expectations. You can grab the pack at TPT by clicking on the picture. (Don't forget, the big back to school sale starts tomorrow and my whole store will be 20% off<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>)<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Give-Me-Five-Literacy-Pack-1366744" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HmNAO7e1Nzw/U92VvxRNx-I/AAAAAAAAB24/DJvwONuyGes/s1600/Give+Me+Five+pack.jpg" /></a></div>
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I'll send a pack to the first few comments<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> (Don't forget to leave me your email.)<br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com543tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-37010957655725604552014-08-02T20:59:00.001-04:002014-08-02T21:00:38.555-04:00Class of 2027 Tags (Freebie)Hi There<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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A friend and I are heading to Nashville tomorrow for a week of cowboys and honky-tonks - yeehaw<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> I'm super excited and can't wait to have a blast. I thought that before I left I would post a quick freebie. I've gotten a ton of emails asking if I was going to update the "Class Of" tags that I've made the past couple of years, so here they are<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> There are both English and Spanish versions as well as a new, coloring book option. Grab a copy then print, cut and laminate and you'll have a cute little goodie for the kids on the first day. Just click the picture to download.<br />
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If you have any tips for Nashville, let me know with a comment. Enjoy<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqeXhHV1BXdjVkc2M/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Cute freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5hILR-DXgH4/U92JGN6S06I/AAAAAAAAB2o/V7ZpXQoXaS4/s1600/BackPackTags2027.jpg" title="Cute freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com120tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-33737830495585223832014-07-31T21:41:00.000-04:002014-07-31T21:42:57.233-04:00DIY "All About Me" BagsBoy do I have a nifty little trick to share and a cute freebie for you to try out.<br />
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I was thinking about doing All About Me bags this year as a way for the kids to get to know each other. The way they work is that each student brings a bag home and fills it up with things that represent who they are and things they like. Maybe Bobby will put in a red crayon because that's his favorite color and a baseball card because that's his favorite sport. Maybe Susie will put in a SpongeBob doll because that's her favorite TV show and a matchbox car because it's her favorite toy. It's a great way for the kids to share who they are and also a great way for you to assess oral language skills.<br />
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I poked around online for printed bags that I could buy. I looked at all of the websites I could think of, and saw a lot of 100th Day bags and Valentine's Day bags, but no All About Me bags. So I decided to tackle the problem by figuring out how to print them myself. Follow along and if you want to give them a try, you can grab the freebie down at the bottom of the post.<br />
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1. First you'll need to get paper lunch bags. I thought white would work the best, so I headed to Target. They have packs of colored lunch bags for $2.19. Score<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jV2r6lPeOQ/U9rtLGIcgRI/AAAAAAAAB2A/VetjJNIDo8c/s1600/All+About+Me+Bags+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8jV2r6lPeOQ/U9rtLGIcgRI/AAAAAAAAB2A/VetjJNIDo8c/s1600/All+About+Me+Bags+4.jpg" /></a></div>
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2. I worked forever to get the margins and alignment right, but I finally got everything to be hunky-dory. You just have to make sure that the bag is all the way over to the right of your printer's sheet feeder and that the folded end goes in first (see pic).<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ky0YidQUbnw/U9rtOn0yugI/AAAAAAAAB2I/Z62QLvEwRFE/s1600/All+About+Me+Bags+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ky0YidQUbnw/U9rtOn0yugI/AAAAAAAAB2I/Z62QLvEwRFE/s1600/All+About+Me+Bags+2.jpg" /></a></div>
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3. Send the bags home with your students. They can color them in to look like themselves, fill them up and then bring them back to school. They can then have their moment in the spotlight as they share their contents of the bag with their classmates. You can send the bags home all at once or just a few at a time.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckglMPlsDBw/U9rtR88dlyI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/MNYXT65cSEI/s1600/All+About+Me+Bags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckglMPlsDBw/U9rtR88dlyI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/MNYXT65cSEI/s1600/All+About+Me+Bags.jpg" /></a></div>
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4. Don't forget to make an All About Me bag of your own to share with your class. We all know how much they love to discover everything they can about us<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> Here's what's going in mine:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5xY7uz9Zk7A/U9rsTAw3qkI/AAAAAAAAB14/3OP6gpbURk8/s1600/All+About+Me+Bags+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5xY7uz9Zk7A/U9rsTAw3qkI/AAAAAAAAB14/3OP6gpbURk8/s1600/All+About+Me+Bags+3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<li>I drive a Jeep and I LOVE it<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span></li>
<li>A picture of my Mom and Dad with my dog Sally.</li>
<li>I like to watch football games - go Steelers<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span></li>
<li>A little beagle that looks like my sweet little Sally.</li>
<li>An apple because they are my favorite fruit.</li>
<li>Ewww<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> A spider because I'm terrified of them<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span></li>
<li>A shell because I love the beach.</li>
<li>A plane because I love to travel.</li>
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I have to say, I think they're pretty cute and I love the way they turned out<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> I can't wait to use them with my new little kinder-lovelies. You can grab a <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/DIY-All-About-Me-Bags-1362035" target="_blank">free copy here </a>if you want to give them a try. Leave a comment and let us know what would go in your All About Me bag . . .<br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com109tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-3235972566005601622014-07-29T22:54:00.002-04:002014-07-30T00:16:56.874-04:00One More Good Read and a Sticky Freebie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I love when I walk into the bookstore and see a book that is a perfect fit for something I'm planning to teach. One such book that was new to me but was actually published a year ago is the hysterical Too Much Glue by Jason Lefebvre. The little boy in the book ignores his teacher's warning that if he uses too much glue it will never dry. He creates a gooey mess and ends up sticking himself to the desk. His friends try to help him and finally his dad saves the day. It's really funny, the illustrations are impressive and I think the kids will love it. It will make a great launching pad for a beginning of the year lesson on how to use glue the right way. I made a little practice sheet to go along with the book and you can grab a free copy by clicking on the picture.</div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqc1M2VE5xNkNpd1k/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Cute Freebie from PeaceLoveLearning.blogspot.com" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-R22XCCWb7d0/U9hY5USybzI/AAAAAAAAB1M/o6Ny_JnHf9o/s1600/Too+Much+Glue.jpg" title="Cute Freebie from PeaceLoveLearning.blogspot.com" /></a></div>
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I have an emergent reader and craftivity that I use at the beginning of the year to reinforce the concept of "Just a dot, not a lot" that will be a great follow up for Mr. Lefebvre's masterpiece. By using them together, I think we can avoid having any "melted mummy, clicky bricky, clingy stringy, blucky stucky glue boys." I'll send a copy to the first few people who leave comments.<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Just-A-Dot-Emergent-Reader-Craftivity-Pack-292255" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zrcv4cOFqEI/U9hZK3i4EcI/AAAAAAAAB1U/HRR7cskurCE/s1600/Just+A+Dot.jpg" /></a></div>
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Have a great night<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com130tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-47920683644668627072014-07-21T13:00:00.000-04:002014-07-29T22:54:17.780-04:00Another Great Read I think my favorite new book I stumbled upon in the bookstore is Pardon Me<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> by Daniel Miyares. First of all, I can totally relate to the little yellow bird, who is the main character in the book. He just wants a few minutes of peace and quiet hanging out on his perch in the swamp. (I know the feeling<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>) One by one, other animals join him and interrupt his solitude with a polite, "Pardon me," but the bird just cuts them off and gets grumpier and grumpier. When the last animal comes by, the bird totally loses his cool and doesn't give anyone a chance to say a thing. This is a very unfortunate choice for poor Mr. Bird. I won't ruin the ending, but it's done in the fashion of I Want My Hat Back and This is Not My Hat and you have to really make an inference based on the dramatic picture. This book will be great for using when teaching about looking at the pictures for clues and making inferences. I made a little cut and paste freebie to go with this great read. grab a copy by clicking on the picture.<br />
Happy Reading<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqTnpZc0NwUVFOejA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Cute Freebie from PeaceLoveLearning.blogspot.com" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SonjCLfwCvI/U9hdCd2cvaI/AAAAAAAAB1o/ZojmGSuHfao/s1600/Pardon+Me!.jpg" title="Cute Freebie from PeaceLoveLearning.blogspot.com" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-7774129514648597812014-07-12T22:46:00.000-04:002014-07-12T22:46:09.609-04:00Hats Off to A Good Read I know that ordering from Amazon is quick and easy but there is just nothing like spending an hour or two in a real, live bookstore. The smell of new books brings me back to being about 10 years old and getting a new "Little House on the Prairie" book (I'm dating myself, aren't I?) and cracking the spine for the first time. Ahhh . . . once a reader. always a reader.<br />
I stopped in Barnes & Noble today to pick up a gift. I was in a bit of a rush because I had 27 things on my To Do list today, so I promised myself that it would be a quick in and out stop. Well, Bookstore - 1, Me - 0. I was there for 2 hours. 120 minutes. I did not make it to the post office or to Target, but I have a whole big bag of new books<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> So I think I should revise the score because it's really a win-win: Bookstore - 1, Me - 1<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
I thought I would share a couple of the gems that I found over my next few posts.<br />
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They say you can't judge a book from it's cover, but the minute this first book caught my eye, I had a feeling it would be a good one. Released just last month and titled<i> Hooray for Hat,</i> this sweet story is Brian Won's debut book and it is darling. (I can't remember the last time I actually used the word, "darling," but it really is the perfect word to use here.) Elephant wakes up grumpy and is quickly cheered when he finds a wonderful gift-wrapped hat on his doorstep. As he heads out to show his friends, he finds them grumpy as well (must be a Monday<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>) and shares his hat with them. By the end of the book, there is a joyous parade of hat-wearing friends. It is such a sweet story of friendship, sharing, and helping others feel good that I can't wait to read this book to my new class next month. Repetitive text will encourage class participation and the wonderful illustrations (also by Mr. Won) will keep students engaged. This will be a great book to read when trying to establish the kind of classroom climate that I hope to create because Mr. Won has included so many of the traits that I hope to foster. Friendship, sharing (and great accessorizing) - what more do you need? An instant fan, I can't wait to see what Mr. Won comes up with next. I made a quick little activity to use with the book (you can grab a copy by clicking on the picture) so dust off your hat, run to the bookstore, and don't forget to spread a little friendship today.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqYWlGZzlCYzhVTXc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YuDgbs51GGM/U8HuYBKbHuI/AAAAAAAAB0c/c17D_aVkgH8/s1600/Slide2.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Happy Reading<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-47453905008490782212014-07-09T22:16:00.000-04:002014-07-09T22:16:24.841-04:00Birthday Road Trip FreebieI have a twin sister named Danni and we just celebrated our birthday on Thursday. I think we were about 2 years old in the picture below and my mother was still in her unfortunate "dress them alike" phase. (I still think we were pretty cute<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>)<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAqGev1weeQ/U73mtrKLoAI/AAAAAAAABzY/akkz1niA0pA/s1600/twins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PAqGev1weeQ/U73mtrKLoAI/AAAAAAAABzY/akkz1niA0pA/s1600/twins.jpg" height="400" width="395" /></a></div>
We wanted to celebrate in style this year, so after a family cookout on Friday, we hit the road for a Fourth of July weekend away. We decided to drive up the coast a little here in Connecticut and enjoy some good ol' seaside Americana.<br />
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Our first stop was a cute little town named Niantic. It was the kind of quaint seaside New England town that you see on postcards. We went to the LobsterFest (yum<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>) and walked around a bit. It was SO pretty.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Niantic, CT</span></div>
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The next day we hopped back in the car and drove a bit further East to another little village named Stonington. The main street was all decked out for the Fourth and we found some adorable little shops to buy ourselves some birthday presents. Bracelets and earrings and rings, oh my<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AT3SSb_x9eI/U73uwJ_tL_I/AAAAAAAABzw/HHtbFYnqmUQ/s1600/Stonington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AT3SSb_x9eI/U73uwJ_tL_I/AAAAAAAABzw/HHtbFYnqmUQ/s1600/Stonington.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Stonington, CT</span></div>
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Then we officially left "apple pie" mode and jumped right into "Mamma needs a new pair of shoes" mode and hit the Mohegan Sun Casino for a night. We treated ourselves to a room right at the casino which was a-ma-zing<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> It was on the 30th floor and had a river view so we totally felt like high rollers. Unfortunately, we didn't win any shoe money, and we both left in the red (although I managed to lose only 4 dollars so maybe I left in the pink). </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q6v2rkwheyo/U73yC8oDIeI/AAAAAAAABz8/PsVsVerhDXk/s1600/Mohegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q6v2rkwheyo/U73yC8oDIeI/AAAAAAAABz8/PsVsVerhDXk/s1600/Mohegan.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The View from Our Window</span></div>
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We had a great time and are already making plans for our next road trip<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> To share a little of the Birthday Extravaganza, I thought I would post a little birthday freebie. When one of the kids in my class has a birthday, we make a birthday book for him/her. Each friend makes a page, then we put them together for a Birthday Book. The kids LOVE having something special to bring home. Click on the picture to grab a copy.</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Birthday-Book-Freebie-1316158" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6P7Zus-_JoE/U73zupGJ_ZI/AAAAAAAAB0I/twRY-bkHZO8/s1600/Birthday+Book+Freebie.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Have a great night<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span></div>
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com281tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-16930230515294120322014-06-30T21:42:00.000-04:002014-07-01T21:43:02.692-04:00The Alarm Clock vs. The Bucket (Freebie)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JgtTsvKwXMk/U7NhESRxgOI/AAAAAAAAByg/tMWO6wSghT0/s1600/alarm+clock+vs+bucket.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JgtTsvKwXMk/U7NhESRxgOI/AAAAAAAAByg/tMWO6wSghT0/s1600/alarm+clock+vs+bucket.JPG" height="281" width="400" /></a></div>
My least favorite moment of each week is when my alarm clock goes off Monday morning at 4:45 a.m. and I have to wake up. I am not a morning person AT ALL and since my weekend sleep schedule is all over the place, it is ridiculously hard to get up and start the week. During this past school year, my alarm clock and I went head to head on 38 separate Mondays, and the alarm clock won on all of them. All 38. But not today . . .<br />
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Today was the first Monday morning of my summer vacation and the alarm clock is now living somewhere under the bed. (For the next 7 Mondays too - woohoo<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>) Now that the alarm clock has been put in its place and I have some free time, I can get on with some summer plans. I've made myself a summer bucket list to try to get through.<br />
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1. I want to get back to more regular blogging. I've been a little neglectful lately, and I miss connecting with everyone and sharing ideas. So, my summer goal is to pop in at least once a week.<br />
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2. Work in my classroom to tackle a few tasks such as organizing my classroom library and guided reading books.<br />
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3. Clean and organize my garage. I've been putting it off for way too long. Hopefully I'll be motivated by #4 . . .<br />
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4. Shop for a new car. I commute about 400 miles a week so I've pretty much driven my Jeep into the ground. We've had a good run so I think I'm going to stick with another Jeep.<br />
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5. Paint and upgrade my kitchen. Not a total overhaul, but I'm ready for a change.<br />
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I'm sure I'll come up with some more, but since I have some travel plans, I think this is a realistic start. To share my joy of having conquered the alarm clock and having time to work on the Bucket List, here's a little freebie. There are three versions - beginning sounds, ending sounds, and middle vowel sounds and you can use them as a quick assessment to see where the kids are with their letter sounds.<br />
Just click on the pic to grab a copy.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqSDhRb09IbnZXQnc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bhh4bVRikYU/U7Ni6uuyP6I/AAAAAAAAByo/vttAcHccH-A/s1600/Slide4.png" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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I hope your alarm clock is under your bed as well<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-47471083125174080202014-05-04T22:02:00.001-04:002014-05-04T22:02:33.115-04:00Celebrating MomAs another Sunday night comes to an end, I'm sitting here trying to finish my plans for the week<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span>. I'm trying to squeeze in some Mother's Day goodies for the kids to make and bring home but I've found so many cute ideas (I blame Pinterest - wonderful, horrible, addictive Pinterest) that I'm trying to narrow them down. One thing that I know for sure will make the cut are the cute cards I made last year. They were such a hit with the moms and the kids loved making them - they definitely earned a repeat performance<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> If you're looking for a cute, easy project, take a look at the step by step directions down below. I found everything in the craft and baking aisles at Walmart and the materials for the whole class only cost about $8.00. Happy Mother's Day<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sy6XMmOMjmg/U2bwMQUf3fI/AAAAAAAABxw/WuMpOP3a0_M/s1600/Mothers+Day+Card+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Adorable Mother's Day Card from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sy6XMmOMjmg/U2bwMQUf3fI/AAAAAAAABxw/WuMpOP3a0_M/s1600/Mothers+Day+Card+1.JPG" title="Adorable Mother's Day Card from Peace, Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpDtzf2NZDw/U2bwN4_667I/AAAAAAAABx4/Gt9uQApai-w/s1600/Mothers+Day+Card+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Adorable Mother's Day Card from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SpDtzf2NZDw/U2bwN4_667I/AAAAAAAABx4/Gt9uQApai-w/s1600/Mothers+Day+Card+2.JPG" title="Adorable Mother's Day Card from Peace, Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cVHwDDORn70/U2bwPPtTvDI/AAAAAAAAByA/MBEfoy8SNb4/s1600/Mothers+Day+Card+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Adorable Mother's Day Card from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cVHwDDORn70/U2bwPPtTvDI/AAAAAAAAByA/MBEfoy8SNb4/s1600/Mothers+Day+Card+3.JPG" title="Adorable Mother's Day Card from Peace, Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TE1jsrnjXD8/U2bwQXOVkBI/AAAAAAAAByI/dr8_MNZesRo/s1600/Mothers+Day+Card+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Adorable Mother's Day Card from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TE1jsrnjXD8/U2bwQXOVkBI/AAAAAAAAByI/dr8_MNZesRo/s1600/Mothers+Day+Card+4.JPG" title="Adorable Mother's Day Card from Peace, Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-68486723850211602392014-04-26T17:43:00.000-04:002014-05-04T22:02:28.694-04:00Spring FreebieSpring has finally sprung here in Connecticut. Although there was a little snow last week while we were on Spring Break, the little purple flowers in my front yard are popping up. I was in Target yesterday and I found the cutest little Springtime snacks. The teacher in me was immediately creating math activities using the cute little spring themed fruit snacks. I made two different activities so I could differentiate a little, and I thought I would share. Just click on one of the pics to grab a copy.<br />
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Happy Spring<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqVW5lRXgwTW1nUlE/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Spring Math Freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lWuODW2mDYw/U2bsKiqm9TI/AAAAAAAABxc/uOZjJff8HOE/s1600/Spring+Fruit+Snacks+2.png" title="Spring Math Freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqVW5lRXgwTW1nUlE/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Spring Math Freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v3mHa2nyafM/U2bsM_vhBaI/AAAAAAAABxk/Ptwppb7Clro/s1600/Spring+Fruit+Snacks.png" title="Spring Math Freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-37853352813907702152014-03-16T20:15:00.001-04:002014-03-16T20:15:42.820-04:00Lucky Charms Meets the Common Core (Freebie)With the new common core standards in math, I decided that the classic Lucky Charms graph that I've been using for years needed a bit of a makeover. So, I incorporated ten frames and addition to touch upon both Counting & Cardinality and Operations & Algebraic Thinking. I think the kids will have a blast with it while unknowingly stretching their brains a little.<br />
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If you're up for a wee bit o' fun, just grab a copy below, stop at the store for a box of Lucky Charms and have a great St. Patrick's Day<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqWW81Sm1HVWtNd0U/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmosXAhCeDM/UyY-TmF5OnI/AAAAAAAABxI/IdfynXVvp8E/s1600/Lucky+Charms.jpg" /></a></div>
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="border: 0px !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-32642813324403987312014-03-09T22:34:00.002-04:002014-03-09T22:36:04.081-04:00P is for Love??? (Freebie) This post is a bit of a personal story, but if you read through to the end, I promise there's a really cute freebie for you<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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Some women become friends when they meet at the gym, or when they discover a shared passion for coffee, or when they find a like mind at a book club meeting. My friend Susan and I however, bonded over something a little less cultured - we bonded over a couple of weenies (figuratively, not literally). After college, we were dating two <strike>creeps</strike> young men who were friends and the four of us often did things together. When those silly boys showed their true colors as complete weenies, we left them behind and have been BFFs ever since. Over the years, we’ve been through a lot together. We’ve celebrated things like new houses, new jobs, happy biopsy results and milestone birthdays. (Although our 30th birthday extravaganza in Scotland is still a little fuzzy because we met our goal of 30 pubs in the week we were there<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>) We’ve also cried together through things like broken engagements, health scares, and the loss of loved ones. Susan (whom I annoyingly call QZ) is like a sister to me, and my parents even consider her their fourth daughter. I know that she unwaveringly has my back, and likewise, there is nothing I wouldn’t do for her.<br />
QZ has five dogs. Five big dogs. Five really, really big dogs. Great Danes and Mastiffs and mutts, oh my<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> (Some people say that she is one dog away from being The Crazy Dog Lady, I tend to think she's already there.) Their names all start with the letter P (Pumpkin, Petunia, Phoebe, Peroguey and Phawn), and they are her joy. They are her heart. She loves them with the fierceness that you would expect of any mother. She’s happy when they’re happy, she dances when they dance (and they do dance), and she hurts when they hurt. She would give anything she has to keep her “P”s happy and healthy.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n3vyT16OUAg/Ux0RpgZSjbI/AAAAAAAABvw/pjsdhJU_CdI/s1600/Pile+O+Love.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n3vyT16OUAg/Ux0RpgZSjbI/AAAAAAAABvw/pjsdhJU_CdI/s1600/Pile+O+Love.jpg" height="400" width="387" /></a></div>
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The 5 Ps and their pile o' love.</div>
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A few weeks ago, QZ found out that Peroguey has cancer and needs chemotherapy. Peroguey has recently started her treatment and is being a real trooper. She's getting a lot of love from the other Ps and my fingers are crossed that she'll come through it all with her tail wagging.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MW94-bEof2c/Ux0bfNBvIzI/AAAAAAAABwA/nCYB2RIADjY/s1600/Perougey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MW94-bEof2c/Ux0bfNBvIzI/AAAAAAAABwA/nCYB2RIADjY/s1600/Perougey.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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Named Rogue when she was adopted, she became Peroguey so she could be a "P.".</div>
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Imagining the worry and stress that this is causing QZ, along with some family issues she's dealing with right now, not to mention the insane expense of it all had me wondering what I could do to help QZ and the sweet, sweet Ps. Well, I came up with a plan. It's not much, but I hope that it helps a little.<br />
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First, because I've been thinking of her a lot, I made a set of Peroguey-inspired pattern block cards. My class has been obsessed with pattern blocks lately, so I think they'll love them. (You can grab a free set by clicking on the picture down below.) The next part of the plan is to donate all of the proceeds from my pattern block sets to Peroguey's treatments. They've been pretty popular on TPT so I'm hoping to help make a little dent in the ridiculous vet bill. If you grab the dog set and like it, I'm hoping you'll check out some of the other ones, too.<br />
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P is for puppy. P is for Peroguey. P is for love . . .<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Dog-Themed-Pattern-Block-Pictures-1153266" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nibqmCpDPd8/Ux0fDoTMIPI/AAAAAAAABwM/sPZkMPVs65A/s1600/Dog+Pattern+Block+Cards.png" /></a></div>
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Other sets that you might like:<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-Pattern-Block-Pictures-1121463" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--t6SAQXzmoM/Ux0hdEc9pfI/AAAAAAAABwY/hUp-r326UJ8/s1600/Slide1.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/March-Pattern-Block-Pictures-1141518" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M2akax9od-g/Ux0hkIS1FPI/AAAAAAAABwg/cXGAkRuQueE/s1600/Slide1.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/February-Pattern-Block-Pictures-1121457" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lhw9m5o54zg/Ux0hl-JzCfI/AAAAAAAABwo/QA6JC5MuTwU/s1600/Slide1.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a> <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Pattern-Block-Pictures-1085329" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6ZFhJUy7hCw/Ux0huA6ZlCI/AAAAAAAABww/ciVN1i3OPzc/s1600/Slide1.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holiday-Pattern-Block-Pictures-1004784" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bIy80LNpmhE/Ux0hxyyg3bI/AAAAAAAABw4/bV1WbP4ynKg/s1600/Christmas+Pattern+Block+Cards.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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Have a great week<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-16764981663634371222014-02-16T09:20:00.000-05:002014-02-16T09:20:11.429-05:00Research in Kindergarten?You betcha<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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I love when someone who doesn't spend a lot of time in kindergarten walks into my room and when they see what the kids are doing, their jaw drops open and they say something like, "I can't believe that kindergartners are subtracting/writing poetry/doing research." We do so much more in kindergarten than we did even a few years ago, and visitors are often surprised at how much we challenge our little guys. It sure ain't your Grandma's kindergarten anymore<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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This happened to me a couple of weeks ago when we were in the middle of our nonfiction unit. One of the upper grade teachers in my school popped in and was amazed to see that the kids were doing independent research projects. I told her we were tackling the process in a "kindergarten friendly" way, which involves a few steps that I've tweaked over the past few years so that all of the kids can be successful. I thought I would share in case anyone is looking for a way to get started. This is what we did . . .<br />
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<b>Step 1: Prep</b><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span>I decided that we would just focus on animals, so I came up with three facts that I thought would be both interesting and easy to research. The kids were responsible for finding out what their animal looks like, what it eats and where it lives. I gathered a whole bunch of nonfiction animal books for the kids to choose from. (This took a little bit of time because I wanted to make sure that the books I picked had clear illustrations because many had text that was just not accessible to most of my beginning readers.) Then, I got the materials ready for the first day of research. I put three small stickies with icons for each fact on a sentence strip for each student. We were ready to go<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">! </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tE-UHxoa-E8/UwBxTivUoUI/AAAAAAAABvE/0CYWxRBnCwQ/s1600/Slide1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tE-UHxoa-E8/UwBxTivUoUI/AAAAAAAABvE/0CYWxRBnCwQ/s1600/Slide1.PNG" title="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<b>Step 2: Research</b><br />
For each of the first three days, I focused my Readers' Workshop mini-lesson on looking for one of the chosen facts. Modeling with a big book, I showed the class how to find the information I was looking for and how to mark it with the matching sticky note. When I sent them off to get to work, they were so excited to find what they were looking for - w<span style="font-family: inherit;">e were official researchers</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cEbrxmd4nIo/UwBxTkvMRyI/AAAAAAAABvA/THSvLOsWhCk/s1600/Slide2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cEbrxmd4nIo/UwBxTkvMRyI/AAAAAAAABvA/THSvLOsWhCk/s1600/Slide2.PNG" title="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<b>Step 3: Note Taking</b><br />
On each of the days that we did our research in Step 2, we carried over our project into our Writers' Workshop time. I gave the kids a tri-fold graphic organizer to write down the information they had collected that day. (I enlarged onto 12x18 construction paper so they had a big space to write in.) We discussed making illustrations true to life and the kids were encouraged to add details.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZudTPRgYB9E/UwBxTo16quI/AAAAAAAABu8/vD-A7UyVmP4/s1600/Slide3.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZudTPRgYB9E/UwBxTo16quI/AAAAAAAABu8/vD-A7UyVmP4/s1600/Slide3.PNG" title="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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I love how this little researcher spelled "koalas" and "trees."</div>
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<b>Step 4: Publishing</b><br />
Once all of the research was done, we took all of the facts we'd learned and wrote nonfiction books about our animals. I simply provided a cover sheet and blank pages and the kids went to town. They did such a great job<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> Even my reluctant writers were excited to share their new knowledge. The kids were so proud of their finished books that we visited our 5th Grade Reading Buddies to show them off.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O6HAGZCgtpw/UwBxUFxp0lI/AAAAAAAABvY/5YzPaL4Bp4o/s1600/Slide4.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-O6HAGZCgtpw/UwBxUFxp0lI/AAAAAAAABvY/5YzPaL4Bp4o/s1600/Slide4.PNG" title="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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Our first Reading and Writing nonfiction units of study were a big success and the kids really have a firm grasp on how to read and write nonfiction books. If you'd like to give it a try, you can download the materials I used by clicking on the picture below. Happy Researching<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqaUVMZ3F0NzJYQ0E/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q6sjhCkMVmA/UwBxUcY-niI/AAAAAAAABvU/iwPmjzGdHsI/s1600/Slide5.png" title="Kindergarten Research - Peace Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="border: 0px !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-36300239477378909802013-12-05T23:18:00.001-05:002013-12-10T21:09:47.758-05:00My Favorite Things Freebie We had a full afternoon of Parent Teacher conferences today and boy, am I tired of hearing myself talk<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> On the ride home I decided that I was going to get home, relax and not say another word all night. That was before I realized that the remake of The Sound of Music was on. Now I'm sitting here, an old nostalgic fool, singing along with Maria and the children at the top of my lungs. (I'm not taking it personally that my dog is next to me howling . . .) My poor voice will no doubt pay the price tomorrow, but I consider that a small price to pay for bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> The Sound of Music just makes me happy. (And I have to say, Carrie Underwood had some big shoes to fill and I think she's doing a great job<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>)<br />
As Maria belted out, "A Few of My Favorite Things," it made me think of a book I just used with my class during our Early Print Strategies unit. One of the strategies we worked on was "Getting you mouth ready to say the word." To reinforce and strengthen this skill, I made an emergent reader that really requires the kids to attend to the first letter of the word, because after looking at the picture for clues, the unfamiliar word is not always the obvious choice. Is that a dog or a puppy? A computer or a laptop? A coat or a jacket? There are a couple of different versions of the book, so you can keep the kids on their toes! You can grab a copy by clicking on the picture if you'd like to try it with your kids.<br />
Have a great night and try to sing out loud at least once tomorrow<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqWFAydGlxd0FIMms/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9cOx4RXK_CU/UqFIKU-KmKI/AAAAAAAABuE/iAFtqU3qgYw/s1600/Favorite+Things+Freebie.png" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com105tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-46153935505077799292013-12-01T23:04:00.001-05:002013-12-01T23:07:20.100-05:00Shopping in My Long-JohnsEven though I have been known to partake in the past, I made an effort to stay away from the Black Friday craziness this weekend. It was just too cold to go out at 5 am to get a good deal. I'm holding out for Cyber Monday instead. I plan to come right home from school tomorrow, build a fire in the fireplace, fire up my laptop and do my Christmas Shopping online. My family has become very skilled at adding to their Amazon wishlists throughout the year, so I have a great place to start. My challenge is going to be to not play the "one present for them, one for me" game which I love to play.<br />
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I'm sure you've heard about the big Teachers Pays Teachers Cyber-Monday sale. It's definitely on my "shop in my long-johns" list of places to visit tomorrow. I spent a couple of hours filling up my wish list today so I can just check out and stock up for the winter. (I sound like a squirrel - LOL<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>) I'm also offering an additional 20% off all the items in my store for the next two days, so you can get a total of 28% off by using the code "CYBER."<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c5wCFGqCgcI/UpwHB6Vb3VI/AAAAAAAABt0/VdcqG9s2U34/s1600/Cyber+Monday+Sale.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c5wCFGqCgcI/UpwHB6Vb3VI/AAAAAAAABt0/VdcqG9s2U34/s1600/Cyber+Monday+Sale.png" /></a></div>
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I have a few new items listed for you to take a peek at. (As usual, I'll send the first three comments their choice of the goodies below . . .)<br />
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My favorite is the Holiday Pattern Block Cards I made for my Math Stations. My kids LOVE to make pictures with pattern blocks and I came up with a set of Christmas and Hanukkah cards that I think they're really going to love. Click on the picture to get a better look.<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Holiday-Pattern-Block-Pictures-1004784" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AAXkHlxJlzY/UpwB0O-ZZOI/AAAAAAAABtY/0i3dtWItbNs/s1600/Christmas+Pattern+Block+Cards.jpg" /></a></div>
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Keeping the kids engaged during December is always tricky because they're so excited for the holidays. You know what they say - if you can't beat them, join them<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> With this in mind, I made a set of holiday themed math sheets to reinforce counting, addition, graphing and using ten frames.</div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Holidays-Math-Packet-1004836" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EzlmLf9Ykxo/UpwEktBRC-I/AAAAAAAABtk/fIoeXxuuZEo/s1600/Holiday+Math.jpg" /></a></div>
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The last new item is based on my favorite Christmas carol, The 12 Days of Christmas. This cute booklet will give the kids practice writing numbers and number words, using ten frames and representing quantities up to 12. I also made an alternative version, The 12 Days of Friendship for the kids in my class who don't celebrate Christmas.<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-12-Days-of-Christmas-Number-Book-1004870" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B_5FZc9pjnU/UpwF3LfcUVI/AAAAAAAABts/txH56gv577E/s1600/The+12+Days+of+Christmas+4.jpg" /></a></div>
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I wish you happy cyber-shopping tomorrow. I hope you get tons of good deals and find presents for both yourself and your loved ones<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-6694455065490115972013-11-24T22:14:00.000-05:002013-11-24T22:14:39.806-05:00Happy Turkey Week Freebie While blog-hopping today I noticed that some of you have the whole week off for Thanksgiving - you lucky turkeys<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> I hope that you enjoy a nice, long break with your families. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V-uFqdSgKh4/UpK9EXHX4II/AAAAAAAABs0/-ZEXJqcdOo0/s1600/MyTurkeyDoor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V-uFqdSgKh4/UpK9EXHX4II/AAAAAAAABs0/-ZEXJqcdOo0/s1600/MyTurkeyDoor.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ea9999;">My Classroom Door - Gobble<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> Gobble<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span></span></td></tr>
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Around here, we go to school for full days on Monday and Tuesday and then have an early release on Wednesday. As you can imagine, the kids are pretty riled up by Wednesday and it's a little tricky to contain their energy. So, I have a bunch of cute Thanksgiving activities planned that will keep them learning but add a little dash of fun. If you're looking for a few new things for your plans, be sure to enter the <a href="http://peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2013/11/thanksgiving-giveaway.html" target="_blank">Thanksgiving Giveaway</a>. You still have a few hours<a href="http://peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2013/11/thanksgiving-giveaway.html" target="_blank"> to enter</a> and you could win some goodies to get you through the week. (Friday and Saturday's daily winners are Miranda and Rose - ladies, email me to let me know which of the prizes you'd like<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>)<br />
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For those of you teaching through Wednesday, I have a great Freebie for you to show how thankful I am that you take the time to visit my blog.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqaFBEeHREMXZDbzA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GCdlUS0_GJY/UpK-rz-15hI/AAAAAAAABtA/aMONTfXWm-Y/s1600/Slide1.PNG" /></a></div>
As a little Thanksgiving Present, I've got the day before your break covered. You can grab this Thanksgiving packet filled with fun yet purposeful activities. You'll find reading, writing, math and word study activities - enough for the whole day. Just click on the picture. Enjoy<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqaFBEeHREMXZDbzA/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r_HD5fxBoo0/UpK-uxw7Y0I/AAAAAAAABtI/cgdAbbJUMfg/s1600/Slide2.PNG" /></a></div>
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="border: 0px !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-77184985118905388762013-11-21T23:03:00.001-05:002013-11-21T23:03:27.955-05:00Thanksgiving Giveaway During this season of giving thanks and counting blessings, I am reminded that one thing that I'm especially thankful for is the terrific group of people I work with. We have such a giving, supportive and compassionate bunch of teachers and staff that I consider myself very lucky to a part of the gang. So . . . to share a little of the love, two of my colleagues (Sandra is on the kindergarten team with me and Cortney teaches first grade) and I are teaming up to host a little Thanksgiving Giveaway to say thanks for letting us share our ideas and thoughts with you.<br />
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We picked some of our favorite Thanksgiving activities and have created a Prize Pack that could add a little fun to your classroom next week before the holiday break. Here are the goodies (click on the pics for more details):<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Past-and-Present-Craftivity-989095" target="_blank"><img alt="Adorable Thanksgiving Past & Present Craftivity" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-76hOYZgVJj4/Uo7SI2iG5_I/AAAAAAAABsM/UMkGOKkbs3Y/s1600/Slide2.JPG" title="Adorable Thanksgiving Past & Present Craftivity" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Emergent-Reader-I-Am-Not-A-Turkey-106101" target="_blank"><img alt="Funny Thanksgiving Emergent Reader that is great to use with your "Disguise a Turkey" project." border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wnmrWFGwl3M/Uo7Ss5AzISI/AAAAAAAABsU/hhTjGAaSPUo/s1600/Slide3.JPG" title="Funny Thanksgiving Emergent Reader that is great to use with your "Disguise a Turkey" project." /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Math-Pack-979573" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z4tZEnNVRCw/Uo7Sw3TyO5I/AAAAAAAABsc/JMU68f8cOLY/s1600/Slide4.JPG" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-Roll-A-Letter-Handwriting-Practice-924363" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WqI8DxHzjXw/Uo7Sw8HPRNI/AAAAAAAABsg/P0aGZ4RPN1Q/s1600/Slide5.JPG" /></a></div>
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We'll pick one Grand prize winner on Sunday night (using Rafflecopter) who will win all of the prizes listed above. You can follow <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Sandra-Menhart" target="_blank">Sandra's TPT store</a> and Cortney's new blog <a href="http://spicypeaches.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Spicy Peaches</a> and <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Spicy-Peaches" target="_blank">TPT store</a> as well as this blog and <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/D-Conway" target="_blank">my TPT store</a> to earn up to 5 entries a day. We'll also randomly pick 1 winner a day (from the comments below) to receive winner's choice of any 1 prize from the list, so be sure to leave your email address for an extra chance to win.<br />
Have a great weekend<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c5f1a44/" id="rc-c5f1a44" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="border: 0px !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-57956560372386829222013-11-16T23:45:00.000-05:002013-11-16T23:45:20.242-05:00Calling All Word Detectives Our first marking period ended yesterday and we're knee deep in assessment. If you've been teaching for awhile like I have, you might remember the days when our report cards had objectives like, "Enjoys books" and "Colors with control." Ahh . . . the good old days . . .<br />
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Now that we're one trimester in, all of the routines, procedures and expectations are solid and we can step things up a notch. We just started a new Word Study plan (which I'm in LOVE with and will write about soon) and literacy stations are moving along really well. I've re-worked a couple of my stations this year to make them a little more engaging, and I'm pretty happy with the changes.<br />
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One station that got a face lift was the Writing the Room Station. I've done this station for years, and the kids traditionally write words that they find in the classroom. I've always encouraged the kids to only write words that they can read, but especially in the beginning of the year, this can be a little tricky for some of the kids. So . . . out with Writing the Room and in with the Detective Station. Rather than finding words that naturally occur in the classroom, my little word detectives have to hunt for picture cards that I've hidden around the room.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqU01CVU5HeHVpSXM/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="CVC Freebie from Peace Love & Learning" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U6goEX1_bWQ/UohHEXNgrYI/AAAAAAAABrs/R1X1lCnK06s/s1600/Slide2.PNG" title="CVC Freebie from Peace Love & Learning" /></a></div>
In the beginning of the year, I used cards with pictures and words on them, and the kids had to simply copy the words. (They especially like the Case of the Missing Friends when they had to find pictures of all of the kids in the class and copy their names.) Now, we're moving on to the kids finding picture cards without words and writing the sounds they hear. One of the great things about doing it this way is that it is self-differentiating. Some kids are just writing the initial sound they hear in each word, some are writing more. Right now, I have simple CVC picture cards and the kids are doing a great job.<br />
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If you want to give your little detectives a chance to solve the case, you can grab the kit by clicking on the picture. Enjoy<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">!</span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqU01CVU5HeHVpSXM/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="CVC Freebie from Peace Love & Learning" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fYrxBGSRDdk/UohIAJezaiI/AAAAAAAABr0/jh3gRGlgzWU/s1600/Slide1.PNG" title="CVC Freebie from Peace Love & Learning" /></a></div>
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="border: 0px !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-38208997990170886122013-11-03T23:03:00.002-05:002013-11-03T23:03:49.866-05:00Little Scientists, Big IdeasWe've been working on our science launch unit and I'm so happy with how well it's been going. I have to admit, science often gets the short straw in my classroom. With reading, writing, math, and word study pressures, when something's got to give, it's typically been science. I've made a vow this year to try harder to give science it's due. So far, so good<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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We started by making an anchor chart of all of the things scientists do. We're using sticky notes so we can add ideas as we go. (One that did not make the list - one little boy said, "My Daddy said that one day, scientists will create a pill that will stop my mom from nagging him," LMAO<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!!!</span>)<br />
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One thing that is new to us this year is the use of Science Notebooks. I haven't used then before so I spent a good bit of time figuring out how I wanted to set them up. I decided that I wanted a science notebook that would give me some structure but would also allow me to add some things along the way. I found a really cute, simple template on TPT that is working perfectly for us. (It's by Sandra Menhart and you can find it <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Science-Notebook-923058" target="_blank">here</a>. I also picked up her Rainbow Numbers and my kids LOVE them<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>)<br />
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I copied the pages single-sided, added a copy of our Anchor Chart as the first page and bound them together with my binding machine. They look so official, don't they?<br />
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We talked about all of the different kinds of scientists that there are and the different things that they study. I found a great Powerpoint over at <a href="http://www.kindergartenkindergarten.com/2010/07/we-are-all-scientists.html" target="_blank">Kindergarten, Kindergarten</a> about this and the kids loved learning words such as paleontologist and entomologist. One smarty pants even noticed that many of the names ended with -gist. We added this new learning to our notebooks. This is where the format of the journal came in handy - we glued something on the left hand side, and wrote on the right - perfect<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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Our next lesson was: "Scientists make observations by looking closely at things". We talked about the importance of drawing exactly what we see - no rainbow pumpkins, please<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> A cute little scientist craftivity added a little variety to our notebooks and gave us a chance to practice some fine motor skills at the same time.<br />
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When my sister brought me the last three green tomatoes from her tomato plant last weekend so they wouldn't freeze on the plant, I knew they were perfect for my next lesson: "Scientists notice changes and record them." We observed and recorded what the tomatoes looked like on Day 1, then we will draw them again when they ripen (or when I concede that since it's been a week they're probably not going to ripen and perhaps it's time to sneak in the ripened tomatoes I got today at Shoprite).<br />
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The next couple of lessons will focus on wondering, posing questions and finding answers. This "launch" unit is new to me so I'd love some ideas about where to go next. If you have some tips, I'd love to hear them. Sandra Menhart has generously donated three copies of her cute Science Notebook to give away to my fantastic followers. I'll send one to the first three who leave a notebook tip in a comment.<br />
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I hope you have a class full of eager scientists and a year full of wonder . . .<br />
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-27457220506715165212013-10-29T23:48:00.000-04:002013-10-29T23:49:20.345-04:00Even Witches Love the Common CoreHalloween is still a few days away and the energy level in kindergarten is already skyrocketing<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> Forget visions of sugarplums - this time of year we're dealing with visions of M&Ms and Snickers<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> I've always loved Halloween so I'm enjoying all of the excitement.<br />
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We've been doing a lot of Halloween themed common core activities and I thought I'd share a couple of cute ones.<br />
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I found some great Zombie eyeballs at the Dollar Tree so I grabbed a few (okay -8) packs.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8kMaCW1LDJs/UnB-EH1XihI/AAAAAAAABpU/TnAdHi4wf1U/s1600/Zombie+Eyeballs+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Halloween Freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8kMaCW1LDJs/UnB-EH1XihI/AAAAAAAABpU/TnAdHi4wf1U/s1600/Zombie+Eyeballs+2.png" title="Halloween Freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" /></a></div>
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I thought they would be great to use with the 3-D tens frames I made (see original post <a href="http://peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2013/08/diy-3-d-tens-frames-and-freebie.html" target="_blank">here</a>) so I made a set of cards to match. The kids can either pick a numeral card or an eyeball card and then use the eyeballs to make their frame show the same number. Click on the picture to grab a free set of cards. (You can use them alone if you don't have the eyeballs. . .)<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqeEdWaEZhUlNlazg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Halloween Freebie from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xHy9bpW91g/UnB69UWMVUI/AAAAAAAABpI/QjmeFm8woLk/s1600/Zombie+Eyeballs.png" title="Halloween Freebie from Peace, Love and Learning " /></a></div>
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Another really cute project we did was a sweet little Math craftivity. We've been working on Counting and Cardinality focusing on numbers 0-10 so I revised an old Halloween favorite to reinforce 1 to 1 correspondence. <br />
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We used Avery dot labels and made some really funky socks for our witches, and then showed how many dots we used by practiced writing the number. You can pick up the template and directions in <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Bewitching-Halloween-Math-Craftivity-951062" target="_blank">my TPT store</a>. I'll send a freebie to the first 3 people who comment.<br />
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Have a great night<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-16933452038459447992013-09-22T22:18:00.002-04:002013-09-22T22:18:24.539-04:0012 Days of Kindergarten Now that we've been in school for a few weeks, we're all settling in nicely. The kids are doing a great job learning routines and expectations, and I'm doing a pretty good job of getting out of bed at 5 am. (Ugg<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>)<br />
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We had our 12th day of kindergarten this week, and it made me think of the fantastic book, <i><b>The Twelve Days</b></i> <i><b>of Kindergarten </b></i>by Deborah Lee Rose. If you've read it before, you know that it's a super cute school version of the 12 Days of Christmas and the kids love it. It's great to use when you're working on double digit numbers and it also has incredibly funny and detailed pictures that are great for teaching how to look for picture clues. <br />
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The book inspired to me show you some of the things we've been up to, "12 Days" style. (You can click on some of the pictures for links or freebies.) On the 12th day of kindergarten my teacher gave to me . . .<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">12 Leveled Book Bins</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S5YfPZ_wSNE/Uj-eYWpSInI/AAAAAAAABnY/FvJd448qjeg/s1600/12.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S5YfPZ_wSNE/Uj-eYWpSInI/AAAAAAAABnY/FvJd448qjeg/s400/12.PNG" width="321" /></a></div>
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I love these new baskets from the Dollar Tree - they match the stools at my reading table.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">11 Hanging Portraits</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-About-Me" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_69BksS3DiI/Uj-efOXkpPI/AAAAAAAABng/sde_JC5KkJQ/s400/11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We did this great <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Math-About-Me" target="_blank">freebie</a> from Lauren Morse for Open House.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">10 Marshmallow Toes</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Marshmallow-Toes-Emergent-Reader-Craftivity-Pack-281800" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWX0ib8XV04/Uj-emqTtL8I/AAAAAAAABno/pr6N_KOVX18/s320/10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We read an emergent reader about Marshmallow Toes and made this <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Marshmallow-Toes-Emergent-Reader-Craftivity-Pack-281800" target="_blank">cute craftivity</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">9 Numbered Dots</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T4TS4qYcASU/Uj-esCrtekI/AAAAAAAABnw/wOaqW18rDsM/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T4TS4qYcASU/Uj-esCrtekI/AAAAAAAABnw/wOaqW18rDsM/s400/9.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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I found this adorable rug for my math center at Ikea.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">8 Word Wall Pictures</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L3M9fWchDoI/Uj-e2YCne_I/AAAAAAAABn4/uTqG-5S_jJY/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="295" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L3M9fWchDoI/Uj-e2YCne_I/AAAAAAAABn4/uTqG-5S_jJY/s400/8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">7 School Buses</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literacy-and-Math-Fun-with-Names-88399" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-743Zjf223B0/Uj-e6pDns6I/AAAAAAAABoA/pZvkGzPsbG0/s400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The kids loved making these buses from Deanna Jump's <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Literacy-and-Math-Fun-with-Names-88399" target="_blank">Fun with Names</a> unit.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">6 Alphabet Emergent Readers</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Alphabet-Emergent-Reader-Library-820890" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uAPPu7j_lGQ/Uj-fBB3cbNI/AAAAAAAABoI/wbLZ6MUYup8/s400/6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We've been using these easy to read <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Alphabet-Emergent-Reader-Library-820890" target="_blank">letter books</a> - they work great with our new Word Study program.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">5 Classroom Rules</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Classroom-Rules-Poster-Set-802838" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XK1ns5W9aAQ/Uj-fFRExymI/AAAAAAAABoQ/3ThOo9WE_3s/s400/5.JPG" width="243" /></a></div>
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The kid friendly, relevant graphics on <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Classroom-Rules-Poster-Set-802838" target="_blank">these posters</a> are great visual reminders for the kids.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">4 New Table Signs</span></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqbnNjMHRHTW5VZTg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Cute Table Signs from Peace, Love and Learning - Freebie" border="0" height="296" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6Qwz4jShYg/Uj-fLsW8o4I/AAAAAAAABoY/k9my35j7bl4/s400/4.jpg" title="Cute Table Signs from Peace, Love and Learning - Freebie" width="400" /></a></div>
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Grab a <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqbnNjMHRHTW5VZTg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">free set </a>of these cute signs to put in these awesome $1.00 Ikea frames.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">3 Open House Frames</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xDD3q7GExMI/Uj-fTG2vuGI/AAAAAAAABog/qg6S83LmIEQ/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xDD3q7GExMI/Uj-fTG2vuGI/AAAAAAAABog/qg6S83LmIEQ/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The kids painted and decorated cute frames for their parents for Open House.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">2 Ikea Leaves</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Dvf2zzo1t4/UFU27SnGinI/AAAAAAAAA7M/H66rI8qdkLY/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Dvf2zzo1t4/UFU27SnGinI/AAAAAAAAA7M/H66rI8qdkLY/s400/009.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">1 Freebie from Me to You!</span></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqOWdLZ0d2UzRPQm8/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="Cute number sequencing activity from Peace, Love and Learning" border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--gN1q_gWU-8/Uj-gO94cL2I/AAAAAAAABos/Snj9_dpuT5o/s400/12+Days+of+K.png" title="Cute number sequencing activity from Peace, Love and Learning" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqOWdLZ0d2UzRPQm8/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Click here</a> for this cute sequencing activity.</div>
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I hope your year is off to a great start, too<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-30136010851405255202013-09-02T07:50:00.003-04:002013-09-02T07:50:52.845-04:00The Kindergarten Trifecta Tears, Tantrums and Tinkle. They're what my friend Cindy calls the "Kindergarten Trifecta" and it's hard to have a first week without them. We just finished our first week and I had my fair share of all three<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> It's funny how much you block out from year to year, how much you don't remember. How exhausting the first day is, how much teaching and reteaching we need for routines and expectations, how hard it is to get the kids to "Not talk on top of my words . . . Please<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>"<br />
But let's not forget all the exciting, happy things that come rushing back, too. The smell of new pencils, a fresh, empty lesson plan book just waiting to be filled, labeling everything in the classroom (alphabetically and in color order of course), the joy of eager kindergartners and the trust of wistful parents handing their little ones over to you on the first day. My friend Sandra summed it up perfectly after dismissal on the first day as she revised the song, "There's Nothing Like A Dame" and sang out in a Broadway-worthy voice, "There's Nothing Like the First Day in Kindergarten." So very true Ms, M<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> But I wouldn't trade it for the world. Even with the Trifecta.<br />
I know a lot of you are starting school tomorrow and are gearing up for your first week. Here's a little freebie that will hopefully make things a little easier. It's so nice to send home a little newsletter after the first week to let the parents know what you've been up to, but by the time you get to Friday you're bound to be exhausted. Here's a cute, little newsletter that you can use to share the basics of your week. (Why reinvent the wheel, right?)<br />
I hope you all have (or have had) a great first week. I wish you very few tears, tantrums or tinkle. (Especially any of the three coming from you, 'cause that happens during the first week sometimes, too<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span>)<br />
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<a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0ByQ7Ms8WXdqqcHFlN3FHYTB6anc/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank"><img alt="First Week Newsletter Freebie from Peace, Love & Learning" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AaaOMvPdQs8/UiRyxU_7hPI/AAAAAAAABnI/K1pYncYZLo8/s1600/First+Week+Freebie.png" title="First Week Newsletter Freebie from Peace, Love & Learning" /></a></div>
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-5961706350191752962013-08-18T05:01:00.000-04:002013-08-18T05:34:20.979-04:00Wet Toes, Winners and PajamasI just had a very serious conversation with my dog. It went like this:<br />
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Me: It's 4:00 in the morning - go back to sleep.<br />
Sally: I want breakfast, I want breakfast, I want breakfast.<br />
Me: There are only three days of vacation left, we're sleeping in - go back to sleep.<br />
Sally: I want breakfast, I want breakfast, I want breakfast.<br />
Me: I'm pulling the covers over my head and going back to sleep.<br />
Sally: I want breakfast, I want breakfast, I want breakfast.<br />
Me: I can't hear you . . .<br />
Sally: Then I'll lick your toes until I get what I want.<br />
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Guess who won? Yup. It's 4:30 in the morning, Sally went back to bed after our trip to the kitchen and the back yard and I'm wide awake. At 4:30. On one of my last days of vacation<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">! </span> She's lucky she's so stinkin' cute<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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Since I'm up, I thought I would post the last daily winners from the Back to School Giveaway and announce the Grand Prize winner. Drum roll please . . .<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8El72fbH3vg/UhCN_p1pN-I/AAAAAAAABmo/pF_mygr3uc0/s1600/BTS+Giveaway+5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8El72fbH3vg/UhCN_p1pN-I/AAAAAAAABmo/pF_mygr3uc0/s1600/BTS+Giveaway+5.png" /></a></div>
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Congrats to Trinity, Amy, Jkey and Lorena<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> Your prizes are on the way. As for me? I plan to go back to sleep for a bit (do you hear that, Sally?) and then spend the day in my jammies doing a little shopping. If you haven't heard, Teachers Pay Teachers is having a HUGE sale today and tomorrow. With many sellers adding to TPT's 10% off, you can get some really great deals. I have 27 things on my wishlist so I think I'm going to have to whittle it down a bit. Maybe. Probably not. I'll likely get them all. Ahhh... shopping in my jammies . . .</div>
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I'm offering an additional 20% off everything in my store, which you'll get on top of TPT's 10 % if you use the code BTS13. The sale runs today and tomorrow so slip on your coziest pajamas, fire up the computer and head straight to your wishlist<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> Click on the picture below to check out some of the cute things I have on sale. </div>
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/D-Conway" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WnQg7hWch9o/UhCSqVUH54I/AAAAAAAABm0/I-6QGXdmwsE/s1600/BTS+Sale.png" /></a></div>
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<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" /></div>
Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-57600163883840457382013-08-17T20:39:00.001-04:002013-08-17T20:55:20.688-04:00There's Still Time . . .I just wanted to pop in to post yesterday's winners. Congrats to Mrs. Frost, LeAnne and Alicia - your prizes are on the way<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="http://peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-to-school-giveaway.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DhMwnsnjho8/UhAXV4NA_9I/AAAAAAAABmY/aFTlHifS2jM/s1600/BTS+Giveaway+4.png" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-to-school-giveaway.html" target="_blank">The giveaway</a> ends tonight at midnight so if you haven't entered there's still time. Be sure to stop by in the morning to see if you're the Grand Prize winner<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
Have a great night<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8844863917192007459.post-92187573240101088522013-08-16T18:17:00.000-04:002013-08-16T18:17:49.145-04:00Flash Freebie and More WinnersHowdy<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> <br />
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Congrats to Rachel, Sarah and Lslouka for being chosen as Thursday's Back to School Giveaway daily winners. If you haven't entered yet, click on the picture to read about and <a href="http://peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-to-school-giveaway.html" target="_blank">enter the giveaway</a>. You have two more chances to be a daily winner and then the grand prize winner will be picked Saturday night at midnight.<br />
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<a href="http://peacelovelearning.blogspot.com/2013/08/back-to-school-giveaway.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-damfFZ-d_W0/Ug6f61K86UI/AAAAAAAABlg/DHXMZKDKHP4/s1600/BTS+Giveaway+3.png" /></a></div>
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I have a Flash Freebie for you today that I think could be helpful in your classroom this year.<br />
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Lots of teachers use hand signals in their classrooms so the kids can ask for what they need without interrupting instruction. I wanted to give them a try, but I wanted a way to make them kinder-friendly so they would be meaningful and easy to use. I love to anchor new concepts with a book, so I created a shared reader to introduce hand signals and explain the reason for using them. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k3uU0OpGUR4/Ug6hgNYpOXI/AAAAAAAABls/SGxEYFzWj_0/s1600/Slide3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Classroom Hand Signals Pack with poster, shared reader, emergent readers and cut & paste activity" border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-k3uU0OpGUR4/Ug6hgNYpOXI/AAAAAAAABls/SGxEYFzWj_0/s400/Slide3.JPG" title="Classroom Hand Signals Pack with poster, shared reader, emergent readers and cut & paste activity" width="400" /></a></div>
To reinforce the signals, I made a cut and paste matching activity and an emergent reader for the kids to color and read. These both will help support the kids in remembering the signals.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iJGjoWo4-Ok/Ug6ho16LUmI/AAAAAAAABl0/_SQ6ktHnUVc/s1600/Slide4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Classroom Hand Signals Pack with poster, shared reader, emergent readers and cut & paste activity" border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iJGjoWo4-Ok/Ug6ho16LUmI/AAAAAAAABl0/_SQ6ktHnUVc/s400/Slide4.JPG" title="Classroom Hand Signals Pack with poster, shared reader, emergent readers and cut & paste activity" width="400" /></a></div>
To have a consistent visual reminder for the kids, I made classroom posters with clear graphics that even my non-readers could “read.”<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-la6gNQmXfl4/Ug6hxeXwryI/AAAAAAAABl8/LnJQkRv0uAU/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Classroom Hand Signals Pack with poster, shared reader, emergent readers and cut & paste activity" border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-la6gNQmXfl4/Ug6hxeXwryI/AAAAAAAABl8/LnJQkRv0uAU/s400/Slide2.JPG" title="Classroom Hand Signals Pack with poster, shared reader, emergent readers and cut & paste activity" width="400" /></a></div>
Yippee<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span> No more interruptions during small groups, guided reading or conferring. If you want to give hand signals a try with your kinders, click the picture below to grab a copy of the packet. Remember to hurry, it's only free until midnight<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">!</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hand-Signal-Classroom-Pack-831431" target="_blank"><img alt="Classroom Hand Signals Pack with poster, shared reader, emergent readers and cut & paste activity" border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3IehoyF_V40/Ug6jEvDXtqI/AAAAAAAABmI/Decz523FAMc/s400/Slide1.JPG" title="Classroom Hand Signals Pack with poster, shared reader, emergent readers and cut & paste activity" width="400" /></a></div>
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Have a great night<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">! </span><br />
<img src="http://i340.photobucket.com/albums/o344/dlcteach/Test.png" style="background: transparent; border: 0 !important;" />Donnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03013615196175917448noreply@blogger.com9