That explains it!

What a past few days I've had.  The kids have really been wound up.  Then I went outside, and I saw this

Oh, that explains it, and it gives me hope for a calmer next week.  Anyone else notice a change in their kids during the full moon?

In honor of the full moon, here's a science project for you.  I'm selling it in my store, but I'm giving it to you as a thank you for reading my little blog.  It's a moon clock that the kids can use to keep track of the moon phases!

 

Enjoy!

Cyber Monday Bestsellers

Robin over at Sweet Tea Classroom started a linky party to showcase the bestsellers from our stores.  I had a great day yesterday, my second best as seller, and I was able to purchase some great items as well!  It was so much fun being a part of the excitement and watching Paul's (TPT owner) updates throughout the day.

So here are my two bestsellers from yesterday.  The first is my Advent book and craft activity,

and the second was my Elf Toss Common Core math games.

If you're interested in checking out other people's bestsellers, head on over to Sweet Tea Classroom and check out the Best Seller links.  There's a lot of great products showcased!

Today was our first day back after Thanksgving break.  The kids were pretty subdued most of the day.  I was so glad to have a few leftover Thanksgiving projects on hand because our copier machine was out of commision today, and I had to depend on what I had in the classroom. 

Now I'm starting to think about Christmas.  Can you believe that we only have four weeks of school before Christmas break?  It  will go so fast.  Later this week I will make a post about what I plan on doing my December centers and lessons.

Until then, happy teaching days!

 

The BIG DAY has Arrived

Oh boy, am I ever glad to be off work today! Thanks to all the hunters in Western PA, the first day of deer season is a given day off for most districts here.

Why am I so glad, you ask? Because today is the BIG DAY, day 1 of the TeachersPayTeachers Cyber Monday Sale.  Click the picture to take you to my store to shop.  From there you can get to the main site as well.

I already snagged four great items off my wishlist and will probably go back for more throughout the day.

Here's what I got:

Nativity Doodles by Danielle Flury, Jesus and Friends by Vickie Moore, Christmas Borders by Pink Cat Studio, and Perfectly Polar Penguins and Polar Bears by Martha Moore.  If you want to see what other people's great deals and steals, head over to Erin's blog, Tales From Room 112, and check it out.

I can't wait to use these resources in my class or to make new resources to use with my kiddos and to put up for sale (or free) on TPT!

Happy Shopping!

Cyber Monday Sale on Teachers Pay Teachers

Can I just say how excited I am about TpT's Cyber Monday Sale?  Not only as a seller, but also as a buyer.  I've been adding to my wishlist and plan on getting some great bargains, up to 28% off, on those iteams.  If you click on the below picture, it will take you to Mercedes' blog, Surfing to Success, where you can see a list of many of the sellers who have linked up to take part in this great savings opportunity!  Thank you Mercedes!

Be sure to check out my store, Practice Makes Perfect.  Click on the picture to claim your freebie for visiting my blog, and check out my other resources as well!

My whole store will be on sale, every item, at the maximum amount of 28% off.  You'll get awesome teaching resources at a great price!

You can also check out Charlotte's blog, Charlotte's Clips and Kindergarten Kids, for a list of free items that sellers are offering.  Be sure to view their other items and see what you might like to add to your cart for Cyber Monday.

Happy Shopping!

It's Center Time!

Jessica over at Second Grade Nest is hosting a Thanksgiving Linky Party, which I linked up to.   Thanks for the opportunity, Jessica!

She asked what we will be doing with our kids these last few days before Thanksgving break, when everyone is really looking forward to a few days off, and concentration wanders.

I plan on doing centers daily!  I find that centers really help my kids to be settled and focused on work.  During center time today, there was that satisfying, low murmur of kids who were totally engaged in their work.   Here are some pictures.  I've included links to all the great TpT products that I'm using at the centers.  Some are free, some are not, but all have made my life sooo much easier!  Just click on the pictures!

Here are my center clips.  I hot-glued the kids' names to clothespin.  We store them on this little chart I bought at Target for a buck a few years ago.

They clip their names to this center pocket chart.  The blue dots tell the kids how many can be at that center at one time.

At the SMARTBoard center, the kids are playing "Turkey Toss."  They LOVE this game.  I have this linked to the PDF version of the game.  If you are interested in the SMARTBoard version, just let me know!  I'd be happy to talk to you about it.  In this picture, the kids are playing the three dice version like in "Bump."  In Math class, we will also play "Turkey Toss" but use the two dice version.  In that version, they have to add or subtract and use strategy to decide which operation gives them the best move.  For instance, if they roll 4, 2, they can get a 6 and put a chip on the board, or they can subtract and bump the opposing team off the board!

Here are two of my centers, one in the math center and one in my library center.  "Turkey Feathers" focuses on common core objective 1.NBT.2. Understand that the two digits of a two-digit number represent amounts of tens and ones.  The "Plenty of Vowels" center, which I've been using for years, was the inspiration for the short vowel center in my TpT store.

There are tons of books available in my library center at all times, from big books to magazines, to student-made books.  I have them all color coded and sorted into baskest using my free differentiated   book basket labels.

At the pocket chart craft center, the girls are hard at work on their cornecopias.  I don't have a product for this, but maybe this summer I'll create one.  My kids love doing the different paper crafts at this center!

At the writing center, the kids are using a free Thanksgiving mini-book by Doodles and Kreations.

 

In addition to these centers, I have two computer centers, a painting center, and a shelf toys center.  As you can see, I am quite prepared for the last two days before Thanksgiving break with lots of great and engaging learning centers, many of them from TpT!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thanksgiving Linky Party

The Constant Kindergartener is having a Thanksgiving Linky Party to celebrate her first 300 sales!  Head on over and check out all the great products.  Thanks to Konstantina for hosting!

Teachers for Teresa

One of our teaching colleagues at TPT is critically ill and in need of a hand.  Spearheaded by Cynthia at 2nd grade pad, the sellers have donated items and are selling a packet worth $115.00 for only a $25.00 donation!!  I'm going to link you to Cynthia's blog since I can't get the Paypal donation button to load on my post.  Please click on the picture below to read more!

Please add your prayers to ours for a complete recovery for Teresa and prayers for strength and peace for her family.

Too Good not to Share

Hey all!  I am so excited to have my freebie featured on Primary Paradise's new weekly Facebook Feature (mine is #2)

:

There are five fantastic free resources for teachers today, all dealing with Thanksgiving themes! She plans on doing it every week, so be sure to like her page so you don't miss any of the freebies.  This made my day; I love quality freebies!

It's Turkey Time!

Now that Halloween is past, it's time to gear up for Thanksgiving-themed activites.  I created a Thanksgiving subject/predicate center to use at my library center, and I would like to offer it to you as well.  Click on the picture below to get your free copy of "Thanksgiving Sentence Puzzles."  Enjoy!

Teachers Helping Teachers

Never have I been more proud to be a part of the teaching community at TeacherspayTeachers than I am at this time.  One of the sellers who was moderately affected by Hurricance Sandy has put together this incredible drive to donate teaching resources to those teachers who lost everything in their classrooms due to the storm. If you would like to help out, click on the picture below to got to Laurah's blog, The ESOL Odessy, for more information on how you can help.  I thought back to setting up a classroom from scratch and donated two of my resources that I thought would be most helpful:  Monthly Newsletter Templates for the Busy Teacher Vol. I and II; including monthly blank calendars and Helping Hands Job Chart.

If you are a teacher affected by the storm and would like to request help, please click this picture. It will take you to a form to fill out requesting help.

God bless all of you.  Your road to recovery may be long, but know that the teaching community will help you any way we can.

A Huge Giveaway!

Just a quick post today between another busy Saturday full of activities to let you know about another giveaway I'm taking part in.

My TeachersPayTeachers colleague, Wendy, is have a 200 follower giveaway!  Congratulations to Wendy on reaching that milestone!  You can go to her blog, Teacher's Toolkit, to enter. Just click on the button below to enter the one, two, three, four, or five of five giveaways she has organized.

Election Day in USA is quickly approaching.  If you're still lookig for a way to teach your children about the process, consider my election unit at TeacherpayTeachers.   You can see the resource here.

Have a great Saturday, everyone.  We will be trick-or-Treating tonight since Sandy blew into town and postponed our Halloween.  Today I'm thankful that we are able to trick-or-treat today.  I imagine there are many children in New York and New Jersey who will not get to trick-or-treat this year.