Dollar Store Finds

What to do when you have about 30 minutes before you have to pick son up from soccer? 

1. Stay in sweltering sun and watch him play?

No way.

2. Go through drive-thru at Dunkin Donuts to get their Fabo Iced Tea?

Yes, please.

And then head next door to The Dollar Tree!  I had to move fast but I did get some things I needed...and a few things I didn't need but will find a use for.  Some highlights...

Yea for Butterfly Nets! I'm using them to "catch" some good stories floating around and

then putting the ideas into my pocket for later use.  Think of the fun you can have doing this!  Kids will love it!  I only got 3 because I'm afraid they'll be loving it a little too much and I'd have 20 sweeties waving these nets all day long!

Smart beads...10 for $1.00.  These tend to break pretty easily so I knew I needed some extras.  In the past, I've had these hanging up but I'm thinking I'm going to make a fancy bin/jar/can to store them in.  I'm thinking of letting kids wear them home this year and then returning the next day.  What do you do?  Would love to hear your system.

The hot item right now!  Will tackle birthday balloons soon.  Just not sure what lovely template I'll be using or if I'll design my own. I almost bought these at Target last week but they were 3 for $1.  Here: 6 for a buck!  What luck!

These are HUGE!  They had Birthday Girl and Birthday Boy which I put in my basket first.  But then I got to thinking...what if I had more than one kid celebrate on the same day and both were girls or both boys?  It's happened.  So I went with these. I'm going to allow kids to wear home and bring them back.  Maybe I should have picked up an extra just in case...

Aren't these oh, so cute!  I'm not sure what I'll do with them.  They're about 8 inches tall. Maybe BottleCap Letter and Number Storage?  Thinking, thinking...  They had black pinstripe and some other bright and funky color sombos as well.  They had hundreds and hundreds just waiting to be plucked off the shelf!

A good 30 minutes, yes? 

Words Of Wisdom Linky Party

I'm joining Deb from Fabulously First for a linky party that asks teachers to share words of wisdom with those just starting out in our profession.  I've been teaching since 1988 (minus a few years!) and love teaching just as much today- if not more- than I did when I started.  So, here are my thoughts: 

(It took me a while to figure out to print in the boxes! I had to remove the existing words or else font size was too small. Sorry!)

Student Letters and Make-a-Word

Even though I haven't been out of school a week yet, I've already received a few emails from two of my sweeties.

One wrote:

I did it! I got my library card! You were right! I do feel smarter! Then she listed the books she checked out. Most were sequels of books we read in class.

How adorable is that!?  She had been using her Dad's card but I explained to the class that they were old enough to get one and "feel the power" themselves.

The second email came today:

"I lost my tooth but the tooth fairy didn't come.  I am mad.  I have nothing to do. I can't find my Tooth Fairy Make-A Word.  I made 1,000 words in school. My mouth hurts so I might get ice cream tonight.  I miss you.

Poor kid!  No cash from the Tooth Fairy and bored with nothing to do!  (At least imagination is working...1000 words? Oh, my!)

I sent three make-a-words to him and then decided to send them to all my other cuties for a little summer fun! (My class LOVED these and got so good at them! Check out my Free September/October pack!

Why do I love these?

Word Wizard “Make-a-Words” are effective spelling activities to reinforce sound/letter combinations. With September and October themes, these printable worksheets will help your students practice and improve their phonetic skills. These worksheets can be used for literacy center time or independent practice.

Introducing Make-a-Word activities to my class has been a gamechanger for my students. In the beginning, we make words together. I use Magnetic Letters on the board and we manipulate them into words AFTER noticing the letters in the word: the digraphs, vowels, the “s” for plurals, etc. I always remind them that each word MUST have a vowel.

After some independent practice, I often allow them to work together and always have a two-minute break where kids share out a word they made. I’ll write them on board (as we discuss the combinations we see) and students are allowed to “grab” them and add a word to his or her own paper if desired.

Vert guided the first few months but honestly, by the end of the year, kids are able to get dozens- sometimes even a hundred words!  

The following themes are included in this packet...FOR FREE!

September
★Welcome Back
★Labor Day
★Making Friends
★September
★Grandparents
★John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed)

October
★Fire Safety
★Columbus Day
★Harvest
★Spooky Night
★October
★Leaves
★Rainy Days

Looky Looky! Monday Made It on Tuesday!

Thanks to 4th Grade Frolics, I've joined her linky party

(excuse the tardiness but I just read about Monday Made It today!)

Inspired by this on Pinterest:

I ran to Michael's today and then turned my old, small table

into this with Duct Tape.  (Duck Brand Zebra Stripe.)

I love the popular zebra and pink ribbon that seems to be everywhere but I think I'm going to go with red. Not sure.  I picked up some ribbon and am debating if I should add a little and if so, which one?  (I was thinking of running a strip on the front side about 1/2 way down. Apples? Stripes?  Maybe run it around the top lip to give it a finished look?)

It took two rolls and 45 minutes.  If I had to do it over again,

I think I would have painted inside legs/sides black.

EDITED TO ADD:  I think I answered my own answer. The ribbon really finished the look of this

side-table-soon-to-be-classroom... something!

Thanks for looking!

School's Out and Schools In...

School ended yesterday and the timing coudln't be better.

I.
Am.
Sick.

"Just" a cold but one that has packed such a punch, I ache all over.

So, I've been lazing about thinking about NEXT year already. I am switching buildings and my new classroom has no area rug. UGH!

You see, that is the one item (next to small whiteboards and document camera!) that I cannot live without.
So I won't.

I just ordered this baby from Schoolsin.com:

They had the best price (by hundreds of dollars!) that I could find.  For $325 (with delivery!) it could be yours, too.

Now that is some serious cash, isn't it?  The good news and the bad news:  my sweeties gave me a Visa giftcard at Christmas and another one at the end of the year that will not only cover it, but will leave me with some money left over.  So that is very, very good.

The bad news is that I won't be getting a few items from Brighton that I had planned on splurging on with the money.  Sigh.

My love affair with this carpet came about around ten years ago when I was a K-5 media specialist and was allowed to order it. When I returned to the classroom, I used giftcards to buy the small one since I couldn't take the one in teh library with me. (LOVE those gift cards!)  But when I left the classroom, I gave it to my sister-in-law who opened up a gym since I knew it would be great for her kiddie room.

I could get it back but 1. I know she needs it, and 2. I want the 30 dot one like I had in the library.

What's so great about this carpet?  Since my firsties spend so much time on the carpet, it so helps with classroom management.  Makes carpet time a breeze.  Everyone has their own space AND there's no traffic jams getting up/sitting down to go to easel, bathroom, etc.  My green and red dots step to outside "free" aisle and can easily walk and my orange and yellow dots have the purple dot aisle which I leave open for that very purpose.

I HEART it!

So ordering it today not only brought me peace of mind for next year, It made me feel better.

Much.
Much.
Better.

Now that school is over, I am planning on blogging AND reading more blogs on a regular basis.  The last few months were sort of me getting my feet wet!

Hope the sun is shining where you are and you're feeling peachy keen!

Winding Down...

Nine days left with my little monkeys! 

Nine.
More.
Days.

This year flew by!  I say that every year but, me, oh, my!  It's true! I am moving to a new building just two miles away but will still be teaching first grade.  Since we have four kindergarten classes, I knew the fifth first grade wouldn't be needed so it's no surprise I'm moving.

This is the last Make-a-Word activity that we'll be doing this year.  This has always been a favorite of my classes.  Always!  Click on pic if you would like to use it or save for next year.

For those still in school, hang in there...summer is just around the corner!

A Blizzard of Series Books...

Once May hits, I know I only have about 7 weeks left with my little monkeys.  While we've read so many wonderful books this year (favorites of kids so far: Charlotte's Web and Gooney Bird Greene) I know that it's the perfect time to kick it up a notch and read through a blizzard of series books.  I want to get them hooked on the first book in a series- maybe even the second - and have them barrel their way through the rest of the series over the summer.  (Either independently or with family help.) Even my lower readers can get into the action since they'll be familiar with characters, settings, etc.  I also try to have audio books on tape for the kids as well.  Right now, even though we've finished STINK, the audiobook is so FABO, that it's on when they get back from recess each day.

Here are some of the books I've read over last month:

Although I've read two Magic Tree House books to them, so many of the kids are now on their fifth, sixth, or seventh books.  I love them, too! (How can you NOT like a book about a librarian/books? :)

                                                              (Still reading this one! Long!)

Read regular Cam during year so I didn't mind going out of order on this one. Beach weather...ahhh!

 They've been begging me to read another A-Z Mystery so I will this week.  And how did I not know that Ron Roy has The Calendar Mysteries out?  I saw it in book order. Is it new?  Been out for years?  I have no idea.  If I can find a copy, that might be one that kids devour.

I'm so proud of my voracious readers!  If you have any suggestions, please let me know.  Always looking for new ideas.

Happy reading!

Just Sayin'...

Moms everywhere should ban together and JUST SAY NO to team sports on Mother's Day.  (And every other holiday!)  I love my son and of course wanted to see him play soccer but really, coaches...why on Mother's Day EVERY year? 

And why oh why didn't I look at the price of the oh-so-ordinary Mother's Day card I bought for my own mother yesterday?  It was 5.99!  Really, Hallmark?  I know, I know...I should have looked before I bought it.  It really looked like an average $2.49 card.  I'm not cheap but...

Anyway, Happy Mother's Day to all of you out there celebrating and to those who aren't mothers but are loved just as much and often viewed as the second mothers of your students, you rock just as much!

Lovely weather day here in NJ.  I hope the weather is just as nice on Memorial Day since we're having a party.  Speaking of Memorial Day, here's a freebie for you.

My Buckets...

I know many of you implement a Bucket Filler program in your classroom.  When I started looking for "buckets" to display last summer, I came up empty until I saw these in Michaels. 

Aren't they bright and cheery?  They are part of Duff's (Ace of Cakes) collection. At the time, I bought them for $2.49...I think.  (Sidenote:  Did you know that Michaels gives a 15% Teacher Discount?  They reinstated the discount late spring last year after a LONG hiatus.)

Ahhh, I digress!

Anyway, I was at Michaels today and saw them on SALE for $1 so I grabbed a few more!   They actually had large ones (think ice bucket size) but they were full of dents. 

Sigh. 

I'm sure I could have found a good use for them!

Little Things Make Me Happy...

For years, my "paper shelf" in my classroom closet has been a disaster. DISASTER.  Sure, it starts off the year neat and tidy but quickly becomes an embarrassing mess.  Now looky at my 9x12 paper!  Why didn't I do this sooner?

I have two crates filled up and they're so, so, so easy to slide out so I can reach in and grab what I need.  No mess!  No flyaway papers.  Yea!  I no longer will have to cringe when a colleague opens my door to get paper. You can see the longer 11x18 paper next to this crate.  That's next! 

Estimating Anyone?

I always have an estimation station going on in my classroom.  I've learned how helpful it is to show kids what five or ten of the object looks like so they can make a better educated guess.  For Read Across America, I decided to move the station outside near the front office and make it a school-wide affair.  What fun!  (We are only a K-1 school!)

The baggie in front showed what "100" looked like.  I usually don't have such large quantities but I figured this was a special occasion! 

To make it easy (and to save time for our kiddos and teachers,) I actually had the teachers names on the recoding sheet so kids could easily circle them..  It looked like this.  (But precut, of, course!)

The winning guess was, I believe 405 or 605...I forget.  But I do remember who won:  a cutie from my class!  She got to take home a huge bag of goldfish covered in Dr. Seuss ribbon and stickers.

It was so much fun that we're thinking of having a school-wide weekly estimation station next year.  Since it's a small school, it should be easy to implement.  Do you have an estimation station?  Do you give out prizes to the winner? I've gone back and forth as to what I should do but have finally decided on letting the kids sign the Bravo Board.  They LOVE it!  I should take a pic and post it here.  I'd love to hear how you implement yours.

Here is a fun song you can sing with your class.  Enjoy!

And the WINNERS are...

Thanks so much to EVERYONE for following me and blogging about my Katharine books.  You left such sweet comments!  I planned on announcing the winner on March 1st but my new teacher portfolio (after teaching almost 25 years Ha!) was due on the 5th and then I had my final observation, etc.  You teachers know how it is!  BUSY!

So, without further delay, the winner of my six-book series is...

http://sweettimesinfirst.blogspot.com/

And I've decided to pull five other names to win ONE book of their choice as well since I made everyone wait!  So, the five winners who can select a book are:

http://firstgradeblueskies.blogspot.com/

http://babyboybecker0710.blogspot.com/

http://acupcakefortheteacher.blogspot.com/

http://firstgradedelight.blogspot.com/

http://smilinginsecondgrade.blogspot.com/


Go to the post to see book descriptions and pick the one you want:

http://firstgradebloomabilities.blogspot.com/2012/02/chapter-book-series-giveaway.html

Send me your snailmail at lisamullarkey@aol.com.

Congrats!

Thanks and Seuss Song

Hi there~

I cannot tell you how excited I've been to "meet" so many of you the past few days.  I know I still need to respond to many posts and I'm working my way down the list to make sure I'm following all of you as well.  May take me a few more days but I'll get there.  (Oh... contest still open until March 1st!)

In the meantime, here's a quickie Seuss song to the tune of Bingo.  Click on it to download. 

Enjoy!

Knock My Socks Off and Give Me That Crown!

Who needs a Grammy or an Academy Award when are bestowed the Liebster Award?

I would like to thank Linda Nelson over at Primary Inspiration, my agent and manager, George Clooney for his never-ending faith in me, and Brad and Angelina and the kids for their love and support along the way.  I wouldn't be where I am without them!

Go check Linda's Blog and grab her new freebie game, Long I Bullseye, to help your students master the long sound and its most common spelling patterns.

Now for the hard part!  I am supposed to award the Liebster to five newish blogs who have less than 200 followers. I ran into a little 63 minute glitch...I could only find FOUR blogs that didn't have the award yet that met the criteria.  Over an hour searching in the wee hours of the morning! The good news is that I have now been introduced to 52 other awesome blogs! So, with a tap on the shoulder of each blogger and a sprinkle of Liebster fairy dust, I present the Liebster to:

1. Kindergarten Teacher, Tara West, over at Little Minds at Work.   Oh, how I admire the energy of those K teachers!  Go grab her freebie at her TpT Store for an Estimation Jar.

2. Check out the oh, so funny blog of first grade teacher, Miss Squirrels at http://goingnuttyinmisssquirrelsfirstgrade.blogspot.com/.   Really, reading her blog at 5am had me laughing out loud...several times! I heart first grade teachers but I double heart FUNNY ones!

3. Kaci Hoffer is a Kindergarten Teacher.  Visit her blog and get to know her!

4. Second grade teacher, Ms. Lies,  over at http://www.love2teach2.blogspot.com/ . She has a cute Lorax freebie posted.

Yea, bloggers!  Don't forget to check out my giveaway in the post below! FREE BOOKS! Have a great day!

Chapter Book Series Giveaway!

Yea!  I was thrilled to come home yesterday and see my author copies from ABDO!!!  In honor of Katharine's release (Set 2), I'm giving away all six books in this set to one lucky winner. How do you enter?

1.Follow me and leave a comment below. 

or

2.If you Blog about the giveaway on your blog or website,  you'll get FIVE extra entries.  (Just tell me in comments!)

A winner will be randomly chosen on March 1. 

A little background:  Katharine the Almost Great (Set 1) was published in January 2009. I stayed home to write for a few years and only returned to teaching this year.  I honestly loved doing author visits at schools but missed teaching WAY TOO MUCH.  Seriously.  I am so glad I'm back in the classroom where I feel I belong!

So, on with the contest!  Who doesn't need more books (GRL M) for their class library?  The characters are third graders but books are appropriate for kids in grades 1-4 and some wee ones also read them!

This one was inspired by a school visit at EJ Patten School in Perth Amboy, NJ. 

In fact, I dedicated it to them!

Katharine thought the school's art auction would be mucho mega fun. But it's no fun when no one bids on her bowl! To make matters worse, Katharine thinks Miss Priss-A-Poo is the secret bidder outbidding her on everything she wants. But when she spies something she really needs, Katharine makes a plan to get it. Will her plan cause more explode-a-rama bidding drama?

Someone's playing a trick on Katharine and Crockett -- a ring-the-doorbell-and-run-away-quick trick. Could it be The Invisible Man? Or is that Vanessa's shadow lurking outside their door? When Katharine thinks she knows who is Ding Dong Ditching them, she decides to get even. But her prank doesn't turn out quite the way she's planned. Can Katharine make things right again without getting zapped?

Katharine has a decision to make--a hairy scary decision! When her idol, movie star Penelope Parks, cuts her hair for charity, lots of Katharine's classmates donate their hair, too. Penelope says it's the only way to show you shine and sparkle on the inside. But Katharine isn't so sure she wants barely-there hair. Does that mean she's not a caring kid?

Katharine thinks writing is boring. Boring with a capital B. No matter how many details and dollar words she adds to her story, it's never enough for Mrs. Bingsley. Katharine wants a Write Stuff Pencil like everyone else. Even Miss Priss-A-Poo has one! Can she whip her story into shape before the Author's Tea and earn one?

Katharine and Crockett hope to make a splash during swim team tryouts. They want to earn a spot on the Stingrays, especially since Vanessa, the Unsinkable Garfinkle, is on the Sharks. When Katharine does a belly flop in front of everyone and gets caught telling an itty-bitty lie, she feels like shark bait. But when the Unsinkable Garfinkle faces her own troubles, will Katharine dive in to help her out?

Everyone's in the Christmas spirit . . . everyone except Mrs. Bingsley and Crockett! Mrs. Bingsley cancels the Secret Santa, doesn't laugh at jokes, and refuses to sing the new version of ''Jingle Bells.'' And Crockett's father has canceled their Christmas plans. Katharine knows they're both down in the dumps. Will her plan to become Santa's Secret Helper succeed and turn this ho hum season into a holly jolly holiday?

Good luck!  All are quick read-alouds with some good character education themes woven throughout!

An Amazing Giveaway for EVERYONE!

To celebrate having 200 followers, Mandy is giving away a FREE item in her TpT store to everyone that leaves her a comment with email address.  How cool is that? Then, from those comments. two lucky people will win a $10 Amazon Gift card and ALL of the items in her TPT store.  WOWZA! Good luck to all!

Helpful App that's FREE!

Do you have any kids that need to work on fluency?  I have six first graders who are working on this now.  Remember the days of having the kids record using cassette tapes?  So glad those days are behind us.  I just got three iPads for our class (yea!) and I immediately downloaded Quick Voice.  So easy to use and their readings can be saved.

Here's another way I've been using this app:

First of all, I feel like I've been living in a Seinfeld episode.  My class sure has its share of low talkers.  Remember that one?  I kid you not.  I am constantly saying, "Use your loud and proud voice."  It's February and it hasn't worked.  Well, this is where Quick Voice is helping!

I recorded all the kids saying, "Hello."  Guess which kids we couldn't hear on tape?  Guess which kids were SHOCKED and then bummed out? Now guess which kids are working on upping their volume?

I'm pretty confident their low-talking days are almost behind them.  And I'll save them from this fate:

That's why I heart Quick Voice!

Dr. Seuss Quotes

I had to take these down from TpT so now you can get them for free by clicking on first picture.  Enjoy!