My Thanksgiving Break

I hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving Break.  I had a very fun and packed break but not extremely productive.  I was hoping to get more work done, but family and fun won out.  I got to see my extended family including my 3 month old nephew,  I did a little shopping and went to watch my daughter in her regional cheer competition.  (They won and are heading to Nationals in 10 days!)

Here is a quick freebie I am using for tomorrows "What did you do on your Thanksgiving Break?" writing.  I am hoping by doing the graphic organizer first, it will help the students come up with  more than "nothing".  Click here to download it.

Also, if you haven't heard there is a Cyber Monday plus Tuesday sale starting soon at Teachers Pay Teachers.  My store and many others will be 28% off.  Don't forget to enter the Promo Code.

Math Center Freebie and Thanksgiving Giveaway

I have just returned from a 5 day camping trip with the family.  We were roughing it in tents, however it was at Disney, so not really that rough.  We didn't do the parks, just enjoyed time with great friends and family relaxing.

Tonight it is easy to pick what I am most thankful for.  I am thankful for my bed, a shower I don't need to wear flip flops in and the magical memories we made this weekend.

I was "filing" on my computer and ran across a fun activity for your math center.  I will be putting this in my Super 6 Learning Centers tomorrow.  Click here to get to download it.

Don't forget to enter the Thanksgiving Thank You to Our Followers for your chance to win $100 in gift cards. 

 

We will each be sending the winner a $20.00 gift card.  After all, who couldn't use an extra $100.00 in gift cards for the holidays?

All you need to do is go over to Granny Goes to School and enter!  You will need to follow our blogs (2 entries per blog following), follow us in TpT (2 entries per TpT following,) and if you can blog about our give-away- 10 entries!  It's possible to earn  a total of 30 entries. 

A Freebie and I am Thankful for You Thanksgiving Give-A-Way!

We are limited on copies at my school, but it is really hard to teach Firsties to write in their composition books.  So I made this PowerPoint slide that I use every morning for daily language and math review.  Each morning I quickly change the word of the day, question of the day and the number of the day (it corresponds with the day of school we are on).  The students are doing well with it.  Here it is for you to download FREE to use.  I may get really ambitious one day and put together a set for the year.

This month I am focusing on all of the things I am thankful for in my life!  I am thankful for my new blog and the many new blogging buddies I have connected with.  To show my appreciation I have teamed up with 4 other bloggers to offer my very first give-a-way!  

 

We will each be sending the winner a $20.00 gift card.  After all, who couldn't use an extra $100.00 in gift cards for the holidays?

All you need to do is go over to Granny Goes to School and enter!  You will need to follow our blogs (2 entries per blog following), follow us in TpT (2 entries per TpT following,) and if you can blog about our give-away- 10 entries!  It's possible to earn  a total of 30 entries. Here is what the winner will receive:

 

Teresa at Fun in K-1 will be giving away a $20.00 Gift Card to Target. 

Cindy at Granny Goes to School will be giving away a $20.00 Gift Card to Old Navy.




Rikki at  The Hive will be giving away a $20.00 Gift Card to MAC Cosmetics.

Megan at Mrs. Wheeler's First Grade is giving away a $20.00 Gift Card to The Limited.
 

Ash at Pixy Stix and Teacher Tricks is giving away a $20.00 Gift Card to Target
 

So what are you waiting for??? Go over to Granny Goes to School and enter!

Class Behavior Challenges and Thanksgiving

Oh my what a class I have this year!  Not to brag, but normally my class is very well behaved and I have very good behavior management.  This year, WOW!  It is tough, I really don't have any one typical behavior problem.  Just a mix of very active, chatty, disrespectful and helpless children.  I am trying everything under the sun and have not found something yet.  Class behavior rewards, terrific tallies, bribery, behavior chart, CHAMPS, whole group instruction, small group instruction, you name it.  I will not give up and I will succeed.  (When I figure it out I will be sure to share.)  I just read an interesting post on doing away with the typical behavior chart (read it here) and maybe since mine doesn't seem to work anyway I should try it?  I did make a little head way with a few students today.  The lost their privilege to participate in learning centers, they had to do the work by themselves at their seats.  They really did not like this, so hopefully...

OK now that I have vented (sorry)  I am going to start focusing on the positives and what I am thankful for this month.

Today I am thankful for the new technology we have been lucky enough to receive at school.  I have been given a new MacBook Pro and iPad for the classroom within the last 7 days.  (I know don't hate me too much.)  

I started my First Thanksgiving unit today.  I had the students complete their K and W of the KWL.  If you didn't grab this freebie earlier, you can get it here FREE.

I learned today that my kids don't really know much about the First Thanksgiving.  I am excited to be able to teach them all about it.

Also- you all JUST HAVE TO COME BACK ON Saturday.  Why, you are asking... 4 of my blogger friends and I are having a Thanksgiving Thank You Raffle for our followers.  The five of us are each giving away a fun $20.00 gift certificate.  That's $100.00 in gift certificates, just in time for the holidays. 

The First Thanksgiving FREEBIE

I am starting The First Thanksgiving today.  I like to start new topics with a KWL chart to see what the students already know and what they would like to learn.  I usually do a big KWL all together.  I thought it would be fun for the students to do their own small KWL maps.  I created this little packet to help us with our learning and a summary writing activity at the end of this topic.

I am copying the "What I think I know" map and the "What I want to learn" map front and back to use as an opening activity.  At the end of the unit I am going to have the students use the "What I learned" map and writing paper.  Click here to download your copy FREE.

This Freebie is featured on Classroom Freebies Manic Monday!  www.classroomfreebies.com is a great resource filled with FREE resources everyday, but on Mondays WOW it is fabulous!  
What is your favorite Thanksgiving activity you do in your class?

November... What a Month and a Math Freebie!

Oh my November just began and the time is flying!  We are lucky enough to have the entire Thanksgiving week off, but that means I have two weeks to teach regular curriculum, election Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving!  Oh Wow!  How will I fit it in?  

I am thankful for Teachers pay Teachers!  I love making things and sharing them with people.  I also really love the great time saving resources other fabulous teachers make and share!  I know I have found some great things lately.  

I am paying it forward, here is a cute math Freebie with the Common Core 120 chart.  Students will be number detectives and fill in the missing numbers.

Click here to grab your free!

I better get back to figuring out how to fit it all in.

Pencils????

Pencils and my students drive me insane!  Seriously, what do they do with them?  I think they eat them or maybe I have a pencil fairy in the room taking pencils.  Every time we start an activity at least 3 or 4 kids can't find their pencil.  Pencils are always on the floor too!  Then I find them and and the erasers are gone and even the metal caps.  

Then when they have the pencils, it is the sharpening.....  If you sharpen one pencil suddenly everyone needs their pencil sharpened.  I try to have a cup of sharpened pencils and a cup of pencils to sharpen.  Although the sharpen pencils are taken and the "to be sharpened" cup never has pencils in it.  

I am at a loss of what to try.  I have desks so I can't have a table bucket with supplies.  Should I number pencils with their student numbers and give every student 2.  Should I put little flags on the pencils with their names,  I am teaching first this year, although some of my kids really are more like K.  I mean they will actually sit there and just look at the paper and half way through the assignment when I ask why they have not started they say "I don't have a pencil."  Really!

I need tips and suggestions, what do you do??  Am I the only teacher who has this problem?