Day #7 Christmas Giveaway

It's Day #7 for Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Design's Giveaway!! 

Featuring the wonderful Teaching with a Mountain View, The Price of Teaching, and Molly Maloy!

Enter to win $30 to Amazon and $20 in TPT Store Credits! 

:)

Click HERE and click the "Giveaway" tab on Zippy's Facebook!

Day #6 of Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Design's Giveaway!

Sooo excited for you to enter my friend Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Design's Giveaway!  With some wonderful people - Georgia Grown Kiddos, Kindergarten Smorgasboard, and Deedee Wills! It doesn't get much better :)

For more info, enter HERE and click the "GIVEAWAY" tab!!

Happy Holidays!!!

The World of Foxyland

 My first graders and I had the chance to review "Welcome to Foxyland" by Wald Peterson.  My kiddos always get very excited about read alouds, especially about animals :)

"Welcome to Foxyland" is about Foxycat (half fox, half cat) going on adventures through his world, Foxyland.  He encounters many fun animal friends and his world is very magical.  The kids dove right in with loving Foxycat and excited to see what he was going to do next.

Here is a preview below of what the text looks like:

 As you can see, the pages are a little lengthy.  I do not recommend to Kindergarten or below, but definitely first grade and above.  We split this book into chapters and the read aloud took 3 times.  This gave me the opportunity to discuss key factors of text like predictions, main idea, details, characterization, and setting.  

The way Wald Peterson describes the world of Foxyland is that of a dream.  It allowed my firsties to dive into a magical land that is very much unlike earth... It looks like it, but one of my students said it was "magical" and "really cool" :) 

My kiddos loved the book and even though it was lengthier than some of my read alouds, this book held their attention.  During their free time after their work was finished, some of them even drew the lovable and curious Foxycat.

If you would like to check out more information or purchase Foxycat for your students, please click HERE and explore the fun of Foxyland! :) Through this link, there are even chances to WIN your own copy!!!

Have a wonderful and foxy day everyone!

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

I am so excited to be kicking off THE FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS for Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Design's amazing 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!  I am so excited to be doing this again this year and to be teaming up with some wonderful ladies - Creating Teaching Inspiring and Good Enough Teacher.

Who doesn't love Amazon.com?  You can get almost anything on Amazon.  We are giving away a $30 Amazon gift card!! It's such a wonderful site full of goodies for you, your kids, your whole family!  Treat yourself to something nice if you win ;)

Also up for grabs is $5 TPT Store Credit to my store (Laura Love to Teach), Creating Teaching Inspiring's store, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Design's Store, and featured is also Good Enough Teacher's awesome writing craftivity - If I were an elf :) So many goodies and awesome things!

Did I mention I love the holidays? Because I really do.  Thank you for following my blog, TPT store, and anywhere in between.  It is truly appreciated and I hope you have a wonderful month!  Best of luck in the giveaway - please enter below using the rafflecopter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also don't forget!  It's the last day of the Teachers Pay Teachers Cyber Monday (AND TUESDAY) Sale!! It's the last day, so don't forget to pick up some great goodies... even my bundles are on sale :)

Don't forget to grab my after holiday freebie as well :) 

Happy Holidays!

Common Core Resources

Hello everyone!  Happy Early Thanksgiving.  I hope you all have a wonderful time with your family and friends.  I wanted to share with you a few products that I received and had the chance to review.

The first one is Real World Mats for Grade 1.  These mats, available in multiple grade levels, allow for the teacher to provide students with something extra - authentic experiences. 

 

 What I liked about these was that these mats contained topics that children recognize in their world's.  I liked how the mats were in color and can be used with dry erase/wet erase.  If one student or a pair were working together for an extension activity, the dry erase markings would answer the questions and it would be enough for assessment.  The boards fold out and are big enough for little hands to write on and have enough room :)

 There are also recording sheets that can be used for any work mat and these were easy to follow as well.  The recording sheets I used when we did a center rotation for related topics and they were unable to write on the mats.  An idea could be that if you wanted your children to still do dry erase they could erase before they go to their next choice center, however, it would be time consuming :)

Do what is best for your students and your classroom.  The positives I take away from Common Core and working at such a wonderful school are student choice and individuality.

 The Real World Mats are great for math and language arts centers and can be also used as extension activities for enrichment or early finishers.  I keep these in a reachable place so when students are finished with an activity, they can quietly choose a real world mat and have fun while working!

I also have the Carson Dellosa Reading Comprehension and Skills book (First Grade) - This was an important resource that really enhanced my curriculum.  What I liked about this book is that each standard appears in the upper right hand corner of each page.  The book is categorized and separated by skill and strategy, and I am able to pull from the book quickly whenever a topic arises.  The students are also getting a lot out of reading paragraphs, underlining and highlighting key details and words, and performing an activity based on main idea, retelling, sequence, opinion, grammar, etc.

Take a look at some of these sample pages.  These two examples are about writing opinions.  The students read a short little paragraph and answer questions about the passage based on what skill we are talking about.  Some of my kiddos are not fluent readers yet and the small readings help keep their stamina and attention.  

Some of the passages are short, but some are also lengthier.  It's a nice variety for different leveled readers.  I did not take more pictures of us doing this activity since they were so engaged and busy working as I was facilitating :)  Please let me know if you have any questions about these 2 products, but I highly recommend them! They have already helped my firsties a lot!

Disclaimer: Carson Dellosa sent me products in exchange for a blog post, but all opinions in this post are mine.

Best Pencil Sharpener

 

Classroom Friendly Supplies is a company created by an elementary school teacher (Troy Decoff) who understand the importance of a sharpener that will not interrupt students when they are doing their work, and gets the job done - the best.  The best points and the quickest sharpener I have ever had.

So far there are many amazing colors that this sharpener comes in.  

I am so lucky to be one of the first to introduce to you...

THE POPULAR PURPLE.

This color really will make your classroom POP.  I keep mine near my teacher supplies and my guided reading table.  My firsties were so adorable when I first introduced to them our new Classroom Friendly Supplies Popular Purple - they loved the color and how sharp the points got.  My kiddos could also not believe how QUICK it was compared to our very expensive electric sharpener.  Their smiles and squeals of delight made me so happy - your kids will also be so happy!

 Very easy to use.  After a pinch of the black knobs together and placing the pencil inside ready to turn the handle, voila - you only need a couple cranks of the handle, and your pencil is SHARP and ready to go.

 The picture above shows the before and after of already sharpened pencils (from my electric sharpener) and using the Popular Purple.  Definitely a difference - and some of my first graders might press a little hard when writing, but the sharp point of these pencils stays and is very durable.  That was important to me!

To order yours and check out other reviews and products, please visit Classroom Friendly Supplies.  You will not be sorry with your purchase for a great price that was cut in half from my electric sharpener.  :)  They also sell replacements in case you just need a small part and you don't have to buy another whole sharpener.  Troy and his company really thought of everything - You and your class deserve one. Check it out!

Chalkola

 Hello my lovely blogging buddies! I hope your school years are going wonderful - whether you are a school teacher, home school teacher, or taking time with your babies at home :) 

I was very excited to be introduced to CHALKOLA.  Chalkola markers are used on chalkboards, whiteboards, windows, plastic, and mirrors - AND the ink is easily removed.. with the swipe of a wet wipe!

Instantly when I took the chalkola markers out of the case, my firsties were very excited.  They crowded around to see the fun paint-like substance that came out of these pens!  Easy to use, they were eager to try.  They LOVED that they could use these on our chalkboards and really liked the way the "colors popped!" 

 

See below for a few tips of how to use Chalkola:

 1. Have the markers ready for the students ahead of time.  Once each marker has the "paint" set and ready to go, students will be able to use with ease.  They take a minute or so to work after you press down on the tip to get the ink flowing.  Very similar to paint markers I have used.  Once the ink sets though, you are ready to go!  The bigger markers can get a little messy to prep, be careful :)

2. Depending on how much ink is being used, make sure your smaller kiddos have plenty of wipes to use to clean their boards.  One wipe did not always work for the white boards we used.  If the paint does get on clothes, it is easily washable :)

3. Show your students how to use first! Lots of modeling and discussing on the right way to use these and what surfaces they can use these on as well.  It will be a little while before I let my first graders use the BIG 15mm markers, but they are happily enjoying the 6 mm ones!

Here are the links to these liquid chalk markers - and LOOK!  Order using the code CHK20OFF for the 15mm markers or CHALK20A for the 6mm pens.  Let me know if you have any questions!

15mm Markers Link

20% Off on Amazon - Use Code -> CHK20OFF

6mm Pens Link

Amazon UK Link

20% Off on Amazon - Use Code -> CHALK20A

My 2015-2016 Classroom

Oh my goodness, it has been such a long time since I have blogged... over the past few months, I have worked so hard to make sure I was all ready for my first graders in September.  It has been a crazy, hard-working, and tiring summer but I would not change it for anything.  I got engaged in August and got my dream job teaching first grade :)

Here are some pictures of my classroom, before and after:

 I can remember taking the "before" picture and wanting my classroom to be finished, rushing to buy EVERYTHING I could, print on TPT and laminate, but there was so little time to make it exactly the way I wanted it.  I knew after taking that picture that I would see the progress over the months,  and make it my sweet children's second home.  (And by the way, my kids really are so sweet!)

These photos were taking just before our Back to School Open House night.  I am proud of the organized classroom it has become!

My calendar/reading/meeting area :) 

 Just a few different angles!  You will see in my writing area that I have A Cupcake for the Teacher's wonderful Writing Center Kit! Such a wonderful resource for the kids.

 My job chart has been a huge hit with my students.  I love this template from Primarily Au-Some on TPT - check it out! It also comes in different themes :)

 One of our first units was teaching all about apples.  We read apple books, made apple sauce, and discovered all about the life cycle of an apple tree.

Here are some amazing apple freebies for first grade!

Apple Unit from Khrys Bosland

Johnny Appleseed Freebie from Jungle Learners

 

Seasons of an Apple Tree with Mrs. Hoffer's Spot 

 

Enjoy! Have a wonderful school year and happy fall!