New Item, Giveaway, and Cool Links!

Ahh!  I finished my third college course and there are 20 – count ‘em twenty more days of school left!  I am so ready for summer that I cannot even express it!

I have a cute new product in my TPT store.  It is a summer journal jar.  I have made these jars with my kids the last few years as a last day project and they LOVE them!  I buy cute little journals and they decorate them, then they make their journal jars.  I even had a parent of a reluctant writer call me two days after school let out to tell me her child was in his room writing and would not come out! LOL!  I guess he wasn’t a reluctant writer any longer!

Click on the images to check it out in the store!

I buy plastic containers with lids at the dollar store – 3 or 4 for a dollar and put them in little gift bags with the journals.  The kids cut up and fold the strips for their jars.  They are so fun!

Now for the giveaway!  I will give a free copy to two random followers who comment that they shared this giveaway/item on their blog.  Just blog about it, comment and leave a link to your post.  I will close the giveaway at midnight on Wednesday, May 22nd!

My class is doing this fun little project tomorrow:

Click on the image to check it out in my TPT store.

On another note, I’m working on two workshops for this summer.  I am revamping my workshop from last year: Integrating Technology into Literacy Centers and creating a new workshop:l Digital Writing and Publishing with Elementary Students.  I am hoping to try a few more things out with my kiddos, but time is short!

In the process I have found a few great sites that my kids love!

My students are super into comics this year.  I mean sneaking them out of their desks while I am teaching obsessed!  I found this great site a Scholastic and they are in love:

All of a sudden, I am the best teacher ever – according to a class of nine year olds!  I was super impressed with their creativity.  I need to take my ink printer to school tomorrow so they can print their creations without trekking down the hall to pick their copies up.

I would say this site is best for third grade and up.

The other site is a story starter site:

This is a great site to spark imagination and get even the most reluctant writers going.

Do you have any digital/techy writing links or ideas?  I would love to hear them!

A Linky, A Freebie, and a Giveaway!

Wow!  I can’t believe how great this 3 day weekend feels!  Some schools in my area had Friday off too, but I did not have that luck.  I feel such a sense of freedom and like that extra day just helps me recouperrate from the week in a way that 2 days just can’t do!

Kelley from the Teacher Idea Factory is hosting her first Linky Party!

Here is my list of things I can't live without in my classroom!

1. My Promethean Board!

I have had one for 4 years and have come to rely heavily on it. I am so glad that I have one in my new third grade classroom and…it’s newer!  I may have gotten one of the first ones, but now I am getting one of the new ones!

2. Teachers Pay Teachers

TPT is amazing! I have bought more things than I care to think about and it is a bummer I can’t trade them in now that I am switching grades.  I keep debating about selling some tings on there…hmmm.

3. Amazing Reading Sites!

Pebble Go and BookFlix are used daily in my classroom. They are amazing resources for the kids and to support instruction!

                

4. Blogs!

What an amazing resource and support system blogging has been.  I have had some many great intereactions and my blog has provided me with a chance to reflect on my practice and share what I am doing.

5. Live Writer

I downloaded Live Writer after Cara Carroll mentioned that she used it to write her blog.  It is soooo much easier to deal with than Blogger!

6. Microsoft Powerpoint

Again, the fabulous Cara Carroll mentioned that she designed all of her documents on Powerpoint.  What an amzing change!  It makes creating things for the classroom so much easier because it isn’t as fussy about placng things as Word and Publisher.  I can easily moved and add elements.

7. Document Camera

I love this little guy!  It has made teaching games and doing a worksheet as a class so much easier because I can project anything using my computer.

8. Sqworl

This is a great site for creating bookmarks using an image of the site.  I love being able to see the sites I have bookmarked!

---

Here’s another summer freebie! Can you tell I am making things for the last few weeks?  This watermelon project is one of those great fillers when you just need to fill a half hour with quiet work.  Enjoy!

---

Yearn to Learn is having a give away! Check it out!

 

Giveaway–Final Hours!!!

I would love to hear ideas from everyone out there! I love finding new resources and ideas through the blog world. Link up to the Linky Party and share the technology resources and activities that you use in your classroom for centers!

This is also a giveaway! The winner will win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com!

Leave me a comment on the main page for each of the entries you make.

***The giveaway has been extended to Friday, April 20th at midnight!***

Ways to enter:
1 - Link up with the linky party - Click here.
2 – Add the linky party badge to your blog
3 - Follow me
4 – Follow me on Pinterest (click on the left or go to: http://pinterest.com/christine1st/)
5 - Blog about this party and giveaway on your blog

Technology and Literacy Centers Linky Party

How do you use technology during literacy centers?  I am working on a regional workshop presentation for grades K-5 this summer on integrating technology into you literacy centers and I thought I would put together a few posts about how I integrate technology into my center routine. 

Day 1: Organization of Centers
Day 2: Listening Centers
Day 3: Work on Reading
Day 4: Work on Words
Day 5: Work on Writing
Day 6: Tools for Centers

I would love to hear ideas from everyone out there!  I love finding new resources and ideas through the blog world.  Link up to the Linky Party and share the technology resources and activities that you use in your classroom for centers! 



<center><a href="http://hoppingintofirstgrade.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1191.photobucket.com/albums/z473/cngreen1/Picture1.jpg"/></a></center>

This is also a giveaway! The winner will win a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com!

 Leave me a comment on this main page (there will be link backs) for each of the entries you make. Giveaway will end Monday, April 16th at midnight, but the linky will continue. Ways to enter:

1 - Link up with the linky party - see below
2 – Add the linky party badge to your blog
3 - Follow me
4 – Follow me on Pinterest (click on the left or go to: http://pinterest.com/christine1st/)
5 - Blog about this party and giveaway on your blog

I can't wait to find some wonderful new ideas!

Clutter-Free Classroom Project…and Other Stuff

First – I am sooo close to 100 followers!!! I never thought I would get here!  I think I feel another give-away coming on.  Stay tuned!!!

Second – whew!  What a day!  I had a field trip, 2 trainings (1 during school and 1 after), bus duty, a roller skating party, and one of the trainings was at another building…and I only had 10 minutes for lunch between our return from the field trip and my training.  The kids were super excited for the trip and you know how the day goes when they are so excited about something.  I had a 3:1 chaperone ratio, but was still dealing with behaviors constantly.  That is another matter entirely.  Let’s just say this has not been an easy year for behaviors or, shall we say, adult supports. 



Thirdly, are you following the Clutter Free Classroom Project?  We just got the assignments for this week. 
Today I wanted to post about my “non-negotiables” for purging.
As a side story, I have to tell everyone that I was a reading teacher a few years ago and another reading teacher and I combined rooms in the old room of a retired teacher.  Our rule was anything older than me HAD to go!  Can I tell you there was a game from 1950 something?!?  We also found that she had literally copied class sets of entire books and FILED them.  We had copy paper boxes full of sets of papers we were recycling by the time we had cleaned out the room.  Then…a construction worker left the ceiling hatch open, it rained and flooded the hallway.  They had to shovel piles of disintegrated papers out of the hallway!  Amazingly, it was all cleaned up by the time I got to school.  Can you imagine?
Anyway, here is my list of non-negotiables.

• Anything that I haven’t used in 5 years (that is how long I have been teaching 1st where I am).
• Books from programs that are no longer used – I can’t throw them away, but I can put them in a nice little closet for someone to use, should they wish to)
• Multiple copies of papers and books (other than books for listening centers).
• Picture books I have not read in five years.
• Odd items that I have bought or collected that are in a box because they have no other home.
• Copies or files that I am never likely to use or ones that I do not have a place for.
• Old units and binders full of resources that are no longer used…can I do it?

Hmm – I think that is about it for now.  I have mentioned before that I have very little in my room that I do not own personally.  So, I plan to put things that belong to the classroom or items I can purge for whoever may take my classroom in the future in a forlorn little closet that is blocked by my bank of computers.  Is that cheating?


What are your purging rules?

Randomness and Giveaways!

I go back to school tomorrow.  Bummer!  It is so sad, but it is snowing pretty heavy right now and I am hoping for a you-know-what day!  Yeah, right – but a girl can hope.  I have really enjoyed my time off.  This has been a challenging year for me so far and I really needed to recharge my batteries!  I really hope that the kids will follow along when I say that it is a new year and is that special time in first grade when we don’t need many reminders about routines, expectations and homework. 

I didn’t do much schoolwork during vacation.  I went to my classroom for about 2 hours and made copies on our super-duper new copier.  Well, they imported it from the middle school because we had run ours into the ground over the last 5 years.  I really thought is was going to suck me into the machine the first time I used it!

I also revamped my spelling program.  I have been giving individualized spelling lists for each of my students, writing 4-5 words in each of their notebooks each week.  It was taking for-ev-er this year and the kids were not always keeping up their part of the routines.  I have them do buddy tests, but 4 weeks in and it was still really tough routine to get under our belts.  I did it this way for 3 years and never thought about abandoning it until now. 

We have “constants” lists in our elementary grades and the spelling constants are high frequency words.  I have students on the kindergarten list, the first grade list, and a few on the second grade list.  That means 21 individual lists made from 3 grade level lists comprised of about 200 words. I just can’t do it any more.  So, I split each list into phonics patterns, adding a few words to round out each list.  I will be giving a typed list to the students from either the k, 1, or 2 list.  This means, 3 spelling test, rather than buddy tests. I will be differentiating, just not to the crazy extent that I was.  Maybe instead of memorizing words that do not follow patterns and then forgetting them by the end of the year, my students will learn some spelling strategies and retain more of their constants.

I have resolved to not feel guilty about this.  It is one of those crazy things where you feeling like your not doing enough because you are not doing something the way everyone else is.  I am the queen of feeling guilty!

On another note, there are a ton of giveaways going on!

Kelley at Buggy for Second Grade is having a giveaway!  She is celebrating 100 followers and is giving away a customized wreath.  Check out her cute blog and the giveaway!

Shake it Up in First Grade is also having a giveaway!  You have 3 chances to score a $25 gift card for Barnes and Noble.  Check it out!

I never win giveaways! But I love to have them.  I am planning another one if I ever reach 100 followers! 

Have a great Tuesday!

We Have a Winner

Holly of Criss Cross Applesauce had comment number 12 and is the winner of the little goodie package!

Holly, send me an email with your info. and I will get your package in the mail.

Thank you to everyone who participated!

---

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to attend a conference with Sharon Taberski!  She wrote:

    

She was an amazing presenter!  She really made me think about how I am teaching comprehension skills.  Her main point was that we spend to much time teachign strategies without really teaching children to comprehend.  She emphasized the importance of modeling and developing oral language in the early grades.  She really took me back to how I taught 5-6 years ago, when I taught more of a balanced literacy approach with lots of shared reading and did not focus so much on worksheets and written response. 

The other point I am taking to heart is that we need to give students time to develop their understanding in content areas as well.  She talked about KWLs and how important it is that we use them, not at the beginning of a unit, but after we have exposed students to content.  Then students will have more deep questions that foster their learning instead of those random-out-of-left-field questions that get us no where.

If you ever get the chance to check out these books or attend a Sharon Taberski presentation, do because she was to the point and extremely knowledgeable!

---

Lastly,  please share what you do for listening centers with my first Linky Party. I‘d love to hear what others are doing.

Giveaway Reminder

There is a bit of time to enter my 2nd giveaway! Click on the picture to go to the earlier post.

The winner receives 2 Dr. Seuss Bags (from Target during the summer), a box of Crayola Dry Erase Crayons, a package of 24 “Awesome” Bookmarks, a set of 30 paper puzzle pieces from the Dollar Tree, and maybe a few surprises thrown in!

There are two ways to enter this giveaway:
1. Follow my blog - leave a comment on the original post (click on the picture to go there) that you either already follow or have become a follower.

2. Blog about this give away on your blog and link back – leave a comment on the original post (click on the picture to go there) that you have blogged and a link (I would love to check out more blogs!)

This giveaway closes on Friday, December 2nd at mid-night. I will announce the winner on Monday the 5th.
Good luck!

2nd Giveaway!

Okay – so I think I might need to be on Hoarders For Teachers!  I am a bit of an impulse buyer and end up with great things that I thought I would use and never do.  This, plus the fact that I have topped 60 followers. means I have some fun stuff for a giveaway!

The winner receives 2 Dr. Seuss Bags (from Target during the summer), a box of Crayola Dry Erase Crayons, a package of 24 “Awesome” Bookmarks, a set of 30 paper puzzle pieces from the Dollar Tree, and maybe a few surprises thrown in!

There are two ways to enter this giveaway:

1. Follow my blog - leave a comment that you either already follow or have become a follower.

2. Blog about this give away on your blog and link back – leave a comment that you have blogged and a link (I would love to check out more blogs!)

This giveaway closes on Friday, December 2nd at mid-night. I will announce the winner on Monday the 5th.

Good luck!

Teacher Week 2011

Just a reminder that my give away of a class set of 24 Double-Sided Word Strips from the Target Dollar Spot (and a few fun surprises!)

There are two ways to enter this giveaway:

1. Follow my blog - leave a comment that you either already follow or have become a follower.

2. Blog about this give away on your blog and link back – leave a comment that you have blogged and a link (I would love to check out more blogs!)

This giveaway closes on Sunday, August 21st at mid-night. I will announce the winner on Monday the 22nd.

Next week is also Teacher Week 2011!!!

Join in the fun by clicking below and hopping over!

I have a short staff development in the morning tomorrow to introduce us to our new math series!  I am beyond excited!!! It is a first for our grade level, as we do not have established programs for many things.  At times this is good because we can use the materials we want and teach in a way that meets our style.  On the other hand, when you have piles and binders of resources, it can be more overwhelming than anything else.  The new series complements the new CORE curriculum and I am hoping that curriculum writing will be easier after I get my hands on the materials!

I am planning to spend the rest of the day in my classroom.  Hopefully I can get some things accomplished!  I broke down and did a lot of printing on my home printer last night.  I hate using my own ink for school things, but I was much more productive in my family room!  I also dug out some fabric to put up on my bulletin board.  I was surprised to find some that I could use and not have to buy new.  I spent SO MUCH this summer on school materials that I am trying very hard to save money for the upcoming school year!

I will be introducing myself a bit more on the post for Teacher Week 2011 tomorrow and announcing the winner of the whiteboards!  Have a great Sunday!

1st Giveaway!

Whew! I am beyond tired!!! I spent 5 hours in my classroom today and it still looks like a tornado hit my room. Hence, the lack of pictures – nothing really to show yet and they are waxing hallways tomorrow, so there will be no class pics. until next week. On the up side, I am finding it much easier to pitch a bunch of things that are falling apart or I really don’t need! I also stuffed envelopes with our open house letters, printed labels, and moved files from my old crate system to my “new” filing cabinets. I am falling asleep as I type!

On another note, I am excited to share my first give away for one lucky winner. This giveaway is for one class set (24) Double-Sided Word Strips from the Target Dollar Spot (and a few fun surprises!)

There are two ways to enter this giveaway:

1. Follow my blog - leave a comment that you either already follow or have become a follower.

2. Blog about this give away on your blog and link back – leave a comment that you have blogged and a link (I would love to check out more blogs!)

This giveaway closes on Sunday, August 21st at mid-night. I will announce the winner on Monday the 22nd.

I’m so excited to be sharing with you!

Fabulous Give Away at Second Grade Shenanigans

Second Grade Shenanigans is having a giveaway! Check out her site to see the 2 giveaway items: Camp Out...Number Style and Shiver Me "Time"bers.