Holiday Homework Coupons Freebie

Looking for a little something to give to your students for the holidays? Santa thinks they have been very good this year, so he has left some HO HO HOmework coupons! 

I hope this freebie will come in handy during the Christmas in the classroom hustle and bustle.

Just click on the photo to download a copy from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

:)

Volunteer Gift Ideas and FREE Printable Tags

Hello everyone!

I'm just popping in to let you know that I am blogging over at Primary Powers today!

I'm sharing some SUPER ideas for volunteer appreciation gifts and this little FREEBIE I think you will LOVE!

Click {here} to head on over!

Open House Ideas for Teachers: Weekend Warriors

Are you getting ready for an end-of-the-year open house? Maybe your school, like mine, welcomes parents with a back to school night in the fall. No matter when your open house is, this linky is for YOU! The Weekend Warriors are joining together this month to bring you all sorts of helpful and creative ideas to make your parent night *SPECTACULAR*! 

 I am here to share lots of ideas that I hope you can use for either a fall OR end of the year parent night. Be sure to PIN these to your Pinterest board and SAVE these ideas for whenever you need them! You can find all of the links to the freebies and projects shown here at the end of the post!

You're having company! Of course, you want your classroom to be as tidy, organized, colorful and cheerful as possible. Create a welcoming environment and a great first impression! It sets the stage for a wonderful evening! Try turning on a few lamps for mood lighting or getting a fragrance plug-in to make your room feel more like a home. 

Before parents enter the classroom, the first thing they may see is a bulletin board in the hallway or outside of your room.
 Here are two cute and very easy to prep ideas! 

Students might write about a few favorite things they learned during the year! 

For a back to school bulletin board, have students write a recipe for a successful year! 

 Once visitors arrive at your classroom, invite them in with a welcome sign! 

On a table near the door, have handouts, sign up sheets and other important things like donation requests :) available. I copy these signs on bright cardstock and display them on an easel stand.

Avoid awkward moments for yourself and parents that arrive early by giving them something to do! Parents can write down their hopes for the year, complete a Thinking Map about their child, or make a happy note or bookmark to give them. 

On your table or at the student desks, you may want to have out some memory booklets from current students or former students. In the past, I have had a few students from the previous year make an extra copy to have out at open house in the fall. Parents will love to see the expectation for work quality by exiting students and it also gives them a peek at the fun times ahead!

Another way to give parents a peek at the year is to have a photo slide show running on the SMART Board as parents enter!

  I set out classroom photo albums of years past too so parents get a sense of my teaching style and the activities I like to plan. I even decorate one of these All About Me Tee posters from Really Good Stuff so they can get to know the teacher better too!

Open house is the time for kiddos to SHINE! Want a creative way to showcase student work at parent night? 

 Have your students make a pizza box portfolio!

 Inside these boxes are all of the special projects and work samples that my students are very proud of! The boxes are a super keepsake that parents just LOVE! 

 If you are one of the lucky teachers (HA!) that gets to give an informational presentation, you might like the help of a PowerPoint to display on your SMART Board. Sometimes the excitement of it all can cause an enormous mental block, so this is a nice way to summarize information in a very professional way. 

With a PowerPoint, it is also easy to print handouts for parents that were unable to attend the session. This file is EDITABLE, so you can type in what you need to include. I already typed in a bunch of ideas in the slides to get you started! 

 Even though you are organized and all set with super ideas, you might still get the open house jitters especially if you have to SPEAK (choke)!!! The SINGLE most important thing to remember during any kind of parent night is to just be wonderful YOU- knowlegeable, enthusiastic, genuine and sincere.

Everyone loves a gift! At the end of your evening, send your visitors home with a small token of your appreciation. You can search my Pinterest board for some cute ideas for things like a bag of Pop Rocks or popcorn to thank them for "popping in". 

 But why not also send something along that will reinforce the learning in your classroom or for use over the summer??? Consider sending practice kits home with parents at open house. You can prep some game boards, flash cards, sight word lists and all sorts of goodies and just bag them up! Throw in a fun Smencil, a cute pencil sharpener, a book, a bookmark, some dice, game markers and you have a SUPER thank you gift!

Teachers Pay Teachers, Teachers Notebook and Educents are great places to find materials for your grade level. Check out places like Geddes or Oriental Trading Company for fun trinkets for your take home bags! I guarantee they will be a big hit!

I like to give my parents a little business card or fridge magnet with my classroom phone number and email so they can easily find my info when they need to contact me. 

I made these cute pencil shaped business cards from clipart by Creative Clips and just typed in my contact info. You can design your own cute cards at Vistaprint. 

  Wrap up the evening and leave your guests with something to think about like a special quote, a touching poem or... a bit of humor! 
 I'm sure you've seen this funny before...

SMILES!
 So when your parent night comes around, KEEP CALM and HAVE FUN! I always have to remind myself that parents don't really care so much about the fluff, or the specifics of the curriculum as much as they want to leave with the feeling that their child will be or has been loved, challenged and excited about school! 

    Thanks a bunch for stopping by for this edition of the Weekend Warriors! I hope that you found some new ideas here to make your open house a *night to remember*! 

Links to Resources

 You can find all of the printables to make a Pizza Box Portfolio {here}.

You can find The Write Stuff pencil craftivity by A Cupcake for the Teacher {here}.
Download Cooking up a Great Year by Miss Kindergarten Love {here}.
The parent wishes signs and slips from Funky First Grade Fun can be found {here}.
Grab my free welcome sign {here}!
  Open House table signs freebies are {here}!
You can download the Back to School Night PowerPoint presentation {here}!
 Free photo DVD covers can be downloaded {here}.
My blank bookmark patterns are {here}.
Pop Rocks treat signs from Cupcake Cutiees Party can be purchased {here}.
All About Me posters are available {here}.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! Comparing Texts Freebie

What do meatballs and gooey green Oobleck have in common? Plenty... if you read the books that is! Hi friends! I hope you enjoyed a fun-filled day! I am just popping in here quickly to share a printable organizer you can use for a great compare/contrast activity for Dr. Seuss Day or Read Across America Week. Two of my all-time favorite books are great to use for comparing texts!

I thought I would share this with you in case you are elbow deep in Oobleck stuff this week! 

It's just like a Venn diagram only this shape allows more room for writing.

 My class will be using this organizer later in the year as part of our weather unit in the spring. 

That is when we work in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! It's perfect! 

You can download a copy of the page {here} if you like!

Last year, I made a cute little poster for Read Across America. You can grab one too at Creative Lesson Cafe's Facebook Page! Just click on the Freebie tab on the left side.

I hope you can use it to brighten up your classroom!

:)

Brush and Floss Kiddos! First and Second Grade Teaching Resources for Dental Health Month {freebie}

Do you teach dental health to your students during Dental Health Month in February? I do. Because I worked in the dental field as an orthodontic assistant for many years, I always pay attention to how clean/not clean children's' teeth are, especially those in braces! No matter how old they are, it is wonderful for students to get yearly reminders in school about the importance of caring for their teeth! 

I don't spend nearly as much time on this unit with my second graders as I did with my firsties, but we will be using this reading passage and discussing ways to keep our teeth healthy next week. 

I haven't decided yet, but if there is time, I might pull out the old egg shell in vinegar experiment. Kids always love that one! It's really need to see the effect the fluoride toothpaste has on the shell! 

I hope you can use this passage at some point with your class, either as a reading activity or as a read-aloud! Click {here} to download a copy if you like!

If you are looking for a few more resources for your class you might like this packet: Dental Health Activities and Worksheets

If you have a whole classroom of toothless or snaggle toothed smiles grinning back at you, these lessons are even more important as children begin getting in their permanent teeth.

:)

Second Grade Comparing Numbers and Place Value Math Activities and a FREEBIE!

Hello Everyone! I am popping in to let you know that I am blogging over at Primary Powers today to share a favorite ready-in-a-minute math activity using number cards! It is perfect to fill those few extra minutes here or there and a great one to use when you sense the class is getting restless! I also have a little FREEBIE for you all to get something like this ready for your classroom too if you like!

 Click on the picture below to head on over!

 I hope to see you there!

A Sweet Valentine's Day Activity for Second Grade: Candy Hearts Science Experiment FREEBIE

Hi everyone! Are you all set for your Valentine's Day activities? Maybe you need just one more idea... :)  I might have a great one here for you to try! This year, rather than the traditional Valentine's Day candy hearts graphing and all of that other great stuff I'm pretty sure my students already did last year, I am going to mix up our fun with conversation hearts!

You may remember how much my class loved our experiment with gummy bears, so I thought they might really like trying a similar experiment with a different treat! Your class might love it too and you probably already have what you need!

My readers know how much I LOVE teaching science! I used to work as our district science specialist teaching only hands-on science to elementary students, so it's sort of my thing! Because I have not done this in about fifteen years, I don't have step by step photos for you (yet), but the idea is to observe to see what happens to the candies in a variety of liquids. 

Supplies:

• conversation hearts
• water
• vinegar
• Sprite
• bleach
• small plastic cups
• one large clear glass

I don't want to be too much of a spoiler and give it all away, but it is really neat to see what happens to the candies. In vinegar, they fizz and the hearts dance when placed in a tall glass full of a clear carbonated beverage. Experimenting with the bleach is one I model in front of the class for obvious reasons.

Of course, we always need a lab sheet to record our steps to the scientific method! We will do the lab write-up on only one of the experiments, not for every liquid. 

If you like it, you can grab this freebie lab sheet {here}! 

Maybe you can round up a few supplies and work in some Valentine science fun with your class too!

 If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!

:)

Creative Valentine Boxes and a FREEBIE!

Hello friends! With Valentine's Day right around the corner, I thought I'd share what I am doing with my students for Valentine boxes! I usually have an organized craft that we make to hold the treasures on the big day. This year, I decided to mix it up a bit and I am doing absolutely nothing! The kiddos are! 

I have a really creative bunch this year. To give them a chance to let their creativity shine and to coordinate a fun at-home bonding experience, I am letting the students decorate their own box! They are super excited about it!

 The first of the boxes arrived just in time to bring you this post!

 Isn't this just the cutest thing????

We're not holding a contest or anything. The students are encouraged to decorate their box however they choose. I don't expect all of the boxes to look like this masterpiece! I explained to the class that they could use items they already had at home. We brainstormed lots of ideas that wouldn't involve a trip to the craft store.

I recently sent a note home that explains the project. It went home early enough to give the families time to gather their supplies. I even excused the students from their homework this week so they have some extra time to work on it. I want this to be fun, not stressful. I know how busy life with kids is!

I'm excited to share more photos of the finished projects with you! If you think you might want to mix things up a bit this year, you can download the note I sent home {here}.

There is an editable version available {here}so you may type in whatever you like! 

The download also includes some writing pages. This will be our writing activity on the day we celebrate Valentine's Day.

I hope you can use these with your class or file the idea away for another time!

:)

A Valentine's Day Gift Idea for Your Students

Happy (almost) February to all of you! The Weekend Warriors and I are back this month to tell you what we HEART for February to help you get a head start with your Valentine's Day planning! I am here to share a little something I came up with for a special made with love gift for students! It's something educational and definitely unique!

It's a Valentine bookmark with Scholastic books in a heart!

  :) 

 Why a Scholastic book order form?   

I wanted to decorate my bookmarks in a hearts, books and reading theme to go with the saying! 

 I had lots of fun painting! This was all done using only red and orange watered-down tempera paint. The background ink on the order form came through to reveal other beautiful colors. Once the papers had dried, I created a tracer and cut out some small hearts.

I made sure to trace in areas where a book cover could be seen.

I tried the designs out on various colors of cardstock, but ended up selecting white because the heart really pops! 

 Once laminated, the images get really vivid! 

 I think my kiddos will LOVE comparing their bookmarks with their classmates and looking for books they enjoy inside the hearts.

If you think you might want to try this idea out, all of the patterns, including the bookmarks and tracer heart, can be downloaded {here}. 

In the file, I also included some freebie bookmarks that can be printed on colored cardstock if you are out of time for painting this year. You can always color them if you like too!

I hope you can use them for your class or even use them with your own children to make a special valentine for their classmates! 

 I HEART how adorable the book order bookmarks turned out. 
 It is a one-of-a-kind gift that my students will use and hopefully keep! 

To celebrate Valentine's Day, we have fun-filled learning activities planned for the children too. It's not an official party day in our district so we have to keep it educational until it's time to pass out valentine cards. 

If you are looking for some fun academic activities for the special day, you might like this center for reading or word work! 

Check back soon for more February ideas and projects! In the meantime, you can find lots of ideas on my Valentine's Day Pinterest board.

InLinkz.com

Classroom Organization Tips for Teachers!

 Welcome to Creative Lesson Cafe Friends! I'm really excited to be part of this blog hop with my friends at Primary Powers. We are here to save the day with some SUPER ideas for organization! I'm here to share ideas for organizing your teaching resources and important papers.

My classroom appears very organized. I try to manage the great paper shuffle as best I can with plenty of storage containers, plastic drawers, files, labels and bins.

 But...what is inside some closed drawers is a problem. One disastrous area is my file cabinet. My cabinet is completely stuffed with unit files and favorite teaching resources that I want to save, but that I don't use on a regular basis. It's REALLY frustrating to file new things away or browse through files when they are so packed in together. My cabinet is in good condition, but still it's an eyesore I want to eventually hide away in my storage closet.

If you are looking for a great way to easily organize your favorite and most-used masters and resources, you may want to invest in a few hanging file tubs. I did!

 I am getting ORGANIZED one subject at a time! 

Each subject area will eventually have its own file tub. 

 One is going to be my assessment bin.

Target carries these fantastic clear containers with lids.
{Room Essentials Box File} I ordered six of them.

Because they are see-through boxes, I wanted some pretty hanging folders. The Container Store sells bright folders in a rainbow of colors and I ordered a set of each to coordinate with the tub signs. Inside, I have decided to organize by skills and units.

I made some square signs that fit perfectly on the front of the box! If you want to get organized with some tubs too, you can download a set of the signs {here}! They should look great on any size file box you happen to have or purchase. 

 Just imagine how cute these new handy tubs- set up in a rainbow of organization- will look in my teacher corner! I can't wait to get them all done and finally put an END to the file cabinet frustrations!

Hopefully this post has given you some cute inspiration to continue to work at being as organized as possible with the great paper shuffle too! 

:)

Winter Math Center Activity for First and Second Grade FREEBIE!

Hello Everyone! Today I am guest blogging over at Primary Powers! I have a cute little penguin-themed math center to share with you! 

Head on over to read more about it! 

Your class will LOVE it!

:)

Wacky, Tacky the Penguin Fun!

We've been have a wacky, very tacky, time of it with Tacky the Penguin this past week! You may remember our fun from last year...Well, we're back at it again not just because it's such an awesomely funny story, but because each year, grades 2+ in our district have several genre units we are required to teach. Our second grade units are about teaching tolerance through fantasy stories and then a nonfiction unit follows on that same topic too. In the fall, we use Stellaluna and then do a nonfiction unit on bats. It works out beautifully and the students love the variety of activities during our units that we throw in as "extras"!  The story is OFF LIMITS as a read-aloud in any other grade as a district policy so unless the students have the book at home, it is exciting and new to them which is great! What is NOT in the genre unit on Tacky is everything I have to share with you here! 

One important thing we do is to work on vocabulary for the story. This year, I posted vocabulary cards as an around the room activity and then hung them on the whiteboard on display for the week. 

We also made these cute Tacky friends and hung them up. Each shirt and bow tie pattern was copied on scrapbook paper. 

Each child in the grade has a copy of the book, so we can do repeated readings and work on fluency. We had great fun with character voices for the songs and chants! 

We did a lot of comprehension work in a packet that I created for the children. Here we sequenced the events and wrote about character traits.

The class completed a variety of graphic organizers similar to Venn Diagrams and Thinking (tree) Maps because that is a school improvement goal. The other pages have story questions similar to those asked on the DRA test.

Then there were plenty of things we did just for fun! We invented a new companion for Tacky and also wrote about some other tricks that Tacky might be good at! The students loved sharing their tricks with the others at their table group.

When it was time for a brain break, we picked from these cards. The class favorites were the penguin march through the hall and singing some really DREADFUL songs together with a strong country twang. The class thought this was just the best!

On Friday, we had a Wacky Tacky Day. The students dressed in their worst mismatched attire and accessories!

I wasn't quite as tacky as the kiddos who really got into it... but I wore some totally crazy floral leggings and borrowed a tuxedo shirt and bow tie from my son's closet. I pretended to be Perfect who is starting to appreciate the benefit of letting loose every now and then! 

The kiddos were also allowed to bring their companions to school!

A few hunters joined us too.

In the afternoon, the students watched the documentary/movie,  March of the Penguins, which they absolutely loved! It is a great intro to the nonfiction unit on penguins as the second half of the genre unit begins.

Our Tacky week and wacky day were such a blast! If you are interested in the penguin crafts, worksheets or activities, you can find them in my Tacky the Penguin Unit .

It would be so tacky for me to show how much fun we've been having without inviting you all! 

You can have a Wacky Tacky Day in your room too!

 Just send home this little note!

 Click on the picture to download a copy!

:)