Friday Journals

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Currently... {and a Freebie}

It's a catch up on linky parties weekend over here at Smiling In Second Grade.  Yesterday it was Five for Friday and today it is the March Currently!

S is a pretty easy letter and I still had a hard time with that last one!

I like smiling, smiling's my favorite.
I lovee to eat s'mores.  {see proof here}
I despise snow.  And shivering  And shoveling.  Come onnnn spring!

And here is my freebie just for you!  Some fun St. Patrick's day activities.

Just head on over to my TpT store to pick it up!
Let me know what you think!  Enjoy!

Nifty Nouns {Freebie}

I have been so into making games lately.  I mean, who doesn't love a game?  And what teacher doesn't love an educational game?? (shhh..don't tell the kids!)

I used Kimberly Geswein's super cool new font to make a game!  

Who knew you could turn a font into a gameboard??  Her font is called KG Build A Game Font and it is super fun to use!  The best part is that the fonts are scalable so you can make them really large and they don't lose their quality.

I may have made my husband play with me last night...  He was blue and I was green (yep it comes with playing pieces!). He's pretty good at his nouns, I have to say.

Here's the spinner (makes me think of a face for some reason):

And the board game (I love the bright colors!):

Get yours for free!  Click the picture or here to grab it.

Let me know what you think!  Enjoy!

Let's Problem Solve {Freebie}!

     

Problem Solving has made quite an appearance in the Common Core.  Previously, our district had used Everyday Math, which didn't include a lot of problem solving within the program.  So doing a lot of problem solving has been a big change for me.

We decided to do "Problem Solving Fridays."  Every Friday, our math lesson is focused primarily on problem solving (even though it is intertwined throughout the week as well).  This allows the students to practice the strategies they learn every week as opposed to just one short unit in the middle of the year.

Each Friday we focus on one strategy and the students are required to use that strategy when they work independently.  Eventually they will be able to choose a strategy that works best for them, once they have learned all of them.  I created some posters to hang in the classroom as a reference for the students.

This may be bragging, but I LOVE how them came out!!  Oh, and they're FREE!

 

 
   














Grab it for free in my {TpT} store or my {TN} store!

We are also starting something new in math called Math Menu.  I just learned about it last week so once I wrap my head around it and get it going in my class, I'll share more!

Have a great week!

Valentine Freebie, Kid President, Say Anything

How's that for a random post title?  Smorgasbord of things in this short post!

Here's a quick freebie for you for Valentine's Day!  My students love word searches so I created one for them to use for the holiday!

Just click the picture to grab your own copy!

Have you seen the Kid President's Pep Talk?  So inspirational {and so cute}!


And one of my students donated this to our class for use during The Daily 5:

How awesome is that?!  I'm having a Say Anything moment!

Currently...there's a freebie!

Well, hello there December!  Farley reminded me that it's that time again!

Time to link up for her Currently!

And since I'm in the giving mood, lookie what I created!  A freebie just for you!

My students are working on problem solving strategies, so I made some colorful posters to display in the classroom.

When I Was In...Linky Party

It's been awhile...I know.  Sad face.  Grades are due this week and we have a brand new report card, which takes some getting used to.  And, of course, I've been decorating for Christmas!  It's been a slow process this year, but I'll share when I'm done!

In the meantime, Kate over at Second Grade Sparkle is having a super fun linky party!

We are sharing pictures of us when we were in the grade level that we now teach!  And...well...obviously I teach second grade, so I had to dig real deep in my messy basement to find some pictures so I could join:

Get ready...

Apparently, I was not a happy child.  Actually, I was a happy child.  I was just stubborn and didn't like people telling me what to do.  Aka, the photographer didn't get the "smile" he asked for.

And, I'm not really sure what my mother was thinking.

This was the one and only day of my modeling career.  Well, I wasn't really modeling.  Just awkwardly posing for a picture in the early 90s!

Fast forward 20 years...and here's a picture of me and my husband now.

Happy happy!  And smiling!

And, who is getting ready for the holidays??  And likes freebies??

Check out the newest holiday ebooks on Teachers Pay Teachers!  It has tons of freebies and tips for your classroom for the month of December!  Just click on the pictures to get your FREE copy of both!

There is one for Grades 1-2...

And PK-K...

Be sure to check out both because many of the activities are applicable to all four levels!

One last thing...you can win something from my store (and other wonderful stores too)!  Head on over to

to enter her giveaway!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It has not been a relaxing weekend, but it's been a fun one!

Last night, we went to a a Masquerade-themed wedding (he was in the wedding party).  We had fun with it!

We had a great time with the Photo Booth!

This morning we went to a fundraiser to raise money for my high school track.  When I was in high school, we weren't allowed to use the track because it was in such bad shape.  After 10 years of hard work, my alma mater now has a beautiful track!  My mom is on the committee so she always forces asks me to volunteer.

I got a little sentimental watching my husband play soccer on my old field:

Then we cheered on the runners who were participating in the 5K:

And, now, as I'm watching the Patriots play, I whipped up a quick freebie that I'm going to use with some of my students this week:

I'm working on a bigger set but it's not quite done yet.  Look for it soon!

In the meantime, click the blog button to check out this awesome givewaway over at Hilary's blog:

It's HUGE!

What Do I Write About?

"I don't know what to write about!"  

Is that a common complaint in your classroom?  I created a graphic organizer for my students to fill in with writing topics that matter to them.  We fill in the chart at the beginning of the school year and they keep it in their Writing Folders all year.

Any time a student comes up to tell me that they have no ideas for Writer's Workshop, I tell them to check their chart:

Usually, at least something jumps out at them and they are off and writing!

Check it out for free in my {TpT} store!

I'm linking this freebie up with: 

Classroom Scavenger Hunt Freebie!

An activity that I have done every year with my students is a Classroom Scavenger Hunt.  I always do it the first few days of school to help the students get acclimated to their new classroom.  I have the students work with a friend and they walk around the classroom with a clipboard looking for things that fit the different categories.

Here are my kiddos in action this year:

They did such a great job working together!  I give them about 15-20 minutes to work on it.  If they finish early, I challenge them to find another thing in the classroom that fits each category.  I also let them know that it is okay if they don't finish.  At the end, I call them all to the rug and we go over some of the answers together.  A lot of times, they come up with things that I hadn't even thought of!

You can pick up this freebie in my {TpT} store!

        

I'm linking this freebie up with: 

I also decided to jazz up my Classroom Jobs a bit.  Here is a {really bad} picture of my jobs from last year: 

I display all the jobs on the board and each student has their own classroom number (which I use for everything!).  At the beginning of each month, I take down all the numbers and randomly call the students to change their job.  They then keep their job for the whole month.  I make sure they choose a job that they haven't already had so that everyone gets a chance to try something new.  I also let the students know they might not be able to do every job.  I've never had an issue with it!

In the packet, I included small job cards, large job cards, student numbers and teacher checklists to keep track of which student has done each job.

Check it out!

{TpT}

{TN}