Booking Across the USA!

I am participating in the Booking Across the USA project.

It is a collaborative blogging project which has been put together by Jodi over at Growing Book by Book.

Over 50 educational bloggers have each selected a picture book that represents their state.  Each blogger than created an activity or project to compliment their book.

I chose the story, The Brass Ring, by Nancy Tafuri.  It is a beautifully written and illustrated story about how a young girl is now old enough to ride The Flying Horse Carousel, which is located in Rhode Island.

Included in the pack is:

     ~ a kid-friendly informational story about The Flying Horse Carousel

     ~ a classroom book to create titled, "The Best Part About Vacations"

     ~ a classroom book to create titled, "I Like Being Big!"

Grab your packet for free by clicking here.  

Want to win your very own copy of The Brass Ring?  Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Five for Friday!

It's Five for Friday time!  Usually I love Five for Friday because it means, well, it's the weekend!  This week, though, I was on vacation  so it means my vacation is almost over.  It also means that none of my random photos are school-related.

1. I went with my sister to try on her wedding dress (so exciting!) and I found a tiara.  All I could think of was the Big Bang Theory where Sheldon buys Amy Farrah Fowler a tiara.  "Put it on me! Put it on me!"  Love that show.

2.  I got to go to two of my cousins Varsity basketball playoff games this week.  This picture is from the first game, which they won in overtime.  My cousin scored the winning shot at the buzzer!  The second game didn't go so well.  Let's just say they are no longer in the playoffs.

3.  I tried to get some work done this week.  But Raleigh's new favorite spot is on my lap.  Needless to say, I don't get much work done.  He likes to hit the keys and lick my fingers as I try to hit the keys.  Not a great helper!

4. Coffee.  I got to enjoy my morning coffee every day this week.  So relaxing.  Cafe Mocha K-cups are my favorite!

5.  I did get some work done!  I made this game using Kimberly Geswein's Game Board Font!  Learn more here and get yours for free here!

Happy Friday!

Hall Pass {Linky}

Tonight I'm linking up with Reagan to share my "Hall Pass"

Here's how it works:

P is for Product

My favorite product, without a doubt, are my Writing Journal Prompts.  The reason is two-fold.  One, I use them Every.Single.Day in my classroom!   It's my kids morning work every day so it gets in a little extra writing (and illustrating!) time, but also keeps them busy while I take attendance and lunch count. Two, they are my best-selling item, so I know they are helping other teachers and students around the country (and the world)!

A is for Area

Ok, I have two favorite spots in my classroom.  The first is my desk area.  I recently converted it to an area to meet with students (read more here).  I love getting this one-on-one or small group time with my students.  They really open up and share!  Oh, and they love the stools too!

My second favorite area is my library.  I've always loved my library and I've always loved switching it around!  Right now, I am in the process of getting new baskets that match and that fit correctly on the shelves.  My inner-OCD is cheering very loudly right now.

S is for Signal

My time-timer.  It is seriously the best purchase I have ever made for my classroom.  Not only does it keep me on schedule, but the kids are aware of how much time they have left.  They know exactly what to do when it beeps.  I do wish the beep wasn't quite so annoying, but it works!  It is amazing for setting routines.  I used to joke last year that my classroom could run itself as long as someone went in and set the time for them!

S is for Sanity

Hmm...I think I need a little more work in this area.  I have a "teacher drawer" that holds these:

I can satisfy my sweet tooth with just one (really!) and the cute little sayings in the wrapper always make my day!

I also like to come home and check in with all my blogger buddies.  They keep me uplifted and motivated!

What does your Hall Pass look like??

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!

Five for Friday!

Happy Friday!  I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs to share 5 random things from my week.

1. Um...it snowed.  It snowed a lot.  We got about 2 feet of snow during the blizzard over the weekend so it was a four day weekend for us.  We had a snow day on Friday and on Monday.  The state was kind of a mess so I'm glad I didn't have to go anywhere!

2.  Started cleaning out my classroom closet and found some second grade math workbooks from around 1985.  It surprised me how much more are students are expected to do these days.  This was a mid-year test.  My kids are expected to do this wayy before they get to my classroom!

3.  My OCD kicked in.  I read  Jamie's blog over at 2nd Grade Stuff and saw how organized and coordinating her room was.  And then, well, I decided to copy her.  {shh...don't tell!}  I picked up baskets from The Dollar Tree and now (some) of my baskets are matching.  However, my Dollar Tree didn't have very many so I see multiple trips in my future!

4. Also found this guy in my closet when I was cleaning.  My mom gave him to me for my birthday (which is right near Halloween) about 4 years ago.  He is made of sugar.  I decided to throw him away.  I use him every year for a Halloween project.  Makes me want to create some October-themed activities now!

5.  I'm on vacation!  We are now on Winter Break and don't return until the 25th - yay!




























And how was your week??

Even More Daily 5

This post has been moved to my new blog, The Colorful Apple.  Check it out here!

That's the Ticket!

I am always looking for new ways to spice up my sight word activities with some of my reading groups.  So I created some games (using the wonderful clipart of Miss Ashley Hughes)!  They are so bright and colorful that I just want to start playing them right away!

There are three different versions of the game, a spinner and a board to hold the sight word cards.  The games can be played with a teacher or can be put into centers for students to use independently.  Each game comes with student-friendly directions as well as a cover page.

I've included all the Dolch Sight Words (over 200!), pre-primer through third grade.

Here are some of the games set up.

 And how to make your own spinner!

Interested?? Go grab your copy today at:

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Want to win your own copy??  Leave me a comment with your favorite board game.  I'll randomly choose a winner by midnight tonight!

It's Elementary My Dear Watson

Our class is going to turn into a group of detectives!   My higher reading group is finishing up a book study on Magic Tree House: Tonight on the Titanic.  We've had a great time reading and discussing it together!  Next up?  A mystery!  I haven't quite decided on one that I think will work form them.  It all depends on whether or not I have access to a set of books.

To go along with it, I created a Detectives Book Club packet {clipart courtesy of Ashley Hughes}!  The best part is that it works with any mystery book!

Check out what's inside!

Bookmarks for their books that allow them to write down what pages they are supposed to read before the next book club meeting.

A briefcase to carry their notebook - shhh...it's top secret!

There are name badges for your detectives to wear.

A poster (with movable clock hands) to announce the meeting time!

A detective's notebook with lots of pages to record their thinking as they read and discuss the book.

I recommend keeping everything in a manila envelope or folder so it doesn't get lost!

Interested??  Check it out in my stores:

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Want to win a copy?  Leave me a comment with your favorite children's mystery book.  I'll randomly choose a winner by midnight tonight!