May Currently

It's May 1st! Where did the school year go??? Only five weeks to go and my first year as a first grade teacher will be a thing of the past...a memory...a glorious memory! I've had so much fun!! I'm so blessed that my new campus is full of people who love what they do and come to work with a smile on their face every day.

Here's the break down - 

Listening - My husband and four year old daughter are watching The Croods for the second time this week. 

Loving - EOS. You've seen it. You've probably wondered, "What on earth is it?" It's lip balm in an egg shaped container. Go figure. But it's awesome. My favorite is the mint flavored one in the green egg. So far. There are plenty more to try.

Thinking - My 17 year old got an award tonight for reading the 6th most novels this year at his high school - 86! My 15 year old just became gainfully employed. His first job is at McDonald's. My four year is going to her first sleep over at her BFF's house tomorrow, and my baby will be 2 years old in six days. I think math will be her thing. She can already identify an octagon, rhombus, and many more shapes! They.won't.stop.growing. 

Wanting - The Whole Brain Teaching National Conference is FREE. It's in Louisiana in June. My husband doesn't want me to go alone. I really wanna go...I need a travel buddy.

Needing - This pic is for real, people! I just snapped it. I need a manicure intervention...last weekend came and went and I just couldn't fit it in. Fingers crossed for this weekend. 

Surprise - I've expanded my list of favorite blogs to include A Day in First Grade. For the longest time, I mostly read the blogs I discovered intially. Probably the same ones many of you do. The ones with a massive following (rightfully so), but I made a decision to expand my options. I just knew there were many more gifted teachers with inspiring blogs that were worth REALLY following. If you haven't stopped by Kristen Smith's blog you should! She's awesome. 

P.S. I've gone social. Memories Made in First now has a Facebook Page. I'm gearing up for a summer of give-aways. Don't miss out on the fun! Follow me: https://www.facebook.com/memoriesmadeinfirst.

The Night Before Mother's Day and More Mother's Day Activities

In my TpT store now!

The Night Before Mother's Day and More Mother's Day Activities

Sharks!

 Portable building - no desks - no chairs - 30 first graders - no recess - no specials - state testing day. What do you do??? Sharks..that's what!

Shark Template Credit: Amy Lemons

We started a research unit in Reading class this week. We will follow up our whole group research on the Great White Shark by pairing up with a buddy, and choosing a different shark to research and compare to the Great White Shark. Fortunately, our school library has a huge assortment of shark books :-)

The portable lacked access to GoNoodle or YouTube videos for brain breaks, so we split into groups for some hula hoop/team work relays. Funniest thing ever!

Planning for Mother's Day? I'm finishing this packet this weekend and uploading to TpT.

It includes activities for the this book AND...

...an interactive mini book about Mother's Day, an interview with mom, the cutest traced hand bouquet ever, options for other special ladies (like Aunt, Grandma, Step-Mom) and more!

Have a great weekend,

A Day to Honor Earth

Happy Earth Day :-) My class spent the day exiled to a portable with no tables or chairs, but we still managed to have a blast! Well....okay...I mean...we weren't really banished. We were accomodating the needs of a small group of state testers who needed the space. We will be doing the same thing tomorrow. Today there was a certain novelty to sitting on the floor all day. I hope the appeal doesn't wear off for day 2. 

Anyway, we spent the day learning how to be a Planet Pal. And, we learned A LOT. 

We got our Earth Day activities started with an interactive mini book about Earth Day from my A Day to Honor Earth Pack. Here's a look at a few of the pages:

At some point, after an Earth Day Read Aloud and a brain break, we did a little reading and critical thinking with a passage (also in the pack) called Why Plant Trees? 

And, we found time for a craft. We made these stained glass suncatchers using the template from my packet. The ones I snapped pictures of are still drying. Tomorrow we will add a string and take them home to hang in a window. 

We had more to do...but we just couldn't finish it all. 

Maybe we can get to our cut and paste recycleable materials flip book later in the week. 

Tomorrow, I get some extra kiddos from another first grade class, so I planned for a... wait for it......., Shark Day! All firsties love sharks, right? Hopefully, a little shark-tastic learning will keep us all content in the portable for one more day :-)

Pete the Cat Themed Easter Celebration

Thursday was our last day of school this week. A four day weekend was planned on the school calendar, but we had to make up a bad weather day. So we made the best of it with a Pete the Cat: Big Easter Adventure themed day.

We began our day with a read aloud. 

 We work while we play so...

These are a few of the answers that the kiddies got to put under the document camera and read to the class. They love getting to see their work projected onto the screen.
ABOVE: Yes, because it's respectful and it is nice.
BELOW: There will be no eggs to find. And the Easter Bunny will be sad.

BELOW: The kids are going to not believe (in the Easter Bunny).

BELOW: Yes, it's how you make BFFS. (he he)

In the story, Pete paints Easter eggs, so we did too. First, we drew designs or pictures with crayons. 

This little gal said she drew the bunny for her little brother in Pre-K. What a sweetie!

Then, we dipped them in warm water, vinegar, and food color. 

The yellow eggs are my favorite. So bright. So spring. 

We did a little writing after that. How to Color Easter Eggs. I failed to take a picture.

After a break for recess and lunch, we created Pete using pattern blocks. Then, we traced our pattern or blocks to make a craftivity. The template can be found here. It can be used with any Pete book. We added bunny ears because, in Big Easter Adventure, Pete wears bunny ears. 

Finally, it was time for an egg hunt and our Spring Party. It was a fun day, but an exhausting day. I'm so happy for a three day weekend. Plus, next week is more state testing and I get diplaced from my room for two days  to a portable with no desks or chairs. It's going to be interesting!

Still up in the air about your Earth Day plans? Please consider this:

There's an interactive mini book, CLOSEer Reading Passage with vocab and post reading questions, writing prompts, recycling flip book, some fun stuff and a stained glass Earth craft template (the craft is not pictured here). 

Go ahead, link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching. 

Enjoy the long weekend!