Where, Oh Where Has This Little Blog Gone?

Hi sweet bloggy friends! I apologize for my long absence. Believe it or not, I just started my second week of school. My charter school has shorter summers and longer breaks throughout the year. During fall break, I adore this schedule but, it sure is hard to go back to work in the middle of July. I completely redid my classroom over the summer. I'm planning on taking lots of pictures this week and posting them. Until then, here's a little sneak peek into my new owl themed classroom.

View from the door

My brand new rug!

Owl word wall and new storage unit

My rocking chair that I painted over the summer

Writing center and art center

I created several new products over the summer and I have a lot of freebies to share. I'll post about those throughout the week.

Math Journal Monday (Camping Word Problems)

This week's math journal problems are from my camping unit that I created way back in February. I'm not really very outdoorsy. I'm more of an inside kind of girl but, it sure is fun to pretend to camp in the classroom. Click on the picture below to start your indoor camping math adventure. :)

Click on the picture above if you'd like to check out the rest of my camping unit which includes these word problems with manipulatives. This unit also includes:

Math Activities
*Math Journal Problems with manipulatives
*Camping Probability with Spinner and Graph
*Fact Families Center
*Camping Survey with Graph
*Fireside Fractions Center with Review Printables
*Camping Coin Counting Game

Literacy Activities
*ABC Order Center
*Four Different How To Writing Sheets 
*Sight Word Game with Fry's Instant Words 1-100
*Let's Go Camping Class Book
*Noun and Verb Sort Center

Math Journal Monday (Dinosaur Word Problems)

Several of my little guys love dinosaurs. I thought it would be fun to incorporate their love of dinosaurs into this week's word problems. While I was researching some dino facts, I came across these little dinosaur  gems:

Q: What did the Triceratops sit on?
A: Its Tricera-botttom!

Q:  How do you ask a tyrannosaur out to lunch?
A: Tea, Rex?

I'm sure those jokes just filled your day with laughter so you're welcome. ;)

Click on the picture to download the math journal problems. Clip art by KPM Doodles.

Color and Number Words for Word Wall

I just finished creating a free set of color and number words for a word wall. Click on the picture below to download them.

If you would like more word wall materials, check out one of my word wall sets.

Teacher Appreciation Sale Finds and a Little Surprise

 

I'm linking up with the fabulous Erica Bohrer to showcase some of my favorite purchases from the Teacher Appreciation Sale. Bargain shopping is one of my all time favorite things to do so I spent a little more than I had originally planned but, it was so worth it. Check out this preciousness:

My firsties needed a little punctuation review so I got this ADORABLE unit from Michelle Oakes. 

I love looping with my kids for two years but, I was struggling with coming up with two years worth of Mother's Day gifts. First Grade Blue Skies came to my rescue with this little packet.

I'm working hard to ensure that all of my students are ready for second grade curriculum so I bought this fabulous reading comprehension packet from The Teacher Wife. My kids have especially enjoyed filing out the book report forms. I'm still trying to figure out she managed to make a book report form fun. High five, Teacher Wife!

 And last but certainly not least, I picked up this life cycles packet from Amy Lemons. It is filled with the cutest little crafts you've ever seen. That girl can craft! 

And now for the surprise! I took my three top selling items and bundled them together!  This 147 page combo pack combines my three math units. You save $3 by buying all three together. It is filled with five week's worth of math activities. It's on sale until tomorrow evening. I'm sure you're thinking, that's not that great of a surprise, Samantha! Well, the surprise is that the first TWO people to comment on this blog post will get this huge combo pack for FREE!!! :)

Click on the picture to check out my math combo pack.

Last Minute Mother's Day and End of Year Conferences

This week has been a whirlwind of excitement! We've been busy preparing for Mother's Day and end of year conferences. We're using a precious unit from First Grade Blue Skies to create some super cute crafts for moms.

One of my sweet teammates gave me the idea to make these little candle holders.

They were really easy. I bought candle holders at Dollar Tree. I cut tissue paper into small squares and then brushed a thin layer of glue and a little water all over the candle holders. The kids added the tissue paper. I'm all about easy, stress-free crafting.

At my school we loop with our students for K-1 so I had to reinvent the wheel a little this year for Mother's Day. Last year, we made the cutest cookbooks for our moms.

Clip art by DJ Inkers

Click on the cookbook cover to download it. I called my students over one at time and asked them what their favorite meal was. I then asked them how they thought you should make it. I got some pretty precious responses. I typed all of them up and added their picture to the bottom of the page along with why they think their mom is special. I then compiled all of the recipes and attached the cover with ribbon. My moms loved them!

We've also been preparing for students led conferences. I met with all of my students and we discussed their progress and goals. After we finished, they filled out this sheet:

Click on the picture above to download it. Happy Mother's Day!

Math Journal Monday (Insect Place Value Word Problems)

Wow! The Teacher Appreciation was so much fun! I got a TON of great products for free. Thank you to all of the teachers who participated.

Last week we finished up our insect unit and learned about place value in math. I combined both of those concepts to create this weeks math journal problems. Click on the picture below to download my insect place value word problems.

Clip art by KPM Doodles and Melonheadz Illustrating

Don't forget about the big sale over at Teachers Pay Teachers! All of my items are 20% off plus you can save an additional 10% off if you enter the code TAD12. Happy shopping!

Click on the picture to visit my TpT store.