Three Day Weekend FUN!!

Happy Three Day Weekend!!!  WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!  

We are ecstatic to have a long weekend to decompress and rejuvenate!  Stacy's plan is to catch up on some things around the house (a.k.a. housework, laundry) but also to have some fun with her family. I (Colleen) am SO excited to have my sister home from college for Columbus Day and am looking forward to spending some time with her. I'm also looking forward to a youth group campfire on Sunday night and a conference on Monday that will help me be a better small group leader to the high school girls I lead through the church! :) 

This week we are teaming up again to share the highlights of our week for Doodle Bug's linky party.  We're so excited to share our Reading Room/Grade 2 "Happenings of the Week"!

First, for news from the Reading Room....

We were thrilled to donate our "Magic-e Show" bundle to a Teachers Pay Teachers fundraiser for breast cancer research put on by the wonderful Lindsay from Beyond the Worksheet.  151 Teacher Pay Teachers Sellers have donated over $720.00 products with proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  Each bundle is selling for $25.00 and is available through the month of October!  We encourage you to check out all the wonderful resources that were donated.  Amazing work! 

About a month ago, I came across a fabulous idea by Gina from Beach Sand and Lesson Plans.  She described how she uses and displays exit slips in her classroom.  I have used exit slips in the Reading Room for a long time but I have always referred to them as "Ticket Out".  For example, before my students head back to their classroom, I will say, "For your ticket out.....I want you to tell me...."  When I came across Gina's post and saw that she DISPLAYED her exit slips, I knew I had to create my own "Ticket Out" poster using Willy Wonka's golden ticket clipart!  This is a snapshot of some of my student's responses after our lesson on Good Fit books.  When I reviewed each response, it was clear who had a good understanding of what we discussed and who needed more review and reinforcement!  Immediate assessment!!  Check out how Gina uses her exit slips here.

And now, for some updates from 2nd Grade....

In 2nd Grade, we do something called Friday Letters. It kind-of works as a weekly newsletter without me having to do the work. I have really grown to LOVE our writing times. On Thursdays we brainstorm about what happened throughout the week and then Fridays I print that brainstorm and our writing rubric and by Friday afternoon everyone takes out their journal, finds a quiet writing space and gets hard to work. I'm so proud of my kids for how hard they work during this time. The quiet music I play perfectly compliments this special time to debrief the week and report back about all the exciting things we've done. Most of my kids wrote about how we had an Alaskan author come and speak to us and about how we started Big/Little Buddies today. My kids were ECSTATIC today when they saw Big/Little Buddies on the board. It was a big surprise!  They were so sweet to our little first grade buddies. Even the kids I was a little bit nervous about were so compassionate and caring. We matched our buddies using puzzle pieces that had the children's names on them. One little friend that I paid close attention to because I thought he may shut down with this experience, walked right up to his buddy, and put his hand on his back and said "wanna see my desk?" while guiding him over to his area and showing him his dinosaur books. Oh my heart! This little munchkin's writing today just made my heart happy! :) 

This week in Fundations we have been learning about glued/welded sounds. Today, we played our Basketball Slam centers. The kids LOVED it and I felt that it truly reinforced the concepts we'd learned about all week. My kids love Friday centers and they have gotten way better at the switching and rotating concept too!

 Just like last time, I set up my centers as follows:

1) I Have Who Has

2) Board Game

3) Word Sort

4) Word Search and Word Shapes (copied back to back)

5) Finish the Word and Ladder Page (copied back to back)

If they finished any center early they took the Read and Illustrate page and picked two words with glued sounds, illustrated them and wrote a sentence using the word.

I spread out my centers around the room and put a rotating list on the smart board of how they should move. When the kids heard the bell, we switched. The kids had so much fun and I did too! Get your own set from our TpT store! It's so worth it!

And last but certainly not least....

GET READY!!!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS for an awesome Mystery Blog Hop at the end of the month!  28 Reading Specialists/Literacy Coaches will be sharing best practices in literacy coupled by a mystery-themed freebie!  AND after collecting clues along the way, you can enter to win some fabulous prizes!  Please "like" our facebook page for upcoming announcements about this exciting event!

We hope you have a wonderful weekend, friends!  Talk again soon!

Positively Pink! [TpT Breast Cancer Research Fundraiser]

Happy Sunday, friends!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Stacy and I are so happy to be participating in a Teachers Pay Teachers fundraiser for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation put on by the wonderful Lindsay Perro. Tons of awesome bloggers and TpT creators have come together and donated to the cause leading to 151 donated resources worth $720! The resources were combined into booklets by grade range and content area. If you click the banner above, or just click here if that's easier, you'll be led to the TpT store that's been created just for this wonderful outreach event.

Here is what we ended up with in each booklet:
K-2 ELA : 29 resources valued at $120.14
K-2 Math : 25 resources valued at $152.95
3-5 ELA : 29 resources valued at $136.50
3-5 Math : 24 resources valued at $87.50
6-8 ELA : 13 resources valued at $65.10
6-8 Math : 16 resources valued at $61.80

Clipart : 15 resources valued at $96.70

Each booklet is only $25.00!

I'm sorry.... did you actually read that?!?!

$25.00 donated to an amazing cause and in return you receive tons of resources that if you were to buy separately would cost you around $100?! COME ON!

No matter what your grade level or content area, we've got something for you!

In the K-2 ELA booklet you'll find our Magic-E bundle of common core aligned games and activities to help your kiddies understand the vowel-consonant-e/final-e/silent-e. I can't wait to use this one with my 2nd grade munchkins. This is definitely something we need to work on and this is just the pack to help us reinforce our learning!

 Breast cancer is a cause near and dear to my own heart because of two of the most important woman in my life: my mom, and my Irish Step Dancing teacher. 

When I was in first grade, my mom battled through breast cancer and eventually won. I remember the way she would come home from chemo so tired and sick but would still tuck me into bed at night and I distinctly remember her pushing through to be one of my class' room moms and how our whole class rallied around her and created a book of letters and encouragement.... complete with a title page covered in band aids with each one of our names on it. I think we still have it too.

My mom is a breast cancer survivor and for that I feel so blessed. I honestly don't know where I would be without her- and she's not just a mom to me and Kerri but to all my friends, too! She's a hero and an inspiration and she continually helps others through their diagnosis' and journeys as well. I love you, mom!

First Grade was also the year of my life that I began Irish Step Dancing, something I practiced, and loved up until my freshman year of college. My teacher was named Mary McInerney.

I remember walking into my first dance class to meet a cheerful red-headed woman carrying a Dunkin Donuts coffee cup. It wasn't long before she had to put that cup down to take out a sharpie and write a big 'ol R on my right foot and L on my left foot due to the fact that I was super brilliant and continually pointed the exact opposite foot of the one she called out... whoops. 

That smiling red-headed woman quickly became like another mother to me. She was tough, but encouraging- and her dancers excelled because of her teaching. She taught me not only how to tell my right foot from my left and how to point my toes but how to push myself, how to be confident and poised and how to exuberantly love life and be grateful for the people around me. 

Mary passed away of breast cancer in 2009 and I've never been more heartbroken than during that season of life. I still miss her and think of her often... and when it thunders, I look up and smile because I think that Mary just may be leading Heaven in a giant trebel jig. Her teaching style is one that I hope to embody as I embark on this journey of my own in teaching and I'm thankful for her influence on my life and heart.

Cancer has, in some way or another, touched everyone and I hope and pray for a day that there is a cure. But until then, I can't think of a better way to support the amazing organizations such as The Breast Cancer Research Foundation in the way they tirelessly work to search for it than to purchase one of these jam packed booklets.

So friends, be positively pink and go grab one of these awesome sets of resources. The booklets are available through October.

Have a wonderful week, everyone! 

If you're new, be sure to leave a comment so we can get to know you a little better, too. We love new friends!