Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Hey there!!

I have not blogged in forever! I tried, I really did. It is almost impossible to get anything done with two kiddos in the house. But, I love every crazy second! I mean... Look at these babies! 


I did find the time to finish up my October Writing Pack, though!


Included is: 
October Word Bank (in color)
18 writing prompt cards (in color)
4 different October themed writing papers (each in 3 versions- primary dotted line with picture box, primary dotted line full page, and single line full page)
3 How-to writing prompts (each in 2 versions- with picture box or without)
1 Fall Graphic Organizer
2 Acrostic Writing Papers (October and Halloween)


This year is just flying by and soon we will be getting ready for Christmas. CRRAZZZY! 

If you like my Facebook page, you may have downloaded my Daily Grammar Practice sample pages. If you haven't, head over there and grab it under my Freebies for Fans tab! You can now get the whole pack by clicking below! 


Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully, I will be getting back into the swing of things soon!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Update Alert!!

I spent a bit of time today updating my Guided Reading Teacher Toolkit. It's not much, but I added some color versions of the Guided Reading Group pages and the Strategies pages. Sometimes, we just need to add a little color and jazz things up a bit! And... Of course, I also made a cute new cover :) Click below to see it!

Guided Reading Teacher Toolkit {Printables to Keep you Organized}

Plus, it's still only $2.00!

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Back to School

Are you back in school yet? I love looking at everyone's back to school posts. I know we get all excited about the new things we are going to do or try in the new year. Some things though are just tried and true! I love Henry and Mudge. I also love starting off the year with them. They are great reads for new 2nd graders and they definitely get the kids engaged. I made this pack last year for my kiddos to use because I wasn't so crazy about our standards Teacher's Guide worksheets and lesson that went with the story.



My kiddos love the cupcake writing project! And they look super cute up on the wall, too :) You can click the image above to check it out on my TPT store.

Friday, July 17, 2015

B2S Freebie!

I'm working on my B2S Review Pack and I thought I would tide you over with a little math freebie! I am really excited about this pack and using it to assess what my kiddos are coming to me with. You can click the image below to download the freebie. Then, be a little patient with me (I am 38 +2 weeks pregnant!) while I finish up the rest.


I love my new fonts from From the Pond :) and of course, my wonderful graphics from MyCuteGraphics! 

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Mother's Day Freebie

Mother's Day is coming up quick and I wanted to make a something PRINTER-FRIENDLY and simple for kids to do for their moms. I absolutely love what kids think about their moms and their responses are bound to make us laugh. This 10 page mini-book is the perfect gift for your kids to give their moms! Scroll down through to see the pages included...









You can grab it FREE in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop! 

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Oceans of Fun!

Well, tomorrow it is back to work! I have been spoiled having the week off with my little guy. Check out some of our cutie pics (ok, not cute of me because I am not taking good pics right now).









7 weeks left! We can do it!! 

Now, you must go over to Sara's blog at Kovescence of the Mind and enter her HUGE giveaway! She met one of her follower milestones and is hosting a giveaway with 45 different prizes! Plus, if you enter the K-2 giveaway, you could win my Oceans of Fun Math Centers

And... My Oceans of Fun ELA Centers are finished! I love these centers and can't wait to get my kiddos started on them. They are bright and colorful, which help keep my kiddos excited and engaged! Click the image below to check them out!

Oceans of Fun~ Themed ELA Centers

You can also get the Oceans of Fun Bundle with both my math and ELA centers inside for 10% less than buying the packs separate! Click below to see :) 

Oceans of Fun~ Themed Math and ELA Center BUNDLE

Now I got to run and squeeze out my last few hours of Spring Break! Have a great Sunday!

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Earth Day Freebie!

We just got back from a little Spring Break trip to the beach and I am shocked to find that I am ready to get some work done! Can I just say that I NEVER thought one human being could sleep as much as I want/need to?! I have been crawling into bed with Madden at night to read his bedtime stories around 9 and just falling asleep in his bed. *SIGH* But... I have somehow still find some time to work on a few goodies and I am anxious to share them with you!

Earth Day is coming up and I am looking at some books I plan to get my kiddos excited! Do you read any of these? If not, these are some great choices for a primary class!









Now, of course... Onto the freebie! Grab this Earth Day Mini Pack for your kiddos to get them excited about Earth Day! You can click the image below to get the pack from my TPT Store :)


Monday, March 16, 2015

Are You A Grasshopper?

Do you use these Backyard Books in your classroom? 
There are several different animals that Judy Allen made these books for. They are GREAT sources of research for kids when writing information animal pieces- which we are starting this week! Check them out on Amazon by clicking the image above!

We will be choosing our animals at the end of the week for our research projects. I am so excited, this is one of my favorite writing units to work on! Who doesn't love learning more about animals?! Once my kiddos pick their animal, they will start using books and iPads to research. I made a new research organizer this year, too. 


You can download it to use for your kiddos by clicking the image above! 

I blew a few of these up into posters so we could do some animal noticings together before the kids got to do theirs independently. I think it helped them see exactly what I wanted and what they were looking for in their own papers. 



Now, I am off to get a snack :) 

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Sunny Sunday!

Did you have beautiful weather today? It was 77 here today in Upstate, South Carolina. Madden and I practiced our t-ball and we even got to eat our dinner outside on the picnic table! I think I may have even got a bit of sun! Praise the Lord!



I also met an exciting milestone on my late last night. You guys have been so awesome to me and when I saw 202 LIKES on my page, I almost cried! I decided that I couldn't let it go unnoticed and I wanted to give a little back to y'all! If you like my Facebook, click on my Freebies for Fans tab. You can now download my Guided Reading Teacher Toolkit for FREE! Yep. Everyone else still has to pay for it on my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. You can read more about my Toolkit and how I use it by clicking the image below.



Onto the NEW stuff! I just finished my Easter ELA Centers tonight and posted them on my TPT. The pack has 6 ELA Centers that focus on 2nd grade CCSS skills. Get them now, just in time for Easter! You can click on either image below to head over to my shop and take a closer look!



Can I end with a sweet little picture of our baby B, too? 






Thursday, March 5, 2015

GIVEAWAY ALERT!

I have GOT to get better about blogging! I am having a killer time because... This pregnant mama is wore out! 

Did you check this new pack out yet? I know some of you still have snow, but for those of you who are enjoying a bit warmer weather... 15 pages of ELA and 15 pages of Math! All with NO colored ink! 



My kiddos love cut and glue activities like these:


TO THE GIVEAWAY!

So... I did kick it up enough to host a giveaway for my new Spring No Prep Pack on my Facebook! If you head over there, you can click on the post to comment and like. That's it! You're entered!! 

Thursday, February 26, 2015

A Little Grammar Practice

We are in desperate need of some grammar practice in 2-9. Some of my kiddos still aren't using capital letters where they need to be. Not to mention, reading some of their sentences requires two minutes with no chance of coming up for air (no punctuation if you don't get what I was saying). 

So... In comes Daily Grammar Practice. Oh, yes. I pulled a sample of what we will be doing to share with you. You can click the strangely gray images (which are not gray in the actual document) below to grab your FREEBIE copy!




Well... This very tired and stressed out pregnant mama is off to toddler bath time! 

Sunday, February 22, 2015

So Ready for Spring!

Don't get me wrong... I love having a snow day here and there, but this cold is crazy! I would rather it be freezing and snow than just freezing and sunny. I am ready for Spring Summer! I am trying to get in the spirit by working on a new Spring pack for my kiddos. 

I'm really excited about it and it's almost done! :) 

Now... Onto the freebie!! Last week, I posted about my Guided Reading Teacher Toolkit that you can get in my Teachers Pay Teachers store now. I wanted to share a little freebie from the packet for you! Click the image below to grab a copy of one of Guided Reading Lesson Plan templates. 



Have a great week!! 

Sunday, February 15, 2015

President's Day Sale!

Go ahead and fill your cart up! Tomorrow I am having a 15% off sale in my TPT Store. I know a lot of teachers are off and will be shopping and getting their plans ready. (I will be having a teacher workday. At least until the snow starts!!) Click the image below to start shopping!


Saturday, February 14, 2015

Guided Reading Teacher Toolkit

Lookout! I am finally blogging about my most prized possession!! My Guided Reading Teacher Toolkit. I swear by this notebook.

Let's take a LOOK!

It obviously has an adorable cover! (Which also happens to be the cover I used for my TPT store when I listed this)

When you open the notebook, you will find my district equating charts for all of the different leveling systems (Guided Reading, Rigby, Grade Level Equivalent, Dominie, etc). This probably looks different for each school, which is why mine isn't pictured. 


Now you have a list of Reading Strategies and Comprehension Skills that we are looking for in our students. This is really helpful to me when I am planning my guided reading groups. I can look here and see what we have worked on and what kids are struggling with and where we need to go next. 

I also use these pages when I am talking with parents. It helps them see exactly what their kiddos need to be able to do when it comes to reading. 



Then, I have my schedule. This looks different for every classroom and every grade level. My groups can change each quarter so I just have to print a new copy and update my time slots depending on what my groups need-- For instance: My high group meets only once a week with me, but they meet two additional times with their "book club." Again, this all depends on your kids. I always use Friday for conferring. 


This is the page where I write who is in each group and what the level is of that group. Like I said before, this can change each quarter and sometimes more frequently than that if a child is moving around a lot with their reading levels. I didn't post one that I had already filled in so I am not posting all my kiddos names here. 

My notebook is then divided into 4 groups with dividers. At the front of each group, you will find my guided reading lesson plans. (This is one I filled out for my group for next week...)


Each group has running record copies for each student in that group and conferring notes for each student in that group. Below is a sample of my running record for my mid-high group. Then a copy of my conferring sheet (which is a blank copy).




I also keep a few copies of my anecdotal note sheet in my each section of my binder. I don't do anecdotal notes on every student all the time. I just keep a few on hand when I need to make some extra notes for myself or if I am running interventions.

Then.... I keep copies of My Reading Bookmarks. I use these in place of sticky notes sometimes when I am conferring with a student. It provides the students one one thing they are doing really well while reading and one thing that they need to remember to do when they are reading. I give it to them when I fill it in after conferring and they keep it as a bookmark to remind them what we talked about. They can keep these in their book baggies as they get new ones. (Sometimes, I give a sticky note with a picture reminder of what they need to work on)



I give these ^ to my kiddos at the beginning of the year to remind them about some tricks for figuring out words they are stuck on. I laminate them so they last all year-- unless they lose them :)

You can now get all the pages from my Guided Reading Teacher Toolkit from my packet on Teachers Pay Teachers! And guess what... It's only $2.50! You can click HERE to get it now.