April GIVEAWAY!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I am in the "springy" mood today and feel very giving :) I'm trying to build up my shop on Teachers Notebook, as well as my new Instagram account. Follow me on IG @theelementarylife to see how I run my classroom, new products, activities, and other exciting things going on in the life of this teacher + wife + mommy <3

Head on over to my Teacher's Notebook shop HERE and enter in my giveaway for a Sentences and Fragments Bundle! There will be FIVE winners so don't miss it! It will run from tomorrow until Sunday. Please follow my shop on Teachers Notebook and get more opportunities at sales and giveaways!

Teacher's Notebook Shop GIVEAWAY & Valentine's Day Ideas

Happy Friday! I'm not sure why I am JUST NOW discovering Teachers Notebook...I love the layout, the products, and the great features it includes. I have my own Teachers Pay Teachers store that you can check out HERE but I decided to create a shop on Teacher's Notebook to have another place to put all my products. I'm including paid digital products as well as freebies! :)

Teacher's Notebook GIVEAWAY for Black History: GIVEAWAY HERE!

Next subject...Valentine's Day! <3 I have a couple Valentine's Day products that you can find at my TPT store. If you're not into Valentine's Day literacy and math centers, I've included some great blogs that have craft ideas for your kids!

Fireflies & Mudpies

Rainbow Heart Suncatchers

This craft would be SUPER easy to do in a busy classroom. Click the link to find out how to make them :) I'm definitely going to try these with my third graders!

 

Crafts Unleashed

Pom Pom Monster

Um...how freakin' cute! These take a little more work but are so adorable for any kid!

Crafty Morning

Handprint Monkey Valentine Craft

This would be great for the younger kids. This blog has step by step directions with pictures to get the perfect product!

Comment below with a link to your Valentine's Day crafts! I'm going to do one with my kids next week and post it for you guys! Thanks for stopping by :)

Back to Work and TPT Sale

My maternity leave is coming to an end, which makes for an emotional week for me. I've been dreading this. I've been brainstorming how I can stay at home and quit my job. Downsize? Cut our cable and sell a car? After all of this contemplating I came to the conclusion that I need to go back to work. This isn't just for me, but for my daughter as well. I want her to look up to me and see the difference that I am making in children's lives everyday. As fellow educators, you know that this is one of the most special jobs one can have. We don't make a lot of money, so sure, I could probably survive after quitting. At  this point in time, I don't think it's the right decision for me or my family. I've spoken to many friends and family as well as cried to my husband how I can't leave my baby girl. It's a hard decision, but this teacher has got to get back to work :) Once we get into a routine again I'm sure I'll be okay! All mothers go through this, right? :)

I love my job and am excited to get the new school year started. I'm nervous about coming into my classroom after other rules and routines have been established. I will do another post a few weeks after I go back and give you all an update on how it went and tips for returning after maternity leave.

So because this is my last week on maternity leave, I'm throwing a sale for fun! My entire TPT store is 15% off. Click HERE to get there! I hope you find something that you like :) Check out the freebies, too!

*The sale will run from October 3rd through October 5th

 

Here is my daughter, Bailey Rae. She was born on July 26th, 2015.

 

Have a good weekend :)

Multiplication Freebie!

Hi everyone! I was due with my baby girl on Monday and STILL no baby! So I needed something to do to pass the time. I created a multiplication freebie for all of my teacher friends. It's up on my TpT store now! You can grab it HERE!

My third graders struggle with mastering their multiplication facts so I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to get them engaged in the process. We play lots of multiplication centers so I need to have a good supply of materials so they don't get bored of the same old games. This center can be played a few different ways. I've included a cover page, directions, and 44 facts. Let me know what you think!

End of the Year Sale!

Happy Friday!

My entire TpT store will be 10 percent off from May 29th to June 1st! I am so excited for summer break so I wanted to share my excitement with you. I will be working hard over the summer to add more products to my store for use next year. I will be on maternity leave until October so that should hopefully give me some more time :)

Check out my store HERE!

Also...I've opened an Etsy shop! Ever since becoming pregnant I've been searching for printables to decorate the nursery, gender announcements, and all other things baby! What I didn't realize is that I can make those things right in my living room...so I opened a shop up to share what I've created :)

Here's a little peak at what my Etsy shop has to offer! Head on over and let me know what you think!

Check out my shop HERE!

As always, thank you for stopping by!

Fact and Opinion Bundle!

Happy Wednesday! I just posted a new product on my Tpt Store that I LOVE! This fact and opinion bundle includes a poster, two worksheets, and a center! Head on over to my store to grab it! You can use it as a center or a mini-lesson. I have an assistant that works in my room during our literacy block so this will be super useful when teaching my students about fact and opinion. Let me know if you have any questions and thanks for stopping by!

                                                                               

Fractions on a Number Line Center

It has been MONTHS since I've written a blog post. This school year has been by far the most stressful one yet. This week we have had two snow days so I really focused on getting another product created for my TpT store!

Your kids struggle with fractions on a number line? Here is a super fun center for your kids to work on! Click here to head to my store and grab the product!

FREEBIE and TPT Sale

It's that time to start getting our classrooms ready for school, so that means a Teachers Pay Teachers SALE! My entire store will be 20 % off August 4-5. Click the image below or click here to get to it! I've also got a new FREEBIE that you can download here! My next post will be all about the first week of school and fun activities to do in your classroom so stay tuned! Have a great weekend!!!

 

Creative Writing Center

I have a few weeks of summer break left, so I'm cranking out some new TPT products! Be on the look out for some cool stuff! This week, I'm showing off my new creative writing center that you can also see here at my store. I really try to motivate my third graders to write. And they will, if it's what they want to write about. That is totally fine with me because that's step #1.

This center is super easy to set up and use in the classroom! Cut and laminate the cards. Place each set in a bag or an envelope. Have students pick one from each bag and begin writing! The crazier the combinations, the more their imagination needs to work :)

The center includes:

-a set of plot cards

-a set of setting cards

-a set of character cards

-a pre-writing sheet

Charlotte's Web Novel Study

I hope everyone is having a nice and relaxing summer! Since I've got a few minutes of extra time, I wanted to prepare some things for the study that my third graders do of Charlotte's Web by E.B. White. I've got two products on Teachers Pay Teachers so far!

My first product is a set of vocabulary words from Charlotte's Web. You can display these in your classroom or use them as a center! Click here to check it out!

 

My next product is a set of response questions by chapter. You can use these as a seatwork packet, quizzes, or homework as needed. Click here to check this awesome product out!

 

 

End of the Year Memory Book

The school year is coming to an end. Although I will miss my lovely class, I can't say that I'm not itching to say goodbye for the summer! At the end of the school year I usually look online for some kind of "end of the year" worksheet. I wanted to incorporate all aspects of the school year; subjects, friends, teacher, summer plans, etc. I would love to laminate these for a keepsake for the kids. What sort of fun end of the year things do you do in your classroom?

Head on over to my TpT store right here and grab it! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Free Product!!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and Spring Break! Is everyone as ready for summer break as I am? :) I wanted to brighten up your day with a FREEBIE! Check out these super cute and simple binder covers. They cover a range of topics from subject areas, student data, to parent communication. Head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store right here to grab them!

Writing in the Classroom

Happy Hump Day everyone! It's been a couple weeks since my last post...a lot has been going on! On top of MSA, snow days, and grad school, I'm overwhelmed to say the least. I wanted to do a quick post about writing centers. I love writing and I want my students to enjoy it as well. I'm even writing my 40 page graduate paper on the attitudes of students towards writing!

During the Daily 5, students are able to work on writing. It is a requirement to work on writing AT LEAST twice a week. I've created a writing table where I store their writing folders and the class writing journals. At the beginning of the year I bought a folder for each student to last the entire year. They are stored in the bins shown below. This way, students won't lose them and I can see the progress that they make throughout the year. My students can write whatever they want in these folders. I have journal cards, story ideas, creative writing cards, etc. In addition to the folders, I have spiral notebooks and composition books with labels on them that I created. You can grab these for free at my Teachers Pay Teachers store here! These journals have broad topics on them so students can write creatively.

How do you promote writing in your class?

 

Sentences and Fragments

Happy Hump Day everyone! I hope you all are having a great week so far! I have a new product to share with you, which focuses on developing sentences. Many of my students have trouble developing sentences, as they are writing fragments. What a perfect way to get rid of this habit...a few printables and a center that focuses on sentences and fragments! These activities could be used from 1st  grade to 4th grade, depending on the needs of your students. I teach 3rd grade and I created this for my class, although it can be differentiated. This awesome bundle includes 3 printables and a center! Click here to grab this at my TpT store!

 

 

 

 

 

Black History Month Part II

Happy Hump Day everyone! I am so excited to share my new Black History center! After watching the movie, The Butler, I became even more intrigued about Black history. If you haven't seen it, you need to watch it (not with your kiddies of course). It gave me a new insight on history and what African-Americans went through. I was hooked the entire time. I thought having Oprah in it would throw me off, but she did an amazing job. I want my kids to learn about Black history and appreciate what they have now. Check out the trailer below, then go to Redbox and get it! :)

 

 

 

 

 

And now for my center, called "Who Am I?" Click the photo below to grab this awesome center!

 

 

 

 This easy to assemble center on requires laminating and cutting! Use this as a literacy or social studies center, whole class activity, or differentiate it and have students research the figures.

Includes:
-Cover page
-Directions
-Answer sheet
-Recording sheet
-9 character cards
-27 facts

 

What are you doing in your classroom for Black History month? If you'd like to see a similar center for President's Day, click here. Happy blogging, teacher friends!

 

President's Day FREEBIE and GAME

Here in Southern Maryland we had a snow day! This meant that I could spend a few hours creating some new products. Since President's Day is coming up, I figured I could focus on that. Check it out!

Who's That President? You can find this for $4.00 at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Click here to grab this fun game! In this game, students read a fact about a president and have to match it to one of the six presidents. Ideally, there should be some background knowledge, but this can also be a learning tool that you can use with groups!  

Here is your President's Day FREEBIE! :) After teaching about President's Day, have your students write what they would do if they were president. This would be an amazing writing sample to hang in the hallway or laminate to send home in a portfolio. There is an intermediate prompt and a primary prompt. Click here to grab this one :)

Thanks again for stopping by! I hope you enjoy these products! Let me know what you think :)

Black History Month Part I

Black History Month is approaching quickly. I'm running around thinking, what am I going to do? I have a few good books that I'd like to read (Ruby Bridges and Henry's Freedom Box). What should I do with them? Then I had an idea...we've been cramming the Common Core into our heads and yelling "TEXT EVIDENCE!" So, I decided to create some graphic organizers that focus on character traits so my students CAN determine character traits and use text evidence to support them. A graphic organizer isn't enough, so I added an extended response prompt. The reason I chose character traits for Black History Month is because I want my kids to really get to know these people and understand why they have the character traits that they have. If the didn't go through struggles and perservere through difficult times, would they be the same person?

 

Here are some great resources that I found on Black History Month:

 

NEA Black History Month

 

Scholastic

 

Enchanted Learning

 

Check out my product that you can get here.

This product includes 12 graphic organizers!
Ruby Bridges, Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, Sarah E. Wood, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglas, Jessie Owens, Marcus Garvey, Sojournor Truth, and Thurgood Marshall.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! I would love to hear from you and check out your blog. Follow me and leave me your blog name so I can check it out! :)