Five for Friday on Halloween!

Happy Halloween and happy Friday!! Time for a quick Five for Friday post up before the holiday chaos begins!

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Here is one of my new products on sale for $1.00!

You get templates for making the sheriff, writing check cards for students to check writing, and sheriff badges for great writing. 

You can get this in TN or TpT.

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Here is may latest freebie on TpT. The QR codes take the student to a learning or song video. Also, check out my store at Teacher's Notebook for other freebies!

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I discovered this app that makes dice.  On the left, I made CVC dice. On the right, I simply used the standard dice that come on the free version.  The purchased version allows you to create more original die and add photos to your die also.

It costs $2.99 for the full version or you can try the lite version FREE!

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Students are working on mini-books that contain the stages of pumpkin growth and a mini-book o a pumpkin poem.  These are placed in the "pumpkin pack" shown above.  Then I fill the packs with a Halloween pencil and eraser.

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Isn't this cute? A parent brought a bunch of them in to give to the children!

Book Talk Tuesday: Happy Endings

I am linking up with Mrs. Jump to talk about

 this gem I found in the library on Monday. Although I think it is a bit advanced for kindergarten students, I still found it adorable.

The students are going to "tackle" the word endings before summer break. The children were restless and did not want to study. The suffixes leave to the gym to work out so they are prepared for being "tackled." After lunch the students and the teacher return to the classroom to discover the suffixes are gone.

The children make signs to get the endings back.

 The suffixes see the posters and decide to makeup clues to where they are. The children read the clues and realize the need the suffixes to read their clues.  The story finishes with a happy ending.

The ending pages give students a list of rules for adding suffixes.

This book is perfect for grade levels where suffixes are studied heavily throughout the year. However, it would be a cute read aloud for any grade.

          This book is available from 

      

Liebster Award Nomination

Thank you to Stephanie Kirk of A Touch of Class for this nomination!! This award is for bloggers who have less than 200 followers but have great content and potential. You can learn more about me by reading on! 

Why and how long ago did you start blogging?

I have been blogging for over 2 years.  I can't say I'm new to blogging at this point, just unpopular! I definitely don't have anywhere near 200 followers. 

I started blogging because I discovered a teaching blog while searching online for kindergarten assessments. I did not know about blogs before that! 

The teacher had links to other blogs and I stalked  blog after blog for 3 months.  All the while feeling like I was one of those bloggers.  Finally, at the beginning of the summer 2012, I began my own.  

What one word sums up the heart of your blog and why?

Calling- I felt it was a calling to start blogging and join other blogger teachers.  I wanted to be a part of this community and take joy in sharing with others.  The idea of my work reaching children outside my class was a miracle to me.

 Is there something you learned late in your blog journey you wished you knew before?

As an older gal, I wish I began with the computer skills I have today.  I made a lot of mistakes and some of my earlier posts weren't as exciting as they could have been. If I had started with the tech knowledge I have know, I may have had more followers!

What is your favorite past time other than blogging?

I love to karaoke! This has expanded to my creation of songs and videos to post on my YouTube Channel.

How many hours per week do you dedicate to your blog?

I don't spend as many hours as I used to.  I only spend a few hours monthly. My other projects take up much of my time (YouTube, SlideShare, TpT projects) but these activities usually end up on my blog eventually.

 What category of blog posts do you enjoy the most?

I enjoy posts that demonstrate a craft tied to a learning objective.  I love the creativity of those!

Where does your blog inspiration come from?

I find that ideas pop into my head 
when I am exercising on my stationary 
bike. I have to keep a pencil and paper nearby.

Which post that you've written are you most proud of?

I am most proud of the post on "Pete's Positional Words."

It has been extremely well received by the teaching community.

Is there any post you have been planning to do, 

but have postponing it for a while now?

I keep a notebook of ideas so 

I always have blog ideas.  

But I take things slow and steady.

  I am not postponing these posts,

 but working on them little by little 

and saving them as drafts until they are ready.

What is your favorite aspect of blogging?

I love the sharing aspect of blogging.  
Also, the idea that someone got just what 
they needed from me, makes me feel like 
I have accomplished something great. 
 I am always extremely grateful 
when I hear feedback like that from teachers.

Which recipe, project, or idea on my blog would 
you be most likely to try yourself?

From the A Touch of Class blog, I would like
 to utilize Stephanie's idea for using felt squares 
as whiteboard erasers!  I have felt in plenty and
 I had not thought to use it for students to clean individual whiteboards! I will definitely be doing this!

My nominations are:
1. Stacy Ess of Second Grade Sweetie Pies  

2. Jamie Aguilar of Classy Kinders

3.Cristina Santarelli of A is for Adventures of Homeschooling

4. Zoe Currie of Oh, The Little Wonders

5. Lindsey Murray of Mrs. Murray's Kinders
6. Laura Duinkerken of Luv My Kinders
7. Katie of Living the First Grade Dream
8. Julie of A First for Everything
9. Kelly of Lattes and Lunchroom
10. Ashley of One Sharp Bunch
11. Chelsey Andrews of Teaching Resource Queen


(Hopefully, I have only nominated those who qualify!) 

To those who have been nominated, here are the "official" rules for accepting:
1. In your post, link back to the blogger who nominated you as a thank you and "shout out." (Follow their blog if you haven't already!)  
2. Answer the 11 questions given to you (the ones I answered above).
3. Nominate 11 blogs of your choice that each have less than 200 followers. Provide them with 11 questions to answer or have them answer the questions above.
4. Let your nominees know that they've been nominated and provide them with a link to your post so that they can accept.
5. Send your nominator a link to your post so that s/he can learn more about you as well! (You can just put your post link in the comments below!)

I

Counting on Addition Center, Pinch Card and Pete Preview

I wanted to find a way to combine counting on with adding so I made this center for my kids to practice.

Counting on Addition Center

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Have you ever heard of a pinch card? It is a tool for a quick group assessment that you may want to use in your classroom. Here's how it works.  Create a card that contains double sided answers.  This allows both the teacher and the child to see the chosen answer in response to the question.  The teacher can visual scan the room for correct and incorrect responses, then make a note of the results.

Here is a Blank Pinch Card.

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Here is the large chart of digraphs for my new product, "Digraph Dog Pack."

It comes with this project template.

It  also comes with circle maps of each digraph and matching pictures. 

Students can also make a mini-version of the large chart.

Available at TpT or TN for $1.88 

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Preview a new Pete book!

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Lastly, I finally got my new computer!