What I Am Loving Thursday

This week has been crazy busy, but FABULOUS at the same time!  I am having a blast with the incoming kinders, they are so excited to be at school.  I must be feeding off of their excitement, because I am pumped (yes, "pumped") for a great year.
Even though my mind is getting into school-mode, I am holding on to bits of my summer.
I am loving these remaining pieces of summer...

Lavender picking- an annual adventure with my sister.

Tomatoes from my 1st garden!

Dalias- my favorite!

Rocking in Central Oregon!  We seriously dug for rocks.  It was a neat way to spend a day outdoors.

My two newest loves have to be...

Best sparkling water ever! 

This picture is perfection!  I want to get it for my house and my classroom!

What are you still loving about summer?

What I'm Loving Wednesday - 8/7/13

I can't believe that this is my last week of summer break, even though I still have Kinder Academy, 2 PD days, and teacher's week ahead of me.  Granted part of it is my fault; I decided to teach summer school, and participate in a million things, but I love it!  This week, I am trying to soak it all in!

My mid afternoon treat has been an iced tea from my Keurig.  I love the convenience of it!

Several years ago, I stumbled upon the music of Tristan Prettyman.  I think it was through one of those iTunes free singles of the week.  I quickly fell in love with her incredible voice and truthful lyrics.  Since then, I have had the pleasure of meeting Tristan and hearing her live.  She is not only an incredible artist, but a truly humble human.  I received my newest TP shirt this week, accompanied with  stickers for this year's teacher gear.

I have been doing a lot of shopping, but mostly for my classroom.  I finally picked up a couple of Back-to-School clothing pieces; gotta love Target!

After a good amount of searching, I found Crayola's new Doodle Scents.  They are Crayola's classic markers with a smelly twist.  The scents range from toasted marshmallow, to evergreen tree, to barnyard!

In the midst of the fun and attempted relaxation, my pup is really struggling.  Some how he developed an EXTREME sensitivity to something.  We are still trying to figure out if it is his food or something outside.  At this point he is coned, unable to play in the yard, and a hazard to himself.  He licks his paw to a point where they are raw and he can barely walk.  You can only imagine the amount of anxiety this has caused my husband and I.  We are hopeful to pinpoint the issue and get back to our weekend hikes and outdoor adventures.  Good thoughts!!

What are you loving this week?

What I'm Loving - Games

I love teaching and reviewing through games.  Not only do they reinforce team work, but games allow students to gain confidence and establish strategies.  From day one, games are used in my classroom for whole group, small group, and individual practice.
Check out the games I love:

Extra Point is a great beginning of the year review for students.  It allows students to practice counting on and plus one. 

BUMP is the greatest math game!  It teaches good sportsmanship and math facts.

You can find BUMP and Extra Point in my TPT store.  They are wonderful for the beginning of the year and fall games, even though I play them all year with my kiddos.

So, I love math games, but literacy games are just as important in my classroom.  The greatest game EVER....I Have...Who Has...?  Seriously, it is the most adaptable game.  I use it for sight words, book reviews, and most importantly, learning names.

At the beginning of the year, my students and I practice each other's names through I Have...Who Has...?  Once we have mastered each other we move onto staff members.  Even though I teach first grade, I expect my students to be able to greet staff members throughout the building.  I also use this as a means of safety.  If my students do not recognize a staff member they can always ask me who the person is, allowing me to determine if they are a sub, visitor, or need to report to the office.  

What games do you love using with your students?  Check out the links below for other fabulous ideas!

What I'm Loving Wednesday - Summer School Parent Days

I really enjoy linking up for What I'm Loving Wednesday.  Thank you Jessica for hosting!

I can't believe that our Summer JumpStart program is already 1/2 over.  I love the learning that has taken place and am so grateful for the time and energy that went into writing the grant, for the program.  One piece of the grant is the parent support component.  The last day of each week, parents are invited to come in and learn with their child for the day.
I am a huge advocate for having parents in the classroom and have therefore embraced these days.  Last week, parents came to the library and picked out books with their child.  I also taught the parents and students how to play "Oh, No!" I then sent them home with the game supplies.  This week, we will be reviewing all of our writing and reading from the week.  One activity that I will be using is from Erica Bohrer's Super Spelling Centers, called Brown Bag It.

If you don't have this center book, I highly recommend purchasing it.  I love using it for review and homework.

We practiced using this center today with our sight words.  It was incredibly easy to differentiate this activity.  Several students wrote their sight words three times each, while others used their sight words in a complete sentence.

Tomorrow my summer students will be teaching their families how to play Brown Bag it.  Therefore, today I am prepping supplies so that families can take home a laminated set, in order to practice at home.

Do you use any of Erica's centers in your classroom?  I would love to hear from you and how you use them.
Happy Wednesday!

What I'm Loving Summer School Edition

I am so excited for another link up with Covered in Glitter and Glue, for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

I know that it is "summer break," but I am loving being back in my classroom.  This week started our Summer Jumpstart Program.  It is a grant program, written by one of our amazing ESL teachers, to "jumpstart" our kindergartners coming into first grade.  I have the privilege of teaching one of classes. Tomorrow, parents will be joining us to learn ways to support their child at home.  I decided that Oh, No! was the perfect game to teach them, as a way to practice sight words.  If you haven't played Oh, No! with your kiddos you can grab the directions from my TPT store.

Teaching summer school is allowing me to keep my TPT juices flowing.  Make sure to check out my latest freebie, ARR! Tally Mark Activity.

Not only do I love creating for TPT, but I love watching my kiddos test out (and LOVE) my creations.  Today, students worked on their short /a/ word families with Ice Cream Word Families.  It was so great to see them manipulating and finding connections throughout the word families.

Today's ultimate love happens to be my Math Tubs.  Ashley's labels are perfect; make sure to check out her blog.  Call me crazy, but I loved taking a basket of math centers and placing each activity in its specified tub.

Happy Wednesday!!

What I'm Loving Atlanta

Ohhh, Atlanta!  I have been in Atlanta, Georgia since Saturday, for National Education Association Representative Assembly (NEA-RA).  Atlanta has provided our delegates with fabulous venues and great attractions.  Although I am here for work, I have had the opportunity to explore around the city.

I am linking up with Covered in Glitter and Glue for today's What I'm Loving Wednesday: Atlanta edition.

I LOVED the Georgia Aquarium!

 I can't wait to share the images and resources I picked up with my students.

The World of Coca-Cola was fun.  It was so much fun tasting the Coke products from around the world. Note: Don't' drink Beverly, from Italy (YUCK!).

This is an original Coca-Cola soda fountain. 

Fingers crossed (the weather has been super rainy), tonight is the Brave's games.

What else should I see while I am here?

What I'm Loving...

Forgive me for not posting this yesterday.

I am linking up with Covered in Glitter and Glue for today's post, What I'm Loving Wednesday (or Thursday).

Summer is definitely a time when I work on reorganizing and pre-organizing.  Here are two of my current organizing loves:

Editable Chevron Binder Labels:
You can find these in my TPT store (click the image).  I love the colors and the fact that they are editable!

Sterilite Tubs: 
These bad lads are going to house all of my monthly center materials.  I love creating centers, but it is hard to keep them all organized.  Ashley, over at That's So Second Grade, did an amazing job creating the labels that I will be using for these tubs.  Thanks, Ashley!

I found these great tubs at Target, on sale!

I love the chevron and chalkboard graphics!

Happy Organizing!