Tea party! Not school related

I hosted tea party baby shower for my sister in law over the weekend. I just had to show how adorable the cupcakes turned out! It was my favorite part. Thank you to the Memory Lane Tea Room and Tiny Cupcakes and Truffles!

Frankie pops

Made these cute little guys for my class. Can't wait to give them out tomorrow. The faces got a Lil smudged cause I used black gel icing for the face. It just didn't dry up...it stays kind of sticky. Oh well, they will be spooky! Lol

Pinterest project

This is my long over do pinterest project! I'm soooooooo excited that I'm almost done with it. I'm going to hang it by my desk in my classroom! I think I'm going to write favorite quotes on it throughout the year. I'll post the finished product soon

SALE!! Only $1.60!!

I just put my calendars for next year on sale! Get yours now and spread the word! I am so excited about finally opening a store! Tons of people have downloaded my freebies!
I created 2 different Calendars for next school year. One is themed monkeys and the other is themed Frogs.

They include...
Months august 2012- June 2013, a blank calendar, a 2012 calendar and a 2013 calendar

Click HERE to check it out!!

If you like the calendars, but this is not the theme you want Just comment in your request! On requests today and tomorrow will be eligible for the 20% off sale!
( I can also take off the parent letter part so the calendar can me used for anything else)

Thanks for supporting me and my new adventure!

WOW! Common Core Pacing Guides

I just found this awesome website! Below is Chris's profile...She sounds great and she posted wonderful pacing guides on her sight to share! check them out HERE
I have been a teacher for 24 years, the last 15 being here in Corvallis. I have taught all grade levels 1st thru 5th and all blend combinations possible. This year I will teach 4th grade at Adams half time and serve half time as a TOSA. (Teacher on Special Assignment) My roles as a TOSA will be to assist teachers and administrators with Pinnacle (Grade Book/Report Form), Standards-based education and assessment, and the sharing of common formative assessments.
If you have documents or assessment or new ideas that you would like to share with me and others, please email me. chris.caster@corvallis.k12.or.us

Classroom Information Freebie

I just posted a freebie on my TPT store
It is a parent letter that I send home with important classroom information. I also post it on our school website. I would love to see what ideas all of you have out there for beginning of the year letters!

You can also clik HERE to download a guided reading information letter.

Be sure to follow my TPT store for future deals!

Monkey calendars!

Here is a preview of my newest product in my TPT store!
Directions: Print a calendar set for each student and place in a student binder. Students transport binder to and from school each day. Daily write or stamp a comment about the student’s day. (ex. Terrific, great day, awesome, too noisy, rowdy, careless) Request that parents discuss and initial by comments daily.
*other versions coming soon

Winning Class Expectations

Roll on over to Tumbleweed Times for a preview of a cute powerpoint for next year!

Communication Calendars!!!

I just opened my new TPT store and made something to share! it took me a long time to figure it out but I think I did it! Please let me know if you see any mistakes!!!!

Here is a quick preview



Here is a link to my store where you can get your complete copy! There are blank templates to fill in on your own or there are already filled out calendars for the 2012-2013 school year!



Thank you and I would really love some feedback...am I on the right track???

My Lesson Plan Template

This is the copy of my lesson plan template from last year. I am hoping to tweak it a little to align better or project common core standards better. I would love to hear feedback and even more I would love to see lesson plan templates from schools who have already implemented common core!!!
Lesson Plan Template

Sunset

I love this beautiful sunset with silhouette cowboy. I modeled one but this one turned out to top all especially mine! Created by a 7 year old & breathtaking! I love learning about the good old west!

Teepee

Took my kids on a nature walk today & look what we found! A real teepee! We got to go in and it was awesome! Thank you indian ed for letting the firsties take a peek!

Track and field

My teacher friend came up with a great idea to  make matching field day shirts this year! We all have cute animal themed rooms...mine is frogs! I have to admit, her monkeys are way cute! But I think my kuds had a body painting these frogs& they turned out pretty great!

Prairie Days!

We had the best time living in the 1800's! We made butter, squaredanced, went to a one room school house, had a picnic, made quilt squares & had a sewing lesson & more! This was so fun to study our state history.

Following comments

QUESTION: How do you follow or keep up with comments on other peoples blog???


EXPLANATION: I have had a hard time keeping up because I like to ask questions sometimes on other blogs. Only I had to remember who's blog I commented on and then remember to go back and check to see if they ever answered! I was thinking maybe it would be like facebook and notify me somehow...but that wasn't the case. I knew there had to be an easier way...


ANSWER: I finally saw the subscribe button!!! It says...

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

LOL

at the bottom of each blog there is a subscribe button so you can be emailed when that blogger posts. Well there is also a subscribe button at the bottom of each individual post. Clicking this button will sign you up to receive emails notifying you when new comments on that particular post are made. Within the email there is a button that you can click to unsubscribe once you have the information you are wanting. :)


I hope that this is helpful to someone else...hopefully I am not the only clueless blogger in blogland.

What about blogs?

Welp, I decided to take a class about blogging to see if I can jazz up my blog a little! I would really like to learn how to create material to upload and share. I have tried it once before but there were problems. 1. I don't know how to format it so that it can download to someone else's computer properly. 2. I need to know about copyright laws for images and clip art! What's ok to do???I want to be better and share to all those who I have benefited from so many times!!! I love all of the great things I am able to find and use from other teachers across the nation! now that we are all sharing common core standards there has never been a better time to share and I want to contribute more!!!!So wish me luck and let me know if you have any help for me too!!!Oh! i also want to know how to get a blog button and how to throw a linky party!Oh!oh! what about students pictures?? Why do some people blur out the faces and other dont??

Duties? Tell me yours!

Taking a poll! Please tell me what duties you have at your school! We have extra duties and wonder if we are way different than other schools or not.
me:
elementary school-
- 25 minutes watching kids before school starts 1 week per quarter
- bus duty 1 week per quarter
- recess duty 25 min every third day

Other staff does morning and lunch cafeteria duty

HELP! CALLING ALL REPORT CARDS!!

My district is currently developing new report cards for first grade and kindergarten to align with the common core standards.We have in place representatives from each school and they are discussing and designing a report card. It seems very overwhelming! the upper grades don't have to change their report card because it reflects percentages in subjects as opposed to a detailed check list in early childhood. (which by the way I think checklists and student portfolios are awesome awesome) However, what the committees came up with for the beginning of our report card is good, but lengthy,crammed and is so strangely worded and vague that it is going to be sent home with a rubric booklet to help interpret the thing!!! I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING. I actually feel like I am going to need the rubric for years to understand it myself. Now, it is still early on in the development stage for us, but am freaking out and really want to see what my sweet bloggy friends, who's districts are probably pros at common core and reporting by now, are doing!!!
SO>>>PUHLEASSSEEEE! I am begging you

Will you email me a copy of what your districts first grade or kindergarten report cards look like???
I want to see if we are on the same page or way out in left field. (seriously..why is there not a report card to match these national standards???)
MY EMAIL>>>
katieds@cox.net

Testing grades encouragement?

Does anyone do anything special at their schools for testing week to pep up or encourage the kids?
I teach first grade but somewhere I saw that some first graders or kindergartners decorated signs and notes for the testing halls.....any ideas out there?

Wendy posted a really cute one here

What others ideas are out there??

Snake ideas

This blog had a cute idea about helping the kids understand molting!
It would be a little messy I am sure...but every kids loves to play with glue!! I think you wold just have to make sure they understood this was a special time andnot something they could do on other days. I love it!


The same site also posted once on how to make a rainbow snake...these are the directions
1. Mix up sugar cookie dough (any recipe will do).
2. Divide the dough out into 6 ziploc bags.
3. Add one color of food coloring to each bag: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet.
4. Have kids squish the dough and color together throughout the bag. Once mixed, remove the colored dough from each bag.
5. Next, have kids roll each color into a "snake." You'll have 6 snakes, each a different color.
6. Then, put the snakes side by side (ROYGBV) and flatten them out into one large rectangle.
7. With a knife or a cookie cutter, slice the rectangle vertically, so all the colors will be in one long stick.
8. Bake and enjoy! via 5 Ericksons Play
I saved the picture of it on my evernote, but the site seems to not be there anymore.

I love the blog A place Called Kindergarten
She made cute rainbow snakes! The pattern for the snakes is found HERE

It looks like this site used a similar pattern to make a snake but used paint!...Maybe dot art?


This is a site for a cute snakes and ladders game to put in your computer center! I love when all the centers can be themed. Sometimes it doesnt work out for me to have them all match...but I try hard to make it happen!


Looks like Jennifer over at Kinderpond actually brought int he HERP society to her classroom! ha!! That seems cool...I wonder if wehave anything like that in my town...

Itsy Bitsy Snake book

Deep space sparkle has some pretty snake art!

I would comment more if...

Believe me! I llloooovvveee getting comments and I so love commenting! I really do like to give feedback....especially when awesome teachers out there share so many wonderful things that I use!! I want to say thank you and show my appreciation.

BUT - I seriously get annoyed with proving that I am not a robot. ok, maybe I am being whiny,but am I the only one that gets annoyed with that?

I turned that setting off on my blog. i just think it makes it easier for people to leave comments. I haven't gotten any crazy comments ...at least not yet...so what do ya say??? wanna join me??!!

If you use blogger just go to your dashboard
click on comments
you will see
Show word verification for comments?
click
No
This will eliminate requiring people leaving comments on your blog to complete a word verification step,

It does say it will reduce spam in you leave it on...but until I get spam...I think I will leave it off. :)

#200!!!!!

Holy moly I just hit 200 followers! That is soo awesome! I love that we have this wonderful bloggy world of sharing between teachers! I wish iv was good arty making stuff so I could post a freebie. :(
I tried before, but it was all , misaligned & I need to purchase some images so I don't have copyright problems....

A Girl!

My good teacher friend is having a girl! I am so excited and happy that I get to do something pink! Tonight another friend and I made these super cute invitations for her school baby shower! The information its on the back but this is just the front.

Teacher of the year

Welp, we are on spring break! Yay! I am so happy because my husband took off too! First tome in 9 years that he has taken spring break with me!
Anywho! I can't pull myself completely away from school sooooo, a friend and I whipped up some adorable invitations for our teacher of the year friend! This is the front and we put the time and place and stuff on the back! In the mail they go!

Oobleck

Today we read Oobleck by Dr. Seuss. It is a really good book! I hadn't read it until this year.
I love the message....we talked alot about how magical these simple words can be....I'm sorry...it's all my fault.
My students are so precious this year. They are truly made with the the most sweet compassionate hearts. I am so proud to be their teacher. 
Ok...so after I melted over how sweet they are
We got down and dirty and made some oobleck of our own!
Plain old cornstarch & water.
Very messy = Very fun!

The Lorax

How cute is this little guy?! We made him and put magnets on the back. My students hung them on their lockers to remind them to not be wasteful or greedy.
Then we all loaded our arms with old papers and took a walk out to the  recycle bin. They were very proud of themselves and are excited about going a little "green!"

Happy St. Patricks Day!

New Kindergarten blog!!!

My Kindergarten teacher friend started a new blog!! Follow here at - Tumbleweed Times

I know she would love some feedback and followers!

Horton Hears a Who!

We made giant elephant ears for Horton hears a who & Horton hatches an egg. Fun!

Can you save whoville?

They are all ready and excited to race and save all of the Whoville's! They can only use chopstick and realy back and forth to see which team can get the most whoville's in their bucket! This was so funny to watch!It is actually harder than it seems for them to use chopsticks---I even got the plastic kids ones! They had a blast!





THEN! when we got back to our room it started hailing tiny little ice pellets outside! The kids all said..."Whovilee's are falling everywhere!" How perfect was that weather for us today?? Love First Grade!

More Seuss Decor Fun!

Our grade loved all the Dr. Seuss stuff we found so much that we are learning with a book a day for 3 weeks! So much fun! I love how the halls of the little ones is looking so Seussy!

Seussy Decorations!

Cute Seuss decorations in my hall!

1 fish 2 fish - blue jello, red fish!

So on tuesday this week I'm focusing on one fish two fish red fish blue fish. I saw this idea and had to try it! I made them for my class and my boys liked them so much I made some for their classes as well. Super easy! I got about 6 cups per package of jello.

New Cute blog!!

Come and check out my friends new blog! She is so excited about her new blog and would really be tickled to have some support! Please swing on over to Mrs. Mason's Monkeys!!
We all know how much we love comments and followers! Let's give our new bloggy friend a grand welcome!!!

One Lovely Blog - OH MY!!!

Awwww! Thank you Stacey at 3rd Grade Times! I have been a slacker at blogging and just got back in to the swing of things lately! I am so happy that you noticed me! YAY!
I love that we can all share ideas and help each other across the borders. Being a part of blog land has definitely helped me to become a much better teacher!

I have some favorites out there, so below I am going to pass this award on and recognize them!!!


Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Pass the award on to 15 other lovely bloggers.
3. Follow the person who sent it to you.

So, here are the One Lovely Blog Award winners that I have chosen:
Petersons Pad
First Grade Heart
First Grade School Box
Yearn to Learn
Empowering Little Learners
Extra Special teaching
Hangin' With Mrs. Cooper
First Grade Smarties
Sassy in Second
First grade blue Skies
Time 4 Kindergarten
Sunny Days in Second Grade
Blooming in to First Grade
Mrs. Mason's Monkeys



Help these ladies feel Lovely today by checking out their Lovely blogs!
Have a wonderful rest of your weekend! Thanks again, Katie

Fox in socks

Today we all wore silly socks! We read Fox In Socks & Oh Say Can You Say. We practiced saying other tongue twisters like .....
How much wood could a wood chuck chuck
Peter piper
And my favorite...you need unique New York
They were cracking me up! Then we ate popsicles & got our tongues really cold & tried to say them again.....whoa! We were all getting the giggles from how silly we sounded.
Fun day in first