Friday!!!! A Giveaway, Freebies, and Techie Stuff!

Happy Friday!!! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!!!

Five tidbits from the week .....

1) Anchored in 3rd Grade 1,000 Instagram Follower Celebration -
    Head over to Carrie's blog to enter her awesome giveaway!! She is celebrating reaching 1,000 Instagram Followers.  Since I love following Carrie on IG, I decided to help her out with her giveaway.

You can win my newest product Seasonal Similes!!!!  

... and lots of other great products including Jamberry Wraps.  

Head over now!!!! Good luck!!!

2) Parent Conferences are done!!

    I had parent conferences this week.  Here's what I put on my door.  

I go through a TON of wipes and hand sanitizer throughout the year.  I'm a little bit of a germ freak.  Anytime I can stock up with donations, I shamelessly ask for them.  

3) Extreme Collaboration

     This is my newest techie discovery!!! Does anyone else use this through Notebook software on their Smartboards????  I love it.  It's a great way for students to share their ideas via iPads.  

 * First, they scan a generated QR code.

 * Then, they connect and type in their response.  This week we worked on finding details in nonfiction text.  

* They press submit.

* Voila!!! Their answers appear on the Smartboard.  So cool!!!!

4) St. Patrick's Day Similes

     This is from my Seasonal Similes product I mentioned earlier.  My students are so creative and are doing a great job with their descriptive writing.  

You can grab a FREE sample of this product from my Facebook page.  

5) Funny of the Week

    I got this adorable pop up card from one of my students.  It's hilarious that she thought to make this elaborate card of a prince proposing to me.  Obviously, she wants me to meet Mr. Right as much as I do.  

That's it friends.  Thank you so much for stopping by!  Here are FREE March Madness bookmarks for your students.  Enjoy!

Have a wonderful week!!

March Currently and a FREEBIE!!

Happy March!! Time for Farley's Currently!! Be sure to check out her adorable new blog design and link up at Oh' Boy 4th Grade!

Listening:

   I'm listening to Saturday Night Live recorded from last night.  It always cracks me up.  Click below to see one of my all time favorite clips from the show.  Of course it's Jimmy Fallon with Justin Timberlake.  So funny!!

Loving:

  I LOVE my Mr. Sketch smelly markers!! I use them to make charts and grade papers.  They last a long time and they smell GREAT!!!  

Thinking:

  Which Dr. Seuss treat I should make for my students?  I can't believe it's already March.  So crazy!  Last year, I made jello parfaits to celebrate The Cat in the Hat.  My students loved them.  

I think this year, I might make these simple treats with oreos, icing, and Life Saver gummy rings.  

Wanting:

  I'm about to make some chicken noodle soup to get rid of this sore throat.  The LAST thing I want to do is write sub plans!!! I know my teacher friends understand this.  Instead, I'm going to load up on vitamins and ignore this cold.  Haha!

Needing:

  I can't believe the second trimester at my school is coming to an end .... that means report cards and parent conferences!!! Yikes! Hopefully, I'll get all my comments done today!

???:

  In honor of Read Across America, my question is "What are your favorite NON TEACHER books?"  I love reading and escaping into the author's world.  These are a few of my recent faves.  

This is the final book in the Divergent trilogy.  Great read!

This is such a sweet story told from the perspective of a dog.  Loved it!!

This is a sad one, but a sweet story about life and relationships.

Happy Read Across America!!! What are some of your favorite NON TEACHER books?  I'm ready to start reading a new book.  

Be sure to stop by my TPT store or my Facebook page to grab FREE St. Patrick's Day Bookmarks for your students!  Enjoy!

Happy reading,

Five for Friday (Sunday)!! Math, Read Alouds, and Of Course Techie Stuff!!

Hi my teacher peeps! I'm finally getting around to linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday! 

FIVE RANDOM THINGS FROM THIS WEEK ... 

1) Read Alouds 
      I've recently came across Miss Smartie Pants Photo Challenge for February on Instagram.

Day 7 was to post your favorite read aloud.  I decided to share a few of my favorites here on my blog.  All of these books help with teaching a lesson, descriptive writing, narrative writing, or character traits.

Great book about the power of our words and not judging others!

Great book about being unique and proud of who you are! 

I remember my third grade teacher reading this book to me.  It's silly and quirky!
Great book for teaching descriptive writing.

Great book about helping and reaching out to others!

Who doesn't love Charlotte's Web?! Great book about friendship!

A touching book about friendship and imagination! This is a tear jerker.
I only read it if I have a mature group of students.

Great book about individualism and loving who you are!

Great book about being comfortable in your own skin
and being proud of who you are!

2) Math

     As my school district transitions into common core, I have been using math manipulatives MORE and MORE.  My students have been using them EVERYDAY!!  I decided to hang a math manipulative bag from each of my students' desks with a binder ring.  Whenever my students need to PROVE their answer, they can quickly grab what they need without getting out of their seats.  

3) More QR codes

     I'm slightly becoming obsessed with QR codes.  They are still pretty new to me .... but I love them!! My students love scanning them.  I included them on my morning must do list.  These link to a list of commonly used homophones to help my students with their morning work.  This is much faster than having my students search for it online .... and it's more fun than bookmarking it.

4) Morning Message

     Each morning, I have this displayed on my smart board.  My students read it as they are walking in.  Instead of coming up to me with A LOT of questions, they read the board.  It also lets them know what's going on.  I know I like to know what's going on ... similar to getting an agenda at my staff meeting.  

5) My New Phone Case

     I LOVE my new phone case.  So cute!  Thanks mom!

That's it! Five for Friday (really Sunday)! 

Happy Valentine's Day!! I'm ready to print these out and attach candy to them for my students.  

You can grab them with a Valentine's Day writing activity from my TPT store. 

Enjoy your week,

February Currently is Here!

Happy February friends!! That means I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her monthly "Currently!" So here it is ....

* Listening -  

     I love Pandora! I listen to it all the time!! It's also pretty great for the classroom.  Some kid friendly stations are Tween, Kidz Bop Kids, Classical Music, Radio for Kids, and they have great seasonal/holiday stations.  

* Loving - 

    Dropbox is amazing! I mentioned it in my last blog post.  It's a great way to share PDF's or screenshots instantly on your student iPads. 

  

* Thinking - 

     Who will win?! I did a Superbowl Pool with my students this year.  Each of my students picked two squares.  They could earn more squares by making good choices in the classroom.  Great behavior incentive! 

     

* Wanting - 

     I'm SO close to finishing my newest TPT product with QR codes.  QR codes are AMAZING!  Students can scan them using a scanner app.  The QR code can be linked to a website, text (i.e. an answer to a question), or a PDF file.  I plan on blogging more about QR codes in the near future.  I'm excited to use them more with my students.  

* 2 Truths and a Fib

     

    Yes, I've been skydiving! It was amazing! Free like a bird!

    Yes, I'm addicted to The Bachelor! Oooh la la!  Juan Pablo!

FIB - As prepared as I usually am, sometimes I'm not 100% planned.  Oops! I'm sure my teacher friends can relate.  Thankfully, sometimes my best teaching happens when I "wing" it.

Happy Superbowl Weekend! My TPT store is 20% off to celebrate.  Enjoy!!!

Hut Hut Hike,