TpT Boost Sale!

Wow!  I forgot how exhausting back to school season can be!  I am way behind on all of the fun stuff like blogs, Pinterest and Facebook.

There's some good news!  TpT is throwing a boost sale!

I've actually extended my sale to include tomorrow too.  I can't count the times where I've forgotten to buy something during the sale even though I've seen the advertisements everywhere.

Now that I've met my students, there's a few more things I want to pick up.  I have to say that this is the smartest bunch of firsties!  I need somethings to challenge them!

Here are a few highlight from my store.

Click {HERE} to visit my store.

Banners & Peacemakers FREEBIE

It's B2S time!  I've spent the last few days setting up my classroom.  Once it's all finished, I'll be sure to give a full tour.  But in the meantime, I wanted to share a few freebies.

While I've always had a dedicated wall for math, I never officially labeled it.  I didn't want to spend time cutting out die cut letters and laminating, so I made a larger banner.  Less time cutting = happy teacher.

Here's a view of the reading bulletin board.

You can download the banners HERE.

If you're in the midst of lesson planning for the first few days of school, I encourage you to check out Cara Caroll's peacemaker post.  I cannot make posters as pretty as hers, so I made these instead.  Scroll to the bottom to download them for free!

You can download the posters HERE.

Winner Wednesday & What I Bought

I love linking up with Jennifer from A Dab of Glue Will Due for Winner Wednesday.  It's the easiest giveaway to enter!

This month you can win a set of Weather Posters: Using Real Images.

I used these for the first time this past school year and my students could not stop staring at them (in a good way).  The posters opened the door to questions and discussions.  It was wonderful to see the students become interested in what we were studying in science.

All you have to do to win is enter the Rafflecopter below.  No extensive following - just leave your name and email address so I can contact you.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you don't win, the posters will be on sale through Friday. :)
Now, for another linkup!  If I'm being honest, I use to quickly gaze over these but then I started finding some new authors, products, and blogs!  I hope you'll take a peak into what I bought at the TpT store.  You can click on each picture to take you to the direct link.

I ditched my old Scholastic graphic organizers in favor of something new and fresh!

Time to brighten up my room with new posters!

Spicing up my reading instruction with these products!

A few activities for STEM...

Timesaver Assessment Tips

It's overwhelming to try to teach procedures to the students and assess them at the same time.  Definitely use the first few days to focus on procedures because without them you'll be lost.
But when it comes time to assessing the students, you need something that they can do independently and takes a long time.
Here are three things I use to keep the class busy while I'm pulling individual students.

Cut Apart Spelling from First Grade Fairytales Students have to color each group of words a different color, then cut and glue the letters to make a word.  It goes along with short a words which I start the second week of school.  It's a freebie and a lifesaver!

Dictionary and Phonics Notebook from Teacher by the Beach Last year was the first year I used interactive notebooks.  I had always done a poetry notebook but seeing the interactive notebooks on Pinterest and blogs made me want to jump on the bandwagon. (Hint: Check out my post on glue sponges.  I was afraid on how many glue sticks interactive notebooks would use, but glue sponges solved my problem.)
Over the summer, I copied each part of the phonics notebook on colored copy paper.  If the students were missing a piece it would be easy to find.  
I didn't give everything to the students at once.  The first day the students glue the personal alphabet chart on the inside cover.  They color the vowels with a red crayon.  Next, I pass out the title cards.  We do A-C together so they can understand the process.  The next day we do the word lists before moving on to the category section.  I usually do the phonics  portion as we learn about each skill.
Make sure to double check the students work!  These notebooks are something we use all year long so if something's off it will be off for the entire year.  Most of my students do really well with this but you always have a few slow cutters.  Have the early finishers help with cutting or picking up trash. 

 
Neat Numbers Booklet Most of my students come in knowing how to read number words, but the teens numbers always seem to get a few of my students.  I have a number line in the back of my room that I see a lot of students refer to for reading the number words.  
I also need the students to practice ten frames.  It's a simple skill, but it's one that can be easily forgotten over the summer.

Within the Neat Numbers Booklet, students practice forming the numbers correctly, writing the number words, coloring and filling in a ten frame for each number. I won't accept sloppiness so if the students finish too quickly, I will hand it back.
Right now, it's only in D'Nealian, but I am working on making a print option.  It should be finished by the weekend!  Be sure to follow my store to be notified!
What to you use in your classroom to keep students busy while you're assessing?  I'm always looking out for new ideas and tips too!

Alphabet Posters & FREE Schedule Cards

I've been teaching for 8 years and I've had two classroom themes - bees for five years and polka dots for the last 3 years.  This year I'm adding a few touches of chevron to switch things up a bit.

I found these lights on clearance at Target. First I was bummed because the polka dot lights were not on clearance, but a co-worker convinced me that polka dots and chevron can go together.
My number line is green and pink polka dots, so I thought it would be fitting to do a chevron print for the alphabet line since it's on the opposite site of the room.

It's hard for me to find D'Nealian items so if you need this in a different theme, let me know. 

I also made a polka version (lined and unlined).  

I've been using the same schedule cards for several years too.  I had mounted them on scrapbook paper, but them some of our enrichment classes changed and I didn't have something to match it.  Every Monday there was a blank hole.  The kids finally got used to the blank hole because they knew it was Cultural Studies.  

My Friday schedule was always a little different in the afternoon. Let's be honest and realize that you probably cannot teach a lesson the last hour of the day, especially if you have just come back from enrichment.  They are D.O.N.E.  (And maybe the teacher is too.) Usually class store happens at this time.  Some weeks I would show a movie related to whatever we were learning.  Other weeks I would do a directed drawing from Jennifer at First Grade Blue Skies.  The schedule cards include both of these options!

They include:

Lunch

Snack

Social Studies

Science

Math

Calendar

Reader's Workshop (alternates include Reading and Phonics)

Writer's Workshop (alternates include Writing and Grammar)

Music

Art

Library

Spanish

Computer

PE

Recess

Morning Work 

Dismissal

Field Trip

Class Store

Directed Drawings

Movie

Bible

Chapel

Praise & Worship

You can download the free schedule cards {HERE}.

Winner Wednesday: Awesome Dinosaurs (aw, au, al words)

Today I'm linking up with A Dab of Glue Will Do for Winner Wednesday!  It's a linky that takes place the first Wednesday of every month.  I'll choose a popular product from my TpT store and you can win it.  All you have to do it enter your name into the Rafflecopter.  
I decided to choose my Awesome Dinosaurs packet.  It's a study of aw, au and al words.

My students loved writing their spelling words on the dinosaur.

Here's what is included:

p. 1 - Cover
p. 2 - A cute picture of kittens and a dog. I show this to my students before I introduce the sound and they say "Awe!" They immediately recognize the sound of the week.

p. 3-5 - Anchor Charts 
p. 6-11 - I Have, Who Has? Game (enough cards for 24 students)
p. 12-15 - Word Hunt & Recording Sheet
p. 16-20 - Dinosaur Craft
p. 21 - 22 Printables
p. 23 Credits

You can enter the Rafflecopter below and if you don't win, the packet will be on sale through Friday for 20% off.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out the other items at A Dab of Glue Will Do! 

Teacher Tips: Bathroom Passes

Last year, I started something I had never used before - bathroom passes.  

I found these at Hobby Lobby yesterday.  They also had black pocket charts! Scream!
Now, I don't the hand sanitizer bottle or have the students bring the pass with them to the bathroom.  

It's because there's no way I would want to touch it after it was in the boys bathroom and I figured that they would leave it in the bathroom.
Before I continue, you should know that I have a parapro with me in first grade.  (Don't hate me.) Sometimes the kids would play us and end up in the bathroom together for a gab session.  You know, meeting in the bathroom is the thing to do in first grade.
This year, I put one boys and one girls pass on the board.  In order to go to the bathroom, they had to ask and put the pass at their desk.  I set the tone at the beginning of the year that only one student could go at a time.  The pass made it easy to spot who was there, especially when the fire alarm went off!
Here's to hoping that this helps you and doesn't take you eight years to figure out! ;)