Teacher Appreciation Freebies Roundup

Happy Friday!!

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

Keep reading all the way to the end for a fun FREEBIE!!

1.  Son-Shine was SUPER excited about Cinco de Mayo last weekend and insisted upon wearing a costume all day...even to the grocery store!  I was able to convince him to leave his maracas at home, but we just had to stop in "Jose Pepper's" favorite aisle and pose for some pics.  :)  Funny guy!!

2.  My sweet class gave me such a nice Teacher Appreciation Day!  :)  They made dinner for my family, gave me a beautiful bouquet, brought treats for the class and my favorite Sonic drink, gave me a spa gift card (!!!), and a Summer Fun" bag with a cute beach towel, lotions, make-up bag, magazines, bookmark, etc.

3.  I forgot to bring my camera outside, but we released our butterflies yesterday!!  All 10 of them survived and flew to freedom!!  :)  Such a fun experience.

4.  There are 9 days of school left!  WOOHOOOO!!

5.  Teacher Appreciation Week may be coming to an end, but the celebration isn't over yet!  Teaching Blog Roundup is teaming up with 20 of the best blogs to host this Teacher Appreciation FREEBIES Roundup blog hop.

Thanks for stopping by my blog!  I would like to show my appreciation with this great freebie for you.

I'm assessing like crazy right now!  Which means I need a lot of independent activities to keep my kids engaged and learning while I'm working one-on-one with other students.  Here's a little freebie for you to practice ending blends.  Click the picture below to grab your FREEBIE!!  I hope you and your students enjoy it!

I'm glad you hopped by!  If you are new to my blog and liked what you see, don't forget to follow me!  Now head over to Learning is for Superstars to roundup the next FREEBIE!

We Appreciate You!

Recess Rants to Recess Raves!!

Do you have a "Mr. Nobody" that plays on your playground
and leaves out all the equipment??  We do!!

The PE teacher sent out the following email last week, "We are losing equipment by leaving it out at a record pace.  I placed 3 brand new basketballs out there last week and already they are gone.  We are almost out of equipment..."  Since Kindergarten is the last class out on the playground each day, we can really help to solve this problem!!  

We are fortunate to have a door straight into our classroom from the playground.  To encourage my kids to be more aware of cleaning up at the end of recess, I put some stickers (FREE from Highlights magazine) in a cute little sports bucket right by the door.  My idea was that kids who picked up equipment could grab a sticker on the way back inside.  

FAIL!!!!

While the kids were certainly motivated to pick-up the playground, 

the sticker pail created a total traffic-jam in the doorway.  

So, like any good teacher, I very quickly revised my plan!

Our recess door is magnetic, so I decided to use that to my advantage!  I printed some "Recess Star" cards, laminated them, and slapped a magnet to the back.  Now, when kids pick-up equipment at recess, they simply grab a card off the door and put it on their desk tag.  

Our recess is at the very end of the day. So, when the kids arrive the next day, they can put their star back on the door and select a sticker.  The flow of the morning routine helps to reduce the "traffic jam".  The kids also love starting the day off with a reward!  :)  

If you'd like to give it a try with your class, you can click the picture below and download your very own set of "Recess Stars"!  

With only a couple weeks left in the school year, I'm pulling out allllllll the stops in positive behavior support!!  Keep checking back for more posts about my "Rockin' Rewards"!!

Thank you for stopping by!!

Five for Friday...on time!!!

**Woot**  

My Five for Friday is up...on Friday!!!!

1.  It's snowing...a lot...in May.  :(  boo

2.  I've switched from a typical "worksheet-y" daily warm-up activity to "Quick Write" journals.  And...I'm LOVIN' it!!!  There is no better way to start the day than with kinder-writing.  Check out just one of the jewels from this week. 

3.  It's been a crazy week.  In fact, it was so Super-Whack-o-Nuts-o that I completely forgot to update our calendar when the month rolled over into May... and I didn't even notice it until the end of the day on Thursday!!  {Clearly, we haven't been doing "Calendar Time" this week!!}  Of course, not one kid noticed...this is a definite perk of teaching kinder!  :)  My 5th graders would have nailed me on it within 12 seconds of walking in the door on May 1st!  this is what it looked like when I left today...I'll change it tomorrow.  Maybe.  ;)

4.  All of our little caterpillars have formed their chrysalis and have been transferred to their new home!  My kinders are practicing patience...but it is a pain-staking wait, for sure!!  We are so excited to meet our new flying friends!!

5.  There's only one word to describe my students' behavior lately...BIZARRE!!  I really, really, really try not to use sarcasm in the classroom.  But, this week I actually looked at a sweet kinder kid and said, "Really???"  So, I'm pulling out allllllll the stops in positive behavior support.  (Blog post coming your way soon!!)  But, if you have any favorite tips and tricks...send 'em my way! 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!! 

May Currently!

I am BEYOND excited that it's May!!

I have less than 3 weeks of school left until SUMMER!!

I'm linking up with Farley for Currently in May...

HBO has been playing "Meet the Fockers" and I think I must have "watched" it 5 times already this week!  I like to have something going in the background while I work on the computer.  I love those movies!!  

I've got 2 hellish weeks of final projects and papers and then I'm D-O-N-E with grad school.  :)  I'm so excited to be nearing the finish line!!

As many of you know, this is  my first year in kindergarten and all of these end-of-year assessments are making me feel like a crazy person!!  In the intermediate grades, the big rush is in February getting ready for state assessments in late March and early April.  I always loved being able to slow down and have fun in the 4th quarter!  Whew...I was unprepared for the realities of wrapping up a kindergarten year.  I feel like all I have time to do is assess - especially since I teach 1/2 day kindergarten.  The kids are loving all of the fun craftivities, games, and learning stations...but I'm maxed out!!  ;)

This is just part of the mountain of assessments that appeared on my desk this week.  

Between end of semester grad school craziness and end of the school year chaos -- I'm looking forward to wrapping things up and getting summer vacation kicked-off!!  I can't wait to spend time with my family when I'm not thinking about the 6,492 other things I "need" to be doing!!  

I've got to buckle down and finish these grad school projects.  I need to clear my plate!!

This summer I'm looking forward to a family vacation...we haven't had one in 3 years!  I want to learn Yoga, get a mani/pedi, and spend some time with my girlfriends!!  

What are you up to?  

Go link up with Farley so I can find out!! 

Are you looking for fun FREE Mother's Day activity?
Check out my "Sweet Love" Mother's Day card pack...
includes cards for moms & "mother figures"!!

Mother's Day Isn't Just for Moms!!

The verb "mother" means to bring up a child with care and affection.

Mother's Day is coming soon!!  It's a special day to celebrate the women in our lives who devote their lives to raising us.  As teachers, we have to remember that these women are not always traditional mothers...the children filling our classrooms come from all kinds of families!  There are so many women in "mother figure" roles for the kids in our classrooms:  grandmas, aunts, big sisters, foster parents, etc.  Mother's Day is the perfect time for children to honor the special women who love and nurture them.

My new "Sweet Love" Mother's Day card FREEBIE includes cards for "Mom".  But, I have also included cards that say "Love" that can be given to any of the special women in our students' lives!

(Click the picture below to download it for free from TpT!!)

This pack has many options for printing cards. 

Every child can select a "Just Right" card for the special lady in their life!!  

Older students can write their note independently.  

Younger children may dictate to a teacher or helper to write on the card for them.

Option 1 - "Sweet & Simple":  Cards can be printed double-sided and folded in half.  Easy-Peasy!!  :)  Students just write a message, decorate, and deliver!!

Option 2 - "Add a Photo":  With just a few extra steps, you can turn this card into an even more precious keepsake by adding a photo of the child inside the heart.  This can be done in 2 ways.

Click the picture below to grab a FREE editable heart template.

Option 3 - "Dress it Up!":  Cut out the card templates, decorate them and write a message.  Then, glue them to colored construction paper or patterned scrapbook paper to make these special cards even more adorable!!

These cards are guaranteed to melt those Momma's hearts!!

Your students will be SO proud and excited to bring one home.  

Sweet Love, indeed!!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!
It pays to read all the way to the bottom of the blog post!!  ;)
Download a FREE copy of my "Sweet Love" Mother's Day cards from TpT.
Leave thoughtful feedback on TpT!!
Come back here and leave a comment on this blog post with your email address and TPT name.
I will pick a winner and send them my new
"Scoopin' Up Tens & Teens" math station!!

Thanks for stopping by!!