5 for Friday

Well, hello there!  Since this happened to be the longest week EVERRR, I figured I ought to document some of the happenings on this ole' blog.  I'm not sure if I was in a funk because of Day Light Savings Time, the Chicagoland cool temperatures, or the fact that I was battling an awful cold.

Either way, here is my belated 5 for Friday! 

First up I actually finished my next set of literacy centers. Although they're a tad late, I figured my kiddies will welcome the change! I love how easy and low maintenance these center games are.  This set does not have a holiday theme to it, so I'll be able to pull these games out anytime of the year.  You can check them out HERE.  

On Wednesday I had the great privilege of visiting Kristin from iTeach1:1 and her adorable classroom!  Kristin is SUCH a doll and her students absolutely adore her.  A co-worker and myself headed over to her classroom to observe how she incorporates her iPad technology into their school day.  It was really interesting and I can't say enough about how impressed I was with the independence level of her little second graders! 

We've just wrapped up our Weather Unit in Science and my kiddies were SO excited to make their Weather Forecasting Presentations.  Who new forecasting weather could be so exciting?? It's the little things I tell ya'. 

Hey! Guess what!? Not only did I finish a pack of centers, but I also made two multiplication math game FREEBIES.  My kids always love a math game that includes dice and I hope your kids will feel the same way.  You can check these out HERE and HERE. 

I was so excited to make it though the long week and even had enough energy to dress up for the 50th Day of School.  I was in love with how my faux saddle shoes came out! The idea of course came from Pinterest.  I bought a $4 pair of tennis shoes and grabbed a Sharpie marker and went to town.

Just make sure you crack a window to help avoid those permanent marker fumes.  WHEW! 

XOXO

Erin

Five for Friday...errr...I mean Sunday!

This was a short work week jam-packed with a lot of action! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching, a little late, but still fun! 

This week started with my first ever Origami Owl party! A friend of mine has started selling their adorable little creations! If you haven't heard of them, you should check them out! 

They are customizable lockets filled with sweet little charms! I can't wait for my Lanyard locket to come in to wear with my teacher ID!!! I'll go from drab to fab ;) I mean, just look at that little teeny tiny pencil!!!! How could I NOT order that!?

My first day jitters completely melted away when two of my new third graders brought me bouquets of flowers on the first day of school! I just adore this Lithuanian custom! 

Can you tell we are loving the first day of school!? I never get tired by third graders' enthusiasm! I think we've got some fast friends in the making looking at that silly picture above! 

Day 2 of third grade was all about teamwork! Check back later to read about how I introduced the importance of working as a team with my class. PS- We had WAY too much fun and MAY have had to close our door because we couldn't stop our giggles! 

Finally, our school's Reading Specialist, a former teammate of mine, came to my classroom for a read aloud.  The theme were things that scared us...I am just cracking up over this response from one of my students! 

Having a sword fight with a clown sure does sound scary to me!!! 

I hope you're all enjoying your three day weekend!!! 

XOXO

Five for Friday 4/25/14

I made it to FRIDAY! This week was a full five day week...am I the only one, or has it felt like ages since we've had one of these?? 

We've continued to work on our skills measuring area and perimeter this week in math.  My kiddos LOVED creating pens for this little perimeter puppy from AMC Looking from Third to Fourth! I love how this student added a chaise lounge and umbrella to provide some shade for his pup! I highly recommend this freebie if you're introducing perimeter and area to your class.  You can pick up your freebie HERE. 

To celebrate Secretary's Day on Wednesday my class created this heart shaped Post-It note poster for our school secretary because she always keeps ups 'posted' on all of the important events at school.  I loved all sweet little messages and doodles my thirdsters created for her! So precious!

Did this make you say, "HUH?!?!?" because that's exactly what I said when I walked into my classroom this morning and found it on my table! We're in the midst of our animal unit and just read about extinction and fossils, so one of my student's brought in this model of a Saber-Toothed Tiger she had at home. At home??? I mean doesn't EVERYONE have a Saber-Toothed Tiger skull just laying around...let's see...where did I store mine?

The kids loved it, of course! It was the talk of the town and a lot of fun to closely examine!

This week we were working on determining character traits through reading stories in the fairy tale genre. I was SO excited to share some of my favorite stories! I decided to use only Cinderella stories for my read alouds this week.  Here's a snapshot of some of my favorite titles! 

This picture makes me SO happy! I'm part of my district's math committee and we've been working hard to get a CCSS aligned math curriculum for our schools for the past two years.  On Tuesday we made our presentation to the school board on our recommendation of the Go Math! series published by Houghton-Mifflin.  I was shaking in my boots before we presented...okay I was really shaking in my strappy sandals, but you get the picture. I was ecstatic to find out that the board voted YES! 

Yahoo! 

I can't wait to see all of the great gains our students will make over the next few years! 

Now, I'm off to enjoy the weekend and celebrate one of my besties's birthdays! 

Five for Friday 4/18/14

It's been a doozy of a week! 

I'm loving these cute frames and the adorable little girl in glasses! She's fabulous!

One of my students asked if she could organize my sticky-note drawer during inside recess! Her Type A teacher couldn't be more proud! Ha!

Okay...I'm cheating on this one. Technically my kids made these a few weeks ago, but they turned out SO cute! I adore this gumball craft from Amy Lemons, you can purchase yours HERE!

We had all sorts of fun learning about area and perimeter this week, you can check out my post and pick up a few freebies HERE. 

We've started our Animal Classification Unit in Science, here's a shot of some of the books we've been reading.  The kids always love learning about animals, but I'm looking for some ways to liven up my unit.  I'd love to know if anyone has a must read text or fun activity I could incorporate! 

Happy Easter!!!

Five for Friday January Wrap-Up

January is wrapping up, so I thought this would be the last perfect opportunity to share some of the things going on with me and my classroom.  Since I'm ALWAYS late to the 5 for Friday party, I decided this week, I'll arrive early!

Here in Chicagoland we are on our fourth Snow/Cold Day! This really is unheard of for our area, I think I could count on one hand how many snow days I had as a kid growing up in the suburbs of Chicago.  It truly has been bitterly cold and not safe for little ones to be out and about, especially when some of them need to ride on a bus for 40 minutes to get to and from school.  

On the plus side, this gave me a lot of time to work on some projects (I can't wait for Monday Made-It) and I even finished up my valentines! You can check those out HERE

A friend of mine got me a totally awesome Christmas gift! A three-month subscription to 

Beauty Box 5, here is a little peak into the goodies I got in January.  The theme was relaxation and renewal and included a pair of exfoliation gloves, body moisturizer, compact mirror, cuticle massage oil, and some yummy coconut lip balm! I can't wait for the next package to arrive!

  

Wine +Whitey's Ice-Cream + (quite possibly the best in the mid-west) mustaches = awesome girly weekend in rural Illinois with some college friends!

My third graders love to read about Martin Luther King Jr. and enjoyed coming up with adjectives and admirable qualities about him.

The Thirdsters have been loving playing this Area Array game with graphing paper and dice.  Each student takes a turn rolling two dice and draws an array matching the product with their designated color.  When the sheet is filled, the student with the most unit squares colored wins!

I'm adding on a bonus number six...just because...well...I have one more thing I want to share!

Last week my class did a small novel study on Judy Blume's Freckle Juice.  At the end of the week we created these secret recipes for freckle juice, where I had my students using unit fractions to make up 

1 cup.  We then added freckles onto our faces by using my dot markers.  Reading/Writing/Math connection?? I'm sold!

I can't wait to see what February will bring! Hopefully a full 5 day week!