I'm BACK

Wow! It has been six years since I last posted, and what an amazing journey it has been.  I actually left the classroom in 2020 and began homeschooling my middle schooler, who is now a high schooler.  I never could have imagined myself homeschooling, but God had a better plan, and it truly has been the most AMAZING and REWARDING experience I could have imagined.  I also have three precious grandbabies now, that keep me wonderfully busy.  

I still create classroom printables, but for now, they are aimed for the big kids.  I am working on a Doodle Timeline of US History and I can't wait to share it as I get a little further along.  I have also been able to discover lots of wonderful upper grade resources on TPT over the last several years, that I never had the opportunity to check out as a first grade teacher.  

On another note...I just got an Apple Pencil for my iPad and I am completely HOOKED!!! How did I not know about Procreate?! It is AMAZING and I am having so much fun playing with it.  I use a fantastic online Homeschool Planner from Homeschool Planet for my lesson plans, and I love creating my own fun backgrounds.  By the way, if you are a homeschool parent, Homeschool Planet is so great.  This is the most recent wallpaper I created for my online planner.  Thought I'd share in case you need a fall wallpaper or maybe you just need a doodle turkey for something fun.  HAPPY FALL!

 

Monster Awards

This school year is coming to an end and I am so sad that I will not be ending the year with the festivities, farewells and sweet hugs that I have always been accustomed to.  My little ones did an amazing job with their distance learning and a huge shout out to all the parents that became home school teachers on top of the million and one things they already do.  THANK YOU!!!!

I wanted to start by sharing a fantastic read aloud that helps young children understand exactly what a pandemic is.   My own son was struggling with missing school, family members, and friends, so I pulled out this sweet little book that a coworker recommended.  It was a perfect way to help him understand that other children feel exactly the same way he does.  It is a great story to share with any young child struggling to understand why things have changed.

 

It is hard to believe that this is my last full week with my Firsties.  We will not be able to hold our usual Awards Assemblies, or even send report cards as we would normally do, so I wanted to have a little something virtual for them.  In the past, I would send Monster Awards along with their report cards.   This year, I will send a virtual Monster Award to each of my students.  If you previously purchased these certificates, please re-download them HERE for the updated version.  The resource now contains full size certificates and they are editable.  

 

 

MyView: Eleanor Roosevelt

I just added another booklet for my fellow MyView Teacher Friends.  This booklet is designed to go with the first grade biography, Eleanor Roosevelt.  You can head over to TPT to check it out (simply click on the image below). 

 

MyView Flipbook- Before the Railroad Came

Our district adopted the MyView reading curriculum this year, so it's been a VERY busy year for me.  I'm not only adjusting to a new grade level, but also learning a new reading curriculum on top of that!  The biggest issue I've had is finding additional resources to go along with the stories included in the adoption.

I have created reading flip booklets in the past for second grade, and I really wanted to incorporate some for first grade as well.  Right before Spring Break we will be reading the story, Before the Railroad Came, which thankfully will go great with Texas Public School's Week. For my fellow teachers that are also using MyView, I put together this fun little booklet to go along with the story.

  You can check it out on by clicking the image above.

Valentine's Day

Oh my goodness...I can't believe it's been over a year since I last posted. I am still HERE, but super BUSY! After 14 years in second grade, I began a new adventure in 1st grade.  I really have so much love for my little firsties and they surprise me every day with their eagerness and excitement for learning.

I know this is late, but then again my middle name should have been... LATE.  I just had to share the adorable Valentine bags my firsties made.

The Valentine Bags can be found in the following the 

following resource

 (click below to check it out):

Groundhog Day FREEBIE

Just a quick freebie in honor of Punxsutawney Phil.   Looking forward to an early spring!!! Hopefully our groundhog friend got it right!

  Click on the image above to download the FREEBIE.

Holidays Around the World

Years ago, I posted about my Winter Celebrations Scrapbook.  You can check out the post here.  Last year, I felt like we needed to condense our activities.  We were shorter on time and had a full packed curriculum that needed to be incorporated as well.  I decided to alter the booklet just a bit, but the original is still included in the resource.

I created one page passages and a place for students to draw a single snapshot of something they learned about the country or celebration.  The following countries/celebrations are included:

 

U.S.A.

Kwanzaa

Mexico

Germany

France

Sweden

Hanukkah

Check out my little guy's snapshot for Sweden.  That Tomten is too cute!!!  

Each of the pages is formatted like the page below. 

There is also a separate smaller booklet with multiple questions for each of the passages and a map is also included.

I LOVE to incorporate read alouds as I introduce each country/celebration.  

Here are just a few of my favorites.

You can check out this resource on TPT by simply clicking here.

Regrouping Practice

I wanted to share a resource that I use year after year in my second grade classroom.  The pages can be used as a quick check, review, or even as an assessment after the skill has been taught.

The resource contains 58 pages of math problems that have a clean, simplistic design.  There are only 10 problems per page, so they shouldn't be too overwhelming for students.  I prefer to use them for morning work.  Then, I give my students immediate feedback, and they go back and correct any they had difficulty with.  I find it to be a simple, yet valuable learning tool in the classroom.

Below you can see the types of pages included in the resource.  Within the resource, you will be able to click and head to the pages you need.