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Top Ten Back to School Items

At this time of year I just get giddy over BACK TO SCHOOL supply sales!  I have my list of supplies to start off the new year.  If you think of David Letterman's  Top Ten,  I have a Top Ten supply list.

NUMBER 10

CHALK AND WHITE BOARD TAPE

I had to put the tapes as number 10 because I have never tried them out.  In fact it's the first time I have ever seen them, but when as I was looking at them in Target, I think I had a hundred ideas for them.  I will let you know if they make the top 10 next year.

NUMBER 9

COMPOSITION BOOKS

They are only 50 cents a piece and I love them as a Science or Math Journal. I love the bright sturdy covers and the pages don't tear out.  I also like they are smaller sized.

NUMBER 8

EXPO DRY COLORED MARKERS

I love the wide large dry colored markers.  When I write on the white board I can emphasize words and sentences, and draw pictures . The more colors I have, the more I like them. 

NUMBER 7

Colored Three Ringed Binders 

I thinks the colored three ringed binders are the greatest.  I like them for class books made by the kiddos.  I have seasonal units in certain colors. September units are red binders, October units are orange binders, etc.

NUMBER 6
PAGE PROTECTOR SHEETS

Page protectors sheets have saved me time and  kept student work in great condition. They keep my units in great condition and they are easy to access in the 3 ring binders.

NUMBERS 5 AND 4
SPIRAL NOTEBOOKS AND FOLDERS

This is a Christmas gift for the kiddos in my class.  The folders are 10 cents and the notebooks are 15 cents.  The kids love the "Home Journal" and it is an inexpensive gift.

NUMBER 3
COLORED PAPER MATE FLAIR PEN

I love Flair pens and have sets of them anywhere I work. I organize calendars with color, home information, work information, TpT information. Lesson plans- subject area were written with certain colors.

NUMBER 2
LAMINATOR AND LAMINATING POUCHES

My office laminator saves every product I use in class and home.  This is not something I purchase each year, but it is my Number 2 Top Ten item for my classroom and home.   If children handle any product or game piece it  better be laminated!

NUMBER 1
PERSONAL SPACE-GAME PLATES

I bought a large plate for each kiddo in my class.  I bought them at the Dollar Store.   Any time we play games the kiddos have a plate to lay their game pieces, cards, dice,money counting activities, etc. The plates keep everything in the child's own space.  Cards, dice, money  are not falling on the floor.  There is no arguing about game pieces.  The "Personal Space Plates" are absolutely the best item I bought and my Number 1 - Top 10 Items.

This is my Top Ten Back to School items.

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100 Days of School with Zelda Zero

When I was young math was hard for me and I would get nervous and worry about math time.  It's something I think about when I teach.  How can I present math in a non-threatening way.  I want it to be fun, active, and see relationships in numbers and patterns.  By the end of the year in my district the kiddos must be able to count and write to 100. 
My objective was to get the kiddos to meet that goal and do it by the 100th day of school.

• I needed to have a clear and concise "lesson plan" went through all 100 days and would be easy and have some pizazz and yet  accomplish this goal.
•  I wanted a "character" to represent every 10th day.
• The character had to be funny,lovable,a little mischievous and give the number rules for the week.
• There needed to be an art project, game, a treat(sometimes) and a objective for every 10th day.
• There also needed to meet objectives and be purposeful.
• Last but not least, I wanted the kiddos to like what we were doing and not even realize they were learning.

After thinking and brainstorming all one summer I came up with my plan.  I found a little doll character that lived in a funny mysterious box.  Her name was Zelda Zero.  She would visit the classroom every 10th day.  She would also have some type of dilemma or an antic every time she visited.  She would have an art project, and a  number game. The number game could be for a center or if copies were made it could be a class game.

Day 10 - Introduction to Zelda Zero and the missing 0's

 Today is Zelda's big introduction day.  The students have been prepped with discussions about what happened last year.  I drop hints about what happens on the 10th day, but the real appearance happens the 10th day. Zelda is introduced yelling from her box where she lives. She has a unique voice so the kids recognize her over the next 100 days.  We play a 10 frame game and find the dimes.  They are so excited about Zelda Zero!

Day 20 - The Queen of Hearts- A number sequence game.

Zelda comes out wearing a crown.  She claims she is a queen.  The kids love this character.  We read the nursery rhyme- The Queen of Hearts.  She brings a new game, a Number Sequence game.

Day 30- I Can Lick Thirty Tigers Today by Dr. Seuss -  I Have...Who Has Cards

Today Zelda comes out with a plastic/stuffed tiger and claims she is not afraid of anything and he can Lick 30 tigers today! I  also love reading Harriet and the Roller Coaster by Nancy Carlson.   This is also a story about not being afraid of a roller coaster.  She also gives the class Tiger- I have..Who Has game

Day 40 - 50 Lost Poodles!

Today Zelda does not come to school.  She is dog sitting 50 Poodles and they have escaped!  She writes a note to the kiddos and asks for their help in finding the dogs.  If they do, she will give them a Back to the 50's party. The hunt begins!

Day 50 - Back to the 50's  Day  

The Poodles have been found and now it's time to Party!

The day is filled with music, games dancing, Hot Rod Racing, Hula hoops and Root Beer floats.

Day 60 - Minute to Win It

What can you do in 1 minute?   Zelda comes out wearing a Stop Watch and wants the kids to play games with her.  How about Minute to Win It games.

Day 70 -  Lost my Kitty!

It's the 70's and time for  the song YMCA. Zelda brings in a new class game called Lost My Kitty.  This is a very popular guessing game with the kiddos.

Day 80 - Ten Days for a "Cause"

On the 80th day  Zelda wants to be freed.  She is caught in a balloon and must get free. In order to do that the class must do something nice for others.  A goal is set and now the work begins!

Day 90- Review 90 Days of School

On the 90th day Zelda wants to play games from all the 

other ten days of school, but in order to find out what you are doing each day a balloon must be popped with a message.

Day 100 - 100 Days of School Celebration!

It's a great day with several 100 day activities. The highlight is 100 balloons blown up! 

Other Ideas

100 Days and Beyond!  

I continued with Zelda Zero after 100 days, but Zelda did not always come visit.  We did work with 100 number activities, and did do an art project each 10 days. 

I dedicated a bulletin board to the Zelda Zero projects.

At the End of the Year we combined all the projects in a binder and sent it home.  It was cute to see the progress made by each kiddo in 100+ Days of School.

Get Your Own 100 Days of School-Zelda Zero

If  you love the idea of 100 days of School - Zelda Zero it's available in my TpT Store  for download.  Along with many other products.

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I'm Never Taking a Carry-on Suitcase in a Plane!

I went on a trip with my daughter and sister to the wonderful city of Las Vegas.  I'd never been there and was excited to see what all the hype was about. 

BUT,  I'm Never Taking a Carry-on Suitcase in a Plane I was planning on bigger suitcase and then I wouldn't have to worry about what I could, and couldn't take.  My sister and daughter convinced me to take a carry-on, the money I saved would be fun money for Las Vegas.  I'm pretty sure the carry-on I've had forever was too big,  so I bought a new carry-on suitcase.  It was bright and cute, but as I looked at it I saw the tag recommended by  "Disney".   The more I looked and the longer I had the suitcase, it looked like the the circles on it were  Mickey Mouse's head.  I now figured a bunch of kids and I have the same suitcase. Oh well,  I picked out my clothes and rolled them and everything fit!

 The Las Vegas TpT Conference we were attending was wonderful. I'm so glad my daughter encouraged me to go. The bonus is my sister came with us!  The Conference was outstanding with great inspirational speakers and great teachers.  I learned so much! I even won a bulletin board set. (It was given to the conference people who didn't win a door prize) I sure hope my sports bet, "the Minnesota Twins will win the World Series" works out better for me than the door prize. 

The last day of our trip was Saturday and time to go home now I am trying to fit everything in my Mickey Mouse suitcase, even the bulletin board.  I did it!  My sister had to take a couple of things though!  We get  to the airport and we are boarding.  The airport attendant says, "Mam, You can't board because you have 3 carry-ons, please step aside and combine your stuff in your suitcase and you have to zip the extension on your case".  (I had my suitcase, computer and purse, that equals three things NOT two!  I didn't think the computer was personal.)  I knew nothing was going to fit in that  suitcase and I broke the extension zipper on the case while  trying to push everything down and forcing it to close.   Thank heavens my sister was still there so I put my purse in her carry-on  bag and I pulled my swimming suit out of the too small compartment on the pocket front of the carry-on case and that made it look like the extension was closed!  Whew, the attendant let me go!  We get in the plane and now the suitcase would not fit in the too small airplane compartment.  I now was unpacking my case in the plane trying to get it to fit in the compartment. As I was unpacking and rolling up the bulletin board I won, with my computer shoulder strap, My sister said, "What are the bulges on the front suitcase pockets?" I said, "Nothing, I already pulled out my swimsuit."  She digs in the front pocket of my suitcase and pulls out the paper stuffing I forgot to take out when I bought it!  I got the suitcase to fit!

So to say the least, I'm Never Taking a Carry-on Suitcase in a Plane, but I sure hope the Minnesota Twins win the World Series!

National Doughnut Day!

I can't believe I didn't know there was National Doughnut Day! I would have celebrated this day for sure. Really, is there anything better than an Old Fashioned Glazed Doughnut? 

 I remember going to the Minnesota State Fair when I was little, and one of the booths in the food building was French doughnuts. The lines were long, but will never forget those warm glazed French doughnuts.  They melted in your mouth and one was not enough.  That booth is long gone, but not forgotten.  

Another memory was the great book Homer Price and the Doughnuts by Robert McCloskey. I loved this book and thought Homer was so funny. It was a story about a doughnut machine that wouldn't stop making doughnuts and a diamond bracelet played an important part of this story.

I will celebrate Doughnut Day when I go to "The World's Best Donuts" in Grand Marais, Minnesota. 

It's now on my calendar, the first Friday in June,National Doughnut Day!  

Make Donut Day any day in your classroom with this great mini-lesson and  book, If You Give a Dog a Donut by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Brown.

The unit features a lower case alphabet game with a dog theme.

 It also has worksheets on money, D sound sheet, art projects,measuring donuts, games, songs and data collecting on my favorite donuts.

Don't let Donut Day pass by without  If You Give Your Dog a Donut and some fun activities.

Fishing Opener in Your Classroom!

One of Minnesota’s holiday is the second weekend in May Walleye Fishing Opener!

I kid you not when I say the ice fishermen are barely off the frozen lake, then all the talk is about the fishing opener.   The fishing opener inspired me to write the fishing theme unit.  I think all children love fishing.   If it’s in a lake, river, pond, ocean, or even a fish pond at a carnival the anticipation of hooking the prize is always there.

I wanted the fishing theme to incorporate both math and literacy along with some fun ideas to go along with it.

Here is my Fishing Theme and some of my ideas!

Vocabulary words

     The unit includes a  Word Find using many of  the vocabulary words

Poems/ Songs/Finger plays

      My very favorite song is..

The kids love the song too.  Even if I don't teach the fishing unit, I teach them this song!  

  

Book List

  I love,love, love this book 

H is for Hook (a fishing Alphabet)

by Judy Young

The illustrations are wonderful, the story is great for the kiddos, but the  factual information on the side is excellent.  I liked this book so much it is part of my own personal library.

Fish Thoughts and Ideas

     Data information- Some of the data I collect is

Have you ever gone fishing?    

Do you like to eat fish?

Do you have a fish aquarium?

       

Fishing Jokes

    Cute to illustrate

Fishing License

   I like to give the kiddos the fish license.  I punch them with a paper punch as they do a variety of activities or complete the worksheets.

Class game to play outside or indoors

   This is a fun game,but the kiddos have to pay attention           to which "pond" has been fished.

Measuring

   Worms!

   We make a snack and eat worms!

Time

The early Fisherman catches the fish!

The are 5  time sheets - teaches both on the hour and half hour.

Addition and Subtraction Activities

 All of the sheets are partner games and the kids each  love the games and the anticipation of each roll of the  dice. 

Story Mats

   These are great to use "Goldfish" to manipulate addition and subtraction story problems.  The kiddos can also generate their own problems with each other.

Graphing

  These sheets I tell the kids these are the fish they have caught and they need to sort and organize their catch!

Go Fish Sight Word Game

I have a sight word list,but left a blank for you to generate your own words.

Photo Session

   Dress up the kiddos and take a picture of the fish that didn't get away!

Let your “Fishing Season” begin in the classroom and catch some fun!

Teaching Tip Tuesday

Teaching Tip Tuesday
It's spring and one of the books I always read is "Make Way for Duckling" by Robert McCloskey.(1941)"  I always talk to the kiddos about this book  and the author.  He was an author and illustrator.  His unique and detailed drawings are beautiful.  Make Way for Ducklings was a Caldecott medal winner for its illustrations.  It's perfect for writers workshop because we talk about the details in the drawings and there is no color just the beautiful drawing. In writers workshop it's funny to listen  to the kiddos ask if their drawing look like Robert McCloskey drawings. When you talk about illustrating in writers workshop go to the Robert McCloskey books and you'll have Caldecott Medal winners in your class.

Earth Day- Re-use!

Earth Day Tidbit- Reuse!  Reuse!

Earth Day is this week and I’m all about how to recycle “copied” paper which can be reused!

Class Pictures

I use “head and body” pictures of the kiddos all year long for Writers Workshop, Math and art projects.  I put the class portraits on one sheet of paper.  This is a perfect way to use the unused copies.  I make an original using a grid so all the heads fit on a sheet, I just copy the original on the clean side of the unclaimed paper. 

  Now I have class pictures ready to use for many projects and I have "reused" the unclaimed paper.

Do you teach Earth Day Activities?  You may be interested !