Thanksgiving Freebie

I think I might officially be the worst blogger...ever. It is so hard for me to keep my blog up to date without feeling completely guilty. There is just never enough time in the day. I promise I do not neglect my sweet students like I do my blog.

While I am keeping busy with school, I figured I would share a Thanksgiving freebie. I made this optional reading challenge for my kids over the break next week. I know that not all will participate, but my kids who need that extra challenge will eat it up! They love anything that will give them a chance to be rewarded for their hard work. I know I will have several excited kids the Monday after break. Anything to get my kiddos to read!

Visit my Teachers Pay Teachers here store to grab this freebie.

Whirlwind

This year has been a whirlwind already! Our county went back to school 4 weeks ago and the craziness has yet to end. This is my 4th year teaching and I have never felt this frazzled so early in a year. I feel like I am running a never ending, always quickening race. There is just so much going on outside of actual teaching. I am sure that most of you can relate! It seems that it gets a little crazier each year.

Despite this craziness, we have lessons plan and to teach! Our third grade team has found an awesome resource that we buy for each Reading Street unit. I LOVE these packets that Sarah Kirby makes. They are so helpful for making my focus wall each week. It saves me SO much work each week to have these pre-made for me. If you are interested in checking Sarah's work out (and I highly suggest you do), then you can find it here for Unit 1 and here for her Teachers Pay Teachers store. She also has a great blog...Permanently Primary.



While I like to buy what others have created, I sometimes have a little spare (Ha! Spare, right?) time to create some of my own activities for my classroom. This afternoon, I had some time to myself and my school work, so I made a little math freebie. In math we have been working on rounding. Most of my kiddos are doing really well with it, but some of my little guys need a little extra practice. I made this freebie to practice rounding to the nearest 10. You can find it here.

I hope that you all are enjoying this weekend! We have had some beautiful warm weather here in Tennessee. Perfect game day weather for the Vols!

Have a great week!

Getting a Little Mushy

So you know the saying, "It takes a small village to raise a child..."? Well I have come to the conclusion that it truly takes a small village to set up a classroom. Every year, without fail, my entire family plays some part in helping set up my room.

Today, my sweet mom came by (and brought me lunch I might add) to help cut out all the dreaded laminated "stuff." I used to like to cut out all the glossy laminated paper. I got really tired of it really fast. Thankfully, I have a mom who still likes to cut it all out for me. Not only did she sit and cut it out, but she took a huge bag home with her to finish.

In all seriousness, I am so very thankful that I have the support of my family. They cheer me on all year. They are especially encouraging when I am discouraged. I am so blessed and so thankful for all their love and support.

Teachers could not do it without the support of loved ones. Thank you to all those who support us and cheer us on!

Some Reading Resources

As I look through all the reading skills I have to teach, I am feeling overwhelmed with all I need to create. Then I realized that I do not have to create everything.

Here are some great freebies from other teachers that I use in my classroom. Click on the links to be directed to these awesome resources!



[From Pitner's Potpourri]




[From The Third Grade Gridiron]




[From One Extra Degree]



[From Classroom Compulsion]

Feeling a Little Overwhelmed

So I have truly been avoiding going into my classroom this summer. I just have not been able to bring myself to go into that building quite yet...until today. I finally worked up the energy to go in and get some work done.

Our amazing custodians have worked so hard to get our rooms ready for the kids coming back on August 12th. My floors are sparkling! I am so thankful for all their hard work.

When I went in today, I realized just how much I have to do before all my kiddos come back for the year. I had planned to do LOTS of laminating to get centers prepared. Unfortunately, both the machines were jammed. Instead, I started reorganizing my furniture to get it the way I wanted. It always is like a puzzle getting all the furniture to fit just the way it should.

Thankfully, I left my room feeling motivated. I have spent the rest of my day making my plans for reading. Thankfully we have full access online to our new reading program (Reading Street). I wish we had out textbooks in, but I will settle for the online access for now.

With all this motivation (maybe just stress), I have made another activity for a reading center.

This goes with Reading Street Unit 1, Story 3 (Kumak's Fish).

The skill is finding the meanings of unknown words.




Get your own copy of my activity here.

Thanks!

Getting Organized

So while I spend a lot of time working on planning and creating for my 3rd grade classroom, I also spend time trying to stay organized in my personal life.

One area where I am currently needing LOTS of help is in my menu planning/grocery shopping. I find that I am at the grocery store WAY too often. I really hate wasting my time being there. I need a way to streamline my planning and shopping to save time and money. I have been looking online and have found some really great stuff through Pinterest.

Here are some of my favorite freebies...

This one from the blog Artsy-Fartsy Mama is cute and simple.

You can get this here.

One set I like comes in 4 different colored chevron layouts. Super cute!! These 4 come from the Cupcake Diaries.

Grab these here!

There are so many great menu planners available online, but these are two that I thought seemed to be very helpful.


Of course I had to contribute! I made a couple of freebies as well. Hopefully these will be helpful to your planning and organization of meals!


Here are some weekly planners for you to use.

To get my freebies, click here.

Credits:
Font-Kevin and Amanda
Graphics-Clipart Cuties (find her things here and here)
More Graphics-The Wizard of Boz (find her things here)

Binder Cover Freebie

As teachers, we get a lot thrown at us. Every. Single. Day.

Sometimes I feel like I cannot keep up with all the paperwork.

I have a terrible fear that I am going to misplace something very important. Always.

In an effort to stay organized, I try to have binders that I keep up with and that are clearly labeled. Very important.

If you would like a freebie, I have one just for you! I always have a "Classroom Information" binder. I keep important papers/information on my students and my classroom routines here. Nothing confidential since I leave it out for subs.

So if you would like a colorful, cheery binder cover, go here to get your freebie!

[The download comes with the 3 color options.]

Free Printable

I love free. I love printables. I love chevron.

If you love all these things as well, then this is a freebie for you!

Grab it here if you would like!


[Please let me know if you have any trouble with it. I do not normally use GoogleDocs.]

Credits:
Font: Kevin and Amanda; Fonts by Kimberly Geswein
Chevron: Mel Stampz
Clip Art: Lettering Delights

Contraction Cupcakes

I am keeping myself busy making new goodies for my classroom next year!

Here is a simple activity to use as a center in your room. Just laminate and cut it all out (so fun, right?).

One of our 3rd grade skills is contractions. I made this colorful matching activity to reinforce this skill.

I have included 18 contraction cupcakes. The students match the tops (the contractions) to the bottoms (the two words) to form a complete cupcake.



You can grab your activity here.

A Little Spelling Activity

Here is a simple activity that can be used in a spelling center. I used the spelling words from Unit 1, Week 2 3rd Grade Reading Street.

Even if you do not use Reading Street, this activity can work great in your classroom! Understanding the endings -s, -es, and -ies are integral skills in 3rd grade curriculum.



To grab this activity, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store here.

I have been having a lot of fun making new things for my kiddos next year. I really hope that some of my ideas are helpful to you and your classroom.

Another Reading Street Freebie

Today I have been in the mood to do some school stuff, so I figured I might as well take advantage of it! One of the skills within the first week is homonyms. I made this matching game as a center for my 3rd graders.




To get this freebie, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store here and get the freebie. If you think of it, please leave your feedback. Thanks!

Common Core...All the Buzz

I am sure that you (like I am) are tired of hearing about Common Core. We have spent so much time and energy trying understand this shift within our district. This summer I have a 3 day training on Common Core within reading (happy summer break to me!).

I am in my 2nd full week of summer break, so I am slowly letting my mind start to think about school once again. The first week of break, I just cannot even go there.

Our county has adopted Scott Foresman Reading Street for next year. While we have not received our actual textbooks or teacher editions, we have online access. So far, I think I like the series. It is very technology integrated which I think is great!

As I have started planning for next year, I have been trying to develop some center activities for my room.

Unit 1, Week 1 (When Charlie McButton Lost Power) focuses on VCCV patterns for spelling. I developed some activities that I have listed on Teachers Pay Teachers. If you need some VCCV practice for your kids, check this packet out!



If you would like to check this packet out, click here!

Also, here is a little FREEBIE! I made spelling cards and a VERY basic spelling test.



Get your freebie here!

Pinterest

I use Pinterest everyday. A lot. Maybe a little too much. I use it for every corner of my life...but especially for my classroom. I find so many great ideas every time I browse.

If you teach 3rd grade, I have lots of good finds thanks to those I follow (hopefully some that are new to you). I love seeing what other teachers are doing in their classrooms! It is so fun to see the creativity of other teachers.

http://pinterest.com/hannahls87/for-my-3rd-grade-classroom/

Spring (End of Year?) Cleaning

Summer is almost here! My last day with my kids is this Wednesday. It is hard to believe that this year is wrapping up already. I have had a great year with my kids! They have been the sweetest class. It is going to be really hard to send them on to 4th grade. It is almost tempting to move up to 4th grade...almost.

As I wrap up the year, I have been going through some things on my computer. I have listed a couple things on Teachers Pay Teachers as freebies.


One activity that I put up is from the beginning of the year. This activity reinforces writing numbers in standard, written, and expanded forms. Give students dice and let them show you what they know! It is more hands on than a worksheet, which your students will enjoy! It includes 2 pages. The first page has ones and tens digits. The second has ones, tens, and hundreds.




If you want to grab a copy, click the following link...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Place-Value-Roll-Activity-680728


Another thing that I listed is pretty simple. It is a sign for your library book basket. I back it in cute patterned paper and laminate it at the beginning of the year. Sadly mine did not make it to the end of this school year. It was a casualty of rough handling by 3rd graders.



This sign can be found here...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Library-Books-Sign-701355


If you enjoy any of my freebies, please leave feedback! Thanks so much!

Stepping Out

It has taken me until my 3rd year of teaching to finally share/sell some of my things on Teachers Pay Teachers. It has taken the encouragement of a mentor to finally decide to step out and try! Here is a link to my store on Teachers Pay Teachers...

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Hannah-Shaughnessy


I hope that you can enjoy some of my freebies!!