Teacher Appreciation Week: Giveaway and Sale

Does anyone else LOVE teacher appreciation week?  It comes at the perfect time when we are dreaming of days laying out by the pool but still have several weeks to finish out with the kiddos.  I am doing a giveaway via my facebook page because teachers give of so much and absolutely deserve free things.  I would love for you to enter!

I am also participating in the sale on the TpT store from May 7-8th.  Come check out my store and grab a few things while they are discounted!  {This cute graphic came from Flapjack's blog.  Her stuff is awesome too BTW.}

Here are some products you may be interested in checking out:

Fairy Tales Unit in English and Spanish

Cell Phone Math Center Review Games in English & Spanish

7 Habits Poster Set in Spanish {Brand New Item!}

Word Family Scoop {English} & Syllable Scoop {Spanish}

Word Work Centers in English & Spanish

And so much more!  I know I have my cart stocked for Tuesday-- Happy Shopping :)

MIA & The Leader in Me

I realized that is has been almost 6 weeks since I last posted a blog... ohmagoodness.  In the midst of STAAR testing, family birthdays, and just plain busyness this little blog has been ignored.  But I'm back!

Is anyone familiar with "The Leader in Me"?  It is a book by Stephen Covey, and some schools adopt this method to encourage leadership on their campuses.  I am in the middle of reading the book and am so excited and motivated to begin using it in my classroom next year.  My campus is going to slowly ease into using it, and I am planning to be a part of the committee that gets it started.

Essentially, the goal of the program is to teach students about the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Kids.

What I love about the program is that these habits are not taught in isolation.  They are introduced at the beginning of the year, and then tied into lessons all throughout the rest of the school year.  One example is teaching "Begin with the End in Mind" in relation to inventors.  They didn't succeed the first time they tried to invent their product, but they knew what their ultimate goal was and kept on trying.

In anticipation of next year,  I decided that I wanted to print out the 7 Habits in pretty color mini posters and frame them to hang up in my classroom.  What I discovered, though, was that there are not any cute 7 habits posters in Spanish for sale on the TpT store.  SO... I got busy creating some of my own.  If you would like this set for free, just comment below and let me know whether or not you have heard of/ used the Leader in Me.  The first 5 commenters will receive the set for free via email.  I would love any suggestions from people who have used this as to what has worked or not worked for you in your classroom or on your campus!

Leprechauns on the Loose!

Today was our last day before Spring Break so we had a little fun.  I set up clues around the school for us to go on a St. Patrick's Day scavenger hunt looking for the leprechauns and their pot of gold.  When we first got back to the classroom, this clue was on the door:

I know it's hard to read... pretty much it says that the pot of gold has been stolen and we need to help track down the leprechauns.  They went to where we eat breakfast and lunch.  I must say, I am not much of an actress, but my six year olds sure believed my acting today!  I was "shocked" to see this clue on the door, and they jumped right on board and were anxious to head to the cafeteria and find the leprechauns.  First, we quickly made hats for our hunt.

The students each were given a paper to draw their conclusions about where each clue was telling us to go.

We followed the clues to the cafeteria, the gym, the office, the library, and finally back to the classroom where we found the pot of gold on my chair!  {Gold = Chocolate Gold Coins from the dollar section in Target}  Here are pictures of a couple clues and the pot of gold:

We then wrote about our fun in our journals.  My kids LoVeD it!  At this point, I'm thinking we'll move on to something else but my students could not give up on finding the leprechauns.  One little girl said "Oh my goodness, that cabinet door was not opened when we left.  The leprechauns must be in there!  There are too small to see so they  must be hiding."

Another student says "Maybe they will come out if we clap", so the ENTIRE class bursts into applause.  It was hilarious, and every single kid was on board.  Not a single party pooper!  I'll spare you the details, but this continued on for the rest of the school day.  At the end of the day, one of my students said this was the BEST day ever.

When I created this scavenger hunt, I thought it would be fun, but the kids enjoyed it even more than I anticipated.  I have it available {with lots of additional activities included as well} in English and Spanish on my TpT store if you would like to try it out.  If you do, I would love to see pictures and hear your stories :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day... a little early!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

We had a blast this week celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday.  Most of what we did were ideas I got from pinterest, so I am not able to take credit for several of these awesome ideas {the pockets, the graphing, and the green eggs and ham snack}.  I'm so grateful for the world of pinterest, blogging, and teachers pay teachers because teachers are able to share their awesome ideas and I love to use them :).

On Monday, we read "There's a Wocket in my Pocket" and focused on rhyming words.  The kids made these cute little pockets and named their creature inside by coming up with a word that rhymed with pocket.  This little girl put a mocket in her pocket, and below that is the Spanish version of the activity.

On Wednesday we read "The Cat in the Hat".  We drew some conclusions about the cat on an anchor chart.  Then, the students make the cat and wrote several conclusions on their paper. {For this activity, I just gave them paper and a face and hat tracer}.

We also did "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish" goldfish graphing that day.  The students sorted the goldfish, collected their data using tally marks, and completed a graph.

On Friday we ate read "Green Eggs & Ham" and ate a fun little snack.  We also made a class book:  "Do you like green eggs and _______?"  The students had to come up with a side to their green eggs and two rhyming words {an animal and a place}.  This little girl wrote:  Do you like green eggs and pizza?  You could eat them with a cat, You could eat them on a mat!  Here is a picture of an English page and a Spanish page from our book:

At the end of the day on Friday, one of my coworkers brought me this cute cupcake that a parent had brought.  Just what I needed on a Friday afternoon!  The perfect ending to a fun Dr. Seuss Week :)

Anchor Charts & Organization

As a dual language teacher, language is being built every day.  At a training I attended last year, we were encouraged to create designated spaces in our classroom to hang anchor charts from each subject area for the students to refer to.  While this strategy is excellent for second language learners, it would be valuable in any classroom.  I used laminated butcher paper, die cut letters, and borders to create these  spaces in my classroom.  Here is what it looks like:

This has also helped me to organize my classroom, which I love because I am a type A personality to the max.  What do you have on the walls of your classroom?

V is for Valentine

Valentines Day is tomorrow, and we have been celebrating all week using activities from my Peace, Love, and Candy Hearts Unit.  {You can find it in Spanish here}  As a bonus, this unit is half off right now in case you need some last minute ideas for tomorrow!

We started off the week with our Kindness Craftivity & writing.  After making the craft, the students wrote about how they can show kindness.  The writing turned out really great since they planned it with a graphic organizer.  I have been forgetting to take pictures as of late, so this is my sample of our craftivity.  Their work turned out super cute, & the teacher next door told me that one of her students even added armpit hair to his globe person.  Wow, talk about imagination!

We also talked about the sequence of mailing a letter yesterday.  We put the steps in the correct order together, and then the students wrote out the sequence on their own paper.  Tomorrow, the kids are going to write letters to their parents and we are going to send them in the mail.

Today, we read Clifford's First Valentines Day {in Spanish}.  Then, the kids filled out a graphic organizer about what Clifford saw, did, thought, and felt.  This is such a cute story and the kids laughed and laughed.  

I wish I had taken more pictures, but this is all I got.  We also made bags to collect our Valentines in, and will be doing some of the Valentines math activities tomorrow as well.  In case you are needing some Valentines card ideas, here is a link to some Valentine's Card from you to your students.  Just attach them to some cereal in a baggie and you are good to go!  I also found these SUPER cute Valentines in Spanish from Spanglish Baby.

I hope you & your students have a FUN day tomorrow.  I would love to know what you are planning to do in your classroom!  Happy Valentines Day :)

TpT Super Bowl Sale & Valentines Unit

Hello bloggy friends!  I am looking forward to this Sunday's Super Bowl sale and am already eyeing some clipart to purchase for the unit I am creating.  I have lots of items on my wishlist, what about you?  Feel free to take & use the graphic below on your blog, Facebook page, etc. to help you promote the sale in your store.  {Thanks to Tammy Ferrell for these cute & free graphics!}

Valentine's Day is coming up soon, and I would love for you to consider using my Valentine's unit!  Here is a link to see it in English and Spanish on my TpT store.  There are some grade literacy activities and math activities, including 2 craftivites. 

I'll leave you with one last thought...