Goodbye 2013, Mega Giveaway, January Editable Homework Calendars...this and that:)

Happy New Year's Eve my friends! I hope you all are enjoying this last day of 2013!

I have to say 2013 has been a HUGE transition year for me and I am so ready to ring in 2014! 

Events of 2013 for me include:

-packing, selling, and getting rid of things

-celebrating my 2nd wedding anniversary:)

-accepting a new job for the fall

-leaving my classroom and school I loved so much

-leaving my friends behind

-leaving my gym that brought me so much happiness

-getting in our car and leaving NC

-driving from NC to Washington in 5 days with 3 cats and 3 suitcases

-getting on a plane ONE WAY to Hawaii...with our 3 cats in the cabin with us;)

-landing in Hawaii and moving in with the in laws

-starting my new job in a new school 2 WEEKS LATER, in a new state, and having to adjust...big time!

-trying to settle into a routine and learn my way around Hawaii

It's almost 2014 and I am just so excited for what this year will bring. This year is all about ME and my HUSBAND!

I have a some personal goals too, but I am excited to be focused on what really matters...my health, happiness, friends and family:)

I found this on Pinterest...I think I want to make one and hang it in my house!

Isn't this adorable??? I love the meaning behind each phrase!

Speaking of New Years Eve, my 14 in 2014 Mega give away ends tonight at midnight...Hawaii time:)

Just click HERE to take you to my previous post!

One thing I want to share with you is my homework calendars. They have been a huge hit with my parents and my students and I thought maybe you would like to use them too!

Every month I give my students a new homework calendar. In the boxes I type in what homework I want the kids to complete each night. For me, it is math and reading. 

My students write in their planner exactly what it is I want them to do. The line next to math and reading is for parents to initial each night so I know they completed their homework.

Every morning I do a quick check to see if they did their homework.  If they completed it, they can color the picture in the bottom corner.

If they turned in their homework all week, they color the picture in the end box and can get a punch from their punch pass.

If their punch pass is filled by the end of the month they are awarded with a special surprise! For me, it is lunch with me in the classroom.

I keep all their punch passes in a pocket chart with the Punch Bunch header. The January Header is included in this unit:)

I called it Punch Bunch because you might not want to have a lunch bunch. You might decide at the end of the month, students turn in their punch pass for something else!

In this unit I made some editable calendars!

You might want to give weekend homework, so there is a column for weekend.

The editable file is in PowerPoint. So all you have to do is type in what you need!

You might want 5 punches instead of 4. So there are cards with 4 and cards with 5 punches!

I will give TWO of these away today! Just leave a comment and I will pick a winner at 2pm Hawaii Time!

You can also pick them up in my TpT shop! I will be making these for every month so stay tuned for more:)

Be safe, have fun, and enjoy yourselves! 

Happy 2014!

The most adorable parent Christmas gift...EVER:)

I know, this is a bit late and I believe we are all on break already! But it is WAY TOO CUTE not to share! Pin it for next year maybe???

So I went searching on Pinterest of course for some cute parent gift ideas. But where I found this idea was from Stephanie's linky party over at 3rd Grade Thoughts!

A few weeks ago she was hosting a holiday linky!

I didn't have anything to link up with but I just knew I had to look! Even though I don't teach Pre-K...I stopped over at Mrs. Goff's Pre-K Tales and found just what I was looking for!

She posted about these adorable tree ornaments with a cut out picture of her students! Yup...that's what I did! But I put my own spin on it!

I too started out by taking each students picture wearing a hat and standing in a silly pose!

Then I cut each picture out (here are a few)

Then the pictures were hot glued to a snowflake ornament from Walmart!

BUT...before I glued them to the ornament, our class did something special with each picture!

I made a winter background card and we placed each picture on it! The kids had so much fun helping me arrange it so it was just right!

Then I took a picture of this and sent it into Walgreens to make a class photo card for their families!

and yes...there is a typo:( Ugh...I was SO mad when I saw this! Oh well!

The kids came back the next day (they took them home Thursday) and told me their parents LOVED it! I will be doing this next year for sure!

What did you have your students make for their parents???

It's been a busy week...

I am just so tired! What a week I have had! I am sure we are all in the same boat! 

Every day after school has been something this week!

Monday-shopping

Tuesday-haircut

Wednesday-grocery shopping

Thursday-went to Target and then baked cookies for 4 hours

Friday-family Christmas dinner right after work!

All I have done today was sleep, shower, nap, and eat! I have watched a ton of Christmas movies too! My hubby is working 2-10:30 so I have had some time to myself...which is ok with me:)

I had plans to work on updating a few units...but I just want to sleep! I will get to them! I have plenty of time as I don't go back to work until the 8th:)

Everyone have a great weekend and I will be back Monday!

Stained Glass Tree Ornamet Craft~super easy

Need a last minute craft that is super easy???

All you need to make a stained glass Christmas tree is:

-tissue paper in any color you want

-glue and water mixed

(I pour Elmer's glue in a plastic cup and add a little water to make a glue paste)

-wax paper

-tree outline

-yarn to hang

This is how you make it!

Find a tree to trace on wax paper

Use pieces of tissue paper and lay it where you want it on the wax paper. Use the glue water to paint it on. Each piece of tissue should be covered. My students used pre-cut strips of tissue and ripped it how they wanted it. Layering is key to get a 3D look. Also, the more layers, the thicker it will be...which is good!

I tell the students not to worry about getting the pieces in the lines. They will be cutting them tomorrow!

Let it dry over night! The next morning it will look like this

 

Now they cut the tree out

Then peel back the wax paper....SLOWLY

Then poke a hole, tie a string and you have a stained glass ornament:)

The kids had a lot of fun and now have a new ornament to hang on their tree:)

Hope your last few days run smoothly!

The Polar Express FLASH SALE:)

I just LOVE the Polar Express:) The movie, the book, the music...just puts me in the holiday mood! So of course I have a Polar Express unit!

This unit includes:

•Writing prompts

•Mug exchange and musical chairs

•Train tickets

•Compare and contrast activity

•Reading response task cards

•Math word problems

•BINGO

•Sequencing cards

•Sequencing craft

•Ornament craft

•Letter template

•Connections graphic organizer

•Vocabulary

•Character traits

•Beginning, middle, end foldable

•Hot chocolate graphing activity

It's normally $6.50, but for this week ONLY I have made it $3.50. That's 50% off!!!!

Click HERE to get it for 50% off!
Sale ends Thursday

Snowman day in Hawaii!

Working on an army base and not at a local school I assumed many of my kids have seen snow! Boy was I wrong! Most of my kids have never seen snow or have never build a snowman! 

So last week I decided to have a snowman day! 

I started off by talking about snowmen and words that describe them!We read the book Snowmen at Night and The Snowy Day to help us.

I showed them this picture I found on Cara Carroll's blog and new I wanted to incorporate this art activity into my day!

I gave each student a blank black and blue sheet of paper. They also got a large sheet of white paper.

Students used a white crayon to draw the outline of their snowman's face. Then use scissors to cut the white paper into many little pieces and glue them into the snowman's outline.

Once done with the snowman's face, I had them do the same thing with the nose.

 

Once students finished the snowman's nose it was time to add snowflakes and a moon. They also had a writing prompt to complete. Here is my snowman!

 I think the final art projects turned out awesome. They had so much fun!

Next, we worked on making snowman cupcakes! They were delicious!

The last, we worked on my unit

Students designed a new suit for Frosty and wrote him a letter persuading him to buy their suit. 

Of course I forgot to take pictures of their final pieces:(

This last week of school should be really fun! We have holidays around the world, Santa activities, and Polar Express...just to name a few! 

Have a great week!

Christmas in Paradise GIVEAWAY!

I teamed up with my favorite Hawaiian teacher bloggers to bring you a special giveaway!

You could win seven different holiday/tropical goodies, plus a fancy new pencil sharpener from Classroom Friendly Supplies!  Click on the images to check out their descriptions on TpT {and to add them to your wishlist in case you don't win!!}

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We hope you're having a "cool" day-R.A.C.K idea for your class!

Just a quick stop to show you what I plan on having my class do this week!

Tomorrow we are going to talk about random acts of kindness and how we can make a difference in helping others! I plan on having the kids watch some videos then making a list how we can help others!

Every day this week I plan on placing one of these cards with a York Peppermint Patty in their mailbox. I am just doing to select random teacher's boxes! 

I hope this brings a little cheer to their day!

If you would like these cards, just leave a comment with your email and I will send them out later tonight! 

Have a great week!