My Favorite Picture Books Linky

I know, I know it's probably in some blogger etiquette book somewhere not to blog twice in one day, but this linky party from The Teacher Wife looked like too much fun to not join in on! 

I love using quality children's literature for mini lessons, in science, in social studies, and even math! I'm fortunate enough to have a Marilyn Burns classroom library in my classroom, and I love having so many math books at my disposal to use to help reinforce math concepts. I have lots of favorite picture books, but this list is definitely my top five.  The books that instantly put a smile on my face when I open it up to read to my kiddos. 

1. When Jo Louis Won the Title {click the title to find it on Amazon}

This precious book is all about a little girl named Jo Louis who dreads the first day of school because she doesn't like her name, until her Grandpa tells her all about the night when Joe Louis won the heavyweight boxing title, and why she was named Jo Louis.  It's a sweet story about self acceptance and pride in yourself.  Plus it is the basis of one of my favorite writing units.  

Available {here} on TpT. 

2. Annie Bananie {click the title to find it on Amazon}

Annie Bananie was one of my all time favorite books as a child.  My childhood best friend moved away before we started kindergarten and she gave me a copy of this book. I love everything about it, to the rhyming text and the fun illustrations.  When I student taught in first grade, I gave the class a copy as a goodbye gift.  I think I sobbed my entire way through reading it to the class. 

3. Ruby The Copycat (Scholastic Bookshelf: Being Yourself){click on the title to find it on Amazon}
 

 

I love this book! It teaches such a powerful lesson of the importance of being yourself! I feel this book does such a better job than I any motivational speech I've ever given on the importance of just being you.  It's also a plays an important part of my Cooking Up a Great Year Together unit.  

 

 Available here on TpT. 

4. The Man Who Walked Between the Towers {click on the title to find it on Amazon}

 Every year on September 11th, our district requires us to do an activity to commemorate Patriot Day in classrooms.  I've always struggled with this because I do feel that it's important, but teaching younger kids, I struggle with what to include in our discussion and what is appropriate/not appropriate.  I've loved this book since I read it in a children's literature class in undergrad.  I love how it focuses on how the spirit of the towers remains, and lets my kiddos know that the Twin Towers were so much more than just a victim of a terrorist attack.  They were buildings were people worked and visited, and played a huge role in the city.  Each year on/close to September 11th, I read this book to my class.  Since my dad and uncles are/were firefighters and my cousins is currently in the application process for FDNY (so proud!), I always tear up when reading it!

5. Miss Malarkey Doesn't Live in Room 10 {click here to find it on Amazon}

 

I read this to my kids every year when introducing myself to my kiddos.  Some years I go all out, meeting them at the door with my robe on pretending that I really do live at school.  Some years I don't, but either way it opens the door to a little discussion about me.  I show them some items from a bag that represent me and my interests, and even give them a little pop quiz afterwards to introduce our classroom testing procedures. ;)  

I loved this linky, thanks Lindsey for hosting! I can't wait to check out everybody else's favorites! I'm sure my Amazon cart will become even fuller! 

Bursting With Excitement: Monday Made It

Today I start teaching summer school.  I'm actually pretty jazzed about it.  Not only is it a little extra cash right around the time we close on our house, it's also being a held at the very same elementary school I attended as a little girl. :)  Plus it's for incoming fourth graders, win win.  After a year in second, I need to get used to big kids again! 

I'm also super excited because it's Monday Made It! :) 

 Click on the picture to visit Tara's fabulous blog!

Since back to school is quickly approaching, I started getting my typical back to school activities ready.  I always like to have a little something on my students' desk at open house.  This year, my partner teacher and I plan on giving my students a little bag filled with Starbursts!  You can see an example of the completed bags below. :) 

Over the weekend, I made my bag topper for my Starburst bags.  I plan on using 3" x 4" bags from Wilton.  You can find similar ones {here}. 

I have created an edible Powerpoint for you to use so that you can type in your name and your student's names, if you so desire. 

I also added two additional templates this year. One for departmentalized/team teachers and one that is a little more generic since there can be so much movement/transition of students before the beginning of the school year.  

If you want to create your own "Bursting With Excitement" bag topper for your own students this year, you can download the Powerpoint Template for free at my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  

You can check out these bag toppers by clicking {here} or on any of the images in this post. 

Thanks, Tara again for hosting this fun party! 

Back to School Activities {Freebie}

I've been a workin', workin' girl the past few days, trying to get all my back to school activities ready so I can focus on other parts of the planning for back to school.  I ADORE planning for the first few days of school.  I love picking out the perfect getting to know you activities, and I truly enjoy being able to spend time just getting to know my kiddos before the hectic demands of our curriculum calendars take over. :)  

I bundled all my favorite back to school activities together in one easy to find file over the past few days.  Which was quite the undertaking considering my back to school file folder is about five inches tall, no kidding. :)  I'm so glad to be able to purge some items now that they are cleaned up, and digital! These are all activities I used with my third graders previously, so this pack is perfect for early intermediate students (3rd to 5th graders). 

My latest pack has eight of my favorite back to school activities, all with detailed directions included so you can implement them in your classroom with ease! :)  

 Included are:

*5 Somebody Who Icebreaker Sheets

*Interview a Friend Writing Activity

*Skittles Sharing Activity

*Template for your students to make their own All About Me Ts.

*Pop Quiz Template- An editable file for you to create a "pop quiz" about yourself to give your students to introduce your testing procedures.  I do this after I introduce myself to my kiddos.  It also shows you quickly who is a good listener. :)

*Toothpaste Word Activity and Class Book Cover

*Class Book Template/Forms and Templates for a your students to create a Top Ten List of the most important things about them.

*Everything you need to create school year time capsules with your students!

This year our first week back is three days long, so I won't be able to get to all of these activities, even I wish I could because I LOVE every activity in this entire pack!

Even though time is short, you bet we will be making our time capsules, always a favorite, doing a Find Somebody Who each day, making All About Me tees, doing a little Pop Quiz about their teacher to introduce our testing procedures, and the all ways a hit Toothpaste Words Activity.  :)

Since I love y'all so much, I'm sharing my Toothpaste Words Activity with you today.  One of my all time favorite books to read with my class is Mr. Peabody's Apples.  

 

Which sadly looks to be out of print, but I've always had success ordering out of print books on Amazon and half.com.  Believe, this book is worth every penny, especially if you teach older kiddos.   Mr. Peabody's Apples tells a powerful story of a little boy who learns the power lesson of "not being so quick to judge and to remember the power of your words." 

After reading, I discuss the power of our words with my class and try, try, try to instill in them that once our words are spoken, they can never be forgotten, just forgiven.   To help this stick, I give each group of students a paper plate and a travel bottle of toothpaste.  I encourage the groups to work together to get all of the toothpaste out of the tube and onto the plate.  Once all the toothpaste is out, I give each student a toothpick and they have to work together to get all the toothpaste back into the tube.  Once it's obvious that this impossible, although I've had some groups come very close to putting all the toothpaste back, we have a discussion about the activity and relate how the toothpaste is like our words.  Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, all of it will never back in.  Much like our words, once we say something, it can't be taken back.  So if we say something hurtful, we can only hope to be forgiven.  

Once all the toothpaste is cleaned up, your classroom will smell minty fresh, I have my students fill out the following organizer. 

 Click on the picture or {here} to download your copy!  We fill the organizer with words that make us feel good and with words and phrase we should use when talking to others.  I usually try to collect all the organizers and make a book for my friends who have problems throughout the year saying kind things to others to read.  

I realize that many of you probably have a collection of back to school activities that you adore just as much as I love mine, so I created a separate pack with just the Time Capsule files in it. 

 Oh my word, I can't express to you how much I love doing time capsules with my kiddos.  My third graders always LOVED them, and I'm sure my fourth graders will too.  I had them complete the surveys as morning work one day during the first week of school, which works out quick nicely.  I also measure them with yarn during the first week and attach it to a labeled piece of paper.  On the last day of the week, I have the kiddos make a prediction about what they think the year will be like, and then they attach a picture I took of them during the first week of school to their prediction page. Everything then goes in a large shipping envelope that the students decorated, and into a large file box that I no longer use.  The last week of school, the kiddos fill out the same survey, are measured again with yarn, and write a reflection on the year with a current picture attached.  On the last day of school, I give them their time capsule from the beginning of the year, and oh what fun it is! It's amazing to see how much they have changed! Plus this makes for a great memento of the school year.  

If you're interested in either activity pack, the links are below. 

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Pay Teachers

Must drag myself away from the computer to do laundry now! :)

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That...

I've so not been productive over the past few days.  I had a meeting a few days ago for summer school, and since then I haven't done much teaching wise.  My creative juices haven't been following and I've spent way too much time watching The Golden Girls and Will and Grace every morning this week.  Oh and reading this blog.  

I'm a sucker for celebrity gossip, and this blog "written" by Suri Cruise is about one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. 

I've also been cheating on Pinterest with Olioboard.  Have you heard of it?  It's like Pinterest but you get create interior design inspiration boards.   Except the fact the picture resizing button works just like Picasa's resizing tool, which I despise, it just either makes them bigger or go sideways rather than simply resizing, it's pretty awesome.  I made this Olioboard with some of my favorite things I pinned to my entry way board on Pinterest.  

Although, I'd order most of the prints in the colors of the subway art that is in the center, blues and greens. Our whole color scheme is blue and green with a touch of orange here and there for our downstairs, so I'm in love with this look once everything is ordered in the right color.  Although the Steelers print will remain black and gold. I guess that makes us those people who hang up sports teams paraphernalia in our house, but I tried to keep it classy. ;) Fact, my mom and dad have a bedroom in their house painted scarlet red with all my dad's Ohio State stuff on display with one of those Brutus fat head stickers on the wall.  Another fact, I won't be doing that at our house.  I've selected this stylish little OSU subway art for my home office. 

Source: etsy.com via Lisa on Pinterest

I also procrastinated and made cookies yesterday. They were supposed to be crinkle cookies, but I didn't have powered sugar.  So these are just wrinkled lemon cookies, but they're still really, really, really good. 

 

 Fact, I don't even bother with traditional cookie recipes anymore.  I just use cake mix.  Cake mix makes the best cookies ever.  My favorite recipes are here and here.

Another fact, my dog really wanted those cookies.  She had to settle for dog food instead.

I've also been analyzing my classroom theme direction for far too long this week.  When I first start teaching, I inherited a bunch of  stars and stripes/red, white, and blue items.  It worked for awhile and I really liked it.  After six years though, I got a little sick of it.  This upcoming school year, I really wanted to do a primary polka theme, very much like this from School Girl Style. 

Source: schoolgirlstyle.com via Lisa on Pinterest

But without the apples and the worms. ;) However, with our house closing right around the time of back to school, aka that very day, I've decided to stick with the good ole Stars and Stripes this year again.  Sometimes making budget friendly decisions are hard, especially when I see everyone's beautiful classroom designs popping up everywhere in blog land.  But my money needs to be, and should be, spent on things like cabinet knobs, blinds, and area rugs right now. 

Next year though, I'm totally going after my primary polka dot dream! :)

I realize that this post had nothing to really do about teaching, but I always think it's fun when my favorite bloggers show me a glimpse into their personal life.  My husband has class tonight and I've now have lots of ideas for my back to school pack, which I hope to have available by the weekend. :) 

I also will be receiving my Scrappin' Doodles license for my blog soon, so I can share some classroom management freebies I've created with you! :) As well as some goodies for those of you who use Treasures like me!

Monday Made It...on a Tuesday!

Hello friends! I'm so excited to link up again with Tara for Monday Made It! 

Although, I'm a little tardy to the party. :) My dad's retirement party was this weekend and we had a lot of family in town visiting.  My dad's party was wonderful, and was such a tribute to his thirty-six years in the fire service.  If you can't tell, I'm just a little proud. :)

For my Monday made it, I created my learning objectives board for the front of my room. :) Here was my inspiration.

Source: via Lisa on Pinterest

I tried and tried to find the original source for my inspiration, but it appears as it was probably uploaded by a user rather than pinned from a blog or website. 

I loved the idea of using frames, but decided not to because next year we are transitioning to the common core, and I don't know what our expectations will be for posting objectives.  If we have to post the actual objective than I'll just purchase this from Courtney and display them in a pocket chart, and then I'll have six random frames laying around. For now, we aren't required to post objectives, but the rest of my new fourth grade team posts I Can Statements for the week, and I loved that idea.  I'm all about making our learning visible, public, and permanent (love Debbie Miller) and thought posting I Can Statements would be a great addition to our classroom.  

 

Instead of using frames, I used these dry erase sleeves that I picked up at Target. 

I purchased enough for each subject I teach, and also purchased some polka dot cardstock and brads at Michaels.  


I'm planning on stringing the sleeves together like so with some ribbon for a pop of color. 

I will hang the two rows of objectives with clothespin magnets from the board in the front of my room, next to my Smartboard.  Or I might hang each one up individually with a loop and a clothespin magnet. That will be decided once I am able to get back in my room and see what stays put the best. :)

I'm sorry that the photo quality isn't the best, I played with the white balances on my camera awhile ago, and the pictures it takes haven't been the same since.  Even after I reset it to factory settings. :(


Oh, the closing date was scheduled for my house.  It's on a what was already a big day for me.
Wait for it.
Wait for it.
The FIRST DAY of school! At first I was like "are you kidding me?" when the title company called me to schedule the appointment. Luckily, it's scheduled after school, but when you teach until 4:00, the time isn't that far after school either.  The movers are scheduled to come the very next day.  So as soon as I hit publish, I'm off to purge in my home office some more. :)

Also, I'm participating in Lacy of Wild About Teaching's 500 Follower Giveaway! Click on her blog button to enter to win some GREAT prizes! :)

My favorite back to school activity: Cooking Up a Great Year Together!

Question time....
What do these popular children's books...

Click on the titles to check them out on Amazon! 

The Rainbow Fish

The Wizard, The Fairy, and the Magic Chicken 

Enemy Pie  

Pigsty 

Chrysanthemum

Ruby the Copycat 

and this bowl have in common?

At first glance one might say not a lot, but those books and this random bowl of snacks make up my one of my favorite back to school activities, Cooking Up a Great Year Together!

In the words of Farley, I puffy heart this activity.  It combines so many of my favorite things: food, children's literature, character education, AND community building! :)  

Each day, I read my kiddos a book about one of following character traits below.  Each character trait stands for an ingredient for a great year together! :)

I hang these posters up in my classroom one by one, once each character trait is introduced, and keep them up all year long. I refer back to them as needed throughout the year. :) 

After reading the book, each student fills out a graphic organizer about the character trait the book was about.  So we know what that character trait looks like, feels like, sounds like, etc. :)

Once everyone has filled out their graphic organizers, we combine our ideas to make anchor charts to hang up in our classroom. 

I love, love having these anchor charts up during the first few weeks of school while we are settling into our routines and expectations. :)  Since I have a tiny room, I plan on taking pictures of the anchor charts and having them available for my friends throughout the year, especially as they forget what each trait looks like, sounds like, and feels like in our classroom. 

After reading the book, filling out the organizer, and then making the anchor chart, I introduce a snack item that goes with the book.  When I read Rainbow Fish, I show the kiddos a bag of goldfish and when I read Chrysanthemum, I show a bag of mini marshmallows,etc. .  Once we have read all six books, we put all the ingredients together in a big bowl and enjoy a special snack together while we review what each ingredient represents.

 
The ingredients I use changes each year, due to allergies, but I usually have goldfish (sharing), fruit loops (be yourself), pretzels (be a good friend), marshmallows (kindness), animal crackers (responsibility), and popcorn (teamwork).  This special snack is one of my kiddos favorite things all year long, and it does help the concept stick! Many times when they bring pretzels for a snack they comment that "this reminds me of friendship." 

This really is one of my favorite ways to build community in my classroom, and it really opens the door for some powerful discussions about good character in a non threatening way.  I'm always so amazed by the discussions we have in my classroom when we do this activity every year!

I have uploaded this activity to both of my stores, and I hope you give it a look when you plan out your back to school activities.  I'm not just saying this because it's my product, I'm saying it because it really is a great way to get kiddos to understand some abstract character traits and how displaying good character really does help us have a great year together! :) I have also included multiple options for books for each trait to make finding/securing books easier.  Over the years, I have purchased most of my favorites, but I also check out some from my local library as well. I also included several possible books for each topic because I am departmentalized, so my teaching partner and I both talk about the same trait on the same day.  It's nice for our kids to hear two books about the same topic and discuss it what it looks like in the classroom with both of us. For example, for teamwork, I might read The Wizard, the Fairy, and the Magic Chicken but my teaching partner might read Cook-a-doodle-doo. Some of my favorites are out of print BUT are easily found buying from outside sellers on Amazon or on Half.com. In many cases, the books are used, but I just select one that is in good condition.   I do suggest buying a few weeks ahead of time if you do that.  Most are quick but sometimes media mail can be slow.

Just click on the picture below for to check it out!  If you purchase, I hope you LOVE it! :)