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Sunday, October 27, 2013

Halloween Multiplication Flash Freebie!

Happy Sunday everyone! What do you do in your classroom to celebrate Halloween? I am trying to fill this week with some fun, yet educational Halloween activities and today I have a flash freebie for you! I created some Halloween multiplication cards. I plan on using this as a partner game to practice our multiplication. You can grab this activity at my TpT store for free today only. If you download, please leave me some feedback :) Click on the picture below to download!





Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Stitch Fix Review!

Have you heard of Stitch Fix? It is basically an online personal shopper. I absolutely hate to shop, so when I heard about it from another blogger, I knew I had to check it out! 
You sign up at Stitch Fix and fill out a pretty long survey about yourself. They ask for your sizes, body type, style, etc. and then once a month, or as often as you wish, they send you 5 clothing items based on what you filled out on your survey. You pay  $20 upfront as a styling fee, but then the $20 can be applied towards anything you buy. The nice part  is that anything you decide not to keep can be sent back in a prepaid envelop.  If you choose to keep all of the items, you receive 20% off the total purchase. I have used it 3 times now and have not been disappointed yet. 

Here are the items I received this time:

I didn't think I would like this top, but when I tried it on it was really cute! I like the high-low cut of the top. Unfortunately, it was a little too expensive so I didn't keep it.

I loved this top. Perfect for school, so I kept it!

I liked this one too, another good top for school! Kept this one. 

This was my favorite! It is not real dressy, but will be perfect to wear on Friday jean days!

These I didn't care for. I'm really picky about my jeans so I chose to send these back. 

Have you tried Stitch Fix? Did you have good luck with it?

Sunday, October 20, 2013

"I Can" Statement Winners!

I decided to give a copy of the 5th grade "I can" statements to everyone who left a comment yesterday. Karen H., Rose, and Diane I already emailed yours to you. Karen K., Lisa B., and Irina, you guys are no-reply bloggers so please comment below with your email and I will send a copy of the statements to you!

P.S. If you are a no-reply blogger, Google how to change it! It makes emailing back and forth with bloggers so much easier :)

Hope everyone enjoys this beautiful Sunday!


Saturday, October 19, 2013

5th Grade "I Can" Statements-Possible Freebie!

A co-worker asked me to create some 5th grade "I can" statements so here they are! Leave a comment today and tomorrow I will choose two followers to receive a free copy of them! 

Have a great weekend!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

"Appy" Hour Linky Party-Educreations

Today I went to a workshop that my principal had asked me to attend. Honestly, I didn't really want to go, but I'm glad I did! I learned a lot, and I'm excited to try some of the stuff I learned.  I will share more on what I learned later, but for now I want to share an app that the speaker today discussed. 

I was super excited to see that Tobi, from Shearer-ly Sadler 4th Grade was hosting an app linky party today, how perfect is that!


Has anyone heard of Educreations? It is an app that allows students and/or teachers to create presentations. The speaker showed us some examples of how she has had students use it for writing projects, especially for students who have trouble actually writing their thoughts. This program allows students to speak and then it records them. It also lets them draw pictures or add pictures from a computer to whatever they are speaking about.  The speaker said she has used it herself as a tool to present lessons. The website also has videos that other teachers have posted on various topics that could be shown to students. Unfortunately, I do not have an Ipad for my classroom but the website says that this program will also work through a Smartboard. 

I have not personally used this program yet, but I can see how it could be used in a lot of different ways. I'm excited to give it a try and will definitely post any projects I create! What apps for the classroom have you discovered?

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Point of View Activities!

I haven't done a whole lot with point of view in the past, but this year in our most recent Storyworks magazine ( btw I LOVE this magazine!) there was a poem that was perfect for introducing point of view! The poem is called Theme in Yellow by Carl Sandburg. This poem is written in first person, through a pumpkin's viewpoint. You can see the poem by clicking here

We then used a great freebie that I found on TpT by Chrissy Beltran. This resource has definitions and examples of the first and third person point of view. Click the picture below to download this great product!


We also added the term point of view to our reading notebooks. We are using Nicole Shelby's Interactive Reading Notebook and I LOOOOOVE it!! If you don't have it already, I highly recommend heading over to TpT and purchasing it! It is an excellent resource. It is really helping me make sure I am covering all of the CC standards. 

4th Grade Interactive Reading Notebook (aligned with Common Core)

Here is a picture of what we added to our notebooks. 


I also read The Day the Crayons Quit by  Drew Dewalt. Such a cute story told through the crayons' point of views. 


This week I plan on having my students write their own stories through an objects point of view. 

What activities do you use when teaching point of view?



Monday, October 14, 2013

Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin

I am always looking for new read alouds, and I found one that I absolutely love! The book is called Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff. This is such a cute fractured fairytale of the story of Rumpelstiltskin. Here is a summary from Goodreads.com:

"In a magical kingdom where your name is your destiny, 12-year-old Rump is the butt of everyone's joke. But when he finds an old spinning wheel, his luck seems to change. Rump discovers he has a gift for spinning straw into gold. His best friend, Red Riding Hood, warns him that magic is dangerous, and she’s right. With each thread he spins, he weaves himself deeper into a curse.

To break the spell, Rump must go on a perilous quest, fighting off pixies, trolls, poison apples, and a wickedly foolish queen. The odds are against him, but with courage and friendship—and a cheeky sense of humor—he just might triumph in the end."

My students absolutely loved this story. They begged me to read more and more everyday! If you are looking for a new read aloud, I would suggest checking this one out :)



Saturday, October 12, 2013

Crafting Connection's Giveaway!

I am in a blogging funk, I apologize. But I do have a great giveaway to share with you! Deb from Crafting Connections is celebrating 1,000 TpT followers! Head on over to her blog and enter to win some great prizes!


Enjoy your weekend!

Friday, October 4, 2013

October Currently...Way Late!

Wow, this week wiped me out! Thank goodness it's over! I'm am wayyyy late on linking up with Farley's Currently linky, but here it is.....
 




Listening: Ok, please don’t judge me….I think Miley Cyrus has totally gone off the deep end and needs some serious help, but I am loving her new song, Wreaking Ball. Whatever you do, don’t watch the music video…it is quite disturbing! The song is good though!
Loving: I seriously have the best class this year. They are just such a nice group of kids! It’s going to be a great year!!
Thinking: I am loving this warm weather, but I also love sweatshirt and bonfire weather! Where is it??
Wanting: I posted a while back that my brother was home and was living with me for a while. He went back to California last Monday and my house has been so lonely :(
Needing: My brother got me hooked on Breaking Bad while he was home, and now I am obsessed! I heard the finale was AMAZING so I can’t wait to finish up the other seasons and see how everything wraps up!
 
Trick: My school recently bought a subscription to World Book Online and my students have really enjoyed using it to research! It is a great tool!!
 
 
What are you up to this month??