Valentine's Day Package Freebie!

The Holiday of Love is fast approaching and I have something to share with all of you!
To show my love and appreciation to all who stop by, leave comments, follow, download, or just simply take a quick look at my posts, I have a Valentine's Day Freebie for you!


Spread the love and happiness with this adorable, sweet freebie! Your students will adore completing the activities included in this packet.

- Valentine's Day Word Wall
- 2 activity sheets requiring the use of the word wall (let's get them up & moving!)
- ABC order sheet (word wall words)
- Create a sentence sheet (word wall words)
- 1 Valentine's Day themed coloring page
- decorate the cupcake coloring page
- Valentine's Love List
- Valentine's Wish List
- Valentine's Day Word Search (word wall words)
- "Bee" My Valentine Writer's Workshop stationary

Use it all as a package or pick and choose your favorite activities. 
Do as you wish, it's Valentine's Day!

Download this Freebie HERE!

Oh, and while you are here... Why not show some LOVE (in the spirit of Valentine's day) and click FOLLOW! :)
Bisou, Bisou xo
Ms. Nicole
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Word Family Wonderland!

Oh, No!!! It's already Sunday evening!!
What could make it better? I know, a great new unit!

Well fellow bloggers, I spent much of my Sunday afternoon putting the finishing touches on my newest addition to my teacher store. My wonderful Word Family Wonderland Unit!

Stop by my teacher store to check it out!

Here's a little, teeny, tiny preview of what you will find in this package!


Welcome your students to the Word Family Wonderland! With colorful graphics and amusing fonts, this unit is sure to engage all students in the learning of word families. Included in this 344 page package are 7 hands on literacy centers that will help students both practice and review 72 different word families.

The word families covered in this package are: ack, ad, ail, ain, ake, ale, ail, am, ame, an, ank, ap, ar, ash, at, ate, aw, ay, eat, eel, eep, eet, ell, en, ent, est, ice, ick, id, ife, ight, ile, ill, in, ine, ing, ink, ip, it, oat, ock, og, oil, oke, oo, ood, ood, oof, oof, ook, oom, ool, oon, oop, oot, oot, op, ore, orn, ot, ought, ould, ouse, out, ow, ow, own, uck, ug, ump, un, unk

The package also includes:

1 word family sound chart (comprising of all the word families included)
7 center menu cards
word matching center
rhyming center
bingo center
spelling center
abc order center
word sorting center
memory game center
student recording sheets for each center (with the exception of bingo)

Have some Wonderland Fun and stop by again soon for some more ideas and freebies!
Until next time...

Ms. Nicole
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Take a Bite out of these Cookies!

Don't you just looooooove Saturday Morning!?!

I sure do and to celebrate the weekend I have yet another wonderful Candyland Freebie for you all. Hurrayyy!!! The kiddies are loving this new unit (not to worry, it will become a healthy eating unit mid-February) and are producing some quality work! Take a look at our latest activity...


Yes! you are seeing right! These kiddies are taking a bite out of some very large and delicious cookies! 
We read MMM Cookies by Robert Munsch (who doesn't love this man!) and wrote about our very own special treats! Here are some of the templates that you can use to create this sweet little activity with your  kiddos... 


Grab the template free HERE!
and the cookie template HERE!


Why not get a copy of the writing stationary too right over HERE!


Here are some wonderful examples of my kiddies creativity!



Cute right?! Enjoy! 
Stay tuned for more fun activities!
Until next time...
 Ms. Nicole
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My Dream Cupcake

Well Fellow Bloggers...

We were finally able to begin our Candy Land unit today and... Oh! What a way to launch it! Seeing as though cupcakes are my absolute favorite (as well as probably almost everyone else out there!) I decided to start off with a sweet and colorful activity called "My Dream Cupcake." 
And... Oh, what dreams these little kiddos have! 

So, once again, I had a hard time finding an appropriate storybook to go with this theme and so created yet another one of my little SmartBoard storybooks! I called it "My Dream Cupcake" and filled it with beautiful graphics from Scrappindoodles and some new vocabulary words too!

Here's a little sneak peak!





Guess what! Just like all my other little stories, this one's a freebie over at my teacher store!
You can download it HERE!

To go along with this sugary little story, I made a writing stationary for the kiddies to share their dream cupcake. They went all out and came up with some delicious as well as interesting recipes!


You can download a free copy of this stationary HERE!

And to help with your little kiddies writing, how about you download my freebie "Candy Words" list HERE!



As you all know (you will now anyway!), I absolutely love to incorporate art into almost all of the kiddies writing activities. They enjoy it too and are very creative. Their arts and craft skills have come such a long way from the very beginning of the year. It is incredible what they can produce!

I photocopied the following cupcake templates, several times, on white card stock paper and cut them out. I placed one of each in every group of four students and let them trace the template onto construction paper (the color of their choice). This helped me avoid making too many copied of, for example, red cupcake tops, and not enough of, let's say, purple tops. I wanted them to choose the colors themselves. This was the best approach for me. You can copy the templates to any color you like and simply have the students cut them out. 



You can download a free copy of the cupcake templates HERE!

Now that I've got your mouthes watering, it's time for you to see what 
my amazing kiddies came up with!





If you're interested in this theme and would like some more ideas, keep stopping by and don't forget to follow! While your over at my teacher store, don't forget to check out my "Sweet for Contractions" literacy center unit. It compliments this activity along with many others, very well!

Enjoy the sweet treats and until next time...
Ms. Nicole xo
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Award Season Is Upon Us!

Hey all,
            If you're anything like me, you enjoy watching the award shows with a great big bowl of popcorn! I love music and films and won't deny that I enjoy watching all the red carpet moments as well! I have always wanted to throw an award party, and think that a classroom is a great place to do so!

You can check out my Celebrity Literacy Unit, which covers acting, singing, and sports. 

It is a great unit to take up during award season (or any other time during the school year) and you can close it with a great big party! They have wonderful accessories at the dollar store, as well as the party shop. Everything from red carpets to awards and V.I.P. passes to make your unit and party as festive as you wish!





This is a 71 page literacy unit based on the "Celebrity" theme. Students will enter the world of sports, music, drama, and much more! Students will perfect their skills in reading, writing, phonics, and vocabulary through engaging and colorful activities and games.

The unit includes:
- Celebrity word wall
- Celebrity word folders
- 4 celebrity centers (including center menus for the students)
- 2 celebrity games (word building and vowel sounds)
- 10 page celebrity shared reading activity (with instructions)
- 3 celebrity writing prompt sheets
- celebrity of the week pack (includes 4 activities and letter for parents)
- 2 celebrity word wall games
- bulletin board ideas (pictures)

All printable activities include wonderful graphics and great fonts! The students will love talking about their favorite celebrities and will feel like stars themselves!
I did this unit at the beginning of the school year and my kiddos loved it!

Your kiddies will love it too and you will especially love that it is on SALE!

Check out my teacher store and have fun during award season!

Ms. Nicole xo
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Candy Land & Healthy Food Word Wall & Word Folder Freebie

Well Hello All,
                         Aren't Monday's just peachy?! Especially the first Monday back from Holiday Vacation! It's always great to be back in the classroom, however, Monday is simply not my favorite day of the week! For those of you who have been following me the last few weeks, I have been ranting and raving about my Candy Land/Healthy Food unit that I will be taking on with the kiddies in the next few weeks (leading up to VDay, my favorite!). So as promised, I  have created a word wall and word folder package freebie for one and all! 


The word wall package includes 50 words associated with treats and food. Such words as: various types of cuisines, different places that serve and make food etc... You will also find all the fixings for desserts, such as words like: sprinkles, chocolate, ice cream, etc... As well as, different types of foods, namely: meat, poultry, vegetables, fruit, fish, etc...

You can download this freebie word wall package HERE!

The word folder package includes 8 different Candy Land and Healthy Food word banks. You must cut out the clipart and title and glue to the cover page of a file folder and then cut out the associated word bank and glue to the inside of the same file folder. The themes included in this package are: At the Bakery, At the Grocery Store, At the Restaurant, Fruits, Vegetables, Food, Drinks, and Kitchen Utensils. 

You can download this freebie word folder package HERE!

Enjoy this freebie and stay tuned for more ideas and resources!
Until next time...




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Versatile Blog Award

Dear Friends,
                    I must say I am feeling slightly saddened by the fact that this is my last day of Holiday Vacation :(

 One thing that certainly makes it all better is that I miss the kiddos, the routine, and teaching! I'm also feeling a little better since Deanna over at First Grade and Fabulous AND Annie from Awsome in 1st both nominated me for the Versatile Blog Award! Thank you to both these lovely ladies (and great teachers from the looks of their blogs!). My second award in 1 week WOW! Definitely feeling the love! I also love that many of you are commenting on my posts! Thanks! It's great to know so many of you are stopping by! :)
.

The Rules

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them. 

Thank you again to Deanna First Grade and Fabulous
and Annie at Awsome in 1st 

2. Tell 7 things about yourself.

1. I have always enjoyed teaching and one can find old photos of me playing "teacher" as a little girl. You can also ask any of the (now grown up, Yikes! what does tha make me!?) children I babysat along the years about "playing school" with them! Despite all these wonderful memories and clear signs that teaching was definitely the job for me, I wanted to become a lawyer (REALLY!!!). In fact, I was accepted to a law program at a french institution in Montreal but decided on attending McGill University (in Education) instead! As soon, as I completed my second field experience, I knew teaching was what would make me happy!

2. This is my 6th year teaching. I taught a special education classroom for three years. I worked with children who had difficulties with behavior and learned a great deal from this assignment. Although, I have now returned to the mainstream, I think about my former students often. It is a completely different setting and the relationship you build with your students in special education is wonderful. I spent my entire day with my students and was the main teacher (alongside my behavior technician, who is amazing and who I miss very much!). I have gone back to visit my former colleague and my students twice already! Although I miss everyone very much, I know that returning to the regular stream was the right choice for me and have been over the moon with happiness since beginning at my new school!


3. One of my favorite "autonomous" hobbies is reading. I read everything from the classics to Shopaholic, to Twilight, to Dean Koontz and James Patterson. I cannot choose a favorite book, it's very rare that I dislike a book that I've read (aside from maybe Eat, Pray, Love... I'm sorry I did not "find myself" reading it nor did I think it was very interesting! Again, sorry to those who may have truly enjoyed it, it just wasn't for me!) As soon as I put a book down, I pick another one up! I fall in love with the characters and sometimes can't wait to get home from a party to read my book! I sometimes laugh, and even cry when reading a good book. There's nothing like a candlelit room, rain tapping on the window, classical music playing and a good book to read! I also love to bake and scrapbook. I love to be creative and these are two excellent outlets for that! I also like pretty things and to put smiles on people's faces. What better way than a homemade card (which a friend has gotten me into creating recently and which I have become addicted in doing!) or a delicious cupcake!  


4. I love to work out. Crazy right?!?! I always have, I simply had put it aside the last 3 years due to the nature of my classroom (very stressful and exhausting) and the fact that I was tutoring and completing a graduate degree in the evenings. I had forgotten how great it feels after a good workout and how much I actually enjoyed it (as opposed to dreading it, which was how I felt every time I attempted to go to the gym during those 3 busy years!) Now that I have graduated, have a somewhat less stressful job (let's face it, teaching will never be a no stress environment!) and am at a stage in my career where I am really confident in my teaching and what I do in my classroom (I find it takes a few years to truly find yourself as a teacher, we keep learning and changing for the better. It's easier to do that now!), I can finally reinvest some time into myself! I returned to the gym (seriously) mid-September and have been loving all the great results. My next step, YOGA! 

5. I have found a new love! Traveling! I have a great friend, who is a wonderful travel partner (not always easy to find, I've had some less than desirable ones in the past!) and we have gone on some great trips together! In fact, we are planning a dream trip to Europe this summer! Although I have traveled in my younger years, I am glad to be seeing certain places (especially in Europe) at this stage in my life as I can truly appreciate the culture as opposed to maybe spending my trips lying on the beach all day and partying (as I probably would have preferred when I was 18!). Although, I have not completely given up on lounging on the beach while on a vacation!


6. I marathon television shows. Yes it's a sport! I do not have the kind of lifestyle or schedule that allows me to tune into shows weekly/religiously on the night and time that they play (and noooo, as oppose to every other person on the planed, I do not own a TiVo either!), so I buy DVD box sets and watch episode after episode. I get into my "marathons" and can watch up to 5 episodes in a row! I also do this because I have no patience to wait 7 days or an entire summer to find out what happens next! I know, shame on me! Don't worry, I have plenty of family and friends and for the most part spend my life outside the four walls of my bedroom! I enjoy spending time with family and friends and love a night out! I just also sometimes love a  night in with some joggers, popcorn and Dr. McDreamy! Some of my favorite shows include Grey's Anatomy (of course!), Vampire Diaries (never thought I'd get into a show like that but I'm hooked!), Gossip Girl, 
The Tudors, 90210 etc...


7. I am very ambitious, especially when it comes to my profession. I am constantly trying to find new ways to better my teaching. I want to make a difference and spend A LOT of time (as anyone who is reading this probably does too) on creating materials, researching strategies, and finding ideas. I have only been on the blogging circuit for a short time, since August 2011 to be precise, and can honestly say that it is one of the best sources for ideas. It is absolutely changed me as a teacher and helped me find the most creative ways possible to teach my kiddos! We have some pretty exceptional teachers out there! It is absolutely incredible to see! The sense of community is also so rewarding. Let's face it, only teachers understand what teachers go through and only teachers understand how exciting it can be to find a great storybook to go with your lesson, or a great deal on stickers at a store! I often walk out the building wearing a sticker on my hand or a cheerios necklace around my neck because it's 100th Day, or part of a costume because it was Superhero Day, and people look at me funny because it's a Tuesday in the middle of March! Only teachers fully understand! 


Here is a list of some fabulous teachers who understand and have a lot to share!

So here goes...

I know I keep mentioning the first two, but if I do it, it's because the rewards of following them are bountiful! The others are just as worth the visit!

Mrs. Leslie over at First Grade Frenzy

Valerie over at Grow Up Learning

Charity over at Second Grade Squad

Emily at  Bunch of Scrap

Janine at Faithful in First 

Rachel at Ms Rachel's Room

Mrs. Cockrell's Mrs. Cockrells Class 

Have fun stalking these fab teachers and stop by shortly for my Candyland Word Wall and Word Folder Freebies! I have also decided to include healthy foods in my unit and thus, these will also be included in the freebie!

Take Care! Ms. Nicole
 
1

Bring on 2012!

Well Happy New Year to you all!

2011 proved to be quite a good year for me and I hope 2012 will be even better! Before I begin with the FREEBIE, I would like to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year filled with lots of love, happiness, health, and laughter! 

As mentioned in my last post, I will be doing a Candy Land theme with the kiddos when we get back. I love Valentine's day and find that if I begin a winter themed unit in January, I never have enough time to get into all the Valentine's Fun! Thus, I decided to have a unit that will tie in well with V.D and give me ample time and opportunities to plan friendship, love, and appreciation activities for valentines! I'm cheesy, I know!

As the kiddies will be returning to school on January 10th, we will have a 4 day week and will need to get back into our routines and classroom structure. I didn't want to simply jump into the Candy Land unit right off the bat, so I made a little New Year's package (Freebie) to get us back into school mode! A fun and inspiring way to begin the new year! 



This pack includes writing activities and some fun little art activities that can really brighten up a bulletin board and motivate the kiddies to do their very best in 2012!

Download the FREE PACKAGE HERE!

P.S. I was doing some stalking as usual and came across a few other great New Year freebies! Check them out!
First Grade Frenzy
First Grade Parade

Enjoy and until next time...

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