May 2012

One Fish, Two Fish, Three Fish, Four!

Sunday, 27 May 2012

Good Morning Friends,

I am feeling both excited and nervous this morning!

This, because, there are only 19 school days left! Although the arrival of summer vacation makes me very happy, I am feeling slightly overwhelmed with all that needs to be done before the bell rings on our last day in June! The kiddies, however, could not be in greater spirits and are just soaking up every little bit of our new beach theme! We have moved from our ocean theme to the beach! We are working on a reader's theater production of the Sandcastle Contest by Robert Munsch

and will take part in some great literacy center activities too!

Don't forget to stop by again this week for a beach themed writer's workshop freebie!

If you are looking for some great centers to do for the end of the year, you can check out my summer themed units over on my TPT page.

Now, time for a freebie template!

We have slowly been turning our classroom into an ocean (will provide pictures when all is done) and have added some fish to our scene!

I gave the kiddies the fish template on card stock and they chose colored tissue paper to decorate. They glued pieces of the tissue paper flat on the fish and I covered it with a special glue that added shine and luster to the finishing product!

Here are some of the "fishies" up close!

You will need to draw the black outlines over the tissue paper!

You can grab a free copy of the fish template right over HERE!

Until next time...

Ms. Nicole xo

Let's Go Snorkeling!

Monday, 21 May 2012

Hi Everyone,

I apologize for going M.I.A AGAIN! Been a busy couple of days!

Just stopped by for a quick post about our latest writer's workshop activity.

The kiddies had a fabulous time writing letters to friends and family about their snorkeling adventures!

Guess what?! Your kiddies can do the same!

Grab a free copy of the snorkel and mask right HERE

Grab a free copy of the letter stationary HERE

Until next time...

Ms. Nicole xo

Let's Go on an Undersea Adventure...

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

Hi Everyone,

Look at me, blogging two days in a row! HeHe!

I'm on a roll...

Yesterday, I promised to share a freebie with you! The kiddies did such an incredible job with these!

We decided to go on an undersea adventure and dove into the ocean in a submarine! You can't imagine the creatures we saw! We even came across shipwrecks, scuba divers and other submarines!

The kiddies were just so thrilled about this "experience" that they decided to write letters to their friends and family about the trip. Then, they even recreated their view from the submarine window!

Cool right?! That's blue cellophane paper!

I apologize for the picture quality, rainy weather is not ideal for this kind of photography! Oh, and a cell phone camera doesn't do much to help the matter either!

You can grab yourself a copy of the "submarine window" HERE!

A copy of the letter stationary template HERE!

And a copy of regular (story writing) stationary HERE!

I also decided to revamp our submarine letters (I teach 2 classes, one made submarines, the other made the windows!) and added some cellophane to make it look like it was under the water. This was actually the idea of one of my students! Smart little guy!

You can grab a copy of the submarine template right over HERE! The letters are glued on the back!

Enjoy! If you are in the middle of an ocean unit and would like to add some literacy centers to your theme, check out my Under the Sea Adventure Literacy Center Package! My kiddies had an absolute blast with these centers!

Until next time...

Ms. Nicole xo

My "Don't Bother Me" Hat!

Tuesday, 8 May 2012

Hey Friends!

As promised, I'm back (in a respectable amount of time) and I have some ideas for you!

You might be wondering what this title is all about! Well, you're about to find out!

Back in March, I posted some information about My Reading Intervention Basket and shared some of my tips and tricks when working one-on-one with a struggling or beginning reader. Back then, I bragged about having a student teacher and being able to pull out students each day. Well, I do not have the luxury of stepping out of class all year, this is where my "Don't Bother Me Hat" steps in.

It looks like this (btw it's from the $ store)

Spiffy right?!?!

I can't say it's my best look, but the kiddies thinks it's a hoot!

Basically, I wear this hat when I am working one-on-one with a student or leading a small group in guided reading. This hat represents the importance of not being disturbed. The kiddies know that they must not come see me when I am wearing this hat. Of course, they do know of the exceptions, such as an emergency or unavoidable bathroom break! It works like a charm. You must be thinking that your kiddies would still come up to you and interrupt and believe me mine do too. However, all I need to do is point to the hat (without uttering a word) and they walk away (usually with a smile and a sigh)!

Evidently, this can only work for short periods of time (although sometimes I wish could just wear it all day! hehe! I'm can't be the only one right?). It is also important to remember to use this strategy when and only when the students can be independent in their tasks. This will minimize the chances of students coming up to disturb your mini-lesson.

Give it a try (the funnier looking the hat, the better) and let me know how it works out for you!

Don't forget to stop by my TpT store. It's the last day for the Teacher Appreciation Day Sale, where you can grab yourself some goodies at 28% off! What a steal!

Tomorrow, my kiddies are finishing up some ocean writer's workshop letters and then moving on to Mother's Day Centers! Check them out!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for an Ocean Freebie!

Until next time...

Ms. Nicole xo

Teacher Appreciation Sale!

Sunday, 6 May 2012

Hello Again,

I missed you all so much during my M.I.A. week that I decided to blog twice in one day!

Well actually, while I was blog stalking, I came to realize that there is a sale going on!

I just had to participate!

All my units are 20% off! Don't forget to use the above promo code to add on an extra 8% off!

What a bargain! Stock up now!

Here's what you can find...

And... Many more!

Check out my TpT page!!!!

Happy Shopping...

Ms. Nicole xo

A Little Bit of Everything...

Hello Sweet Friends,

Oh, how I've missed you! I have been M.I.A. for some time now, as I have been busy with some non-teaching activities! Three bridal showers in one week! This is such a fun time for me! Summer is on its way and there are lots of great events coming up too!

Here's what you missed this week!

Some students found an adorable cottontail bunny in the yard on Thursday!

My good friend and colleague Ms. Kelly took little "Kennedy," as we call him (our school is called J.F.K. Elementary), and brought him to the vet. She was informed that he could be released back into the "wild" (i.e. the field behind our school yard). She did so and the next day, the little rascal made a reappearance. This time, it was a little more dramatic! As I was outside on recess supervision, I noticed a large crowd of students form around a small area in the yard. I immediately thought someone was hurt. Thank goodness, all was okay! However, Kennedy was back, and he was stuck in the sewer! Yes the sewer! It was filled with leaves and mud, and there he was, sitting on top of all the "guck!" Our custodian was so kind as to spend 30 minutes trying to rescue Kennedy and thankfully was successful! He was once again released in the fields and hopefully will lead a happy and safe life!

Here's a pic of our little friend!

Isn't he just darling! I kinda wanted to keep him!

Now on to our ocean unit! My kiddies are really taking this seriously and have become enthralled with this theme! So much so, that one of my kiddos came to school and offered me these!

Amazing right! Sea creature gold fish crackers!

They are so captivated by the ocean that we took them all on a field trip to the IMAX theater. We watched a film called The Last Reef. The kiddies loooooooooved it! I loved watching 50 little hands reach out and try to catch 3D jelly fish!

Here's a picture of my colleague Ms. Khan and I looking absolutely stylish in our 3D glasses!

The kiddies got a real kick out of this!

Next on the ocean adventure agenda is a wonderful writer's workshop activity (it will prove to be very colorful and fun) that I shall post about soon. Freebie templates will of course be included!

We will also be making some sea turtles!

Can't wait to share some pics of our classroom. It is slowly turning into an ocean! We are having so much fun! If you are also in the middle of an undersea adventure and would like to add some centers to your theme, be sure to check out my Under the Sea Literacy Center Pack. We just finished up our centers last week, and the kiddies had a blast!