The day is coming soon where we celebrate the wonderful women who brought us into this world! I can understand that this time of year is CRAZY busy- so I wanted to take some of the weight off and create a little something to have your kids give to mom. This booklet is all about mom, and uses what the students have learned to create something their mothers will enjoy reading. Whenever you get a lull in the craziness have your 1st or 2nd grade students complete the booklet. It will be a nice fun activity for all to enjoy - and it's free!

I think this would be a great poster to hang in a classroom! It is easy to find value in a kid that always gets everything right - even students know who their "smart" peers are. But are we forgetting about those kids with the big imaginations? We should make them realize that what they have is spectacular! The smart kids may get all the attention, but we should build all children's imaginations and teach in a way that sparks creativity, because imagination will open doors for our students.

Here are some free coloring sheets for your kids to enjoy today! Have fun celebrating our Earth!

Need a way for your 1st graders to show how much they love our planet? This unit provides an opportunity to bring relevance to your students as they complete activities that show what they think is special about our world,while thinking of ways that they can make a difference as an individual. Students will think about the different environments in our world and how they are important. They will be able to decide how we can work together to make sure all of those environments stay as wonderful as they are now.

Ok-it has been a while since my last 21 day challenge.... a little more than 21 days I think... and I maaaay have slipped a couple times, but I am pretty proud of how I am doing! I realized today that it is 21 days until my COLLEGE GRADUATION so I say it is perfect timing to get a perfect bod! :) 
I have made another 21 day challenge that will make me as healthy as can be - and I am ready to get started. I am sure you can find something to motivate you to try as well; even if its just that it's getting warmer outside! (I'd say that is reason enough!) It will be easy, let's gooooo!

As I have completed my student teaching requirements now and am finishing out the school year as a substitute, I have been observing a ton of different activities and plans that teachers use when they are out of the classroom. I can imagine that there is nothing worse than waking up sick and needing a sub-but not having anything ready to leave for them. Since it is the season of sick days, I decided to create a way to make those sick days a little more enjoyable (if that is even possible). This unit is enjoyable for the students and takes care of the whole day of reading, writing, and math. The activities are age appropriate and follow the monster theme. Substitutes will find this easy to use since I have included a description of each activity, and directions of what to do. There is also an anchor chart to remind students how to act when you are out of the classroom! (You are welcome sub!) Take a look at the unit and let students have fun imagining you being scared away from the school day by a pack of monsters!

Ok funny story- one of my fellow teacher-friends told me about one of her friends who was constantly in a spat with a co-worker. This friend did not know what it was that the co-worker didn't like about him, and he could not think of anything he had done to deserve being mistreated by the co-worker. One day- in an attempt to stop the ongoing bad vibes between them- the friend called up the co-worker and simply said "Listen, I am so sorry" without even knowing what he was sorry for. Sure enough the co-worker exploded with gratitude and relief washed over the two of them. From then on the two got along-and the friend still has no idea what he was "sorry" for. This funny story made me wonder how many people in my life I could simply say sorry to, and when I saw this quote I could not help but think of that story... so I decided to share with you! 

This "Time Experts" hunt was amazing! Each student got a watch that had a set time on it. The students became the expert of the time on their watch and had to think of an activity that they do at that time. The students then had to find the time experts for every other time on their sheet, along with the activity that was done at that time by the time expert!