Monday, May 30, 2016

End of School Year Student Gifts

Many school districts have already finished for the year, but my school district finishes this week.  The kids' last day is Wednesday, then we have 2 workdays, which I desperately need because I am moving classrooms again!  More about that in a later post.  :)
Thomas Teachable Moments
The end of the school year is bittersweet to me.  I am really ready for summer because I can't wait to spend every day with the twins.  When I was young, I didn't realize that teachers look forward to summer break as much (or more) as the students do!  
Thomas Teachable Moments
However, I have grown so attached to my class this year.  I know every teacher says that, but I really mean it!  This has been the sweetest group of kids.  I have so many wonderful memories of each and every one of them, and I hope they keep me in mind next year for soccer, football and baseball games, for future graduations, and just to pop in and say hello every once in a while.
Thomas Teachable Moments
I wanted to get each of my kids this year a little something, so naturally, I turned to my good friend, Pinterest.  She often inspires me and gets my wheels turning.  So without further ado, here is what I put together for the 20 kids I love so much!
Thomas Teachable Moments
I found cups, Pop Rocks and crazy straws at the Dollar Tree.  Crazy straws are harder to come by than you'd think - so if you ever see some, grab them up!  I had to search high and low for them! I bought Gold Fish, Pop Ice, and Kool-Aid singles at Wal-Mart.  That's how much I love these guys - I braved Wal-Mart over Memorial Day weekend, WITH my twins in tow.  Yep, that was a fun trip! (Insert sarcasm...)
Then, I made these cute little tags to go with each of the items.  You can pick these tags up for free in my store by clicking here or the picture below.  They are about 2" x 2".
Thomas Teachable Moments
Then, I wrote their names and my name on each of the cups.  I know some of you lucky ducks out there have Cricuts, but I don't...so instead of a cute, vinyl, dishwasher-safe sticker, my kids get a hand-written name filled with love.  BUT - if I DID have access to cute, vinyl, dishwasher-safe stickers, I would've made their initials and put them on.
Thomas Teachable Moments
I tied the individual packet of Kool-Aid to the crazy straws and attached the tag.  It says, "Have a Krazy-Kool summer!
Thomas Teachable Moments
The Pop Rocks say, "You will ROCK 5th Grade!"  (I have also made versions of other grades and included them in the FREEBIE).
Thomas Teachable Moments
The Gold Fish say, "You are o-fish-all done with 4th grade!" (I have also made versions of other grades and included them in the FREEBIE).
Thomas Teachable Moments
I chose colors at random and tied three Pop-Ices together for each student.  The tag says, "Summer breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"  I thought that was pretty funny - like that's all kids eat in the summer!
Thomas Teachable Moments
Last, I taped each little tag onto everything, and arranged them in the cups.  Voila!  End of school year student gifts for my kids!  Thomas Teachable Moments
Thomas Teachable Moments
Thomas Teachable Moments
Enjoy your summer!  Comment below with what you like to do for your End of School Year Student Gifts!

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Final May Currently/Teacher Appreciation Sale!

I am sad to say that this is the final Currently with Farley from Oh Boy! It's Farley!  Thank you for such a fun linky party.  It gets me thinking and reflecting each month, and I have enjoyed being a part of it.  With that, here is my last Currently.
Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments

Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments
A fun bit of news, however, is that this is Teacher Appreciation Week!  I am excited to tell you that TeachersPayTeachers is going to have a Teacher Appreciation Sitewide sale May 3rd and May 4th.  
Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments
I don't know about you, but my wish list has SO many items waiting that I can't wait to purchase when they are on sale in a couple of days.  What is sitting in YOUR wish list on TPT?  Here are the top three items in my store on teachers' wish lists.

1.  NO PREP! Telling Time - this was featured in the TeachersPayTeachers Newsletter and is the most popular item in my store. This packet is 56 pages and takes telling time one step at a time!  It begins with telling time by the hour and half-hour, then moves to telling time by 5 minute increments, and ends with telling time by the minute.
Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments
This item is full of fun, engaging activities for students.  It works great for whole group, small group, and math centers.  It's also a GREAT tool for older kids during intervention.  Click on the picture to see more about it!

This item is actually part of a line of NO PREP! items.  I also have NO PREP! Adding up to 4 two-digit numbers, NO PREP! Multiplication, NO PREP! Division, and NO PREP! Graphing.
Adding up to 4 2-digit numbers    Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments

 No Prep Division    Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments
I also have all 5 of them bundled together so you can save even more!!
Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments
2. The second most wished for item in my store is my Guided Reading Template.  It has been recommended by reading specialists! I recently added to this product, so if you already own it, go back to My Purchases and re-download it for free!

If you don't have it yet, it is a system that is quick, easy and VERY handy to help you plan and keep documentation of your Guided Reading Groups, as well as give your students immediate feedback and goals.   I also added a running record sheet that has a fluency calculation formula at the bottom. Click on the picture to grab this awesome item.
Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments
3. The third most wish-listed item in my store is my Year-Long, Daily Math Spiral Review for 2nd Grade.  This NO PREP packet includes 36 Monday-Thursday review sheets and 36 Friday Assessments.  The standards are listed for each individual question on each day.  There are index pages of the standards reviewed broken down by week, and links to 2 FREEBIES for posters that compliment these reviews.  Check it out!
Mrs. Thomas Teachable Moments
Thanks for reading my currently!  You can follow my blog by using the follow me on the right side of the page.  Have fun shopping this week!  Maybe some of these fun items will end up on YOUR wish list!