120s chart

Since 1st grader are required to know up to 120 now, I created these. There's a smaller version for the kids to use. The bigger version I'm going to print, then glue onto construction paper, tape them side by side and post it up with my calendar. Click here and here to download.

Name Plates

Polka Dot name plates!

I needed some for my classroom and created these. There are two versions, one is made to be printed on 11 x 17 paper and the other on 8.5 x 11 paper. You can either send them off to staples to print or do what I'm going to do and just print them up at work. Cheap and cute!

I plan on printing them, cutting, and laminating (so they can be reused next year, or until they start falling apart.)

So, click on the pictures to download them!

Ideas

Things are settling down in my combo class. But just wanted to share these GREAT ideas/freebies that I'm planning on printing and making. (There's actually MANY things I want to make but these are the most recent.)

Check out these cool subtraction posters at Step into 2nd grade with Mrs. Lemons and this making words folder at Teacher bits and bobs.

I also forgot that I'm planning on doing the 100 books challenge discussed about here at the Teacher wife's blog. I used her letter and had it translated so I can send it home to my Spanish speaking families too. :) Click the image below to download.

Review Weeks Reading Logs

Here are the translated review weeks reading logs as promised! Happy Monday Everyone!

Click on the image to download.

Verbs!

Here are my verb worksheets to go with Amy Lemon's nouns worksheets. I loved her nouns worksheets because it was simple and cute!

Click on the image to download.

I made these worksheets pretty simple because my first graders will be doing them also. I also plan on playing Simon says as a part of the verbs lesson to emphasize that a verb is an action word.

I hope you all have a good week!

Update classroom photos and randomness...

My polka dot trimmers finally came and I was able to replace all the old trimmers in my room. Slowly but surely my room is coming along. I just need to change the purple papers here, to black so that it'll kind of go with a polka dot/black and white/bits of color scheme! :)
Having to prep for a 1/2 combination class has kept me busy. Otherwise all of the room decorations would have been completed already. I really want to tear down my bulletin boards and make it turquoise like my boggle board here. But that will have to wait until things calm down at work.
I'm getting ready to create some verb worksheets to go with Amy Lemons nouns worksheets. So look for those soon.

I also moved my birthday chart down because I wanted the kids to be able to see the photos. I enjoy hearing them talk about their birthdays and when it's coming up. :)
After reading about the writing Cara at the first grade parade's doing, I knew I just had to do it too. We did our heart maps today and here's my version to show the kids.
Here are some examples from my kids. They did a really great job.:)
And here's the download of the heart map I made for my kids to use.

Lastly, I love having my kiddos draw self portraits. They just make the classroom a little happier. Here they are on my cupboards.
Have a great weekend!

Sight words

I've looked at so many blogs over the summer and downloaded so many good ideas that I have no idea where I got this reading log idea from. If it's your idea, please let me know so I can give you credit. ***Found the awesome person who I got this idea from. Amy Lemons from Step into 2nd grade with Mrs. Lemons.***

I showed it to my team and they loved it just as much as I did. So I used the original reading log to create our reading log/sight words review form for our homework packets. (I thought it was so cute I even kept the cute clip art and "reading log" font. Good thing I had the same font and clip art.)

We use our sight words as our spelling words. We do 5 a week and then a review week of the previous 10 words.

So, if you'd like a copy, click on the image to download. It's a 100 words, plus review weeks so there are 30 pages! :)

birthday sign

Here's the birthday sign I'm going to put up with my birthday display. :) Happy Monday!

Sorry @ Question Concept Board

I just looked at my google document for the QC board signs and the Homes and Things that go signs didn't transfer over correctly in the PDF file. I don't know why but google docs isn't transferring over the font. So if you'd like those signs, please email me and I'll email them to you.

My district also has adopted the Envision math program. I made these labels to go with the center games. I didn't create the icons/clipart. These were taken directly from the program. I wanted the clip art to match what was on the game cards, so the kids would be able to quickly see which game is in the basket. My team and I probably won't get to all of the games in each Topic, so that means I won't make labels for all of them. If you need one that I didn't make, just email me and I'll try my best to get one to you quickly. (These labels were made for the Avery, white shipping labels 5352. It's 2" x 4.25")

Question & Concept board

For those of you who teach Open Court, here are some signs I typed up to use for each unit. (If you teach Open Court, please let me know. I'd love to pick your brain for ideas. Especially how you teach the concept of this board to little first graders.)

Now, some of the letters are on a different page. I was trying to save paper. I don't know about you all, but our school's so limited on paper. We only get 5 reams per trimester. LUCKILY, my donor's choose project for paper and pencils have just been funded. :) So excited.

Anyway, here's a picture of what I did with all the signs. And yes, I colored all of them. :) Coloring is very soothing to me. I just sat with my 2 year old and we had a blast coloring together. She also LOVED all the signs. She kept asking me, "Mommy. You color letters?" How I've missed her this week.

Birthday display and First Grade Fanatics

I absolutely love my new birthday display. (I'll have to post a picture of it later on today since I left my camera at work. But you can get a quick glimpse of what it looks like here.) I took pictures of the kids holding up the date of their birthday and then plan on hanging their picture under their birth month on the ribbon. If you would like a copy of the birthday icons and numbers I used, head over to First Grade Fanatics TODAY, where I'll be featured and you can get the downloads there. (You can also download the behavior chart my team and I use in our classrooms and a bi-weekly progress note as well. These are both in English and Spanish.)

FYI: I decided to have the kids hold up two number cards instead of just one if their birthdate has a double digit. That's why I only made numbers 0-9.

(By the way, Monday was our first official day back at work. So I've been busy with professional development, meetings, etc. And Wednesday was our first day of school. I must say that my batch of kiddos this year are extra cute! I already love them. And they LOVED the gingerbread man hunt and magic playdough.)

Click on First Grade Fanatics' button to go directly to their blog.

Bucket Fillers

I made this sign to go with my bucket filler wall. If you haven't heard about being a bucket filler, go over to the First Grade Parade here or at Clutter-Free classroom here and read about it. LOVE the idea and I can't wait to use it this year with my kids.

I know the sign doesn't look like a sign. Just a bunch of letters. BUT I'm planning on cutting out the letters, gluing them on card stock, laminate and then putting them up on my cupboards. :) So, if you'd like to use it, feel free to download it here.

Activities for the first couple of days

I love all these teaching blogs. So many great ideas and they've all truly been an inspiration to me. After "stalking" MANY, MANY, MANY blogs, here are activities I will be doing the first few days of school. (Which starts next Wednesday!!!)

I will be reading the Gingerbread Man and doing the Gingerbread Man hunt from Mrs. Southard at Fun in first. I thought this was such a great idea to tour the school and have a little fun as well. It's been hard finding those little Debbie's gingerbread cookies that Mrs. Southard uses. I even considered baking the cookies myself. But didn't want to spend my night before the first day of school baking 25+cookies (25+ so I'd have extras, just in case some break or I eat a few. :) )So I researched and found this at walmart.com and bought it. I can bake a huge gingerbread CAKE or brownie or even a huge sugar cookie! I'd prefer those much more than gingerbread. It would be much easier to bake one huge one, and I can use it during Christmas. My daughters would love it!)
I'll also have Magic playdough for the kids. I first read about it at the Clutter-Free classroom, and then Fun in first posted about her first two days of school and included this awfully cute poem to go with the magic playdough. (Click here to go to her site and download it for yourself. )

I always read David Goes to School by David Shannon and we discuss what David does and what we should do in first grade. The kids LOVE hearing about all the wrong things David does and will come up with what David should have done. I take this opportunity to review my rules and consequences in my classroom as well. I'll also read Chrysanthemum and discuss about how mean words can hurt our hearts and do the heart activity as explained by Cara at The First Grade Parade.
I'm also reading The crayon box that talked.
After reading this book, I will take pictures of the children to make our own crayon box. I printed these crayons onto colored construction paper and will put the kids' pictures at the tip of the crayon with their names. I'll put the kids' crayons into a big crayon box that I will make with the saying "Although we're all different, we all belong together" or something similar. I can't decide which saying yet. I will post a picture of the final product next week. Click on the image to download the crayons.
I'm torn between these two books!
They both discuss about being nervous about going to school. Decisions! Decisions! Decisions! After I read one of them (maybe both :) because I love them both!) I'll have the students write about how they felt the night before school. (This will also show me where each student is at with their writing. Click on the image to download.)
Every year I have the kids draw self portraits. (I have them do one at the end of the year too. I display these two portraits on the child's desk during open house. The parents, kids and I love seeing the difference between the two. :)

I believe that's it. WHEW! That was a long post. :) I am absolutely excited about school starting! I can't wait to meet all my little ones.

Go check out Fun 2B in first's linky party for beginning of the year/fall activities!

Behavior/homework Calendar

I used this calendar in 4th grade (click on the picture to download.) I laminated those yellow 9 x 12 envelopes for each child and attached this calendar on top each month. They had weekly homework packets but were assigned certain pages each night (as seen in the previous post about homework logs here. With fourth graders you get the luxury of having them help correct the homework.) So for about 10 mins before class started, the kids took out their homework, passed it to another person at their table and we corrected the few pages quickly together. Then they passed it back to the owner while I walked around and quickly wrote "C" for complete or "I" for incomplete on the calendar.

I used the card system in my class so whatever color they were on at the end of the day, they were responsible to mark their calendar accordingly to the behavior chart. I then only walked around to check the students who were not on green for the day.
I also have the calendar in Spanish that you can get here.

Again, I will post what I use in first grade soon since those files are at school.

Homework log

I used this when I taught 4th grade. I loved that it had a weekly report of how the student was doing in class. I've attached a blank version that you can edit yourself and an example of what I did.

Most of my files are at work, so I'll have to post more later. :)