Where's Waldo?

Where am I?  Today I am guest blogging over at Minds In Bloom and talking about Class Dojo.  Will you stop by and give me some love?  Hope y'all have a GREAT Wednesday!
-Stacy

Oh Happy Day {a font}

Here is a font I made last night... I thought that I was just playing around on the iPad, but I actually really like it.  The capital letters are bubble letters with dots... the lowercase letters are a little whimsical.  You can download it if you like!  Hope that you will all have a great weekend!  Leave me some love if you like the font... 

You can download the font by clicking HERE... Also, don't forget that there is a freebie at the end of yesterday's post if you haven't had a chance to download it yet! 

-Stacy

8 Famous African Americans {and a Freebie}

So if you have been keeping up with things here you know that I have been out of work for quite a while.  I am happy to report that I am going back to work on Monday.  Going back to work and seeing my firsties is going to be good for my heart.  I have enjoyed my time at home being able to get things done, run errands, etc.... doing the things that I would've done over Christmas break.  I don't think that I could ever be the spokesperson for 2nd trimester pregnancy loss, but I will tell you that my heart still feels broken.  I can't watch TV shows with babies in them.  I can't pin things on Pinterest for my "Dreaming of a Girl" board.  I'm not sure how long this part will last... but I am ready to get back to work and focus my thoughts.  Thank you to you guys for reading, for sweet comments, and for hanging with me.

I have been SO very busy the last few weeks making things for my classroom when I return.  Some of those things I have put on TpT, but some of them are going to be special and just for my kiddos.  One of the products that I worked the hardest on... and I am the most proud of is my 8 Famous African Americans pack.  February is Black History Month and I wanted to be ready.  I looked on TpT to try to find something, but I didn't see anything that jumped out at me.  SOOO, I decided to make my own.  The pack features 8 Famous African Americans including: Booker T. Washington, Fredrick Douglass, George Washington Carver, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Sojourner Truth, Ruby Bridges, and Thurgood Marshall.

For each historical figure, you will find 1 graphic organizer, 1 page in the coloring book, a reading passage, comprehension questions AND a mini-foldable book.

Each mini-foldable takes just ONE sheet of paper!!! This makes it very easy for students to make the books themselves by folding the paper twice!



I printed everything out last night and my own personal firstie was very excited and wanted to know if he could do a foldable book and color it.  Ummmm, YES!  As you prepare for Black History Month in your HERE!  Now for your freebie...  here is a Black History Month poster to display in your classroom and a quote by Booker T. Washington!  FREEBIE... Enjoy!!!
classrooms... I hope that this packet might be just what you're looking for.  If you wanna take a peek... you can find it
-Stacy

{Day 3} Guest Blogger Series

 

Denise here from Sunny Days in Second Grade. I'm so happy to be guest posting at Funky Fresh Firsties!

Every teacher has different methods for classroom management that work for them. Personally, I allow my students to use the restroom whenever they need to without asking. However, I have had classes where this was not possible, either due to behavior issues or the location of the bathroom. If your students need your attention to use the restoom or get drinks, then this classroom display might work for you!

Cute, right?  Even if you don’t use signals for routine things like this teacher, I can see lots of other uses for these little hands, like using them for number recognition, listing steps in directions or schedule reminders? Help your ELL students recognize some culturally accepted gestures that they might not be familiar with. I was very surprised in one of my undergrad classes when I learned that hand signals can have extremely different meanings in different cultures! Students are always fascinated by sign language. How about an ASL alphabet to go along with your standard alphabet? This being so close to our celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I can’t help but also notice that the hands are both different shades. That in itself can be a way to initiate a discussion and help all students see that they are represented as part of one classroom community.  Can you think of any other uses for a display like this? I'd love to hear what you think. I'm always amazed at things other teachers think of that didn't even cross my mind!

{Day 2} Guest Blogger Series

 Day 2... Please welcome Tamara from Mrs. Russell's Room! 

Every year, I do solar ovens with my students.  This year will be no different! :)  Now...last year, we did solar ovens in November, so it was a wee bit warmer than it will be now, but...in Florida...it's pretty much always warm enough to bake a cookie! :)  Hee hee hee! :)  I am going to be teaching a space unit at the beginning of February, so, I thought it might be a good idea to whip out the old solar oven plans and give them a quick brush up! :)  Full disclosure..I saved up these Cheerios boxes for almost six months to have enough for all of my kiddos to get a box to use! :)  My husband eats A LOT of Cheerios! :)

I'd already taught the students about the sun, and we brainstormed about what we could use to create a solar oven.  We did some internet research on creating solar ovens as well.  Last year, I had several boy scouts...which was super helpful to the discussion groups! :)  I volunteered that I had these cheerios boxes and the kids started talking about what else they'd need.  The fifth grade class down the hall had baked cookies with solar ovens that they put together--so we took a look at that one and posed other questions about what would/could create the best oven.  I brought in aluminum foil, hemp rope and tape for the groups to use...a few groups decided that they'd like to try black paper in their model...since asphalt gets really hot...maybe that would help our cookies bake better.  We journaled about this process in class every day for about a week, and then produced our scientific masterpieces! :)

It was so fun to watch the groups interact with each other! :)  Although most of the time I give specific instructions for labs, I wanted this one to be more organic.  This one group of boys really liked the style of the fifth grade pre-made ovens and added more to their model to add more surface area for heat. In the next picture...you can see how a girl from a neighboring group is asking about their model.  Their discussion really showed the depth of understanding the boys had, and really helped the other student in the next group develop a better understanding of what could create more heat in her model.  I brought in measuring cups and the ingredients from home for chocolate chip cookies. The kids were really excited to help me make these cookies!  Once we had the dough made...oh ours were 'egg-less' because we were afraid we'd poison ourselves! LOL! :)  We shared it out equally...each group got three small cookies.  We put them outside to cook up...and in about two and a half hours we had cookies! :)  It was a pretty great day! :)  I hope you'll try solar ovens with your kids too! :)

Their faces here are PRICELESS! :)

I'm not really all that sure why we NEEDED the garbage can on the table...but we DID wash our hands throughout this process! :)

We made cookies! :)

In the experiments that I do with the students, I have pre-assigned roles for them.  At the beginning of the year, they used these tags to help them remember their lab jobs.  By the time we'd started these solar ovens...they were quite used to taking on different roles within their groups and it was a really great experience! :)

Thanks so much for reading! :)  If you'd like to find out more about my adventures, please come see me at my blog, *Mrs. Russell's Room*!  Can't wait to meet you! :)
 Your partner in education,

Tamara

{Day 1} Guest Blogger Series

 

Hi blogger addicts, I'm Jennifer from Rowdy in First Grade and I'm so excited to be a guest blogger for my friend Stacy!

Today I wanted to share an app with you to use for your end of the year slide show and video! I stumbled upon this app by accident when I was searching for apps that I could tweak my own photos with. This app is called Strip Designer. **The logo says Pow! But if you search for POW you find a completely different app.**

It's a comic strip designer app!

You can add speech bubbles and thought bubbles to your photos and save them to your computer or send them out. You can choose a single photo or multiple photos.

This was from a girls trip to a ranch. We took one of the deer heads off the wall! 

There is even an option for just three photos which would be great for a sequencing picture- I was thinking science experiment or art project. (Please forgive the one blurry photo. I didn't have sequential photos with my students that I could use on my home computer so I'm using a photo of my parents opening their gift at Christmas)

I can't wait to take some photos with the iPad and allow my students to come up with their own captions. It's a great way to use onomatopoeias and voice in our writing. If I get really brave I may even allow my students to take their own pics.

Once your comic strip is done you can share via email, Dropbox, Twitter, FB, or add to your Photo Album. It's so easy to use! You can see more on the designers website here. We have an upcoming field trip and I think a comic book of our whole day would be a great addition to our end of the year slideshow video!

I would love for you to visit me at Rowdy in First Grade! I'm a first grade teacher living in Texas. I've been teaching first grade for four years and like all of you blogging has encouraged me to be more creative in my teaching!

Jennifer Rowdy in First Grade

Feeling Crafty... A Post Written Mostly With Pictures

 

 So, here's what I did today!  I am so proud.  They are going to be for my students @ Valentines!  I think they are going to be tickled "pink" when they see them.

I am so excited with the way they turned out {did I already say that?}.  So...  run, don't walk... to the nearest Target and hit up their dollar bins... it's time to get crafty!  Hope you all had a great Wednesday... and don't forget about my Erin Condren giveaway {it's ending soon!!!}  Side note:  you must put your silicon molds on a baking sheet before putting them in the oven.  You cannot just put them in the oven... for obvious reasons!  :)

-Stacy

Flip Flop Mix Up

I mentioned before that I have been creating things like crazy.... trying to think of things that my firsties will enjoy working on when I return to the classroom in a few weeks.  My kids know how much I love/adore/cherish my flip flops.... SO I came up with a new product called the Flip Flop Mix Up!  It is designed to help them review place value.  I made a colored version that I can print/laminate and also a black and white version in case I want to print it out for everyone to work on.  I made one set dealing with 2-digit place value and one set to review 3-digit place value {because some of these kiddos catch on QUICK and I wanna be ready}.  Check it out!!!

 

 There is a set of clues for 2-digit place value... and a set of clues for the 3-digit place value (both color and b/w).  The kids use the clues to figure out whose flips flips are whose... and then they cut and paste!  I can't wait {jazz hands!!!}

 There are also 2 additional practice sheets... one reviewing word form/standard form... and one reviewing expanded form/standard form. 

Thanks for looking... if you want to get your class doing the Flip Flop Mix Up, too... you can find it HERE I am hoping to create several more things to work on when I return to work.  Today's high in south Georgia is 81... so I am definitely in flip flops.  I hope that you all have a great Monday! 
-Stacy 

200-ish Followers {Happy Dance}

If you've read any of my posts, I have confessed my love of all things Erin Condren. I promised that as I neared 200 followers that I would be having an Erin Condren e-gift card give-a-way. It's that time!!! I am super excited to be pairing up with Tara from And They All Fall Down to be doing this give-a-way!

You have 4 chances to enter! Good luck to all of you! If you've been here for awhile... thanks for following!!! If you're new here... welcome! :) a Rafflecopter giveaway Also.... be on the lookout for 10 of my favorite peeps who are going to be guest blogging for me. If you've read my posts as of recent then you know that I am taking some time off from work and dealing with some personal/health issues. I am SO very excited to have bloggy land friends who are willing to come visit! Hope you all had a great weekend... talk to you soon!!!

Magical Product Swap {Jazz Hands}

I'm so excited to be part of The Magical Product Swap hosted by Jessica Stanford at Mrs. Stanford's Class  For this swap, I had the pleasure of pairing up with Liz over at The Happy Teacher.  She has a great TpT store filled with 37 products waiting for you to check out!!!    For this swap, I had the opportunity to choose ANY product from her store to review.  I chose "Addition & Subtraction: Part-Part-Whole Task Cards {Monster  Math}”  I chose this product because my sweet firsties still need some help with this concept.  I cranked up my printer, my laminator and got busy cutting!  The cards are so cute…. So easy to use… and the kids LOVED the monster clipart! 

Her download comes with 45 pages which includes 5 (yes, 5!!!) sets of task cards.   The ease of creating and implementing the centers made me feel like the happy teacher! 

 

 I am so thankful for the opportunity to find Liz (she really is happy!!!) and her awesome products.  There is nothing quite like getting settled in the evening and blog hopping to my favorites {maybe while watching the Bachelor and eating BBQ chips… MAYBE!}.  I hope you will check out Liz’s fantastic blog… and you can find the task cards right HERE !  Be sure to stop by her blog to see which products she swapped from my store!  

Also… BIG NEWS… I am ALMOST at 200 followers and as promised…  I am doing a giveaway which will begin later this week.  Please check back in a few days to enter for your chance to win a $25 Erin Condren e-gift card!  I LOVE my Erin Condren planners (yes, plural!).   

I hope that you are all having a great weekend… It was in the 80s here in south Georgia today {crazy, right?}

Five for Friday

Today I'm linking up with Kacey over at Doodle Bugs...for Five for Friday. 

5 random things about my week...let's get started! :)

1.  A friend of mine ordered prints of her Instagram photos through a website called Prinstagram.  I was so smitten with her prints that I went VERY quickly and placed an order, too!  The Fed Ex guy was probably wondering why I was slobbering when he knocked on the door today.  You can order your prints {I know you want to} HERE ...  I ordered the 2x2 square prints.  They had 4x4 square prints, but the novelty was the small size for me! 

2.  This season of the Bachelor started on Monday.  I am so excited {but I say that every season}.  I love making fun of the girls... and all their craziness!   

3.  I have been trying to stay really busy to keep my mind from thinking too much.  I had started several products back in December and then kinda stalled.  I finished 7 products this week and posted them all to TpT.  I am so proud of myself. 

4.  I need more sleep (see #3).  I have been staying awake way too late...  I am hoping that my body and head will sync soon... and that I can still my mind each night and get some really good rest.  

5.  My M1 lost his 2nd tooth on the bottom this morning on the way to school.  I LOVE how cute he looks without those 2 bottom teeth.  He also got a Good Citizen award at school today for the 2nd nine weeks.  I know that he is a smart kid {I'll take credit for that, thanks!}, BUT it really makes me feel good to know that he is a good kid...  Makes this momma proud! 

Not Here Much... BUT Still Here

I have been missing from my blog for awhile now.... and I apologize.  I have thought a great deal as to what I would say upon my return.  I am still not quite sure how to handle my situation on my blog.  I have decided to just be very honest.... this blog is a reflection of me.  Blogs aren't just supposed to be happy moments... but life moments.  

On Saturday, January 5th I delivered a baby girl that I could not bring home.  At a routine 4 month doctor appointment in December I was given devastating news... that our baby did not have a heartbeat.  Because I have a blood clotting disorder and had been taking blood thinning injections... as well as a history of significant bleeding during deliveries... my doctor told me that I would have to wait 2 weeks before I could deliver.  There are no words to describe those 2 weeks at home... waiting, agonizing. 

I was able to see and hold my little girl.  We named her Frances Camille DiNello.  She is buried where I attend church...  right across the street from my school.

My doctor has placed me on disability for this month and I am thankful for the time to rest, process, etc.  I have been trying to stay very busy at home.  I have cleaned almost everything (some things twice)... lots of creating TpT projects.  Organizing my boys' clothing, putting the DVDs in ABC order.... you get the point. 

I am a super private person, but am starting to see the merits of opening up... I am different now....  I am stronger.  I am thankful to be surrounded by family and friends.  I truly feel loved.  Thank you for letting me share... and thanks for sticking around.  I promise to be back soon!

Hello 2013

Heading back to work this week or maybe even next?  I created a short freebie that has a few different writing prompts for little humans.  Needing something to keep them writing while you tie up loose ends, gulp coffee, and try to remember all your sweet kidlets names?  Well you can find my HELLO 2013 freebie in my TPT store as of tonight... I hope you you will have a smooth transition back to work!  You can download the freebie by clicking HERE... please stop back by soon... I'm close to 200 followers and will be doing an Erin Condren give-a-way soon!  Can't wait!!! 

-Stacy