Five For Friday December 13, 2013

Another week in the books and only one more week until Christmas vacation!  Not like I'm counting or anything!  Here is a peek at my week, as I link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday:

We took multiple, multiple, multiple pictures for our class Christmas card and the one above may be the CLOSEST we are going to get to perfect - it is so hard to get 23 fourth graders to smile at the same time.  Oh, and forget the fact that I forgot two of the kiddos for the first ten shots because I had sent them in the hallway to work since they were being a little distracting during Daily 5.  OOPS! We also had to take a few silly shots for good measure.

And in keeping with the holiday spirit, we have been getting in some much needed math fact practice holiday style!  You can read more about this Cookies for Santa math fact practice here.

And other than that, I am feeling a bit Grinchy this year.  With all the craziness of holidays it is hard to get everything done.  I am directing the drama club at another school, and we have our performance next week, so I am already feeling additional pressure, AND today, we got an email with a list of Christmas activities for next week that is about a mile long - we have a door decorating contest, a Christmas tree decorating contest, a candy cane exchange, Christmas caroling, a Christmas concert and rehearsals of our own, several Christmas parties, dress up days for every day of the week, AHHHHH!!! Calgon take me away!  Is it just me or  does that seem a bit too much all at once?  I would like to have a regular week with just holiday fun on Friday.  Am I alone in thinking this?

Thank you for letting me vent, now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

We also have our monthly awards ceremony next week, and I was having a hard time narrowing down my recipients, so, I let the students nominate students along with a reason why.  I told them they had to be persuasive!  They came up with some great reasons, and I chose the students with the most votes.  But.. I also shared all of the compliments with the class  They really enjoyed hearing nice things that their fellow students wrote about them.  I think I might make this a regular way of choosing awards.  That way more of them are recognized, and they really learn what criteria makes an award winning student.

We have been working hard on mastering long division.  A few of  the students needed some additional hands on practice, and I ended up having everyone use the base ten blocks - it really cemented the process for even my advanced learners.

We will be getting in some additional practice with my new Duck Dynasty inspired game - Don't Duck Division next week.

And we ended today on a different note with some Fun Friday activities.  We usually have clubs right after lunch, but I found out as we were walking back to the classroom that clubs had been canceled.  Awesome!  I had nothing planned, so I decided to give them some free time.I let the students make choices to: play on the computers, play board games, color, or make bracelets.  The bracelet making was a BIG hit!

Hope you had a great week!  Wishing you the best of luck in surviving the holiday craziness before vacation!

Cookies for Santa - A Fun Way To Practice Our Math Facts

In keeping with the holiday spirit, I decided to spruce up our math fact practice with these adorable Cookies for Santa Kaboom game!  The kids had a blast!

I put all of the "cookie" pieces in a leftover Christmas cookie tin upside down.  The students pulled the cards out and attempted to answer the fact. If they got it correct, they got to keep the card.  If they got it wrong, it went back into the tin. If they got the dreaded KABOOM card - they had to put all of their cards back.  The winner is the kiddo with the most cards when time was up.

Sorry about that yucky glare!  And yes, we were wearing coats in the classroom - it has been FREEZING this week!

You can find the Cookies for Santa Cards in my Teachers Pay Teachers or Teachers Notebook Stores below:  I have addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division versions.

Teachers Pay Teachers

Addition 

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

Teachers Notebook

Addition 

Subtraction

Multiplication

Division

If you would like to win one, leave a comment below with your email address and I will send one to the first three people who leave a comment!

Five For Friday Dec 6

This week has flown by!  I am hoping that the next two weeks before Christmas vacation will go just as quickly.  We have a lot to do in the next few weeks, so I am sure it will! And.. because it is Friday, it is time to link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching!


                                                                   

We have been doing a lot of cooperative learning in class lately and the kids are loving it!  It has really allowed me to work with more students, and I feel like my kids are learning even more as they explain what they are learning to their peers.  They have loved both being the coach and the coached.

Love Notes - Don't you just love the little love notes your students leave you?  This was at my desk this week.

I love birthdays in our class!  I get to embarrass honor them with the lovely birthday hat and a smencil!

Our district purchased these National Geographic Ladders books, and the kids have been loving them - they love non-fiction!  We learned about the 7 summits this week.  I'm not sure I could make a trek up any of the mountains, but a few of my kiddos are sure they could!

It is also time for my Teachers Pay Teachers Giveaway!  Each month I give away a $25 Gift Certificate for Teachers Pay Teachers just for following!  Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Currently - December 2013

I feel like a blog stalker today - I kept refreshing and refreshing Farley's blog waiting for the December Currently!  This is one of the first times I get to do it early since the first landed on a Sunday - day off!  Woo hoo!  I know - I'm crazy!  Maybe it's the Thanksgiving stupor wearing off?  So without further ado my Currently:

And... I am currently waiting impatiently patiently for the big TpT sale tomorrow, (although I MAY have already purchased a few things that I just couldn't wait for!).  Some sellers are already having sales, so why not?  Just don't tell my snoring hubby!  I am also having a big sale this weekend  at my store with a bonus Buy one get on Free Deal!  Check it out here!

Black Friday Sale and TpT Cyber Monday Sale 20% off and BOGO!

I have never been a big Black Friday shopper myself.  Although I would love the deals - I don't really like dealing with the crowds, and I would rather spend my precious days off with my family.  That being said, I DO love the fact that the sales have come to the internet world!  I can still get great deals while relaxing at home with the family!  Bonus!

I am also super excited about Monday's AMAZING sale at TpT - my wish list is over brimming and ready to be added to the shopping cart.  Unfortunately, Monday is a work day and can be hard to get to the computer.  So... I am having a sale in my store from now until Tuesday - 20% off everything.  If you wait until Monday you can get an additional 8% off from TpT (you have to use the code CYBER), but if you can't wait, you can still save.


And to sweeten the deal - if you buy before Monday you can get a free product as well - Buy one get one free on top of the 20% off!

To get the free Item:

1. email me at kellys3ps@sbcglobal.net

2. Be sure to include your TpT user name and the item you purchased (between Nov 29 and Dec 1 at Midnight)

3. The item you would like for free (equal or lower cost than item you purchased)

4. I will email you the free item as soon as I can.

My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Time to Be Thankful!

It is so easy to get caught up in the craziness of life.  Sometimes it is nice to stop and think about all the amazing things in life to be thankful for.  That is why I am linking up with Reading and Writing Redhead for this gracious linky!

Five For Friday Nov 22 With A Freebie!

It's been a few weeks, but I am FINALLY joining up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!  I love peeking in on everyone else's week, and looking back at my own. PLUS - there is a FREEBIE in today's post as a Thanksgiving treat from me to you! So without further ado:

Writing on the desk.  

I don't know why, but for some reason my students are extremely motivated to solve math problems when I let them write on the table.

We use study island, and I noticed a few of my students were struggling with writing numbers in written form, so I pulled out my place value dice and let them work with partners to write on the table.

Art Work

My students love sharing their drawings with me to hang on the wall behind my desk.  Here is the newest piece - a Cornucopia!  Perfect for Thanksgiving!

Snow!

We had snow this week and the kiddos have been so excited.  That and the full moon, made for an INTERESTING Monday and Tuesday!  But, by the end of the week behavior was improving.  

This one wanted me to take a picture of her hair with the snow in it.  

More Snow!

I found these "fake snow" science experiments at the Dollar Tree.

We made factor turkeys today.  Super easy and fun!

AND... as a thank you for scrolling down this far, I have uploaded the template as a freebie on Teachers Pay Teachers.  Just click here. And,,, I know some of the examples look wrong, but they were due to mis-communication and gluing.  One of the kiddos covered part of her numbers when she glued and the other put both 5's on one feather since I told her she only needed one feather for the 5 - it looks like 55 instead of just 5.  My fault!

Hope you enjoy!