Sight Word Practice

School is right around the corner for me and I'm thinking about fun ways to get my kids reading and writing.  I have a sight word Egg Flip activity that my kids just love but it only has ten sight words.  I have that activity in a center with a real frying pan and spatula and the kids have so much fun cooking up the eggs.  They practice reading the words and writing the words in this center.  You can grab it here for FREE!

I use the Egg Flip Sight Word Center at the beginning of the year.  But what to do when the kids master those ten words?  Hmmm...

Well, since the egg flip is so darn fun, I thought I might as well make a different flip activity with ALL of FRY's 100 sight words, so I made this adorable Sight Word Pancake Flip activity.  Click on the link or click on the photo to get this activity.

The kids are doing essentially the same thing, but this looks different (and we all know how important novelty is for our little learners).  

In this center I have a real spatula, a sturdy paper plastic plate, the recording sheet in a page protector, a dry erase marker, and the pancakes.  That's everything you need for hours of fun!

Kids flip the pancakes (good fine motor development), read the sight words (reading practice), flip the pancake face down and write the sight word on the recording sheet (writing practice), flip the pancake right side up and check the spelling that they wrote (spelling practice), and then scoop the pancake onto the plate and grab a new sight word pancake and begin the process all over again.  Sounds so simple, but the kids are engaged and productive the entire time they are working at that center.  You can pair up two kids- a good reader and an emergent reader so the emergent reader has some support. Feel free to use all the words at once or add them as your readers are introduced to them- you are the teacher so you know what is best for your little learners.

Thanks for stopping by!  You can grab this (and all my products) on SALE TOMORROW and TpT's one day sale.  Don't forget to use the promo code MORE15 to add an extra 10% (I forgot to do that during the last sale- DUH.  I guess I was so excited with all my great purchases, when it came time to check out I COMPLETELY forgot.  Live and learn.  Don't make that mistake- every penny counts, especially at the beginning of the school year!  You can be certain that I won't forget the promo code this Wednesday!

3 comments Fun Stuff, Literacy Actvities, Literacy Centers, Writing

Oh Snap! It's Almost September!

Hi Everyone!

I'm linking up with my fun friends over at Teacher Deals and Dollar $teals for their great product linky party.

It's the middle of August and that means that September and a new school year are right around the corner for me.  I know that many of you have already started back and while you probably envy the teachers still on summer break, I envy you for getting the year off and running.  You've already lived through the first day of school butterflies, the criers (both kids and parents) and the runners (that's when I wish I had a clone), you've assessed your kids and now your year is settling into it's rhythm.  I'm thinking about all the things I need to do to get my room ready for the upcoming year. 

So here are a few of the things that I use to get my classroom ready.  

Here is my CALENDAR COMPANION.  It has lots of things to add value to your calendar wall.  It contains shape flashcards, lunch counts, student counts, tooth charts, number of the day, and worksheets for the kids to use as daily calendar work.  I slide them into page protectors and staple many of the pages right to my calendar bulletin board.  Dry erase markers wipe off easily.



Another thing that I LOVE is my Spaghetti and Meatball Spaces.  This helps new writers with correct spacing.  We talk about how the letters need to be close together in a word, but not touching so they need a small spaghetti space. But the spaces between the words need bigger spaces, like the meatballs in the spaghetti.

I glue a brown pom pom to the end of a craft stick and the kids use those sticks to make the spaces between the words. I keep a small container of meatball spacers on my writing table and kids grab a stick if they need one.




Do your kids use too much glue?  Then this little chant is just what you need.  It is bundled with other helpful songs and chants that will make your day run smoothly.

There are line up chants, neat and tidy poems... it's filled with lots of helpful songs.  I have them stapled to different areas of the room.  I also put them in a Sub Binder so my subs can manage my kids easily without me.  The consistency is great for the kiddos as well.

Well, thanks for stopping by!  Just click on any of the photos to get the products that you are interested in.

Leave a Comment Linky Party, Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals

Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals- Portrait Templates

I'm blogging over at Teacher Deals and Dollar $teals today to bring you one of my top selling products for mere dollar!  If you don't know Teacher Deals and Dollar $teals yet,  we are a group of K-5 teachers that offer daily discounts and freebies on some of our best selling products.  Make sure to follow the Teacher Deals and Dollar $teals blog and Facebook so you won't miss out on any great deals.

So here is my DOLLAR STEAL for this month.

I'm putting my Portrait Templates on sale for the next 3 days.  These can be used by the kids as a base for a self-portrait.  I use these during the first week of school to have the kids draw a self-portrait.  I use these self-portraits as the cover for their writing folders.  At the end of the year, I give the kids another portrait template and they draw themselves again.  The difference in how they draw themselves between the beginning of the year and the end of they year is amazing!

I don't just use these at the beginning and end of the year, I give these to the kids to illustrate characters in the stories that we are reading.  They also use them to draw their family members as gifts for Mothers and Fathers Day presents.  I give them one of these to draw themselves as a writer and I slide this into the cover of their writing binder.


There are so many different uses for these...

I would love to hear how you use these in your classroom!  

And here is my FREEBIE for you.  

Simply print the eggs on card stock, laminate and cut them out, then place them in a center with a real spatula and small skillet (I use the plastic skillet from my housekeeping center).  The kids love to scoop the eggs with the spatula, place them in the pan to cook, say the word when it is finished cooking, then scoop it out of the pan and onto a plate to serve.  

I slid the recording sheet into a page protector and placed a thin dry erase marker at the center.  Kids write the word on the egg that they just cooked.  Now they are getting practice reading AND writing the sight words.  My kids LOVE this activity!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Make sure to follow me on Bloglovin' or Google +.

Leave a Comment Art, Back to School, Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals

Five For Friday- August 7

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for their Five for Friday Linky Party.  I love how you pick 5 random pictures from your week and share them with the other bloggers.  

Now that we are back from vacation, my little Cooper is sticking to me like glue.  I guess he missed us!

San Diego has a great Maritime Museum. We have the wonderful Star of India and other beautiful sailing ships.  We also have two submarines.  This is the Russian sub.  We went inside of it and then compared it to the American sub.  Super cool.

Going on the American Sub.

The Star of India as viewed from the deck of the Berkeley.

A view of San Diego through the lines on the Star of India.

San Diego also has the World Famous San Diego Zoo and the Safari Park.

Here are some animals enjoying their great habitats.  We have passes and love to go for an hour or two to walk around and get some exercise.  

Blue Apron

I'm super excited for this!  We are trying out Blue Apron.  They send you fresh ingredients twice a week along with recipes.  I like to cook, but I hate grocery shopping.  I find that I cook the same recipes over and over.  I have been trying out a lot of Pinterest recipes this summer but searching for the ingredients makes it a chore.  This should solve that.  I'll keep you posted on how the family likes this little experiment.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Click here to go back to the Doodle Bugs Five for Friday Linky Party.

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What Worked Well Wednesday- Center Tub Labels- FREEBIE!

I'm linking up with my friends over at Kinder Tribe for their "What Worked Well Wednesday" Linky Party.

Even though it is the middle of my summer break, I'm starting to think ahead to next year.  (Do we teachers ever really stop thinking about our classrooms??)

One of the things that worked really well last year was the addition of these simple labels to my math and literacy tubs.

Before I had these labels, the kids would try to work together on activities meant for one, or try to do a partner activity alone.  By adding the labels to the tubs, my kids gained independence and I gained some peace (and the ability to focus on my small group of kids).

I change the activities in the math and literacy tubs often based on what we are learning, or when I sense the kids are getting bored with the activity, or when I need to introduce a new skill or activity.  During my afternoon rotations, kids rotate through different activities.  One of their rotations is "Math and Literacy Tubs."  Although I direct WHEN the kids do the math and literacy tubs, the children can choose WHICH tub they would like to work on.  Some of my kids prefer to work alone, but some like to work with a partner or group.  By having these labels on the tubs, kids know immediately if it is an independent or partner or group activity.  This helps them get settled quickly and saves the wear and tear on my nerves.

You can grab these labels for FREE in my TpT store.  Just click on the pictures or on the link.

I hope you find these useful too!  They might be little, but they make a big impact.

5 comments Back to School, Classroom Management, Classroom Set Up, Organization

Currently this August

It's a new month and we know that the fabulous Farley hosts her very fun Currently, so here is what's going on CURRENTLY...

Listening

We just got back from a long road trip and each person in my family made a play list of songs.  Unfortunately, no one liked the songs on the other people's playlists so we abandoned the songs and started listening to podcasts.  Two of our favorites are This American Life, and 99% Invisible.  If you haven't listened to these podcasts, you really ought to give them a try.

Loving

 I'm loving the look on my girls faces after they raced down the rapids on kayaks.  They both love adventure- especially my oldest daughter Lauren.

Lauren

Paige

Me, Mike and Juliet (and our river guide)

Thinking

I'm thinking about our great vacation.  It was a family reunion of sorts.  My father in law celebrated a milestone birthday and we converged on the city of Durango for the weekend.  Family came from Seattle, Dallas, Austin and San Diego.  We had so much fun hanging out together.  One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Silverton and riding the train back to Durango.

Wanting

Now that we've returned from a vacation (we haven't taken a vacation for a few years) my husband and I are longing for more.  We used to have a little travel trailer and even those small get-aways helped to rejuvenate our souls.  Now we are both dreaming of getting another camper... alas, it's only a dream, but it's fun to dream- right?

Our little camper- we miss you Kiwi!

Needing

You've heard this before and it remains true.  I NEED new flooring!

It has moved from the wanting category to the needing category. Sadly, this too must remain in the dreaming category for now.  

Maybe someday... {sigh}

B2S RAK

I love the thought of this!  

I will try to do little things through out the year.  We have a small staff so I can personalize each RAK for each person.  (The ideas are already starting to flow).

Thanks for stopping by!  

Click here to head back to the linky party.

6 comments About Me, Linky Party