Tasty Tuesday Giveaway!

Hey Friends! Denise here from Sunny Days in Second Grade.

A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a great idea on ProTeacher.net about cooking in the classroom. I decided to develop this idea a bit further to share with my team mates and then took it even further and turned it into a product I sell in my TpT store. 

Basically, we copy a recipe (no cooktop or oven necessary), we follow it, we eat it and we write about it. It's seriously yummy fun and a fantastic way to incorporate bunches of math, science and literacy skills. 

Stop by my blog to enter the easiest contest EVER {for real} for your chance to win a copy of the yearlong writing program to use with your class or entire grade level! (just click on the little baker bear!)

Click me!

No More Boring Birthdays

Time and time again I've seen the poster with birthdays hanging around the classroom.  A couple years ago I switched from the traditional poster displaying birthdays to my all time favorite birthday display...that is actually educational!  I have a birthday pictograph.

This is what it looked like before I added the kids birthdays.

On the first day of school I put a die-cut birthday cake on each child's desk with their name and birthday written on it.  When they arrive to school they decorate their cakes any way they want.  As a getting to know you activity we gather together in front of the graph and go through each month.  If someone has a birthday that month they raise their hands and we discuss who has a birthday first, which comes before which, etc.  As I put up the birthday cake, the student tells the class something about themselves.  If they can't think of something I'll ask them their favorite color or food (I got a lot of "blue" and "pizza" this year).  We repeat the process for every month.  Once the pictograph is completed I ask them questions relevant to the graph (How many people have a birthday in May?  Which month has the most birthdays? etc.).  I find that this is a fun and easy way to get to know each other, throw in a quick and easy math lesson, and see what the kids already know about reading a graph.

*I start my graph with the month of August instead of January.  This doesn't seem to confuse the kids at all.  On the contrary they have no problem figuring out why I do it that way.  (Since we start school in August!)

Daily 5 Math Headers and $20 Giveaway

Head on over for your last chance to enter my giveaway for a $20 Amazon or TpT voucher - your choice!

While you're there, you can download these Daily 5 Math headers which I've done up as a request for one of my followers. 

I'm happy to do up other headings if you prefer.

~Kylie

Don't forget!

Today's the last day to enter my giveaway at Swimming into Second for a $20 gift certificate to TPT.

Click here to enter.

Have a great Wednesday! I'm really looking forward to a 3 day weekend for Labor day.

September 11th Powerpoint

I am finally posting to this exciting blog!  I have been reading all of the posts and have got lots of neat ideas!  I don't know if you are planning on covering September 11th with any of your students, but if you decide to do this check out my blog for some videos, books, and a free powerpoint!

Math Activities

Hello to all of my blogging friends!  I just posted some math activities that you HAVE to check out!  Our district's curriculum guides have us doing place value at the beginning of the year.  So, I have been searching high and low trying to find some hands-on activities for my second grade babies!  Let's just face it... place value can be a stinkin' hard concept to grasp, but I'm certain that the activities I have found from my fellow bloggers will help out tremendously!  You can find them all on my blog post!

I've also posted a few things that I have made for comparing/ordering numbers, so be sure to check it out {HERE}!

Hope everyone has a terrific week!

$20 Gift Card Giveaway

Time is almost up for my 200 follower giveaway. Make sure you get your entries in - you've got to be in it to win it!

 ~Kylie

Classroom Library and Freebie sign

When it comes to the classroom library, I have to admit that I don't have one anymore. I used to use the 3 small bookcases we get in our rooms to hold book baskets, but that left me with no other storage at all (I am sooo envious of all the cupboards and storage in some classrooms! I can't believe they take up a wall in some rooms!). Since those book cases are all we get, I had nowhere to put word work materials, math manipulatives, student book boxes etc. My room is small as well, so it didn't leave me many options to bring in my own things. So, my library is really all throughout the room and not in one designated spot.

Here are some ways I store my books throughout the room. Check out my blog to see the rest. 

You'll also be able to grab a new sign I made for my new Big Box of Big Books.

 

Circle thing(?) by JustSo Scrappy 2.

Font: Pass the Chex by Kevinand Amanda.

I'm also having a 200 followers giveaway that is ending on the 31/8! You can win a $20 Amazon or TpT Gift Card.

 ~Kylie

Speaking of hurricanes

Hurricane Irene certainly made her mark in my memory.  Feel free to read my recent blog post to see my memories of another Hurricane.

Brain, Memory, Emotions, and Hurricanes

Sally from Elementary Matters

I am so glad to be here :)

Hi everyone!

 I am so happy to be here at Me and My Gang!

I truly hope that what I have to share helps you in your classroom and inspires you to create

 and share your ideas as well.

My first week of school was a whirlwind....but went so well!! This is my first year in second grade (I taught first grade for 11 years) and I am absolutely amazed at how mature my kiddos have become over the summer! This had to be the easiest first week of school ever!! :)

One thing that really helped me was preparing all the labels for my many journals and folders that the students use in my classroom. I am the ELAR teacher to 36 very bright second graders and am using a reader's and writer's workshop model. I have tweaked it here and there to allow for it to fit within my block times and am refining the process for what works best in my classroom.

Here are a few of the things that my kiddos use in class:

Reader's Response Journal
Treasure Book (Personal Journal)
Writer's Notebook
Writing Folder
Work Folder

That's a lot of labels but what I have found is that my cute little labels help me stay organized!

Would you like a set of your own? Come on over to


and get your free set of labels!

The Great Postcard Exchange

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I am looking for 14 more states for The Great Postcard Exchange!
Please head over to Barrow's Hodgepodge to see if your state is needed.



Mechele

O.R.E.O Project

Registration for the 2011 O.R.E.O project is now open! This project is a fantastic way to incorporate many math and science skills into a fun, hands-on activity that revolves around America's favorite cookie! Sound good to you? I have a blog post from a while back that will give you a little more information, check it out and then be sure to click on over to Projects by Jen to sign up!

Click on the picture to see the project in action!

Do you lapbook?

I discovered the fantastic world of lapbooking last year and it has really added a new level of interest and creativity to my class projects. They are great little notebooks with things that unfold and pull out and pop up and the best part is that they create a great little resource for your students to keep when you are finished with a unit of study.

Stop by my blog today for an introduction to lapbooking and a guest post by expert lapbooker Tabitha Caro. Click on the button below learn about lapbooks!

200 follower giveaway

I'm having a giveaway on my blog to celebrate 200 followers. The winner will receive a $20 gift certificate to TPT.  The giveaway ends on Wednesday at midnight. Be sure to check it out.

Click on my button to enter my giveaway.

Classroom Complete!

I've been away for what seems like forever, but I am finally back and I have pictures of my completed classroom.  It was a crazy week getting everything ready and at points it didn't seem like it would come together, but it did!  Without further ado, here is my classroom ready for the first day of school (Aug. 25th)....

Click on the picture to see my classroom!

Perfectionist?

Are you a perfectionist?  Does it sometimes get in your way?  As I struggled to get my room completed in just a week, I ended up more discouraged than proud.  Read on...Perfect is the Enemy of Good.

Pinterest Inspired

Aren't you just lovin pinterest? Here are two of my recent projects inspired by pinterest.

Is your Courage on?

Has anyone every tried to teach courage to your students?  Well- I just did that with the help of a little book called courage:)

Head over to The Schroeder Page to find out all about it:)

Reader's Workshop (Daily Five and Literary Cafe)

If you are trying to implement Reader's Workshop this year, along with the Daily Five or Literary cafe, head on over to my blog to see how I plan to run workshop in my class.

Friday Freebies!

As part of Blog Hoppin's "Teacher Week 2011", I have posted THREE items on my blog for "Friday Freebies"! I guess mine is a Threebie Freebie Friday!

You can snag two class books and a set of word & picture circles that I plan to laminate, cut, and make magnets out of so my kiddos know 1.) what supplies they need and 2.) in which order they are to complete an assignment/project! Here's the pic of the word & picture supply circles:

Head over to get yourself some freebies!

:)
Christina

200 Follows giveaway!

to all the wonderful people who already follow my blog! I've now reached 200 following and am ready to celebrate.

Come on over to my blog to have your chance of winning a $20 Amazon gift card!

 

 I'll choose a winner via random generator on the 31 August!

~ Kylie