Groundhog Day Word Work

Groundhog Day is next Saturday!  I sure hope that little guy doesn't get scared by his shadow, since I've already had enough of winter!  Of course, here in New England, we know better than to think a rodent can predict the weather.  There's a whole lot more than 6 weeks of winter here!

Here's a little Groundhog Day freebie to practice the consonant +le syllable.   

Here's another Groundhog Themed game on prefixes and suffixes:  My kids love this, and they're getting awesome at naming the baseword in words with prefixes and suffixes! 

Come on over to Elementary Matters to download these items!

Floor clock

I started teaching time last week. My students' favorite activity by far is the floor clock. Come on by and see what it's all about! While you are visiting, grab yourself a free floor clock! 

Beanie Toss to 100

Here's a freebie that's perfect for Day 100 or any day of the year that your students need to practice adding tens.

Plus, it works toward Common Core Standards:

I have a lot of beanie babies in my classroom, but simple bean bags would suffice.

The children simply toss the bean bags from behind the line and record their score!  If the bag lands in the center circle, they score 30 points!  If the bag lands in the outer circle, they score 10 points.  

Yep, it's that simple, and guaranteed to give you loads of giggles! Plus, there's a subtraction alternative! Come on over to Elementary Matters to download your freebie.

Winter in New England

I've always had a love/ hate relationship with winter.  I grew up in New England, so I'm no stranger to snow.  I've been sledding, skiing, tubing on snow, snowmobiling, and ice skating.  I've made snow forts, snow angels, and snowmen.  I've done plenty of shoveling and scraping ice off the car.  I've got plenty of experience driving in the snow and can manipulate my way out of a major skid.  I've driven white knuckled to many a destination.

I love how excited the kids get after a snow.  I love their rosy cheeks and the swish, swish, swish of the kids all wrapped up in their snow clothes.  I love how the fresh fallen snow sparkles in the sunlight.

But I'm not so fond of driving in it, shoveling it, or just plain being cold.  And I don't like the short days and long nights.

But, I have to admit, it's a great opportunity to do fun learning activities!  Come on over to Elementary Matters to see some recommendations on winter themed books, some learning games, and ideas to help you get through the winter!

Excuses to Motivate

I think holidays are a great excuse to motivate the kids to want to practice their skills.  In my Teachers Pay Teachers store, I have a whole lot of games to practice skills that are related to holidays.  When I realized how many holidays and special days are coming up, I thought it was a great time to have a Dollar Sale!  The following items (and several others!) are all related to upcoming holidays, and will be priced at $1.00 until Friday the 18th!

 

Come on over to Elementary Matters to learn more about the Dollar Sale!

Free CCSS Math Mystery and a Giveaway for K-5!

Your kids will love to try out this mini-math mystery. It is a shortened version of my Math Mysteries book. These mysteries let 2nd graders practice doing a variety of word problems in a unique way. Kids just start reading at the beginning of the book, solve the problems, and go where the book tells them to go! If they get the wrong answer, they will have a 'stopper' that will tell them to go back to where they were working, and TRY AGAIN!

The questions are based on the CCSS too!

Don't forget to stop by the big giveaway going on!

Enter to win a flash drive full of teaching resources for your grade!

{Kindergarten Giveaway Entry}

{First Grade Giveaway Entry}

{Second Grade Giveaway Entry}

{Third Grade Giveaway Entry}

{Fourth Grade Giveaway Entry}

{Fifth Grade Giveaway Entry}

Thanks for stopping by!

                                          

Martin Luther King Activity and Resources

I love teaching my students about Martin Luther King Jr.  He was an incredible man, and stood for peace.  Although I'm giving away my age, I remember when he was shot.  I was a little too young to understand the impact at the time. (I was far more interested in the boys than the politics of the day.) today I can't watch his speech without tears rushing down my face.  It disturbs me to think that a man who worked so hard for non-violence was killed in such a violent way.

At my blog, Elementary Matters, I have a variety or resources including this freebie that will spark a lot of valuable conversation about Dr. King and the principles he fought for!

Money Mambo!

Here's a little money matching game with a Mardi Gras theme!  I hope you and your kiddos enjoy!!!  

Thank You Note Freebie

When we left before vacation, we had just had our holiday party and lots of gifts were given to the class.  (Instead of giving gifts to each other, everyone brought in a gift for the whole class!  We got recess games, craft materials, gluesticks, white board markers, books, crayons, erasers, and more!)

My college aged daughter came in to help out at the party, and one of her tasks was to keep a list of who gave what present to the class.  (Just like a wedding shower!)

It's time for the thank you cards!

I made a blank Thank You Note for you to copy.  Just run off the pages back to back to make it into card form.  You can download it on my blog Elementary Matters.

Thank you notes and any kind of letter will work to address this Common Core Standard:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.2b Use commas in greetings and closings of letters.

Enjoy writing your Thank You notes!

Rockin' Teacher Materials: Help a Fellow Teacher Start the New Year Right!

Rockin' Teacher Materials: Help a Fellow Teacher Start the New Year Right!: Would you like the chance to help out a lucky fellow teacher? If so, donate a product or two to to this FLASH drive giveaway. There will be a winning flash drive for lucky K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teacher! Head on over to check it out!

Happy New Year!

Welcome to The Schroeder Page!: Chinese New Year Centers & a Freebie!

Welcome to The Schroeder Page!: Chinese New Year Centers & a Freebie!:  Grab your egg rolls and chopsticks! Soon it will be the Chinese New Year! We are celebrating the Chinese New Year!  Grab this free poster and head on over to see how you can get this 'egg roll'ing in your classroom!

13 Ideas for 2013

Wow, I've had a great vacation, but I can't believe we go back tomorrow!  I sure would like another week to rest and get ready!

But I don't have that luxury, so I've coming up with a list of 13 for 2013.  Be sure to come on over to Elementary Matters for some great ideas to start the new year with your kiddos, and to download this January calendar filled with interesting, unusual holidays to celebrate with the little ones!