Spelling Test Funny

Most days I dread grading...who am I kidding!!! I dread grading papers everyday!! LOL!!

But every once in awhile you get a paper from a child that makes you chuckle. Here is a picture of a recent spelling test.

Christmas Wreath Mexican 7 Layer Dip

December 23rd my family and I went up to our church to help assemble Christmas food baskets to hand out/deliver to the needy in our town.

For something special for the volunteers I made this 7 layer dip but with a Christmas twist.

I used my angel food cake pan to make the mold.
I layered in the: refried beans, shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream, olives, salsa, lettuce and added the cute tomatoes for a finishing touch. Then refrigerated until we were ready to leave.

I set it out with a few bags of chips on the church kitchen counter and then went to deliver some food. When we came back to the church there were about 4 scoops of the dip left and the 3 lonely tomatoes laying on the tray. :) I'd have to say  it was a hit.

Christmas Bowls

Since my children were young, I started the tradition of making Christmas dishes with them each year.
You can see my previous post here where I have pictures of all my plates and the directions.

Last year, I decided I had enough plates and decided to go with bowls. Here is last year's bowl.

This year we did another bowl.

I used their fingerprints to make the reindeer and santa. (Their hands and feet have gotten too big..sniff...sniff).  Also- On each dish I have their name, age, and year.

The only thing I suggest is to USE the "Porcelaine 150" paint. (I got it at Michaels).

Last year I used these "painters" pens and they did not hold up nearly as well. I put the dishes in the dishwasher (like I had done previous years with the Porcelaine Paint) but it came off or peeled and moved locations on the plate. So don't use the below paints!!

Once again, see my instructions here for how to directions and more pictures.

Organizing out the wazooo

This coming school year I am so excited to be back in the traditional classroom...and of all things, 3rd grade! 3rd is my all time favorite. I'm crazy, I know.

I spent 3 days painting bookshelves and baseboards in my classroom. Then I got down to business of going through everything the previous 3rd grade teacher left me. Then I FINALLY was able to sort and organize. MY FAVORITE!!  Yes, I am type A personality, left brained, or a gold personality...take your pick!

I have to share with you the one person I am obsessed with. "Creative Clips" by Krista Wallden. She is the most amazing seller on TPT!! I used her FREE labels everywhere in my new classroom, and I mean everywhere!!

She has a zillion free items to download. Click here for the labels. :)

She has a blog and Facebook too!

Here are a few pictures of her art in my classroom. (Remember, my room is still a work in progress at the moment).

Here are the labels for my books bins. The white tubs on the top of my shelf are my reading centers (using her cute labels).

Here is a bad picture of my storage cabinet. I just love seeing my bins labeled! It makes me happy!!!

 And my math manipulatives, of course, are labeled.

I also made a job chart using her labels and all my stacking trays to store paper and turn in assignments are done with these labels. :) I'm a happy girl!

2015 VBS - Journey Off The Map

Since I now seem to have the title of "Bulletin Board Queen", I was put to work at our church for our promotional bulletin board for VBS. This is what I created for our church.

*I used strips of butcher paper scrunched up to make the border (my FAVORITE borders).
*I had to track down a gas station that sells maps to cut out the letters. BTW- Finding maps is much harder than I thought! I think craft stores have scrapbook paper that look like maps, but I leave 45mins from the nearest craft store.
*That bottom left corner is a file folder full of registration forms.
*The leaves - I saw a template of the leaves here.  I did not have the right stuff downloaded on my computer so I eyeballed the leaf and made my own.

I also have a board on Pinterest with my VBS pins if you are interested in more of what I have found so far.

Bulletin Boards

I thought I'd show you 2 of my most recent bulletin boards:

This one was a compilation of about 3-4 different ideas on Pinterest that I mixed together. I was pleased with the final result. :) It was a great addition to the halls for Open House!

Tip: The red and orange flowers - I fan folded the pedals. Then the middle yellow and black circles I snipped the edges with scissors every few spaces (like you did when you were little to create green grass).

This next one I thew up in literally 3 minutes. I was SICK of the one I had of previously, but with only a few weeks of school left, I didn't want to put much effort into it.

Multiplication Word Search FREEBIE

To quickly fill up one of my 3rd grade math centers I made up this little multiplication word search. I thought I would share it here with you. Click here and it will take you to Dropbox where you can down load it for free.

The border used was from Paula Kim Studio.  

I hope this might give you a little something fun to fill your math centers.

Don't forget to swing by my TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) or Teacher's Notebook store for a lot more goodies!!

Standardized Tests and Word Problems

Right now I am teaching a remedial math class for 3rd graders. With the big state standardized test around the corner, I was racking my brain trying to think of new and fun ideas to get them ready.

Years ago with my old 3rd grade math team we had put word problems around the room like a scavenger hunt. So I took this idea tried to expand on it.

I was given a resource of math problems that were similar to the test. BORING!! Both for the kids and me. I cut them apart, glue and laminated them, and made a worksheet to help them show their work and also cross out the wrong answer choices. This was on green so I gave it a "recycling/green" theme. I added a clock for the time problem. I also added the graph because I want them to write all over the graph to show their work. Ill tape the problems around the room and they can go find them and solve, or you can rotate them.

Then I became a little more creative (I use that word loosely) and involved the dicut machine. Since it is close to Easter and the bunny dicut was one of the largest. I glued the problem to the bunny. For the large problem, I used two. I also created a student response page (it is at school, not home for me to take a pic tonight, but it was really cute).

 

My final idea is an actual Easter egg hunt with word problems in the plastic eggs hidden around the classroom or outside if the weather permits. They can use notebook paper or teacher made response sheet and clipboards.

Facebook for news and free ideas

First: Thank you if you happen to be reading this.

Second: I apologize for not keeping up with the blog like I should. Facebook, Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and Teachers Notebook are filling up my time, along with my regular teaching job. (Websites can be great, but overwhelming). :)

I wanted to let you all know that I have been posting some great freebie links on my facebook page to share with everyone. Be sure to "like" my facebook page so you can get access to those right away.

Black History Month

For Black History Month, I have 2 great PowerPoints for sale. These make a great addition to your lessons.

Check out my Ruby Bridges ppt this one includes a video link of her in the White House with her famous painting.

I also have a ppt on George Washington Carver. This tells about his life and his work with peanuts and much more!

Don't forget I have a tab on the top of my blog with ALL my PowerPoints that I have made. You can check out my listing here.