Freebie Friday

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Once again, I'm linkin' up with

TBA's

Can you believe  this is the last Friday  in the month of June?   Even more surprising,  I'll be in full "school" mode in 4 weeks. Yikes!
Anyway... you came for a freebie  and I have a lovely one for you this week.
It addresses the  common core standard 1.OA.D.8 which reads Determine the unknown whole number in an addition or subtraction equation relating three whole numbers. 
This is it...

and you can find it HERE.
Now if you could please pardon me, I really need  to get back to this mess my classroom.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

Two for Tuesday - Week 4

Happy Tuesday!

Once again,I'm linking up with 

The Teaching Tribune's

Two for Tuesday

summer bloggin' fun!

To participate,

I've been asked to discount

two products 

in my store for today only,

The two that I've selected are products

that I use with

Accelerated Reader.

First up...

This product was adapted 

from a display I had 

in my classroom for years.  

  One day though,

I needed the wall space for other things, 

so I took it down and converted it

into a personal log book that tracks the students' reading progress. 

In a nutshell, here's how it works...

Each level features an animal 

with 10 circles on it. 

Kiddos read a book, 

then take and pass an AR quiz.  

They're then given one of these 

handy-dandy stickers for their chart.

10 stickers = 10 quizzes

Each page also features 

a fun fact about the animal, 

a graph for recording the types of books they're reading and 

most importantly...

a badge for having completed that level!

It kinda makes me think 

of the 

 badges that 

Boy / Girl Scouts receive, 

except... well, it's not. 

The second product I've discounted is

another favorite in my own classroom.

This is a display for tracking AR points

in your classroom. 

Here's a peek at the product 

on the wall 

in my own classroom.

(You'll have to provide your own READ letters.

Hobby Lobby, craft stores, and Walmart all sell something comparable 

to the letters in the pic.)

Each kiddo is given

 a cave"boy" or cave"girl"

image with his/her name on it.  

The clipart is moved from poster to poster as he/she accumulates points.

My own students love it!

These two are on sale today!

Grab your copies HERE and HERE.

Monday Meet Up

Hi Friends!

Today I'm linkin' up with

The Teaching Tribune's

summer linky.

It's week 4 and bloggers have been asked to post 3 random facts about ourselves.

Here goes...

ONE

I actually overheard my future hubby 

accept an invitation to attend 

a Sunday School chili supper.  

I made it a point to attend as well.

How else was I going to meet him?

TWO

When the meal was ready to be served, 

I got to ring the dinner bell, and to me...

that was absolutely the BEST part!

THREE

A family friend was assigned to Johnny's entourage and he arranged for me to meet him.

Do any of you remember him?

That's enough random"ness" for one night...

Now it's your turn to share!

Sunday Smorgasbord

Hi Everyone!

It's Sunday / Fun Day

and I'm participating in a new linky...

new to me, that is.

It's called

and I'll hope you'll link up, too!

ONE

Baby Girl graduated from high school 

just a few short weeks ago.  

In August, she'll be attending 

the University of South Alabama 

(sniff sniff) so we're quite busy 

buying lots of stuff 

for her dorm room.  

 TWO

One of the items on my "to do" list this summer was to have a professional make over the shrubbery area in my front yard.  My dear hubby and I have previously made 3 attempts in recent years, all of which failed.  

Believe me, we were long overdue 

to make an appointment 

with someone who knew 

what they were doing.

Now it's so lovely.

I just hope I can keep it that way.

THREE

Here is a pic of my former classroom.

It's a mess because I 

had a midlife crisis

decided to move to a smaller school 

where I'll work with a close friend from my college days.

When I made the commitment to go, 
I clearly wasn't thinking 
how much WORK was involved.

Goodness gracious! 

FOUR

My Erin Condren lesson planner arrived this last week!  It is simply beautiful and 
I can't imagine teaching without one.  
They're just that lovely!
(Can you tell I'm from the south?  
Everything here is lovely.) 

FIVE

And finally... let the countdown BEGIN!
There are approximately 85 days remaining
until the new season begins and
I, personally, can't WAIT!

Danny and the Dinosaur - An Author Study

Hi Everyone!

If what I've seen 

on other teacher blogs 

is an indication of a common practice 

in classrooms from the east to the west, it's

author studies...

and I have an oldie, but goodie,

for you!

My own kiddos always loved reading the

Danny and the Dinosaur series.

Maybe that's because they're easy to navigate and first graders seem to have a natural curiosity about the big beasts.   

Plus, the author tosses in 

plenty of the silly stuff 

to make it highly engaging 

and just plain... 

FUN.

We simply needed to know more about the author so I created this product.

Here's a sneak peek 

at most everything I included...

I'd love to share it with 3 people.

If you're interested, leave a comment

(with your email address)

about an author study you 

conduct in your own classroom.

If you would still like a copy after the freebies are gone, you can find it

here.

Let's Talk Books Linky

I'm following through with
Deanna's suggestion and linkin' up with her summer book talks.
 Let's get to it, shall we?

The book that I've selected this week
was a read-aloud lesson taught by a
former librarian who has since retired.
She read it so beautifully, I knew instantly that I had to have a copy for myself.
It's just that sweet!

Here's a tiny peek at this precious story...

This is Beatrice.

Beatrice doesn't like books and she certainly

does not like the library.

But to the library she must go 

when her older brother, Henry, 

has a report to write.

While there, 

Beatrice frequently confirms 

her dislike for the library.

Every attempt her brother makes to pacify her is met with a resounding

"I don't want to!"

A day or so later, 
Henry reads an advertisement 
for a read aloud 
to be held that afternoon.

He quickly drops her off 
and disappears 
before she has a chance to say,
"I don't want to!"

At first, Beatrice refuses to listen and is even quite rude to another child.
Slowly, though... she makes a connection
to the story that makes her laugh out loud.

 Beatrice enjoys the story and asks the librarian if she can see the book.

Of course, the librarian agrees and 
Beatrice looks at all the pictures 
over and over.

Henry finally returns to retrieve his sister.
She is so captivated 
by the story that she
ignores his attempts to gain her attention.

Finally... he begs her
"Come on, Bea... It's time to go."
to which she naturally responds,
"I don't want to!"

Did I not tell you it was a precious story?

If you're interested in purchasing a copy for your classroom, you can find it here.

Now it's your turn to share!

Two for Tuesday

Hi, Everyone!

Have you read that

The Teaching Tribune 

is hosting 

a fun linky called

Two For Tuesday?

Since my participation will force me to take a break from

Classroom Relocation 101,

I'm more than happy to join the fun!

Seriously, y'all...

I have spent 8 of the last 11 days moving the contents of my classroom...

absolutely everything I've collected 

over the past 24 years.

I'm talking every pencil, stamp pad,

cap eraser, chart stand, book display,

every.single.item.

Why, you ask?

It seems that someone thought a lateral transfer to a smaller school 10 miles farther down the road would be an awesome idea.

And it was - I mean, it IS!

I had just forgotten how hard you have to work to accomplish a task of this magnitude!

Maybe some of you who've moved 

the contents of your classrooms 

can appreciate the 

WORK that's involved.

  

Take my poor hubby as an example...

he will need a week, 

at the very least,

to recover from this ordeal!

I'll be posting pictures 

of the new space 

just as soon as it's done.  

Until then,

I'll share with you the first project that is currently underway.

The country blue border 

(circa 1988)

simply had to go and

lime green is now on the radar.

I do believe it's shaping up nicely!

Now, back to the linky...

Two products in my store are at 50% off for one day only,

 today!

Here's a teeny glance for you to consider...

If you're in need of an author study,

I'd like to suggest one that my kids

simply adore.

It's this guy.

Tedd Arnold's series 

appeals to kiddos of all ages.

It's all about the fly...

My book study features 

anticipation guides and 

comprehension questions 

for 5 books in the series.  

There's a cutie craftivity for "Buzz", too!

Need another idea?

I simply adore this product I made for word work practice in my small groups.

It's called

and it's a collection of mats 

in which the children 

manipulate letter tiles 

* at your direction *  

to form words. 

(Honestly, if you have a need 
to teach phonics, 
this product will feed that desire.)

Strange, I know...

If you'd like more information about these

products, you can read about them 

here and here.

They're 50% off for today only!

Happy Summer!

Deanna's Summer Book Linky

Hi Everyone!

It's Tuesday, y'all!

I'm so excited to participate in

Deanna Jump's

Book Linky

this summer!

If you're anything like me,

you l.o.v.e buying new books but I don't always have time to wander the aisles 

at my local bookstore.

 Can you identify?

That's what is so lovely about Deanna's linky!

I can read the many suggestions, choose a new favorite and immediately buy it!

What's not to love about that?!

Let's get to it...

The book I want to share with you 

is one that I just learned about 

this year.

It was selected for the 

Jumpstart's 2013 Read for the Record campaign.

Did your school participate?

It's called... 

Here's just a little snippet about it...

Otis is a friendly little tractor who loves his home on the farm.  

He works hard all day with his farmer and every evening, 

he putt-putts into the stall 

that is his very own.  

Life is good for sweet, little Otis.  

One night, the farmer brings 

a beautiful calf into the barn 

where it cries and cries 

for its mama.   

The sweet baby is inconsolable 

until it hears Otis softly 

putt puff puttedy chuffing

in the next stall.  

The two become inseparable friends.  

Later, the farmer purchases 

a big yellow tractor 

that succeeds in robbing Otis 

of all the work he once enjoyed. 

Otis is even expelled 

to the back of the barn 

where the grass grows taller than his tires.  

He falls into a deep depression 

where even his friend 

cannot reach him.

Sometime thereafter, 

baby calf wanders away from the farm 

and finds itself 

in a dangerous situation.  

Who can save baby calf?  

You'd think 

Big Yellow Tractor

 has the ability, 

but Otis has something stronger...

the power of friendship!

This book is simply precious.

Its theme is very similar to

and

if you're familiar with these two. 

If you'd like to purchase Otis,

you can click here.

Now it's your turn to link up!