Summertime..and the Living is Easy!

Well the summer is pretty easy, 

but we still want our kids to remember a 

few things we taught them, right? 

I created this freebie last summer to

give my students a little incentive to

keep their little brains fresh over the summer.

There are 3 calendars for June, July and August 

to to give my kiddos (and their parents) some

ideas and direction of activities to do. 

The activities on the calendars the kids can pick and choose from.

I ask them to do 10 each month. 

You can require more or less.

The students who complete their work and 

bring me their recording sheets (included in the freebie) when

they return to school get a little Back to School Goody Bag 

from me!

I hope this helps the summer slide in your room!!

Just simply staple the cover page, included letter,

calendars and recording sheets & 

send your kiddos on their merry way!

Grab your Sun-sational Summer Journal here!

When I'm back here in June I will FINALLY be out of school.

We go until June 25th! Waahhh!!!

No Summer Slide!

Summer is SO close I can smell the sunscreen in the air! We have all worked SOOOOOO hard to get these little kiddos to learn so much this year, right? I am always so impressed {with myself!} when I ask a student something obscure {like what does the Bald Eagle carry in his talons?} and they actually know the answer! Wooohooo!

However, as teachers, we're a tiny bit scared they'll slide a little in the summer, right? Well this year, send your kids home with this handout.  It's filled with 100 fun activities to keep your kiddos brains working! Click the picture to snag this FREEBIE! 

Have an awesome end of the year! 

Slainte!

Thanks a "Latte"

Hi there, Renee here from Fantastic First Grade Froggies.  I wanted to share an easy peasy gift idea for any helpers you may have in your classroom.  I made these last year and again this year.  They are cute and fast!

This post was originally on my blog last year, but here it is along with the tag freebie.

Here is what I put together, a "Thanks a Late" bag.  Inside each bag is a mocha drink (I know it is not a latte, but that is what Costco had) and a small bag of chocolate covered coffee beans.  I made them tags, cut them with a circle punch and put them in a bag.  I always have these kraft bags around.  They are simple and can be dressed up to fit any occasion.

Here are the labels (freebie).  I warn you, these are not a template to labels or anything.  I just used a 2.5" circle punch to cut them out.

Do you have parent helpers?  If so, what do you do for thank you gifts?  I would love to hear your ideas.

End of Year Student Gifts

We officially have 10 days of school left which means my brain is feeling awfully scattered between end of year assessments, getting ready for kindergarten graduation, finishing up our curriculum, feeling way too ready for summer, feeling sad that I only have a short time left with my kinder babies, and end of year gifts.  Told you....totally scattered thoughts!

Anyways, I came up with an idea last year for end of the year gifts that I would love to share with you.

Here are the supplies:

"You BLEW me this year!" Bubbles

"Have a KOOL summer!" Kool-Aid

"You will ROCK in first grade" Pop Rocks

Here is the finished product:

Each goodie bag includes:

~bubbles

~pop rocks

~kool-aid

~crazy straw

I think my students this year are to LOVE them just as much as my kinder babies from last year did.

If you would like to grab these labels for FREE, then click on the image below to download these from my TpT store.

What do you for your students at the end of the year?  I would love to hear what you do in the comments below!  :)

End of Year Reading Challenge

Hi everyone!  It's Jennie from JD's Rockin' Readers!

I have struggled ALL year at getting my students to meet their monthly reading goal.  Out of 20 students in my class, I would have 7 or 8 kids not meet the goal every month.  We even have a reward program similar to Book-It in our school where the students earn a reward for meeting their goal.  Still, I would have several not reading.

I knew I needed to do something or the end of the year was surely going to get worse...

I teamed up with my teaching partner and we decided to have a Reading Challenge- and it was a HUGE success!  We did it for the month of April.  Our classroom goal was 500 books.  If they met that goal, they would earn a bowl of ice cream.  With every additional 25 books we would add toppings. 

We made a graph and hung it outside our classroom so they could keep track.  We recorded the number of books each Friday.

In the end, we ended up with 659 books in our class.  We "won" against the other class by only a few books.  We had our ice cream party with a whole lot of toppings!  

I had also told them that if EVERYONE met their individual goal then we would have an added "bonus".  

They did it!

They didn't need any more sweets so the "bonus" was FREE TIME on the iPads during centers!  What?  What?  They were so excited!  Funny thing is- most of them still listened to stories or practiced math facts- LOVE IT!

As we wind down the school year I hope that they continue to read.  We will see…

We will be working on an end of the year memory book.  It's nothing too fancy but will serve as a fun reminder of their school year.  You can download it for free by clicking on the picture.

See you next month!

Creator of:

Getting Ready for Next Year and Getting Behavior in Check

Hi everyone! It's Angie from The First Grade Scoop here. I don't know about you, but I'm getting ready for next year already. A) It's been that kind of year that I'm ready to move on from, and B) I want to be ready to go as soon as possible so I can enjoy summer and have items ready for September!

Part of this has been prepping my clip chart calendars for my students for next year!

A couple years ago, I used the typical red light/yellow light/green light system in my classroom. It was okay... But I wanted to have opportunities for students to move up for positive behavior. I created my own clip chart based off ones I'd seen online that also matched my black and white theme. I still use it today. (You can grab it FREE from my TPT store... Just click the picture below.)

This system was going well for my students, but when I'd fill out Friday folders at the end of the week, I'd always forget exactly how my students had done for the week, and it was harder to communicate behavior effectively to parents. So, I created my clip chart calendars.

Every day at the end of the day, my students fill out their calendar (which we keep in homework folders) with the color they had at the end of the day. Any students who had to clip down come to me, and I write a quick numeric code on their square to tell their parents what happened. (I also jot notes if there's particular details I want to share, such as a subject or time of day that the incidents occurred). At the end of the month, I file their clip chart calendars away, so I have documentation of behavior concerns.

Are you interested in grabbing these for yourself? I have two versions in my TPT store.

The first version is completely FREE, but it is not customizable. If you download my clip chart or use something with the same levels, this might work for you!

If you'd prefer a FULLY EDITABLE version (truly, it's completely editable... Nothing is "locked down" in the file so you can move things around as you please), it's for sale in my store.

Have a great rest of the school year... I'll still be in school when I'm back next month (it'll be our LAST DAY with students!), but I'm sure many of you will be out enjoying some summer sun. :)

Muffins with Moms

May is here! School is almost out! We have 3 weeks left and I can just taste those popsicles! We have a lot of fun this last month of school, including a trip to the beach and all kinds of BBQ, Field Day, Talent Show craziness. Since I don't have photos of what's to come, I'd love to share what we did for Mother's Day last week!

For the last 6 years, I've held a Muffins with Moms event in the Spring. This year, I timed it more appropriately to be right before Mother's Day (one of those "duh" moments that happened by accident).  So, I sent home invitations a few weeks ago, asked for donations (muffins/pastries, oj, coffee, creamer, cold/hot cups, napkins, and fruit) and come last Friday....it was a success!

Here's the craftivity we make to give to moms when they come:

Here's how I organize it:
8:00-8:30--Welcome, eat and read!
8:30-9:00--Interview and color!
9:00-9:20--Presentations!
9:20-9:30--Group photo and goodbye!

I start the event off by welcoming the moms (sometimes it's grandparents, aunts, family friends, so I make sure to mention those as well, but this year it was all moms) and then students grab some books to choice read and everyone gets some food and drinks.

Then, I pass out crayon tubs and my Portrait Drawing paper and moms color their child while they ask questions, and then switch and the kids color their moms and interview them (I leave this up to them--favorite subject, color, animal, etc.).

When it appears coloring is done, I take away the crayons (an important part) so that people aren't coloring and talking while presentations are happening. I ask for volunteers to come up in front of the classroom and "present" their Mom/child to everyone (tell us what they learned about one another). I sit front and center and take photos during this time.

After all the presentations are done, we all gather up in the front of my room and take a few group photos and then say goodbye!

Click any of the items below to purchase from my store:

See you next month!

Mother's Day Ideas

May is finally here!  I know we've been waiting for it all school year.  As the school year comes to an end, I'm going to tell you about a sweet and simple Mother's Day project that I do every year!

Every year I have my students make a book for their mother/grandmother/aunt/etc. They write about meals their mom cook for them, things they do with their mom, why they love them so much, etc.

After going through the brainstorming, planning, and editing stages, they get a copy of one of these books:

Inside, they rewrite their sentences and illustrate each page.  Once they are finished, they get to wrap them and add a bow and gift tag:

Students are always so excited to surprise their moms, and moms love them!

If you're interested in making these with your students, I've created a packet with instructions, graphic organizers, writing plan sheets, and a fun fill-in-the-blank.  Templates for moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, as well as a blank are included!

Check it out here.

I hope you might be able to use some of these activities!  I will be back next month!  Until then, have a great end of the school year!

Summer Fun Freebie Game ... and Links to Many More Freebies!

Hello, Teaching Friends!


It's getting to be countdown time for a lot of you! As another school year comes to a close, I know that you are concerned about the summer slump and trying to find ways to counter it.

Since many of you enjoyed my Bugville Races homework games, I thought it might be fun to give you another free game to add to your collection of homework game! Of course, when you're sending home games for the summer, you're not expecting them to be returned to you. So the little twist with Plus Ten Four-Pups-in-a-Row is that you'll be getting two versions: a full-color one to play in school to keep the learning going during those last hectic days, and a grayscale version for you to copy and send home with each of your students for summer fun and practice!

If you're looking for more math review games for your first graders, here's a set you might like, Summer Send-Off Math Games.

And now for your link to more freebies! To help you with your Teacher Appreciation Week Sale shopping, I've put together two versions of a Followers' Newsletter, one for TN and the other for TPT. They look a lot alike, but on page three of each edition {links to over a DOZEN freebies!!}, you'll find each has some unique items.  In both of the editions, you'll find a Follower Exclusive Freebie on pages 4 and 5.  What? Not a follower yet? I sure would appreciate it if you'd become one! That way you'll automatically find out about these newsletters and freebies in the future!

Click here for the TN version.

Click here for the TPT version.

Thanks so much for stopping by Teaching Blog Roundup today!

Happy Teaching!