Read Across America 2017

While planning for a week of fun, I was super excited to receive an Email from Party City allowing me to pick out some AMAZING goodies for my class.  So of course, I want to share with y'all what we did to celebrate Dr. Seuss!  Party City wants teachers to celebrate the 113th birthday of America’s favorite author, Dr. Seuss and the “Hat’s Off to Reading” campaign.

Party City’s Party Kits are an easy and stress-free way for busy teachers and parents to put together a Dr. Seuss celebration!  From decorations and serveware featuring all your favorite characters, to costumes and accessories (including the iconic red and white hat)--Don’t just throw a party, Throw a Party City Dr. Seuss Party! 

I chose a variety of goodies to celebrate Dr. Seuss! First, we decorated the room.

We wanted our kids to be super excited for the week and these decorations were perfect! I also have tons of characters from Kohl's and we put those everywhere too! 

I set up a table with all of our snack goodies for the day. We used each of these for a learning activity.

We read One Fish, Two Fish... and then we graphed rainbow Goldfish.  We were able to sort, count and compare with this fun activity! 

Next up we read The Cat in the Hat.  We labeled the Cat and then made his hat using Red Gummy Savers, Oreos, and Icing.   Next up, we read Green Eggs and Ham and used a sugar cookie, icing and green m&ms to make Green Eggs.

We added some Chocolate Teddy Grahams for Brown Bar-ba-loots and some colorful marshmallows for Truffula Tufts and the students snacked while we watched the Lorax.

And then we made mustaches because...who doesn't love a mustache! :) 

We also played Seuss-O using Swedish Fish as our counters.

And we made a photo booth with a bulletin board paper as our green screen.  I downloaded the Green Screen Wizard App to make fun pics with our kids using the photo booth props from Party City! 

We gave our kiddos tattoos, which they loved! 

We finished up with a bag of amazing goodies for all of our kids! Every child also received a Cat in the Hat headband so we could all be dressed up for character day! 

I had as much fun as the kids with the props and headbands! 

I saved the props and decor for next year so I can use them again and replace the serveware items.  A special thank you to Party City for making our week extra fun! 

Some of my blogger friends also received Dr Seuss Materials...check out how they used theirs here:

So, how did you Celebrate Read Across America? 

Read Across America Is Coming!

Read Across America Day is coming soon!  As teachers we need to preplan, so here are some ideas to get you started!

Last year, we added a week to do an author study on Dr. Seuss to the first week of March.   I'm sure you know that March 2nd is Read Across America Day! This is a day to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday, but to also celebrate reading!  Last year, my school is had a dress up day and my intern and I dressed up like Thing 1 and Thing 2 complete with tutus! So much fun!

It might seem early to post about it now, but we all have to have time to prepare for a day (or week) as important and exciting as this, so this post will be all about fun things to do during that week! 

One of my most favorite activities to do with my children is make Oobleck!  Bartholomew and the Oobleck is a lengthy book, but I always read it anyway.  My favorite recipe for Oobleck is:

Bowl 1:

• 1 1/2 cups very warm water

• 2 cups glue

• green food coloring

Bowl 2:

• 1 1/3 cups very warm water

• 2 level teaspoons Borax

Mix the contents of the two bowls together kneading until it is fully combined. Discard any remaining liquid. 

There is another recipe with cornstarch that I do not recommend because it is very loose and gets everywhere!! 

The good thing about the Borax type Oobleck is that it is super stretchy and it also bounces! I always give my kids some of their own in a Ziplock bag to take home and they enjoy exploring it. 

I also always make Cat in the Hat hats with my students.  We trace them on white poster board and cut them out and then staple them to a sentence strip.  I don't know where the pattern originated...someone just gave it to me at some point, but it's not too hard to free hand! These were finger painted, but some years we just color them.

A fun idea from Jen over at Crayons and Cuties in Kindergarten is making a Cat in the Hat Snack! Head over to see how to make them step by step!!

Some arts and crafts we've done:

And I REALLY want to make these Cat in the Hat noses this year!! 

I am planning on using this timeline Freebie from Teaching Second Grade as part of our Author study.

For math, you can read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish and play this FREE Silly Cat Fish Addition Game!  There are fish counters included, but you could also use goldfish as counters.  Laminate the fish tank and provide students with a dry erase marker and have them write how many red fish and blue fish they have and then how many they have all together.  Each student can record their answers on the recording sheet provided.  

If you need more center activities for that week, you might enjoy my Silly Cat Centers Bundle! You can find it here:

I hope you have a week full of learning and lots of silly fun!  

Black Friday Linky

Hey friends! I can hardly believe it's almost Thanksgiving and Black Friday! I'm so thankful for my family and friends this year.  I'm also thankful for all the people I've met through blogging, especially my friends at The Primary Pack! We are celebrating Black Friday again this year with all of you in a fun way (and a little early). We are sharing a few of our most wish-listed items in our personal wishlist, our carts and our own stores. We are also hosting a HUGE Black Friday giveaway, check it out below, you don't want to miss it!

 I'm usually a pretty big black Friday shopper but my kids don't need much this year and neither do I, so I'm going to go for these things:

A bike: My youngest child's Santa gift.

Dual DVD players - because one of ours died and we like these in the car!

Tieks - because my feet are important and I'd love to have a pair!

Old Navy gift card because I've lost a lot of weight and can use some new clothes!

Bath and Body Works Gift Card because I love their candles, soaps, wallfowers, sprays, and lotions!

There are lots of things on my wishlist, but here are a few:

Jennifer Drake's Sight Word Reader's - These books are awesome and help the students learn sight words and build fluency.

Jennifer Drake's Rhyming Puzzles - My students need practice with rhyming words and this is a fun way!

Brenda Tejeda's Writing Bundle - These writing activities are awesome and this bundle is a great deal! 

Brenda Tejeda's Sight Word Bundle  - Brenda has the best sight word activities, this is a great way to make sure I don't miss any! 

Here are a few things you can check out from my store:

Gingerbread Count the Room - A fun way to practice counting and let your students get up and move around the room.  This is one of my student's favorite centers!

Gingerbread Counting Mats - An easy ready to print center, but so cute! 

Christmas Centers - 2 Weeks worth of centers and other activities ready to print and go!

Christmas Around the World - Activities, crafts, and information on several countries that I use in my classroom!

Maps Skills and Landforms Unit - My best selling unit!

Drumroll please.... Check out this HUGE giveaway package you can win by entering below! There is a resource from almost everyone in The Primary Pack, perfect for all primary grades!! Good luck, friends and happy shopping!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now It's Your Turn To Join The Fun! 

Just a few rules to follow and you're on your way:

1. Download the images above!
2. Add your personal holiday wishlist to the image titled "My Personal Black Friday Wishlist"
3. Add your favorite sellers products from your TPT wishlist to the "My Classroom Black Friday Wishlist"
4. Add your own products to the "For Your Black Friday Wishlist"
5. Link up below to share your Black Friday Wishlists!
6. Don't forget to enter our fabulous giveaway above AND visit others linked up below!

An InLinkz Link-up

The 12 Days of Christmas - A Behavior Incentive

Hey y'all!  Here are some ideas for a Christmas behavior incentive! 

This was my view as I worked after school before Thanksgiving break.  Don't get overwhelmed if you aren't in the Christmas spirit before Thanksgiving, but that's when it's time to start planning! 

December in Kindergarten is one of my favorite months! It's full of crafts, learning, excitement, and fun!  My kinders always get a little rambunctious during this time, so years ago we came up with a behavior incentive called the 12 Days of Christmas!

I send a note home asking parents if they are able to donate a class set of presents.  Parents respond and I send them a confirmation letting them know what present to send in.  We're talking cheap presents here...yo-yos, bubbles, pencils, play-doh, erasers, silly straws, bouncy balls...the list goes on!   The parents shop and then they send in their presents ALREADY WRAPPED!  This shouldn't cause you any extra stress, because let's face it - who has time to wrap 12 class sets of presents?  Then, you place them under your tree.  Usually I have more than 12 parents respond and I say yes to everyone!  If we have more than 12 presents..sometimes we have double present days!

Each day we choose a present to work for.  Remember - they are prewrapped and just alike, so we are all working for the Santa presents today or the Snowman presents today etc.  I have a clip chart in my room..students must end the day on green or better in order to get a present in their bag. You can adjust this to fit any behavior management system, though!

I get the bags from Michael's.  They are $6.99 or $7.99 for 13.  I usually use a coupon on one set and my teacher discount on the other.  Last year they only had plain ones, so I added a die cut Christmas tree with scrapbook paper.

Check out the cutie bags they have this year!

These bags are the sturdiest and will hold their presents and not tear on the day they take them home.

When the 12 days is over, it's time for our party and we sit in a huge circle and open our presents.  It's basically insanity.  The kids get so excited over their presents!  This is also a great reflection time for students.  If they had a day they missed a present, they will see that they are missing something and reflect about that.  Rarely do students miss a present because all it takes is a simple reminder that they are working for something.

Interested in trying this incentive with your class?  I have an editable freebie for you!  Get busy editing and sending home so your parents can get busy shopping and you can get started!   You only need a few presents to start, so if it seems overwhelming to get started now, think of a few dependable parents and see if they can get you a few presents quick to get started.  Pencils, candy canes, and erasers are super easy to get started with.  The kids will have no idea what they are working for anyway!  That will give other parents time to shop and turn things in.

Good luck!  If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :)  I hope this brings some extra good behavior to your classroom during these crazy busy months!