Hello Everyone!!
Welcome back!  We have been busy in our little classroom! We had a blast coming up with ideas to help get Santa "unstuck" from the chimney. The kids are getting so creative with their lit. responses!!And to add some flair, we of course needed to do a hands on visual to go with the fun ideas!  I have been doing this little activity for about 10 years now and each year they turn out cuter than the year before!  I posted the unit that includes the details to this last week. Look for Santa's Stuck on the sidebar.

We also worked very hard on adjectives, using "Must Be Santa" (also in the Santa's Stuck unit). That song has over 30 adjectives in it!!  After really enjoying the song and the special words included, we created these cute little Santas and wrote the sentence to go with it! The patterns are included in the unit, too!

We have a lot of fun learning opportunities coming up over the next 3 weeks! Keeping the kids focused on learning is always a challenge this time of year.  Literature-wise, next week we will enjoy "If You Take a Mouse to the Movies." The kids absolutely love Laura Numeroff's books. I have shared this unit before, CLICK here if you need to download it again!

It is packed with ELA, math and science activities!

I do want to share what we have coming up before winter break in math.  We will be working on personal finance including needs and wants, spending, saving, giving, etc.  We used to cover this objective in the spring, close to summer break, but this year we are hitting it this winter. Last year I created a personal finance unit with a lot of fun summery lemonade components and decided that wouldn't work for this year, so I transformed it into a unit with a wintery feel. Some of the learning opportunities use the books "If You Take a Mouse the the Movies" and "Ox-Cart Man." 

These are just a few examples of the many that are included.  If you think you might be able to use it, you know the drill...

CLICK HERE!!! It won't cost you a dime!!!

 Let me know how this unit goes for you! I'm kind of excited about it!

Now, finally, I've had a ton of e-mail questions about updating my New Year Unit!  Thank you to all those who are keeping me on my toes and are planning ahead!!  WOW!! You guys rock!! 

Here's a peek at my 2018 New Year Unit!

Here's the link to the free downloadable unit!!!

Well, there you go, friends!  I hope this post has helped you organize for the next few weeks! Don't forget to take time out to enjoy those sweet little faces. Their joy and anticipation is so abundant! Have fun with that!!

Let me know if you need anything else.

Joy to all!!

:)

Nancy

  

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Santa's Stuck and Grinch Stuff!!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonder-filled Thanksgiving!  I am so grateful for this time with my family.  We were able to go up to Cleveland to help my oldest son move into his new home.  He has taken a new investigative reporter position at the ABC affiliate there!!  I know all of you in Indiana are going to miss him, but this is an amazing opportunity for him! Yes, he is now further from his TEXAS home, but…whatever it takes, right?!  We did have a little time to visit downtown, and I have to say…It is beautiful!!!  There is so much to do in this vibrant city. I think he is going to love it!

Thanks for letting me brag about him a little!  We are very proud of him.

But now it’s time to think about school again. These next few weeks are my favorite times of year to teach first graders. The wonder and innocence they bring to the season is such a beautiful reminder of the joy and love that comes with this time of giving.  One of my favorite books to enjoy with the kids is Santa’s Stuck by Rhonda Gowler Greene (readily available on Amazon). I have shared my unit packed with ELA, Math, and Science, but I have added some more to fit with what we are working on right now as our curriculum continues to evolve.  If you have used this unit before, please download again to get the new activities.

For your free 100 page printable unit, CLICK HERE!!!

And the season would not be complete without some time spent on that iconic GREEN GUY!! You know who I’m talking about! I’ve added more to this unit too!! Download again, friends!!  

These are just a few pieces to the unit! There is so much more!

For your own 100 page printable unit, CLICK HERE!!!!:)

Thanks for stopping by for this quick update!  I hope you have a great week back and you can enjoy these next few weeks with your kids!! Keep doing what you're doing, and don't forget to find the joy in this journey!!  

Joyfully!!

Nancy

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Santa's Stuck Again!!! What?? (Plus a little mouse, that green guy, and new year!!)

Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to catch you up on what we've been up to. If you are a first grade teacher(or anyone working with kids!), you know how exciting this time of year is! We have to work hard to keep kids engaged and learning. For the past few years, I have found that "Santa's Stuck" by Rhonda Greene fits the bill.  I have shared this unit before, but I keep reworking it.  This year we did the traditional Santa with his legs sticking out of the chimney,

(We've done this one a gazillion times- but every year, the kids love solving the problem of Santa getting stuck!),

but then we've been doing some work on adjectives, and the use of fun words from "Must Be Santa" led to some very simple but effective focus.

The kids know their adjectives!!!

If you have my Santa's Stuck unit already, yay!  If not you can get it...when you CLICK HERE!!!

There are a ton of activities included.

This week I am using "If You Take a Mouse to the Movies" as our mentor text.  Such fun!!  I'll post pics of our activities and problem solving soon, but if you need the unit

SIMPLY CLICK HERE!

Again...a ton of engaging learning opportunities for your kids!

Next week???  That beloved Green Guy!!!

Again, I'll share pics as we go!

If you don't have the unit I shared last year, you're in luck,CLICK HERE!!!!

Finally, if you already have my Happy New Year unit, please download on the "CLICK" below for the 2017 version!!  Can you even believe it is almost the new year???  What???  This school year can't be half way though already, can it? We have so much to do!!! So many places to go! So many problems to solve!

CLICK HERE for the updated New Year Unit.

OK!!  That's it for now!!! I've got to get working on my kids' little gifts!  I loooove this time of year, almost as much as our little do!  Have a wonderful week.  Thanks for stopping by for a peek through our window on wonder!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

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