Five for Friday *Linky Party* January 31

What a fantastic week it was!  It's amazing how quickly the week goes by when you have two days of school cancelled because of the cold weather.  We have been trying to cram everything in that we missed plus some.  I still haven't had a full week of school since Christmas break.  How crazy is that?

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share some of the things we have been doing this week.

1.  School was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday because of the blizzard conditions and cold weather.  I am hoping we have had our last -35 degree temps with windchill.  Monday was supposed to be a report card for teachers.  We got to work at home instead and do them.  I wish I could stay in my pjs EVERY report card day.   Tuesday was our 4th no school school day for  kids.  We've had 5 snow days in January now.  This is crazy.  We could get 12+ inches of snow and still have to go in.  We got almost 6 inches of snow on Thursday and school was not called off.

2.  When I got to school on Wednesday I got to use my Green Screen and ipad.  I had written a grant for them.  The Green Screen came a couple weeks ago...but the ipad took forever to get here.  My principal handed it to me Wednesday morning.

The Green Screen is really big.  I took pictures of my kids in front of it. I then had them draw pictures.  I merged the two together...which made it look like the picture was their background.  The kids LOVED them.  I wish I could share the pics with you...but the ipad is so foreign to me.  I still have to figure out how to get the files onto my computer.  I tried to email pics to myself but they didn't send.  

We did our plays for Reader's Theater in front of the screen.  I recorded them.  I am still trying to figure out how to get the pictures they drew behind the plays.

 I am having a love/hate relationship with my ipad.  I am not sure how to use it.  AT.ALL.  Please let me know what APPS I need to add for my first graders.  I want to use this for more than my Green Screen.

 My kids drew the setting of our play on big paper.  I took pictures of their pictures and will be merging the video together.

3.  We learned about the Chinese New Year.  One of my first graders was so excited when she got to school.  She said that she is Chinese and had the biggest grin on her face.  Another student asked if we were going to meditate all day because that's what they do in China.  UM?!?

4.  We started our discussion about the 100th day of school.  It will be on February 20th....provided we don't have any more cold days.  In order to get ready for it, we discussed what a 100 year old person might look like or what they might wear.  My kids gave me lots of fun responses.  I then showed them pictures of people who are 100.   We talked about their wrinkles, hair styles, clothing, etc.  I then told them that they were going to get to dress like someone who is 100 on the 100th day of school.  One of my sweet, little girls asked if we'd be making fun of the old people by dressing like them.  They have the biggest hearts.

 I went to Goodwill and bought some pjs for me and some of the other first grade teachers.  My 10 year old son smelled one of the gowns and said that it smelled nasty.  I smelled it too and was dry heaving.  I think it's been in a storage bin for over 50 years.  LOL!  I'm hoping a little bleach will get the smell out after several washes.

5.  Finally, I started to prep for our Valentine's Day projects.  We will be making Abe Lincoln hat mailboxes.  We will read the story, Abe Lincoln's Hat.  In it the author says that Abe kept his really important papers in his hat.  We will make our own hats and kids will put their important cards to one another in it.

 We are also going to be taking two candy canes and will be taping them together to make a heart shape.  Kids will make cards for someone they love for Valentine's Day.

It was a short week, but very productive!  I hope you are all safe and warm.  I have been thinking about all my southern friends who got stuck because of the storms or who saw snow for the first time.  What crazy weather we are having.  Have a great weekend!
Sara

Five-for-Friday-linky-party and a freebie

I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for the five-for-Friday-linky party!

I haven't done this for so long.  I haven't blogged for so long and am so looking forward to getting back into it.  Right now I have a new blog design being created for me by Pjs Design Laboratory  and I am so excited for it to be completed. I already love the sneak peaks that I have gotten.

This week has been crazy busy.

1.    We moved!  I have lived in my house for 18 years.  About mid-October we decided to try to sell our house.  We cleaned it out...got a dumpster and threw 18 years of stuff that we have collected.  I am a pack rat.  I vowed to NEVER get that way again.  I had my 10 year old son's baby bottle nipples stored neatly in containers in one of the cupboards?  Why?  Who knows!  The list goes on and on of stuff that I save that I would never use again!  We listed our house in November 1st and it sold November 23rd.  Things were a whirlwind for us.

 My friends and family came over late one night and helped us pack all of our heavy stuff (furniture and beds) into the moving van.  We worked quickly.  I am so thankful for them.

 I will miss this room in our old house.  These shelves were designed for me by a friend who finished our basement.  He knew I had a lot of children's books and took the biggest and tallest ones to design this wall of shelves for me.   I hope some lucky little kid gets to fill it will books and toys.

This picture gives me a headache just looking at it.  We are slowly going through boxes and bags and donating things and putting things away.   Thank goodness we had an extra day off this week.

2.  We picked out new couches to go into our new home.  The boys loved these.

3.  We had another snow day...or actually a "cold day" at school on Thursday.  We were closed because the windchill was -34 degrees.  It's the third one we have had in January.  It was so bitterly cold outside...it stung to step outside.  We NEVER have snow days.  It's crazy we've had this many "cold days".  It's suppose to be colder next week.  Yikes.

 We listened to Frozen in our class this week.  It was so fitting for our temps.  The kids loved the music!  I had one little girl crying because she loved the music so much!

4.  I took both my boys to have allergy tests done this week.  I itch just looking at this picture.  My other son's back was WAY worse...but I promised I wouldn't share it.    We found out they are both allergic to almost all trees, grasses, ragweed, cats, dogs, horses and mold.  We are going to start allergy shots.  It's a pretty big commitment...but I'm willing to put them through it if it helps them in the future.

 5.  I started printing, cutting out and laminating my Winter Olympics centers for February.  The kids are going to research a country that has participants in the Olympics and share facts about that country during our "opening ceremonies".

My Olympic pack is loaded with Math and Literacy center games.  Kids will race each other to complete the activities.  There will be first, second and third place awards given to the winners.  I am soooo excited for the Winter Olympics to start and to use this pack.  It can be found HERE.  I also added a freebie for you.  You can download it HERE.  It's a Magic E race.  It's a small sample of what is included in my Winter Olympics pack.

This weekend I will be working on report cards and unpacking.  I hope you have a great weekend and are staying warm...where ever  you are.   You can link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching Linky party HERE.

Sara

New Year's Day, 80's Day, Chinese New Year and Winter Olympics

I cannot believe that January is here...and before you know it, it will be gone.  This year is flying by fast.  I haven't been the best at blogging and am trying to get better.  After our move next week, I'll have time again to do the things I want to do.  In order to keep my sanity over the next couple weeks, I am looking ahead and planning my weeks out.

January is packed with fun!  We are going to be doing lots of fun activities from my New Year's Day pack

There are tons of fun activities in the pack.  There is a mini book explaining what New Year's Eve and what New Year's Day is.

There are tons of printables and this fun crown that kids can make and wear.

You can find this pack by clicking here.

On January 16th we will be celebrating our 80th day of school.  We will be doing tons of fun 80's day activities.  The kids will be wearing 80's clothing that day as well.  

You can read about this day here.

You can also find the pack here.

We will also be learning about the Chinese New Year.  My kid's LOVE this day.  It falls on January 31st this year.   We'll be doing lots of fun activities from this unit that you can read about here.  I think I deleted pictures from my phone.  Once gone there....they must have been deleted from my blog.  :(  So...there are a bunch of blank spots on the bottom.   You can find this unit by clicking here.

There are lots of math and literacy activities in this pack.  

Kids will put numbers in order and they will do skip counting.

In February we will be doing lots of fun things.  Groundhog's Day, Presidents' Day, the 100th Day, Dental Health and the Winter Olympics are things will be learning about.  

I am excited for the Winter Olympics this year.  Figure skating is my favorite to watch.  

I just added this fun unit that you can find here.  You can read about it in this post.  We will be doing lots of races that encourage teamwork throughout the two weeks that the Olympics are occuring.

I have a sample of what kinds of activities are included in my unit above.  You can find it here or here.

I am overwhelmed with all that will be happening soon!  I hope you are having a great year and are staying warm.  I am happy that our winter break was extended by one day.  Our governor called off school in the entire state of Minnesota on Monday because it is going to be too cold. I am so glad we have someone that looks out for the safety of our kids.  

Sara