E I E I Ohhhhh NO, I NEED YOUR HELP!

I am putting together a farm unit and need your help!  I am including time, living/nonliving, syllables, poems, creative writing page, nouns/verbs, but THAT IS ALL I HAVE....

What else would be cool to include??? :)  I am up for most anything {I am thinking for PK-2}!

Leave your ideas in the comment section and THANKS!

Things I am fond of #13 ... FREEBIES!!!

Who says #13 is an unlucky number?!?!  Well, it's not on this post.  I love freebies, so I am going to give away that, which I love.  Enjoy these dental health freebies! :)

2 Different Leveled Story Problems from The Tooth Fairy HERSELF!

 

Easier Version:

 

Harder Version: 

 

What does the Tooth Fairy look like, and WHAT does she do with all of those teeth?  Your Smart Tarts can use this writing FREEBIE to answer those very questions.

Get them here: TPT or TN

 

Hooray for FREEBIES!

The countdown continues: Things I am fond of #12 ... Fat Tuesday!!!

My family has made a tradition to celebrate my birthday {4 days early this year} on Fat Tuesday at Button's Restaurant.  They have excellent soul food, great bands that play and a fun atmosphere!  Tonight there is going to be a great reggae band: Pablo and the Hemphill 7. 

 

We are going to tear up the dance floor and get rowdy {well as rowdy as a group with 5 kids can... HA!} tonight!! WOOHOO! I am so "JAZZED!"  Get it?!

 

Anyone else out there celebrate Fat Tuesday??

 

 

Things I am fond of #11 ... WHOLE BRAIN TEACHING!

I am sorry to yell that, but I am absolutely in love with the brain based learning approach: Whole Brain Teaching.  I see how it benefits the kids, how well they respond, stay engaged, and retain information that is taught.  It definitely keeps them {and me} on their toes, and it doesn't allow for much booooooooooorrrrredomeeee, because WE {the teachers} are talking LESS {micro-lecture}, they are talking more {to each other;peer to peer} and they are gesturing {kinesthetic} while they re-teach each other! 

 

Instead of me trying to explain it ... I thought I would post videos that I love by Chris Biffle.  This teaching style, I understand, isn't for everyone, but MAN I love for my class!

 

THE BASICS: Here is Chris Biffle teaching how to be a "Power Teacher"

This is a First Grade class during calendar time.

Super Speed Words {My first gators LOVE this ... We call it Super Speedy Spelling {or sight, or vocab, or ANYTHING} Words

 

First Grade rules, transitions and adding doubles.

This one isn't by Chris Baffle.  It is another First Grade class.

Chris Biffle leading a "how to begin whole brain teaching" to a middle school class.

 

Kindergarten: What is a compound word?

 

Sixth Grade: Order of Operations

 

I have modified my rules, chants, responses, cheers, etc... to fit my class, but many I do keep the same.  It is really adaptable.  Anything that connects the learning style, involves peer to peer teaching and is FUN is right up my alley.  I hope you get something that you can use! :)

 

Things I am fond of #10 ... tutorials {and I have one for you!}

I LOVE tutorials ESPECIALLY when they have pictures {I am a visual learner, I guess.}  There are so many excellent tutorials online, and I have really learned a lot from them.  I thought that I would give back by making one for you guys and dolls, AND it's perfect for Valentine's Day. :D 

Here it is the tutorial on the Heart Pocket {you have to say it like the "Hot Pocket" commercial. HA!}

It's a long pic... I tried to figure out how to make it WIDER, but it wouldn't work.  {If anyone has a tip that could help me ... holla!}

 

You could decorate these with stickers, doilies, ribbon ... Ohhhh, you could even paint them.  The options are endless.  I staple them to my classroom wall for delivery of Valentine's cards and they hold a lot!  I hope you are able to use them in your home or classroom. :)

Love and a SALE is in the air.... Smart Tarts Learning Valentine's Day Bundle is 30% off through February 14th.

You can pick up my Friendship, Love & Valentine's Day Bundle at Teachers Notebook for 30% off through February 14th.  It has some great activities that your kids are sure to love this week.  There is also a family gift project. 

 

To see more pictures of this bundle, check this post: Valentine Bundle

 

 

Things I am fond of #9 ... facebook!



Do you love facebook as much as I do?!  Did you know that Smart Tarts Learning has a facebook page?  I post many things on facebook that I don't post here in blogland.  I absolutely love both my personal and blog-related facebook page.  It is so much fun!

 

If you would like to follow Smart Tarts Learning on facebook you can click here to be directed to my page.  I'd love to "see" you there.  ALSO, feel free to leave your facebook link in the comment section of this post.  I'd love to "like" your page too!

Things I am fond of #8 ... 100th Day of School!

Even though the 100th Day of School is totally exhausting, it is also TOTALLY FUN!!

We started our 100th Day of School with a parade of kinder & first gators {our mascot}.  They all got to be out of dress code and wear shirts with 100 items on them {I forgot to take pictures... DOH!}  The kindergators held up posters that they created at home with 100 items on them & the first gators brought a 100th Day museum item {a jar or baggie with 100 items in it} to show off in the parade.  I got loud {what's new?!} and waved my 100th Day flag.  We rocked out the parade with "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang and "Twist and Shout" by the Beatles playing over the PA system. 

 

After the parade we, the first gators, began our 100th Day activities.  Our class is fortunate to be a combined/co-teach class of 44 beautiful kiddos & 2 teachers, Mrs. Johnson & I.  We are truly blessed to be able to combine our classes and open up our moving wall to have 1 LARGE classroom... it works SO well!  Anyway, I digress...

The kiddos got into a large circle and each were given strips of construction paper to create our 100th Day caterpillar with 100 body sections.  We counted each strip as they were passed out to make sure he had exactly 100 body parts. {I don't know what I was thinking when taking pictures... I didn't even get the whole thing!}

 

We have been learning about the moon, so we thought it would be fun to draw the moon with 100 craters.

 

They did the traditional 100th Day of School gumball machine.  Clip art: DJInkers.com

Of course we had to illustrate and write about if we were 100 years old.  Some of these CRACKED ME UP!  Especially the one with a monocle!!!

"I'm a old person. I like to be a old person because I like to call people, "Nifty." My favorite color is blue. I live in Hawaii, so I can be healthy."

"My old man is one hundred. This is my house. You are a cow and you are crazy woman. I have muscles. YAY! I have a glass eye." {hilarious! monocle!}

"I do not have big teeth. I have none teeth. I am old as a pickle. Are you old like a pickle, too?  I have long wrinkles."

"I am a 100 year old and I am nifty. I can drive and none of my friends can drive.  I can walk without a cane or a walker. I can take care of myself by myself. I live in a house...."

  Other things we did was make 100th Day hat, show our 100th Day item, take a 100th Day tour where we signed posters {100 heroes, 100 illustrations, 100 compliments, 100 places to visit & 100 animals} and have a 100th Day dance party around the school.  Can you believe I forgot to take pictures?!?!  Grrrrr to myself!

 

I hope you all had a ONEderful 100th Day of School too!  You know what that means?!  The year is over 1/2 over.  WOW!

Things I am fond of #7 ... early bedtime after a looooong day! 100th Day!

WHEW I am beat!  We had a 100's day parade, activities, dance party AND late night for Parent University.  I will post our 100's day stuff tomorrow, but as for tonight... NIGHTY NIGHT! ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Things I am fond of #6 ... a pencil sharpener?!

I know it sounds crazy, but I LOVE this X-Acto pencil sharpener {X-Acto® By Boston® School Pro™ Electric Pencil Sharpener to be X-Acto! HA!}  It lasts a long time {years ... knock on wood}, it sharpens a lot of pencils quickly, it holds a TON of pencil shavings and you can sharpen multiple sizes!  I just LOVE IT! 

I linked to the cheapest one I found at Amazon... more expensive at Office Depot & such...}

***Random thought {SQUIRREL!} does anyone else think that the pencils of today are terrible?!!!  Ours always break when sharpened or don't sharpen at all...BLECH! ***

Any who... back to the pencil sharpener.  It is a bit expensive, but it is well worth it.  I'm curious if anyone else out there uses it and if you love it as much as I do...

 

I'll leave you with a joke:

 

What did one pencil say to the other?

You're lookin' SHARP!

 

 

Things I am fond of #5 ... STRAYS {this was not supposed to be today's post, but...}

I found this little girl {or she found me} running right in front of my car in heavy traffic.  What do I do?!  Slam on the brakes, get out of my car, ask if she belongs to anybody, put her on my lap and drive home. WHAT? REALLY!  I can't take another dog, let alone a PUPPY!

Well, now she is at my house and I am on the hunt for a previous {or future} family.  Oh great, what have I taken on?!  Of course my kids want to keep her, but we already have 3 dogs.  I am such a sucker for animals...Just look at those eyes!

I am not quite sure what the future holds for this sweet little pup, Dart.  Well, we shall see what happens in the coming days.  Until tomorrow...