Spring Cleaning Sale

Just popping in on my first official day of Spring Break to let you know that I'll be participating in a Spring Cleaning Sale.

 

 

What does this mean for you?  The Spring Cleaning Sale is an opportunity for you to clean out your wishlists!  Get all of those items you have been wanting for 20% off!  My sale will extend through tomorrow evening, so hurry!

 

Here are a few goodies you could pick up and SAAAVE on!

 

Money Monsters - Counting Coins up to and Over $1.00

 

Geometry Shapes Unit: 2-D  and 3-D Shapes and their Attributes

 

 

 Smile... It's Spring Math Centers - 7 Math Centers Aligned to the 2nd Grade Common Core 

 

 

Smile... It's Spring Literacy Centers: 7 Literacy Centers Aligned to the 2nd Grade Common Core

 

 

These are a couple of my best sellers! :) 

 

 

 

So have fun, and Shop til you Drop!  I will be busy checking out all the other stores who are offering a Spring Cleaning Sale! :)

Tons of Measurement Fun! {freeeeebies}

I'm writing to you today from the couch, where I have spent majority of my weekend!  I'm starting to feel a liiiiittle drained (as I'm sure many of you are as well).  If you are already on your Spring Break --  I hope you're enjoying it.  If you're like me and trying to make it through the week so you can relax for a little bit, we are ALMOST there! :)

 

We've been working hard in second grade on our measurement unit, so I have lots of fun goodies to share with you today!

 

We started with the activities in my Measurement Monsters Pack.  It has lots of centers and supplemental materials to help you teach Measuring inches, feet, yards, and centimeters. Click the image below to check it out in my store.

 

 

Here are a few activities that my kiddos completed this week:

 

In this center, they had to measure these cute little monsters with inches.  Then they had to compare monsters find the difference in their heights.

 

Then we sorted by Units of Measure!

 

 

 

 

SO sorry for the terrible quality of these pictures. I haven't figured out how to take a good one with my iPad.  But let me explain what we did for this activity because it was SO SO SO FUN!!!   I wanted to mix things up a little and add a little excitement, so I turned this sort into a relay race! I placed the Units of Measure on 1 side of the room and the cards with the objects on the other.  The kids had to pick up an object card and hurry to the other side of the room to sort it into the correct pile.  Then as soon as they sat down in their chair, the next person on their team went.  When either team gets all their cards sorted, you have your winner.  It was a BLAST and you could definitely use this "Relay Race" for ANY sorts you do in your class.

 

After we practiced this sort a few times (so everyone got a chance) we did the corresponding cut and paste activity as a quick assessment.  It's included in the pack, but you can pick up your copy by clicking the image below.  You won't have the sort to go with it, but it can stand alone as well.

 

 

 

 

We practiced measuring to the half inch, too! This Spring Themed measuring activity is from my Smile... It's Spring! Math Centers pack. 

 

Last, but not least... I want to offer you another freebie!  Our district requires us to teach some simple "conversions" in second grade.  My kids were having trouble memorizing these so I turned them into a song!  This song is sung to the tune of Jingle Bells and my kids absolutely love it.  Any chance they get to sing, they are all about it... they begged me to make a song for this unit! :) You can listen to my sweeties singing, then snag your own copy of this song below! :)

 

 

 

Alright, I'm off! 1 week and then break. I. Can. NOT. Wait! :)

 

OH YEAH I ALMOST FORGOT!!!! If you haven't checked out the Spring Linky that I hosted last week, you simply HAVE to!! There are 250 Spring Related Goodies for you to check out.  CLICK HERE to head over there to link up or just to check out some fabulous resources for your classroom!

 

Spring, huh? Could have fooled me!

Friends, I'm just dropping by to say that it's 26 degrees.  And don't even ask me about the wind chill.  Last year during this time, we were experiencing record highs in the 80's.  I was wearing flip flops and shorts and picturing myself poolside.  Today, I've been home for an hour and still haven't taken off my coat or boots!

 

But, all that being said ... It's Spring! It's my absolute favorite season, so for the past few weeks, I've been getting my kids ALL hyped for Spring! We've been studying Spring weather and completing LOTS of fun (and adorable might I add) Spring centers.  So, of course, they all come in this morning saying, "Mrs. Kelly... It's SPRING! You said it would be WARM!" Well, my friends, in Indiana... there's just no telling! Luckily, they're satisfied with thinking warm thoughts while doing Spring Centers and crafts.  I finally got my new Spring centers posted on TPT! Check out the Preview! :)

 

(Click the picture to check it out in my store!) 

 

7 Spring Themed Activities to get your kiddos excited about the Spring weather OR, if they're like mine, dreaming of the day it will FEEL and LOOK like Spring! :) These centers are ALL aligned to second grade common core standards (Though I'm sure they'd work in your first and third grade classrooms as well!

 

The activities include:

-Singing Synonyms in the Rain (Shades of Meaning)

-Springtime Scrambled Sentences

-Compound Word Butterflies

-Long E/Short E easter egg hunt (Write the room)

-Making Words "Spring Flower"

-5 Senses Spring Poetry Craftivity

-Contraction Kite Craftivity

 

If you weren't around last week, I've also posted some Math Centers.  My kiddos are L-O-V-E-ing these! We are doing the Measuring in the Garden and Rainbow Regrouping centers this week and I'm really pleased with the work they're doing! :)

(Click the picture to check it out in my store!) 

 

Well, I'm off to eat some hot soup on this beautiful dreadful Spring Day!

It's a SPRING LINKY! Help Spread the Spring Fever!

Time to bid all things Wintery adieu -- Peace out Penguins, Polar Bears, Snowflakes, Mittens, all of you other adorable winter graphics. It's time to turn over a new leaf (get it?) and stock up on all the adorable SPRING items we can get our little hands on! Link up here with your most recent Spring Time creations (free or paid) and help spread the SPRING FEVER! :)

 

 

I'm linking up my Smile... It's Spring Math Centers!  It's a set of 7 Common Core Aligned Math Centers for second grade.  My kiddos have LOVED them so far!

 

Just finished up the Corresponding Literacy Centers! I haven't gotten a chance to try these out with the kiddos yet, but am excited to get started!

 

 

 

Enter below to join in on the party!  Be sure to share it on your own blogs, facebooks, and pinterest accounts to get as many people pumped up and ready for Spring as possible! :)

Spring, please! ... and a Freebie!

Alright ... it's March, Indianapolis. Pull it together! This past weekend was b-e-a-utiful! The temperature was perfect for walking the dogs and sitting on the patio.  Then it turned dreadful... snow, cold, blech.  Now it seems nice again.  I'm so ready for SPRING.  Not just glimpses of Spring either ... I'm talking the real deal.  I've been getting prepared and have even begun a few "springy" activities with my kiddos to get them all geared up! I have some brand spankin' new math centers in my store all ready for you to celebrate Spring.  OH, P.s. They are all aligned to the Common Core!  This should help you with your planning as you count down the days prepare to go on Spring Break!

 

 

 

 

 

I introduced some of the centers this week because we've been learning about Spring! Check them out in action.

 

 

 

 

 

And today was Math Fact Day, so they got to do the Math Fact Color By Numbers.. which they LOVE!  Put some pointy crayons in these kids' hands and they will work for hours! :)

 

 

I thought I would give you a little freebie to try in your room.  Click below to download one of the math fact color by number pages.  It has addition and subtraction facts.

 

 

We've also begun a science unit on Weather!  We're using Miss Decarbo's Weather Unit for Kids! It is AWESOME! We started by discussing what we know about each season ... pairing it with some Brainpop videos!  Next week -- lots of fun cloud stuff!

 

 

That's it for me today! Keep your fingers crossed for spring, friends!

Giveaway Reminder and something new...

You still have until 8 o'clock to enter the giveaway I'm having for my new Word Work Choice pack!  We started using it last week and the kiddos are LOVING it! Click the image below to take you to the blog entry for your chance to win! :)

 

 

I've been hard at work this weekend on some SPRING themed centers! I. LOVE. SPRING.  I can feel it making it's way over in Indiana. Yesterday it was warm enough to take the dogs on a nice walk.  The first few weeks of Spring are my absolute favorite times of the year.  I thought creating this *ADORABLE* pack would help me get further into the spirit!

 

 

 

*Almost* done with the math centers, expect to see them soooooooooon! Oh Oh Oh! Did I mention?  They're aligned to the common core?  Thought I'd help you with your lesson plans ;)

 

Busy day ahead -- unfortunately nothing fun!  Lots of grading and report card stuff.  Hey, at least there's chocolate, right?! ;)

Spicing up your Spelling/Word Work *Giveaway!*

I can NOT believe I'm working on report cards for our third quarter.  How is it even possible that we're headed into our last grading period of the school year? 

 

Are any of your kiddos starting to drag their feet a little?  We got through 3/4 of a school year doing the same 10 Word Work activities for spelling practice during Literacy Centers.  And I loved them... but I figured I would do my kiddos a favor and spice things up a little for the last nine weeks! I'm really excited to begin using these in my classroom!

 

In this pack, I've included 10 activities for their choosing during Word Work.  Best part?  VERY little prep work.  I just leave the laminated task cards, all the copied recording sheets, and a list of their words for the week and the kiddos do the rest?  I'm all about working SMARTER not harder.  Click the picture to check them out in my store.

 

 

 

This pack includes these 10 activities.

 

Pyramid Words
Red Vowels, Blue Consonants
Parts of Speech Sort
Word Worth $
Secret Agent
Flapbook Frenzy
ABC Order
Super Sentences
I Spy!
Sincerely Yours (Letter Writing)

 

I'm particularly excited about Secret Agents and I Spy! 

 

 

 

I know my babies are going to LOVE them! Can't wait to post some pictures for you guys to see of these centers in action.  For now, all I can do is...

 

A GIVEAWAY!

You've got weekend to enter and I will announce 2 winners tomorrow around 8 PM! You can enter *2 WAYS!*

 

1.  Leave a blog post comment explaining anything special you do to motivate your kiddos in the last quarter of school.

2. Promote my new Word Work Choice 2 pack in some way (blog, facebook, pinterest) and leave a comment with a link to your promotion!

 

I'll be back tomorrow with the winners!  If you're worried you won't win this one, you could always  click the image below to check out my first Word Work Choice pack! It's currently discounted.

 

 

March already? Currently, money, and a freebie!

My friends ... I know you're just as shocked as I am that it's MARCH already! Seriously, weren't we just decking out our classrooms in hearts, candy, and cupids for Valentines day?! But.. I'll take it! March means SPRING is around the corner! It also means, time to link up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade for another adorable Currently!

 

 

Well, my class has been knee deep in money throughout all of February... If only it weren't plastic money! We've been working *so* hard on this whole money thing!  My kids have been counting coins like crazy and becoming serious money problem solvers.  P.S. Money word problems are HARD!  I have enjoyed teaching money because you can get really hands on with it. My kids loved using the coin manipulatives to explore the concepts we learned.  Here's some fun stuff we've been doing!

 

We started our unit by exploring a coin a day - Penny through Half Dollar! They learned the little poem/song that goes with each coin to help them remember the attributes and they got to do some detailed exploration of each of the coins using manipulatives!

 

 

At the end of the week, we made this flapbook to review what we learned and to have as a study tool for the rest of our unit!  They wrote the value of each coin, colored in the Heads and Tails , told whether or not the coin had ridges, and finally practiced counting them!

 

Once we had a good grasp on recognizing coins and their values, we were ready to start counting coins in a set!  My kids *LOVED* this game!! They roll the dice and land on a coin.  They then have to NAME the coin and COLLECT it!  At the end of the game, they have to count up their coins and the person with the largest value is the winner.  Seriously big hit in our room!

 

 

And then today, we practiced (Hands-on, might I add!) using the least amount of coins to make an amount!  I wrote an amount up on the Promethean Board, and the kids have to sift through a huge pile of coins and bills to make that amount using the smallest number of coins possible!  It was a good way for me to see who gets it and who needs a little more help before next week's test! 

 

 

 

Wish you could see that little guy's face! He is so adorable! 
If you would like to use any of the activities above in your classroom -- Click the picture below to check out the pack in my TPT store!  It's got lots of other goodies that I didn't get a picture of (Word Problems, Matching Games, Sorting Mats, Craftivities, and More!)

 

 

 

OKAY, whew! Last but not least, I wanted to let you guys know that I finished up my March Math Journals (I blog about math journals... uhh... all time time! I still haven't gotten tired of them!) These are ready to be copied, cut, and glued into notebooks! :) We are starting ours next week!! Click the Picture below to check them out.

 

 

  Here's a freebie from these journals all ready for you to use with your kiddos! :)