Tuesday 8 December 2015

Oh DEER, it's almost Christmas...

Wow! I cannot believe I survived last week! It was crazy from Monday to Friday with so much I could not even begin to know where to share. The week started off foul because I was sick, late for work, ran out of gas, and ran over a squirrel... which caused me to cry a lot on my way to work. We also had our NSTU vote all day on Monday, which was definitely a lot of stress as we had no idea how it would go. It was less than a good day. As all teachers do though, as soon as I got to school I tried to put on my happy face and get through the day! Needless to say, I clearly survived! The rest of the week was not much better with many ups and downs. I will not bore you with the details but instead tell you about the amazing work my grade ones produced! I am so proud of them and how hard they worked.

ARTventurous is a genius with the best art activities. The step-by-step directions are absolutely wonderful and perfect for our little learners. I did this activity last year with my grade primaries and they were able to complete it with no difficulties so I knew I needed to try it out with my wonderful ones. I cannot even begin to explain how proud they are of their creations.

First we followed Artventurous' step-by-step drawing directions. There were some students who had difficulty tracing their hands and as always I had to spend time reminding them to press lightly with their pencil so they would be able to erase. The reindeer took on a complete life of their own. Instead of painting them as Artventurous had suggested, I decided that we needed to work with our crayons. The kids had a great conversation about which colours would work and which wouldn't. I find that my school doesn't have the best brown paints and pastels really smudge so crayons would create the best. I have to say their creativity is really noticeable in their antlers. Check out all the different kinds that they created:




The following day we spent some time painting the background. I decided that it would be a good idea to do any colour except for black. I think they chose some great colours and many of them really pop. Again, I was just so proud of their creations.

Last year I had put the red sparkles on the nose because they wanted to make their reindeer extra special so this year my grade ones wanted to do the same thing. This was something I thought of on my own and I think they turned out pretty darn cute. Check some of their creations out:




 

In the end we posted a bulletin board for all the parents and students to see for the school concert today and tomorrow. Here is a picture of our final class creations. I have to say, they did a wonderful job!


Sunday 29 November 2015


Hello everyone! Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I swear I have tons of ideas that need to get posted. I promise to get through some of them this week! Things have been crazy as last week was parent teacher, trying to decorate for my favourite time of year, and getting ready to move. For now, I am here to talk about the big TPT Cyber Smile Sale! This is the first time I have ever participated in one of the sales from TPT and I am so excited.

First off, a bunch of sellers have decided to share their old school photos from when they were in school. I think it is absolutely brilliant and am so excited to share mine with you. This is my photo from when I was in grade two! Gotta love the braided/crimped look!



For two days only, TPT is having a Cyber Smile Sale! You can get anywhere to 28% off some great products for your classroom! If you are new to TPT, here is how it works:

1) Find a product that works for you!
2) Put it in your cart!
3) Get ready to check out and put in your redemption code of "SMILE."
4) When you have paid and received your product, don't forget to go back and rate it so that you can earn FREE credits towards future TPT purchases!

Everything in my store is on sale so take a peek and see if there is anything you like!

Here are links to my most popular items:

Number Bingo 1-10

Number Bingo 1-20
Also, if you have any ideas for future products you would like to see, comment below and let me know what you think! I would love to hear from you!

Thanks and happy shopping :)

Friday 13 November 2015

Five for Friday

Hey folks! Well it is Friday the 13th and we all made it through. I figure there is no better way to start this blog than linking up with the blog Doodle Bugs Teaching and her five for Friday party!! Five for Friday is a linky party where teachers post about five random things from their week. And ladies and gentlemen, mine are certainly random this week! Let's get started!



My amazing week began by having my blog totally redesigned by A Little Peace of Africa. I signed up in the middle of October and was counting down the days until the big reveal. I am so impressed and keep coming back to check to see what it looks like. I love the colours and the themes. I cannot say 'Thank You' enough... but maybe one more time! Thank you!!!


This past weekend I went to see an amazing little apartment in my hometown. I am excited to announce that I am signing the lease (hope this doesn't jinx it) and will be moving in in December. It has been awhile since I have lived out on my own but am so excited to take the plunge again. Just think of all the decorating possibilities! I have a feeling that there will be lonely days ahead but I cannot wait to come home from work to a place that is my own. The apartment is the perfect next step and where I am in my life. I am excited to see where it takes me!!


I was really slack on taking photos this week. There were tons of exciting things happening at school from the Remembrance Day ceremony, to Bus Evacuation Drill, to Lock Down Drills and Mad Science presentations. Needless to say, it was a great week to be on top of my game and completing my report cards at least 4 days before they were due. I can honestly say that I know all about procrastination. It is the name of my game most years when it comes to these. This year I am job sharing with a lovely teacher and she is far from a procrastinator. With her help, we completed them early and I was able to celebrate that accomplishment! Thank you!


What photos I did take this week were today during my math stations. I have made it my goal this year to make these a reality, regularly. So far this year I have made it through three or four rounds. Along with math stations, I have been working on my guided math practices. They are coming along and I am excited to say they are something I look forward to everyday. Right now we are working on number sense goals such as estimation and counting to 100. My grade ones worked so hard today to complete these! We did skip counting puzzles, missing numbers and matching number cards. Needless to say, their independence during these stations has certainly made me a proud teacher this week.



Lastly, my favourite part of my week was Coco Chanel. My mom and dad's dog has got to be the cutest little puppy. Actually, this week I taught Yoga to my little group of kiddos and one of the little boys reminded me that his dog was not a puppy, but a small dog. So correction: Coco has got to be the cutest dog. My parents were away for a part of the week so I was taking care of her. Coming home everyday to her excited prance always brought a smile to my face, even when the day was hard. Last night, she even chased the geese off of our yard. She definitely makes a good guard dog :)



Thanks everyone for reading! I will update with a post about our art lesson on Monday! We ran out of time today with everything that was happening so students are excited to get started next week on their creativity!

See you soon! :)

Thursday 12 November 2015

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it...

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to make a quick post to explain how excited I am about my new blog layout. I have been hesitant towards posting anything during the transition but now that it has taken place, I am definitely going to be sending you updates here and there. I already have my post all planned out for tomorrow so get excited for a wonderful grade one art piece, as long as things go as planned ;).

I have been tossing around the idea of a blog for months. I took an Assistive Technology course this summer for my Masters and we were asked to regularly post to a blog as a part of our final grade. It seemed easy enough but I had little, to no, experience with one in the classroom. Next, a friend (Mme. Andrea at Maternelle avec Mme Andrea) suggested Laine at A Little Peace of Africa and I was completely sold right away. If you are considering getting a blog for yourself, I definitely suggest you check out her website. Laine has amazing ideas and is so incredibly creative. It was an easy process and I cannot wait to continue to post about my products and what my lovelies create in our classroom.


So without further ado, please stay in contact. Comment below if there is something you want to see and most importantly, visit frequently! I cannot wait to share with you soon!

Sunday 4 October 2015

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!! I am so excited to have set up a blog that is strictly associated with my Teacher Pay Teacher and the activities that I am doing in my classroom. I will try to post often with ideas and activities that I am doing with my wonderful little grade ones. Thank you for visiting!!