SecondGrade Smartypants are TOADALLY Awesome!

A few weeks back, I teamed up with Melissa over at Jungle Learners 

for her second PRODUCT SWAP.

(Click image or HERE to find out about more products)

I took part in her first one; I was so fortunate to meet Monique over at More Than Math by Mo and get to try out her Sight Word puzzles AND printables. 

This time around, I got the opportunity to swap with Katie and Lisen over at Second Grade Smartypants! 

(Click image or HERE to visit Second Grade Smartypants)

These two ladies have so many amazing products in their TPT store
...it was honestly hard to choose just 1 product to try out. 

After some consideration, I opted for their Valentine's Day Craftivity Unit!

And I was NOT DISAPPOINTED. 

(Click image or HERE to purchase)

These two gals made craft and writing templates for 5, yes 5, different valentines. 

...and a boombox.

I was planning to have several students, from the local elementary school, pick out their favorite templates and then gather up all the supplies and let them create valentines for their teachers. 

BUT BLIZZARD JUNO had other plans. Namely, creating 3 days of snow and restricted traffic (yep, RI banned driving for all except emergency vehicles and plow trucks). 

So I went with option B...gather up some friends' kiddos (plus mine) and stick to one template: I TOADALLY Love You Toad

Katie & Lisen's crafts are made with construction paper which is what I had planned on using, but closed stores made that slightly impossible. Another option is having students color the templates. It works, but it does require more time and you need to remind students to CUT first then COLOR (I didn't and so they colored the sides with labels...oh well). 

Also, if you're going with the coloring option, I suggest using card stock (I did) and it makes cutting easier for those younger kiddos. All of the templates have thick black outlines so even if your students haven't mastered the art of perfect cutting yet, their final products won't be too far off!  

After all the coloring & cutting was complete. These "toadally" awesome kids assembled the pieces (with gluesticks) and made the cutest lil' frogs you might ever see.
I really appreciated how simple the assembly process was! And I didn't even make an example for them to see, I just verbally walked them through the steps. 

The older girls used the writing template to tell their parents why they TOADALLY love them. 

You want to win this awesome unit in time for Valentine's Day?

Enter my giveaway for Second Grade Smartypants' product.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

WANT ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN MORE PRODUCTS?

Katie & Lisen selected my CONSONANT COMBOS: INITIAL BLENDS, DIGRAPHS, & TRIGRAPHS pack. Head over to their blog to read how they used it and enter to WIN IT!

Now, go see what other teachers swapped and enter to win more giveaways!!!

I've Been Missing Out (...you might be too)

The other day I was puttsing (or spelled putzing, depending on your accent) around on Facebook and noticed that I wasn't seeing a lot of posts from the FAN PAGES I've LIKED (a.k.a. become a fan of). 

Don't get me wrong, I don't want my Facebook newsfeed to be overrun by ads for big brands, but if there is a sale or a small business from my community posts, I wanna know about it. I like seeing what my fellow blogger/teacher-authors are promoting/sharing. 

But, I wasn't seeing any of it! 

The mice started turning the big ole' wheel and my fingers started typing. 

Oh Google, how I love thee. 

Yes! I had made one of the common errors of Facebook users!

I had not told Facebook that 

"HEY! I actually wanna see what those Fan Pages post"

...apparently "LIKING" the page isn't enough. 

So, here's 3 quick suggestions for all those people who may not want to miss what's happening with the pages you've shown interest in. 

1.) Go to the Fan Page, click on the LIKED tab and click on GET NOTIFICATIONS. 

(This tells Facebook "I wanna see what/when they post stuff."

2.) Every so often, click on PAGE FEEDS (left hand side on your HOME screen) and scroll through just the posts made by the FAN PAGES you've LIKED.

3.) The more you interact (like/share/comment on FAN PAGE posts), the more likely you are to see those pages show up in your newsfeed. 

There you have it, friends. 

A simple solution to making sure YOU DON'T MISS OUT.

Because, lets be honest, I've missed quite a few Flash Freebies, quick sale promos, and opportunities to enter giveaways. 

As Rob Lowe says, don't be "this me".

You Oughta Know: Letter School

Happy Weekend friends! 

I'm linking up with Jasmine over at Buzzing with Mrs. McClain for 

After reading about what I think YOU OUGHT KNOW, click on the links below to read about what other fabulous bloggers think YOU OUGHTA KNOW about too. 

My little guy is in Pre-K and has really taken a liking to all things letters. 

He's all about identifying letters and telling me their phonetic sounds. 

Over the past several months, he's started chunking sounds together to make words. 

Friends, this makes my "teacher heart" sing! Watching your own little one embrace the joys of learning to read is beyond words. 

So, I wanted to share with you a great little app that we purchased
awhile back for him to use.

This handwriting app is only $4.99 and is well worth the investment. 

{Click HERE for the iTunes App}

First off, let me clarify that this app is NOT just about letters, it covers numbers 1-10 as well.

Kids are able to explore uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers through various interactions with proper formations, name identification, and phonetic sounds. 

After choosing a particular letter or number, kids are exposed to and interact with letter/number formation by performing one of the following options:
TAP, TRACE, WRITE

TAP - tap the dots (in the correct order) for the letter/number to appear.

TRACE - use your finger to drag the lines from dot to dot. If done correctly, a fun image retraces the letter/number.

WRITE - free-write the letter/number (reminders are given if necessary).

All the while, kids are earning stars and there are 2 levels of challenge for each letter (upper and lower) and number. 

Want to give it a FREE trial run?

Try Letter School Lite and get a sample of what you can experience with Letter School full version.

Hope you pick up some great ideas this weekend.

An InLinkz Link-up

New Year, New Look

...at least for some of my products. 

Truth be told, I'd quit making New Year's resolutions because 

I NEVER STICK TO THEM!

On average, my resolutions (in the past) have latest all of about 3-5 days before I quit whatever it was that I had resolved to do. I think the reason I've failed so much in the past is because my goals were never really that realistic. 

Not this year! I've made a pact with myself to follow through with a 

VERY MANAGEABLE resolution - 

giving my current TPT products the upgrades they so desperately need. 

When I began this TPT journey a couple years back, I didn't really know what I was doing. I wasn't wise to the ways of amazing clipart, copyright laws, and stretching my creative limits. As I've journeyed with other ah-inspiring teacher-bloggers, I've learned so much and knew that I needed to go back to the beginning and breath new life into some of my first attempts at being a teacher-author. 

In 2014, I gave this little number a facelift by adding B/W versions 

of the original practice pages.

This year, it's undergone a COMPLETE OVERHAUL . 

(Click on image or here to purchase)

I kept the original game (Let's Get Speedy) but revamped it by changing the name (See-Read-Repeat) and dressing up the flashcards with color and clipart. The effective method is still the same (don't worry), but the colorfulness adds an attention-grabbing element.

To beef up the variety of the cards, I added corresponding picture cards to create a fun game called Pick(ture) the Sound. This listening game can be played in pairs or in whole group, with or without the blend/digraph/trigraph cards, as a literacy center or a time-filler/exit slip...the possibilities are endless. 

My sweet boy and his buddies LOVE the guessing game 

HedBandz by SpinMaster.

Sound Crowns is a play on that great game!

Students slip on easy-to-assemble crowns and insert 

BDT (Blend/Digraph/Trigraph) Art Cards.

In small groups or whole groups, students ask describing questions about the image on their crown before guessing what picture they may be wearing.

 Additional paper strips are provided to insure crowns fit students' heads. 

However, I love this idea of attaching (2-3 staples) elastic headbands so crowns can be fitted to several students without readjusting. 

OR you could use extra large rubber bands. 

This same crown fit perfectly on several heads in my house and never ripped.

In the classroom, I'd definitely laminate the crown first before stapling the elastic headbands/rubber bands . 

To wrap up the renovation, I reworked the practice pages (Write & Highlight) to include simple borders, better spacing, and cleaner fonts. Additionally, I added 2 extra pages (This or That? and Creative with Consonant Combos) to extend the versatility of the practice pages.

For Write & Highlight, students fill in the missing blend/digraph/trigaph to complete the word associated with each picture. I have students use their highlighters to identify each consonant cluster.

This or That? is a great way for students to demonstrate understanding of the difference between blends and digraphs/trigraphs. There is some confusion as to which consonant pairs are which so this helps my friends clarify what constitutes a blend and what the letters need to do in order to be a digraph/trigraph.

And to appease my authors and illustrators, I enjoy including an activity (Creative with Consonant Combos) where their creative minds can come to life on paper. 

 Upgrading the first of many products in my TPT store was so gratifying and I'm feeling accomplished! I think I'll stick with this year's resolution...

Up Next: 

Character Education FREEBIES

Happy Holidays, friends!

With all the hustle & bustle that this season sometimes brings...shopping, baking, crafting, mailing, decorating, etc., I like to turn it down a notch by helping my kiddos remember how to be the BEST ME.

I came up with some quick and easy activities focused on some of the character traits/qualities found in most Character Education programs/curriculums. Even if your school doesn't specifically teach these traits, I love the idea of incorporating these simple holiday-themed activities into your days leading up to the holiday break. Many of them take no more than 20 minutes are can be done individually and/or in groups. 

Check back every other day to pick up a new activity focused on a different character trait. 

CLICK ON IMAGES TO DOWNLOAD

Enjoy!

Havin' a BLast with BLends

Have you ever wanted to create something, but time and life got in the way?

You know, like that wreath you've been wanting to 

make every Christmas since 2004.

Or that chair you thought you'd have reupholstered by now. 

That's literally the story of my life.

Grand plans, but extremely delayed execution. 

This is just another example of that.

I've been wanting to make this product since 2009! (don't judge)

So I bought the clipart this past summer and finally put my nose to the computer these past few weeks. A little here and a little there and TA DA...

Please let me introduce you to 

{Click on image or here to buy)

This colorful, not-so-little thing (100+ pages) is packed full of games that 

could take literacy centers by storm!

Six (L) blends (bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, and sl) are covered in 3 game formats: 

{MEND THE BLENDS 3-PIECE PUZZLES}

{CLIPBOARD CLUE}

 {BLEND MONOPOLY}

After initial instruction, these games could provide hours of practice and challenge for students to put that new learning to use. 

Plus, I threw in some opportunities for extended learning through 

blend creation and writing.  

Since consonant blends are mostly covered in First and Second Grades, you'll find four 1st grade CCSS and six 2nd grade CCSS, in addition to one Anchor Standard. Standards are either covered directly or indirectly through game play. 

Want to see these games in action, keep reading...

I gathered up some sweet friends (K-2) from my neighborhood to take these games for a spin-around-the-block. They did great and genuinely loved playing. I don't even think they knew they were practicing (L) Blends...and I didn't break it to them either. 

We started with the Mend the Blend 3-Piece Puzzles. 

There are 12 self-correcting puzzles per blend (72 total). 

For the sake of time, I only provided the BL blend puzzles. 

These are simple cut, laminate, & cut again.  

Just spread these bad-boys out and let the kids reassemble. 

 This little cutie was great at recognizing the self-correcting designs.

Additionally, the 5 other blend puzzles are varying colors to help students correctly assemble puzzles if multiple blends are played at the same time. 

 See how blueberries and blackboard have slightly different shaped pieces?

To add an extra layer of extension or challenge, have your students fill out the My Mended Blends Puzzle sheet. You can have students simply list the words in the appropriate blend category. Or bump up the difficulty by having them put words in ABC order under each blend category.

Additionally, if you're looking to really challenge your kiddos, print off a few blank templates and have students create their own blend words and pictures to add to the game.

Moving on. . .

Clipboard Clue requires students to carefully listen to 3 hints and make logical guesses about what blend word is being described. Blend picture cards can help students narrow down choices, but difficulty can be added by removing them from the game. 

An answer sheet is provided in case blend picture cards are removed from game-play or if students are not in agreement on what is being described. Colors coordinate with the clipboard colors for ease of finding answers.

To start the game, blend picture cards are shuffled and divided equally among all players. A student-reader selects a Clipboard Clue card from the top of the downward-facing pile. 

He/she reads the 3 clues aloud to the group. 

 Students use the inferences to guess which blend picture card is being described. If a student has a picture that matches the clues, he/she can offer up their blend picture card. 

!!!WATCH OUT!!! 

Students sometimes like to jump to a conclusion before all 3 clues have been read. I had to remind these lovelies to listen to all the clues first. 

 If guessed correctly, a student wins the Clipboard Clue card and pairs it up with their blend picture card. 

That student selects the next Clipboard Clue card.

Person with the most pairs, at the end, wins!

Great activity for individual and/or partner teams. 

With 72 (12 words per blend) Clipboard Clue and blend picture card pairs, the game could last a long time!

To round out your L blend focus, give students Blend Monopoly to practice all 6 L blends! Very similar to traditional Monopoly with a few slight changes to make the game easy to play. This was a HUGE hit with everyone and if time wasn't limited, they would have played well into the night.

 Add individual games pieces (I like Toy Story figures) and a dice to this game and you're set.

 Students used their Blend Bucks to buy color-coded spaces around the board.

Don't have a gl Blend Buck to buy globe? They may have to borrow from the Blend Bank.

 Roll the dice to see how many spaces you can move.

 Get movin'

 You have a pl Blend Buck?

If so, buy the colorful space by paying the Blend Bank and getting a Spend-A-Blend word card to show ownership of the space. 

Students also have the option to trade Blend Bucks and sell Spend-A-Blend word cards in hopes of winning.  

Speaking of winning? How does that happen?

1 of 2 ways. 

Time runs out and person with most Spend-A-Blend cards wins

OR 

Instant Win by the person who buys all the spaces in the same blend category/color row.

Want to really up the ante?

Have your kiddos fill out the Blend Blog sheet to record all their won spaces. 

These games are only a part of L blend instruction and practice. 

Take a peek at these other great resources from wonderful TPT sellers:

Click here to buy this from More than Math by Mo 

 Click here to buy this from The Chocolate Teacher

Click here to buy this from Sarah Cooley

Hope your time with (L) Blends are a (BL)AST!