We have a winner from the Christmas Giveaway!!  Congratulations Margaret, an e-mail is coming your way!   a Rafflecopter giveaway I just finished up some colleague holiday gifts and wanted to share them with you all in case you're looking for a quick and easy gift.  I have seen MANY variations of soap gift tags on Pinterest but decided to make my own tag.  I LOVE how they turned out and can't wait to hand them out tomorrow! I just uploaded the Peace, Joy and Soap gift tags as a freebie to TPT which you can download now by clicking on the picture below! All you need are the soap bottles (I used Tis the Season by Bath and Body Works), ribbon and the gift tags.  Unfortunately, due to copyright restrictions (the file must be a secured PDF) with the super cute clip art I used, the pack is not editable so you would have to write your name on the tag after printing.  Happy Holidays! ...
I know it's technically Wednesday but I was looking through some older posts and came across this gem.  This is a REALLY old post (November 2011!) but I was just starting the handprint calendars with my kiddos and we had just made our Christmas Chain countdowns.  I know we're already 4 days into December but it's not too late to make a countdown! A few of the links are a little outdated.   Here's the Little Giraffee information about the Handprint calendars. I didn't do mine exactly like theirs but pretty close.  You can read more about our previous calendars HERE . For some reason I didn't take many pictures of the calendars last year, this was all I could find. I laminate the front cover and then bind all the pages using an ancient comb binder.  I also then have all the kids wrap their calendar and fill out a name tag for whoever they want to give it to.  The calendars are a ton of work (and messy!) but I always had such nice feedback from parents.  I...
It has been way too long since I filled you all in on what's been happening in my classroom.  Like I said last week I am now seeing all 7 of my groups each day and it is quite a challenge to go from 2nd grade to 3rd grade to 4th grade all in one day but I have been getting by with a little help from my friends.  When I sat down to begin planning for 7 different grade levels/subject areas I knew I was going to need some help from some AWESOME TPT sellers and I have definitely found it!  Here is a little picture walk of what's been going on in a few of my groups! First up is 4th grade math, we have been working on Geometry: angles, triangles, symmetry! We started off by using my Geometry Rocks pack! This fabulous journal is from Jennifer Runde's Interactive Math Journal pack which has been a life saver!  It is fantastic and fits right in with the CCSS! And that journal should definitely say "Types of Triangles" not "Types of Triggles"...oh bo...
I have had several e-mails and questions lately about just how I connect my iPad to my Smartboard.  So I put together a few pictures.  I apologize for the blurriness but the lighting in my classroom is not the best and my phone sometimes doesn't take the best pictures.   First, you will need an iPad and a VGA iPad adapter (iPhone 5 or iPad Mini will work too although you may need a newer adapter).  Once I have my iPad and VGA adapter, I pull the cord from behind my laptop (it may connect into your monitor if you have a desktop).  This cord connects directly to my projector. It connects right into the VGA adapter. And the other end connects directly into my iPad. Then I choose which app or book I want to project. Today I chose Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs which I purchased through iBooks. And here it is on the SmartBoard.  You can see the black cord running from the projector that I connected into the VGA adapter.  The only downsi...
After several requests and my own individual frustration looking through several packs I have bundled 17 sets of instructional posters to create The Ultimate Teacher Poster Pack !  Before I go on to say how excited I am about this new pack, please be aware that it does include many posters from other packs and if you already own the original pack the same set of posters are included in this mega pack.  I am worried that someone is going to buy this fantastic set but then realize they already own several of the sets.  So, if you have any questions please feel free to ask before you purchase.  Confession time: Some of the posters I create I don't print.  (gasp!)  We have a serious lack of color ink at my school and it is pretty dang expensive.  So, instead I often project various posters on my SmartBoard and use it as an anchor to begin or review a concept.  Now don't get me wrong, I have printed many of these but I also like to project them if I don't have time to pri...
Yes, I know it's Sunday which officially makes this the latest Five for Friday post ever but I still wanted to share!  If you follow Primary Punch on Instagram, you've seen a few of these and if you haven't then they are brand new!  Here are a few pictures of what I've been up to this week!  Let's start in my classroom, which was all about getting ready for the first week of school! I printed and began posting my Be a Green Machine signs! We had these adorable "apple" cupcakes at our professional development meeting! I printed and laminated my 2nd grade Math Vocabulary Cards for my math word wall.  Sorry for the glare, I need to remember to take pictures before laminating! And I printed and prepped the School Sleuth tour activity for the first day of school! The codes are taped around the school ready for kiddos to take the tour! I also posted a brand new Science pack to TPT that is designed to to help introduce The Scient...
Today is a rainy day here, and you know what that means??  I'm stuck inside with my computer : )  Which has been the theme this summer!  I am busy, busy on my to-do list (and somehow new things keep getting added to the list) but I just wanted to let you know that I have posted a Math Movers BUNDLE PACK!!  All 10 games are included in the pack and you can SAVE by bundling!  All the games are aligned to the 2nd grade CCSS (except the first week of school is aligned to the 1st grade CCSS) and I used this set all last year.   Want to win all 10 Math Mover games?? One lucky person can win the ENTIRE bundle pack, enter below for a chance to win but hurry this giveaway is only open for 1 day! Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway ...
Every year I don't really make first day of school "lesson plans". I know that sounds terrible, but instead I make more of a to-do list.  That first day can be all kinds of CRAZY so I like just having a list better than a strict lesson plan. Pretty much the only time I stick to on that first day is lunch and dismissal.  Our resource classes don't start until the second day so, we have the first day all to ourselves. On the list I write everything I need/want to do with my kiddos on that first day.  Every year the list changes a little bit and every year I accomplish a little more or less depending on the group of kids I have. My first day is still a few days away but I know many teachers go back tomorrow (if not earlier). I sat down the other day to make a "first day of school to-do list" so that I could start wrapping my mind around how I was going to prepare and realized that it would be fun to share it and have other teachers share theirs!  Below is my...