Light Box Quotes

Do you have one of the Light Boxes that have been everywhere? Recently, I saw them marked down to $5 at Walmart. I got one the same size as the Walmart one at TJ Maxx for $10.

We have created a set of 10 quotes for the Light Boxes with flamingo/summer themed clip art. There is also a Journal Prompt card to go with each quote that can be used in a Writing Center.

If you are interested in these quotes and Journal Prompts, you can click here to go to our TPT store.

We're All Wonders (picture book)

I found the book, We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio, at TJ Maxx the other day. It goes along with the Chapter book Wonder and the movie. I like this picture book because it is shorter and I plan to start my year with this book. It is a great way to talk about being kind to others and how we are all unique- or wonders!

I created a some reproducible pages, vocabulary cards, and bulletin board pieces to go along with this book. Here is a look at the bulletin board pieces. (The bulletin board pieces are black letters on white pages. You can print them out on colored paper to match your room.)

Here are the vocabulary cards. (These are also black letters on white so you can print on colored paper if you want to.)

Here are some of the pages.

If you are interested in purchasing this unit, click here to go to the Teachers Pay Teachers link. Thanks for looking!

Target Dollar Spot Center Supplies

Has anyone else discovered the amazing supplies (for $1!) for classroom centers? Kelly and I found these for $1 each this week at Target.

I got many of these for my grandson and some addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division card sets for my third grade class. Kelly is moving to Kindergarten, so these will be very easy for her to set up as centers as she gets used to the Kindergarten curriculum.

Preparing Interactive Math Journals

I have used Math Journals for 12 years. The ways I use them have changed over the years as I have become more comfortable with them. Now, I wouldn't know what to do without having them in my classroom.

This is how I have prepare them.

This year, I am using these composition books.Last year, I used spiral notebooks and they worked well. I am using the composition books because I had some left over and the room I moved into had a lot in there already so I didn't have to buy any. I printed a simple label for the front and taped it on.

On the back cover, I put a laminated Hundreds, Tens and Ones chart for the children to write on. I also stuck on a 100 chart sticker. I got the stickers from JoAnn Fabrics in their Teacher section. I got the Hundreds, Tens and Ones chart in the "Math Tools" set I bought on Teachers Pay Teachers. I printed it 2 to a page so they would be smaller.

On the inside cover, I attached the Math Tub of Tools from a set by Reagan Tunstall. You can get to it on Teachers Pay Teachers by clicking here.

We will start with reviewing the money and Odd and Even cards in the Tub of Tools.  We will add more tools as the year progresses.

In the inside of the back cover, I used duct tape to attach ribbon to be used as a bookmark. This will make it easier for the children to keep track where their next page is.

This is how I have prepared the Math Journals.  This will help us to be well prepared to start the year right off with our Math Journals.

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Teachers Pay Teachers Cyber Sale

Join us for the Teachers Pay Teachers Cyber Sale on Monday and Tuesday. You can save up to 25% off of great resources.

Here is a link to our store: Education Whimsy

You can also win a $10 gift certificate from us just for shopping at our store.  Be sure to visit our Facebook page for directions!

Teacher Down-Time

What do you do to relax when you get a break from teaching? I know that it helps me a lot to do activities that have nothing to do with teaching sometimes. This helps me to recharge and I have more energy to give to my students when I return to work.

This Thanksgiving Break, when I was not with family and eating turkey, I worked on creating a playroom for my grandson in our house.

I love crafting and painting, so this was really fun for me. This room had been my son's room and then it was my craft room. We are now in the process of creating a "She Shed" in a shed outside for my craft room since we decided to make a playroom for Benjamin.

Here are some pictures:

I am planning to cover the top 3 shelves on the left with fabric to hide those bins. I still need to add cars to the black "road".

My husband was a drag racer for years, so I am going to add pictures of his race cars on the black "drag strip" on this wall. I also need to add the "B" to the alphabet. The larger letters in the alphabet are for the first initials of the people in our family.

Here are some close-up pictures of the word BEN in the room. I got this idea from Pinterest (of course):

These letters are about 18 inches tall. They are from Hobby Lobby ($3.50 each).

I cut up white stickers for the roads.

Then, I used hot glue to attach the cars. I used Command velcro to hang them on the wall.

I hope everyone got some time to relax this holiday break.