Second Grade Common Core

I have found an amazing resource that any 2nd grade teacher would love to have! It's called the Second Grade Common Core Workbook. It has games, worksheets, and activities for EVERY standard in math and language arts.  This could be a lifesaver for all us 2nd grade teachers.  We are all new to common core and I know that having games and activities already made would just make things so so so much easier!

Be sure to head over and check it out!! You won't regret it!

Donor's Choose and what nots

I hope everyone is staying cool in this blistering HOT weather! Here in NC its in the 3 digits and it is H-O-T!!

Today was my first day of summer camp.  My school is doing a camp for 3 weeks for our kids that are borderline grade level.  I'm excited to be able to see a few of my kids. :-)

Anyway...I have a new Donor's Choose project that I would love for you to check out. If you are able to help my project out in any way, I'd be glad to help you with any projects that you have going on for your classroom.  That's what bloggy friends are for...right? :-) I've had a few projects funded through Donor's Choose and I am very grateful.  Most of my classroom library has come from projects that were funded through this site.  If you aren't familiar with Donor's Choose I highly suggest that you look into it!

Lastly, Donna over at Peace, Love, & Learning is having a FABULOUS, FABULOUS, FABULOUS giveaway! Some of the most amazing bloggers have joined up with her.  There are 3 great prizes!! Go check it out!

Cassandra over at Adventures in Room 5 is having her first giveaway! It ends soon so head on over!

Keep cool and enjoy your summer. School will be here before you know it!! (Do I smile about that or frown? lol)

Blog awards!!

I'm so excited to have been award my very first blog award!! I never thought that I would ever ever ever receive one. I'm nowhere near where I want to be in this wonderful bloggy world but I'm learning everyday. A big thank you goes to Jennifer over at Grade 2 Happenings for awarding me the One Lovely Blog Award. Thank you!!

Rules of acceptance:
*Thank the person/people who nominated you and link back to them in your post.
*Share seven possibly unknown things about yourself.
*Nominate fifteen or so bloggers you admire.
*Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know and link back to them.

7 possibly unknown things about me:
1.  I went to private school for all of my schooling.  I think its ironic that I now teach in a public school that's the complete opposite of the school I went to.
2.  I am the only child.
3.  I hate dislike cats.
4.  One my very first day of teaching I was so nervous I read from my clipboard. (I had a speech for every minute of the day lol)
5.  I have an obsession with children's books. I buy them everywhere I go.
6.  My favorite channels are HGTV, TLC, and the Food Network. (My fiance dispises those channels lol)
7.  My favorite food are potatoes. I love them fried, baked, boiled, and any other kind of way. :-)

Blogs I nominate
1.  Erica Bohrer's First Grade
2.  The Moffat Girls
3.  Swimming into Second
4.  Teaching In Flip Flops
5.  Teachery Tidbits
6.  Stepping into First Grade
7.  Smiling in Second Grade
8.  A Year of Many Firsts
9.  Adventures of Ms. Smith
10.  4th Grade Frolics
11.  3rd Grade Gridiron
12.  2nd Grade Frosting
13.  3rd Grade's a Hoot
14.  1st Grade with Miss Snowden
15.  Buggy for Second Grade

Whew! That's alot of work to choose only 15 blogs because there are sooooo many good ones.

To-Do lists...

So I've been on summer break for about 2 weeks. I already have a long to do list that I have yet to accomplish anything on it...what am I going to do?
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to manage a long to do list with very little time to actually do the to do list? (serious question bloggy friends) How are you managing your to do list? Do you have a long list or a short list?

Oh...head over to Brittany's Blog. She's reached 200 followers and a giveaway is underway! It's TWO (not 1) $25 TpT gift cards up for grabs!

Over at The Sweet Life of Third Grade a HUGE giveaway is going on! Go check out both of these fabulous giveaways!

Until next time...

Summer Vacation

I have been vacationing (is that a word) up! I just got back from Hilton Head Island and Savannah

and let.me.tell.you....it was AMAZING!! Imagine waking up to the beach and being in a fabulous resort! I also ate at Paula Deen's Restaurant. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE the food network and this was major for me to go to her restaurant. FYI...it was delicious!

But, now that I'm back to reality its time for some blog stalking and blog hoppin'. Head over to Primary Reading Party. Its a fabulous giveaway going on.
                                               

I'm going to finish my blog hoppin'!

Giveaway Galore!!

There are so many fabulous giveaways going on that I just have to share them with ya'll!

Head on over to Fun In First Grade to join in the great giveaway! She's at 100 followers and this is an amazing giveaway.

Heather over at Heather's Heart is having a Pete Rocks Giveaway! Everybody loves Pete the Cat right?! There are lots up prizes up for grabs. Go check it out!

Tori over at Tori's Teacher Tips is also having a great giveaway! You have 10 entries and 2 people will win! Head on over and enter!

Laura over at Love To Teach is having a fabulous giveaway! There's a chance to win a $15 amazon gift card and any 2 products from her TpT store.

Good luck to everyone!

End of the year and what nots...

It has been a while since I've blogged. I've been really busy with the end of the year and tearing my room apart only to pack everything up and then have to unpack it in August. (And I'm recently engaged and loaded with planning a wedding and managing the end of the year as a first year teacher.)

In the process of packing things up, I was able to clean things out and do a lot of throwing away. I somewhat have a problem when it comes to throwing things away.  Most teachers keep everything because they never know when they may need it...me....I throw it away without a 2nd thought.


Yesterday was the last teacher workday and today is the FIRST OFFICIAL DAY OF SUMMER BREAK!  I woke up at 9:13 and im angry at myself because I complained all year long about wanting to sleep in. I just knew I was going to sleep until at least noon. But my mind had other plans.  Anyway, I woke up and immediately began planning for next year.
I've been really inspired by Brittany over at Sweet Seconds.  I happened to stumble upon her blog because it is the same name as mine. BUT SHE IS SOOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS LIL OL BLOG OF MINE.  If you have time, check out her blog. She has lots of great ideas and everything is so cute.


This year I had a monkey theme but I kind of fell of bandwagon and stopped incorporating it into my decorations.  Over the summer I am revamping everything and turning my room into a Sweets Shop. Think cupcakes, lollipops, candy, ice cream, and anything sweet and sugary. I have lots of ideas running thru my head and can't wait to start on them.


My first project will be crate seats. I know you've probably seen them all over blog land. Its a hanging file crate turned into a seat. Can't wait to get started so I can show how they turn out. Another big project will be organizing my classroom library and labeling things.  This is where I hope that Brittany can help. She has lots of adorable labels that I'd like to use for my library.


Anywhooo....I've rambeled enough. Let the DIY projects begin!

We're Seeing Spots!

Ladybug Web quest

Task:

By the end of this web quest, you will be able to explain the life cycle of the ladybug, describe where they live, describe what they eat, name their body parts and a few other interesting facts.  You will even discover there are many different kinds of ladybugs all around the world.

 Duties/Process:

During your ladybug investigation you will:

Examine the life cycle of the ladybug.

Describe where ladybugs live.

Describe what ladybugs like to eat.

Name the body parts of the ladybug.

Visit 2 websites to research additional information on ladybugs.

Write a report describing all that you have learned about ladybugs and illustrate.

Your Job:

1.  Visit Enchanted Learning and see if you can figure out the four stages of development of a ladybug. Create a tree map of the four stages. Be sure to add important information under each stage. Turn tree map in to Ms. Daniels when you are done. 

2. Visit Have You Ever Wondered?  to see if you can find information about what you need to feed a ladybug.  Write at least 4 things that feed ladybugs and submit to Ms. Daniels.

3.  Write a report describing everything you have learned about ladybugs.  Be sure to include a picture.  Submit it to Ms. Daniels!

Good Luck!

Rubric/Evaluation:

	Beginning1	Developing2	Good Job3	Outstanding4
4 stages of development	You named 1 stage.	You named 2 stages.	You named 3 stages.	You named 4 stages.
Feeding a Ladybug	You named 1 thing that feeds a ladybug.	You named 2 things that feeds a ladybug.	You named 3 things that feeds a ladybug.	You named 4 things that feeds a ladybug.
Label the Ladybug	You miss labeled 4 or more parts.	You miss labeled 3 parts.	You miss labeled 2 parts.	You correctly labeled the ladybug.
Report	Your report includes some facts about the ladybug.	Your report makes sense and includes most required facts about the ladybug.	Your report makes sense, is neat and includes all required facts about the ladybug.	Your report makes sense, is neat and includes many extra facts about insect. You have exceeded the standard.

Conclusion:

Congratulations!  Now you are a fabulous ladybug expert. You can share what you've learned tonight at home!

Candy Life Cycles

Today we did the last activity with our butterfly unit. Every kid likes candy, right? And every teacher likes kids that like learning, right? Put those two together and you get happy kids and happy teachers! We made an edible flow map of a butterfly's life cycle.

First I started off by letting the kids draw their own flow maps. I like doing this because the kids show their creative sides. Then we filled in the stages of the butterfly life cycle by using a Butterfly Life Cycle Pretzi. (I love using pretzis on my Smartboard! It's so fun and cool to see it spin and flip :-) )

After the kids filled in the stages, I told them that they were going to get four different pieces of candy and they had to figure out what piece of candy represented what life cycle stage.  They absolutely loved this activity.  And, of course, they devoured the candy afterwards.

All you need for this activity is blank paper, crayons, bite sized crunch candy, sour gummy worms, tootsie rolls, and pretzels. I'm sure your kids will love this!

Until next time!

Yummy Landforms

Today we had so much fun ending our geography unit.  We've been learning about landforms, bodies of water, maps and globes.  To close the unit, we made an edible map of North Carolina.  They've learned about the different regions of our state, Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plains.  We took that information and made a yummy map.  Here's what you need: smooth peanut butter, powdered milk, powdered sugar, white corn syrup, and mini and big chocolate chips.

Mix all the the ingredients together making sure to add the peanut butter last.  The dough will be pretty thick and you may need to add water to it. 

I gave each student a map and a piece of wax paper.  Place the wax paper on top of the map for easy spreading.

Each student got a big spoonful of dough.  They spread the dough around the map to make the shape of the state.

After they spread the dough around, they got mini and big chocolate chips.  The minis represent the Mountain region and the big represent the Piedmont region.  The Coastal Plain is just the dough.  The maps turned about pretty stinkin' cute if I may say so...plus they were really tasty :-) 

This was a fun way for the kids to learn about their state and have a yummy snack! 

Life Cycle of a Butterfly

Over the last few days we have done some activities about the life cycle of a butterfly.  The kids are so excited to have our own caterpillars to watch and observe.  Four out of five caterpillars are in a chrysalis. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that the 5th one will climb on up and join the others.

The kids had lots of fun making the life cycle out of noodles and marshmallows.

 They also made a book about the life cycle of the butterfly.  I randomly grouped the kids into 3 groups and they worked together to create a book.  They had to incorporate each life cycle stage and facts that they had learned.

Afterwards, they were able to design the front cover.  Some of my kids even made a table of contents and an index!!! (That made me so excited because I've been drilling text features ALL YEAR!)

 

I can't wait to do more fun activities in the next few days. Stay tuned for a "tasty sweet treat"!
Until next time,

New Page!

I'm so excited to introduce my new blog! This is a combination of my class website and a little blogging about my journey in teaching! As I transition to the world of blogging, I hope to share some of the cool things we are doing in class! I hope you enjoy!