Sayin' Goodbye to 2012

Ending of a Year... 2012

It has been one cray-cray end to a busy GLORIOUS year! 

Seriously!

It’s been a while since my last post…I have no idea where the time 

has gone!

It’s crazy to think that half the school year is over with... total SADSVILLE!

I so HEART this group of FIRSTIES! Well every group for that matter... they are all very unique!

We have been very blessed in 2012... so here’s to many more blessings in 2013!

Some of my blessings came in the form of discovering many AMAZING educational blogs and PINTEREST!

I have learned more about being an EXCEPTIONAL teacher through the sharing and valuable resources, experiences and ideas from YOUR teaching blogs!

So with a very GRATEFUL heart I want to THANK teachers who take the time to create and share their

many talents!

Your gifts are a blessing beyond measure!

Total inspiration from very gifted teachers... loved that I also found Teachers Pay Teachers! WOWZER... made my life LOTS easier!

So I took all my new wealth of ideas and lessons and put them to work.

 I would like to share a little of what I remembered to capture and share how our projects turned out. 

Let's start with Fairy Tales and Patterns... 

There are so many great ideas out there! 

I took a little of what I found and put it together to fit the needs of my Firsties...seeing how I have 16 boys and 6 girls, my boys wouldn't be diggin' 

all the girly stuff! 

We brainstormed using a Circle Map, different wishes.

Then I made available 2 different options for their writing craftivity. 

Boys chose the wand... girls the sparkly slippers! Big Surprise...HA! 

The adorable "Sparkly Slippers" craftivity were borrowed from Ms. Leslie Ann over at Life In First Grade...LOVE her!

So be sure to check out many of her FAB ideas and lessons! 

Amanda over at Mrs.Terhune's First Grade Site has a super cute FREE 

"Fairy Tale Unit" that I downloaded and used.

It has super great activities for many different common fairy tales! 

I did a quick mini assessment on patterns in small groups when we worked on this skill... I love how they turned out for being an assessment! 

My bilingual pairs did a super great job...love how mini foam shapes and stickers inspire them!

We also worked on 2D & 3D shapes this 9 weeks. I came across (some where on PINTEREST) a cute activity on 2D shapes that I just had to share their creativity!

Prompt: "At first it was a _______. Now it is a _______."

 I can't seem to locate the original source for this activity so if it's your cutsie idea please let me know so I can give you your well 

deserved credit! 

I did a Tree Map assessment on 3D shapes.

I handed 3D shape cards to each student and depending on what they were given...they had to draw a real object that resembled the 3D shape and glue it in the correct category on the Tree Map!

Gingerbread Unit...workin' on fables!

 Loved this year's unit...we focused more on different points of view in Fairy Tales & Fables! My Firsties loved seeing things from different POV from main characters in each story...who knew!

I read different versions of the Gingerbread Boy and Girl...many FAB stories out there...I went crazy on Amazon and the book stores! HA! 

Love me some Gingerbread anything stories! I adore this cute little unit that I found on Teachers Pay Teachers by Linda Kamp! 

You have to check it out...you can get your copy here!

 My FIRSTIES have a thing for mustaches...but like who doesn't have a thing for mustaches! 

I was over the moon HAPPY when I came across Cara's Mooseltoe Unit! 

Super duper cute and FUN activities..but I didn't expect anything less from her! So here is how their craftivities turned out...LOVE them!

I have to say my sweeties have learned a thing or two from their teacher about decorating and details...MELTS.MY.HEART!!! 

Well folks that's all I have to share with y'all from my IPhone...sorry about the quality....I know it isn't ideal! 

Wishin' y'all a Happy New Year! Looking forward to posting in 2013!