First of all...

I can't believe it's already 2015 and my firstie babies are about to be second graders. 

I'm not gonna lie- I was super dreading coming back to school this week. It's really nothing about the kids or my job- I feel so blessed to be in the profession that we are in...

It was because of my incredibly soft bed, and my adorable new puppy that gives the best morning snuggles!

Oh wait, you haven't heard the hubs and I have a new puppy!? 

He's no joke the cutest dog in the world. :) 

...Back to School... 

Today I'm linking up with the fab DoodleBugsTeaching for her Five for Friday!! 

 I made it- and survived the first day WEEK back! And to my surprise, it has been a FABULOUS week! I was worried about the nonstop talking, and dreading the amount of review I was going to have to teach {including that this classroom is a still a no nose-picking zone!}but my kids have been ROCKING it! 

With all of this review, we also dove 2 webbed feet first into our penguin study using this fabulous resource from Heidi Dickey! 

After starting with a KWL, we split up into 5 penguin groups to study different kinds! The kids were pumped to do independent research and present their findings :) 

Y'all. I had a conference call with GoNoodle on Saturday!!  The Co-Founder, Aaron Briggs reached out to Erin Klein {OMG!} and myself. Can I just say I may have screamed when I read the email? I can't say enough how amazing social media is!! SO thankful for Twitter and Instagram and for the connections I've been able to make with teachers around the nation! 

SO. MUCH. FUN! 

Erin and I are avid GoNoodle PLUS users, and Aaron was hoping to get some feedback on some things that we love about GoNoodlePLUS, as well as pick our brains about some things we would change. 

Even MORE great things are coming, guys! Just wait!! 

{Don't know too much about GoNoodle and these amazing brain breaks for your class? Check out my GoNoodle post here!}

Every year, I tend to be stuck on what resolutions I want to have for the year, this year- I finally wrote them down! 

My students made their resolutions for the year as well. Not gonna lie, I was super impressed with their goals for themselves! 

So if you live in Texas, you have probably heard about the ridiculous amount of earthquakes we have been having here in Irving. So far, I think we have had 20 in the past two months. On Monday, we had 3!! My students have been asking and wondering what's happening. 

"Is our house going to fall down in a large crack in the ground and land in hot lava?"

--No joke-- He was genuinely concerned. 

After researching earthquakes on pebblego.com, we learned that buildings can withstand the tremble of quakes if they have a strong base. We were challenged to make our own structure to see if our buildings could withstand the shaking... 

Sidenote: Jello = Ground :)

Too much fun, y'all. And yes, we totally grabbed spoons and ate the jello afterwards!

 A huge hit in my classroom this week was Sight Word Head Hunters! 

I used this game as a review of some sight words we've learned this year. Super easy to create! I put a list of my students on one side of the paper- and random first grade sight words we've learned on the other side. Each student received a sight word from the list- and we taped it to their heads. Kids walked around the room trying to match the sight words to their friend's names. 

THEY LOVED IT! 

Anything to get them moving, right? 

It was a fabulous formative assessment that I will definitely do again. 

This game had me thinking so many other versions... 

Math Fact Head Hunter

Vocabulary Head Hunter

Onset Blends Head Hunter 

...oh the possibilities! 

Well in a nut shell, that was our week here in first grade. Glad we survived it and now we are praying for a snow day this weekend. 

If you haven't already, head on over to Doodlebugs teaching and link up to her Five for Friday linky! 

Have a great weekend, y'all! Stay Warm! 

Yay! It's finally Friday and I just love this linky party from Doodlebugs Teaching!

Here are my top 5 favs from the week! 

My kids are ROCKING retelling stories now that we have introduced 

"Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then" 

A couple of TPT purchases and freebies that I'm currently obsessed with... 

LOVING these FREE random partner cards from Making it as a Middle School Teacher. 

They are AWESOME! 

The kids actually request for me to use these instead of letting them choose partners (we all know that student choice is highly encouraged- but picking their own partners is usually a recipe for disaster)

I'm also LOVING this "Would you Rather" pack from Jen Bradshaw. 

These writing prompts (as well as the student's responses) crack. me. up. and they also really make the kids think!

I'm putting my favorite prompt into the Writing Center next weekend. 

Can't wait to read their reasons!! 

I posted a couple of freebies of my own this week! Be sure to read my post about how my students made our Classroom Creed- and grab your free copies below!

Math is amazing this year. I mean seriously, I love it. We are using the Go Math Curriculum and I don't have a single complaint. 

(knock on wood) 

We are teaching Place Value for the 1st nine weeks... and I'm sure you're thinking,

 "How in the world can you stretch out place value into 9 weeks!?"

 But it can be done my friends! 

I am so pleased with my student's deep understanding of base ten and how to compare numbers using their knowledge of the digit's value. 

So far, I think their favorite activity has been "How much is your initial worth?" 

Fall Parent Conferences have started this week.... 

That's all I got, folks. ;) 

Have a wonderful Friday, and don't forget to link up with Doodlebugs Teaching for this fun linky party!

WOO HOO!! It's FRIDAY!!! 

This girl is headed to Colorado for a family getaway weekend! 

Before I head out, I wanted to leave you with 5 randoms of my week...

My flippin' AMAZING #slantbox arrived from the oh-so-awesome Brianne (Hooo-Ray for Teaching)!! AH! Look at all of that amazingness. This new teacher friend of mine absolutely SPOILED me with goodies!! I may or may not have let out a ginormous squeal when I opened all of the Scentos swag, sock monkey washi tape, and my assorted post-its. Eek! 

Not sure what a Slant Box is? Head on over to Jameson's blog to find out more information! Such a fun way to meet new people, as well as shower fellow teachers with crazy awesome gifts that they totally deserve! :) 

It's been a week of awesome teacher mail!! 

Our class has been eagerly anticipating the delivery of our SitSpots!! Having these awesome bad boys make finding a Read to Self zone MUCH easier for my little ones. 

#velcroneverlookedsogood

Y'all, I feel like I may have found a solution to the #1 annoyance in the classroom!! 

(Next to your students saying your name 100-umpteen times a day) 

Let me introduce to you the magic of the Sharpie Paint Pen...

Voila!! 

No. More. Peeled. Sticky. Laminated. Picked-at. Dirty. Nameplates!! 

I have had the names written on the desks for a little over a week now, and I haven't had ONE student be tempted to try and scratch, or erase it! 

(knocking on wood as I type this)... 

Totally suggest grabbing yourself a pack of these amazing markers. Go ahead and save yourself from the constant pull your hair out moments when you have to scream tell your students to just leave the silly name tag ALONE!

 The best part? 

Easy clean up! Just rub a little Expo Marker over the top of it and it wipes off! 

We are LOVING Reagan Tunstall's Back to School Math Centers!! 

Here are a couple activities inside... 

This matching game brings so much joy....

See??? :) 

Other games in my Math Tubs for the week have been: 

I think my most FAVORITE thing I've worked on this week is my NEW and ADORABLE Sub Handbook created by the oh-so-talented, Amy Groesbeck!! Y'all, you HAVE to check out her store!! This Sub Handbook is 100% editable and completely worth the 5 bucks! 

#ihatesubplans

#butnowtheyarecutesoitsokay

Thanks for stopping by!! Don't forget to link up with Doodle Bugs with your own Five for Friday!