July 15th - Two For Tuesday

I was thrilled to find out that The Teaching Tribune would be continuing their Two for Tuesday Link Up. Thanks to the weekly linky this summer, I have been able to stock up on some great items for the new school year at 50% off.  I can never pass by a good sale.  This week, I have chosen two animal-themed products to mark down 50%.

A Day At the Zoo with Collective Nouns

These task cards focus on the second grade Common Core Language Standard L.2.1A: I can use collective nouns. Collective nouns can be a difficult concept for students because we don't use the collective nouns often in regular conversation. This matching game is a fun way for students to practice the skill all year. I have also included an assessment to test students' knowledge of collective nouns after sufficient practice with the matching game.

A Day At the Zoo Even or Odd

These task cards focus on the second grade Common Core Math Standard 2.OA.3: I can group objects to tell if a number is even or odd. “A Day at the Zoo – Even or Odd Task Card Sort,” is a task card sorting activity that can be used by a small group of students or individual students. I love task cards because they can be used for a practice activity, a game, or even an assessment. If you print the task cards on cardstock, they should last all year. Of course, you can laminate them to make them even more durable.

Now head to see all the other great products that are half off today!

July 14th - Monday Made It

I have been a traveling fool this summer, so it hasn’t left much time for crafting and creating.  I am finally linking up with Tara from Fourth Grade Frolics for Monday Made It. This week they are all non-school projects, but I hope to be back next week with some completed projects for my classroom. 

My first Monday Made It is a project I finished for our living room.  We felt like the wall above our T.V. was too bare, but didn’t want to make the area distracting with a piece of artwork. After seeing the clocks of different time zones in a newsroom, we decided to do something similar.  

Instead of just doing the major cities in certain time zones, we picked five cities that were important to us. 

Athens: My favorite city from my travels

Brooklyn: Where my husband was born

Oakland: Where we currently live (hence it being the center clock)

Waikiki: The city where my husband and I met four years ago

Tokyo: My husband’s favorite city from his travels

These clocks are the first thing that people see when they come in our front door, so it has been a great conversation starter. We lucked out and found the map-themed clocks at IKEA (they are not sold online, but you might luck out and find some in a store).  Then I just used my Cameo Silhouette to cut the letter out using a chalkboard vinyl to avoid the glare.

I was also busy this week helping my friend with a few last minute items for her wedding. I made tags for their welcome bags.  

It is so fun to make items for weddings that reflect the bride and groom’s personalities.  I did a lot of that for our own wedding as well to reflect our love of traveling and city skylines.

I'll be meeting up with some friends to do a little wine tasting later this month, and I decided to make each friend a little gift that's also useful.  With the help of my Silhouette, I was able to make a personalized wine sippy cup.  

I recently saw these same cups at the Dollar Tree, so I stocked up to be able to make more.  

I am currently working on a new Super Hero Super Improver Wall, so keep an eye out for it this next week. 

July 13th – Book Study Kick Off!

Happy Sunday! I have been anxiously awaiting the book study for Guided Math in Action by Courtney and Sarah at their new blog, Adventures in Guided Math.  

I actually read the book while on our plane ride to D.C. earlier this summer, but this book study will give me a great opportunity to go back and reflect on each chapter.  I am also looking forward to the conversations and ideas that will be shared by other teachers and teacher bloggers during this book study.  If you are new to guided math, this will be a great opportunity for you to find out the basics and especially what guided math actually looks like in a classroom.  I will be jumping head first into guided math this year.  I was new to my school last year and the principal wasn’t really on board, but I think I have convinced her that teaching only whole group math is only meeting the needs of one-third of the class. 

If you haven’t bought the book yet, you can download it right now on your Kindle or Kindle App. The book is $21.69 on Amazon for your Kindle or you can even rent it on your Kindle starting at just $8. If you prefer a hardcopy of the book, it is $33.20 on Amazon (get it in 2 days or less with Amazon Prime).

I will be back on Wednesday to join the book study on chapters 1 & 2.  

Worksheet Wednesday - Two Freebies

Worksheet Wednesday is here to help you gather some back to school resources for FREE! After you download my free activity below, make sure to check out all the link ups at The Teaching Tribune,

I chose to feature an activity that I always use during the first day of school…..M&M Icebreaker.  

I know that it is not technically a worksheet, but it is a fun back to school activity that your kiddos will love.  I always participate with them, so it’s a fun way to get to know your students and for them to get to know you.  All you need is a small bag or cup of M&Ms for each student and the sentence frames I provided.  This activity will get your students talking to each other in complete sentences and sharing more than just one fact about themselves. It is also a great lesson on sharing because the kiddos give an M&M to a classmate as they share their fact about themselves.  This can be used in just about any grade level, but you would have to differentiate for those students who aren’t reading yet.  I hope you enjoy this activity. 

Also, if you are interested in the hand signal posters I wrote about yesterday, the purple and teal version are currently a fan freebie on my Facebook page. I’d love if you started following me!

Two For and Tried It Tuesday

I’m back for another Two for Tuesday.  I hope you’ve been able to stock up on some great items for the new school year at 50% off thanks to the great link up hosted by The Teaching Tribune.

The items I have chosen from my store to mark down 50% are my Silent Hand Signal Posters. I have updated my Silent Hand Signal Posters to work in a variety of classroom decors.  I have also included two font choices in each set of posters. This packet includes posters that allow your students to silently communicate the following:

May I use the restroom?

May I get a drink of water?

May I get a tissue?

I have a question.

I have a comment.

I know the answer.

I agree.

I want to volunteer.

Click on any of the color options below to get a set of posters for just $1. 

I am also linking up with Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday because I have been using hand signals in my own classroom for the past four years. I don’t know how I survived without them. I love how my students and I are able to communicate basic needs and wants without using our voices. I am able to respond to my students’ signals with a simple nod or shake of the head without interrupting the rest of the students. This especially comes in handy when I am working with a small group of students or during test times. The signals that I use are inspired by New Management’s posters. I have tweaked them to be based on the American Sign Language alphabet.

Monday (Random) Meet Me – Week 6

I have really enjoyed the Summer Bloggin’ series hosted by The Teaching Tribune.  Today is the 6th week of Monday Meet Me, and it is random. 

As a child, I always wanted to be in the water.  Luckily, I lived near the ocean and usually lived in an apartment with a pool. I joke that I used to spend my summers with green hair and red cheeks…sad thing is, that it’s not a joke.  I don’t have any pictures to show you, but just know it wasn’t cute.

I really never thought about a new first name, but I do remember not liking how common my name was growing up.  There was always at least one other Lauren in my class while I was in school…Oh the 80’s! When I have kids, I want to give them a somewhat unique name (but one that people can pronounce and spell).

One of the worst moments of my teaching career was four years ago when I was teaching 3rd grade.  I was leading my class in a game of kickball and two kids collided.  I was all alone outside, so I had to walk my entire class to the office with one kid on each side of me.  Luckily with a couple stiches, they were both fine.  Needless to say, I do not play kickball with my students anymore.

If I could meet a fictional character, I would want to meet Mrs. Frizzle because I’d love to learn how to make learning an adventure for my students.  Obviously, I don’t have a magic school bus to transport us places, but she and her students are always engaged and excited about learning. 

I was an only child until I was 15 years old, and then my brother was born.  I wasn’t too thrilled at the time, but now I can’t imagine my life without him.  He is about to start his junior year of high school…crazy!

My hands-down, favorite breakfast is chilaquiles.  If you’ve never had it before, just imagine breakfast nachos.  

It’s hard to find them in a restaurant, so I have to make them at home if I have a craving.  Therefore, it’s a weekend brunch treat. My daily breakfast is a yogurt and fruit parfait that I make in a mason jar.  There are many different recipes for chilaquiles online, but I make mine simple by layering refried beans, tortilla chips, shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, and cheese.  Top it all with raw scrambled eggs and bake at 350 degrees until the eggs are set. You can top it with sour cream, salsa, or guacamole and enjoy. 

Sunday Smorgasbord

I hope everyone has been enjoying their weekend. Since it’s Sunday, I am linking up with Michelle from Fabulous in First for Sunday Smorgasbord. 

Here’s a glimpse at the randomness of my week:

I couldn't hold out any longer, so I did a little back to school shopping this week.  To avoid the crowds and limits on items, I took advantage of Staples' online sales.  I ordered pocket folders in several colors for 15 cents each and composition books for 50 cents each.  

I know that I could probably get them cheaper, but now I don't have to worry about checking the ads and fighting the crowds. 

I was so excited to see that Dollar Tree had items in my classroom colors this summer. I was able to pick up several of their locker bins in purple and teal. I also snatched up two teal storage ottomans at Target yesterday.    

I also snatched up two teal storage ottomans at Target yesterday.  These will be used for seating at my small group table along with a few black ones I already own.  

Yesterday I spent a good portion of my day looking for items on the Blog Hoppin Scavenger Hunt to take pictures of.  

Yes, I was that crazy lady in Target taking pictures of random items with my Blog Hoppin sign.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should head on over and check out all the details about this super fun Instagram scavenger hunt that will last all month.  

I’d love to follow your adventures too, so please leave your Instagram username in the comments.  You can follow me to @TheTravelingTeacher.