New header and a button grab

So fun! I spent a little (well actually a lot)of time reading up on how to fix up the blog a bit. I wound up making very few changes. But one thing I was able to do was put together my very own header picture and a "Grab My Button" for the sidebar. If you happen by the blog, let me know what you think.

Abra Lincolnham

As I mentioned below, we started working on money this week. I asked my class if they knew who the guy on the penny is. Several of my students raised their hands. I called on one of them. "It's Abra Lincolnham!" Too funny. Its one of the great things about teaching first grade... particularly with second language learners.

We started working on money this week. It was also our last week before spring break. (Smiles) The kids were definitely ready for a little artistic outlet. So a few of us in first grade decided to do this piggy bank project. We got these cute pigs from Oriental Trading Company. The pigs started like this:

Then we painted the base coat.

Next we decorated them and put on the eyes.

What a colorful group of pigs.

And of course because we can't do anything without a learning outcome I made up a tally data sheet to record how many pigs we had of each color and a graphing page with questions. I will put these sheets together in a nice little package and post them on my TPT store for you to download for free if you are interested in doing this in your class. The kids loved having these to take home before spring break. My good friend Laura over at Over the 1st Grade Rainbow did these pigs too. You can check them out there and see some of her other cute spring activities.

Hooray for a much needed break. Looking forward to a little recharge to help me be at my best for all my little friends.

Thank You! Thank You!

I want to start with a heartfelt Thank You to everybody that took the time to visit, comment on, and follow my new blog. I owe a debt of gratitude to Michelle at The 3am Teacher for giving my blog a mention.
I would go on about how wonderful her blog is, but seeing as how most of you got here by her suggestion I suppose you know already. I made a promise on her blog to visit each and every one of you that commented here and left your link. I will follow through although it may take time to get to them all. One of my dear friends and colleagues is my grade level partner in crime on the blogging scene. We have been sharing thoughts and ideas and wondering how in the world you get anybody out there to come participate with us. I am proud to call you all my first followers and hope to do your faith in me proud. I encourage anybody reading this to visit another up and coming first grade blog and take a look at her fun Freebies. Her name is Laura and her blog is Over The First Grade Rainbow

Clip Art Giveaway!

Fun For First is giving away some KMP Doodles clip art on the blog.  I might not have posted about this giveaway if it weren't for the fact that I really like her clip art.  There is still time to get in on the giveaway opportunity.  See the details here:

Click Here

First Freebie!

Here is a fun activity that I like to do during the week leading up to spring break.  It is an activity that the kids love to do that practices words with long vowels and consonant blends. I close these reading strips into each egg. I put a small prize in each egg.  I hid the eggs around the room and the class gets to find them. When we read our way around all of the eggs, the kids get to open up their eggs and get their fun surprise.
If you would like to download the file for this activity, visit my TPT store and download it for FREE!

Eggcellent Reading Game - TPT

Picking up momentum

Alright,  I have been working on some ideas to share.  I have put together one packet with a fun Spring/Easter activity to practice some reading.  It is one of those little "freebies" that everyone is so keen on. It is a quick activity that my students really enjoy.   I am going to do my best to get the file loaded for tomorrow and share it. Being new to the blogging and file sharing has made the process a little slower than I would like.  Learning about it has been fun and I can't wait to get a more regular progression of ideas and posts coming along.  So please continue to check back in!

Thank you...

Just a quick thank you to all the early elementary bloggers, the pinterest pinners, the TPT teachers, and my awesome first grade team.  Ideas are flowing faster and stronger than ever due to all the sharing happening out there and at school.  It is inspirational and humbling.  The students we all have are the beneficiaries. Here's hoping that school and personal life find an acceptable balance.

First Post... Getting it together.

O.K. - So nothing really of note here yet.  Just getting this space set up so it is ready to go when I am.  Hope to see you here again soon.  :)