Monday, November 25, 2013

Thanksgiving Tidbits!


What a busy week as we prepared for our Thanksgiving Feast!
Here are some of the books we read last week.


We compared and contrasted Pilgrim and Indian kids long ago to children today with a Venn diagram. We included clothing they wore, chores, and games they played. Students made Pilgrim and Indian hats for the Feast of course.

The kids learned a Thanksgiving Reader's Theater that they performed for their parents and then they danced to the Turkey Tango.  It was a big hit!

Here are pictures of the Thanksgiving place mats we made. They turned out so cute!  Thank goodness for my room mom! She had all the pieces cut out and in baggies.  That made it so much easier for the kids to glue and put together since we have so little time in our day for crafts.




Science Word Wall

Wow! I am so excited! I finally finished my Science Word Wall pack for this year!  Thank goodness for the Thanksgiving break!  Just click on the picture below to go to my TPT store to get your copy! 


http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Science-Word-Wall-Words-994426

Monday, August 12, 2013

First Day of School Tips!

 
 
After 12 years of teaching, These are the three most important tips I can give you for the First Day of School! I know, I know, where is teach procedures?  Of course you will teach procedures, but chances are if you try to put too much information into one day, the kids will be on information overload and forget half of what you taught them.  Just teach the procedures as you go, naturally.

Number 1 - How do your students get home???

So many times, students will go home one way on the first day of school and then they will go home another way on the 2nd day.  So confusing, right???  So on the first day of school, when parents bring their child to my class, I have a clipboard with a signature sheet for the parents to sign with their child's transportation for that day. (They give you this information at meet the teacher night, but sometimes it changes or they give you wrong information) It never hurts to double check. This saves me a lot of phone calls during my planning time.  If you get them home the right way, your day was a success!

Number 2 - Play dough

I always have play dough on the desks for the students to play with when they walk through the door that first day.  It helps make for an easier transition for the students that do not want to come to school.  It also keeps them busy while you are talking to parents and collecting school supplies.

Number 3 - Have Fun!

Make sure you have some fun with your students!  You want their first day to be fun so that they will want to come back tomorrow.  I want my students to love coming to school to learn new things.  Keep them coming back for more!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Monday Made It - Last One Before School Starts

Here is my first week of "Monday Made It"  I am so excited that I have a couple of things to share!! I'm glad I didn't miss it!

Project #1

I just made my birthday silly straw toppers!  You can get them from my TPT store for FREE!  It's easy, just print, cut and tape to the front of a silly straw!  See my previous post (here) for a picture of what they look like all put together.

Project #2

I am also super excited about making "Mr. Check In" book buddies.  Love this idea from Lyndsey Kuster, (A Year of Many First.) Got these from her Daily 5 freebie!  Just print on colored cardstock and ready to go!! I can't wait for my firsties to use them!
 
 
That's all I have for now! So much more to do!  
 



 


Friday, August 9, 2013

Five for Friday {Linky Party}

I've already started working in my classroom!  Getting ready for the 1st day of School!  Teachers go back to work on the 19th! Where did the summer go???
I am linking up with Doodle Bugs for the first time!  Here is my bit of randomness with "Five for Friday!"


fiveforfriday2

 1. Word Wall 

I created my word wall yesterday.  I thought that this year I will try something new.  I will have the letters just go across the whole bulletin board.  I am thinking it will be easier for the students to locate the words they are looking for.  (Of course, I asked my own children what they thought and they said they liked it better than the 3 rows I usually make.) Hope this works!


 
 

2. Pencils

Love my pencil cans.  I got the cans from the Target dollar spot and painted the words and dots with black acrylic paint.  This will work GREAT!  Love how it looks with the Dots on Turquoise border.

 
  

3. New Playroom 

     We just added on to our house and it is finally finished!!!  I just love this canvas I found at Marshalls for the kids new playroom!  Just hope they follow the rules! :)


 
 

4.  Love These Boys!

Loved all the fun we had while my nephew was visiting from Colorado!  He left on Monday with a scary flight home.  The plane broke and he had to wait 3 hours in the plane on the tarmac before going home.  Thankful he is home safe.  Miss you lots, Brandon!

 
 

5.  Making Lesson Plans

I added pages to my What is a Scientist? packet.  It now includes:
*3 days of lesson ideas
*What is a Scientist?
*What is Science? 
*My Science Journal page
Click on the picture below and get this FREE download from my TPT store.



 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Back to School (Volunteers)

  
I Love Volunteers!
Last year I had the best volunteers a teacher could ask for!  I made this packet to help organize the parents that volunteer to help. I will definitely use the Volunteer Data Sheet this year so that I know who can volunteer and when. I can look at this at a glance and I will not have to look through all of the Information sheets each time I am looking for a volunteer.
 
 Click on the picture below to get a copy from TPT. 

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Advice For New Teachers (Linky Party)

WOW! How time flies! School is almost here. Only 26 days left until teachers go back to school! I hardly feel ready!  I will be moving to a different room this year.  Needless to say, all my stuff is in the storage closet waiting to be pulled out and organized. :)   When I left, there was nothing in my room, no desks, shelves etc...  Working with a clean slate.  I will take pictures when I go back next week to work in my room.




 
Today I am linking up with Flying into First Grade with advice for new teachers!  I love working with new teachers and sharing everything I have learned along the way! I have had many awesome student teachers who I got to watch grow into great professionals and become good friends.
 
 
 
 
Buy - A calendar or organizer.  You will need this to keep track of all the team meetings, staff meetings, RTI meetings, ARD meetings, ESL meetings,  holiday parties, special events, parent conferences, staff developments, testing days, report cards days, and of course, school holidays. 
 
Always - Reflect.  Some days will be awesome and some days you might just think, what just happened here?  Reflect on the lessons you teach and how you can make them better.  There is always room to grow!  Also think about those students that are struggling, what did you do to help them feel successful?  What about the students that aren't struggling? Did they learn something new today? How did you challenge them? What about that student you can't get to sit still to do anything? Don't be afraid to ask yourself these questions.  It will make you a better teacher.
 
Never - Give Up!  This is a big one!  Your first year will be full of trials and tribulations.  You never know if you are sinking or swimming.  At the beginning you will feel overwhelmed.  Toward the middle of the year, you will think, I got this!  At the end of the year, you will feel overwhelmed again.  It is a rollercoaster ride.
 
Find- A good blog.  Or maybe several good blogs.  This is a great way to get ideas to use in your classroom. The more creative you are with your lessons and activities, the more engaged your students will be and the more they will learn. There are also great ideas to use for Classroom Management. This could make your life much easier!  I don't know what I ever did without all the blogs that I follow.  When I started teaching, we did not have blogs, pinterest, and teachers pay teachers.  It is Awesome!
 
Make - Friends.  Become close friends with your team or someone on your team.  Find someone who has taught your grade level before and is willing to share ideas.  Go to others and ask questions, look at their rooms, get ideas.  Also make friends with the custodian, and librarian.  They are important people in the school. It's a lot more fun when you have people around you that you enjoy being around and can share ideas together.  It is always great to have help when you need it. 
  
Be - Flexible.  You never know when your schedule will change. You might have an author visit, special music program, award ceremony, fire drill, a student might throw up in the classroom.  Whether it is something that is planned the week before or unexpected, your schedule is not always the same every day.  You need to be able to change your schedule around at a moments notice.
 
Do you have advice for new teachers?  Link up and tell us.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Back to School Giveaway


Who loves giveaways?  I do!  Found this giveaway from Teacher Created Resources. They are giving away a free I-Pad!  Just click on the picture below to enter to win!

Monday, July 15, 2013

The Daily 5 and Listen to Reading

Here are some GREAT websites to use during Listen to Reading time on the computer!  Students love this!  I love this because the text is highlighted as the story is read aloud!  This is great for fluency, book and print awareness, ESL students, or struggling students.  I put these on my favorites and the students choose the book they want to listen to and read.

Just click on each picture and it takes to you the link.  Try them out! They are all FREE!
                
                   


Friday, July 12, 2013


Hey ya'll, here is my first Linky!  I love, love, love Pinterest (who doesn't ?) and spend lots of time pinning my favorite things.  Thought I would start sharing!

Enjoy looking through my Pins!  Just click on the picture to go to the website the Pin came from.

Here is a writing folder insert thanks to Fabulous in First.  I used this last year and the kids loved it.  Great for those kiddos that need a little extra help.

writing folder
 
 
 
Loved this idea from Wicked Fun in First Grade for my reading area.  You need lots of books available to the kids when doing The Daily 5.
 
Wicked Fun in First Grade  How to use Reading A-Z boooks in your classroom library.  After you fold the pages and cut the laminating, (only laminate the cover) you staple the books together.  Then,Duct tape!!! Different colored tape for different levels!  Genius.


This birthday treat idea from ThinkShareTeach was a hit with my firsties last year!


Give crazy straws to students as birthday presents! More fun than receiving another pencil and better than giving away candy!
 
 
And of course, my new favorite dinner idea.  I know this is random, but I just can't leave out good food!  OMG Taco Bake. So Yummy!
 
 

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

All About Science

Here is a sneak peek of what I will be teaching in science for the first few weeks of school.  Well hopefully. It is always hard to get a little science in with all the rules and routines that have to be taught.  But how much fun is Science? I LOVE IT!

Check it out!
Here are two books that are great to use when introducing Science to 1st graders!

         Product Details  
 
 
    




I use the pages below as a journal entry.  We just glue them right into our brand new journals.   I posted two different ones to give you an option for differentiation.          
 
      Click on the image above to get FREEBIE!
 

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Bulletin Boards

I just wanted to share some AMAZING bulletin boards that one of the WONDERFUL volunteers from my class put together!
This is for Fall
 

 
Gobble, Gobble, don't Wobble, "the Healthy way to be!" On each feather was something healthy.
This was also my drug free door.
It matched the bulletin board in the hallway.
 
The banner says, Mrs. Ackley's Pumpkins. Each pumpkin has a picture of the students in my class.
 
 
 
This bulletin board is for Spring!
 
 
I LOVED this Spring bulletin board. It brought a smile to my face every day!
 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Reading Restaurant

Ackley's Texas Star Cafe
Here's a look at my classroom decorated for Reading Restaurant. 
 
 
 
 


 
red table cloths- dollar store
sunflowers- hobby lobby
foam stars hanging from the ceiling - hobby lobby
tin cans - target dollar spot
brown cardstock for the menu - Michaels
red and white checker border paper for poem - hobby lobby (sorry no picture)
 
To prepare for Reading Restaurant, students made a placemat from brown construction paper and red white and blue precut construction paper for a  Texas Flag. Next to the Texas Flag is the Texas Pledge. Students decorated the edges by drawing bob wire around the edge.
Next, they made a bluebonnet card. On the outside, they used blue fingerprints to make bluebonnets and on the inside they wrote a thank you note to their parents for coming.
The poem, When Tillie Ate the Chili, was printed on the red and white checker bordered paper.
Students also wrote their own Gingerbread Cowboy Tall Tale story. 
I made copies of Reading A-Z cowboy books on each students reading level.
Last, students created a Texas Facts Book.
All these things were on the table for them to read and share with their parents. It was a huge success!
 
 

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