100th Day of School

Today was the 93rd day of school for me, time is flyin! I started thinking about the 100th day of school as soon as we hit day 80 because I usually assign some kind of home project. In the past I've assigned a 100 collection and design. Students had to find and count 100 of the same item, then glue it on a poster board in the shape of the number 100. I must admit, my fav project ever was 100 googly eyes.
Last year, we also wrote a personal narrative titled "When I am 100" and created self portraits. This year, I decided to kick it up a notch! I'm having all my kiddos come to school dressed as 100 year olds!!! To say the least, we're going to make our writing come alive and have a bit of fun along the way. I guess I need to go buy some white or gray hairspray fast. I've already managed to get a hold of a cane. Pics will be posted soon! In the meantime, here's a copy of the letter I sent home with my students at the beginning of this week explaining the project.

Below are pics of a fun writing activity I do on the 100th day of school. A retired teacher who swore off computers made this. I'll eventually re-do this on a computer so it looks prettier. Enjoy!

Penguins Galore!

For the second half of my winter unit, I always spend a week on penguins! This unit tends to be one that is very popular and very memorable for my students.  After an introduction to penguins, I spend 3 days focusing on the following 3 penguins: Emperor, Rockhopper, and Adelie. Other penguins worth mentioning are the: Fairy penguin and Macaroni penguin. Check out some of my fav penguin activities below!

Rockhopper Penguin Masks!

Always a favorite craftivity!!!

Click here to get a copy of the Rockhopper Mask

We love to watch this rockhopper penguins video clip !

Personal Narrative Writing-If I had a pet penguin...

(The penguin template is from Mailbox! It includes lines so that students can write right on the penguin).

Main idea & detail posters: After reading nonfiction selections on each of the penguins mentioned above, students help me complete a main idea and detail chart. WOOHOO for cross-curricular activities! Pics to come soon!

Word Work: Every year I have my students write the word "penguins" in large letters on a piece of white construction paper. We cut each letter out and use the letter tiles to see how many words we can make from the word "penguins." 

Okay, Dance Moms is on now, and I'm addicted to this show! Hope my ideas have give you some inspiration for the week. :)

New Signature!

So, I'm super excited to admit that I just made my very OWN blog signature! Woohoo!!! I'm sure you're thinking I'm beyond silly and overly happy at this accomplishment. But hey, it's the little steps that count right??? Anyways, I made my signature for FREE by following the directions below. Enjoy!

Free signature maker

Froggy Freebie

So I have one more full day off, and then it's back to school. To celebrate and teach New Year's after a read aloud, I'm going to try this little craft. I found this on Pinterest, but can't trace it back to the original owner/creater. I would love to give credit where credit is due, so if this is yours, PUHlease lemme know:) 

After New Years, for Content (Social Studies, Science time), I'll be teaching Winter which, includes everything from snowflakes, snowmen, and snowplows to penguins! On the first day of my Winter Unit I read Froggy Gets Dressed. It's a super silly book, but it really gets the students into discussing winter apparel, activities, etc. It's also a great time to make a KWL. Below is a cute packet I made to go along with Froggy this year. Included is a rhyming activity, summary worksheet, story starter, and magnetic/felt board pieces that can be created with a few simple materials. Hope you enjoy and Happy New Year!!!!!!

Froggy Gets Dressed