Giveaway Winners Announced!

Congratulations!  Elizabeth J., Jill C., and Erika B., you are my winners!  Check your emails and let me know which 3 items you would like from my store!

Thanks for entering the Elementary School Garden giveaway!

Big News and Giveaway!

Just in time for the 5 for Friday link-up I can finally share my big news!  I'm PREGNANT!!!!

 

 

Yippee....happy dance!

 

I've been going crazy keeping it a secret for the last 3 1/2 months and am so excited to finally have shared the good news with my students and now with you!

 

My due date is:  November 11th, 2013!  However, I will probubaly have the baby a little earlier.  Rumor on the street is that they usually induce us diabetics if we get to the 38th or 39th week.  With this being my first child I am curious, nervous, and extremely excited to see how it goes.

 

In class, I revealed my secret message with a quick game of phone tag.  It was a great way to see each students face light up as they found out one by one.

Afterwards I passed out little bottle shaped goodie bags for each student containing candy and a little baby bracelet momento.

We shared some cookie cake and juice, had a few laughs, and ended the day with some outside recess.

And now...time to celebrate.  I'm giving away 3 items from my Teacher Pay Teacher store to 3 lucky teachers since I have finally made it past the 3rd month.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!  Link up with your 5 things from the week with Doodle Bugs Teaching!

Teacher Appreciation Sale and Super Special Secret

I must admit, I've been keeping a little secret from all of you.  A super special secret that I've been dying to tell all of you for weeks.  Tune in Friday when I finally let the cat out of the bag.  In celebration, I will also be hosting a little giveaway!

In the mean time, stop by the Teachers Pay Teachers site tomorrow and Wednesday.  In honor of how hard all of you teachers have worked this year Teachers Pay Teachers, and many great sellers, are offering up to 28% off their fabulous teaching products.

My store will be on sale as well!  You can check it out here.

Remember, stop back Friday!  Until then, happy shopping!

Storyline Online for Tried it Tuesday

This week, for Tried it Tuesday, I'd like to share with you a fabulous (and free) website:  Storyline Online.

This site is brought to you by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and showcases YouTube videos of famous actors reading popular children's books.

The site also includes activity guides to accompany each book with activities and information about the book and author.

 

If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet make sure you do!  Storyline Online is a wonderful site to use during reading center rotations, for small group or whole group instruction.


Check out what everyone else has tried on Holly's blog, Fourth Grade Flipper.

Vacation Memory Jars for Monday Made It

Over February break my husband and I, along with my in laws, traveled to St. Augustine, Cocoa Beach, and Universal Studios.  It was my first trip to Florida and I LOVED every minute of it.

I spent a little time over April break looking through our souvenirs from the trip and came across a cool idea to create a Vacation Memory Jar at Echoes of Laughter. 

I snagged a few glass containers and sand from the Dollar Tree and A.C. Moore.  I found cute little pictures frames and printed off a few pics from our trip.  I then filled the jars with sand, our picture frame, and shells that we had collected along the beach and/or purchased as souvenirs.

Next step, finishing up our scrapbook from the week.  Want more Monday Made It's?  Check out Tara's linky party at 4th Grade Frolics.

Tried it Tuesday - Fractions on a Number Line

Today I'm linking up with Holly from Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday.


We have just finished up our fractions unit (based on the Common Core Standards) and I have lots to share with you.

Today I wanted to share how we kicked off our unit on fractions.  We started with fractions on a number line (3rd grade standard:  3.NF.A.2).  Although I teach 4th grade, last year students didn't receive much exposure with fractions on a number line so I definitely wanted to start with bridging this gab. 

I passed out fraction cards to students and they created a human number line.  We organized the cards from least to greatest and talked about which fractions were equivalent.

My students loved the fraction pictures on each card.  It definitaly made the sorting process a lot easier and erased the common misconception that the larger the denominator the greater the fraction.

I made a little worksheet to go along with it for some independent practice.  Then students used a cute little board game to review the concept during math centers.

You can download my Fractions on a Number Line Pack in  my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Check out some of the other neat things teachers have tried for Tried it Tuesday!

Currently April

Yippee!  I couldn't be more excited that Spring has arrived and it is finally April.  Now, if only it would stop snowing. 

In honor of Spring I posted some new flower themed writing prompts.  Check them out here.

Check out everyone's currently at Oh' Boy 4th Grade!