We have ACTUAL pumpkins!

 

Way back in September, we started our 2013 Pumpkin Project. (To quickly catch you up, we grew pumpkin vines in a pumpkin.  It's awesome.  Do it!  Get a big, ol' freebie here!)

The class checked on the regrowth progress while on the way to music last week.  We spotted THREE green pumpkins growing.  Cheers erupted around our little garden.

The watermelons are doing pretty well, too.  Several have little yellow flowers.

Thursday Pinspiration: Brownie Batter Dip & GoNoodle Brain Breaks

Alyssa of Just a Primary Girl hostesses another new, fun linky:

For our school Holiday Gathering, I made this fabulous Brownie Batter Dip.  I liken it more to Chocolate Cheesecake Dip, but still absolutely addicting!  I used the same dipper items in the picture, but if you read the comments on that blog post there are some good suggestions for additions/alternatives.

Photo courtesy of Stick a Fork in It

This would also be fantastic as a quick and easy pot luck dish for the summer.  No cooking, very little prep/clean up and it keeps in the fridge for a few days.  Make it.  You won't be sorry.


Do you GoNoodle?  If you don't, where have you been!?!  It is the best brain break, calm down, get moving website out there.  My students love, love, love Noodling.  Check out their blog for extra fun stuff the this end of the year activity for the kids.

Tuesday Timesavers: Printing 2 per page of the SAME page

Doing a quick link up with Kristin of My Carolina Classroom for

 

I was always jealous of the Mac people for being able to print two of the same page side by side.  I'm a paper saver and love to print two per page.  I was having to print one half size, remember how to reload the paper back into the printer correctly, then print the same sheet again.

By accident I discovered how to print two of the SAME page on one sheet of paper on a PC.

I hope that is big enough to see and understand.

First type in which page you want side by side, but use a comma and not a dash. (Yellow)

Then choose multiple. (Red)

Next choose 2 per page [or whatever number per page you want, just make sure to keep putting a comma then the page number.] (Blue)

Make sure it looks as expected. (Purple)

Then click print.

This has saved trees, forests, ink and my sanity!

Thursday Pinspration: Beachy Bliss

Today I'm linking up with Just a Primary Girl for some Thursday Pinspration.

First, our go to drink in Summer is a mojito.  Quick, refreshing and light.  This is the easiest recipe I have found. Drink with caution! They go down easily.

Next, a PowerUP Jax (crowd funding locally) project provided me the funds to purchase a bunch of math stuff. Under the Sea Shell is one of those. It is really engaging and easy to differentiate for student ability or the time of year. I recommend it if your looking for a fun way to practice word problems on a lot of levels.

Tuesday Timesaver ~ Color coding composition books

I'm linking up with Kristin of My Carolina Classroom for a Tuesday Timesaver.

Today's tip was shared with me during a really, really, REALLY long and boring training over the summer.  We use Interactive Notebooks, which I love, but with 867,462 things in the student desks, locating the correct notebook can take forever.  Each student color coded their notebooks to match the color codes I have for the subject area.

We used the edge of a crayon to color the edges of the paper on each composition notebook.  I gave them 1 minute to color each notebook and now they can easily spot which of the 5 journals in their desk is the correct one without having to pull out all of them (and everything else that's hiding in there...scary.)

What's your time saver tip?

Equivalent Equations, the SALE and a surprise!

Do your students need refreshers on equivalent equations?  Addition and subtraction math strategies?  Super fun math snails during centers? My fabulous firsties *really* need some review before our big end of the year test.

My students can complete all the addition equations, but have trouble applying different strategies.  I created Equivalent Equations to help the students practice doubles plus on strategies, making 10 to add and subtract and making 10 with three addends.

Print, laminate and cut on the gray lines.  Students match the right side of the equation.

Each activity has a cut and paste recording sheet for accountability and/or extra practice and/or homework.

And seriously, how super are those snails?  It was love at first sight.

Have you heard about the big Teacher Appreciation sale on TpT?  All my products will be 20% off May 6 and 7 to celebrate all our awesomeness!

Enter the promo cod TPTXO during checkout for extra savings.  My cart is bursting at the virtual seams!

Now for the surprise!  I meant to make this special freebie available last week, but I didn't do it correctly.  So I'm trying again.  As a thank you for following me and reading my incessant babbling adventures from 27, I want to share the printable book from Sir Oinks-a-lot.  I printed this back to back, stapled and sliced in two.  During small groups we read the story and highlighted oi and oy words.  I also have the students take it home and read it 3 times at home.  Thank you and enjoy!