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Saturday, April 30, 2011

Substitute Teacher #3



Happy Saturday, everyone!  Our third Spring Break Substitute Teacher is the awesome Julie, one half of the Dynamic Duo from Teacher 2 Mom!  Thanks so much, Julie for being here today!





Hi Everyone! This is Julie from teacher-2-mom! Kate and I are so excited to be posting on Frogs, Bees, & Under the Seas. We LOVE their amazing blog! I have already been telling all of my friends to check them out! So thank you ladies for giving us this GREAT opportunity!!

Today I'm going to be posting on movement and learning. I am a former first grade teacher turned stay at home mama of one adorable 16 month old. However during my teaching years I also taught dance. Since movement is so important (and necessary!) for a bunch of 6 year olds to do OFTEN throughout the day, many of my lessons had fun moves in them to help them learn.



 Every morning around 9:15 you could walk by my classroom and hear some funky songs playing. If you peeked your head in you'd see a classroom full of first graders all dancing their hearts out to a CHOREOGRAPHED dance that we practiced every day. Then you might also see their goofy teacher (aka me!) up at the front getting as much into the moves as them! Of course you don't have to choreograph your dance to counts of 8, however, I felt it really taught my students coordination and muscle memory. Also, it totally woke them up and got them ready to learn.

 We would learn one new 8 count a week to ensure we were always doing our "personal best" and so late or absent students could join in on the fun too. This was a TREAT for my students and so it made it easy to manage their EXCITEMENT when it was time to dance. At the end of the year at our Evening of Authors night, we would SURPRISE the parents by doing our dance. Let me tell ya, they would die when they saw it! The students would look awesome and they really new the dance and you could tell on each of their faces that they LOVED it too.

When teaching various phonics lessons such as the -oo sound found in soon, we would start at one end of the classroom and sing our -oos as loud (not too loud!) as we could in a sing song voice while dancing in a flowy way across to the other side of the room. This taught the students that your moves can be changed according to the song or the rhythm. It also helped them remember that sound when they were spelling and reading.


Another daily movement we did were squats and jumping jacks as we said aloud our math practice of counting to 100 and then counting by 2's then counting by 5's and then counting by 10's. Once again it got our minds working and we were sure learning in a FUN way.

You can easily include movement in whatever you are teaching. Whether it's the sound of a letter to your 4 year old or the water cycle to your 2nd graders, movement is a fun and motivating way to teach your children and/or students.



I DARE you to try it today. :) You just might find yourself having way too much fun then intended and I know that your children or students will love it.

 Happy Dancing!!






Friday, April 29, 2011

Substitute Teacher #2

Hi, ya'll!  Our second Spring Break Substitute Teacher is the sweet Sarah from First Grader at Last!  Many thanks, Sarah, for being here today!



Hi everyone!  It's me, Sarah {a.k.a. Mrs. Cooley}, from First Grader...at Last and I am so excited to be doing my very first guest blogging post ever at Frogs, Bees, and Under the Seas! 

You know how sometimes the best lessons you ever teach are usually the ones that are spur of the moment, and completely unplanned?  You just think, "Hmm....this could be fun?!" So you give it a try, and it is Awesome {with a capital A!}  Well, that is exactly how Elevator Math Magic was created in my classroom!  The inspiration started when I read Elevator Magic by Stuart J. Murphy:
I was just looking for a a literature tie-in to introduce subtraction!  In this book, a little boy rides an elevator to all these wild and crazy floors.  One floor has a bank that is also a farm.  One floor has a racetrack, and another is a hard-rock candy store!  The kids thought the floors were so funny!  Each time the little boy got on the elevator to go to a new floor, he had to figure out how many floors down he needed to go, and it shows how he uses subtraction to figure it out! 

The kids got more into this story than I expected, so *Bing!* I immediately thought that everyone should create their own floor, and we would make a GIANT building full of our own floors, and we could do our own elevator {math} magic!  First, everyone brainstormed a cool floor.  Some of our floors o' fun:

Maddox's Make Up Salon!  You can also find wigs here.

We also have Andrew's Piggy Ride Place and Griffin's Croc Swamp.

The first floor is Ryan's Monster Truck Track, and the second floor is Carson's Science Discovery Room! 

So, after the kids designed the floors, I glued them together with the hopes of hanging them from the ceiling...but it was WAY too long! Check this out {can't even fit it all in the picture}

We also made an elevator button panel, so we could press the buttons of the floors we want to visit: 

We used our building and elevator button panel to answer addition/subtraction word problems!  {Mrs. Frizzle went to Erin's Science Book Room.  She wanted to go to Carson's Discovery Room next.  How many floors down will Mrs. Frizzle travel?}  For some of the problems, the kids acted them out using the building as a giant number line, and for other problems, they all sat around the building and wrote number sentences on white boards.  The kids are still talking about "elevator math"--and a few of my "math rockstars" are begging me to put it in a center so they can make up their own problems.  {Um, absolutely!} 

Just a fun and unplanned idea that I wanted to share with all of you wonderful people!  Have a wonderful rest of the school year, summer is just around the corner! 

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Spring Break Substitute Teacher #1

Hey, friends!  So sorry we have been MIA this week!  All of us are on Spring Break and taking little trips all through the week.  But, never fear...we have lined up some AWESOME "Substitute Teachers" for our blog! :)


First, we have the gracious & gifted Gladys from Once Upon a Time in First Grade.  Thank you so much, Gladys, for being our first Substitute Teacher!  So, take it away, Gladys...



Hey y'all I'm Gladys from Once Upon a Time in First Grade...and I'm soooo happy to be here!

Don't you just LOVE the cute girls from Frogs, Bees and Under the Seas?!




I love their cute blog, their awesome ideas, and their terrific fashion sense! (Don't tell me you all haven't noticed how lovely they always look in their pics?! Because I know you have!)

So...when these lovely gals contacted me and asked if I would kindly write a guest post for them..(while they were away, enjoying their much deserved Spring Break). I jumped at the opportunity! I feel so excited to be guest posting on such a lovely blog!
 (Thank you, girls!)

So...not too long ago I introduced my firsties to Fact Families. I have been introducing Fact Families this way for a few years now...and my firsties love it! I usually begin by reading them a story about families...we discuss how family members feel about each other, how they take care of each other, and how they help each other. I then proceed to introduce these little characters...








These little people are my "fact family"...they were created to help my firsties understand the whole concept of Fact Families.


 I always introduce each character...as Daddy, Mommy, and Baby. Each of these characters have a number assigned to them (sticky notes with numbers written on them)...the biggest number goes to Daddy, the middle number to Mommy, and the smallest number to Baby. When the individual number sentences are created I always explain how in addition sentences the biggest number (that is "Daddy") always goes at the end of the equation and in subtraction sentences "Daddy" goes at the beginning of the equation. I also explain that families are protective of each other and they don't allow strangers to come live with them...so when my firsties are writing or solving their fact families they know that they can only use these 3 numbers..."strange" numbers are not allowed!


And let me tell y'all...they really get it! It's always fun to walk around when they are solving their fact family number sentences...and hear them talk about these cute characters...and how no "strangers" are allowed in their family! Ha! Hilarious!


Here are some more pictures of my little characters:

Daddy



Mommy




Baby




Aren't they cute?!


(okay...so maybe I'm a little biased because I drew them...ha!)






You can also find other fun fact family activities on Sarah's blog  First Grader...At Last! and on Lindsey's blog  The Teacher Wife. I really recommend you check them out...these ladies are superb!


Well thank you everyone for reading my little blurb on fact families...


I hope you enjoyed it!


Thank you Daphne, Heather, and Jennifer for having me as a guest blogger...it was lots of fun!


  I hope y'all will come and visit me at Once Upon a Time in First Grade soon...until then...


Toodles!


♥♥♥

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!

We wish you a very blessed Easter filled with fun, family, and the assurance that HE IS RISEN!!!

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Saturday, April 23, 2011

Shout Outs {Milk Cookies & Bedtime Stories Baby Shower}

My cousin is pregnant and I'm throwing her a shower mid July. She really wanted to start a library for her little one, so I thought it would be super cute to do Milk, Cookies, and Bedtime Stories theme. So, I've gone on a search out in blogland and I've found SO MANY cute ideas...and here are just a few. Thank you to all of you out there for all of your help while I'm compiling these ideas! Your ideas and comments are much appreciated as we start to plan for this wonderful event!


Over at Rapsody of Cacophony I found the cutest setup: Check it Out!


Photos Courtesy of Rhapsody of Cacophony


Loved looking at all of her ideas over there!! I've made LOTS of notes!! 

Photo Courtesy of 100 Percent Cottam

Found this over at 100 Percent Cottam


Found these over at Pass the Cereal
these are super cute ideas for favors! They've printed cute bedtime quotes on clear labels and slapped them on the front of these cute yellow striped bags and tied a star shaped cookie cutter to the bag. Inside is a star shaped cookie! Definitely on the list!

Found these favors over at Angel Face Designs
Can you believe they are CANDLES? CUTENESS!

I know these are not the only cute Milk, Cookies, and Bedtime Story ideas out there....so come on ladies---send them to me!! 

Time to go enjoy a safari for our beautiful little niece!! Hooray!
Enjoy this beautiful Saturday and 
HAPPY EASTER!


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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Theme Thursday {Toddlers With Pacifiers}

Ok, I know this is not actually a real teaching theme, but today's them is toddlers who are VERY attached to their pacifiers.  Mine (who is now 3) has been extremely attached to his since the day he was born.  I'm not sure how many of you saw my post yesterday on my MM&T Blog about the Paci Fairy, but if you missed it, here you go...

For the last few months, we have been trying to detach from the paci, and Noah would only want it during naps and bedtime.  However, he was VERY attached and would not listen to prompting from us to get rid of it.  


So, we told him about the Paci Fairy.  She comes at night (somewhat like the Tooth Fairy), and takes all the pacifiers.  She then delivers them to the newborn babies in the hospitals.  In return, she leaves a special toy for the "big boy/girl" as a thank-you!  


I had been planning on creating our own Paci Fairy for a while, and when I saw this post on This Blessed Nest, about a special Tooth Fairy Door, I knew we had to install our own.  I bought my dollhouse door at Hobby Lobby, painted it black to match our front door, and added white number stickers for our address.  Then, Daddy installed it in Noah's room right next to his bed.  This will forever be our Fairy Door and all the fairies use it (not just the Paci Fairy).  We left the key to the door out in a cute little egg cup also found at Hobby Lobby.


Then, Noah received a special letter from the Head Paci Fairy herself, Pacibella!  She wanted him to write a wish list for 3 things he may want to have in return for his pacifiers.  She would then choose one of those prizes to bring him on her journey to our house.

So, last night was THE night!  Noah decided that he could go to sleep without his paci, and then in the middle of the night, Pacibella came!  As promised, she left Noah a Thomas the Train set and a magic heart.  We're going this week to Build-a-Bear to make a new Fuzzy Buddy.  Noah will get to put his magic heart inside the Fuzzy Buddy to help him fall asleep easily!  She also left lots of pink fairy dust behind!  Mommy doesn't like messes, but she decided that the pink and sparkly messes are the best kind! :)



So, do you have a toddler, who needs to get rid of the paci?  Well, I decided to offer  a DIY printable Paci Fairy Kit in my shop.  You get a personalized kit with the choice of 7 different fairies and 5 different patterns to invite your own Paci Fairy into your home!  


This DIY Printable Kit is $8.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Spring Time Joys {What I Love Wednesdays}

Flip Flops!! Take a look at these I've got my eye on at Old Navy--



COMFORTABLE Shoes-
Kadee Crocs 
and I'm LOVING the color---hum..I think I see a pattern here...

Sensual Shimmer Body Spray
Sweet Pea- I love to sparkle! :)

PEDICURES....enough said. 

Love me some Army Wives---


NAPS--I think our county is still the only county in the U.S.A. that STILL has not yet taken spring break therefore I am LOVING .....NAPS!
I actually think you may find me doing this at anytime throughout the day-

T-Shirts---just ordered this t-shirt and cannot wait to wear it. 
Click the picture for the link to purchase.

FAITH-- I'm loving that after over a year of praying...my husband has finally started the job of his dreams. It is so fantastic to finally see him come home with a smile on his face. It is such a blessing! We did not give up praying and we kept the faith!! God is good...He is good ALL the time! :)


This weather here has been FANTASTIC! I Love to grill out and get together with our friends. This is the perfect season to do that. The best part is....the clean up is SIMPLE!!  

Running- So, I'm training for my 1st 5k. My husband is my trainer...and I'm not really "loving" it, but I'm enjoying spending that extra time with him and I am loving the way my legs and booty are beginning to look. I had no idea there was supposed to be a difference! Ha! Love it....AND the hubs said if I keep up with it for at least 4 weeks he will buy me ANY pair of running shoes I want and so next week... HE IS IN FOR IT! I've got my eyes on these and they are in the 3 digits!! HA. 



Enjoy my friends!! I am off to take a nap!! 
Oh yes....I am! 

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Monday, April 18, 2011

Management Monday {Transitions}

I remember that in the classroom, transition time was the hardest to keep the kiddos focused and on task.  Times such as moving from the carpet to their seats, lining up at the door, and cleaning up centers was the time I had most of my behavior problems.  So, to ease transition time, there are lots of fun things you can try.


Last week, our Queen Bee wrote about timers.  That's one awesome way to help kids move smoothly between activities.  If you need some ideas for cute ones, This Next has some great options.
Another transition tool you can try is wind chimes.  I kept some metal ones with butterflies in my classroom used them often to signal the end of activities.  They were too high for my little ones to reach, so I was the only one that could ring them.  I found some great ones to show you if you want some for your room!

a classic wind chime from Bela Donna etsy shop (you get to choose the color)


cute schoolhouse wind chime from Teacher Gifts


beautiful shell chimes from Celery Street (perfect for an ocean-themed classroom)
My all-time favorite transition tool to use in the classroom is music!  My class name was always Mrs. Jackson's Jitterbugs.  So, I created a playlist on my ipod called, "Jitterbuggin'."  Then, I chose one of those songs to play as the kids went back to their seats, or any other transition time.  For example, I would play the song from "Pirates of the Carribean," and ask the kids to act like pirates as they walked back to their seats.  They LOVED it and it significantly cut down on behavior problems!  So, I put together a playlist for you today.  For each of these songs, you could do these movements for transitions or brain breaks...


Get a playlist! Standalone player Get Ringtones


  1. "Car Wash": pretend to wash cars  
  2. "Move It Like This": free dance
  3. "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me)": act like pirates
  4. "Cupid Shuffle": line dance 
  5. "Fly to Your Heart": pretend to be fairies and fly
  6. "Life is a Highway": pretend to drive cars
Try out these songs with your students and see what happens!  The possibilities are endless for song choices!  So, I hope you've enjoyed these ideas for transitions today.  What do you do for transitions in your classroom...please share!  
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