Holiday Count Down!

Each year, my school has a transition afternoon where all the kids go and spend the afternoon in the class of next their next year teacher. 

 

Last year, my kids came up and I had balloons hanging from the ceiling. They asked me what they were for. I explained my class was counting down the 12 days to the Summer holidays by popping a balloon each day. Inside each balloon was a slip of paper that told the kids a special treat they were having the next day (boy, were those kids excited to come to school those last 2 weeks!). Anyway, those balloons have been mentioned a number of times this year, most recently today! I had totally forgotten that I was going to do it again! Just in a nick of time too, because tomorrow is the 12th day to our holidays!

 

Here's the freebie I posted last year in case you are wanting to use it. Just click on the pic.

 

NOTE: 3 days to go. The 'special surprise' is a big, long bubble wand that I get from Big W for $1 each. Day 3 is also our 'party day' when I give out presents to the kids (since most don't come to school during the last 2 days of school for clean up) so the bubble wand forms part of their present. I also give them a new book or two each, pencils, bookmarks and a 2012 calendar that has a poem and pictures of our year together on it (printed and laminated).

Quickie

Another quickie post today. Here's a freebie from my Cooking Up Gingerbread Fun pack. Click the pic to grab it from google drive.

I didn't get many pics of my kids doing these activities last week but here's a few I managed between running records: 

It's funny how adding some baking trays to the above adjective/adverb sort activity instantly made it the favourite for the week!

I hope to be back soon to show you some awesome buys I made during the TpT sales!

Freebie Reindeer Fact Families

A little while ago, I mentioned that I buy a lot of my books from Scholastic Warehouse Sales. Well, the last one for the year is on this week or next week depending on where you live. You can find the brochure detailing where the events are being held here.

I've also got another freebie for you. This one is Reindeer Fact Families. 

TpT and TN

Freebie - Number Sequence Elves

I'm gearing up for the last 15, YES 15, days left of the school year! Where has the year gone?? I don't know about you, but the first half really dragged on for me but the second half has just shot by!

I want to keep my kidlets working hard though... I find this keeps their behaviour under check. So I'm making up some math activities to review some things we've learned this year. We actually did my Gingerbread Man Activities last week, but I didn't really take any photos because while they were quietly (and they sure were!) working, I was pulling kids to do some final running records (arrghh, the bane of my existence!). 

Anyway, since I love you all I'll give you a new math centre each day this week. 

 TpT and TN

And don't forget the sales going on at Teachers Notebook and TpT, both my stores are 20% off at the moment. Teachers Notebook will automatically deduct another 10% from your order total - that sale is on NOW! The TpT sale starts Monday (U.S. time) and you can use the code CMT12 at checkout to also get an additional 10% off the reduce price of all items.

I sure do love comments so please leave one if you're feeling the love!

(and yes, for those who've asked me before, I did spell 'behavior' with a /u/ and 'center' with an /re/ but that's how we spell it here in Australia!).

Change of Grade Level

I was told on Friday what grade I'll be teaching next year and boy and I am terrified! I woke up last night in the middle of the night just thinking of how **hard** it's going to be and whether or not I'll be any good for the kids. 

I was also thinking of the teeny, tiny classrooms the grade level is in and the weirdness of them! I guess you've never heard classrooms called 'weird' before but they really are! One wall is on a diagonal in all the rooms, there is a little 1m x 1.5m little hallway type thing at the front of the room (what to put in that????). There is only one small bulletin board and NO wall space! 2 walls are glass sliding doors and windows from almost the roof to floor, one has the interactive whiteboard/1 small whiteboard/and the little hallway and the last side has one of those opening/closing concertina doors (that doesn't close all the way mind you so I'll be able to hear the noise of the class next door and vice versa). There is an office for the teacher - but that is a box that comes into the classroom space  and you guessed it, has glass windows from the top to halfway to the floor for the teacher to see out. We do have a kitchen to share between the two classes and a storage room! Yippee, I'm very excited about that! I haven't had one since my first year teaching. 

I know some of my Aussie friends are probably thinking it doesn't sound too bad. I remember some of the older classrooms I was in during my uni pracs and none of them had kitchens or storerooms. I guess because our school is new (only about 6 or so years old now) I've been a little spoiled! But the thought of setting up this weird shaped classroom is daunting! It's also much smaller than my demountable (portable) so I'm not sure if my things will even fit in when desks take up pretty much all the space!

Oh, by the way, I'm going to First! Term 1 of Grade 2 is always soooo very hard for me but continues to get better as the year progresses and as the kids mature a bit. The thought of those kids being a year younger is making me have palpitations! We have a step-up day in a few weeks (so the preps/kinders) will come up to their Grade 1 teacher. I guess I'll see what I'm in for then!

I'm on the lookout for Grade 1 blogs and great TpT products so I can start to get ready over our Summer holidays. Any suggestions (your own or ones you have used)? 

Cooking Up Gingerbread Fun!

Today I just have a quick post to let you know I have posted a new 140 page pack called Cooking Up Gingerbread Fun! It has 20 reading, writing, literacy and math activities and centers. 

The good thing about it is that it doesn't include 'Christmas-y' type things (trees, decorations, presents, Santa etc) so could be used if you are not allowed Christmas themed activities at your school.

 

 

 

 

The above pics are from the preview which you can check out on TpT . It's 20% off at the moment. Now I'm back to reports.