Friday, March 6, 2015

Seuss-tastical Week!

Just like many classrooms across America this week, we had a 'Seuss'-tastical week of fun!
Despite a delayed opening and closing due to snow, we still managed to fit in all the fun I had planned!
We started the week reading Green Eggs and Ham and talked about rhyming words!
Instead of traditional 'green eggs' we had a tastier version...

A few years ago I had a child with a severe egg allergy.  I had to come up with an alternate way to make green EGGS and ham...and this idea was 'born!'  The kids loved them so much, and there were no 'eggs' in the garbage, that I decided to make this my yearly project!

Simply purchase white melting chocolate.  I used green powder food coloring to dye some green, but you can also purchase green melting chocolate and can use one of those 'discs' as the yolk instead of going through the dying/forming/drying process!


I melted white and mixed in the green powder until I got it to the exact shade I wanted.  I then put it into a ziploc bag, sealed the top and cut the tip off the bag.  I squeezed the 'yolk shape' chocolate onto wax paper and let it harden.


Once hardened, I removed (peeled) them from the wax paper and then melted white chocolate.  I put it in a ziploc too and squeezed out 'egg shapes' onto wax paper.  I placed a green 'yolk' onto each 'egg' and let them harden.


Once all hardened, I peeled the eggs from the wax paper and 'plated them up!'  I let the Cat in the Hat take the credit!

There were a hit!

Thanks to First Grade Blue Skies and her post about directed drawings, we were able to make these ADORABLE Cat in the Hat drawings!

I L-O-V-E how each one is so different and unique!!!

Our sight word last week was 'he' and this week 'has' so it made for a perfect opportunity to add some descriptive writing to our masterpieces!
Each child wrote about something the cat had!

In math & ELA we worked with SO many of Mrs. Payton's Silly Cat Centers 
BUT I didn't get any pictures! UGH!
Seriously these centers were adorable...and awesome!
Be sure to check them out!

PLUS she has a fish addition one for FREE!!!

We also used rainbow goldfish in math

It was similar to what the silly fish center wanted them to do, so this whole group hands-on practice helped them become more independent learners in centers!
Each kid had 10 fish in their bag- 5 of 2 different colors.  I said, or wrote, addition problems and they used the fish to figure out the answers.  
On the bottom they created their own problem- drawing the picture and filling in the joining and addition sentences.

And this leaves us to the 'finale' of the week...
OOBLECK!!

I have tried a few different versions but this one is seriously the best!  It bounces, stretches, makes imprints, changes temperatures and is a total 'WOW' as it transforms!
It doesn't make the mess that the cornstarch version does and its 'play time' is much longer!

So how do you make it?
EASY!
It only takes 4 ingredients!
I found and printed the recipe in 2003 (eeek!) and the site that hosted it doesn't exist anymore.  
It calls for:
1/4c white glue
1/4c water
few drops of green food coloring
2c warm water
2T. borax soap

You mix the water/glue/food coloring in one bowl.
In another bowl you dissolve the borax in the warm water.
You add 1/4c of the borax mix to the glue mix.
The oobleck will immediately form.  Pour off any excess water and begin to have fun!

Unfortunately this is not enough for a whole class, so this is my calculations for a class size bowl (for 20 kids):
2c glue
2c water
food coloring
16c. warm water
16T. borax
(Do the same as above BUT mix 2-3c of the borax mix into the glue mix to make it form- and then pour off the excess water).

This is right after it 'formed'!  You can just scoop it right out! 

This one got the most 'EEEEEWWWW's' and "COOOOOOL"'s!!!
(See that excess water- that is what we poured out and then I pulled pieces off the big 'blog' to give each kid his/her share.)

They loved watching it stretch down off the table! 
and it even made cool imprints of our crayon boxes!
We rolled the blobs into balls before we left to go to music and when we came back they were flat and cold!

They even managed to get it to stretch from above someone's head to the ground- and if our arms had been longer, I think it would've gone further!  No breaks or tears either! 
In addition we read many of Dr. Seuss' books and even read our own 'rhyming books' from this pack:

The kids loved that they could read these books all on their own!!

Due to snow I didn't get the bookmarks prepped this year, but you can download them for free and I hope to be able to give a set out next year!

Hope your week was just as exciting!
Don't forget to stop by my blog for the 5000 Followers Extravaganza!
Tomorrow (Saturday 3/7) is the last day to enter the giveaways and download the freebie!

You will also find a bunch of $1, $2 and $3 deals!

I will have this pack for $1: 

This one for $2:

And this one for $3: 

AND many of the TPT authors that have contributed to the giveaway are joining in on the $1-$3 deals!

And for those of you living in Eastern Standard Time, don't forget this weekend we 'Spring Ahead!'  We lose an hour (BOO) but more time to play when we get home now!

Until next post,
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Monday, March 2, 2015

5000 Followers Extravaganza!!!!

I cannot believe I am typing this...
On Sunday evening I hit 5,000 Followers on Teachers Pay Teachers!

When I started my TpT journey back in September of 2012, I never could have imagined this!!!
I had a HUGE 'party' for 1,000 followers but have slacked since...but 5,000 definitely calls for a celebration!!!

Please come celebrate with me!!
There is surely something in it for everyone!

I have a BRAND NEW product up for FREE for a week (3/2-midnight 3/8)!
Working on seasons?  Question and Answer Books?  Reading Fluency and/or Comprehension?  Then you will WANT to download this freebie!
It comes with a full-page class book and an independent student reader!
Remember- it is only free for ONE WEEK- and as always- feedback is greatly appreciated!

I have 4 amazing giveaway of products and 'shopping sprees' donated by some of my favorite TpT Teacher Authors, colleagues and friends!  
Each giveaway is valued at over $100!  



Entry will run through 11:59pm EST on Saturday 3/7!

You can enter for all 4!


In addition, I have another giveaway for a gift certificate of your choice!!! Everyone loves gift certificates- and everyone needs something different- maybe its something for you, your classroom, your home or a caffeine charge!  You can choose Amazon, Target, TpT, Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts if you win!

But that's not all!
Each day I will have a 'deal' that is good for 24 hours!

Day 1- Tuesday 3/3:
Discounted Bundles include:

Day 2- Wednesday 3/4:
These sets of lifecycle crowns will be reduced to $1 all day!

Day 3- Thursday 3/5: 
Purchase anything in my TPT Store and then receive something of equal or lesser value for FREE!
Simply send me a message via my Facebook page with your TPT username, product you purchased and the name/URL of the product you want for free!  Purchase must be made on Day 3 and request for free product must be made within 24 hours of purchase.

Day 4- Friday 3/6: 
I am so LUCKY to have such great followers...and you luck out too!  All my St. Patrick's Day products will be 20% off for the day!  Find them all via this link!

Day 5- Saturday 3/7: 
I am discounting 3 items for the day!  One will be $1, one will be $2 and one will be $3!

The $1 item is:

The $2 item is:

The $3 item is:


Winners of the giveaways will be announced on Sunday!

Below is a list of all the stores and products being offered in the giveaways!  You can window shop now and add things to your wishlist in case you win the giveaways and/or gift certificate!

I am so honored to have all of these fabulous stores and products as part of my extravaganza:


If you already a follower- THANK YOU for your support and loyalty!
If you are just stumbling upon me now, I'd love to have you come along for the ride!

From the bottom of my humbled heart...THANK YOU!
Until next post,
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