Happy Friday! Math, math, math...

Hello, friends!  Happy Friday...I hope you all had a great week.  And it's been quite a week at that!  Our first month of summer vacation is coming to a close here, and my colleagues and I spent it in Math Workshop...my brain is overflowing with LOTS of new information!

We were informed this week that our state (NY) is continuing to grow with the Common Core standards by utilizing modules.  Now, we've already had them in place for our ELA standards, and this year, we're receiving a new curriculum for math called The Story of Units.  Something about getting new curriculum makes me giddy inside, hehe...or is it just me?!  I'm SURE I'll be posting a TON more about all this new curriculum has for us...but in the meantime, I wanted to share my amazing finds for the week!

I started scoping out the stores weeks ago for some awesome back-to-school supplies.  And now, it's shopping time!  And where else would a teacher start?!  TARGET DOLLAR BINS!!  Check out the neat-o things I scored for only $1-$3:

I got these bad boy Math Bingo games for only $1...ONE DOLLAR!!!!  I grabbed 5 of them (let's be honest, I tried to leave some for the rest of ya'll).  The best part is they can be used to practice all 4 math functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).

Next, these Presidential flash cards are NOT math related (obvi, hehe), but I'm going to be putting them in my Brain Boxes (more on those, later!).  And again, these were only $1!!

I'm already BURSTING with ideas on the task cards I can make to go with these.  These were a little more pricey at $3 a package (still...I'll take it!) and I like having smaller, more personal sets for the kiddos.

Lastly, again, NOT math related, but these $1 mini dictionaries and thesauruses are going to be perfect for my Writing Center, and for all of the Word Activities I have planned for this year!

So, there ya have it...my shopping confessional for the week!  I'm sure there's much more to come over the next few weeks, but I have to pace myself :)

Happy Friday!

{TPT Products} Writing Topic Grids SCHOOL YEAR Bundle!!

Hi sweet readers!  I just put up my first post after a little hiatus, and couldn't help but jump right into another post :)  I've been working super hard on my new TPT product...a labor of love.  So without further adieu...drum roll please....

...introducing my Writing Topic Grid SCHOOL YEAR BUNDLE, yippee!  If you've read my other posts, you know that I use these grids in my classroom to give my kiddos their writing topics.  I had found that giving the whole class the exact same writing topic was stifling their creativity.  I am a HUGE believer in the power of *choice* to spur students on in their learning and success.  You can read more about the grids in my classroom here.

I was spending a bit of time redesigning them, and am so happy to say the ENTIRE redesigned school year bundle is now available at a 20% discount rate in my store!  If you'd like to try it first in your room and see how your kiddos take to it, you can grab a sample FREEBIE!  

As always, I'd love love love to hear your comments and feedback.  Have a great night!

I'm BAAACK!

courtesy of Scrappin' Doodles

Hello, hello, hello!  I cannot tell you how SUPER excited I am to be sitting down at my computer right now and writing my first blog post after a bit of a hiatus...oh, how I've missed blogging :)

I had to take a bit of a break for several reasons, and also to enjoy a little bit of the start of the summer, but regardless, I've been busy working this past week on new products, new ideas, and a schedule to keep me blogging and connecting with all of you sweet bloggies (hmmm, maybe my new term?  Obviously, this refers to you sweet readers and followers, hehe).

I'll be posting a BRAND NEW POST for a new product in just a moment.  It was a complete labor of love and I can't wait to share it with you :)  Hope you're all having a great summer, and can't wait to catch up on all of your sweet blogs.

{Currently} Happy May!

Hey all!  It's SUCH a beautiful Sunday, and I'm about to go enjoy it, but not before I link up with Farley for this month's "Currently":

Have a great day, all!

Writing Topic Grid Sheets

Happy Friday, all!  First off, I can't believe I can finally say this, but we are DONE with state testing...woo hoo!  The kiddos have been such troopers, and I have to admit, even I'm glad to be putting my feet up :)

In any case, this is the time of year that I start my *tweaking* for next year.  Crazy?  Maybe, but I always feel like if I start now, all of the things that worked well or need fixing are fresh in my head!  One thing I've used this year that I've LOVED (read: will be using next year) are my Writing Topic Grid Sheets.

Like so many of you, I'm a big believer in daily writing.  But I was finding that assigning a daily writing journal prompt that the whole class had to respond to was totally stifling their creativity...to the point of boredom.  And as we all know, CHOICE is a huge motivator when it comes to students.  Hmmm...that's when I made these grids.  It's a month's worth of writing prompts, but the students choose the topic they respond to each day.  When they've used a prompt, they cross it off.

And as mentioned before, some of my *tweaking* involves giving these bad boys a facelift...you can grab my grid for the month of May over at my store! 

All of the monthly grids will be available next week, with a special year long bundle deal...yay!

Time to sign off...have a great weekend all!

{Pin It!} Cutie-Patootie Testing Treats

Hey all!  It's already getting late (well, that's coming from the mom of an almost 5 month old, hehe, so take it as you will), but I didn't want to head to bed without putting up this super quick post.

I'm sure I'm not alone here, but I LOVE me some Pinterest.  I started dabbling in it when it first came out, and had no idea how popular it would become...but with good reason.  I can honestly say that so many aspects of the teaching have been revolutionized by some ideas I've pinned.  With that said, I'll be including some of the "gems" I've found while perusing in posts called "Pint It!"

We just finished our first day of state testing here...only 5 more to go!  In any case, by the end of testing, I can see the exhaustion in my students' faces.  And as a little pick-me-up, I love to give them a little treat for doing a great job.

I've seen so many cute ideas for testing treats, but this one is great!  I love all of the different tags for all different sorts of treats.  You can check out the post and grab these cute tags from Ginger Snaps' blog here.

I'm sure my kiddos will ADORE these after our long week of math testing this week...hope your kiddos do, too!  

"Know It, Show It, or Blow It!"

Hey all!  Happy Thursday!  I can't believe how fast this week is flying by...

Although it's been a great week, it's been exhausting...and I don't just mean for me!  Here in NY, we're on the verge of beginning our state testing...eeek!  In 3rd grade, we test in both ELA and Math.  Even with teaching all the necessary skills throughout the year (and re-teaching, and teaching again), I'm finding the need to still "tweak" some of my kiddos' skills.

One thing that's consistent in my students' math work from year to year is the lack of showing...their...work.  Ugh.  It can be like pulling teeth at times!  So, in an attempt to get my point across, I came up with this little ditty:

Oh. my. gosh.  My students giggled.  I giggled.  So we said it again...we even made hand motions to go with it!  Once we pulled ourselves together enough to chat again, I explained that even if they KNOW an answer in their head, if they didn't SHOW their work, they would BLOW their chance at a correct answer.  And I'll tell you what...they rarely forget to show their work anymore :)

Wanna grab this poster for your classroom?  Especially because it's a FREEBIE?  Grab it here.  Hope your kiddos enjoy it as much as mine do!