Bird Theme

I am working on my bird themed classroom (2014).   Here is a sample of the behavior chart I am using this year.

click here for your copy

First Grade Common Core Gradebook Update

I just updated my common core gradebook and on August 20 it will be on sale.  I have used this the last 2 years in my classroom.  Last year I copied each nine weeks a different color.  It helped me to see where kids are in their learning.  Go to TPT to get your copy.

Happy Easter

I love Easter!  So many fun things to share.

Real Easter Bunnies Are

I found this idea at http://happyhomefairy.com/2011/04/21/the-real-easter-bunny/.  I changed up a bit to fit our needs.

Bulletin board

We started Lent out by talking about Jesus the Good Shepherd.  We made these sheep using shaving cream and white glue mixed.  Then we used craft sticks to make them puffy.

For Palm Sunday, we took down the sheep and added palm branches.

On Good Friday we took down Jesus and put the 3 crosses on the board.  Then I hung Jesus up so he would be on the board Monday morning.

The Easter liliies were made by tracing our hands on white construction paper.  Cut them out and then curl down the fingers.  Roll into a cone and tape.  We added a yellow pipe cleaner for the middle and a green one for the stem.

Spring Break is Here!!!

Well, the kids are out for the week.  It is my chance to learn something new.  I am trying my hand at DIY chalk paint.  We are building a new house soon and I am ready.  This project is a new headboard for our bedroom.

This is our room now.  I have had this old plastic wood looking headboard since I was in jr. high.  It worked well when it was just me, but husband sleeps up against it and it squeaks all night.  It has to go.  As for the picture up above my bed, that was my grandma Millie's picture.  I inherited it when she passed away.  This is the only wall in the house big enough for the picture to hang.  I have got to find a home for it.  

This is the little servant's house behind the old house we currently live in.  It makes a great storage shed.  I took the door from the bedroom and I am using it as the inspiration for this new headboard.

The old door was dirty and the paint was peeling badly.  I washed it up and used my power sander to clean it up.

My adventure to Lowe's was fun yesterday.   I was able to pick up a quart of Valspar interior satin paint in a light teal color.

I was also able to get plaster of paris and the empty paint can on the right.  To make the chalk paint:

Add 2 Tablespoons of warm water into 4 Tablespoons of plaster of paris and stir until smooth.  Then add the plaster of paris mixture into 2 cups of Valspar paint and mix.  I dumped the finished chalk paint into the can for further use.

I was able to steer myself away from buying the bargain brushes.  It was worth buying a good brush for this project.  I painted one coat of chalk paint to each side of the door and let dry 2 hours before flipping. It looked best to paint in the same direction the whole time. I also painted a 1x3 board.  This 1x3 will become the legs of the headboard later.

After the headboard was painted and nailed together.  I added a piece of trip board to the front.  I then rubbed stain on to the door.   After a few hours I went back and rubbed clear wax over the entire project.

Here is the finished project.  Our new house will be finished in a few months.  When we move I will raise the headboard up higher and get a new blanket.   I cannot wait.

Here is a dresser I bought at a garage sale for $10.  I used the same techniques on it.

I even painted some lamps I found at the dollar store to match.  I just cannot find the right shade.  Oh, well, that just gives me another project.

Eucharist

We are studying the Eucharist.  I spray painted the paper doilies gold and found gold paper for the base.

George Washington

I used several ideas from other classes to make this guy.

I then made a fact book to put under his coat.

100th Day of School

 

100 dots on those hats.

Love this app.  We wrote this week about what we would be doing when we are 100.

Tooth Fairy

"What does the Tooth Fairy do wth All those teeth?"

That was our writing activity for this week.

I bought this patten from TeachersPayTeachers.com

Clifford's First Valentine

Timelines

St. Valentine

Liturgical colors

Thanks to my dad for helping me build these chasible holders.  The kids love working with them.

Abe Lincoln

We made these cute Lincoln faces, but they look more like Amish men.

The flap on top opens to a little reader book about Abraham Lincoln.

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Cook

My class put a lot of pressure on me to bring the coolest cupcakes.  I think turned out pretty cute.

Penguin

We had a lot of fun learning about penguins.  The kids made non-fiction books about their penguin.  We even made these lifesize penguins.

Martin Luther King jr.

I found this unit on TeachersPayTeachers.com.  It is a great character unit.

Happy Kansas Day

Cinquain Poems

We drew these cute snowmen together in class with crayons.   The kiddos then wrote Cinquain poems about making snowmen and typed them up in the computer lab.

Snowman Compare and Contrast

I made a questionairre for the kids to answer about their favorite things.   We then made this venn diagram to compare and contrast their answers.

Snow Globes

First I took the kids' pictures outside like this.

We then cut out the people and glued them to blue paper.

We then made snowmen and glued them to our picture.

Next I took hot glue and glued a plastic plate to the blue construction paper leaving the top open.  

I added a scoop of fake snowflakes to the snow globe and the glued the top closed.

We added red paper to the bottom to look like the bottom of the globe.

Finally we wrote about "How to Build a Snowman."