Monday Made It... on... um... Tuesday!

LOVE this idea I've copied from others on the blogs.  I used to do something similar to this using a file organizer but this is cuter and that makes makes my heart happy!

EXCUSE ME! Where has the summer gone???

I just counted it up and I only have 4 1/2 weeks of summer left!  ACK!  Between my novel writing and school and kids and moving, I'm quickly running out of time to make everything happen!

Today, I'm sharing a first day of school activity that helps the students get to know me.  Then I have them make one of their own.  It's called Take a Guess! and they love it!  I award the student with the most correct answers something small - pencil, fun eraser, etc.

Click HERE to download and make your own!

I'm off to write!  Happy Friday-eve!  

CAFE Headings

I made these today for my new CAFE board.  Thought I'd share them with you feel free to download!

Click HERE to download.

In Honor of America's Freedom... It's FREEBIE time!

Each year, my 5th graders do several novel units.  One of their all-time favorites is HOOT!  Who doesn't love those tiny little burrowing owls?  If you want or need a jump start on this novel unit, here you go!  It's the Daily Journal questions, the end-of-unit diorama directions and the end-of-unit diorama rubric.  Happy 4th, everyone!

Click HERE to download!

Click HERE to download!

Click HERE to download!

Me? Versatile? Abso-doggone-lutely!

More Texas-sized thanks go out to Lisa at Super Pig and Tyrant King for the nomination for the Versatile Blogger award!  

Here are the rules for award winners....

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.

2. Include a link to their site.

3. Include the award image in your post.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site.

7. Let the other bloggers know they've been nominated.

Here are my 7 Random Facts :)

1. I've had the same best friends for over 30 years. 

2. I have an unhealthy addiction to my Apple products.  Seriously.

3. I ADORE dogs... especially dachshunds.

4. I have ha more than 50 cats in my lifetime.  I'm a sucker for a stray.

5. I teach in the same school district I grew up in and teach with teachers that taught me 35 years ago.  Talk about a time warp!

6. I'm a published young adult author and have a VERY hard time equally splitting my time and attention between, parenting, teaching, and writing.

7. I push mow my 3-acre lot.  True story.  

And my nominations are.....

1. A Teacher's Treasure

2. The Teacher's Cauldron

3. Making it as a Middle School Teacher

4. Think Share Teach

5. Totally Terrific in Texas

6. Mandy's Tips for Teachers

7. Jungle in Room 207

8. Teachin' Little Texans

9. Threadgill's Teaching Box

10. Confessions of a Teaching Junkie

11. Journey of a Substitute Teacher

12. Slick Tricks for Grade Six

13. Ins and Outs of 4th and 5th 

14. Stellar Students

15. For the Love of Teaching

Absent Students

I use and love this form.  I've tweaked it quite a a bit over the years.  It's a great checklist for our absent students - it increases their accountability and improves the rate of return assignments.  I HATE chasing assignments so this is a big deal for me!  :-)

FREEBIE LINK:

For the Word document, click here.  NOTE: I used the Lima Bean and Arial Rounded fonts.
For the PDF document, click here.

My First Blog Award!

Big Texas thanks to Allison at Busy Teacher Love for the One Lovely Blog Award!   This is my time to jump in on this!  Please check out Allison's colorful and inspiring blog by clicking here.

Once you receive the award, you have to pass it on to others!  Here are the three rules to follow:

1) Link back to the person who gave you the award.
2) Follow the person who gave you the award.
3) Pass the award on to 15 new bloggers!