A Seuss-sational Celebration

Hey ya'll! Whether you're a teacher celebrating one of the world's most beloved children's authors of all time with your class, or you're a mom planning a Seuss themed birthday party I'm hoping that you'll find this post to be helpful and inspiring along the way! I'm sharing how I celebrated Dr. Seuss' birthday (March 2nd) in my classroom this year! We are a nut free classroom, so every one of these sweet treats was made with items that are processed in peanut/tree nut free facilities too! 

 

Green Eggs and Ham!

What You'll Need: 

• Tiny Twist Pretzels
• Ghiradelli White Melting Wafers (Found on the baking aisle at Kroger)
• Green Sixlets (Found on the party aisle at Walmart)
• An oven
• A cookie sheet
• Wax Paper or Aluminum Foil

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 250. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or aluminum foil to create a non-stick surface and to make for a quick and easy clean up! Spread out the pretzels across the sheet. Place one white chocolate melt on each pretzel. Place in the oven for 2-3 minutes. Now that the chocolate has melted place one Sixlet on each melt. Place in the fridge or let sit for 10-15 to harden. Voila! You have delicious "Green Eggs and Ham" treats!

 I also hopped on Microsoft Word a created a little gift tag for my coworkers! I found the clip art on Google Images and used a cutesy DJ Inkers font. I printed the tags onto white and green card stock. I used snack sized Ziploc bags and simply folded to tags over and stapled! They all LOVED this sweet and salty little treat!

Truffula Tree Cupcakes!

 

What You'll Need:

• Mini Cupcakes (Available at Walmart Bakeries)
• Paper Party Straws (Availble at craft stores and on the party aisle at Walmart)
• Cotton Candy (Available at The Dollar Tree)
  

One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish!

 

What You'll Need:

• One Fish Two Fish, Red Fish Blue Fish Ribbon (Available at Walmart)
• Clear Treat Bags (Available at craft stores and Walmart)
• Goldfish in Colors

 

 

 Hop on POPcorn!

 What You'll Need:

• Paper Treat Cups (Available on the party aisle at The Dollar Tree and Walmart)
• Avery Labels
• Popcorn

I found the clip art on Google Images and used the font Wish I Were Taller to make the labels!

& here's the final product... A delicious Dr. Seuss Feast!

 

Here's a peak at some more Seuss FUN we had through out the week!

• Horton Clovers

•  Can in the Hat Cheese Stick Snacks

•  The Lorax Clementine Snacks

•  Help Horton! STEM Challenge

Happy Seussing,

Kelsey

The Infamous OUCH Story!

Happy Saturday ya'll! I cannot believe that we have already been back to school for a whole month now! Time has flown since my last post in July. My schedule has been pretty hectic, but I've finally found the time to share a narrative writing unit that I absolutely adore! This post is all about the infamous 'OUCH' story!

I purchased this amazing Common Core Aligned Personal Narrative Writing Unit on Teachers Pay Teachers from Crystal's Classroom! I am including a few FREEBIES that I made myself, and I will be sharing some ideas for you to use that go along with this unit! I would have to agree that writing is not the most exciting subject to teach, but it's one of those things that can only be as fun as you make it!

 I introduced this writing unit first by reviewing the components of narrative writing. I displayed these fabulous and FREE Narrative Writing Posters in my classroom. We also talked about sequential order and how to use the words: First, Next, Then, and Last in our writing. Once you have activated your student's prior knowledge about writing narratives it's time to tell them your own personal 'OUCH' story! The more detailed and dramatic- the better! I chose to tell my kids about a time that I got hurt when I was a second grader myself. With this being our very first narrative writing piece of the year I am still honing in on making meaningful connections and establishing relationships with my students. I'm always looking for ways to connect with and relate to my kiddos, so I didn't mind rummaging around the house to find some artifacts to go along with my story. They absolutely loved the fact that I included photographic evidence that I was indeed once a 7 year old too, and if that wasn't enough to get their attention they were definitely hooked after I showed them my trophy that I mentioned in the story.

Here's another source of excitement that I found will get little writers motivated... Band-Aids! Giving each student 2 to 3 Band-Aids to decorate their final draft is such a fun and easy way to add a finishing touch to those final drafts before they're hallway display ready! I absolutely loved all of the resources this writing unit included, from brainstorming maps to final drafts it's all there! You just have to print, copy, and go! I created my own self edit/partner edit checklist and a narrative writing assessment rubric. This unit includes both of these things, but  I chose to make something that worked better for my own classroom needs. You can find both of these FREE DOWNLOADS below!

FREE DOWNLOAD! 
Common Core Aligned Second Grade Narrative Writing Rubric

FREE DOWNLOAD!

Self Check & Partner Check Editing Checklist

Happy teaching,

Kelsey

My Classroom Library

  
WHEW! I tackled a monster of a project this week... I am thrilled to share that my classroom library is finally neatly organized and  labeled by genre/author! Every book has a home and every bin has a label! I am one happy teacher! I've put together somewhat of a tutorial that is complete with links, products, and tips to help you  get started on creating your very own fabulous and functional reading area for your classroom!

 The Books: It tends to come as a surprise to others that I have only been teaching for a year. I am often asked, "How in the world do you have so much stuff?" Well, I just so happen to be a very determined- almost relentless bargain hunter! So, where exactly did all of these books come from in such a short amount of time?

1. Thrift Stores/Goodwill - These are great places to start when building a classroom library. The majority of my Dr. Seuss collection is from a local Goodwill. The books were less than a dollar each, and they were still in great condition!
2. Scholastic, Scholastic, Scholastic! If you are not a member of the Scholastic Reading Club for teachers, you need to head on over and sign yourself up ASAP! This is an amazing program designed especially for teachers that earns you FREE books for your classroom! Another wonderful thing about Scholastic is the fact that they offer book fairs and warehouse sales. My school's PTO offers each teacher a mini shopping spree at the end of a book fair based on the amount of money our students spend. You'll definitely want to find a Scholastic Book Fair Warehouse Sale in your area too! I'm telling you... this place is book HEAVEN! You can shop thousands of brand new books for 50% to 80% off! They even offer volunteer opportunities so that you can earn a book allowance by the hour and you don't have to spend a dime!
3. Amazon - www.amazon.com is perfect for finding a specific book at a great price! When it comes to shopping at thrift stores and warehouse sales it can be hard to find exactly what you need. Amazon is my go to place for those specific book needs! Just type in the title you're looking for and choose the price, seller, and condition that works best for you.
4. Parents - I teach at a Georgia Charter School with absolutely amazing parent involvement and support. I can reach out to parents to donate unwanted books or even purchase new books. The kids really enjoy being able to contribute to our classroom library. This gives them a sense of ownership that encourages a responsibility to keep our books neat and tidy.
5. Your Community - yard sales, relatives, retiring teachers, neighbors, libraries... the list goes on and on! Reach out and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how willing others are to lend a helping hand and contribute to your classroom library.

 The Shelves: The majority of my book shelves are not book shelves at all! They are Stackable Shoe Storage Organizers by Closetmaid, and they can be found at Home Depot for $9.48 each! They are 24 inches wide and 11.5 inches tall. One storage unit can hold three of my book bins and crates when it is assembled with out the extra shelf it includes. I purchased a total of eight for my classroom. The other storage unit pictured featuring the cube shaped shelves can also be found at Home Depot (Walmart and Target carry them too.) These are much more of splurge ranging in price from $30.00 to $70.00. They are definitely stronger and more sturdy, but I have found that you get more storage space per dollar with the shoe organizers!

The Containers: I paid no more than $1.00 for every bin and crate in my library. The blue crates can be found in a variety of colors at Walmart. They are very popular and tend to go quickly, so I would plan to start looking around mid July when "Back to School" merchandise starts hitting stores. The blue and green bins were all purchased at The Dollar Tree. I've said it once and I'll say it again... The Dollar Tree is a teacher's best friend! Like the crates these bins practicality fly off the shelves each Summer. You may have to try several different locations in order to accumulate enough bins for all of your books. Unfortunately The Dollar Tree is not currently selling these containers online, so it can be even more difficult to find the size and color you have your heart set on. I would recommend buying more than you think you actually need if you do find them. You'll thank yourself later when they are no where to be found and you have decided to add an extra row of bins to your library!

The Labels: You guessed it... Teachers Pay Teachers! Yet another amazing resource for teachers. Bethany McClure offers adorable chevron book bin labels in her TPT store. The best part is Volume 1 and Volume 2 are FREEBIES! I fell absolutely in love with them and decided to purchase the complete set! I had fun playing around with the blank templates included with this product and created my own labels for the genres or series that weren't in the set. You can download the font "Wish I Were Taller" that she used for free to ensure that your labels coordinate with the rest! I made the Cam Jansen label pictured below myself. I simply covered her existing clip art with a plain white box and pasted an image from Google over it!

I hope you found this post to be helpful! Please feel free to leave feedback or ask questions in the comments section below!

Happy organizing,

Kelsey