Hungry Caterpillar Freebie and Last Chance to Win!

Hi all, 

I'm going to keep this short and sweet tonight. I have a few pictures to share of our recent adventures with The Very Hungry Caterpillar. My kiddos have been working on retelling stories and this book is the perfect one for beginning, middle and end. 

Here are some photos to show how we did it. 

First we used part of the CTP Story Elements Mini Bulletin Board to discuss the parts of a story. 

They identified the character (caterpillar) and setting (on a leaf, etc) and then we talked about the beginning, middle and end. 

Then we used the flip books below to draw pictures or write about the sequence of the story. 

Would you like a copy of the sequencing activity? Head over to my TpT store and download it for free now! :) 

And don't forget to enter the Creative Teaching Press giveaway. It ends in less than an hour! 

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Only One Day Left!

There is only one day left to enter and win over $100 worth of products from Creative Teaching Press! Have you entered yet? Did you know that some of the entries can be done on a daily basis? Make sure you check it out at the end of today's post! 

Today we are going to move away from classroom decor and management and onto something that I am very passionate about... BOOKS! I don't know about you, but I have the hardest time finding Kindergarten appropriate books that teach about holidays. I'm not just talking about Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, etc. I'm talking about Patriotic Holidays, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day... These are the holidays that are almost impossible to find a simple, yet accurate, book to use in a lesson. At least they were until NOW! 

Check these out! 

Creative Teaching Press has this awesome set of 12 books that cover the following holidays/events:

Cinco de Mayo

Thanksgiving

President's Day

Valentine's Day

Mother's Day

Father's Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Chinese New Year

Chanukah

Christmas

Easter

Patriotic Holidays

The books are perfect for reading aloud to the students and then putting into the classroom library. Many of my students are able to read the words on their own. 

Want to take a peek inside? This is the book we just used last week when discussing Mother's Day. 

Since we aren't in school for Father's Day, we read that book too! :) 

As much as I loved these two books, my favorite book from the set is the book about Patriotic Holidays. It gives a brief description of each holiday and has vivid pictures depicting the reason behind the holiday. The book covers Labor Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, 4th of July, and Veteran's Day. Here's a quick peek inside! 

So are you ready to try and win a set? Here's your chance! 

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How do you celebrate?

In our classroom birthdays are kind of a big deal. I was a summer birthday and never got to celebrate at school. Most of the time I would just get a small acknowledgment on the last day of school before summer break. I remember being sad that almost all of my other friends got to celebrate at school and bring in treats, etc. So, when I became a teacher I decided that I wouldn't let that happen to my students! We celebrate half-birthdays during the winter months so that they can have a special day to call their own.

In the morning when the students arrive they find birthday confetti at their spot. It's a fun way for them to start their day! At group time we sing Dr. Jean's birthday song and the children get a birthday crown, pencil, stickers and a certificate that smells like birthday cake.

I had a birthday bulletin board before, but it wasn't very exciting. As soon as I put this one up all of the students noticed! I like that some of the pieces focus on the current month instead of just a year long bulletin board.

Each month I change out the label and little flags to reflect the current month's birthdays. I put these on the big cupcake. Then on each child's birthday we move their flag to the top of the birthday cake. They get such a kick out of seeing their name at the top! :) And then to tie it all together I use the CTP Polka Dot Party Border.

Would you like a chance to win your very own bulletin board set? You can enter below to win over $100 worth of items from Creative Teaching Press, including the items pictured above. 

I'll be back tomorrow with some other great products! 

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Day Three of CTP!

Wow, today was a whirlwind. How is it that any of us make it through the last month of school without loosing our minds? We honestly have something special happening every.single.day during the month of May except one. Today we had an evacuation drill. Thank goodness the weather was decent as we marched the children down the street to the local Civic Center. All went well and we got on with our day...

So are you wondering what our Day Three CTP product will be? Well, wait no longer! 

These are the BW Collection Jumbo Library Pockets. They fit my classroom decor perfectly! 

They are also available in other designs. Check out the funky chevron pattern below. How cute would these be in a classroom?! 

 The pockets measure 6 1/2 x 9 inches. They are awesome for storing miscellaneous items around the room. I use them to store bulletin board items that need frequent changing. Inside of this pocket I am storing the months and other pieces for our birthday board. I do the same for other classroom displays. They are so amazingly handy. One helpful hint - I laminate them and then slice along the top opening. This makes it even more sturdy and I don't have to worry about the edges tearing as I take items out each day. 

What could you use these pockets for in your classroom? I'd love to hear your ideas!

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for over $100 worth of Creative Teaching Press products! 

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Creative Teaching Press Giveaway Day Two!

Are you ready to learn a little bit more about some other fun CTP products? 

This next item comes in many different patterns. These are the Color-Me Designer Cut-outs. They are simply black and white cut-out shapes. 

These 6 inch shapes are available in the following designs: 

Apples

Stars

Eggs

Butterflies

Flowers

Hearts

Holiday

Leaves

Pumpkins

At first I wasn't sure what I would do with them, but now that we've been using them in class I think of new ideas all of the time. We've decorated bulletin boards with the cut-outs and turned them into cards for Valentine's Day. 

Most recently we used them to help us do simple addition and subtraction problems. The kids really loved seeing something that they made used in front of the whole class! 

We used them to come up with our own story problems. Then we would label how many were in each group. Finally, we would use our whiteboards to write the addition or subtraction problem. 

The other product that I want to share this evening is the Notebook Paper 6 inch Designer Cut-out Set. 

I am always looking for new ways for my students to practice writing. I thought these would be something different enough that it would keep their attention, yet it would be easy to prep. 

You will see on the picture below that my students use these for sight word practice. They read the word at the top and write the word multiple times below the sight word. The key to making this work is to write the words you want to use on the cards before you laminate them. If you don't write the words beforehand it may wipe off when students use the dry erase markers. 

Have you registered for the CTP giveaway yet? If not, be sure to enter on the rafflecopter below! The contest runs through Sunday! 

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Have a great night... I can't wait to share more with you tomorrow!

I "Mustache" You to Check This Out!

Have you had a chance to check out any of the new products from Creative Teaching Press? 

If you've ever seen my classroom you know that I am addicted to their products. So, when I was given the opportunity to try out some of their products and host a giveaway I thought I had died and gone to heaven! 

Over the next week I am going to share some of my favorite CTP products with you and you'll even have the chance to win them for yourself! CTP is letting me give away not one, but TWO sets of every item I feature this week. What do you think? Should we get started? Let's go! 

One of my favorite items are these absolutely adorable mustache stickers! 

When I saw them in the catalog I just HAD to have them. Not only are they fun additions to papers and worksheets, they make awesome incentives for reaching goals! My kiddos earned them after they were able to read a story to me independently. They had to work hard, but they were so incredibly proud of themselves when they finally did it. Kids will do anything for a sticker! Here are some pictures from when they reached their goals. :) 

The next item on the list of prizes you can win are these bright and cheerful bulletin board letters. 

These letters add a vibrant touch to any display. Here they are helping show off some of our classroom projects. 

We made these lollipops to demonstrate our knowledge of the short "o" sound. 

These cute springtime kids are helping us "Swing Into Spring!" 

The possibilities for these bulletin board letters are truly endless! 

Before we get to the giveaway I have to share something awesome with you. This afternoon I received a call from the office telling me that there was a delivery for me. I couldn't figure out what it could be or who would have sent me something. When I reached the office I found these gorgeous flowers from my mom. 

Aren't they beautiful? She sent them to wish me a Happy Teacher's Week. She's awesome! Love you Mommy! :) 

Now, onto the giveaway... 

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Be sure to stop back again tomorrow to check out some more of the fun products from CTP!