Two Weeks Down! A monstrous start!!

Hello Everyone!
Well, two weeks are in the books!  I have a wonderful group of firsties!  I love them all already!  It is going to be a monstrously fun year!  The kids have loved our Monster theme. Here are a few pics from meet the teacher night and the first day or two!

My Crazy Awesome Team!!  I love these girls!!

Our cute little Monster In My Pocket shirts!

We've got our eye on a Monster Year!

Meet the Teacher Treat!

Straw Paint Blow Monster!

A little bit of Monsterstopper Science

 

A little monster eye color graphing!

Click HERE for the 100 page Monster unit!
Friday was our 10th day of school already!  We celebrated all day. We were so busy, I didn't get a chance to snap any pics, but if your 10th day is coming up, you are welcomed to use this little mini  unit!

If you think you can use this fun little unit, JUST CLICK HERE!!

(After you click on the link, you have to click the download button, then you are ready to print.)

For now, I'm going to sign off and chill out the rest of this Labor Day weekend.  One of my sweet sons came home for the weekend, and we need to make some memories!! As soon as I can, I'll post about how our writer's workshop is going!  A little hint? We are loving it!!

Till then, have a wonderful 3 day weekend, everyone!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Writers Workshop Anchor charts for Small Moments

Hello Everyone!
Wow!! I just have to say that a little bit of "sand in the toes" time does wonders for the mind, body, and spirit! It was a well needed time of decompression and rejuvenation as a family. We did it together and it was wonderful!! 

Now, time to get my teacher hat back on.  We will meet our new little learners on Thursday!! 

I'm sure many of you are starting soon...or maybe you've already started.  I know that as I start my 33rd year, I can say that I am excited about this year! 

Many of you use Lucy Calkins' Units of Study to help guide your writing lessons.  You know how much I love that whole series. We will be using the Grade 1 series this year and I can't wait. I wanted to use her little anchor chart ideas- but have them available in printable form for the classroom anchor charts and smaller ones for the kids' writing tools notebook. So, I came up with these. 

You do have to know that these go along with Lucy's lessons and will make more sense if you are using her books. ( I feel like a walking advertisement for her!!! :))

Anyway, if you would like a quick printable,

CLICK HERE!! :)

Let me know if this is something you can use. 

Thanks for stopping by!  I'll be back soon! 

Joyfully!

Nancy

Writer's Workshop and Me and My School Updated!

Hello Everyone!
What??? Summer's almost over?? How can that be? I will finally get together on the beach with my fam next week...yes, the week before teachers go back!!   I am cutting it close! But before we go I wanted to make sure I shared two updated units.  The first one is my Writer's Toolbox and Workshop unit.  It is totally inspired by my fav. Lucy Calkins, with some tweaks and additions. It includes ways to set up notebooks, some things to include in notebooks, some writing paper temps., letter to parents, and a few other things. You will simply need a composition book and a pocket folder for each kiddo! Here are a few pics!

Click HERE for your free 58 page printable unit!!! :)

Next up?  I have updated my "Me and My School " unit to include some monster stuff in case you wanted to try it! This little unit is packed with learning opportunities dealing with school environment, leaders, rules, bullies, etc.  It centers around some of my fav. books, Chrysanthemum, No David, Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon and The Monster Who Lost His Mean.

Here are some pics from the unit.  

Click HERE for your  65 page printable unit!! Yes! It's 

free too!! :)

I hope these two little units help you get your year off to a great start!!  Getting Excited!!!

Have a great last few days!!!

As always, don't forget to leave a comment, as I try to read them all and take your thoughts into consideration as I continue on this journey! Thanks for stopping by and peeking through our little window!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Small Moment Stories and Minding your "Peas" and Q's!

Hello Everyone!
I know! I know! Two posts in two days???  What??? Well, I told you that I was digging deeper into Lucy Calkins Units of Study for first grade and her first resource Small Moments has once again inspired me to create something fun for my little writers.  Lucy suggests using the little book, Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements, as a mentor text for helping kids understand what a small moment story looks and sounds like. As soon as I saw that title, I knew I wanted to dig even deeper!  It is a great little book about a boy who turns into a monster when he has to eat a pea! (How perfect for our beginning of the year monster unit too! I already had the book lined up to read!)
Well, if you know me, I can't just read a book once and leave it alone.  I wanted to really inspire kids about small moment stories by comparing peapods and peas. I know, a little wacky, but the connections just scream out to kids!!  So I created a little intro to small moment stories using peas.  It is very similar to the unit I've posted in the past about using pumpkins and seeds.  I can't wait to try this with my littles this year.  It is my intention to start this after we've done all the brainstorming, heart mapping and setting up of our notebooks. 
Here are a few pics from the 15 page mini unit.

I can't wait to help kids understand that their little tiny moments from their lives can become wonder-filled stories!!

If you want to try it too, you can get it HERE!!!

Click!!

If you want to learn more about the resources Lucy Calkins put out, you have to look into getting her books!!!  Great investment!

I am getting more and more excited  about the new school year!!  

I hope you are too! Let me know if there's anything else you would like to see, or if there is a problem with anything you do see.  Until next time, look for the joy today!!!

Joyfully!

Nancy