Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Happy New Year!!


Howdy Friends!!
  This time of year I get a ton of requests for an update to my Happy New Year Unit.  Well, surprise!! Here it is!  My goodness, time flies!!!






This unit is not only updated to reflect the year 2020, but includes a ton of activities for ELA and Math!  Hope you can use even a small part of it!  Click on the link below to grab your free printable copy!


Love and JOY to all looking through the Window on Wonder!! WOW!!!
Nancy


Sunday, March 31, 2019

My Wish and My Journey

Hello Everyone!!
I am in tears right now reading all the email I have received asking about my lack of posting.  Thank you for your concerns, care, and questions!  It has been a crazy long time since my last post, so your comments and email messages have lit a fire and put things back into perspective.  I have been so incredibly busy trying to manage all my passions...family, friends, school, curriculum, church, neighborhood, bookclub, Carson's Crusaders, and many more. I know you all have some of the same challenges. I finally took a step back and took a breath.

My Wish...
Our entire school just finished using the book, Wishtree by Katherine Applegate, as our read-aloud. 

Red is an oak tree on which the town’s people tie their wishes every May. The author writes this story from the perspective of that tree,
the tree named Red.
Red has seen every kind of wish possible.  Some of those wishes cause hearts to change and grow,
with Red’s positive attitude and help!
This lovely story is one of heartbreak, healing, 
acceptance, and friendship. 
Although parts of this story were a challenge for first graders to understand, the idea of finding joy in diversity, acceptance, and friendship nestled in their hearts, and oh, the discussions we had! If you have not had the opportunity to experience this delightful book, please go get it right now!
The Wishtree spurred me on to collect some of my thoughts, my wishes for my students, for teachers, for parents, and really for all.
I compiled the thoughts into a little printable mini poster unit for you.
I hope you will find some inspiration
 in some of this. 
My wish for you is that you will feel
 the blessings that every opportunity, whether it be in teaching, parenting, learning, or even just living, has to offer. 
My wish is that you find and choose
 JOY in your journey. 
Here are a couple of pics available in the unit!



If You Are Interested in this FREE printable unit, Joyfully, CLICK HERE!!

If you noticed from the title of this post, this second part is "My Journey."  I hope you have been able to tell that my journey in the field of education has been filled with creating meaningful, integrated lessons and learning opportunities for kids! I have shared so many of those lessons with you, and still have soooo many to share! More often than not lately,  I find myself dreaming of creating more and more lessons and resources, and not having the time to do that!  Sooooo, my plan is.... after 38 years as an educator... to retire from the classroom to spend more time on writing, publishing, and sharing.  I really can't believe it has been 38 years! What a journey it has been! I have been so incredibly blessed. 
In order to supplement a retiree's income, I have gone ahead and opened a TPT store (just a couple of things in it so far) and will soon open another store on another site, but please don't worry!!  I will absolutely continue this little blog with free stuff because you all have been a huge support for so many years. You don't know how much I appreciate all the kind notes, messages, e-mail, and even little surprise gifts of encouragement!  Thank you! Thank you!! I will still be here to support you in this truly amazing journey! So...Please stay tuned!!! 
Thanks for stopping by, and I'll talk to you soon!
Joyfully!
Nancy
firstgradewow@gmail.com
  







Sunday, January 6, 2019

Snowmen at Night- Let's Play!

Hello Everyone!!

Happy Holidays, all!! I hope your's were all you wanted, needed, and more!!  I was able to spend so much quality time with my family, it was all I needed to rejuvenate after a very busy fall semester. 2019 is going to be a wonder-filled year as we welcome a new member to our family!  My son finally proposed to his long time girlfriend and she said, "YES!' We are so excited!!  We love her already and considered her a part of the family years ago, but now it's going to be official!  

There are also some exciting professional things going on in my life, too,  so stay tuned for that news! :) 

I get a ton of e-mail about the fact that my units include a lot of games and fun stuff.  I KNOW!!  I truly believe that kids are so much more engaged in their learning when they are "playing!"  It's a wonderful thing!  Six year olds are not wired to sit still at a desk and just listen to the teacher and fill out worksheets.  (Adults aren't either, for that matter!) Of course there has to be some "sit still and listen," but not exclusively, by any means!
 As I was thinking about this last week, I inspired to create this ultra mini unit using the book, Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner.  It's one of my favorite books to read in January. I usually just read and discuss, maybe do a quick response, but this year I wanted to add a bit more. So here you go! Let's PLAY! :) I especially can't wait to do the potato print snowmen with the kids!!



Gotta love some Mr. Rogers!!




All directions to create this are included in the unit!

If you are interested in a little "playing around,"
CLICK HERE FOR THE UNIT!

Well, my winter break is just about over, so I guess I better go knock some "to do's" off my list!!  Here's wishing you a wonder-filled and playful week back!  Thanks for stopping by this little "Window on Wonder!"
Joyfully!
Nancy

Questions? Problems?
firstgradewow@gmail,com