Grinning With That Green Guy!-

Hello Everyone!
I am hoping you all have had a wonderful weekend.  We finally had some time to put up some Christmas decorations at the house.  We are keeping it very simple this year as we focus on the JOY of Christmas rather than the overwhelming commercialism. It feels so good to have made the decision not feel like we have to keep up with the "Grizwalds!" :)  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely loooooove decorating for the holidays, but there are more precious things on which I want to spend my time and resources this year!  
Creating "hand to head to heart" activities for my first graders is just one of those things.  We had a blast talking about adjectives last week and using them in our writing.  As a hands on activity, the kids made little Santa's with big, red, cherry noses!  They turned out great!

Patterns for these are in my Santa's Stuck unit. You'll find the link to the unit in last week's post!

We also added a festive hat to our fun little monster!!

Coming up soon is our Grinch Day!  Wait! What am I talking about?!  I mean Grinch week!! For the past several years, we have done a day or two of Grinchy learning! But I have added so much to the unit to cover what our curriculum says we should be teaching, that the unit is now comprehensive enough to take a week!!

This year I added a section on digraphs, a candy cane heat energy science lesson, and more author's message ideas. (88 pages total!) Here are a few pics!

Unit includes patterns for this cute little green guy and author's message!!

Unit includes lots of math opportunities!

                                                  

I am so excited to share this fun learning opportunity with my kids!   I know in the past I shared my Grinch unit with you, and then I was informed that I couldn't infringe on the name Grinch. But since I am not selling his name, just celebrating and provided a learning experience for young children,  for which  Dr. Seuss had such passion, I am going to re-offer the unit to you for download. I love Dr. Seuss and what he stood for so much. I know he would be so proud to know that we are still discovering and learning through his wonder-filled work!  So many of you already have my old unit, so you are welcomed to re-download this new and improved one! I am trusting you will not sell it! :) Right??? :)

CLICK HERE if you are interested in celebrating that green guy!!

10 more days until Christmas (Winter) break! I love this time of year with first graders! The wonder in their eyes and their sweet innocence are so contagious! I know it keeps me going, and I hope it does you as well!   Till next time, have a fabulous week and enjoy each moment, and every grin!!

Joyfully!

Nancy

Author's Purpose

Hello Everyone!
Ultra quick share today!  This week we'll be working hard on Author's Purpose.  I wrote a quick little chant to help kids remember to be aware of the reason the author wrote the piece they are reading.  It will also help them understand that they should write for a purpose! Here's a quick peek!

Here's Your Printable!! :)

Stop by tomorrow for some place value and expanded notation fun!!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Special Delivery!

Hello Everyone!
Remember back when we celebrated the amazing book "What If You Had Animal Teeth?" While doing that unit, I happened upon the author, Sandra Markle's blog.  She was having a give away of  an autographed copy of her book. Guess what?!!  We got it!  We are absolutely in love with her book and have done some activities to go with it.  You can read about that.......HERE!!!!
Sandra is an amazing author who writes nonfiction books for kids.  They are engaging and have a purpose of teaching.  She has been all over the world studying animals, science, and the beauty the world has to offer.She has some great books in the works.  I can't wait!! Please check out her books and her blog.Click here for her blog!

special delivery!

A Sweet Letter, her book, and some book marks!

Thank you, Sandra Markle!!  We love you! We love your books!!

Have an amazing Mother's Day to all the moms out there!! I plan on celebrating my mom and enjoying my kids!!!
Thanks for stopping by for a peek!
Joyfully!
Nancy

Rudolph's Message

Hello Everyone!

I love Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer even more than I did before our lesson today.  Today as we were reviewing the story, we began to see a clear picture of the author's message. Here's our brainstorming anchor chart.

I am so proud of this group of firsties.  They have really begun to see stories as more than just stories. They are thinking more deeply into comprehension and connection. Keep diving kids!!

Our next connection to Rudolph was to express our thoughts about the message through a craft connection. 

I initially wanted to use this craft for a retelling, but it went perfectly with what we worked on today.  The kids had to write in their own words, what they thought was the most important message from Rudolph (and the author, of course).  They cut out their writing, added a Rudolph cover complete with a shiny nose, a title, and alas! A quick reader's response!

 (Conventions in writing are works in progress.  We did not edit before creating the connection response.)

We then, desperately needed to become the character!  We cut out our antlers, glued them to a headband, and added a red nose!!  We want to be like Rudolph!!

We'll all go down in history!

I had one little guy tell me that he wasn't washing his nose off until next October.  He was going to be Rudolph for Halloween!! :)

The patterns for both these activities are in my Reindeer Games unit.You can get that freebie here! Click!

Tomorrow? Yes, we will still be in school tomorrow.  So many fun things to do yet!!! 
Till then, have a wonder-filled evening!!
Joyfully!
Nancy

A Pinch of Grinch- Free Unit

Hello Everyone!

I've been busy getting my Grinch on!  Creating, organizing, and updating all my Grinch stuff has been a JOY!!  I'm sharing what I have so far in case you want a peek. If you are a parent or a student of mine, please log off right now! :) I want these activities to be a surprise for my kiddos!!  Thanks!! If you are a teacher, or home schooler, take a peek at the samples of what is already a 33 page unit.******** It includes some author's message, character analysis, adjective study, a math tub game, a mystery picture, science, songs, poetry activities and more!!  There will be more to come, but I've got to get my turkey on, too!! :) *********** Please see the message at the bottom of this post!!!

What is Dr. Seuss' message?

Text Connection Activities

I am so sorry, but I have been made aware that it is against trademark law that I display anything with the Grinch on it, or even use the word Grinch.  I plan on asking permission from Seuss Enterprises to celebrate this beloved character with school children using my unit. I strive to uphold the integrity that teachers should exhibit, and truly was unaware of the restraints against teaching through the use of this book. Dr. Seuss was an author who encouraged reading by writing books for kids to help them with their phonics, their sight words and their imaginations. I kind of feel like he wouldn't mind teachers using his characters and stories to promote a love for reading!!

 

Here's to the meaning of Christmas!! 

 Love that Dr. Seuss!

Have a good one!

Joyfully!

Nancy