I Love Target

Target is my favorite store! The other day after work I went into Target for ONE thing! I needed a new pillow and it was on sale! I came out of there with 5 things!! This is actually good for me! I can go crazy in that store!

I have been looking for the above bins for MONTHS! I use to have two larger ones, but they broke. Eight years of use is pretty good in my book! I stopped at their $1.00 Spot to browse - what teacher can resist that area?? In front of my eyes I saw a pile of these bins. WOO HOO! I picked out four different colors. I also bought a red one! They match perfect with the trays I bought at Target back in August!! I quickly left the area before I grabbed more things.

I headed to the pillow section, grabbed my pillow, and then stopped for a bag of chocolate on my way to the register!

THANK YOU TARGET ! How I love thee!

Many people know I love a certain author. I try to use her books as much as possible. Yes, it's another Laura Numeroff book!! 

I was looking through this book and a new idea jumped out at me!
There are several compound words in this story:

pancake, suitcase, homesick, something
tap shoes, mailbox, backyard, tree house
wallpaper, maple syrup

I am teaching a student to chunk words. I think showing her these compound words will be another strategy she can use to read multi- syllabic words. I am going to make some cut apart index cards to practice putting compound words together. 

I am looking forward to tutoring this week with this book! 

Reflections '11 in '11

DECEMBER 27, 2011

Another blog is having a Linky Party about this reflections on the past year. I read one on My Life as a Fifth Grade Teacher and decided to do it myself. Some of it is personal and some of it is teacher related!

11. Favorite movie you watched: The Help

10. Favorite TV series: I am a true GLEEK and love Glee. Lately I have also been enjoying "Once Upon a Time." I love the writing and I have always been a fan of fairy tales!

9. Favorite restaurant: Carrabba's (YUMMY!!)

8. Favorite new thing you tried: I have not tried anything new, so this is a difficult category. About 12 weeks I tried the black bean burger at Friday's and it was DELICIOUS! Sad - I know... I need to try more new things in 2012!

7. Favorite gift you received: The gift of "time." By this I mean the time I have to spend with DH, family, and friends!

6. Favorite thing you pinned: I love looking, but I have not pinned anything because I don't have an account. : (

5. Favorite Blog Post: Happy Poetry Month

4. Favorite Accomplishment: Maintaining my weight loss. A few years ago I worked hard to lose 50 pounds. I have managed to keep it off and still love working out and going spinning.

3. Favorite Picture: Anniversary Dessert at Epcot
2. Favorite Memory : Being at Disney World (Epcot really) Celebrating my 7 year wedding anniversary - Best relaxing vacation in a LONG time, Yes, I said - relaxing! Sitting by the pool in 90 degree weather after a cold NY winter is heaven!

1. Goals for 2012
Professional: My Own Classroom - I am SO OVER subbing!
Personal: Save more

What are your reflections and goals?

Holiday Book

I was at my favorite store, Barnes and Nobles, and I saw this book on the holiday display. I fell in love with the illustrations! It is a cute story, too!


Santa is left by his reindeer and needs to deliver the rest of his gifts. With some Santa magic, he has the farm animals help him deliver presents!

After reading this book, I plan to have students write their own version/ending. The possibilities are endless: zoo animals, desert animals, Arctic animals, puppies, or even some Australian animals.

I love holiday books.
Happy Reading!

Read Aloud

Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James is a cute story about a girl named Emily who finds a whale in her backyard. She writes letters to her teacher asking him questions about whales.

I love using this book to teach facts and fiction.  After reading aloud the book a few times, I gave students a sheet of paper that had sentences from the text. For example:

There is a whale in my backyard pond.

I fed him cornflakes.

Whales live in salt water.

Students work with a partner to cut out the sentences and put them in a chart which is labelled Facts and Fiction. I check students' answers before I let them glue the sentence stripes. 

Another lesson I teach with this book is letter writing. Students pretend they are Emily and they want to find out another new fact about whales. We go over the rules of a friendly letter and then the students write to Mr. Blueberry. I give the letters to a different student. Then, they research the question and write a follow up letter. The students really love doing this activity!