Teacher Bits and Bobs

Summer! Where are yoooouuu??? (FREEBIE here...)

2013-05-19T09:48:00.001-07:00

Hiya Peeps! Kerri here...

I have 5 weeks of school left. Five. Long. Weeks. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my kidlets and I am going to be super sad to see them go, but man, I am TIRED already! And, we are in the midst of Open House preparations, which is making me lose clumps of hair on a daily basis! I know, I know...It's my own fault. I do this to myself EVERY year, and in the end, I am always so proud of the hard work my kids put in, but the process can definitely be stressful sometimes. Anyone with me?

So, I hear that some of you are already out, or close to being finished for the year. W.H.A.T.E.V.E.R. (Can you hear how jealous I am??) We still have 5 weeks. Oh wait, I already said that. Yup, 5 weeks! Sigh...

Today, in order to psyche myself up for this last long push, I will be cutting out miles and miles of lamination from my newest creation...(cue Grease soundtrack!) Summer Lovin! (had me a blast....) Math and Literacy Centers. These babies are sure to get my kidlets in the mood for their Summer Vacay, whilst keeping them engaged and learning until the very last week of school. Here are some closer looks at all the centers included in this pack (10 in all!)....

I have a little At the Beach Summery FREEBIE for y'all, to help your kids work on sequencing events. All they do is cut out the At the Beach story strips and glue them in the correct order, and then illustrate each sentence. Easy Peasy fun for your kidlets! Click the picture below to access via google docs...

Have a wonderful week, friends!
XOXO Kerri B

Scientifical notebooks!!

2013-05-14T19:07:00.003-07:00

Hiya Peeps! Kerri here...

I hope you all had a lovely Mother's Day weekend! I TOTALLY did, cause A-my family spoiled me, B-I got to spend time with my mommy, and C-it was the Survivor finale (the hubs and I are die hard fans!). I was soooo happy that my little Harvard nerd Cochran won! Awesome sauce (as the teenagers say)...

I wanted to share a little bit of how I do science in my classroom. I use a notebook. More specifically, a spiral notebook that costs me 10 cents in the summer at Target. Everything we do for science gets written inside it, or glued inside it if we are doing some sort of worksheet. Here are some examples (with some shout-outs to my Peeps!)...

In October we learned all about owls, so we made an Owl Circle map in our notebooks...

We also made Deanna's Owls Tree Map and glued it in...

Followed by a double Bubble Map comparing owls and bats...

When we learned about Solids, Liquids, and Gases, we wrote in a table in our notebooks...

We also sequences the steps when we did our Solid-Liquid-Gas experiment...

In December, we learned about the moon, using Cara's Moon unit, and since the pages wouldn't fit, we folded them in half and glued them in...

In January, we learned all about Penguins, using Deanna's Penguin unit...

Then, in April for Earth Day, we made a tree map showing how we love the Earth and glued it in...

Now, for our Rainforest Unit, we drew the layers and labeled them...

Because our Rainforest Unit is such a big deal, it gets it's own book, and all of our tree maps, bubble maps, diagrams, and Facts writing paper are inside. When we learn about a new animal, the kids find that section and we get to writing!

My kiddos LOVE looking through their Science notebooks. They feel sooo big and fancy! AND, it helps me stay organized, plus the parents can see how scientific we are!

Well, that's my science notebook is a nutshell. Hope you found something you might be able to use next year, when you teach science!
XOXO Kerri B

Five for Friday!

2013-05-10T21:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday, Peeps!! Kerri here...

Per my usual Friday routine, I am linking up with Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky! I just love Fridays!

Number 1: Mother's Day plates! We busted a move on these bad boys this week and they came out FABULOUS!! On Monday, I needed some time to mod podge their pictures to the bottom of the plate, so my M&M math packet came in quite handy for a good 40 minutes while I worked magic with the mod podge! Candy+ Math=HEAVEN!

Then, the next day I solicited the help of 3 very ~~cute~~ helpful dads to come and help the kids finish up their projects, and it was AMAZING!! Normally, I am a sweaty, crabby mess while we make our Mother's Day plates (probably cause I'm so anal when it comes to art!), but with 3 ~~cute~~ helpful dads, I was able to put on my Harry Potter soundtrack (yes, I'm a geek. So sue me...), take pictures, and be a source of light and happiness. It was GLORIOUS!

Fabulous plates and one of my helpful dads!

Second up...

Do I really need to say anymore? I mean, DAMN! This was seriously the most amazing thing I have ever eaten. Teacher Appreciation Week was so wonderful on so many levels, and this made it over the top!!

Third... juicy juicy writing about the rainforest!

I love first graders during this time of the year, when they're all independent and stuff, writing up a storm. Then they leave me, and I have to start ALL.OVER.AGAIN. Sigh...

Fourth...American Symbols Oral Reports. My kidlets gave their American Symbols reports today and THEY ROCKED those reports' faces off! Like, for reals!! And yes, I did wear this vintage American Flag dress for the special occasion...

This pic is from 4th of July 2010, but I've had this dress since I was 20!

Here are some pics of their projects and their reports...

I think these 3 liked the flag cake a little TOO much!!

Finally, I leave you with this, and I hope you'll all take the 3 minutes to watch it, because I think it is so powerful. I am attending a Women's conference at my church this weekend, and they showed us this video, which I had never seen. This Mother's Day weekend, I hope we can all see ourselves as beautiful, like our own children and students see us...

Thank you for all of your support, encouragement, and love to our little blog for the past 2 years. We love our Teacher Bits and Bobbers!!
XOXO Kerri B

Teacher Appreciation SALE, baby!!

2013-05-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning, Peeps!! Kerri and Lindsay here...

Thank you Ashley Hughes for the adorable button!!

Good news, friends! TPT is throwing another one of it's HUMONGOUS sales again this TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY and Lindsay and I can't wait to shop until we drop! I am super excited to buy some new centers and clip art for my classroom next year.
We will both be having our stores discounted 20% off, which, combined with TPT's 10% off, will make everything on a SUPER 28% Off SALE!! I LOVE me some bargains!!

Here are some goodies from Kerri's store you might be interested in, to finish this year off, AND prepare you for next school year...

My latest Summer Lovin' Math and Literacy Centers Pack!

Re-live the glory of the Summer Olympics with these Math and Literacy Centers...

Looking for an Open House theme? Check out my Rainforest Art and Writing Unit and Rainforest Centers...

Stock up on all sorts of Writing Centers to last you the whole year through...

My Writing Centers Bundles will be SUPER cheap during the sale!!

Get ready for next school year with lots of different learning packs!

Teach your kidlets about the 6 Pillars of Character...

WOW!! That was just a small snapshot of the 110 products that I have in my store. I hope you can find something that your kiddos will enjoy during the SUPER SALE! Happy Shopping!

In addition to all of the goodies in Kerri's TPT store, here are some things you might want to check out from Lindsay as well:

Check out my Fun At the Zoo pack.

Or how about a little ocean fun with I Wanna Be Under The Sea {Math & Literacy Centers}:

Get a head start on next year's math planning with my Nifty Numbers pack:

One of my favorites! Poetry from A to Z {Songs & Rhymes for Learning}:

Blast off with learning - get your There's No Place Like Space {Math & Literacy Centers}:

A writer's workshop tool for your blossoming writers - Wee Ready Writers Kit:

Thanks for taking the time to check out some of the goodies from our TPT stores! We are SUPER excited to do a little shopping for ourselves as well!

Hope y'all have a great week!

Lindsay & Kerri

Summer Lovin'!!

2013-05-04T09:08:00.000-07:00

Good morning, blogging friends!! Kerri here...

I have finally finished my Summer Lovin' Math and Literacy Centers, which are sure to keep your kidlets engaged in learning these last few weeks of school, or all the way through Summer School! We have 7 more weeks. How many for you??

This pack includes centers on EVERYTHING Summer, such as surfing, going to the beach, having a pool party, going on vacation, going camping, and having a BBQ. Lots of Summery goodness! Here's a closer look...

And, of course, here's a little description of each center...

I also have a Summer Words Writing Pack available to keep your kiddos writing until the end of the year, or even through Summer School!

Alright, my friends!! Thanks for listening to my Summer Centers informercial! Have a wonderful Saturday!!
XOXO Kerri B

Five for Friday!!

2013-05-03T16:26:00.000-07:00

Happy HOT Friday, Peeps! Kerri here...

It was H.O.T. today and yesterday, but LUCKILY, I was in a 2 day math training at our District Office for a new math program we will be adopting next year, so I didn't have to teach while feeling sweaty-GROSS!

It's Friday and time for my Five for Friday post, linked up to Kacey from Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky!

Number one: The notes I come across when I am grading papers are HILARIOUS! I am pretty sure that these 2 boys did NOT want me to see these...LOVE them!

Note #1-You have a girlfriend. It is Macey.
Note #2-Gerardo has a girlfriend! His mom...

Number 2: Teaching money to Firsties is NOT my favorite. I can't wait until next year and the Common Core kicks in. No more money for us! WHOO HOO!!

Number 3-Teaching about the animals in the rainforest is DEFINITELY my favorite. This week was all about Jaguars! These are all from my Rainforest Art and Writing Unit...

P.S. I am in LOVE with instagram!!

Follow us here...

Number 4: My May door might be the cutest door EVER. I am in sooo in love with this door! One of my sweet. talented moms made it for me and she did a FABULOUS job!

Last, but not least... Number 5! Our new Math program is called SWUN math and it is pretty awesome. I am excited to use it next year. Anyone else use it? I'd love to hear your opinion!!

Have a happy weekend, Peeps!! Off to dinner with the fam, per our usual Friday night tradition!
XOXO Kerri B

Muffins for Moms and a Messyhair Family Announcement

2013-04-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

Hola mis amigos! Lindsay here . . .

Just brushing up on a little espanol for Cinco de Mayo . . . And you know what holiday is right around the corner next??

That's right. Mother's Day.

I just love Mother's Day. And over the years (and probably since I have become a mother) it is just one of those holidays that holds a special place in my heart. AND tends to get me all verklempt.

Maybe I love Mother's Day because I have the best mom. She is one of the humblest, hardest-working and strongest people I know. And she's funny too! (Just ask her to quote some of My Big Fat Greek Wedding for you . . .) And of course I have fond memories of making breakfast in bed for my mom as a child on Mother's Day. . . . (The menu? French toast with a side of Diet Coke. Yep, I was a REALLY good cook!) And today I still like to visit my mom every Mother's Day weekend. She and I could just sit around and talk, watch a marathon of old Cops reruns, or look through old family pictures ALL. DAY.

I love you mom!

And then of course there's my little guy who came into this world and gave me the title "Momma" (and let's be honest, a few stretch marks to go along with that . . .) and gave Mother's Day a whole new meaning for me . . .

Soooooooo . . . to help celebrate mommies EVERYWHERE (especially the moms of my cute students) I started a tradition of "Muffins With Mom" every year in May so that my little kinder kidlets can shower their moms with singing, sweet homemade cards, a gift, and some yummy treats. And let me tell you . . . the kids LOVE it!

We started working on our "secret projects" this week.

First my kiddos wrote about why they love their moms - seriously, I almost cried.

Next came the task of doing my student "interviews" about their moms. This is super time consuming (especially this year with 30 kiddos!) but it is such a precious keepsake that I have to do it every year! To hear what the kids have to say about their moms in their own words is priceless . . . (and hilarious!). My favorite part: "Mom spends most of her time doing things like making sweaters for me out of yarn." Awesome.

Finally, we will be making our Mother's Day craftivity (which becomes the outside of the Mother's Day card we will be giving):

If you are looking for a way to celebrate the mothers of your kidlets this year, you can check out my Mother's Day pack in my TPT store (just click on the teapot below). You will get all of these goodies!

And while we are on the topic of mothers . . . the Messyhair family has an important announcement to make:

That's right . . . we are expecting baby #2 in November!! We have been so very blessed by the news, and can't wait to meet our little Mr. or Miss in just a few months!!!

Well, that's about it for now folks! I'm off to have a little late night snack (I'm eating for two now, right?) and snuggle with the hubs on the couch. Have a good night!

Lindsay

Teacher Bits and Bobs on INSTAGRAM!!

2013-04-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

Good evening, blogging buddies!! Kerri here...

Did you know that as of today Teacher Bits and Bobs has her very own Instagram account??
Checkity check it... TADA!!

Okay, I KNOW we only have 4 little pictures right now, but soon our Instagram will be OVERFLOWING with teachery goodness! My goal is to Instagram at least one quirky, unexpected, or special teaching moment a day. We'll see how it goes! Lindsay, on the other hand, is an Instagram machine, hash tagging this and that, so she'll be the Teacher B&B Instagramming rockstar FO SHIZZLE!

We are linking up with What the Teacher Wants and Apples and ABC's Instagram Linky party, found here...

Wanna follow us?
Click on the little fun Instagram button below to become a Teacher B&B Instagram follower, and be sure to use the hashtag #teachertalktuesday to see all kinds of teachery goodness every Tuesday!

Thanks Peeps!
XOXO Kerri B

Alphabet and Numbers Review Packs!!

2013-04-27T11:01:00.002-07:00

Happy Saturday, Folks! Kerri here...

About this time last year, as I was starting to plan for the following school year and thinking about what beginning Firsties needed to review, so I created 2 different learning packs, one for the Alphabet and one for Numbers 1-30.
I also created these with the end of Kindergarten in mind, remembering back to the good old Kinder years, when my Kinders were getting squirrelly at the end of the year, but still needed to review all of the good old alphabet and number concepts we had learned throughout the year.
Hence, my Amazing Alphabet Activities pack was born...

...as well as my I Know my Numbers Activity pack!

I asked Lindsay if she would let her Kinders be my guinea pigs for the Alphabet activities, and of course she agreed, since she's my bestie and all! :)

Here is are a couple of pics and what she wrote from her post last year...

A few weeks ago Kerri offered to share her Amazing Alphabet Activity pack (She had even printed, laminated, cut out, and Ziploc-baggied all of the pieces for me! Yippee!!) My class had just wrapped up the last letter of the alphabet, so we were gearing up for a week of ABC review - it was perfect! My kids LOVED all of the activities, particularly the "Alphabet Mystery Words". . .

I even used the alphabet picture/word/letter match with my RTI group and they loved it! They were so motivated to see who could get the most matches!

Anyway, this was a fun lil unit - I highly recommend it for your end of the year kinders or fabulous fall firsties!

These units are also perfect summer school activities for your Kinder or First grade kiddos. My daughter used lots of the activities last year with a couple of Kinder and First grade boys she was tutoring over the summer, and the activities really helped them hone their alphabet and number skills!

You can check them out in my TPT shop, friends!

I'm off to grade a brazillion papers, work on a couple of yearbook pages for my school's yearbook, and get started on this little number...

Happy Weekend, friends!!
XOXO Kerri

Five for Friday!!

2013-04-26T16:44:00.001-07:00

Happy Friday, Peeps! Kerri here...

Oh. My. Word. This was such a crazy busy week! I felt like I had soooo many things to do, and didn't get half of them accomplished! PTL that it is the weekend and I can catch-up. A pedi is calling my name tomorrow (my toes are BEYOND fugly right now, hence I have been wearing closed toed shoes EVERY day!)

Since it is Friday, I am linking up with Kacey over at Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky! LOVE IT!

First up...TIMREE painting! I am lucky to work LITERALLY blocks from Timree's art studio in Newport Beach. Do any of you remember her when she was on the Real Housewives of Orange County? Well, she is ADORABLE, uber-talented, and I just LOVE all of her products. I highly recommend her teacher pencil dish...it is my favorite teacher gift for my daughter's teachers.

Isn't mine sooo fabulous??

So anyway, she was offering a free paint class through her Facebook page so she could train one of her protege teachers, and I got 2 spots for my daughter and her friend. It was the BEST. TIME. EVER!

Here are their owls in progress...

The finished product!! TADA!

Isn't that so fun?
DISCLAIMER: Sitting next to Katie while she painted was SERIOUSLY giving me HIVES. The gnarly teacher in me was DYING the whole time, and there were a couple of times I had to just get up and walk away. That girl!! Thankfully, we survived with only a couple of emotional scars apiece! HA!

Number 2: The Rainforest is in FULL EFFECT! This week we learned about the layers of the rainforest but first looking at this GINORMOUS poster, which was made for me by my student teacher's dad a few years ago...

It is HUGE!!

Then, we step drew and labeled the layers of the rainforest in our Science notebooks...

Finally, we made our Rainforest layers art from my Rainforest Fun Unit for Open House...

Number 3: Mrs. B's little garden! We made rainforest flowers last week, but they are PERFECT for May too, so I put them up on the back wall to brighten up the room. Aren't they GORGEOUS?? :)
Sigh...I heart art!

Number 4: Earth Day Math centers...this week we were neck deep in all things related to Earth Day and we did some fun Earth Day math centers today...

Fact Families

Number Puzzles

Graphing

Last, but not least...

AAAHHHH!!!! I ordered a personalized Melonhead from Nikki at Melonheadz Illustrating before she posted that she couldn't make them anymore, and she sent it today! I think I'm going to FREAK the FREAK OUT, it's soooo amazing!! :)

I also bought this set from her ETSY shop today...check it out! HARRY POTTER!! I'm in LOOOVEE!!

Off to dinner with the fam! Have a happy weekend, friends!!

XOXO Kerri B

Mrs. Wishy-Washy

2013-04-23T21:32:00.001-07:00

Being that I am a huge Mrs. Wishy-Washy fan, I was so excited when the folks at Hameray Publishing Group sent me two new Joy Cowley books use in my classroom and review!

The first book that I received was "Wishy Washy Clothes" and was from the Joy Cowley Early Birds collection. With a word count of 64 words, this Mrs. Wishy Washer reader was a great resource for some of my more proficient readers to read independently in class. The story was adorable and very accessible with its use of sight words, easily decodable words, and pictures to give students comprehension support as they were reading.

The second book that I received was "Mrs. Wishy-Washy and the Big Wash". This reader had a word count of 227 words, which was a bit much for my kinder kiddos, however I was able to use it as a resource with the group of first grade reading intervention students that I work with on Tuesdays.

One feature that was SO helpful for teachers that I found in both of these books was the handy teacher's guide that is inside the back cover. The teacher's guide gave comprehension questions, features of text to focus on, vocabulary words, and more!

If you are interested in entering an awesome Joy Cowley Classroom Giveaway, click the button below.

The giveaway that calls for teachers, parents, friends, relatives and anyone else who wants to nominate a classroom to possibly win 90 new titles from beloved author and Mrs. Wishy-Washy creator Joy Cowley: The Joy Cowley Collection and the Joy Cowley Early Birds! These two new collections of leveled readers, for Kindergarten to 2^nd Grade classrooms, are developed for shared, guided, and independent reading. Finger puppets and 3 audio CDs will also be included, comprising a value greater than $400! (This contest valid in the US and Canada only.)

You can find out more about Hameray Publishing, Mrs. Wishy-Washy, and other fun activities here:

www.Pinterest.com/Hameray

www.HamerayPublishing.com (To purchase use promo code ZJCC13 for 20% off purchase of anything on the website through 6/30/13)

www.Facebook.com/Hameray

Well that's it for tonight folks! I'm off to watch some Duck Dynasty (yes, you can thank Kerri and my mother for getting me TOTALLY hooked - and now I just loooooove me some Willie and Phil!!).

Lindsay

“Disclosure: I received complimentary products for review. All opinions are my own and this is not a compensated post.”

O', Canada!! Five for Friday!!

2013-04-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Good afternoon, bloggy friends! Kerri here...

Greetings from Vancouver, Canada! This place is DROP. DEAD. BEAUTIFUL! Like, it literally takes my breath away. We are having the bestest time EVER, and I am oh, so sad that we have to leave tomorrow. :(

Since it is Friday, I am linking up for Kacey's Five for Friday linky party, and obviously, since I have been on Vacay all week long, I have NOTHING school related to share with you (thank the Lord!), so here it is...The Five for Friday-Canada edition!

Number 1: Stanley Park. We literally could have spent our entire time here, it is so massive and amazingly beautiful. We rode bikes all around the edge of it, and besides that fact that we were FREEZING, it was the best day I can remember in a long time...

Totem Poles!!

Fabulous views of the Lion's Gate Bridge

Check out those 2 Canadian Geese up there!

Beautiful bridges

Gorgeous views of the city...

Number 2...Queen Elizabeth Park. This park is gigantic and absolutely stunning!! It is by the house my dad grew up in, and he says they used to call it "Little Mountain" because you can see the whole city from there...

Number 3...Capilano Suspension Bridge Park! This was the best day ever!

This was near the Capilano River...

The flowers here are soooo beautiful!

Number 4...Granville Island! It was raining and SOOOO cold this day, but we got to have fun inside the Public Market, and it was all about the food, food, food!!

I was told to kiss this monkey!

FRUIT!

Oh my yumminess!

French crepes!!

Aren't these so pretty??

Number 5...I heart CANADA!!

I love that maple leaf!

I love their money! Wicked cool...

I love Poutin...french fries, brown gravy, and cheese curds. IT. IS. DELICIOUS!

I love that they have French writing on everything!

I especially love the Steam clock in Gastown!

See ya later, Peeps!!

XOXO Kerri

Prayers for Boston

2013-04-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing teaching-related to share tonight folks. I've had the TV on (like many of you, I'm sure) and have just been heartbroken for the city of Boston after the events that transpired today.

This evening I came across this Mr. Rogers quote, and as a teacher and a mother, it was strangely comforting, so I thought I would share it with y'all:

Watch the news footage from Boston and you WILL see people helping; people running toward those who were hurt and injured. People putting themselves in danger to help a stranger.

It is good to remember that amidst these sad, tragic moments of life, there is still much good in the world.

Sending love and prayers to those in Boston, and especially to the families of the victims.

Lindsay

Having a blast in Boston - Summer 2007 (I love you Beantown!)

Earth Day LOVE!

2013-04-13T22:16:00.003-07:00

Happy Sunday, Bloggy friends! Kerri here...
Here is my favorite picture from our trip so far, which has been super AWESOME already, but ABSOLUTELY FREEZING and RAINY. We even had massive hail today!

Mommy and her girls!

Earth Day is just a week away!I can't believe it!! Where the heck is April going??

Earth Day is one of my favoritest days (holidays? What do I call it exactly??) to teach my kidlets all about, mostly because they REALLY take it seriously and become so motivated to help keep the Earth clean.

Here are some of the activities that I did with my class last year to celebrate Earth Day...

First, we made this super EASY PEASY (and pretty) Earth Day art and wrote about how we could help save the Earth...

Here are the dimensions, if you would like to make them with your class, along with writing paper and the Earth template for your kids to color and cut out (clipart courtesy of DJ Inkers)...

9 x 12 light blue background
5 x 12 skin color (I folded it in half, traced one my kids' hands and then cut it out once)
Earth pattern (click picture above to access this)
3 x 4 paper folded in half for the heart (I used pretty scrapbook paper)
Writing paper so the kids can write how they love the Earth (also included with download, click photo above)

We also made a little "I Love the Earth" bubble map to help us describe the Earth. This helped us when when we wrote about it (click image to download)...

We also had LOTS of fun ~~playing~~ ~~with~~ examining earthworms in a VERY scientific way after reading Diary of a Worm...

SO NASTY!!

Isn't his expression priceless?? This was the BEST ACTIVITY EVER!!

We also had LOADS of fun with my Earth Day Math and Literacy Centers...

Here are my kids having fun with the centers...

Counting Patterns

Graphing

Number Puzzles

Syllable Sort

They also used my Earth Day Writing center to write all about the Earth...

Finally, to complete all this Earth Day goodness, how about another Earth Day Number Puzzles FREEBIE from my TPT store! Click on the picture to download it for yourself...

Whew!! That was a lot of Earth Day fun!! Hope you found some activities that you can share with your kiddies!! Happy Earth Day, friends!!
XOXO Kerri B

Five for Friday (of course!!)

2013-04-12T05:55:00.001-07:00

Happy, Happy, Happy, PEEPS!! Kerri here...

Wanna know why I'm sooo happy, happy, happy (ala Duck Dynasty)? Because I am currently in Seattle visiting my baby brother, soon to be in Vancouver, getting back to my 50% Canadian roots. Ahhhh, Spring Break is the BEST. THING. EVER!

Here are my TOTALLY random Five for Friday pics, since I am linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly linky party. :)

Number 1: Flower Art. On Thursday, my class made ginormous tear art flowers for our Rainforest unit, and they came out FABULOUS!! I was so proud of my little kidlets' tear art skills!

Next Up: my favorite Classroom Friendly Pencil Sharpener's kidnap situation! Maybe I should back up...About a month ago, my bestest, most favorite pencil sharpener EVER mysteriously disappeared from my room. This is not the first time this has happened. Last year, the same thing happened and there were ransom notes left, mysterious clues found, etc. All in jest, of course, done by one of my fellow teacher friends, who HAPPENS to be a male, and also HAPPENS to be a practical joker. Needless to say, it was very annoying. Well, guess what happened to my poor pencil sharpener this year...

ENCASED IN JELLO!! WTH, man! I was sooooo peeved at that boy, let me tell you. AND, he has previously done this with my tape dispenser too. What a turd!
But, here is the good news. It still works perfectly!! That pencil sharpener is AMAZING, man!!

Number 3: My new Origami Owl locket...

I am soooo in love with this locket. It is sooo pretty, and holds my daughters' initials perfectly!!

Number 4: Earth Day art and writing...I know it's a little early for Earth Day, but since Spring Break is this next week, we had to get a jump on things. My Earth Day post is forthcoming, BTW, so stay tuned...

Those ducks in the background crack me up!

I love this little guy's second sentence..."Do not run over animals with cars, just wate for them" Okay?? I guess that's definitely one way to take care of the Earth! HA!

Finally...my new NAKED palette!

I finally bit the bullet and popped 50 big ones for the Naked palette by Urban Decay. Now I have to get my youtube video tutorials on and learn how to use it!! P.S. My 13 year old daughter is SOOOO jealous. Whatever girl! Get a J.O.B.!

Have a wonderful week, friends! My next Five for Friday will be the Canadian version-WHOO HOO!!
XOXO Kerri B

Alphabet Mystery Pictures!!

2013-04-07T09:12:00.002-07:00

Happy Sunday, Friends!!
I am feeling super excited today because I have only 4, count them, 4 days of school this week before we jump on a jet plane and head on up to Seattle AND Vancouver for Spring Break! I am, in fact, 50% Canadian, thanks to my dad, so I cannot wait to see the city that he grew up in!

I am also here to share with you my newest creation...Alphabet Mystery Puzzles-Sight Word Edition! For some reason, the word MYSTERY makes my kids get all excited, and they LOOOVVE these! These are perfect for your kidlets to extra sight word practice, while honing their beginning sound skills, and alphabetic knowledge...

This common core aligned pack included 64 sight word puzzles-2 sets each for the Pre-Primer, Primer, First Grade, and Second Grade DOLCH sight words.

After making my Alphabet Mystery Puzzles Pack-phonics edition...

I decided to make a Color Words Edition FREEBIE which has had over 25,000 downloads!! HOLY SCHNIKEYS! (Click on picture to download for yourself!)...

And then I had LOTS of requests for more, so the Sight Word edition was born! Here is a closer look at the words that are included...

Hope you'll check it out and let me know what you think! :)

Happy Sunday, friends!!
XOXO Kerri B

Five for Friday (plus a FREEBIE and Rafflecopter Winner too)!!

2013-04-05T20:35:00.002-07:00

Happy Friday, Peeps! Kerri here...

I am happy, happy, happy! Cause it is Friday night and I am sitting in my Friday night uniform (hoodie and PJ pants) watching Duck Dynasty. Couldn't be ANY better!!

I am linking up with Kacey over at Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five for Friday linky.

First up....wipey boards! Can I just tell you how much I love my wipey boards?? If I were stranded on a desert island with my class (can you imagine? GAH!!) I would most definitely want my wipey boards with me! I use those things for EVERYTHING! When in doubt, get out the wipey board and do some learning. Spelling words, making words, all kinds of math practice. THEY. ARE. THE. BEST.

Number 2...Domino math!
I was teaching the fact family lesson for Envision math and OF COURSE the independent practice they provided was RIDONKULOUS, so I used that time to teach my kids how we do it OLD SCHOOL! Folding a paper into 8 squares, drawing our own dominoes and using real dominoes to make fact families. My mom was helping in the class that day, and she said, "This is how we used to do it in the olden days!" HA!!

Number 3...BUTTERFLY WEEK!
We learned all about butterflies this week. SO MUCH FUN! Our story in HM was The Butterfly so it was perfect timing! Here is the butterfly life cycle sequence my kids did this week... (click on the picture to download your own copy)

We also drew a butterfly and wrote about it for our WOWZVILLE writing wall...

Frist...REALLY?? Sigh...

We also made butterfly art from my Rainforest Art and Writing Pack...

Aren't they pretty??

Number 4...Spring Center Madness! We are smack dab in the middle of all things Spring, including my Springy Things Math and Literacy Centers!

Hoppy Inflections Words Sort

Spring-ified Word Sort

Flowery Subtraction

Jellybean Greater Than/Less Than

Egg-citing Addition

Finally...Our Seeds of Happiness Giveaway Winner!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations Jenni! I will be emailing you to get your info!!

Okay, well I gotta go get my Duck Dynasty on! I LOVE those rednecks!!
XOXO Kerri B

It's a Rainforest EXTRAVAGANZA!!

2013-04-03T16:00:00.002-07:00

Happy Hump Day, friends!! Kerri here...

You ever have one of those days where you fell like your class has been taken over by a bunch of aliens?? Well, that was my day today. Sigh...Spring Fever has hit with a VENGEANCE in Room 4!!

As I was looking over my plans for April from last year, I had a slight panic attack when I realized that it is time to start planning my big ole Rainforest EXTRAVAGANZA! This beast of a unit takes us 8 weeks to complete, so I start the first week in April.

At my school, we culminate the year with our Open House 2 weeks before school lets out for the summer, but I start planning and prepping for the big event WAAAYYY early, because Open House is my most favoritest thing ever! I love transforming my room into a place that literally makes my kids say "ooohh, aaahhh" when they see it, and I also love the satisfaction that comes from engaging my kids in an 8 week long thematic unit that includes language arts, math, science, writing, and (of course) most importantly, ART!

Last year I developed my Rainforest Fun! Art and Writing Unit, after years of teaching my kids about the rainforest and turning my room into a rainforest every year for Open House.

Here are some pictures of last year's Rainforest transformation...

(Disclaimer: I am not a patterned art type of gal. All of the art projects my kiddies do are the "I do, you do" step cut method, which makes their art sooo much more original and unique, I think!)

Yup!! The rainforest literally threw up in my room! I love it!!
My kids EAT. IT. UP. every year, and they learn so so much about the rainforest. I am getting excited just thinking about teaching it again this year!!

If you are interested in transforming your classroom into a living rainforest, then you can check this out...

In addition to directions for all of the 10 art projects you see above you, this unit includes all sorts of writing activities for lots of different rainforest animals, which you can save and make into a rainforest book for your kiddos!

I also have my companion Rainforest Fun! Math Literacy Centers available as a companion to my Art and Writing Unit, to extend the rainforest fun just a little bit further! :)

Thanks for checking out my rainforest ideas! I hope you all have a wonderful Open House this year, whatever theme you choose to do! It's a such a memorable experience for our students, isn't it?? :)

Kerri B

P.S. And I hope the aliens haven't abducted your children like they have mine. Hopefully, they'll be back to themselves tomorrow!!

Bird is the WORD!!

2013-04-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday, my fine feathered Friends! Kerri here...

It is officially April, and yes, I did go to work the day after Easter, and YES! some of my kids still thought it was Easter Day when they walked in the room this morning! Boy, were they SORELY mistaken about that one!! Viola Swamp had to make a small appearance, but they got their acts together pretty quick!!

I wanted to share all sorts of WICKEDLY cool art projects that the teachers at my school came up with for our "Bird is the Word" Art Show last week. I got to walk through it with my kidlets and I saw some seriously AWESOME art happening. Let's begin, shall we??

Kinder made these adorable penguins...

First grade made parrots...

Second grade made bald eagles...

Third grade made fabulous puffins...

Fourth grade got to make owls (soooo jealous!)...

Fifth grade made flamingos...

And sixth grade got to make peacocks...

And, for the grand finale on our Bird tour, here are some fabulous ducklings my kidlets made last week!

Alright, Peepers!! Talk to ya later! Hope your week is wonderful! Don't forget to enter our Seeds of Happiness giveaway, which ends on Thursday! Click the pic below to head over and enter!

XOXO Kerri

Spring Cleaning Sale!!

2013-03-29T16:41:00.003-07:00

Happy Friday, Friends!! Kerri here...

Can I get an amen that it's Friday FINALLY! My day was PURE. HELL. Let's just say that it was Grandparent's Day, my kids were nutty nut jobs due to the afore-mentioned G-parents Day, PLUS Easter right around the corner, AND one of the grandpas had a possible heart attack on the field in the middle of Flag Deck with all of the children watching, and had to be taken off campus by an ambulance. So sad! :(

I need a stiff drink.

In happier news, I am stoked that March is almost done, and April is right around the corner! Wanna know why?? 'Cause my Sarah B finds out if she got into OCHSA next week! CAN. NOT. WAIT. (Actually, I feel vaguely nauseous every time I think about it!) Keep your fingers crossed for me her! :)

Thank you Krista Wallden for the fabulous graphic!

Linds and I are having a little SALE to celebrate. Everything will be 20% off!
It's time to clean out your TPT carts and get ready for Spring!! I know I have some SERIOUS TPT cart cleaning to do, and will be shopping my little heart out this weekend.
Here are some of my Springy items that might interest you. I will be using in these things the next few weeks in my classroom...

My brand new Spring Math and Literacy Centers!

Earth Day Literacy and Math Centers

Spring Words Writing Pack

A plethora of writing center bundles!

Getting ready for Open House with my Rainforest Fun! Art and Writing Unit

Here are some of Lindsay's goodies you might like...

So, come on now! Get your shopping on!! :)

XOXO Kerri B and Lindsay

P.S. Don't forget to sign up for our Seeds of Happiness giveaway. Click on the picture below to go to the giveaway!

Seeds of Happiness giveaway and an April Fools unit!

2013-03-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday, Peeps!! Kerri here...
It's almost Friday! YIPPEE! Only one more day until Easter weekend. However, in my wacky district, we don't have Spring Break for another 2 LOOONNNGGG weeks, so that means I will be right back at school the DAY AFTER Easter! UGH. That is not at all an exciting prospect, let me tell ya!

I wanted to share a SUPER COOL April Fool's Day unit my friend from high school, Angela, just posted to TPT. Angela is a 2nd grade teacher in the city we both grew up in and she had 3 ADORABLE kidlets of her own.
This unit is PERFECT for all you 2nd and 3rd grade teacher out there! This is her first unit and I have to tell you, it is AWESOME!

Here's a little sneak peek...

Click on either picture above to check it out in her brand new TPT store!! Your kidlets will LOOOVVE using it on April Fool's Day!

Now on to the FABULOUS Seeds of Happiness giveaway...

So, a couple of weeks ago, I went into our school office and saw this little nugget of cuteness sitting on my office manager's desk...

Oh. My. Word. What is the world is that adorable thing?? Turns out, it is a Seed of Happiness from www.seedsofhappiness.com. These little adorable clay seeds and cards are meant to be given to friends who are going through hard times and need a little smile.

ISN'T THAT THE BOMB?? I fell in love immediately (as you may or may not know, I am obsessed with chochkies, brightly colored baubles, and anything that is cute, but has a deeper meaning, so OF COURSE, I love them!!)

I came right home and ordered a bunch to give to my friends and family, and then immediately contacted the Seeds of Happiness people to see if they would be willing to share some of their Seeds of Happiness with all of you! And they said YES!! How cool is that??

Aren't they just beautiful??

A bowl full of Happiness!

They also have some other ADORABLE seeds that are seasonal. Check out these cuties...

Top O' the Morning to ya!

Bunny love!! Perfect for Easter!

A Sunflower for Mother's Day, perhaps??

Aren't you just dying from the cuteness?? I know I am. Seeds of Happiness will be giving away 10 of their original seeds and cards to one lucky winner. Of course, Lindsay and I will throw in a product from both of our stores as well.
Would you pretty please like Seeds of Happiness on Facebook?? It would make them oh-so-happy!

You can enter for this giveaway using Rafflecopter...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An Egg-stra Special Egg-vestigation

2013-03-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday folks! Lindsay here . . .

Well tonight's post is gonna be a short one. This momma is feelin a bit under the weather and SUPER DUPER TIRED (hmmmmm, maybe from chasing around my toddler in his new blue convertible Mercedes - thanks Auntie Kerri!!) and so tonight I am going to bed EAAAAAAAAAAARLY!! (You know you are old when you get excited about going to bed early, right??)

Well, I am so super excited to share with y'all my brand new "An Egg-stra Special Egg-vestigation" activity pack and book!

My little chitlens are such the little mini-scientists that I wanted to come up with some fun and exciting egg investigations activities that we could do around Easter.

{Random sidenote: One of my cuties told me a couple weeks ago that he was soooo excited to go to First Grade next year! So of course, I asked him why he was so excited. He told me "Cuz in First Grade you do REAL science!" Ouch. Guilt trip. Bad teacher. Sigh . . . better get going on some REAL science Mrs. Messyhair!!!}

And so . . . the "Egg-vestigation" pack was born!!!

This Easter-ific activity pack includes:

1. Egg-citing Describing Words
2. Egg Circumference
3. Egg Sink or Float
4. Egg Sink or Float Part 2 - Salt Water
5. The Incredible Egg (strength of eggs)
6. Egg Diagram
7. Egg Write Wrap-Up

All the activities are thoroughly explained, a list of suggested material is given, and a printable booklet is given so that your little scientists can record what they learn and share it at home!
After making a quick run to the store tomorrow (for lots and lots of eggs!), I plan to do these mini-centers on Wednesdays as our "Egg-splorations"!!

You can check out all of the EGG-CELLENT goodness (sorry, I just couldn't help it!) in my TPT store by clicking the image below:

Well, that's it for tonight! I'm off to put on my cozy pants for the evening! I'll be back soon to give you an update of how our Egg-vestigations go soon! :)

Lindsay

P.S. Thanks to all of you for your kind words about the yearbook last week - I'm feeling much better! You peeps are the best!

Random Sunday Post!!

2013-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

Good morning, friends! Kerri here...
This post is going to be all kinds of random, so bear with me!

I have been called lucky by my peeps in the past because many times when I enter a raffle, I seem to win. Crazy right?? The past 2 years at our grant dinner, I have won a South Coast Plaza gift certificate (Ka-CHING!!), and a few years ago, I even won an Ellison Die Cut Machine (currently collecting dust in my closet, but that's beside the point.)

Well, guess what I won at my daughter's Silent Auction on Friday (which, by the way, I WON tickets to)??

Oh. Em. Gee. Isn't that crazy?? No, it isn't full sized (DURNIT!), but it is the perfect size for Baby Jack Messner, my surrogate nephew AND Lindsay's own personal baby!

Climbing in was the hardest part!

Watch out! Baby on the loose!

Hey! No texting and driving, Mister!

Fletcher Jones!! How fancy pants he is~

And, in the end, sometimes it's WAAAYYY better to just push the thing!

Yup, I am officially the BEST. AUNTY. EVER.

In other news, I watched this last night, FINALLY!

I know, I know! Where have I been, under a rock?? I meant to see it when it first came out, and then, well, I kinda chose the Hobbit instead, so it never happened.

Peeps, this movie WRECKED me. I was a slobbering, blubbering mess. Not pretty, I tell you. WOW! I am still reeling. And since that makes 2 musicals for me in just one week, I am also feeling my theatrical roots like CRAZY!

Sidenote: Did you know I was Best Thespian 1992 and the Drama President my Senior Year in high school? Yes, it's true. Drama GEEK all the way!

Finally, I made my class yearbook page yesterday, which was supposed to be assigned to a parent, but come on now, I am WAAAYYY too controlling to relinquish those duties!

I just have to share, cause it's too cute! Our theme this year is Movies. so here is mine. It's a throw back to Sunset Blvd., which I have actually never seen, and my kids are going to be clueless, but anyway we've all heard that famous line....

TADA!! Pretty cute, right?? I KNEW those mustaches and juicy lips would come in handy! :)

Alright, Bordelon out! I gots to eat breaky and get ready for churchy. Have a beautiful Sunday!!

XOXO Kerri B

Five for Friday-March 22nd

2013-03-22T17:57:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah, it's Friday!! Anyone with me??
Hi Friends! Kerri here...

I am linking up as usual with Kacey over at Doodle Bugs Teaching for her weekly Five for Friday linky.

Okay, first up...WICKED was TOTALLY WICKED! Like I am SERIOUSLY dying over here. It has been almost a week and I keep thinking about it, singing the songs, watching you tube videos. Oh, I was SOOOOO in heaven last Saturday night! Here is a picture of my dear friend Amy and I (I call her my sister from another mister, since we kinda look alike, and we are SOOO the same in so many ways, it's creepy!)

Next one...Kite art from the fabulous Cara Carroll...this seemed like it would be so perfectly easy, but for some reason it was a living nightmare! Why is it that even though I spelled WOULD correctly on the SMARTBOARD, a ton of kids mispelled it in their cloud??!!! Look at the board, KIDLETS!!!

I swear to you, I was ready to go straight GHETTO on those kids! Grrrr... Even though it was hellish, they still came out pretty darn cute!

Georgia friends, can you GO to the beach in Georgia??

Do you notice the added pencil on this one?? Yeah, her pencil got glued to it. Whatevs...I told you it was a nightmare!

Number 3...my new stamp from Doodle Bugs Paper. I LOVE IT!! Oh my word, this thing is the cutest thing EVAHHHH...

My kiddos are equally in love with it, and they positively go giddy when they get to stamp it on their paper!

Number 4...endless lamination! I swear to you (again), I am FOREVER cutting out laminate! As soon as I am done, I make new centers and laminate all over again. I plan on cutting this ginormous stack out from my Spring Things centers this weekend, while watching re-runs of New Girl (I am OB.SESSED, peeps!) Schmidty rules!!

Who's That Girl?? It's Jess!

Finally...PARROTS! Our school is having an art fair and each grade level was asked to make a different type of bird. Kinder had penguins, Second made bald eagles, Third made puffins, Fourth-owls (yes, I am jealous!), fifth, I can't remember, and 6th got peacocks. Well, First Grade got parrots, which is PERFECT, since I make these for my Open House Rainforest theme, and they came out super cute!!

excuse the smudge, I smudged out his name...

They are so bright and pretty!! These are in my Rainforest Art and Writing Unit, along with 9 other rainforest animal art projects.

Well, I'm going to my daughter's Silent Auction tonight with one of my besties, while my hubs watches the kidlets. Dinner isn't until 6:30! Do they not realize that we eat dinner at 5?? I am going to fall over from hunger by then! SHEESH!

Catch ya later, peeps!!
XOXO Kerri

My Kite Reader FREEBIE and a Whole Lot of Regrets!

2013-03-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Wednesday folks! Lindsay here . . .

I cannot even believe that March is over halfway over. After finishing up conferences last week I feel like the rest of the year will be over in the blink of an eye and my chitlens will be off to first grade before I know it!! Cra-zy!!!

But that's not what I came here to talk about tonight. No indeedy. I have something much heavier on my heart tonight.

Let's talk about regrets, shall we?

This year I have a BIG regret . . . signing up to be my school's Yearbook Coordinator!! (insert dramatic music, ominous music here . . .)

I have a defininate, undeniable problem with saying no. Which is how I got into this situation to begin with . . . It's not that I have anything against the yearbook process or HELPING with the yearbook. I just didn't necessarily need to sign up to do it. The whole thing. Single-handedly.

Gulp.

Sigh. Its not easy being ~~green~~ Yearbook Coordinator.

And the Yearbook Coordinator debacle has gotten me thinking about other life regrets as well. . .

Like the time I SHOULD have plucked my wickedly ginormous unibrow in Junior High and I didn't.

Like the time I tried to cook a delicious home-cooked meal for (my at-the-time boyfriend) Mr. Messyhair and I thought 8-10 whole peeled garlic cloves that the recipe called for meant 8-10 whole peeled garlic BULBS. (Holy garlic breath!!!)

And like that time I thought that a perm would be REALLY, REALLY great hair choice for me.

Sigh. Lots of regrets.

Have I learned my lesson? Yes. Just say no people! Say no to perms, bad cooking, unibrows and all forms of yearbook participation and/or coordination.

Phew.

I'm so glad I got that off my chest. :)

Just one more thing to share tonight . . . I made a little My Kite reader FREEBIE that I posted to TPT, so just click the shamrock below to check it out! My kidlets had SO much fun coming up with lots of juicy describing words for their little stories!

Well, that's it for now! I'm off to work on Yearbook pages! Wish me luck!

Goodnight!

Lindsay