Parent Night

Did you have your Parent/Meet the Teacher/Curriculum Night yet? Although we had our Parent Night at the beginning of September, we are just getting around to posting the pictures now!

As the parents enter the classroom, there is a table with the curriculum night packets. I also have a little display where the parent can pick an apple (or two) and donate some supplies to our classroom.

I used scrapbook paper and the apple die cut to make the apples. I printed a list of supplies I use throughout the year with my students on Avery labels- different colored pens for writing, Avery labels, cardstock paper, composition notebooks, and stickers.

I stuck the labels onto the apples and then attached the sign:

Apple Picking Sign from Google Docs

I then have the parents walk around the classroom and try to guess where their child’s desk is. Prior to the parents coming, I have my students fill out a “GUESS WHO SITS HERE?” paper. The students wrote some clues about themselves and drew their portrait. The parents had to read the riddles and find their child's desk!

I also had some animal crackers and a “Wild about Learning” note attached to the desk. Our parent night was from 6:40-8:30 (I wish I was kidding-it was THAT long!) and I thought they might get the munchies!

As I began my presentation, I passed out the “Guess who WAS here?” paper and told the parents to take out their child’s markers and crayons. As I was giving my presentation, the parents wrote a sweet little note back to their child. The parents papercliped it over their nametags.

The KIDS WENT CRAZY with excitement when they walked in the next day and saw a note from their parents! Some parents were even so kind to leave behind some of those animal crackers!

One other activity I did with my students in preparation of parent night was just for fun! The students filled out their “Top 10 Things for My Parents to Learn at Parent Night!”

I love how this little girl wrote for #1- DON’T STEP ON THE CARPET!! (We have a SPECIAL no shoes, only socks carpet that we use for SPECIAL occasions!)

I also like how this student wrote #10- FIND NUGGET ON THE TEACHER’S DESK!

Only one month of school and we already know each other so well!

Get the Parent Night Goodies on Google Docs!

Nicole used the super cute idea from Abby’s Super in Second File for her bulletin board! They were a big hit- thanks, Abby!

Check out your local screen printing shop to see if they can make your team a t-shirt to wear on Parent Night. Since we only used one color ink, the shop printed them for only $10! The parents loved seeing all of the 2nd grade teachers wearing them! We even got a little rock star treatment! Many parents wanted to take our picture together. An hour after Parent Night ended, our team picture was already on Facebook (added by one of the parent paparazzi!!).

Any other ideas for Parent Night out there!?!  

Share them with us!

Pete the Cat Giveaway Winners!

Boy, oh, boy, people sure love Pete! 

So, without further ado,

Can we get a

Drum roll, please...

       

{We will email you shortly to get your information}

Thanks to all who entered!!!!



Pete the Cat Giveaway!

One giveaway ends and another one begins!

On September 11th, I had the privilege of meeting Eric (Mr. Eric) Litwin and James Dean, the author and illustrator of Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes and Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes!

 

They were awesome! It was obvious how much they LOVE performing! Mr. Eric played his harmonica and guitar as he read the story to the group.

Meanwhile, James illustrated Pete!

 

 

 

 

Here's the exciting part for YOU! See the TWO books they are autographing???

We are giving them away! But it gets even better!

Two winners will each get an autographed copy of the book and a copy of

Deanna Jump's Pete the Cat Literacy and Math Activities

Fran Kramer's Pete the Cat Big Book to Make

Here's how to enter:

1. Follow our blog

2. Follow Deanna's blog

3. Follow Fran on TpT

Then, leave one comment on our blog telling us when you've followed all 3 (since this giveaway spreads across different blogs, we need to keep all entrants in one place).  We will be pulling **2** winners from the comments left only on our blog---but feel free to send some love to Fran and Deanna on their blogs!! 

Good luck!

The deadline to enter is SATURDAY, September 24 at Midnight!

Winners will be announced on SUNDAY! 

Check back to see if you are the lucky teacher!!

Halloween Giveaway News

Thanks to all who entered our Halloween giveaway with What the Teacher Wants! Be sure to check out their blog to see if you're a winner! 

Rachelle, Natalie, and Lesson Plan SOS are running a 10% off sale on our October TpT files (sale runs through Saturday). We hope the activities will bring a smile to your little monsters' faces and give you a head start on your lesson planning!

Whoooo's A Good-Looking Kid?

Whooo's a good looking kid? All of my students are!

As soon as I saw Mrs. Lee's adorable owls (or her sister's I should say?) I knew I was going to make those with my kiddos! I bought one of those big mirrors on sale in the college/back to school section in August ($4.00 on sale Target) and was thinking about how to incorporate it into my classroom. WHOOOO's a good-looking kid came to my mind!
We traced owls onto scrapbook paper and then made eyes and beaks! I then added their names with an Avery label.

I actually taught my kiddos how to use the mirror as a little self-esteem booster. I modeled to my class how to "talk to yourself" when you need a little pep talk or "just because."

My students were silent- as in you could hear a PIN DROP- as I was modeling how to give myself a pep talk and saying positive affirmations. 

I talked to myself in the mirror and showed the students how saying, "I am going to do great on my math test today!" or "I am a really nice friend!" can help you feel good about yourself.

As I was doing this, I think some kids wanted to laugh! I can't blame them because I kinda wanted to laugh, too! It seemed so silly to look in the mirror and just talk!

However, I feel it is so important to teach our students to RESPECT THEMSELVES just like we teach them to respect everyone else in school! We talk about RESPECT so much, especially at the beginning of the year. But what does that look like or sound like when you respect yourself??

It did not take long for the other boys and girls to follow my lead! There was one brave, little girl who went first to the mirror and I was sure to give lots of praise for doing so! That helped all the other kids march right up there!

Now, do I still have kids going to look in the mirror to check out their hair?  

OF COURSE!!! ESPECIALLY TODAY-PICTURE DAY!!! :) We were all checking out our hair!

Do I want them to think that they are a good- looking kid when they see themselves in the mirror? Of course! But I also want them to respect who they are on the inside- the part the mirror doesn’t show, too!

Here are the images that I used to tape onto the mirror:

Download them for free at Google Documents:Whoooo's a good-looking kid?

All the Vista print fans out there...

Use the owl template on Vista print to create cute sayings- Whooooo's Somebody Special? YOU ARE!

Nicole also uses mirrors in her classroom!

When the cuties are sharpening their pencils, they can look at their cute face in the mirror!

Some flower framed mirrors!

On the chalkboard ledge behind the guided reading table, it reads “What a great reader!” On one of the cabinets, “What a smart kid!”

And hey, the next time YOU look in the mirror- pay yourself a compliment!

Halloween Unit Giveaway!

We've teamed up with our favorite bloggers, Rachelle and Natalie, over at What the Teacher Wants to give all three of our Halloween Units to 5 winners!!

What do you have to do to enter?

-Become a follower of Rachelle’s TpT store

-Become a follower of Natalie’s TpT store

-Follow our Lesson Plan SOS blog

(if you’re already a follower, just post that you are)

Go to Rachelle's and Natalie's blog to enter!

Here's what you'll find in our file:

Bat Poems:

Bat True/False Sorting (12 pages):

Candy Bar Creator:

Candy Cravings Graph (4 pages):

Candy Conventions (9 pages):

Eye on Editing (6 pages):



The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything (14 pages):

Little Witch Learns to Read (3 pages):

Make My Mouth Water Math (10 pages):

Math Haunted Houses (3 pages):

Save the Literary Pumpkins (4 pages) AND Save the Pumpkins (5 pages):

Spider Schema (8 pages):

Spooky Sundaes (11 pages):

Click here to get our unit on TpT