Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Thank you and A GIVEAWAY!!

So, just got an email saying I was nominated for Really Good Stuff's classroom blog competition! I am so excited and honored! When I started this I felt so overwhelmed with being able to live up to it! Reading all the amazing blogs I was inspired to get it done! Thank you so much to whoever did that! You made my day!
Voting starts July 1st! Click on the button on the side to go and check out the blogs and vote for me! :)

I also noticed I have almost 100 followers! Another amazing thing, with all the blogs out there it means a lot that people come and care about what I write about!
SOOOOOOOO
I have decided to do my first giveaway! I am new to this and I don't have any fancy company helping me out so I thought since I just made a new mini-unit about Scaredy that I would give the winner the choice of any three items in my TPT store for FREE!
So here is how you enter!
1. Follow my blog and comment on how you follow me! :)
2. Follow my TPT store! 
You have until Friday at 12AM to enter! I will announce the winner on my blog on Saturday right before the July 4th weekend! Good Luck! 

Also go check out my teacher BFF Ms. Simoneaux for her awesome giveaway for Lakeshore!

Happy Tuesday! 

-Ms. Thomas :)

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Scaredy my new favorite squirrel!



At the Debbie Diller conference a week ago she read this wonderful book to us. I fell in love with it and then at the table bought it on amazon! (I have a shopping problem) The book is called "Scaredy Squirrel" by Melanie Watt.

 
This book is ADORABLE and really hilarious, for kids and teachers! SO, while I was sitting there I realized this would be a great book to use at the beginning of the year. It talks about jumping into the unknown and not always being scared. (Debbie read it so we would not be scared about math stations!) I decided to make a mini unit with different written and coloring activities to do after reading the book. I just finished and posted it to TPT! Go and check it out, I even figured out how to make a template to make a Scaredy. They will look so cute in your room at the beginning of the year! (and we all know it will be here before we know it!)

 
-Ms. Thomas :)

Monday, June 20, 2011

We met Debbie! and other updates



So, just got back from Houston this past weekend where Ms. Simoneaux and I went to Debbie Diller's summer institute! It was AHMAZING! We went to two days that was geared towards K-2. The first day was all about workstations literacy and math! The second day was small groups, specializing towards guided reading. It was so great to be around teachers from all over and to learn new and amazing things. I have to say after I need to re-read my Making the Most of Small Groups book. That book is full of great materials and ideas to use in small groups.
To make the trip even better....
Us with Debbie! She is so perfect y'all!
Needless to say I had a great trip!

I have begun to become more motivated lately too after this conference. I am currently working on an ABC curriculum with two other teachers for grad school. We are creating an early childhood ABC curriculum for our area, Baton Rouge. The curriculum will include a place in Baton Rouge for each letter with activities to do with your child to foster oral language and literacy development. It is so exciting to be authoring something! Our hope is to get it published. Excitement!
I also am planning on making a new unit. My teacher BFF and I have planned our next year thematically when it comes to Science and Social Studies so we can get the kids more involved and excited about it.  Keep checking to see what I come up with!

Hope everyone is having a happy June!

-Ms. Thomas :)