Currently January 2015

It's been awhile since I've linked up with Currently on Oh Boy 4th Grade! What better time than now?

 

Currently I am listening to the whirr of the washing machine. I have lots of loads of laundry to catch up on. I mean, normally with 4 kids I have a lot anyway, but since we were out of town for a few days, it adds up quick!

 

I am always extra grateful for a warm house on days like today. When we lived overseas we didn't have central heat, so it was always harder to stay warm, even inside.

 

I've been thinking a lot about our homeschool plans, but I have yet to actually do anything about it. Hopefully this weekend I can get some time to do it.

 

In the fall, my husband and I did the Whole 30 and loved it! It was challenging, but rewarding. We did good as far as eating goes up until about a month ago, and it's all been downhill since then. We are planning another Whole 30 starting in January!

 

With all the new toys and stuff for Christmas, I'm ready to clean out and organize! Easier said than done when I'm home with the kids all day. I don't need a day out to myself, I need a day IN to myself!

 

YES I am going to focus on my kids as individuals this year. I just read a great book called Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic. In it, she talked about how we tend to see and treat our children as a group many times, but they always see themselves as individuals, and it really challenged me to take time to talk to, listen to, and spend time with each of my kids as individuals.

MAYBE I will start working out again. It's been a few years, but I'd really like to start walking or doing Pilates again.

I WISH I could create educational apps. I have a lot of great ideas for fun apps, but no idea how to go about actually getting them created!

 

I hope you all have a great New Year's and I can't wait to see what 2015 will bring!!

 

 

 

Secret Santa Blog Hop

Even though we are done (or almost done) with this semester and are READY for a break, I know for me, my mind is never completely able to take a break from thinking about and planning stuff for my kids! We're here to bring you some fun Christmas gifts to give you a head start on next semester!

Here are 2 free activities from my All About Penguins - Print & Go Pack.

Don't forget to hop around to the rest of The Elementary Entourage pages and grab all the great freebies! Have a great break and Merry Christmas!!

An InLinkz Link-up

12 Days of Christmas Sales

I'm teaming up with some awesome teacher-authors to bring you some great deals leading up to Christmas! Each day we will offer you different discounted items to stock up on for last minute holiday fun, or to get a head start on planning for next semester.

Here are just a few of the items I will have on sale in the coming days!

 
  
 

Visit The Primary Gal's blog to see all the great deals offered!

Our Favorite Things Blog Hop

 

I'm so glad to be a part of this hop where we can share with you our favorite things! Here are a few of mine:

 

 

My favorite restaurant has got to be Chuy's! I only discovered it a few years ago, but I love it!

 

The food is good, the atmosphere is great, but the creamy jalapeno dip is the BEST! I literally eat chips and dip the whole time and don't even need to order food (although I usually do.)

 

 

This time of year, one of my favorite things is having holiday traditions with my kids. We are trying a new advent activity this year called, "Truth in the Tinsel." It is an ebook that you can purchase and download, and it includes verses to read and simple crafts to do each day leading up to Christmas!

It helps keep our minds and hearts focused on what we are really celebrating during this time!

 

One of my favorite things I use in my homeschool room is this 10 drawer cart!

 

 

I use it to organize the kids' independent work each day. They start at the top and work their way down, and can easily move from one subject to the next with little help from me!

 



Another of my favorite items we use for school are these Do-a-Dot markers! They are great for little ones to be able to paint without making a mess. There are also a lot of educational activities you can do with them.

 

 

I have several activities and products I've created to use these dot markers with to practice sight words, building fluency, letters, and numbers. Some of these will be 50% off this week - just visit my TpT store and look for "My Featured Items" near the top of the page!

Because we value our followers and wanted to treat you to our favorite things Oprah style, we have put together the best giveaway of the season! My bloggy friends and I welcome you to the best, biggest, most cheerful event of the season:

The prize I'm donating is a $20 gift card to Michaels! I love Michaels for all kinds of craft supplies.

 

Here's a list of all the prizes - 7 winners for 7 prize packs!

Come and enter the giveaway and check out my bloggy friends' favorite things:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up
 

12 Days of Christmas - A Freebie Extravaganza

December is such a crazy, fun, and busy time of year! I wanted to do something fun for you guys that would be a blessing - so I came up with the 12 Days of Christmas - A Freebie Extravangza!



Each day, from December 1-12, I will post a new freebie in my TpT store. A gift for you to download and "unwrap". These will be activities that are from products I'm currently working on and will post at a later date in my store as a paid item. All the freebies will be in my store until December 16. After that, they will no longer be available.

So, be sure you are following Mrs. Thompson's Treasures on TpT and you will be notified each day when the new freebie is posted!

Click HERE to get started with Day 1.

Please share about the Extravaganza with anyone who would be interested! All I ask is that they also follow my store and download the freebies from there.

The Treasure Trove

**12/1/2014 Update - The first issue was mailed out this morning. You can still sign up in the bar at the top of this page, and in the next newsletter email there will be a link to the archives and you will be able to access the Snowman Math Freebies.

Have you all noticed how hard it is to keep up with ever changing social media?

New sites are popping up and others are fading away! There's too many to keep track of, and people miss a lot because many sites don't show all updates to everyone who follows. It's becoming harder and harder to have a consistent way to communicate with you all!

So, I've decided to begin sending out an email newsletter twice a month, that will include tips, ideas, updates, freebies, and other fun info! I am really excited about this, and I hope you will join me!

The first issue of The Treasure Trove will be sent out next week (the first of December). In this issue, I will include this exclusive Snowman Math: K-5 Freebies pack that you will not find free anywhere else! It includes 4 different activities - Hundreds Chart Mystery Picture, 120 Chart Mystery Picture, Multiplication Mystery Picture, and Mystery Picture Coordinate Graph.

Turkey Time - Thanksgiving Activities & Freebies

We had so much fun last week learning about turkeys! It's amazing how excited kids can be about non-fiction stuff. My 1st grader loves doing research and learning facts! I love that I can start teaching my kids the process of  how to ask questions and find the information themselves.

He was so proud of his finished research project!

We read books and answered questions, completed a KWL chart and Can-Have-Are chart, compared turkeys and owls using a venn diagram, sorted turkey facts and opinions, labeled a turkey, wrote a turkey poem, and even learned how to draw a turkey.

 

You can get this non-fiction pack in my TpT store HERE.

 

Here is also a list of a few great Thanksgiving activities that are FREE!

 

 



 Pilgrim Hat Hundreds Chart Mystery Picture

 

 

Thanksgiving Color By Number & Color By Sight Words

 

 

Thanksgiving Informational Texts By: GreatMinds123

 

 

 

Roll a Turkey By: Cori Bloom

 

 

Gobblin Up Multiple Meaning Words By: Big Hair Speech Therapy

 

 

Thanksgiving Reader By: Erin Palleschi

 

 

Thanksgiving Would You Rather Questions By: Rachel Lynette

 

*Disclaimer - All of these products are listed as free at the time of this post. Sometimes authors change the price of products. I apologize if any are no longer free or available.

6 Ways to Use Dot Markers (Bingo Daubers) in the Classroom

Do you use dot markers (also known as bingo daubers) in your classroom? They are such a great invention! They are easy enough to use for preschoolers, but still fun for older kids. Here are some ways you can incorporate them in your classroom or at home with your kids to have fun while learning!

1) Practice the Alphabet - Have students write capital and lowercase letters using dot markers. You can write the letters yourself and have students trace the lines with dots, or you can get these Dot the Alphabet sheets that have circles as a guide, as well as pictures to go along with each letter to reinforce the sound.

 

 

 



 2. Addition Practice - Have students do simple addition problems using the dot markers instead of counters.

3. More Math Practice - Use the markers to indicate the correct answer instead of writing or circling it. Sometimes just adding the element of the dot markers can make a seemingly boring lesson more fun! I've made a fun and free multiplication practice page called, "Roll, Multiply, and Color" that you can grab from my "Freebies" page.

4. Sight Word Fun - Have students use the dot markers to find and dot sight words to help build reading skills and practice fluency. You can type up some sentences yourself, or to save you time, I've created a few resources that you can get in my TpT store!



Find & Dot Sight Word Fun

 

Dot Marker Sight Word Mystery Pictures

 

5. Art projects - We love using the dot markers instead of real paint and brushes sometimes. It's much easier and less messy! Of course there's a time for letting kids make a mess and experiment with real paint, but sometimes you just need a quick and easy art project! One thing we like to do is tape a cutout shape onto paper, dot all over, then gently lift the taped shape off.

 

 

6. Pattern Practice - Start a pattern of colored dots and let your kids finish! Or give them a pattern type (AB, ABB) and have them choose the colors and show a pattern.

 

There are different brands of dot markers, but our favorite are Do-a-Dot Art Markers. They are sturdy, and one pack lasted our family a whole year! There are several different color packs you can get. Here are some links to different packs on Amazon if you'd like to try some of these activities out!