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29 January 2015

Fluency Strips Fan Freebie

*Update - February 3 - The freebie was sent out this morning! If you began following me after it was sent and didn't receive it, just email me at mrsthompsonstreasures @ gmail . com with what number follower you are and I'll be glad to send it to you!

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It's that time again for a fan freebie! I'm working on Set 3 of my Fluency Strips Interactive Notebook and I'll be sending out an exclusive sample to all my TpT followers!


 
 
These fluency strips, like the the first 2 sets, use cvc and sight words in sentences that build on each other, but the third set adds in long vowels as well. They are great to laminate and put on a ring for students to read through and build fluency, or turn them into an interactive notebook!
 
I will send this fan freebie to the TpT inbox of all my followers soon - so click HERE to make sure you are following me on TpT and be on the lookout for the freebie!
 
 

26 January 2015

Monday Made It - Chocolate Milk Mix

Over the past couple of years, our family has s-l-o-w-l-y been making changes towards healthier eating. I have too much going on in my life (and I love routine) to change a lot of things at once. So, we've been making small changes like cutting back on certain things (processed foods, colored dye, sugars) and trying to make our own things that are easy to do like taco seasoning or marinara sauce.

Somewhere along the way, we got into the routine of giving the kids chocolate milk with breakfast. I'm all for letting them enjoy food in moderation. I think keeping everything from them could cause food issues later in life. We got away from using chocolate syrup to make milk because the first ingredient is high fructose corn syrup which we try to avoid. For the longest time I just used Nesquick powder which has less sugar than the syrup, but still a lot of added ingredients that I can't pronounce. Last week I had the thought that maybe I could make my own powder mix, so I did some research and found something that the kids said tastes even better!


Ingredients: 2/3 cup organic cane sugar
                    1/3 cup natural unsweetened cocoa (100% cacoa)
                    pinch of salt


Mix it all together and put it in an airtight container. That's it!


In the mornings when I want to make my kids their milk, I heat up a few ounces of water in a measuring cup, then add 3 spoons of the mix and stir it up. Then I distribute the liquid chocolate into the 3 big kids' cups of milk. They love it!

24 January 2015

Learn to Read With CVC

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-Word-Families-Interactive-Notebook-1235903

One of my favorite things to do is teach kids how to read! It used to be so intimidating, but I have grown to love it. There is nothing like watching a child read a sentence or a book for the first time and seeing the excitement and joy on their face!

My favorite 2 things to teach students as they are learning to read are CVC words and sight words. (If you'd like to read more about the best ways to teach sight words, you can read my post here.)

CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words are so great for students to put into practice all the sounds that they have learned. With so many words in the English language that don't sound like they look like they should, it is nice to have predictable words for students to learn.

When introducing CVC words, I like to do it in the context of word families. It groups them together in a way that forces repetition, which is a key to building fluency.

I use a CVC interactive notebook that lets students interact with the word families in different ways. First, we make the words from letter tiles.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-Word-Families-Interactive-Notebook-1235903


Then we move on to reading a word and matching it with the picture.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-Word-Families-Interactive-Notebook-1235903
 
Next, we trace the word, read it, and match again.
 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-Word-Families-Interactive-Notebook-1235903


Finally we make a flip chart, practice reading, and write the words on our own.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-Word-Families-Interactive-Notebook-1235903


Making reading fun is something I strive to do. So, I also love incorporating some mystery pictures using color by CVC words to review.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CVC-Word-Families-Interactive-Notebook-1235903


To get my CVC Word Families Interactive Notebook plus the CVC Word Family Mystery Pictures, you can find them HERE in my TpT store.

I have also just recently added a new CVCe Interactive Notebook, that takes the next step in learning to read by teaching students long vowels with silent 'e' at the end.

After learning how to decode CVC words and learning a few sight words (which make up 50-70% of most texts), students will have a great start on their path to reading!

22 January 2015

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On Monday, we spent the morning doing several things to learn about Martin Luther King Jr. First we read, "Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King," by Jean Marzollo.

 
I also found some great free activities on TpT!
 

Color by Sight Word by Coast to Coast Kinder


 
 
MLK JR. Foldable and Organizer by Classroom Creations by Melissa
MLK Martin Luther King Day Foldable *Freebie* Pack ~Teachers with APPtitude


Color By Code - Multiplication by Amy Isaacson
Martin Luther King Jr. Multiplicaton
 
We also did some fun crafts I found on Pinterest:
Martin Luther King, Jr. Portraits - Re-pinned by @PediaStaff – Please Visit http://ht.ly/63sNt for all our pediatric therapy pins
 
Celebrate and learn about diversity and peace with these crafts on Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
 
For more fun activities, check out this awesome list from 123 Homeschool 4 Me.
24 Martin Luther King Jr Activities for Kids - Toddler, Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, and more

14 January 2015

Print & Go Packs Bundle & Giveaway!

I just love print & go activities - fun and engaging for the kids, but no prep for you! I am working on sets for the entire year. So far I have 8 packs for fall and winter (Apples, Pumpkins, Halloween, Turkeys, Rudolph, Gingerbread Man, Penguins, and Valentine's Day). These activities are perfect for morning work, homework, a substitute pack, or just to have on hand anytime you have a few minutes to fill!



 
I have put all the packs together in a discounted bundle HERE
 
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Print-Go-Activity-Packs-BUNDLE-1641477
 
 
The great thing about this bundle is that I will add the rest of the packs to it as I complete them, and those who have already purchased the bundle can download them at no extra cost! So the sooner you buy, the more you save!
 
I'm also giving away a copy of this bundle to 3 lucky winners! Just enter in the rafflecopter below!
 
Note: The winners will receive the bundle as it is now, with 8 print and go packs. Since I will be emailing the pack to the winners, they will not have access to future packs that I add to the bundle.
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

06 January 2015

How to Motivate a Dallying Student


My oldest child is a dream student - learns most things the first time I show him, reads and comprehends excellently, and will complete all the work I give to him in a timely manner.

My second child however, is different. Don't get me wrong, she is very intelligent, but she is also a dreamer, an artist, and a dallier! It is near impossible to get her to finish any work, even if it is something she knows how to do, unless I'm hovering over her, constantly directing her back to what she is doing.

But, since I can't sit with her our entire school day (there are 3 other children to attend to), I've come up with a few ways to help motivate her to focus on a task and complete it!

1. Use a Timer - Sometimes seeing time pass can help students realize that they are dallying. The visual reminder of a timer can bring them back to the task at hand. Depending on the student and the task, you can either give a reward (ex: If you finish this task before the timer goes off, you can have 5 extra minutes on the computer) or, for lack of a better word, punishment (ex: If the timer goes off before you finish, you don't have any computer time today).

2. Rewards - Find something that the student really enjoys and let them earn it as a reward for finishing work. My kids (like most I assume) can't get enough of the iPad. So I came up with a system for my daughter to earn minutes to play. We use workboxes each day for school, so the bottom 5 drawers are hers, and they each have different activities/worksheets for her to complete. Each box she completes earns her 5 minutes of "tablet time." When she finishes something, she can mark it off on her chart (I put the chart in a plastic sheet protector and taped it to the wall so we can erase and reuse it each day.)

 
 
3. Switch it up - Some students love the predictability of routine, but for a dallying student, routine can be synonymous with boring, therefore increasing their slowness. My daughter looks through all her activities each morning and gets so excited when she sees something "new." It doesn't have to be something major, but just a slight change in the routine, the order of subjects, using different writing instruments (colored pencils instead of crayons), or location (sitting on the floor or even outside) can help.
 
4. Make it a game - Anytime we can make a game out of something, it instantly becomes something she wants to complete. For example, instead of just flipping through flash cards to practice sight words, we play "Sight Word Hop." I put all of the cards on the ground, call out a word, and she hops to it.
 
5. Encouragement - Students who dally may have been labeled as lazy or slow, but we all know that encouragement goes a lot further to motivate students than name-calling or shaming. Encourage the student in what they are good at, like paying attention to details, having great artistic ability, or being a good friend. I need to constantly remind myself that each kid is different and works at a different pace, and that's ok. My job is to set up an environment where they have the best chance to succeed!