Summer is arriving early

Kathleen Wainwright is the author of this stunning book.

Isn't the cover to DIE for? 

I love the silhouetted children

and the frozen-in-time movement of their joyful little bodies.

The theme of the silhouette children is carried through on every page,

and each is more visually stunning than the last.

As you turn the pages you can almost hear

the children’s giggles,

Double-Dutch chants,

and the ice cream truck song.

Kathleen has provided a little preview for you

because seeing is believing.

Click the picture to go to You Tube.

Isn’t it fantastic?

You can also do a “turn the page” preview by clicking {here}

It captures life in “summers gone by” in such a sweet way!

After reading this book,

I am about to go buy a pair of “jelly” shoes

and listen to some U2 on my  SONY “Walkman”.

There are so many ways you can get your hands on this book.

You can buy a hardback from {this} web site.

Teachers Pay Teachers has the eBook. Click {here}

The eBook comes with this amazing resource!

We all love a freebie,

 so click the word freebie above, and 

get this crossword that captures the spirit of summer.

With words like ice cream, streetlight, fireflies, and friends,

I am longing for those long and lazy days of summer.

Thank you, Kathleen, for letting me get the first glimpses of

your beautiful baby.

I am proud of you, I and am happy to give 

Summer in the City

RaVe ReViEwS.

This book is a treasure.

Children and parents alike will see themselves

on every page, and return to this book time and time again.

If you would like to win your own eBook copy of this cHaRmInG book,

please enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Blog Design and a Giveaway.

This is my blog-aversary month and I have some big treats

in store for you during March.

The friendship giveaway starts today!

But before I talk about the giveaway…

Did you notice????

I have had a blog make over!!!!!!!!

I send BiG warm fuzzies to Michelle!!!

Oh my word this woman is a genius!

This was an incredible process.

Michelle was able to take my pictures, likes, and color preferences

and dream up the glorious-ness you see!

She had to scrap my old code and write new code

so I could respond to comments.

She worked endlessly, joyfully, and with attention to detail.

She even created a pink and black 3am logo for the bottom of my

blog, so that her red and yellow one would not clash with my blog.

Stupendous.

Thank you, my dear friend, from the bottom of my heart!

You are in my heart…

Speaking of in my heart,

Michelle, Greg, and Lisa will be there forever!

Lemme tell you, they are cheerleaders, counselors, and inspirations.

As with the best collaborative relationships,

we all created something great for March.

Each perfectly compliments the others.

We are combining them in a giveaway.

You can enter on all 4 of our blogs.

This giveaway is called …Life is Better with Friends.

The green zebra paper : 3AM Teacher (Michelle)

Black frame with white inside: 3AM teacher (Michelle)

Font: Kimberly Geswein-Eyes Wide Open.

It is going to be a big month for this little blog.

Stay tuned!

To enter this giveaway

Follow & Comment

Comment…..

* the name you follow under

* your email

* tell me about your best friend

Click each picture below to go to our blogs and enter

 their giveaways for more chances to win.

Following these blogs (if you don’t already)

will be like finding a new friend!

Winners will be chosen Friday March 1st.

Yearbook

This is under construction... snapshots coming

My Year Plan

I am working on this component for you.  This will have clickable links to freebies and units that I use throughout the year.  Think of it as first grade at your fingertips!

Who is this chick?

I was a wild kid… Lots of energy… 

Teachers probably wanted to sedate me...

 I am sure my mother refused them.

But I loved school and I wanted to be the teacher.

The picture below  is my second grade self 

getting to write the date on the board. 

I was so so so proud, and I did my very best printing!

Now, I am the teacher and half the time I don’t change

the date until a kid says something like,

“How long is it going to be February 5th?” 

So I change the date, and I give the kid who noticed a Skittle….

Hush money…. just keeping it real.

 I grew up and married a great guy. I mean seriously great.

We are not perfect, but like Peanut Butter and Jelly,

we are perfect for each other....

Oh, we have our days! We are on World War 316,   but

 I would chose him all over again!

 

We moved about a million times (really 5 times in 10 years)

until we bought this house 4 minutes from our schools.

4 minutes…. the commute is killer!

I love our house and I adore decorating it. 

I paint murals on my walls using an LCD projector because

I cannot draw to save my soul.

 But I am an OK painter.

My pocketbook can't keep up with my ideas!

#target , #hobbylobby,  and #homegoods  take all my money.

These are our shih-tzu children… yes I said it…

I am the mother to furry children.

Meet Poppy and Daisy, my flower girls.

I only wish they were covered under my HMO plan

because vet bills are not cheap.

In 2006 our sweet son was born.

It was a horrid pregnancy.

I went into labor a couple times a month, 

so I was on bed rest for a looooong time.

Jackson was born at 36 weeks,

 but soooooo, sooooo, sooooo, sick.

 I mean really..... [ wipe a tear ]..... sick.....  

He spent 18 days in the N.I.C.U.

I wrote a post about my experience {here}.

To say the NICU is life changing is an understatement.

 Now he is healthy, happy, and at-grade level in academics and maturity.

He is not a NICU baby anymore, but I will forever be a “NICU Mommy”.

It changes you. My husband said it best in his post called {NICU Daddy}.

My grandma says rough beginnings make, 

for great endings... I believe her.

For such a rough start, 

Jackson has made up for it in personality plus.

He is a chatterbox who says the funniest stuff. 

Thank God his teachers have a sense of humor!

The picture below is by far my favorite picture of my son. 

He was 4 and said,

“Mommy these are really big sunglasses.”

Quite frankly, I wish they were bigger sunglasses,

but that is another story.

I adore the beach and I loath laundry.

I mean really LOATHE it.

It's not uncommon for me to just 

not do laundry until my family

 tells me they are wearing their

 LAST pair of underwear. 

Eventually, I do the laundy, 

because nakedness outside the bedroom is not an option.

This family picture would be really awkward without clothes. 

When I am not teaching full-time,

I speak at conferences. 

I adore sharing ideas, and I'd love to meet you in real life. 

Click on the workshops tab- and see where we can meet up! 

So that’s my story… 

simple girl

 faithful believer

often a whimsical disaster on wheels

 a teacher to the core 

 (both Common Core and deep down to my toes)

 truth teller

mommy

 wife

 and aspiring domestic goddess.

Domestic Goddess? 

I try to be as magical as my grandmother 

and make our home a place 

where everyone wants to come back to.

One of my favorite magical-mommy 

moments was the day "Santa" brought a 

puppy in October. Santa left him on the doorstep 

in a basket. There was even fake snow... #magic.

If you like what you see, 

join me!

Oh buckle your seat belt,

because it’s going to be a delightfully, bumpy ride!

I don't pretend to be perfect and I always share my classroom 

pitfalls so you can avoid them!

By the way, what is your least favorite chore?

Do you hate laundry like me?

Little Ladybugs

Oh, I adore these little lovelies!

My husband, who grew up gardening,

remembers buying thousands to release in his

parents’ rose garden.

Maybe this year we will do the same

in our backyard. We don’t have any roses, but I love the idea of our

yard being filled with these little babies.

I love teaching about ladybugs in a “science-y” kind of way.

Their name also lends nicely to a compound words study.

And so I bring you….

Found {here} on TpT

Included:

 Compound Words Anchor Chart

12 Page Full Color Compound Word Class Lesson & Library book

Teaches that 2 words come together to make a new word.

Also teaches that many/ most compound words

retain the meaning of the smaller words found within.

A bluebird is a bird that is blue.

Compound word picture cards & 2 syllable word picture cards

Discriminating between compound words and 2 syllable words

Center Sheet/ Assessment

Ladybugs Informational Reading

Ladybugs Science Test

Smart Chart and Writing Pages

Ladybugs Smart Art

So are you ready to Teach With Me?

Below you will find

Photographs

Links to videos

Songs

and a

Freebie

There are over 5,000 types of ladybugs in North America.

The most common is red with 7 spots on its back.

But here are ladybugs you might also see.

Ladybugs eat aphids and other insects that hurt plants.

That is why farmers love ladybugs!

Can you see the ladybug {below} eating up the aphids?

Ladybugs lay their eggs under leaves.

You know they are ladybug eggs because the eggs are in a row.

A ladybug can lay up to 1,000 eggs in her lifetime.

When her eggs hatch they are called larvae.

Some people think they look like little alligators.

What do you think?

The larvae will eat like crazy and shed its skin several times.

Then the larvae will become a pupa.

The pupa looks like it is asleep, but it is changing a lot inside its shell.

The pupa stage can last from 2 days to 2 weeks.

At last al ladybug will emerge from its shell.

She will find a mate and begin to lay eggs!

A ladybug’s life is a cycle or a circle of events.

To watch a great video about the ladybug life cycle,

click the picture below.

{Teacher note: There are no photos of mating.}

The Smart Chart above is available as a freebie

in the “preview download on TpT”

Compound words are too fun.

What could be better than 2 words squashed together to create

a new and better 2 syllable word?

snow + man = snowman

But that’s not where the learning stops.

Think further about what the compound word means

Snow shaped together to make a man!

Not every two syllable word is a compound word.

snowman

is a compound word because it has 2 stand alone words inside.

snow

man

Think through these next few words together.

Are they compound words?

pencil…….yes no

ladybug…….. yes no

basketball……. yes no

lobster….. yes no

Compound Word Boogie (Hokey Pokey)

Click the Pic.

Head on over to {TpT} to get Little Ladybugs and

let’s {cyber} Team Teach!