FREEBIE Friday!!

Hey Ya'll!! It's FRI-YAY!! And there is no better way to kick off the weekend with a few fun, FREE, things!

1.)
I love, love, LOVE to give just little things to people to let them know how appreciative I am of them and what they do! It does not have to be something big at all...it could be something small, slap a cute tag on it, and VOILA!  It's the thought that counts, right!?  Well the beginning of the new school year is right around the corner & you might be looking for something cute and inexpensive to give a teammate, an administrator, or maybe even your child's teacher...well I have just the perfect thing for you!  You could buy a pack of pens {my FAVE are the Paper Mate Flair pens} and add THIS TAG!  I have made it editable so you can make the necessary changes for you and yours :) Here is an example of what I did for my sweet teammates for our upcoming team meeting!

2.)
As I mentioned before the new school year is quickly approaching and I don't know about you but I am always looking for new ways to keep myself organized!  One thing that I have struggled with in the past is keeping all the work my kiddos turn in, in an organized manner.  I used to just have them turn in their work to the "turn in basket" and that's that...well NOT ANYMORE!  Here is my new system.. I picked up this super CUTE file folder expandable box from Target...BONUS: it's dotted and looks like Dalmatian spots like our mascot-SCORE!
So, I number my kiddos-it is just easier for me.  With that being said, I numbered the file folder tabs inside, placed one of my turn in signs on the front, and during the first week of school I will teach my firsties how to find their numbered folder and put their paper inside.  This will help me keep their papers in ABC order and the handle on top will help me to just take it on home, grade/check the contents, and then return it to them the next day!  Take a look at mine :)

*click on the picture to take you directly to my TPT shop*

AND 3.)  

I posted last time about my FREE sight word BINGO templates and graphs {scroll down to the last post for a download and read} so now I am going to share another idea for sight words.  You are probably already doing this but it may just be a different way to store your ideas...

These sight word chant cards by the fabulous Cara Carroll are so fun and adorable!  You can download them for FREE HERE!  After downloading, cut them out, laminate them and then..ADD THEM TO A CHEER BOX!  That's right, A CHEER BOX!  I sent my husband to the grocery store to get a Cheer laundry detergent box, I emptied out the contents, and it is now the new home for my sight word cheers/chants!  The kiddos will love coming to pick a cheer out of the box when it is time for word work and practice!  

I hope you enjoyed this kind of post...I plan to keep them up!! :) ALSO, I have gotten a couple suggestions from followers about posts they would like to see on the blog--THANK YOU!  I love getting requests and will honor them as best as I can...keep sending them my way!! 

Have a great weekend ya'll!! 

Sight Word FUN!

GOOD MORNING SUNSHINES!!  I hope you all had a FABULOUS weekend! We had one of those weekends where you never want it to end.  Hubby took a vacation day Friday and planned a whole family day of FUN!  We took Luke to the zoo for the first time and he LOVED it!  When it came time to leave he decided to run away and "hide" behind a table & chairs...I mean look at this face {and that farmers tan LOL}!!

We continued our day with other fun activities to spoil our little angel baby and make memories as a little family of 3.  The weekend was just WONDERFUL!
But now it is back to reality and school is just around the corner and I kind of can't believe it!! It has been such a busy & exciting summer with a very active toddler and all the responsibilities that come with opening a new school!

As I am preparing back to school lesson plans I want to ensure that I am spending that first week focusing on setting expectations, practicing procedures, and building relationships...I think that is so important and it will definitely pay off later in the year :)

As a fun way to end our first week back to school our first graders will be doing some sight word practice with the Kindergarten sight words.  We thought this would be a fun way to have blend academics and fun on a Friday of a long week :)

This SIGHT WORD BINGO I made is an *editable* version for you to use with any sight words that correspond with your grade level. You can put your own words in the boxes OR {what I plan to do} post the sight words to choose from and have the littles choose their own words they want and write them into the boxes and that creates so many different boards!  If you want you could even laminate them or put them in a page protector and the kiddos can write the words with a dry erase marker so you can use these over and over again throughout the year and years to come!!

*click the picture for MORE*

BUT...THE FUN AND LEARNING DOESN'T STOP THERE!!  Continue the sight word fun by then using the EDITABLE graphing pages that are provided HERE too!!  These words are the district Kindergarten words we are reviewing and adding to our word wall but you can change them to whatever words you are working with!!  I made several different pages so you can differentiate if needed OR {what I plan to do} give each child at the table group a different graph and allow them to work independently.  Then, since they each have a different graph, they can share their findings with each other and it will be new information to everyone :) This allows them the opportunity to practice sharing and to use their academic language.

*click the picture for MORE*

I look forward to sharing more fun back to school items with you guys as the new school year approaches!! :)  Have a great day!!!