Remembering 9/11

I will never forget where I was on 9/11.  I was at the University of Nebraska taking an Elementary Art class when a fellow student walked in and said a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers.  We were all surprised that such an accident could happen.  Why wasn't the pilot paying attention?  Maybe he was having mechanical difficulties with his plane?  We speculated that it was probably a little prop plane and an inexperienced pilot.  We had absolutely no idea what was really going on.  A few of my friends and I headed over to the Student Union during a break between classes.  When we walked into the Student Union lounge area, we knew immediately something was terribly wrong.  There was a crowd of students all silently watching the televisions, which of course were tuned into the breaking coverage.  We stood there and watched as the towers came crashing down and the realization that our nation was being attacked became more obvious.  It was a moment in history that those of us who lived through will never, ever forget.

Our students need to be reminded of the many victims and heroes from 9/11.  This unit on 9/11 gently describes the events of that tragic day.  It also includes several projects that students can complete to help them to understand what so many people went through.

For the victims, their families, and our country, let us never forget.

 

Baby Shower Fun!

Okay...so I know this is not related to my classroom, but I had to share.  My adorable sister-in-law is about to have her first baby and we recently threw her a Dr. Seuss themed baby shower.  

(And had a ton of fun doing it I might add!)

Here she is at their "Reveal Party".  Adorable, right?

I did some research and found some super fun ideas and games to play at the party.  One suggestion was to have guests write in a Dr. Seuss book.  I chose our family favorite, "Oh, The Places You'll Go" and provided thin sharpie markers for guests to use.

 

 

 I also found this adorable book for expectant mothers!

I also found a cute idea of having an estimation jar.  So my daughter received the exciting task of counting and filling a jar with goldfish.  Any guesses as to how many goldfish are in the jar????  Answer at the bottom!

We had a lot of fun decorating...

 

eating...

and playing games!

If you would like to download any of these games or activities, click on the picture below. 

 It's a FREEBIE!

By the way....there were 511 fish in the jar.  

How close were you?

Extreme Blog Makeover Flash Freebie for 08/26/14

Right now I am randomly posting Flash Freebies in celebration of my recently completed Extreme Blog Makeover!

 

 

Each Freebie will be available for 1 day only so make sure to follow my blog to be informed of each new Flash Freebie and obtain the link for download!

Today's Freebie is 4th Grade Common Core Standards Poster Set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I created these posters when I learned I was

 

switching grade levels.

These are kid friendly posters so students can take

 

ownership of their learning. These posters include all

 

Language Arts and Math standards for 4th grade.

This set of posters comes with the black and white

 

borders. I do have the same set of posters available

 

in the colored dots borders. 

Also included are headings for Language Arts and

 

Math.

So I put a heading on the board and then put a page

 

protector below it. Then I slide in and out the

 

standards we are learning.
Everything you need to get ready to display the

 

standards is included.

Linkin' Up with Blog Hoppin'

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I am linkin' up with Blog Hoppin' this week!

So here's to When Thursday!

I teach 4th grade now and my yearly plans variate a bit.  However, when I taught Kindergarten, this is the yearly plan I used!  And I LOVED it!

You can download this Theme Unit Planning by clicking on the picture below!  Oh yeah... and it's free!

Each of my units is available at my TPT store.

Also, you can purchase my ENTIRE year's worth of units for Kindergarten by clicking HERE!

Happy Back to School Everyone!  Let the FUN begin!

Extreme Blog Makeover Flash Freebie for 08/20/14

Right now I am randomly posting Flash Freebies in celebration of my recently completed Extreme Blog Makeover!  

Each Freebie will be available for 1 day only so make sure to follow my blog to be informed of each new Flash Freebie and obtain the link for download!

Today's Freebie is my new product Back to School Owls!

This is a cute little project I created to go along with my owl theme. The kids in my class have known each other since Kindergarten so I wanted questions that would provide answers the kids may not know about each other already!

Great first week of school project that adds some color to your classroom!

Here are some examples that my kiddos did today!

Linkin' Up With Blog Hoppin

I am linking up with Blog Hoppin' this week.  

Here's to "Who" Monday!

I have been married to my hubby, Chris, for nearly 12 years.  

4 days before our 1 year anniversary, our sweet, little surprise arrived.  Abee completely turned our world upside down.  She is 10 now and big sister to Caitee - 8, Bella - 4, and Preston - 1.

To say I am blessed would be a huge understatement!

Here is our most recent family picture on top of Pikes Peak this past July!  I LOVE Colorado!  (And it's nice and close to Nebraska!)

We spend a lot of time doing school activities, going to our kids' sporting events, boating, swimming in our pool, and hanging out with the neighbors on our street.  (Caitee is #21!)

When we can sneak away from the kiddos, we love spending time with friends and family.  We even snuck away for an entire week last November and headed to sunny Mexico.  Am I sunburned or what????

Hangin' with friends and family is our favorite thing to do!

And now it's back to school for me.  I am celebrating my 12th year of teaching this year!  Tomorrow is the first day my new 4th graders will enter the classroom.  Wish me luck! 

 Happy Back to School to all of you!

Extreme Blog Makeover Flash Freebie for 08/19/14

Right now I am randomly posting Flash Freebies in celebration of my recently completed Extreme Blog Makeover!  

Each Freebie will be available for 1 day only so make sure to follow my blog to be informed of each new Flash Freebie and obtain the link for download!

Today's Freebie is a Human Body Workbook for 

grades 3, 4, 5.

This is a Human Body Workbook for middle elementary.

I made the pages into a workbook which holds note pages, activity pages, review pages, and fill in the blank diagrams. There are also projects to go along with the body systems that can be done that would not be put in the workbook.

This is basically all you need for a unit on body systems. It covers Circulatory, Respiratory, Skeletal, Digestive, and Excretory! 

Check My Store for a Power Point that goes along with this workbook.