The Busy Teacher and Mom Planner & a Friday Flash FREEBIE

I love teaching and spend every minute of the school day in "teacher mode".  But then 4:00 rolls around...and it's back to "mom mode".  That's when a new kind of craziness erupts.  It's not the craziness that can occur during a 4th grade Science experiment.  It's the craziness that occurs when you have 4 kids ranging in ages 1 to 11 packed into a mini van and  feeding them after school snacks while you are in route to the 5 year old's gymnastic class and checking the 8 year old's Math homework at the stop light.  Yep...this happens to me quite frequently.  What's my main goal during these times?  To remain calm and organized. :)

I have used many planners over the past few years...and have found something I didn't like about each and every one of them.  So, I created my own.  

I purchased this Mead notebook from Staples.  It is really more of a binder than a notebook but is not bulky like a binder.  It fits in my purse! (It's a large purse...but it does fit!)

I use the front pocket folder for important papers that need immediate attention.

Then I put in the pages of my planner.

The next pocket folder is for my kid's school papers.

Then I have a pocket folder for the kid's sports papers and a separate pocket folder for my grocery lists.

The organizational possibilities are endless, but this is what works for me at this moment.

To download my 2015 Planner FREEBIE, click on the picture below.

Enjoy!

Today's Flash Freebie is a set of Triangles and Angles Task Cards.

This is a set of Task Cards suitable for 4th, 5th, 6th Grade Math. Students measure the angles of a triangle and name the triangle as either acute, right, or obtuse. (There are equilateral triangles too!)

I printed and laminated off several sets to be used as a Math center in my room. That is one option. 

You could print off enough sets for every student, pairs of students, or even small groups of students.

You could also use as an assessment tool.

Common Core Aligned for 4th Grade.

Included is a recording sheet and an answer key!

To download this FREEBIE, click on the picture below!

Our Rocks & Minerals Unit...and a Friday Flash Freebie

We just wrapped up our Rocks & Minerals Unit and I wanted to share how much the kiddos learned this past quarter.  

They started off examining and classifying rocks.

Then we researched the different ways that rocks can be classified!

Then we reviewed!

We learned about the 3 Main Types of Rocks...Sedimentary, Igneous, and Metamorphic. What makes them similar and different from each other?  How are they formed?
Then, we moved onto the Rock Cycle!

Each student brought in a pet rock.  They examined and performed little experiments on their pet rock.

Like does it float in water?

And what scratches our rocks?

And how much does it weigh?

Then we put together a rock collection!

Next came fossils...which they REALLY enjoyed!

We uncovered facts about the four main types of fossils:  mold, cast, true form, and trace.

Then we made Trioramas showing what we learned!

We even did some archaeological digging of our own!

We wrapped up the unit by learning a bit about weathering and erosion and the various events that can change the earth's surface quickly.

Like volcanoes!

So, for a few short days, the Friday Flash Freebie is going to be Rockin' with Rocks & Minerals which includes all of the above activities plus some.

It also includes the Power Point with the notes that go along with this unit.  Enjoy!

 Happy Friday!

Enjoy your Freebie!

Visitor's Day and Friday Flash Freebier

It has been an absolute crazy week!

We have been preparing for our Autumn Visitor's Day which we celebrated yesterday.  The weather here was gorgeous and everyone had an amazing time.

We had hay rack rides, a photo booth, pumpkin decorating, popcorn and candy corn, "visiting time" with a questionnaire, a Guess Who Game where students had to guess their teacher's childhood picture, Bingo and more!    

Here are my own sweeties with Grandma on the hayrack!

Here are some of the creative pumpkins that were decorated yesterday.

Here is what our Guess Who station looked like.  This was a HUGE hit!  The kids and their visitors loved trying to guess who was who!

Click on the picture below for a freebie Guess Who sign.

This is the questionnaire the kiddos filled out with their visitors.  This was also a huge hit.  The kids were quite surprised with some of the answers!  Click on the picture below for a FREEBIE download!

The photo booth was soooooo much fun!

Here are my kiddos, their visitors, and myself in one of the pictures we took!

And to wrap it up...here is a picture of my baby hangin' out in the wagon.

Here is the Flash Freebie for Friday!

This is my newly created Wheel Templates.

Use these Wheel Templates to learn vocabulary, review for tests, show what you have learned...the possibilities are endless!

There is a template for the cover of the wheel and the moving portion of the wheel.

Templates include wheels with 3 parts, 4 parts, 5 parts, 6 parts, 7 parts, 8 parts, 9 parts, 10 parts, 11 parts, and 12 parts.

Enjoy!

DEAR and DEAD Time and Friday Flash FREEBIE!!!!

My absolute FAVORITE time of the school day is DEAR time.  (For those of you unfamiliar with DEAR...it means Drop Everything And Read.)  My 4th graders have DEAR time every single day.  I love, love, love to read books (when I can find the time and lately that hasn't been very often) and I want my students to share the same love for books that I have. 

So this is how my DEAR time works.  Every day after our lunch recess, my students walk in the room, grab the book they are reading, and get comfortable.  They can sit pretty much wherever they want in the classroom.  I have a reading corner with bean bags and pillows they are allowed to use.  They can take off their shoes and sprawl out on the floor, they can lean up against the wall, or they can sit at their desk.  There is ABSOLUTELY NO TALKING and once they get comfortable, they must stay in that spot.  No switching books because that causes a distraction.  And now the stage is set...for the next 15 minutes the students can get lost in their books and think of nothing else.  And they do...  

Click on the picture above to download this FREEBIE poster to display during your DEAR time!

I also do DEAD time (Drop Everything And Draw), but this is much fewer and far between.  We are so busy in 4th grade, but I do think drawing is an important skill to have.  My goal is once a month.  The same rules apply...get comfortable and forget about everything else but drawing.  I do play music during DEAD time, but this is optional.

Click on the picture above to download the FREEBIE poster.

This weeks Flash Freebie is my newly created Literature Unit for SCAT by Carl Hiaasen.  

It includes vocabulary, review questions, a research project, and an end of the book test.

Enjoy it quickly...it won't be free for long.