Hip Hip Hooray! It's the 100th Day!

On Monday, we celebrated the 100th day of school. I cannot believe how fast this year is flying by. I mean, some days seem to drag on forever, but the year itself seems to be moving at lightning speed! I really wanted to make the 100th day extra special for my little loves, and I totally think I did. I made a cute interest-inspired entrance to get them in the mood right away. They loved it!

For morning work, I gave everyone these cute crowns my team ordered from Oriental Trading. They worked so hard coloring in all their little stars. 












After calendar and morning meeting, it was time for my favorite 100th Day activity - Fruit Loop Necklaces. Bowls of fruit loops and little bags of Necklace tags were given out, and they set to work. I loved watching how carefully some of my little loves picked out their colors and designed patterns for their necklace. I used to use cut up straws as spacers between every 10 Fruit Loops, but at the last minute I decided to design, print, and cut out these adorable tags for everyone to use instead. 

You can check them out at my TpT store by clicking below:

 

Click Here to Go to my TpT store

During my mid-day block, I used a bunch of activities from Cara Carroll's 100th Day - It's Kind of a Big Deal unit. So.Stinkin'.Cute. I have always made a special snack with my kids by having them pick 10 pieces of 10 different small snacks. This year, I had them make their snack mix and then use a handful of it to do the Scoop and Sort Graphing activity. I loved watching how engaged they were while completing this activity. You seriously could've heard a pin drop!

Next was the Counting Our Way to the 100th Day mini-book. We were able to practice our skip counting, addition sentences, tally marks, and coins while working through this   book together. It was a great addition to our day!

After lunch and recess it was time for our 100th Day Hershey Kiss Scavenger Hunt!  This is always a fun time. While they were in the cafeteria, I hid 100 Hershey Kisses in the classroom. On the bottom of each one was a colored dot sticker with a number written on it. As kids found the kisses, they removed the sticker and placed it in the correct spot on the hundreds chart. Those sneaky peeks found 99!  We searched high and low for Number 35, but it was no where to be found (Don't worry, it turned up first thing the next morning near the coat hooks).

We ended the day by planning our 100th day books. They wrote what they would buy with $100, what they could eat 100 of, what they would NOT want 100 of, and more. They did a great job on their little books.

Overall, this was one of the best 100th Day celebrations I have ever had! We all had a great time and I am already gathering new ideas for next year. 100 days down, 80 to go...

Oh. My. Word. Could these be any cuter?

I REALLY wish I would've been better about getting my blog up and running before the holidays. Part of our social studies curriculum involves learning about the different customs and traditions our families have during the winter holidays. My little loves had a homework assignment where they had to answer some questions about the way their family celebrates their favorite winter holiday. I have a pretty diverse class. I even learned some new things!  After the homework assignments came back, we used them to create AMAZING writing pieces. I was in LOVE, LOVE, LOVE with them! I knew I needed a really special way to display their hard work. My Winter Kid Craftivity was born!

The template for this adorable project is available for purchase at my TpT store. 

Check it out!

Addition is such a HOOT!

The Common Core Learning Standards have brought may changes this year. One of the things I actually really love is that I can spend so much more time on basic math concepts. We are covering fewer topics now and we are able to really dig our heels in. We spent a LOT of time learning about addition this year. My kiddos learned so many new strategies and tricks for solving those number sentences. When it came time to teach the "Counting On 1, 2, or 3" strategy, I wanted to give my kids a little something special. I have a whole owl theme going on in my classroom this year, so I created a math sorting activity using...OWLS! My little ones LOVED it!  They were so engaged in the activity. I encouraged them to talk the strategy out aloud while they played and I was so impressed with their conversations. I made one set of cards for each of the 5 table groups in my classroom. I added a great recording sheet for them to write down their observations after playing. It was a "HOOT"!

Click here to check out this item in my TpT store!

This time I really mean it!

So the other night, my hubby and I were driving home from a family birthday party. We always do our best talking in the car!  He asked me when I was ever going to start putting some files up on TpT. I don't know why I have been procrastinating. I think I have just been very nervous!  I don't like to do things halfway. I am intimidated by the many AMAZING teachers who have blogs that I follow. It seems like an overwhelming task. That's when he gave me the best advice - You don't have to dive off the high dive. Just dip your toe in. So that's what I'm FINALLY doing. I'm going to stop being scared and I am taking that little pinky toe of mine and dipping it in the pool! I am posting my first FREEBIE today and I am super excited about it. I actually created it for Mr. First Love's classroom because he has a cool star theme going this year. I hope you like it!

Colored Star Number Cards 1-20