HOT Summer SALE and a Pizza Party

I'm beyond thrilled to be home for the summer!  In the 2 weeks that I've been home, I've been able to accomplish so much!  As a teacher, I find it difficult to do "spring cleaning" because that one week we have off in the spring is usually devoted to actually breathing and taking a mental break.  

So far this summer, I've completed 95% of my spring cleaning, had several trips to our community pools (been trying to find out which one we like best), spent some quality time with my boys and husband, I actually got to lay outside to try to get some color on my white skin, AND I was able to finalize this product that I completed at the end of the school year.  

I hope that you might be able to use this super cool pizza unit, "Pizza Party," sometime during the upcoming school year!!  It's definitely a good one!!  There are 13 literacy activities that include a variety of different skills to practice.  Your students will enjoy sorting pizza themed nouns, writing about how to make a pizza, and building words using the letters in the words "pepperoni pizza".  There are 12 math activities ranging from addition/subtraction games, measuring pizza themed pictures, and counting using base ten cubes.  I was able to use these activities with my students and they LOVED learning with pizza.  We had a pizza party at the end of the week to celebrate the end of the school year.  Click on the photo below to check it out:

I am running a sale on all of my products to celebrate summer relaxation.  There are 2 sales running between my Teachers Notebook store and my TPT store.  

Enjoy 50% off all products from my Teachers Notebook store from June 23-July 23.  

Enjoy 20% off all products from my TPT sale from June 27-June 30.  

My new unit "Pizza Party" has been posted at both stores...check it out now for a GREAT price!!

Have a wonderful summer and don't forget to take some time for yourself.

Monster FREEBIE: A Present for YOU!!!

 HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME...TO ME!!!

My family and I spent the weekend at our local amusement park celebrating my baby boy's 5th birthday.  He's not such a baby anymore!!  Here is the party crew of superheroes.  My boys are in the middle...Batman and Robin!  Gavin chose 2 friends from his preschool...one boy and one girl.  They had a blast! 

 I even got to ride the carousel with my little Landen.  He actually sat still for the entire ride...that doesn't happen very often!

We had such a great time enjoying the fall festivities and celebrating our birthdays.  My hubby even took me on the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in the southeast.  He apparently saw the camera on the top of the coaster and was quick witted enough to think to make a silly face.  I was too worried about losing my sandals and the possibility of walking around barefoot the rest of the day!  HAHA!!

So since it's my birthday now...I have a present for YOU!!!
If you love the movie Monster's Inc., you are going to LOVE these cute literacy center activities featuring those adorable monsters.

 The ABC Order game will feature nasty monster words.  LOL!  YUCK!!

 The syllable counting game will have students practicing the phonemes in a word.

 Monster Boggle will have your kiddos building words with the boggle board.

You will receive the following 10 literacy centers:

ABC Order: Put 3 monster words in order alphabetically
Building Words: Create words using the word “Monster's Inc.”
Word Wall: practice Writing word wall words (letters: B, U, G)
Syllable Counting: Say the word and count the sounds
Rhyming Words: See if the two words on the card rhyme
Nonsense Words: Read the word to see if it’s a real word
Boggle: Use the boggle board to make words
Graph a Word: Graph words by rolling a die
Sorting Sentences: Read and record telling and asking sentences
Spooky Stories: Read a monster story and write about it

I hope you love your monster FREEBIE!!!  Enjoy your Monday!!

 

Down on the Farm: My Literacy Centers

NEW!!  Just posted my new format for my literacy centers this year.  Our next theme for September will be farms and I have created this literacy center pack to use in my center bins.  Each of my students have a center schedule that tells them which literacy center activity to do each day.  

I will be posting more information soon on how I teach reading and how I manage my classroom during that time.  Check back soon for those documents.  Have a wonderful Monday!

100 Facebook Followers WINNER and Seussy Stripes posters

 It has been quite a journey reaching 100 followers on my TpT store, Blog, and now my Facebook page.  It really means the world to me that I have such wonderful followers!  You all are the reason that I write and create fun things to use in the classroom.  So I just want to say THANK YOU!!!

The last winner of the 100 Followers Giveaway is....drum roll please...ba da ba da ba da ba da 

...Lisa Richling!!

There will be more giveaways coming soon so check back often.  If you haven't signed up for email notifications, you can sign up under the "Follow Me" section to be the first to get Our Sweet Success updates.

Classroom Centers/Stations Posters 

{Seussy Stripes}

 Another request came in for some center posters to go with a Dr. Seuss themed classroom, so I adjusted the background from the center/station posters that I previously posted in polka dots.

 

The background is from The 3am Teachers Clip Art Collection: It's a Silly World and I thought that it would go well with any Seussy themed classroom or any primary color themed classroom.  The posters come in two different styles depending on your center/station preference.  Click on the pictures below to download the posters.

 

Each download contains 43 different center/station signs for you to choose from:
Graphing

 Math Games
Poetry
White Board
Hundreds Chart
Math Literature
Problem Solving
Word Study
Math Fluency
Meet with the Teacher
Writing
Computer
Listening
Science
Smart Board
Social Studies
Word Work
Read the Room
Write the Room
Letter
Big Book
Pocket Chart
Puppet
Art
Fine Motor
Sewing
Dramatic Play
Sand and Water
Play-Doh
Illustration
Retelling
Manipulatives
Discovery
Lego
ABC
Blocks
Home Living
Literacy Bag
Reading
Buddy Reading
Puzzle
Laptop
Projector 

Both of the downloads include the matching pocket chart cards to go with each of the 43 posters.  Use these to manage your center/station rotations.

  If there are any posters that are not included in this package, please let me know and I can add them for you.  If there is a particular item that you are looking for but cannot find it, please just ask for a custom order.  Get your orders in soon so you have them before school starts.  I can create just about anything that you might need for your classroom in just about any theme that you might be doing.  You can reach me by email at michelle83mcelhinny@gmail.com.

Word Work FREEBIE and a Peek Inside My Centers

Here is a Spring Building Words FREEBIE for you to download: 

I use these cards in my literacy centers for students to practice making words.  They use a master recording sheet to write all of the words they create.  The center recording sheet has all of their centers that they will visit each week. As they visit their centers, they record their center work on each section.  They keep their recording sheet (we call it their "GOLD" so they don't lose it) in their reading folders and they turn in their  sheet at the end of the week.  We usually have time on Friday to catch up on any centers that they missed throughout the week.

  

I have kept the same centers all year long so my kids are pretty self sufficient during center time.  I do, however, have my center menu up on a poster in my classroom for students to revisit if they have a question on what to do.  The menu has an explanation of what to do at each of the centers:

I have a center schedule like the one below that students keep track of the centers that they go to.  Each student has a different schedule!  There's no switching center cards or wasting time telling students which centers they will go to on a particular day.  

My centers routine has worked out really great this year.  I tried several different methods over the years and this method seems to be the best.  It takes about 2 weeks to train all of the students on the expectations of the stations.  After that...easy peasey!!  There's no time lost on directions or transitions and the students know exactly where they're supposed to go.

I hope you all had a great Monday!!  If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer.  

PS-I do my math centers the SAME way!!  I know, I know...lol!