Hula Hoops & Helpers!

 I just have to say thank you to my sweet daughter and wonderful Best Friend/Husband for helping me with my room this summer.  I just don't know what I would do without my helpers!  I set up a new little area for my Bean Bag/Reading Station this year.  So far, my students are really loving the little nook.

 We are getting started with our "Time 4 Writing" early this year.  I started with my Hula Hoop Venn Diagram on the first day of school.  It was a great activity that the students really enjoyed.  We moved on to learning about Web Diagrams this week.  I am amazed by what my little Firsties are able to do!  I have also added some whole brain gestures to my writing process which has proved to make writing a thousand times more fun!

Best Bathroom Pass Ever!

I found this idea on Pinterest, of course.  So, I made some labels and put it into place the first day of school.  This is by far the best Bathroom Passes I have ever used.  The girls and the boys love it!  It is simple and so easy to use.  I just made a label sheet of Girl's passes and a sheet of Boy's passes that are stuck in my folder.  When we run out of Germ-X, then I can stick another sticker on a new bottle.  Awesome!

I Love Pop!

My Firsties absolutely loved Pop for Sight Words last year.  So, this year, I bought the other two Pop games at The SchoolBox.  Apparently, they are just so much fun!  I would definitely recommend these to anyone who needs something fun for their station time.   I use these on Fun Fridays.  I can't wait to use them this Friday and see how much my new Firsties enjoy them.

It's All Good in 1st...with labels!

 I saw something similar to this on Pinterest!  My Goodness- I had to copy it!  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Pete the Cat!  So, I thought I would also talk about something else that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.....Labels!

 As a teacher, one of my favorite things is putting little labels all over my classroom.  It allows me to make my space welcoming to my new little Firsties posting their names all over my room.  I just could not survive without labels!

Only one more day until my little Firsties come...and I am ready to begin a brand-new year!

Ping Pong Spelling

I worked on some new stations this summer, and I found so many amazing ideas on Pinterest.  I ordered a zillion ping pong balls from Amazon.com this summer, then I tried out some ideas on my daughter who will be a First Grader this year.  I am going to use her so much this year to try out new things!  We used ping pong balls for a Spelling Station (pictured above).  She had the best time bouncing the ball to me, then I would say the word, and she would spell/write it.  We switched places every two turns.  She loved it!  It was such an active station, and she stayed completely involved.  She has even asked to play again and again.
  I have also made a math station with these ping pong balls.  What is about balls and kids!  They just love them!  So, I am definitely going to think of some other things I can do with bouncing balls this year!

A Homemade Dry-erase Board

I had an old 8x10 picture frame laying around, and I decided to spray paint it purple.  Then, I put some polka dotted scrapbook paper inside with a couple of little white boxes I made on my computer.  I printed those out on cardstock, and now I have my own personal Dry-erase board to keep up with special happenings each day!  I just LOVE making things for my classroom!

I Got a Blogging Award!

Inspired in Second gave me a BLOG Award!  Yay!  I think it is my first, so I am going to follow her Blog Etiquette as to what to do.
   You should go check out her awesome blog!  Thanks so much for giving me this cool award...
                                             
So, now I am going to nominate some of the coolest teachers for this award...
1.  My favorite blog ever...First Grader at Last....I love every idea on this blog!
2.  Seusstastic Blog....absolutely adorable with tons of awesome ideas!
3.  Fun In First where standards meet creativity!
4. Oceans of First Grade Fun...a super blog from a very experienced teacher!
5.  Heather's Heart...I have found tons of free things on here that I use in my stations!  Love her blog!
6. The Inspired Apple...seriously amazing ideas!  She has some great stuff for sale!
7.  First Grade Fabulous Fish ...Tales from a First Grade Classroom!
8.  The First Grade Sweet Life...wonderful blog!
9.  Tori's Teachers Tips...Tips, Tricks, and TimeSavers for teachers!

Thanks so much for sending this award my way!