Compound Word FREEBIES

Hey y'all! It's Michelle Hudgeons from Smitten With First. 

I wanted to share a few compound word resources with you all that I have been using this week...and the best part is... they are FREE!  

I recently came across the book Once There Was a Bullfrog and wish I would have found it sooner when teaching compound words.  If you haven't read it, you can listen to the read aloud here. 

I like to pause the story at the end of each page for the students to guess the second part of the compound word. They think it is hilarious. 

Hativities are quite the big deal in our room so we used these Flip It hats to identify compound words. 

The students have to find the matching compound word for each set of words and glue underneath the correct flip. 

You could also have your students write the compound words at the top of each flip. You can download these hats here. 

We made these fun little ladybugs to spruce up our hallway. 

My students had to write the words on the wings and the compound word in the middle. 

You can download the ladybugs here. 

One of my all time favorite compound word activities is something I came across several years ago in a workbook, Big Book of Everything for First Grade. Each student picks a compound word and illustrates each part of the word. Afterwards, you combine all the pictures into a class book. These always turn out so creative and fun! 

Hope you found something to add to your filing cabinet today! 

February Vocabulary Shaker

Hey all - Denise here from Sunny Days!

I have been making these shakers for a few years now and every time I pull one out for a new skill or holiday, the kids go bonkers! The antonym and synonym shakers were my originals which I made a few years ago and they're still going strong! You can read the original posts shaker {HERE} and {HERE} which also cover some of the how-to's, like coloring the rice {which is actually really easy and kind of fun!}

For February, I have this little cutie which is great for working with seasonal vocabulary. I like to leave this one at the writing center to help with spelling and word choice. Below you will find everything you need to make one of your own!

 Inside the bottle are 21 words that fit into three categories: Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, and Presidents Day. The kids will shake up the bottle and when they find a word, they'll have to decide which category the word best fits into. The word "holiday" is also in there as a bonus word that would fit into all of the categories.

The freebie file contains everything you'll need, besides the rice and juice of course :)
Just click on the picture below to download it from DropBox.

I do have some helpful hints to pass along. I was dying my rice with vinegar, which is what I had on hand. It works well, but it is stinky. I bought some alcohol for this batch and it works pretty much just the same, but it doesn't stink nearly as much and it was dry in about an hour. Also, I noticed when my kids were using the antonym shaker, the word cards were getting all bunched up in the neck of the bottle. They didn't have that problem with the synonym shaker. When I compared them I saw how much less rice was in the synonym shaker...that's the only difference, so that's go to be why.

Have fun shakin it up!

Valentine's Day in the Classroom

Hey Blog Hoppers! It's Christy and Tammy from Fluttering Through First Grade. We love celebrating Valentine's Day in our classroom. Here are a few of our favorite ways to celebrate Love Day with the Littles...

We throw a red party every Valentine's Day. From red foods to wearing red, we embrace the color of love all day long. We try to keep it somewhat healthy with bagels, strawberry cream cheese, and red fruits.

We sneak in a little reading and writing by creating Friendship Bingo mats using our class names and other Valentine's Day vocabulary.  

We give them conversation hearts as markers. They love being the "callers" when we play!

You can download our Red Party and Friendship Bingo templates {here}.

 

Our class loves making bookmarks. These are nothing fancy, but given a simple piece of red posterboard, foam stickers, yarn, and...wait for it...MARKERS, they love crafting these to declare their love for reading!

 

Hot Spot Relay races are a fun challenge that gets them moving and practicing teamwork too. We simply cut 2 large construction paper hearts out for each team (cut a few extras in case there is an accidental rip). Split the class in half and send them walking their way on the hot spots. The goal is to move each heart as you step, not stepping on the ground (AKA "hot lava") below. It's tricky, but they get the hang of it. For younger kids, don't have them take as many steps. Once they reach the end, they pick up their hot spots and run back to the start to tag the next person.

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Back in class, we race to stack 10 conversation hearts. You can adjust the number depending upon the age of the kids.

 

Of all the activities we do on Valentine's Day, our favorite is giving our students an opportunity to spread kindness. We spread some love around our school by creating and posting kindness messages throughout the halls.

We also spend a lot of time teaching and giving compliments. It is one of our most powerful lessons all year and carries us through the months beyond Valentine's Day. Here's our original post about using Compli-mats in the classroom. We've updated our templates and added several more for use beyond Valentine's Day.  

 You can download our Compli-mats templates for free!

Are you ready to celebrate Valentine's Day in your classroom? What's your favorite way to spend Love Day? 

This calls for a PAR-TAY!!!

Hey guys!! It's Katie, from Little Warriors! 

Goodness!!! Today I'm another year wiser older! My, how time flies by!!! 36!?!? Wha, wha, whaaaaaat??!?! How does that even happen?? I don't FEEL old, but, when I think about the number, it just doesn't seem quite right.

Thanks Deana!! You said it, girl! Ha!! #lovethatsong

AND, February is a very special month because not only is it MY birthday, but, it's also my blog birthday!!!! 

Shout out to Erin's Ink for drawing my cake and party hat!!!

Ahhhhhhh!!! Little Warriors is turning FIVE this month!!! Can you believe it??? I can't!! But, it's true! HERE is my very FIRST. EVER. post!!!! LOL!

So, with birthdays on my brain, I decided to do a little post about birthdays today!! Here are some things that I do for my birthday kiddos!

Last Summer I painted my U.G.L.Y., rusted lockers in my classroom with chalkboard paint! I cannot even tell you how much better they look! Especially when someone has a birthday! ;) I decorate their locker with colored chalk! It's so bright and fun and really makes them feel special!!

If you don't have lockers are chalkboard paint, another idea would be to use a dry erase marker and write on their table or lockers. I write little notes on my kiddos' tables sometimes. (Especially if I know I'm going to be out and have a sub the next day! It really helps them behave :)

These are the little gifts that I give my Kinders. I found these GEMS at the Dollar Tree last Summer and bought them ALL up!!! They are so fun!! They say "Happy Birthday" across the top AND they light up. PLUS, they have SIX candles on top! I mean, seriously!!! Could they be any more perfect???

A parent of one of my kiddos made me this little hat and neck sign. There is chalkboard material sewn to it to write the date and their name. It makes for a super cute picture!! (No, I don't make the boys wear the hat.)

And, of course we do a little GoNoodle for our birthday kids!! Here are my two favorites!

Want some more AWESOME birthday ideas?? Here are some posts that my Blog Hoppin' Buddies have done in the past! Read about how Erica's Edventures, The First Grade Parade, What the Teacher Wants, Sunny Days in Second, and Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Connections celebrate the kiddos in their classrooms!!

Since you read all the way to the end on this post, and it's my special day, I have a birthday surprise for you!! I just finished this February pack last night! I think you'll love it!! AND, it's NO PREP centers! But, HURRY!!! This is a FLASH FREEBIE and it will only be free for 24 hours!!! Just click on the image below to grab yours for FREE today only!!!!

P.S. Remember that movie, Groundhog Day??? Good thing that's not real! Or, my birthday would never come!!!! Ha!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy to me! ;)