~~Hurricane & Giveaway~~

What a week!!!  I am going to place blame with Hurricane Isaac for my absence of posting.  Monday, August 27th was my first day without power, and Friday, August 31st was my last day without power.  That's right~~5 days of no lights, AC, Internet, telephone (except cell), and television.  School was closed from Tuesday, 8/28 to Tuesday, 9/3.  Not only were my students in rare form after returning from an "unplanned" vacation (did I mention they are still in vacation mode after 3 days back), but I am now dealing with a damaged house in St. Bernard Parish.  I am originally from St. Bernard and moved to Hammond after Hurricane Katrina.  I lost everything in 2005~~house, car, and dream teaching job.  My brother rebuilt my house and now lives there with my nephew.  I feel that 2005 is coming back to haunt me again with the numerous phone calls to insurance companies and appointments with adjusters.  All in all, everyone in my family is safe and healthy.  God is definitely good to us.  Material things are repairable and can be fixed.

I am thankful for all of my wonderful readers here in blog-land!  I have 188 followers and my blog has been viewed 100,000 times!!!  I think a giveaway is in order to show my appreciation to everyone who follows me and takes the time to read my posts.

The following pictures show what  I worked on during Hurricane Isaac!!!  Let's just say..my hand hurts!!!

 



You are looking at yards and yards of laminating to cut out!!!  I did, in fact, cut everything out before returning to school.  My centers are very happy right now!!!

Please check out what my daughter worked on while the lights were out during the hurricane.

This is me!!

 

These are her clay creations.  Aren't they precious!!!!

 

Now, are you ready for a giveaway??!!  I am giving away a $20 Target Gift Card!  I have not created any products since school started~~but who doesn't love Target!!  I might even get my daughter to throw in some of her creations!!!

 

Thank you for your continued support!!!!! Good Luck to All!!

 

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/466e3d2/



~~Back in Action & Monday Made It~~

Oh, yeah, it has been a Crazy and Hectic first week!  My kiddos keep me on my toes all day, and I barely have time to eat!!!  But....I just LOVE all of them.  They are always smiling, laughing, and offering a joke for some smiles :) 

Here are some pictures of our first week projects and activities.  We had a very productive week learning all about each other and classroom procedures.  I did, however, manage to incorporate some reading, spelling, English, and math...sneaky of me!! 

I am not sure if this counts as Monday Made It~~~I think it might!!! Don't forget to link up with 4th Grade Frolics~Monday Made It and check out all of the wonderful projects!  I must admit that I was very productive this summer because of Tara and her AWESOME, TERRIFIC idea of Monday Made it!!! Thanks Tara!!!! 

Here is my word wall in action. Each color represents a subject:

green~math, yellow~English, red~reading, orange~religion, blue~science



Center Signs

Sharing Boards

We use Treasures Reading Series and our first story is First Day Jitters.

Compound Words

(front of mini-cards)

inside mini-cards

Guess I should have spell checked this one!!

ways to show a number using paint chips

(Students LOVED using these!)

Pinterest inspired hand wreath

bottle cap flash cards

My students LOVE using the paint chips in class.  We also made compound words by cutting paint chips in half.  They were amazed that I could actually get these from the store for FREE!! 

I am also linking up with The Organized Classroom Blog~~Name that Schedule Linky.  I have always done language arts in the morning.  I feel that students are refreshed before lunch and enrichment classes.  After lunch/recess, I like having the students do more hands-on learning like math, science, social studies, and religion.  Please check out my schedule that I am currently using.

I hope everyone has a wonderful first day~~I have been in school for 10 days already!!



~~A Classroom Tour & Monday Made It~~

Today was my first day of school!!  I just LOVE all of my students~~22 wonderful kiddos!!   I am definitely looking forward to a year filled with excitement, laughter, learning, & memories.  I am also totally exhausted from standing up all day.  I must say I haven't stood on my feet this long since May 25th!!!  All in all, I am excited for tomorrow and can't wait to begin the learning journey with my 22 babies!!

Here is a tour of my finished classroom and a few projects I have been working on since I last posted.  Please enjoy!!!!  I would LOVE to hear what you think of my decorated classroom!!


Don't forget to check out 4th Grade Frolics: Monday Made It for more awesome ideas!!!!
I am also linking up with 2 Busy Brunettes for a Classroom Theme Linky!!

       

These are my bulletin boards.

Classroom Centers

Right side of my classroom

Left side of my classroom

Teacher desk area

Click here for the clock numbers FREEBIE:  Step into 2nd Grade with Mrs. Lemons

I put these on the desks for Supply day~~Handbook, About Me Bag Activity, Back-to-School Snack, and magnet with my information & numbers.

Click here:  Fun in First Grade to grab the About Me Bag Activity FREEBIE!!

Click here: 2nd Grade Shenanigans to grab your Back-to-School Snack FREEBIE!!

Birthday Straw Balloons

Click here to grab your FREE balloons: Teaching in Flip Flops

These are the gumball machines I made for my partners & myself.

I hope you liked my classroom tour and Monday Made It Projects!! Hope everyone has a wonderful school year!!!