Memory Matching Game

  

Do you remember this game?  I used to play it ALL the time when I was a child.  Hours were spent making matches, mixing them up and starting all over again.  I LOVED this game! 

So, of course, when I became a teacher I found a way to use this game idea in my classroom.

Years ago, I made set of these matching memory games using those calendar cutout that used to be All. The. Rage.  Yes, I am that old.....

I made all kinds of sets: antonyms, synonyms, contractions, homophones, prefixes, suffixes, and compound words.  I even made Math-based sets: place value, money, time, 2- and 3-dimensional shapes.  Really, any topic can be used.  

These games are great for whole-class, small-group, or independent practice.  

So the other day, I discovered Krista Wallden's Food Pair Buds over at her TpT store, and decided it was time to give my Matching Memory cards a little......

GLOW UP!

Now I just need to find a better (aka cuter) way to store my new cards.  😏To the Dollar Tree!

If you would like your own set of these Oh, So Adorable Synonym Matching Memory cards, head on over to my TpT store and pick them up.  Also be sure to keep checking back as I work on updating my other memory sets and get them posted.

~Stacy

TPT Sale!!!!!!

This just in:  Teachers Pay Teachers is throwing a sitewide sale!  

Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 25th, you can get 20% off my store and an additional 8% by using the promo code HEROES.  

I also wanted to take this opportunity to share my latest product.

{Click on the image below to find this at my store.}

And here a a couple oldies but goodies!  

{Click on either image to be taken to my store.}

   

The anniversary of the end of the Civil War is coming up on April 12.  You may want to check out my "Civil War on Sunday Unit" if you really love Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House books.

My "Decorah Eagle Unit" is especially great because through the magic of live streaming video, you and your class can observe bald eagles.  The Decorah eagles currently have 2 eggs in their nest bowl and the third egg is eagerly anticipated.  You can check them out here.   

So fill your shopping carts!

~Stacy

Fancy Nancy Adjectives!!! - {FREEBIE}

I had such grand intentions.  I have been "working" on my latest unit for over a year.  And when Christmas wrapped up, I decided I would finally get this unit finished in time for Valentine's Day.  But . . . I guess that wasn't meant to be.  

Instead, walking pneumonia invaded and all grand intentions were thrown out the window.  

Nearly 4 weeks later, I'm just starting to feel normal again.  But here it is, four days until the BIG day and it's still not done.  So I decided to give my kiddos a little holiday fun and we did one of the great activities in my adorable little pack.  

Before I get to the activity, here is a sneak peek of what I have done and what I ~hope~ to get posted before next year's Valentine's Day rolls around.

And tons more!!!! 

{I hope you think of me next year for you Valentine's Day fun}

The past few weeks, my class has been spending time on adjectives.  It just so happens that my great, "Fancy Nancy" unit has an adjective activity!

Here's how it works.  The students make cute envelopes and then sort several adjectives into envelopes titled "How Many?", "What Kind?", "My Senses", and "Color, Shape & Size".   

After they finished cutting, folding, and gluing, they sorted the adjectives into the right envelope.

Click on Fancy Nancy to get your own copy of this great Valentine's adjective activity!

BTW. . . Adorable little Nancy here is by Nikki at Melonheadz.  You can get Nancy as a part of a bundle over at her TPT store.

Enjoy!

~Stacy

May Currently and a TpT Sale!

Listening:  We seemed to FLY through our math lesson today so I grabbed our money and dominoes to keep the kiddos engaged.  The money game is something I adapted from Math Wire.  You can read more about the game here.  The dominoes came from Box Cars and One Eyed Jacks and you can read more about them here and here.

Loving:  This has been a very tough week for my district.  There is an ongoing investigation at the high school involving bullying and abuse.  Obviously, there is a lot of media attention and speculation and blame is flying.  I pray for everyone involved and hope they can be led to right decision regarding discipline. 

Thinking:  I have had the same cheap-o grill for nearly 10 years and I am ready to Toss. It. Out!  It never lights, the flame only really cooks/burns in one corner of the grill and it is falling apart.  After my husband urged me to "think" about this new grill, we are heading to Menard's to buy it anyway!

Wanting:  This week Holly at the Fourth Grade Flipper shared a post about a great online company called Stitch Fix.  You can read her post here.  After filling out a Style Profile, a personal shopper sends you five fashion pieces, like tops, pants, jewelry, etc.  If you like them, you buy them.  If not, you return them free of charge.  How cool is that!?!?  BUT they are so busy, I won't be getting my first order until mid-July!  So to ease my urges, I had a mini-shopping spree the other night and my selections should be arriving any day now.  My most anticipated piece is a pair of brown knee-high boots.  

Needing: This rain has turned my garden into a mud puddle and at this rate, I won't be eating fresh veggies until October!

Surprise:  Today my Surprise Blog is Kristin at Teaching in a Nutshell.  I chose her because she was the last person to comment on one of my own blog posts.  She's also a fellow Illinoisan and a new blogger so I hope you can head over there to check out her great posts!

You can link back with Farley here!

Start loading up your shopping carts!  TpT is having a Spring sale May 6-7th.  Everything in my store is 20% off and you can use the promo code below to get an additional 8% off.

~Stacy

TpT SALE and an Eagle Update!!!!!!!!!!!

Start working on your wishlist, ladies.  Teachers Pay Teachers is getting ready for a big sale this week!  Here is a great opportunity to grab some incredible teaching materials at such amazing prices.  

I've readied my store for a whopping 20% off everything.  Use the promo code TPT3 to get another 8% off.

Here are a few of my best sellers.

 

(FYI:  I am currently working on another Magic Tree House Book.  "Revolutionary War on Wednesday" should be out within the next month.  After that I'm moving on to "Mummies in the Morning" and "Dinosaurs Before Dark"!)  

 

And here is my Decorah Eagle Unit.  I recently did a post on these beauties.  You can read about it here. 

By the way!  As of February 23rd, the Decorah eagles have laid their first EGG of the season.  Now begins the countdown to hatching.  In years past, the pair have had 2-3 eaglets.  Incubation takes 35 days.  So by March 30th we should be seeing signs of hatching.

Head over to UStream TV to watch these eagles, then check out my unit.

So click on the sale banner above to check out all the great materials at TpT.  Or click on the Shop button on the right or on any of the product images to head straight to my TpT store.

~Stacy

A {Belated} President's Day Activity

Well, I guess it was a good thing we had President's Day off of school because here in Illinois it would've been ANOTHER snow day!  Yes, 5 more inches fell upon us yesterday.  And there were even reports of snow thunder.  

Since we had the day off for more than just snow or extreme temperatures, I wanted to make sure the kids understood why they got to sleep in and play on the wii all day.  

I started out with this uber-cute FREEBIE by Teacher to the Core.  The kids make a mini book that teaches them more about the two presidents: Washington and Lincoln.  (Click on the image below to go to her store to get your own copy)

The book is packed with simple facts about the former presidents.

And, lucky us, we just started money today and there was a great correlation!

In addition to the mini-book by Teacher to the Core, I also pulled out my President's Day Cootie Catcher.  My kiddos love working with cootie catchers.  It's taken a few practices but they're beginning to learn how to fold the paper just right.  

The catcher has more facts about the presidents and they need to lift the flap to see if their answer is correct.

In honor of these two great presidents, I will be selling my President's Day Cootie Catcher at my TpT store at a reduced price.  Regularly priced at $1.75, now only $1!  Click on the image below to go to my store.

Available for this week only!

To bring all this together, I will be having my students write what they learned about each of the presidents. 

The students are asked to include important information like: name, number president, the years served in office, what currency they are featured on, etc.  They must also include a few other facts that they learned about their president that they didn't already know.  For example, George Washington never lived in the White House.  (Because it hadn't been built yet!) 

 Above is the great peek-over craft we make to hang with the writing.  For your own copy of patterns, click on the pictures above.  I'll do a follow-up post after my students have finished their writings.

~Stacy 

It's Decorah Eagles Time!

Meet the Decorah Eagles.  This duo is the crown jewel of the Raptor Resource Project which specializes in the preservation of falcons, eagles, ospreys, hawks, and owls. They create, improve, and directly maintain over 40 nests and nest sites, provide training in nest site creation and management, and develop innovations in nest site management and viewing that bring people closer to the natural world. 

Through streaming video, we are able to observe the bald eagle during it most exciting time: nesting and hatching of the next generation!  In late January, the eagles begin to ready their nests in preparation for their eggs.  By mid-February to early March, the cameras go in for a close-up for a glimpse of a new eaglet hatchling!  

Last year we were unable to view this amazing sight because the eagles had built a second nest and the RRP couldn't get a camera installed.  It appears they are continuing to use the new nest this year and the cameras will be rolling!

Soar on over to UStream TV and check out the live feed from the nest.  The feed is intermittent right now, but will be going to full time on February 17th.  If an egg is laid prior to the 17th, they will begin filming immediately.

This is also a great time to let you know about the unit that I created to follow the Decorah Eagles!  This unit teaches the kids about scientific observation, as well as, the bald eagle as a national symbol.  The kids will love watching the eagles and we even do some great math and writing activities.

Perhaps my favorite is the final craft.

The kids write word acrostic poems and publish them with the uber-cute eagle peek-over, complete with wings!  When you hang these in the hallway, people will certainly take notice!  

This can be found at my TpT store.  Currently, this unit is not Common Core aligned but I am working on it and will have an updated one posted soon!  

~Stacy

TpT Sale and HELP ME!!!

 

As a part of Teacher's Appreciation Week, Teachers Pay Teachers is throwing a sale on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 7 & 8!  Use the above promo code to get 10% off your purchases.  If individual shops are also having sales, you could get up to 28% off!  That is a an incredible deal, as many of the products there are amazingly priced already.

 

I am offering 20% off the items in my store for both days.  So click on the link to the right to head over to TpT to check out my products.

 

 

Have you ever had one of those days, where you just want to shoot your computer?  Well, today was my day.  I've noticed that my blog page has not been displaying the "Follow Me" button, or the people following me for about 10-12 days.  I thought something was fishy becuase my number of people following me has completely stalled lately even though my page views are through the roof!  After some research, I've heard that Google is no longer going to be using Google Friend Connect anymore but ALL of the blogs I follow still have these buttons available.

 

 

Is there anyone out there who knows what this problem may be and if I can fix it? 

Your help will be much appreciated!

 

~Stacy

My Latest TpT Unit!

I have been one busy little beaver for my Spring Break!  I finally finished a unit that I have been planning to do for months, and here it is!

This is a sweet story about a hibernating bear that gets an upsetting but wonderful surprise from the other woodland creatures.  I just got this unit posted over at my TpT store and I hope you have a chance to go check it out!

Here are a few preview pages to get you started.

Have a very Happy Easter!
~Stacy