5 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

I always love celebrating Earth Day in my classroom! It is so nice to see all of my students working together for the good of our Earth and school. My principal always has a "clean-up the playground" schedule for the week. All of the classrooms participate and this is one of the highlights of the week! 

1. Pop-Up Books

We do so many fun and interactive activities during this week! One of my favorites is our pop-up Earth Day books. We start by reading books about Earth Day! 

We brainstorm lots of great ideas about how we can save our Earth. The kids always come up with some amazing ideas that I never thought of before. Make sure to write them all down so your students can see. I use a brainstorming sheet so they can write along with me. It takes us the entire week to go through the writing. Publishing obviously is their favorite part! 

2. Earth Day Promise

This makes for such a great discussion and bulletin board! Have students trace their hands and write a way they promise to help the earth. You will be amazed at their ideas! 

3. Earth Day Trivia

Who doesn't like to play trivia games?!? The kids get so excited when they play any type of game. This is right up their alley. 

I put my students into two groups. They all have white boards so they all have a voice. They have to agree on one answer and show me. This is a win/win for everyone...they are learning and having fun! 

4. Earth Day Poster

This is always a fun way to show what the students have learned. We keep this close all week and work on it as we learn more about Earth Day! 

5. Earth Day Sort

Last, but certainly not least, is our Earth Day Sort. Any way I can get my students engaged in their learning is a plus! I bring in trash and recycling from home and they gather some from the lunch room. We work together to decide what is trash or recycling. At the end they can have more practice in a center by using this sorting activity.

We have so much fun for Earth Day! (When do we NOT have fun.) 

There are so many more activities throughout the week. I would love for you to check them out!

Earth Day Activities

Have fun! 

Writing with a Purpose

It took me a long time to find effective strategies to help my students write. Let me tell you...it was a LONG journey. My first couple years of teaching I struggled to keep students engaged and interested in their writing. Everything that I was trying was an epic fail. I finally started to realize that my students needed to write with a purpose. They needed to write about what was important and interesting to them. Yes, I understand that writing prompts are important; however, giving students some room for creativity is just what they need! 

I started having students create pop-up books and it was a big hit! The teacher next door to me also would borrow my pop-up books to use with her students. They LOVED them! It gave them freedom to create a fun filled story with a purpose, yet have the guidelines set in place to give them a foundation to their writing. Here is what that I created for Spring. I always start with a book about Spring. City Green was always one of my favorites. 

After reading a book on Spring, I always brainstorm with my students. This part is so important. I never let my students just go back to their desk and tell them to write. You have to give your students the tools to be successful. Brainstorm with them senses of Spring. This is always so much fun! Here is a freebie to get you started! 

Brainstorm Spring FREEBIE

My students would get so excited at this point. I would display a pop-up book put together and they would come up with so many amazing ideas for their writing. I would take this project all the way through the writing process. It would take us sometimes an entire week to get to the publishing stage. In the beginning, when you first introduce pop-up books, you will probably take 2 weeks. Once they get to the publish stage you will want to demonstrate how to put it together. Have some extra copies on hand in case one of your students gets "cut happy", it always happens! It also works best to have your students color first before they glue their published copy onto construction paper. At this point your students have taken their time to write a great story about Spring and edited/peer edited their writing. They turn out so great! I would display them on a bulletin board and they would be so proud of their writing. Writing with a purpose makes a difference! 

Here is where you can find all of the materials to make your very own pop-up books! Happy Writing!

Spring Pop-Up Book Materials

March Goals

I always have to take a quick reflection on last month's goals. I did a pretty good job! I was more "here" instead of thinking about all the things that need to be done. My oldest is going to be going into Kindergarten next year and I am trying to wrap my head around how he got so big...so quick! How does that happen? I seriously blinked and he was 5! Time needs to slow down a tad bit. I keep telling both of my boys to stop growing so fast. They think that is so funny and my youngest will even flex his muscles and say he is so big! So, how did you all do on your goals? Did you have a great month? So we are moving onto March already...what!?! I know, it is crazy! What are your goals for March? Here are my goals:

Family Goals: Take a well needed trip with my family. This one is kind of cheating for me because I know we are for sure doing this goal. We are going to Florida this month and the boys are super excited! We have never taken a family trip like this so I think we all are jumping up and down! 

Educational Goal: Take a closer look into standards. I currently have a few products in my store focusing on the Indiana Standards. I want to dig deeper into them and really pull them apart. 

Personal Goal: Keep being a healthier me! I have been doing pretty good at exercising most days and eating healthy. I want to continue to stay in my routine and stay healthy! 

I can't wait to see your goals! Thanks for taking the time to read my goals! 

• Join us! We are setting realistic goals each month in 3 areas.
• Copy my image below to set yours!
• Tag us on INSTAGRAM at #IG2016GOALS
  

Super Leap Sale #Superleap

#SuperLeap ~Super Leap Sale!~

I am excited to be a part of the Super Leap Sale going on right now! I have 4 items on sale for 20% off and they are 4 of my favorites. The first one is materials for Leap Day. This pack is so much fun. The students love making frogs and writing their goals. It also has a scavenger hunt around the room. You can't go wrong with this pack!

The next one is is a best seller! Teaching students the writing process can be so difficult. With these materials you will get all the lessons to walk them through the writing process in a fun and engaging way! Make sure to check this one out!

Next, is a favorite of many! St. Patrick's Day Activities with math and language arts that will be sure to keep your students engaged. 

Last but not least I have my Earth Day unit on sale! I love this unit. It has math and language arts as well and what I love the most is the focus wall poster. Most of my products come with a craftivity, which I absolutely love, and so do the kids! 

Make sure to check out more great sales using #superleap into the search bar. Take care of your wish list and get more great materials that are engaging for your students. You can't go wrong! Have a fantastic day and Happy Leap Day! 

February 2016 Monthly Goals

As I was reflecting on last month's goals, I had to really step back and refocus. I am going to be honest with you. I accomplished every goal last month but the MOST important goal, which is my family goal. I don't know about you, but I have a very difficult time focusing on all of my goals at once. If I spend a lot of time focusing on one goal, my other goals suffer. I am trying very hard to "do it all" but I just can't. It comes down to a lot of prayer and prioritizing. Lucky for me, my family loves me just the way I am and are very forgiving.

So here is to starting fresh and trying my best to prioritize.  Here are my goals for February. 

My family goals this month are to be "here...and less in my head. When I was typing this I thought maybe I would change it because it sounds bad. Really? Less in your head I thought. This is exactly how I feel. I am always thinking of what I am going to do next, what I have to do tomorrow, what I did yesterday, how am I going to find time to fit this and that in, what needs to be cleaned, blah blah blah...Therefore, I set a goal to be here in the now. Focus on what is important now. The reason I put this under family is because they are the ones that suffer the most from me not being "here". They deserve the best me!

My educational goal is to finish my reading bundle. I have been working on it for months and just need to put final touches. I have put it off for too long. 

My personal goal is to keep focusing on a healthier me. Spiritually, emotionally, and physically. I have been working on every aspect and want to continue! 

Thanks for taking the time to read my goals! I would love to hear your goals and reflections. 

• Join us! We are setting realistic goals each month in 3 areas.
• Copy my image below to set yours!
• Tag us on INSTAGRAM at #IG2016GOALS

New Year New Material!

I don't know about you, but I literally feel sick going back to school after a long break. I love, love, love spending family time and the thought of Monday just does not sit right. Not only do I have to wake up early again and get back into the routine, I have to PLAN! I always try to leave my classroom ready to come back; however, we all know that doesn't always cut it. I have tried to make my life easier with already having my plans and objectives set. Hopefully you find them helpful to you as well! 

I always try to make time to reflect on the past year and make resolutions. It is a great time to knock out bad habits and start fresh. I have an entire mini unit on New Year's Resolutions and I talk to my students about what that means and how we can help each other stick to our resolutions. I have my students write about their top 5 memories from the past year. Check out the freebie here: 

                

Top 5 Events of My Year

Starting a new year does not have to be intimidating. We can do this together. Have a great week back and blessings to you all! I hope you all have a Happy New Year and enjoy a fresh start! Here is the link to the entire New Year Pack! New Year Activities

New Year Monthly Goals~ 2016

Happy New Year! As I was reflecting on 2015 I found many things that I want to improve on. I know I need to improve on many aspects of my life. I think it is a great idea to reflect and set goals for 2016! Here are my goals:

Family Goal: It is so easy to get caught up in life and forget what is important. My family is #1 always, yet often times family time gets pushed to the side. I want to focus more on family nights. My boys love playing board games so that is something I really want to focus doing more. I want to spend less time on electronics and t.v. and just enjoy each others company.

TPT Goal: I have to say 2015 was a great year for me on my TpT journey. I met my first milestone, which was totally awesome, and am looking forward to what's to come for my store! I still have many goals for myself. This month I want to focus on updated older products and making sure they are high quality work. I also want to blog once a week. I love getting my thoughts out and blogging is such a great outlet. 

Educational Goal: This one was difficult for me. I have my Master's Degree and I continue to read and learn about the newest trends in education. However, I do need to start creating more testing prep and materials that utilize the information I have learned. There is always something new that can be learned. 

Personal Goal: Oh wow...I have so much work to do on this one. I have let myself go. My husband and boys get the best of me (which I totally don't mind) and I usually don't have much left for just "me". I think this is pretty normal; however, I am in desperate need of "me" time. My goal is to start exercising and prepare healthier meals for my family. 

I encourage you to join us in creating your own goals. Make sure to link up with us on INSTAGRAM and use the hashtag #IG2016GOALS. We would love for you to tag us in your post! I am Coffman's Creative Classroom on IG! We can't wait to see your goals! Blessings to you and good luck with your goals!

DOWNLOAD this image to add your text. Happy New Year and Happy Goal Setting!