Teacher Appreciation, A Giveaway, and Caterpillars

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! I hope all of you are shown how much you are appreciated this week! Our school is pretty good about doing that. We are usually treated to something special each day of TA Week. We get small treats, lunches, ice cream, and even a day where we can get a massage during our lunch time. Since I'm a vegetarian, they also make meal accommodations for me (even when we have parties and stuff throughout the year). So I guess I can consider myself lucky. 

What does your school do for you during Teacher Appreciation Week? I'd love to find out what different places do.

Speaking of Teacher Appreciation, TPT is having a sale to celebrate! Of course, my store is participating! You get 20% off of everything in my store, and you get an extra 10% off of that price from TPT when you enter the code TAD13. This will give you up to 28% off everything you buy! Click the image below to check out the sale!

Melissa over at First Grade Smiles is having a 200 Follower Giveaway! There are several prize packages with fantastic prizes from your favorite TPT Sellers! Click the image below to enter.

When I taught Kindergarten, I would always order caterpillars and teach a butterfly unit. It was one of my favorite units to teach. The children would learn big words like metamorphosis, molting, emerge, chrysalis, etc. They would be so intrigued by the process, and ask lots of questions. There was lots of learning going on. I loved it!

When I moved to 2nd Grade, I was thrilled that they do the unit as part of their curriculum. Our caterpillars arrived last week. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of them on day 1, but I did get one from day 3.

The children are fascinated by them. They have so many good questions about them too. I'll share a few in an upcoming post.

 

I found a cute FREE observation journal to use with this unit as well. This was created by Susan at T.G.I.F. Click on the image to download.

 

 

Finally, I just wanted to share a picture I took last week. My class is so into completing the Morning Message. We even started graphing our class average of it each day, kind of like they do with their personal test scores so they can see their progress. I think they especially like it because they get a treat if everything is correct. I just think it's fun! It's also great to see them working together on it.

Feel free to leave comments below! If you have any great ideas for a butterfly unit, I'd love to read them!

May Currently and Some Giveaways!

It's a new month, and time for Currently, Sponsored by Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade! I know, I didn't do it last month. I was getting lazy, but I'm getting back on track now. 

Here it is!

 

Yes, I'm listening to my son singing in the other room. He is playing Minecraft, his latest obsession. He gets these songs from the game or about the game (Thanks, You Tube! - Sarcasm) in his head, and keeps humming or singing them out loud. It's quite annoying since now those stupid songs pop into my head at various times during the day. I just wish he'd sing Bon Jovi or something instead! :)

I recently learned how to make editable products to post on TPT! I saw it on the Seller's Forum, and was thrilled to find it! It inspired me to update my Bright Schedule Cards. I updated the originals that are ready-made with subject areas on them, then made some editable ones with and without clip art so people can change the font or even choose to have text-only cards. I also made smaller cards to include the time of day. I thought they came out pretty good, even if I say so myself. :)

My class, the one that has been wonderful all year, is starting to go crazy! They are much more talkative, opinionated, and a few even like to argue with me. I'm finding myself having to be much harder on them, which I really don't like. Only 23 more days!

I find myself wanting to do so many things, but I have to choose just one. I want to read, play computer games, write in my blog, make new products, etc., but I am only able to focus on one thing at a time. Oh, what a joy it would be to be able to enjoy everything at once!

Like I mentioned earlier, I had gotten lazy, and wasn't writing as frequently. I'm working on that now. :)

My summer bucket list: 

1. I need to get serious about losing weight, which I'm hoping to do over the summer.

2. I have tons of books on my Kindle Fire that I haven't read yet. I hope to get to many of them over the summer.

3. I'd like to go away somewhere fun, even if it's just for a few nights. I'm not sure where, but I'll let you know when I go! :)

By the way, if you are still looking for a Mother's Day activity for your class, check out my Happy Mother's Day Pack. I'm working on the booklet with my class now. They sometimes surprise me with what they write in the blanks. My 2nd Graders even put speech bubbles (they didn't really do that in Kindergarten) to make the booklets even more entertaining. It's definitely a great keepsake for Moms!

Curriculum Core is having a 100 Follower Giveaway! Be sure to check it out!

The Learning Lab is having a May Giveaway starting on May 5. Remember to stop by!

Both giveaways have great prizes!

Feel free to comment below! I love hearing from my readers!