Alberto the Dancing Alligator

Well...I have started working much harder on preparing for the upcoming school year (especially since I have to start from scratch!) because summer is ALMOST OVER!!! :(

So far this summer, my 2-year-old and I have visited the library several times. A few times ago, we checked out a random alligator book because we had been talking about the letter A and alligators, and she really likes animals. The book was Alberto the Dancing Alligator, one I had never heard of before (click on the picture to head over to Amazon to check it out).

It ended up being a really cute little book! It's about a little girl and her pet alligator, Alberto, that both love to dance. One day while dancing in the bathroom, Alberto slipped, fell in the toilet and got flushed down to the sewer! (And don't worry, no gross toilet nonsense in this book.) The rest of the book describes his adventure under the city and how he makes it back home. I had to read it to her a bajillion times, of course, so now I also know it pretty well! Anyway, I ended up making a few activities to go along with the book for bigger kids but first, I'll show you my sweet little girl's alligators that she made!!:

Aren't they soooo cute?!? I'm not biased or anything. ;)

ANYWAY, I put together a little pack of activities that are appropriate for 1st-2nd and maybe 3rd graders. Here is the one of the writing activities included in the pack:

 And here is a sample page from the pack:

Head over to one of my stores to check out the rest of it!!

Be one of the first 4 people to comment (with an email address) and get a FREE copy of the pack!

I hope you like it!! :)

A Little (Not School Related) Summer Reading!

*This is probably my first ever non-school post!*

So I have enjoyed laughing at the Catalog Living blog for the past 2 or so years. If you haven't come across it before, the blog author basically takes pictures from catalogs (like Pottery Barn, for example) and puts a funny caption on them to explain the scene. Maybe that sounds kind of lame, but it's H-I-L-A-R-O-U-S! Here are some examples of the posts to further explain:

Funny, right?!? (Anyone?.....Anyone?...) Anywho, I was SO excited to read that a book was in the works!! The book has all new content and I'm going to go laugh at it riiiiiiiight now! I recommend it (or at least the free blog) if you're looking for a little summer fun! ;)

Have you ever read Catalog Living??

I May Have a Bit of an Obsession.......

So I am realizing that I may have a bit of an obsession....I've purchased all of these books within the last two weeks, based on feedback about them from some of you!! And about the language arts books--I know I don't teach language arts at all right now but I do want to stay on top of things in case I do (and I probably will at some point, I imagine). I have been reading a little bit of each book when I can, that way I can finish several at once (that works best for my attention span!).

That being said......any recommendations on any professional development books that I should read??? :)


Also, don't forget about my sale going through Wednesday--25% off everything!! well....except for the free stuff.... ;)

Guided Math: A Framework for Mathematics Instruction ebook

Just found the ebook for Guided Math: A Framework for Mathematics Instruction and thought I would share it with you!! I know several of you are reading or have read it. I bought it and read it this summer and am currently trying to implement it in my classroom! Enjoy!!!!




You can visit the actual site here.

Read Alouds Linky Party

Mrs. Parker is hosting a linky party on Read Alouds you plan on using in the fall!

As you may recall, I teach math (and social students/science) so I don't actually get to teach Language Arts. However, that has NEVER stopped me from sharing my love of literature with my students. While I am not able to read a lot of books with my kids, I do have a few that I manage to somehow squeeze in every year. If I can help it, I always find a math literature book to go with each math unit. There is usually at least one per concept, so we read a lot of math-related books.

Here are my favorites that my students get to enjoy each year:

This is always an early read-aloud. I read it sometime in the first few days of school. My students always get a kick out of it. This book would be great to accompany a discussion or activity about how math is used in our everyday lives.

Another great one by Jon Scieszka. It has some pretty sophisticated vocabulary on some pages, but still enjoyed by students.

This series has been my absolute FAVORITE since my 2nd grade teacher read it to me! The books are h-i-l-a-r-i-o-u-s. My students and I always have a great time reading them.

This is a cute one to go along with polygons!

I always read this one before we begin long division. Such a cute little story :D

I look forward to seeing everyone else's lists!