Sudoku Freebie!

One thing I want to do this year is introduce my students to Sudoku. (I have spent countless hours playing it in the past few years.) It's a such wonderful, mind-stimulating game that fosters critical thinking skills in students. I am posting the Sudoku pages that I put together for my own classroom. I did not make up these puzzles, just typed them up. (I wanted them to be bigger and I also added a few additonal numbers to some of the puzzles to make it a wee bit easier.) I'm posting what I made for you to use in your own classroom.

Do any of you already use Sudoku? I'd love to hear about it!

Sudoku Puzzles

My Classroom: UPDATE!!!!

Here are some updated photos of my classroom! I have been busy the past several days putting my classroom back together AND finishing up my nightmare grad class--I even finished 5 days early so I could get a few days off before the next one starts. I was bound and determined to get my classroom finished by today so I can start working on my lesson plans. I'm about 90% there. Take a look!!!!:

Welcome!

 I am in the process of finishing up my Pirate Place Value unit. This will be an interactive bulletin board. (Sorry about the glare!) It says "We arrgh learnin' about place value!"

Turn to the right...

2 of my 4 computers in the corner.

View from the front of the room.

 Looking toward my desk.

Small group table, reading area and the other 2 computers.

View from my desk. The 2 black crates have stuff that needs a home in it. That's about all I have left to put away! They are sitting on top of the desk for my student teacher. (OMG, I cannot believe, though honored, that they think I am qualified enough to have TWO student teachers this year. I am still new at teaching and still learning myself!!! I would appreciate any pointers you seasoned teachers have. This will be my first experience, other than my own student teaching 6 years ago!)

 

My lovely lockers.

One of the nooks. Students can do partner activities or read here. The shelf will house math manipulatives and games.

One of our educational stores had a closing sale; I picked up this book rack for $15! It used to hold teacher books at the store but now it holds books for my students. I really like how it displays them! I am in the process of labeling the different genres so, in the meantime, you will see purple sticky notes everywhere! 

The other little nook. This will be for partner activities and vocabulary word display. Not exactly a word wall, but I guess you could call it that. There are more student books sorted by genres in the drawers and containers on top of the drawers. We recently had a reading specialist visit our school; she advised us to place books away from reading areas. (Can you spot the purple sticky notes?!!) I also made some of those cute little crates a lot of you have been making recently. I am not sure how well it will hold up 4th graders but I'm willing to give it a shot....

Thank you for stopping by!

I Like Smart Choices!!

Like any teacher, I LOVE when my students make smart choices. I believe in rewarding students at random so they do not always expect a reward for doing something they probably should be doing anyway. I have always given out random rewards (like pencils, pens, treats, special privileges, etc.). I decided to make it a little more formal and create a "SMART Choice" bucket.

(With frogs, of course!) The container is not very big at all (you probably can't tell from the picture); it's only about 7 inches tall.

Right now I only have what is left over from the treasure box I used for the Summer Technology Camp I taught in back in June. I plan on hitting up The Dollar Tree, Target, and Wal-Mart to restock with items such as pencils, erasers, pens, stickers, and small toys in order to keep it simple.

I am going to implement Beth Newingham's classroom economy system for my homeroom class, so the SMART Choice bucket will be a little added bonus. My other 2 classes will only use the SMART Choice bucket.


You can download my label, plus 9 others below!:




July 4, 2013: I have updated the freebie so it now includes 22 labels!!

Enjoy!!!

Where Did July Go?!?

Grad School is k-i-c-k-i-n-g my butt right now and I have FINALLY been granted access to my classroom. This equates to one busy week!! My room is still a work in progress but I have a sneak peek for you! I probably won't be able to post again until after life winds down a bit. :/

P.S. I have enjoyed looking at all of your pictures! I love to see other people's classrooms!!

View from the door

Here it is!

 

I'm going with tables this year--VERY excited about it.

One of two new nooks :D

Nook 2!!

Still have a little ways to go but I am very pleased with the progress. I'll update as soon as I can :D

Friday FREEBIE!

The first 4 people to comment on this post will receive a FREE copy of my array cards, including activities for use. You can check out this previous post about them to find out what they are. :D

These 2 items are for sale in my TPT store.

Don't forget to leave your email address!

Changes Coming....

I decided to finally spend a little time on my blog design and make it prettier! I also didn't intend for my original blog title to come across as negative, so I decided to change that as well. :D Please bear with me, as it is still a work in progress!!

My button has changed so please grab a new one!!

By the way, I have BIG changes coming REALLY soon! You will have to stay tuned to find out. BIG, BIG Changes!!

Pinspiration Linky Party

Like many of you, I am OBSESSED with Pinterest. I constantly save photos of things I like, but mainly things I want to recreate. I actually completed my first Pinterest project tonight! I am NOT a cook at all, I don't like it (though I LOVE to eat). :) I can make cupcakes though! (From the box, of course.....) I pinned this picture of these adorable owls:

 And here is my own rendition:

The whole parliament of owls

Please excuse the iPhone pics :)

I want to see what YOU have used Pinterest to do. Have you recreated anything that you've pinned? Please join the party! :D

Attention Math Curse Fans!

While completing work for my online GT endorsement class, I came across an AWESOME project for Math Curse. Several of you mentioned that you used Math Curse in your own classroom so I thought I would share it! You can view it here. Enjoy!

*The project is geared toward GT students but can be modified (if need be) for regular ed.

10 Things About Me!

Join the linky party hosted by fellow 4th grade blogger, Mrs. Owens, by clicking here! What fun! You'll even get a freebie.

10. I'm a nerd! I've accepted it. I'm into highlighters, technology, science, math, reading, learning, organizers, random facts--anything academic. I love sudoku, brain games, mental math, and dictionaries.

9. I'm a Grammar Nazi. I can't help but judge anything I read. Sorry! I will rarely call people on it though.

8. It almost makes me cry sometimes when I  think about not ever seeing a new episode of Friends or Will & Grace again. I miss great sitcoms...

7. I'm so ADD and OCD. Ask my husband how fun I am to live with :D

6. The following verses best describe my life and my work ethic: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Colossians 3:17 and "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters," Colossians 3:23.  

5. I'm terrified of bees, wasps and snakes. (In fact, I won't allow flowers to be planted in my yard because the bees will come!!) That being said, I thoroughly enjoy reading about and learning about snakes. Odd? I know.

4. I could eat chicken noodle soup for every meal, every day and never tire of it.

3. I love to c-r-e-a-t-e. I am very crafty and love visiting Hobby Lobby and Michaels, but never have time to do much!

2. I never wear make-up. In fact, I don't even own any. I wouldn't know what to get or where to even start!

1. I have been learning SO much and have really stepped up my game as a teacher since discovering the world of blogging (which also happened to be the same time I started grad school). I think I have grown more in the last 6 months than in my 4 years of teaching combined. (Don't get me wrong, I have learned and grown during those 4 years but not as rapid a pace as I have this year). THANK YOU to all my bloggy friends. You have helped me be the best teacher I can be.

Favorite Fonts Linky Party

Join in on the fun at Finally in First! She's having a Favorite Fonts linky party! Here are the ones I love and use for pretty much everything: