It's the MOST wonderful time of the YEAR!

This week our elf made her big appearance and OH.MY.WORD my kiddos were so excited!  Our head custodian brought down the package after lunch during a mini-lesson.  And They named her...are you ready for this?  Olaf.  After naming our cute little friend and the madness settled down, we got started on our booklet.  The first day the kiddos wrote all about Olaf. 

Let me give you the run down..Olaf is from the North Pole and is here to be Santa's helper in our classroom.  She is very silly and sometimes gets herself in to silly situations!  It is a fun way to embrace the season with your kiddos.  Every morning they hurry into see where Olaf is and what sort of mischief she has gotten into. 

This week she made a big announcement to my class...

Reagan Marie will be making her appearance in March!  In the mean time, I have a LOT of pink to buy! :)

This week we also had a mini-lesson on needs and wants.  This is the perfect time of year to talk about the difference between needs and wants with your kids.  

If you have brainpopjr.com they have a great video to introduce the topic.  I always love to use brainpopjr to introduce a lesson when I can.  That Moby is something else! :)

After the brainpop video we came together in our meeting area to talk about needs and wants.  I used this little sort as a discussion tool.  Lastly, I sent them back to their seats to work on a sort independently.   If you are interested in using this activity you can head over to my tpt store and grab it as a freebie!

Have a great week!  Follow me on Instagram @thecrazyschoolteacher to see what kind of mischief Olaf gets into this week!

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Parent-Teacher Conferences

Report Cards, Data Notebooks, Student Work...Oh my!  Anyone else out there gearing up for fall parent-teacher conferences?  I am out in full panic mode force trying to get everything ready.

I like to be overly prepared for parent-teacher conferences.  Let's face it...none of us want to be caught off guard by a question or feel not prepared.  My first step in preparing for conferences is working on data notebooks with my students.  Each student has a data notebook to keep track of test scores, reflection and student work examples.  I use this tool to drive my conferences.  I'm not going to lie...it is a lot of work.  But let me tell you, it is WORTH every minute of it!  You can read more about my data notebooks here.

I feel like conferences are so rushed, when it is over I ALWAYS remember something that I wanted to point out.  I prepare a  3 STARS & A WISH for each child.  This forces me to point out 3 positive things for each child, while also allowing me to talk about an area they need to improve on.  You can grab 3 STARS & A WISH here.

Although they can be stressful, conferences are a great time to build a relationship with all of the people who love our kiddos.  Each year I always dread all of the extra work and time that goes into it...but I always come out of it feeling excited to work and love on all of my kiddos.

Now, it's time for a Starbucks...unless your pregnant and craving fries and cheese from Wendy's.  :)

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Back to School...Radio Silence

Friends, back to school has been rough for me….20 new firsties who are all needy, working on my masters and…

I’m pregnant!  

Which also means I’ve been completely exhausted, but entirely worth it.  Baby Rippy will be making his or her appearance in March.  My husband and I are so excited and feel completely blessed.

In other news, I have a fabulous new blog design.  I signed up with Michelle, The 3am Teacher, in January.  I've been looking forward to this ALL year!  It was completely worth the wait.  If you are looking for a new design, I would highly recommend her! :)

To celebrate, I have a special giveaway to tell you about later this week!  

Stay Tuned! :)

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Lakeshore Learning: Building Cubes

I don’t know about you, but Lakeshore Learning is my FAVORITE teacher supply store.  Seriously, I get giddy thinking about my trip next week!  My poor husband, this is what he does during my Lakeshore trips…

You can imagine my excitement when I saw this beauty sitting on my counter when I got home.

Here is what was in the package….Lakeshore Building Cubes! 

This year I really want to vamp up my math stations with more hands-on activities.  The building cubes are going to be the perfect addition to my math stations during our geometry unit!  BUT I wanted to test it out.  My favorite 3^rd grader was kind enough to do the job for me.  Let me tell you, he LOVED them!  I cannot wait to introduce these to my firsties.

The BEST news is that the Building Cubes are apart of the HUGE back to school sale Lakeshore is having!  To find out more about the Building Cubes or anything else on sale, check out the Back-to-School Sale (now through Aug. 31) at Lakeshore Learning Stores nationwide featuring doorbusters up to 50% off and special in-store coupons! Or shop online at www.lakeshorelearning.com!  

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