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Seems that I have been MIA for a long time.  With the end of the year and some exciting news I haven't been blogging.  I was very lucky to land a new job at a wonderful school for next year.  That meant moving 17 years worth of teach stuff home for the summer.  WOW!  I had no idea...... but I am a hoarder!  

For a lot of reason I decided that I needed to switch over and start a new blog.  I have spent the last two days working on it for my new adventure to THIRD GRADE!  

Please check it out and let me know what you think!

http://smithssafariadventuresinthirdgrade.blogspot.com/

Well the school year is winding down and I want to make sure my little angels have plenty to do the next week and a half.  I made this cute little craftivity today.  You can click on the picture to see it in my TPT store.  The first person to comment on this post and leave me your email address will get this for free!  

Those last few days of school.....  What to do with the kids?  I know my kids just want to have fun and to keep them coming to school for the next 8 days is going to be a challenge.  Math Around the Room....  one of my kids favorite activities!  I made a new one to review counting money because we always can use more practice with it. It's really easy to set up, you make one copy of the cards and enough answer sheets for the whole class.  Before the activity you tape the cards all over the room.  The kids go from card to card and count the money and write it on their paper.  Then once they are all done we check it.  Extremely simple game and they love to do it!  You can check it out in my TPT store.  It has everything you need, including detailed instructions.  Click on a sample picture to see to go to the TPT link.  

Happy End of the Year Everyone!
Tracy

It's Teacher Appreciation Week!  In honor of all the amazing and creative teachers out there TPT is having a sale May 7th and 8th.  Many of the sellers will be having a SALE.  Everything in my store will on sale and you will save 28% off the regular price!  You can click on the banner above to go directly to my store!  Time to stock up to get ready for next year!  

Happy Shopping!
Tracy

We have been reviewing for last few weeks to get ready for testing this week.  The day before the test....  BAM!  I was looking at blank stares and hearing crickets.  Not a hand went up....  they had officially had ENOUGH!  Some quick thinking on my part and told them to line up to go outside.  It was only 10:00 a.m. so they knew something was up.  I dug into my cabinet and grabbed a bunch of boxes of sidewalk chalk.  We went outside and made a big circle and I gave them a piece of chalk and our review was exciting once again!  First we reviewed commas in a series!

Then we moved to a new space and worked on writing capital letters in the correct places.  Why do they write Mrs. with all caps?  I will never know!  I just had to take a picture of it!

We went over contractions, writing the date, and anything else I could think of!

This was one of those moments that I got to remember why I love teaching....  when you look at their little faces and see smiles while they are learning!  So this will be a regular activity for me every single year!  

Have a great evening!
Tracy

I love a CRAFTIVITY!  Whoever came up with it was a genius!  They are so fun for the kids and I love to have them write as much as possible.  I made this this one up to use after we finish SAT10 testing next week.  My sample turned out really cute and I know my little ones will love this.  Of course, we might have to have a special "cupcake" treat after we finish!

I've started a new board on Pinterest for second grade ideas, freebies, and TPT products.  Please check it out:

http://pinterest.com/tracysmith827/shining-stars-in-second-grade/

I also have a board that other teacher friends and I pin on for K-3 Common Core Materials.  Here is the address:

http://pinterest.com/tracysmith827/shining-stars-in-second-grade/

If you have a favorite Pinterest board, please leave me a comment with the address.  
I know everyone is always looking for something new to get some ideas from!

We are in our second week of review and I was trying to think of fun ways to keep the kids motivated!  Look at the super cute piggy banks I found at the dollar store!  My kids are grouped in teams and each team has a piggy bank to share.  I took a little metal bucket that I had and filled it with play coins.  While we review I award play money to students for getting the right answer, being able to explain why an answer is wrong, working as a group to solve a problem and everything I can think of. I even gave away some coins for the quietest people in the hallway!  I toss them a coin that I pull out of the bucket.  The great thing is they are so excited to see if it is QUARTER!  As the day went on I was amazed that my higher kids had a running mental count of how much their bank had.  At the end of the day each team emptied out their bank and counted their money together.  The team with the highest amount won a little "prize".  This kept them all on task today and they asked if we are going to keep doing this.  They LOVED IT!  Easy way to keep reviewing money and they kids are having fun! 

Have a great evening!
Tracy

I love Pinterest!  I can spend hours and hours looking at all of the great stuff.  I have my own Common Core K-3 board on Pinterest and follow a bunch of terrific teachers.  To look at my board, just click on the picture on the left.  I hope you follow me and the great teachers that I have invited to pin with me.  

I recently joined a Linky that lists a ton of boards that you might want to take a look at.  Here is the web address.  

http://www.latenight-coffee.com/pinterest-boards/

I hope everyone has a great week!
Tracy