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Author: Heidi

3rd Grade Common Core Aligned Morning Work

I am ready to share this product with you (Translation: I am ready for this product to be finished!  There is a bottle of sparkling grape juice waiting in my fridge as a celebration for when this wrapped up!) If you’re not familiar with our Morning Work books, let me

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Top 5 Feliz Navidad Reads

#1 A Pinata in a Pine Tree: A Latino Twleve Days of Christmas by Pat Mora  W A secret amiga is bringing gifts for the twelve days of Christmas.  There are pinatas and pastelitos and doce angelitos. #2 Hurray for Three Kings’ Day by Lori Marie Carlson  WWW The author

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Top 5 Dino Christmas Reads

#1 Dinosaur Christmas by Jerry Pallotta W Have you ever wondered how Santa delivered all the presents before the reindeer?  Dinosaurs of course! #2 How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? by Jane Yolen W A festive installment in the great “How do Dinosaurs?” series.  There’s also a Hannukah version. #3 Dear Santasaurus

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Favorite Thanksgiving Reads

November has perfect reading weather, don’t you think?  So let’s dig into this feast of books! We have lots of books here so I broke it up into categories First up…. The Historical Perspective We celebrate Thanksgiving because of the first Thanksgiving, so it seems like a good place to

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Autumn Sensory Bin

It was a great leap of faith to stock this bin with birdseed.  There have been mishaps and, therefore, there's been plenty of opportunity for sweeping practice!  But after a week of play, they're much more intentional in their actions.  And that, I suppose is the larger goal with a

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Acquiring Vocabulary with an Interactive Vocabulary Notebook

  Words are not just words. They are the nexus—the interface—between communication and thought.  When we read, it is through words that we build, refine, and modify our knowledge. What makes vocabulary valuable and important is not the words themselves so much as the understandings they afford. –Marilyn Jager Adams

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Vital Vocabulary

Above vocabulary foldable courtesy of Laura Candler Why teach vocabulary? There’s no hyperbole in saying: Vocabulary is the best single indicator of intellectual ability and an accurate predictor of success at school. — W.B. Elley Vocabulary matters.  It really, really matters.  In a recent study, researchers took a look at

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Favorite Halloween Reads

Some people shop for shoes.  Some people love purses.  I couldn’t care less about either of those, but when it comes to holiday books, I’m a junkie!  Christmas books are my drug of choice, but I’ll take a hit off a St. Patrick’s Day book or back-to-school book (or Groundhog’s

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October Preschool Work Trays

Hello all!  I thought I'd share with you some of the work trays we've been using this month.  These aren't all our trays, but I thought I'd show you the ones that are Halloween related in case you're looking for some theme inspiration.  I've had a blast setting these up!

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Alphabet Interventions

We're excited to introduce you to Cassity, a new contributor to our blog. She has the experience of years of teaching and now is on the flipside as the parent of a school aged child. We can't wait for you to get to know her a little better! She's one

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2nd Grade Common Core Morning Work

(See 1st Grade Morning Work here.) **We made a HUGE update to this product. Read about it in this post.** In my classroom, students begin the day by working independently in their morning work books for 10-15 minutes. Trying to design the original version of the morning work book in

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Seed Fun

All week long I teach 2nd grade.  So when Sunday rolls around I get a big change…I get to teach the 3-year-olds! No rest for the wicked, right? A few weeks back, our lesson was "I'm thankful for plants."  I wanted some different examples of seeds to show them and

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