Happy Almost Friday!

What a crazy week we've had, getting back to real life after Spring Break. Here are a few things to help ya'll out!

This is a bookmark that we've included in our kid's writing folders this year. It really has helped them remember the punctuation in their writing. Here's your copy! :)




I've been really hitting contractions hard in reading group, and yesterday we had a center time with tons of different contraction games. Thanks to all of you who have had such great stuff! I needed one more so HERE it is. Have fun with your copy!

Motivational Monday

For us, Monday's are a killer, especially after Spring Break and being at home with our kiddos. So we're going to try to give everyone a little motivation to help you get through your week, in a little piece we like to call, "Motivational Monday."

What do Teachers Make?
By: Taylor Mali

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One ma, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: 'Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach.'

To emphasize his point he said to another guest; 'You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest, what do you make?'
(She paused for a second, then began...)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an IPod, Game Cube, or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each person at the table.)

"I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and them I make them write... Keyboarding isn't everything.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math. They use their God-given brain, not the man-made calculator.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.

I make them understand that if they use the gives they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life."

(Bonnie paused one last time, then continued.)

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn't everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

What do you make Mr. CEO?"

His jaw dropped, and he went silent.



Thank you to all of you amazing teachers who make a difference! Happy Monday!

Homophone Hop

Here is a fun homophone game that can be used at a word work center. We have included a worksheet for students to record their matches. Click here to get your copy!

5 in a Row

Make sure to check out Once Upon a time in 1st Grade today. We were guest bloggers for Gladys. Thanks so much Gladys for letting us share! Here is a copy of the game that we blogged about.
Click HERE for your own copy.

Thank You!

Thank you for the wonderfully sweet words about our new blog! We are so excited to be here! :) If you liked Weather Walk, keep your eyes on us. Another game will be up soon! Today is the last day of our spring beak, so we're going to relax. Happy Friday!

Weather Walk Give Away!

Have you ever wanted or needed a game that practices skills of many subjects? Than we've got the game for you! This is a weather themed game that works on skills in both math and reading. Task cards include subtraction, addition, place value, telling time, sight words, sound blends, opposites, and rhyming words. And guess what else! We've also included card masters for you to create your own task cards, so that you can make this game work for you! What more could you ask for? Now, how do you get this wonderful game? It must cost money, right? Nope! It's FREE! (And what teacher doesn't like free?) :) All you have to do is become one of the next 30 followers, and it's yours! Leave us a comment with your email, and we'll send you back Weather Walk. Already follow us? Then you get your copy too. Just blog about us and it's yours! Here's a little peak of the 13-pages you'll receive:

We can't wait to hear from you! We'd also love to hear how you used this game and made it yours!

We're Here!

Well, after being addicted to blogstalking, and using everyone's fantastic activities, we finally decided to take the plunge and create our own blog. We have taught first grade together for seven years, and love collaborating on activities in our classrooms. We have a passion for literacy, and both use workshop style teaching. Daily 5, and writers workshop are a favorite time of the day for us. We hope that you find our ideas and activities useful in your own classrooms, and that we can help all of you, as much as you have helped us.

Don't forget we're new to this, so we'd love to hear your comments! If you like what you see, please tell your friends about us, or give us a shout out on your blog. :)

Thank you so much to Dreamlike Magic for creating our adorable blog design!

Stay tuned...

~Erin and Leslie

Evaporation Lab

Here is a evaporation lab we are doing with our first graders. Each page is designed to cut in half and to be stapled into booklets. Click HERE for a free download. Enjoy!

Rainbow Fact Families

We have really been working on memorizing our addition and subtraction facts, and have done a ton of work on fact families. Here is a little packet we will be using while learning about weather. Included are a few practice sheets for the kids to do, as well as a master for you to make your own. Then, there is a matching activity where the kids match the correct sun and raindrops to the fact family rainbow. Another great teachable moment to reiterate that a rainbow needs sun and rain. Click on the picture for a copy of the game and worksheets! :)

Step Up To Writing Vocabulary

Our district recently purchased Step Up to Writing. Here is a weather vocabulary activity developed from our Step Up lessons. These words/pictures will be used to introduce our first graders to weather vocabulary. This download contains two sets of pictures to use on two different days. Click HERE to download!

ABC Weather Sort

We'll be starting our weather unit with our first graders soon. Here is an activity we will be putting out with our word work materials. Click HERE for a free download.

Daily 5 Record

If you use Daily 5 here is a great tool for you. We use this as a check off form as way to know what dailies our first graders are doing each day. Click HERE for your copy!

Popcorn Words

Here is a fun game that we use to help our first graders remember their sight words. We included a blank page if you want to add your own sight words too. We put ours in popcorn containers purchased from the dollar store. Click HERE to download a copy!

Story Retell Printable

We've been working on retelling stories a lot in reading group lately. Here is a generic story retell sheet we have been using. Click on the picture for the download!

Welcome to our Blog!

Welcome to First Grade Fanatics! We are excited to get started, and apologize if the blog takes a bit to get going. We have a passion for first grade, and can't wait to share our ideas with you. So please, come along with us fanatics, on our wild ride in first grade!

*UNDER CONSTRUCTION*

Coming soon.....