A Writing Helper Freebie

Hi blog friends! I sure have been in back-to-school mode lately. I know that many of you have already started back to school, but I still have a little under 2 weeks until I "officially" go back - 12 days to be exact.

Today I have a little writing helper freebie for you. I made these because my students (especially in the beginnig of the year) tend to write sentences like this: ilikemycat. No Spaces!! Therefore, I introduce them to the "Space Man" or "Space Woman". We use them to help us place a space between our words when we write. (I model how to use it before they use their own.)

The "Space Man" helps us make perfect spaces between our words.

To make your own, click  here or on the picture below.

Then print, laminate, cut and glue onto a popsicle stick.



You can store the Space Men in a cute cup.




Snickers just loves getting his picture taken.



P.S. - I am so excited that I am getting close to 100 followers. Keep a lookout for a 100 follower giveaway when I reach it!

First Grade Fanatics

Check out this amazing back to school giveaway!

First Grade Fanatics: HUGE Back To School Giveaway!!!

They are also having a 14 Days of Summer Celebration, where they are giving away a new freebie everyday!

DIY Lamp

A little while ago I posted about some goodwill treasures that I bought - including a lamp that I wanted to revamp for my jungle-themed room. Well, I finally finished it. (And, it was super easy to do!)

Here is the BEFORE picture again:



And here is what it looks like AFTER:


Of course, my little shadow (aka Snickers) snuck into this picture. This sweet little cat follows me around the house all day checking out what I am doing. :) When we took this little stray into our house, we weren't really sure if we would be able to keep him - now we can't even imagine not having him! He is the sweetest little thing!

Anyways, if you'd like to do your own lamp-makeover, it is really simple. Here is what I did.
(Sorry - some of these pictures are not the best quality.)




Use a pencil to trace to length of fabric needed on the backside of the fabric.





Cut the fabric a few inches wider than the line that you traced.





Here he is - watching everything I do. :)

Spray this adhesive on the shade and press the fabric into place. This adhesive stays tacky for a little bit so you will have time to make the fabric fit just right. (You may notice that I painted the shade white to try to get rid of the pattern showing through when the lamp is turned on. If I was to do this again, I would just start with a white shade.)



Fold and hot glue the fabric to create a seam.



Fold and hot glue to over-hanging fabric.



I had to snip the fabric so that it would fold around the metal pieces.





Everything is now glued into place.




I added this peel and stick beaded trim. (I found it at Jo-Ann's on clearance.)



Lastly, I hot glued this brown satin ribbon on the top and bottom edge of the shade.



Happy Tuesday!

Teacher Tam's Educational Adventures

Check out this blog to see how you can get a free item from here TPT store, or maybe even win all of the items in her store!
Teacher Tam's Educational Adventures: Get a Freebie and Maybe Win My Whole Store!.

Working in my Classroom

I finally went back to school this week to start getting my classroom put together. Here is what it looked like before:

 And here is what I got done:

I got all of my library books and workbooks unboxed.

It will be a full house with 20 kiddos!

I sorted my library books into my new crates. I still need to add labels.

Organizing materials into bins.

I will be going back next week to get  more work done. There is still sooooo much to do! I can't wait to post picture of what it look like when it is finally complete!

More Giveaways

Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas! is giving away a $25 Walgreens gift card to celelbrate reaching 200+ followers! Hurry - this ends today at 6pm!

Kleinspiration is giving away a $25 Target gift card for reaching 500 followers!

Fancy in First is giving away a $10 Target gift card. Help her out with some cute Penguin ideas. :) (Ends Wed. Aug. 10th at 8pm.)

First Grade Fever

Check out this awesome blog: First Grade Fever. She is celebrating 100 followers with a giveaway. ( Hurry though, it ends today!) She also has cute freebie labels, jungle themed-ideas, and a tutorial for a super-cute doorway canopy (with detailed directions.) Check it out!

More Jungle Freebies

I'm back with more jungle themed freebies! First, I have nametags that I will put in our cubbies. There are four different tags for four different groups. Last year, I had a red, green, yellow, and blue group. Since I have color-coded baskets already made, I plan on sticking with the same color groups, but with a jungle twist. So...I made a blue elephant tag, a red zebra tag, a green monkey tag, and a yellow lion tag. Click on any of the pictures below for your free copy!

       Also, I have been thinking about how I will manage my reading logs this year. In the past, I have sent home a weekly form that I collected every week. (Resulting in lots of loose paper!) Then, I switched to a monthly calendar, but those seemed to get lost in the shuffle and weren't always returned. Therefore, I am going to try using a three-pronged folder this year. I will add the cover that you see below, and laminate the folders. Inside, I will add a letter to the parents explaining the reading log procedures. Then, I will add the reading log papers inside the folder. I will collect the folder every Friday, add a sticker if the child meets thier weekly reading goal, and then send the same folder home again.

Click on the picture to download.

Any thoughts on reading logs, friends? How do you manage them? What types of rewards (if any) do you use?