Teachers, Show Us Your...Best Games!

I am so happy about everyone who has been linking up to this School-Week Linky so far. I was away from my computer yesterday, but I am looking forward to reading each and every post on Read-Alouds today!  The link will be open until January 1st, so feel free to link any time if you did not do so already!

We all know how much fun games can be in the classroom.  The learning that takes place through game play proves so valuable for my students.  They are having so much fun, they don't even realize that important concepts and strategies are being strengthened and reinforced in their brains!

One subject in which games are a constant in my classroom is math. The kids look forward to guided math time when they know that they will have an opportunity to learn and play together. Once in a while, {usually in between math units} I will throw a "Game Day" in there. On Game Day, the students rotate through all-game centers.  They go wild as you can imagine :)

Today I'd like to show you a set of games that my students really, really, REALLY love playing.  These games focus on addition strategies in particular...

They are from "Math Facts Heroes" series.  You can find the complete set {here} and by clicking below:

For stopping by today, you know I have a freebie for you :)  You can grab a copy of this Math Facts Basketball game by clicking below.  I'd love a follow for a download! :)

Now it's your turn...help us to build our game collections!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hey Teachers, Show Us Your...Favorite Read-Alouds!

Wow! What a great time I had reading through your blog posts about lesson planners! I bookmarked, pinned and downloaded.  I am so thankful for all of the new ideas I am grabbing! Because of the nice comments and questions about my binder, I am in the process of making it editable.  In the meantime, I'm throwing two freebies from my binder your way! Click to grab!

   

Today, we will be sharing something special to my heart- all of our teacher hearts, I'm sure...BOOKS!  In the Amazon Carousels above, you will find some of my favorite "go-to" books for starting the school year.  Some are old favorites and some are new additions to my library.   The first few weeks of school go by in a flash.  I find it's so important to have many great read-alouds on hand; both for lessons/activities as well as just for fun. There's nothing quite like gathering your littles on the carpet for a good book.  At this point, I have so many of the books memorized that I can spend time looking out at the kids' little faces as I read.  I love when they giggle, look surprised or perplexed- it gets me every time. Read-alouds early in the year also give me a sense of who is quick to participate, who is shy, whose answers are "right on" and whose comprehension is waving a big red flag at me. The most important reason for me to choose great read-alouds, however, is to show that I am a lover of books.  I love the covers, the illustrations and the words.  I show how interested I am in the characters and what is going on in the story.  I read with excitement, confusion, sadness, love and whatever other emotions the characters are going through.  And I have to admit, in the privacy of my classroom with my door closed, I love reading in character "voices" too - I don't hold back!   These early modeling examples of my "reader-ly life" sets the tone for reading behavior in my classroom.  It serves as a spring board for lessons on "Just-Right" and "I PICK" books as well as for lessons on the caring for and keeping of books. It's where I model fluency and expression and show the kiddies how cool it is to read this way!  In my room, we are big on reading responses and throughout the year, my kids keep a Reading Response Journal.  It's what they do during our Daily 5 "Work on Writing."  I choose to do it there because we do an entirely different Writer's Workshop block. Here's a glimpse at some goodies I am working on to go along with some of my favorite read-alouds.  Currently, I am putting the final touches on these three products.  They should be available in my stores by the end of the week :)

Now it's your turn to link up! 

Be sure to spread the word to your friends that you are linking up and sharing! 

 Have a great Tuesday everyone!

An InLinkz Link-up

Hey, Teachers...Show Us Your Lesson Planners!

Welcome to the first day of the School Week Linky! Today we are talking about Lesson Planners.  Link up your blog posts (old or new!), products and stores.  Give us all a peek at what you have going on inside that lesson planner of yours!  (I would be so happy if you linked back to this post!) I am looking forward to seeing how you all stay organized from day to day.  I also love seeing how people set up their lesson plans - I am always on the look-out for great ideas!

Here's what I've got for you...

It's been a long time since I've used a store-bought planner.  I was never able to get all of the information I needed into those little boxes.  My plan book has changed and evolved over the years and I've learned that I enjoy having everything in one big binder so it's all at my fingertips.  I do, however keep a separate Student Data Binder, because there is too much information to hold in one binder.

I start with a cute cover that I think I will enjoy looking at all year.  Here are some examples of covers I've had in the past:

I use tab dividers to divide up all of the goodies inside of my binder.  I put my calendar and important dates in first. 

The next section contains my lesson plans.  I know it takes up more paper, but I like to do a plan for each day rather than "a week at a glance." I've recently gotten glasses, so I like to be able to see everything nice and easily!  I've changed the format a little each year, but this is what I have for this year.  I saved it as a template so I can just add in the Objectives/Standard, Content, Delivery and Assignment.

To keep track of what I am teaching, I keep curriculum guides and Common Core Checklists in the next few tabs.  Here are two examples:

I save the last few tabs for school-related information, including original copies of my class lists in case I need to make extra copies for day to day use.  I also hold on to district phone numbers, technology information, etc.  I also have a sheet to keep all of those computer log-ins/passwords on!  This year, I also added a "Notes" section so I can keep my PD notes handy in my binder as well!

That's a look at what's inside of my planner...It's ready for September (but I am not sure if I am yet!) For visiting today, I have a little freebie for you...Just click on the picture to grab it! Now you can keep track of birthdays, too :)

Now it's your turn!  I can't wait to see your planners!  I will keep this Linky up until DECEMBER, so come back and link up whenever you are ready.  

Stay tuned for tomorrow when we link up our favorite read-alouds!  Here is the line-up for the rest of the week..Ready, set, SHARE!

LINK :)

An InLinkz Link-up

HEY TEACHERS! SHOW US YOUR.....

Hey there friends! Get those blog posts ready...we are about to have a School Week Linky beginning Monday, July 29th.  I know, I know, East Coast friends-that may seem early to you! Heck, we are right in the stride of summer! However, many of our teacher friends in different parts of the country {and world!} are setting up their classrooms for their August return. This will be a fun place to link YOUR blog posts {I will be blogging about each topic too!}.  Let's take a look at the line-up:

Here's a little description about each Linky, so you can get drafting if you are feeling ambitious!

Lesson Planners:

Get those planners ready...we want to see what you've got! Do you use a binder or bound planner? Do you buy or make your own or do a combination of both?  What's in your planner? Give us a peek at the goodies inside!

Read-Alouds:

Do you have a go-to book that you love to read to your students during the first weeks of school?  How about some activities to go along with it?  If we all post our favorites, think of the collection we will have right at our fingertips!

Best Games:

How do you get the fun started in your room at the beginning of the year?  How do you continue it throughout?  Give us a glimpse at your favorite games.  They can be for ice-breakers or skill building for any content area.  Create a blog post about it and then link us to one of your favorite products! Who doesn't love to build their game collection?

Tech Tips

The kids can't get enough technology these days {and neither can their teachers!}  There is SOOO much out there, that this Linky will have to be broken down into subject areas! Share your best games, apps, web-based programs and whiteboard lessons.  Get your computer bookmarking tool ready, you are going to want to keep track of these!

Teacher's Choice

This can be about anything, folks...classroom management, bulletin boards, organization, classroom decor, field trips, Common Core, Rreader's Workshop, Guided Math, Writer's Workshop, science fairs...You name it - it's YOUR CHOICE. What will you share?

This School Week Linky will be a great opportunity to do some cross-promoting for all of my bloggy friends out there.  Teachers will be looking to get their hands on some goodies, so it would be great if you include links to your stores in your blog posts!  It would be extra nice if you threw a freebie in there too ;)

When you are blogging, I would appreciate it if you would please link back to this post with the blog button below:

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.theteacherschair.blogspot.com" title="The Teacher's Chair"><img src="http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s5/tschumacher19/d1c983dd-d015-45e9-86d3-04f2579e60b8.jpg" alt="The Teacher's Chair" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Let's have some fun with this!  I am looking forward to spending this School Week Linky with You!

You can find my linky as well as others over at The Teaching Tribune!

Do You Zumba? Treats for the Teacher Tuesday!

Hi everyone! I am happy to announce my winner of last week's giveaway.  Congrats Holli and thank you to all who entered!

This week, I am changing it up a bit.  You won't be seeing something I made because the only thing I had for "Made it Monday" was a big MESS!  Like many of you, I lug home the various items from my classroom that need revamping, revisiting and reordering. These items tend to create piles that look like a version of the game "Topple" gone awry. It gets to the point that I don't even like to go in the office {who wants to be stressed on summer vacation?!?}

Turns out that a day of camp for the kids = time for mom to tackle the office; and I am so glad I did because ahhhhhhhh, now my desk looks like this:

How does this relate to the Giveaway?  Funny story.  Last summer, my sister told me that she wanted Zumba for her XBox Kinect for Christmas.  Without hesitation, I ordered it from Amazon. Fast forward to the Christmas season when I asked her what she wanted for Christmas... "Zumba for my Xbox," she replied once more. Enter "teacher-on-overload-during-the-holiday-season-brain." I totally forgot that I ordered one already and went on to buy another one.  I stored the first one in such a "safe spot" that I did not find it until I did a complete makeover of our office {yesterday!!}.

So this one's for you Xbox-ers... Enter for yourself or for someone you love who loves to shake their booty!  You won't find the entry here, though...for that you'll have to come on over to Instagram!  It's my first Insta-Giveaway and I am super excited!

I'll be choosing a winner next Tuesday, so get your dancing shoes ready!  If you are new to the Teacher's Chair, I'd love it if you took a second to follow me here to stay updated on future freebies, giveaways and product information!

Another Birthday, Another Giveaway!

July is a very busy month in our family.  Besides my dad's birthday, and our anniversary, we also celebrate both of our daughter's birthdays! The girls were born less than a year apart - in fact, my youngest arrived early...on the day of my older daughter's first birthday party! Surprise! That's right, there were about 50 people at my house at a first birthday party and the only one not there was the momma (and the new sister!) Yesterday, my "Special Day" was with this gal right here...in typical teenage fashion, she chose..."shopping." We went to lunch and got those little ears pierced too, so it was fun!

It's treats all around this week and I have one for you, too! Last year, for my own birthday, I treated myself to this little gem...

I'm sure everyone is familiar with the Cricut! I love this machine and used it often last year to create cute classroom projects and decor.  The first thing I made was a sign for the outside of my door...Last year I taught a Multi-Age-Class (hence the name MAC on the sign).  I will be making a new one this year, only with "2nd Grade" on it...but not before I make one for YOU!  It's Tuesday, and you know what that means...

Enter for your chance to win a personalized and LAMINATED (yay!) sign for your door or wall.  It will say "School" across the top, and you can have it say whatever you want on the little black board there!  Do you have a specific color theme?  No problem...we can work that in to your design, too!  All you have to do is enter for a chance to win :)  See the rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stay cool everyone! It's a HEATWAVE here in New York!!

T.G.I. Flash Freebie - Calling 2nd Grade Teachers!

This T.G.I. Flash Freebie is brought to you by a special request! Earlier in the summer, I posted the Chevron/Owl Version...Now I have two new versions of the 2nd Grade Common Core Math Standards.  Let's take a look!

First up, we have the Zebra and Owl theme.  Have a zebra theme in mind for your classroom next year? Know someone who does?  Grab these from my Google Drive:

Going with more of a Safari Theme?  Then maybe you'll like these :)  Click to grab!

Whichever you choose, grab them fast! The freebie goes through Saturday.  If you have a chance, take a second to join and follow the Teacher's Chair so you can stay informed about Flash Freebies like this!

T.G.I.F. Everyone!

4 Day Giveaway???

That's right! I want to tell you about a giveaway so big, it needed to be broken up into 4 different days! Congrats to the sweeties behind Primarily Speaking (Aimee) and Bright Concepts 4 Teachers (Jaime) for reaching 500 followers! To celebrate, they got some friends on board to give away some super products and goodies.  Check it out:

You'll find me there too - and if you win, you will receive one of these personalized T-Shirts at your door :)  

Congrats again, ladies and all the best to you both!

Special Days,Kayaking, Giveaway Winners and July Currently!

Hi everyone! It's been pretty much non-stop since we got home from the beach...all fun though- I love summer! This summer I decided to institute the "Your Special Day" project.  I really want to spend one special day with each of my girls, my nieces and my nephew.  Of course, I'll need a special day with the hubs too! It started off with the Legoland trip with my favorite little guy/nephew.  We had a great time and we are still talking about it! In my family, when we get together, it's pretty much the kids running around together...you actually have to grab one of them mid-run to get a hug and kiss in! It was so great to spend one-on-one time together and even better to hear him keep saying, "We're having a speeeccccciiiaaaalll day!"

The next special day was with one of my girlies.  She chose Great Adventure and we went on Tuesday!  Wow- this kid is insane! Not only did we conquer every roller coaster together, this kid has no problem waiting the extra time to get the FRONT seats! Hahaah... my favorite place to sit- she really is a girl after my own heart.  Here is a pic of her in front of our first stop - Kingda Ka! It was closed last time we went, so we needed to get there ASAP! There were no lines so we walked right on...TWICE!

In case you are wondering what is like going on Kingda Ka... I found this little video for you to watch. Love the way down...You can't even see the rail at first OMG!

Back to reality.  Although I was too busy roller-coastering to post a new "Treats for the Teacher Tuesday," I will be back next week with some goodies- promise!! I do, however, have some news for last weeks winners...

The response and feedback for the posters was so terrific that I decided to pick some additional winners to sent the digital files to.  The "grand prize" (haha) winners will receive both a digital and hard copy.  Here are the winners of the last giveaway- thanks to everyone who entered! I am having such fun with these!

Finally, folks (if you are still hanging in there with me), I am linking up with Farley at Oh'Boy 4th Grade for her July Currently. 

Have a great day everyone!