Chalk Talk with The Teaching Bug!

 I AM SOOOOO EXCITED!!!  This was one of those ideas that popped into my head at 4:30 in the morning.  Sometimes I do my best thinking then!!! Who knew????
I remember back in my teen years I would sit and watch Saturday Night Live.  My mom would always have it on.  She especially loved the Church Lady.  Well there was another skit they used to do called Coffee Talk.  Here is a short clip if you don't remember.   So thanks mom for the inspiration.  :) 

Well I decided to take a spin on it and thought about what would us teachers call it.  So that is how Chalk Talk came into my head.  Each month I will post a topic for us to discuss and "talk amongst yourselves!!"  LOL


So for my very first Chalk Talk I am asking you to share a favorite story about your mom or share with me and my readers a great Mother's Day craft you do in your own classroom.  I can't wait to read and see what you all share. 

If you participate in the linky I want to request 3 things from you.  First, add my logo to your blog post to link other folks to my linky.  It is much appreciated.  Then, share some chalk talk love with one person before you and one person after you.   Comment on their story or craft they share.  Chalk Talk will change monthly.  So come back to visit so I won't be Verklempt!  :)  

So here is the Teaching Bug's  first CHALK TALK! 

Happy Mother's Day

I am feeling the love today!  :)  I am so blessed to have a great family and two kiddos who I am proud to be their mom!  Here is just a few of the goodies their four little hands have made for me.  I am a lucky mom! 

On a different note I wanted to share with you a new thing going on over here at the Teaching Bug blog!  Once a month I am starting a new linky called "Chalk Talk."  All the details will be on the post for the 15th of each month.  I hope you will link up and share what we will talk about each month .  Just a fun way to get to know each other and share some ideas or crafts pertaining to the theme for the month.  I hope you will link up and share with others.  It goes live on Wednesday.  Stop on by and link up! 

 

Have a wonderful Mother's Day! 

 

Julie

Teacher Appreciation

Next week is Teacher Appreciation week at our school!  I don't know about you but I always get asked what would you as a teacher like to receive.  Well I thought I would add a list of suggestions or gifts I have received that I love to give to my kiddos teachers and receive myself ! 

1.  Gift cards- Starbucks, Grocery Store, Teacher store (any of those and not huge amounts! )

2.  Supplies for the classroom- this time of year we run out of pencils, markers, highlighters, you name it! 

3.  Movie gift basket-  I love giving these out!  A simple 5 dollar gift card, candy, soda, and a popcorn bucket is a cute container to hold all of the goodies. 

4.  Books for the classroom-  Share your favorite book with you teacher.  We are always looking for great stories that might have a theme that go along with a skill we are teaching. 

5.  Letters-  Letters from my students and yes I still have letters from my students the first year I taught.  One family sent a glowing letter about me to the principal and shared the letter with me and I thought it was SOOOO sweet.  Everyone , even teachers, love to hear they are doing a good job. 

6.  Flowers-  Something free and simple to give your teacher.  Having flowers on my desk is just a nice reminder of how much I am loved by my students. 

Have a good week! 

Julie

Happy Earth Day!

I just never know when inspiration is going to hit me.  Well it did the other day and I thought I would pass along a freebie for Earth Day.  Sorry I didn't get this up sooner but I have been working on a term paper for my Daily 5 course I am wrapping up.  :)  So check this out and place it in your files for next year or even do it later this week.  It is never too late to celebrate good ole Mother Earth.  Right????  So here is what we did.  By the way you can get this freebie from my Teaching Bug's store on Teachers Pay Teachers . 

The first thing I did was share the story "The Lorax" with the kids.  I love that story and the theme. 

Next, I printed out the two handouts and gave them to the students.  Students were also given construction paper pieces in the color of red, green, and blue.  You could have these pieces torn ahead of time or have the students practice their tearing skills.  Have them fill in the red heart first.  It was important for them to do that step first.  After they fill in the red heart have the alternate the blue and green pieces to symbolize water and land. 

After they complete the gluing have them write how they can love the Earth.  Provide examples of ways they could love the Earth-especially for the younger ones. 

And finally have it glued onto construction paper and staple the two pieces together for a great Earth Day display. 

Happy Earth Day! 

Julie

Let's Get Acquainted Linky

I love linky parties.  It is so much fun to learn all about other bloggers out there.  Next month I plan on having my own monthly linky.  Stay tuned.  I hope you will participate and pass it along.  It will be fun.  So I am participating in Flying into First Grade's linky.  I am a few days late as usual.  :)  But, I thought the theme was fun...the Skittles Game. 
  So here we go. 

TOPIC - Skittles Game

 

Here is the code:

Red- Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

Orange- Favorite Memory from College

Yellow- Favorite Sports Team

Green- Favorite Fast Food Place

Purple- Wild Card(Tell anything about yourself)

 

 

Red:  My FAVORITE ice cream flavor is swiss chocolate almond.  I go to my local ice cream shop and I always order that same flavor .  I love the chocolate...no surprise there...and the salty of the almonds.  DELICIOUS!  Now I want some.. LOL ! 

Orange:  My favorite memory from college was graduation day.  I was so thrilled to finally be done with my Master's degree and felt such a sense of accomplishment.  A close second would be passing my Reading Specialist exam and completing my Reading Specialist endorsement. 

Yellow:  I have to admit I am not a big sports fan.  I am not much into football but since my household and family are Redskins fans...I have to be too!  :)  Alright no boos! 

Green:  My favorite fast food place is Chick Fil A.  I love the chicken sandwiches and nuggets.  Mmmmmm!   This game is making me hungry!  :) 

Purple-  I LOVE to shop!  I know I know what girl doesn't but I truly love shopping for clothes. 

Have a great week! 
Julie 

Word Family Boggle

I wanted to come up with a fun and unique way to study word families.  As a kindergarten teacher I had to find something that would be classified as independent work for my students.  So here is what I came up with using word families. 

I created my own center on a bulletin board or you can use magnets and put on the back of a file cabinet.  Students are given a particular word family to study like the -at family.  They are given a laminated word mat and told to use the words on the wall to make a new word.  Boggle style if you will for kindergarten.  They can write the word using a dry erase marker or print up another set of word cards for them to manipulate.

 

Once they create their words they are given a word study book to either cut and glue the new words they made or they can simply write in the books and then practice writing their new word. 

You can get this packet at my TpT store or Teacher's Notebook store.  If you follow  The Teaching Bug's facebook page there just might be a surprise this week with this new packet!  Stay tuned!    

Alright enough propoganda.  :)  I just get excited to share new things.  Have a great week! 

A BIG THANKS!!!

Just a super quick shout out to Martha over at Primary Paradise for sharing one of my freebies on her blog today! 

I was super excited that she included me and wanted to thank her personally.  If you haven't checked out her blog it is super cute and she lists her top 5 freebies weekly.  Head on over and check her cute blog out. 

Have a great week!

Julie