Fun in First

A Teaching Blog by Jodi Southard

Freebie

Brain Break Tic-Tac-Toe

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Are your kids restless yet?  Yesterday was rough.  It was gloomy and cold, and we couldn’t get outside.  At least the sun has come out on and off today, so we were able to be outside for a bit.

With all the chaos going on right now, I knew that I wanted to create something for parents to use with their own kids at home during this extended period of time.
These Brain Break Tic Tac Toe boards will be perfect for not only my own kids, but others that may need to get up and moving. Parents can play with their child or siblings can play together.
The best news is that they are completely FREE!

This FREE Brain Break Tic Tac Toe includes 3 sets of activities for children that may be stuck at home. The first set includes quick exercises to get children up and moving. The second set includes longer activities to be completed throughout the day. The third set is completely editable to allow you to type in your own activities.

I created this with 3 different versions.  The first one includes Tic-Tac-Toe games with quick exercises to complete.  The second version includes longer activities to stretch out throughout the day.  The third version is completely editable for you to add your own activities.

This FREE Brain Break Tic Tac Toe includes 3 sets of activities for children that may be stuck at home. The first set includes quick exercises to get children up and moving. The second set includes longer activities to be completed throughout the day. The third set is completely editable to allow you to type in your own activities.

I hope that this helps to keep your little ones busy at home.  Also, teachers, feel free to email this file to parents of students in your classroom 🙂

Feel free to pin the picture below for later use and to spread the word.

This FREE Brain Break Tic Tac Toe includes 3 sets of activities for children that may be stuck at home. The first set includes quick exercises to get children up and moving. The second set includes longer activities to be completed throughout the day. The third set is completely editable to allow you to type in your own activities.

 

 

Valentine’s Day Actvities and FREE Printables

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Oh the joys of Valentine’s Day in the classroom! It’s such a fun holiday, but sugar + kids = chaos.
First thing this morning we had our Cub Coaching.  Each adult in our building (classroom teachers, teaching assistants, secretaries, special area teachers, etc.) is assigned a small group of “cubs.” (Our school mascot is a lion.)  Our cub group is a combination of students from every grade level that we meet with 5 times a year for 30 minutes just to get to know each other, check in, and do some type of activity.  The theory behind this is that since we are such a large school (over 600 students) having these cub groups allow the students to have another familiar adult in the building.  These groups stay the same every year (5th graders are replaced with new Kindergarteners), so we follow these students through their years at our elementary school.
The biggest challenge is trying to think of activities for some a large range of students.  I decided to have my cubs see how tall they could make a tower out of Conversation Hearts.
In all honesty, I figured that the students would just start stacking them up on top of each other and make one big column.  However, they were SO creative!
Later on in the day, this was turned into a measurement lesson with my 1st graders.
They had a lot of fun!
Another fun activity that we did this morning that is perfect for all age ranges, is a heart tearing contest.
The students had to hold a piece of paper behind their backs and try to tear out a heart.
Some of them turned out pretty good.
We also had our Valentine’s Day party this afternoon. (Go ahead and be jealous…we have a four day weekend.)
If you are in need of some last minute Valentine’s Day printables, here are some ideas.
You can download all of these for FREE by heading over to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Parent Teacher Conference Time and Must Have FREEBIES

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Parent Teacher Conferences are right around the corner.  The beginning of the school year has gone by SO fast!
I am wanting to try something new this year and have my students complete some Self Evaluation prior to conferences.  I came up with these forms for us to complete next week.

 

I compiled all of these forms, made them EDITABLE, and put them into a FREEBIE for you.  You will also find the following forms:

 

 

 

Click on the picture below to download this FREEBIE from my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Parent-Teacher-Conference-Forms-FREEBIE-1482952
I also wanted to remind you of another FREEBIE that I have available in my Teacher Pay Teachers Store.  T
hese How Can I Help My Child Succeed in School? pages are perfect for Conference time.

 

 

 

Are you gearing up for Parent Teacher Conferences?

Indiana Bloggers Blog Hop FREEBIE

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When people hear Indiana, one of the first things they usually think of is racing and the Indianapolis 500.  This famous race always takes place during Memorial Day weekend.  I have to be honest with you.  I don’t like racing!  I may be banned from the state, but it has just never interested me.  I’ve been to the Indy 500, but it still didn’t do much for me.  However, I’m more than happy to participate in this fun Indiana Bloggers “racing themed” blog hop.
So, “Ladies and Gentlemen. Start your engines” and lets get moving through some great freebies!
 
I created this fun freebie to use last week with my kiddos and they LOVED it!
 
 I printed off two copies of the sight words and spread them out across the carpet in two rows.  Students were grouped into two teams.  They took turns racing through their sight words.

photo ce114cd9-44f2-45dd-8acb-36571f358fc6_zps2809fb7e.jpg
 
They had so much fun racing each other that I don’t think they had any idea that they were practicing their sight words.

 
You can download this freebie by clicking on the cover page above or by going to my TpT store HERE.
 
Now it’s time to continue on through the Blog Hop.  You may have come from Twenty Something Teacher Tales.  If not, you can go back and visit her.
If you are continuing through the blog hop, your next stop is my good friend Rebecca!
 
Thanks for stopping by for our Indiana Bloggers Blog Hop!

12 Days of Christmas Freebies

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As a thank you for all of your support, not only during the Cyber Monday sale, but through comments on my blog and products, nice emails, etc., I wanted to provide you with tons of freebies this month.  So, I decided to do a 12 Days of Christmas Freebies.
Graphics by Scrappin Doodles & Pink Cat Studio
 
This first one is AMAZING!!!!!  I only say that because it’s a collaboration of some of the top sellers on TpT. 
This book is awesome!  It’s a FREE download on Teachers Pay Teachers.  It includes 50, yes, FIFTY, free Holiday downloads! {And, I am beyond honored to be included in that group.}  Click on the picture above to download.
You can also find the PK-K book below.
 
Remember to come back tomorrow to find Day 2 of Fun in First’s 12 Days of Christmas Freebies!