I just wanted to drop a quick post about end of the year student gifts, as well as new projects on the horizon.  I spent several days trying to decide what to give my students. I scoured blogs and pinterest for inspiration.  I decided against candy, since my students usually send in treats for every single special day (and some not-so-special ones).  I decided against books since I had enough Scholastic points to get each student two different books before the winter break.  I felt like I wanted something fun that would also allow for academic practice. What I ended up with was a math dice game pack, pieced together from a couple different places.

I started at The Math Coach's Corner, with a cute (and FREE) math games with a pair of dice booklet. I love this woman's blog-so many great math ideas! I also ended up printing the math games with a deck of cards booklet to send with my students as "summer work."

Next, I made a trip to the dollar store, 50 dice for 5 bucks! :)

Then I used a super cute bag topper that I printed from Hello Cuteness. All you have to do is like her facebook page and download.

I put these all together and came up with these. I plan to hand them out to the students tomorrow.  Hopefully it will help my kiddos keep up with some of their math skills while having fun this summer!

*Note- you will need to use quart size baggies for the booklet to fit.

It won't zip entirely, but there is enough space to staple the bag topper to secure the dice.

So, as many of you probably are doing, I am thinking about next year, even as I wrap up the end of this one. We have a lot of changes next year with more freedom to design lessons that we have had in the recent past (no more strict adherence to Reading Street and Everyday Math)! I am looking forward to a return to Daily 5, Debbie Miller, Marilyn Burns, etc. Additionally, I am piloting a new RTI intervention in the fall. Trying not to be overwhelmed! :)

Have a good evening!

May Craziness {and free product giveaway}

Long day today. 7:30am leadership meeting before school, full day field trip with the class, followed by a curriculum meeting until 5:00pm.
Does this sound like a typical day for you in May? Thank goodness I have a husband who is the son of an elementary school teacher. He knows that the months of August and May are the craziest and realizes that he will have to cook, clean, etc. on the homefront.
May is fun and challenging at the same time...wrapping up the year with your current students, looking to next year and planning all the changes you want to make and did I mention the kiddos have a major case of spring fever???
To help you deal with the craziness of May we have decided to give away some free products from our TpT store. The first five people to comment AND begin following our blog can pick any item from our store for free. Don't forget to leave your email address so we can send you the file.
Happy May!

So here we are, dipping our toes into the world of blogging! 

I have been following countless teaching blogs for several years now and I am excited to finally join the ranks with my dear friend and co-teacher, Cheryl.

Here is a quick intro (because let's be real: it is May and we are all super busy!):

My name is Jen. I have been teaching for 12 years, and the past 5 have been spent co-teaching with Cheryl in a second grade inclusion classroom. I have been married for 8+ years to a wonderful man and I have twin 3-year old daughters.

I look forward to sharing our classroom happenings with you and learning lots of new things along the way!