Creating a Collage

Well...I finally figured it out! I now know how to create a collage in a super simple way rather than the tedious work of saving each slide and uploading one at a time! (And I didn't even have to ask my 14 year old son!) Thanks to a tip from a fellow Second Grade blogger Kristen over  at http://teachntex.blogspot.com/ (LOVE her blog, lots of great ideas!) who sent me to another fellow blogger Jivey and her tutorial on how to make them here http://ideasbyjivey.blogspot.com/2013/07/throwback-thursday.html
If you haven't visited them yet you are missing out! I just made this from one of my previews in just a few minutes.....

I know it would save SOO much time if there are more slides! 

Thanks Kristin and Jivey!

Social Studies for K-3

Here is a new unit I created to use for K-3 Social Studies Community, Rights, Responsibilities, Rules and Laws. Great for start of the new school year (yikes, already!) Yes, if you are like me you are already planning your little heart out and trying your hardest to get organized!!
Check it out and let me know what you think......

Monday Made it!

Hey there! Sorry I have not been blogging this week. My mom is in town visiting and that means we have been...... SHOPPING!! It was also my youngest son's birthday party so I have been busy getting ready for that (welllll ok, no THAT busy since Chuck E Cheese was in charge) but you know, a little busy. :)
So, I was browsing around and decided to link up with 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It.
Anyway, my son wanted a Wrestling cake sooooo (enter Pintrest) and voila! Here is how it turned out.......

Not too bad! :)

Let me know what ya think and don't forget to link up!!

My Family Wall

Since I blogged about the  gallery wall I made  in a previous post I felt I needed to show it! It all started when I wanted to decorate our loft with some cutsie ideas I found on Pintrest. Of course the hubby was NOT buying it. I wanted cute, he wanted movie or sports theme, (uh no) is what I was thinking! So I came up with an idea to compromise and take things from each of us to make a family wall. I hit up etsy and found the perfect stuff! I did maps from where each of our grandparents where from, cool prints from the cities we grew up in, a NY Giants (ugh) print for his home team, U of AZ from where I went to school, and a family print with our names and birthdates. I am not done and still am going to add more. I want to add some old family pictures like of grandparents, a Marine Corps print that is still being shipped, a teacher print (of course he! he!) etc. All in all in turned out pretty cute and I was so proud of myself for doing it! Yay summer! All prints are from etsy.........

 

Let me know what you think!!

Bloglovin Craziness!!

Well, I am not sure about all the new craze but I figured I would go along since I don't want to be left in the dust. I will do it now and then figure it out later! (Isn't that always the case!) :)
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My first ever July Currently Linky Party

Yay! I finally figured out how to do it! Sorry it took so long for those who posted after me. I was having technical difficulties! He! He!

*I am listening to my boys (hubby and 8 year old, 14 year old is out) have dinner without me since I am trying to figure this Linky Party out!
* I just finished (or mostly finished) decorating my loft. I did a family wall like a gallery wall all of prints from where we are from and all about. Will post soon. And made some super cute pillows with some fabric I bought. Turned out fabulous!
*I am thinking of all the stuff I still need to do around the house before my mom comes to visit on Tuesday.
* I am wanting to have all the energy to do it when all I want to do is relaaaaxx!!
*I am really needing a glass of wine. Thanks to my hubby who just brought me one. :)
* I cannot do it all in one day, tomorrow I will take some breaks and time for myself. After all it is SUMMER!!
Head on over to Oh' Boy Fourth Grade at......

 ...to join in! Thanks Farley!!

 

What we have been up to...

Wow, it has been a busy couple weeks! I can't believe it is already May!! Well, we have been working on our Australian Animal Research papers. If you teach second you know how hard it is to get students to research and then write about it! They just don't understand how to get the important information. So I modeled how to research the animal first. I did a graphic organizer as a whole class and then wrote about it as a whole class. I put it on chart paper so they could refer back to it. I then had them work in partners, choosing an animal from a list. I had them take their graphic organizers with important questions we came up with (Where does it live? What does it eat? Characteristics? Fun Facts) to the computer lab. Then they had to take that information and turn it into a 4 or more paragraph paper. They also created a One Pager to go with it. Most of them did okay with this assignment. I had a few strugglers that I had to help with organizing what information went in each paragraph. Here is how they turned out.....

 

I also created a travel brochure for them to write about Australia. (If you don't already know, I work at a International school where each grade studies a country. Second grade is Australia.)

I wanted to make something fun that they could write about information and also create pictures. You know how they love to draw!! This is what I came up with....

Could not get this picture to rotate :( 

 

 

Hope you have a great week!!!