Seahawks are winning the Superbowl Sale

....or at least I hope!:) Just a quick drop-in to say hi and that I am having a 20% off sale in hope of the Seahawks winning!! It will be a good game.

Have a great Saturday, friends!

Store:Lauren Scotta's Store

Worksheet Free Wednesday...inspired by Kickinitinkindergarten!

Hi, friends! I was so impressed with Elizabeth at Kickin' it in Kindergarten for her Worksheet Free Wednesday post that I just had to try it for myself. Oh.my.word. it was so.much.fun. We are blessed to have 1:1 iPads for our students, so we kicked that in high gear and used them in such unique ways, did fun games, and a lot of Quad D (rigor & relevance) learning today (check out those math questions they answered -- proud teacher moment!). I left today feeling so great, and I think my students enjoyed it, too (especially when you hear them saying as they leave...I can't wait until Wednesday next week!). I shared these pictures of just some of the activities we did, with my parents and a note letting them know about what we did today and the feedback has been amazing. You should truly try it. Thank you, Elizabeth, for this great inspiration! Read her post here: Worksheet free Wednesday

Have a great night!

Lauren Scotta

Five for Friday....errr Saturday and a Fluency Freebie!

Hello, friends! I meant to post yesterday, but I got to cleaning and then poof, time just got away from me. I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday (or Saturday in my case!).

First things first...I realized there really aren't any pictures of me or Emily on here (that's me on the right!). So, I thought I would share one. Here we are!

This week in first grade we were working really hard on expanding sentences and making them beautiful! Students had to use a noun, verb, and adjective and wrote fun, silly sentences. They wrote them using StoryBuddy or StoryCreater (fabulous apps!). Here are a few:

This is a bit of old news...but I forgot to share --I passed all of my Ohio Resident Educator tasks!! AHHHH!! I can't tell you how nervous I was when I got that e-mail that my scores were in and was not sure if I could check it. My year is the first year of doing year 3 (last year) and we received our scores this year. More information here...Ohio RESA. Anyone else in year 1, 2, 3, or 4?

After seeing pictures of some of my favorite bloggers (Step Into Second Grade, Kickin' It In Kindergarten, Shenanigans in Second, The First Grade Parade, and One Extra Degree to name a few)....I have The Ron Clark Academy on my bucket list. It looks AMAZING (I owe a dollar to the Bachelor jar, ha -- anyone see that episode?!). But, seriously what an inspirational, exciting, and positive approach to school and I would love to gain some new ideas!

As my final five for Friday (and to thank you for reading all the way until the end!) here is a little fluency freebie chart. Students will do a cold read on a fluency passage on their guided reading level on Monday, set a goal, read each night at home and each day at school, do a hot read on Friday. Hopefully they were able to meet their goal. I am also going to make up three comprehension questions to check for understanding, too. I will be doing this twice a month. Students understand they are to read like a good reader, not racing, and stop at punctuation. Enjoy!

Lauren

Directed Drawing Fun and Book Talk Thursday Linky!

Hi, friends! This week, we started a mini-unit on fractured fairy tales. On our first day, we did Cinderella and did a little directed drawing (youtube is seriously amazing & we used this site: How to Draw Cinderella Step-by-step video which has many other options for drawings). I had never done one with my class before, so it was quite the treat...if you have never done one be ready for giggles galore. I can't tell you how much fun it was, and such a great activity for following directions and working on fine motor skills. Here are a few of my favorites:

We are linking up with *Reading Toward the Stars!* for Book Talk Thursday Linky Party and wanted to share some stories that we are reading this week!

If you are working on fractured fairy tales, we are really enjoying these books (and they are great for point of view, too!):

I will be back this weekend for a little freebie and idea to go along with it! Can't wait to share it! 

Martin Luther King Jr. STORE-WIDE 20% OFF SALE!

Hi, friends! I am linking up with Sassy, Savvy, Simple Teaching for a Martin Luther King, Jr. Store-wide 20% off sale! Check out everyone who is linking up and I hope you find some goodies!!

Link to my store: Lauren Scotta at Dynamic Duo 1 and 2
Have a great Sunday!
Lauren 

Five for Friday Linky Party! (and prediction freebie for The Snowy Day!)

Happy Friday (and start of a wonderful 3 day weekend)!! I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for a little Five for Friday Linky Party! I always love the kind of "party" where I can be on my couch, in my pajamas, watching HGTV.

My first Five for Friday is to thank A Year of Many Firsts for the most adorable freebie craft! It is perfect for our Cleveland, snowy weather! Look how darling these are!!

Now, on to a little freebie to go with this craft....

We read the story, The Snowy Day, and have been working hard on predictions. Here is a little freebie for you! I attached this freebie to the cute craft from above!

I will be thinking Canada this weekend. I am on a committee for a non-profit, Medina Creative Housing, and our big event's theme this year is CANADA, eh! I am working on the center pieces....any advice/ideas!?

This week, we started this cool writing contest from Scholastic. One of my parents actually e-mailed me about it and turns out...she is in submissions to be a children's book author! How awesome is that? She is coming in to our class for the next 7 weeks to be our "project coordinator" and discuss the process of book writing! My firsties are BEYOND excited! I keep telling them that I will buying their book if they win and making sure I get their autographs before they get too famous on me ;)

Lastly, T-25 has been consuming my life at 5:30am each day...and I am strangely okay with it. Anyone else doing T-25? I like it...short, sweet, and shaking (from the amazing exercise!) is what I am thinking about it! 

Enjoy your 3 day weekend, friends. Do something just for you -- you deserve it! :)

Lauren

GoNoodle Linky Party with Kickin' It in Kindergarten

Hi, friends! Doing a quick linky party with Kickin' it in Kindergarten on GoNoodle. Seriously...GoNoodle is a lifesaver to get some energy out...especially on the frigid Cleveland days we have had (and indoor recess everyday last week!). I almost couldn't contain my excitement when I got the e-mail last week that they added indoor recess activities! I put it on, and away my kids went...and they got their first gold in one of the Olympics races. This.was.a.big.deal. I could hear them screaming down the hall! Oy!

Favorite GoNoodle Brain Break: I really love the Zumba GoNoodles...I think because I danced since age 3 -- and I like to dance with the kids; ya know, get my moves on, haha! But, after the past week of indoor recess everyday, the recess GoNoodles have taken a quick run to first place. 

My Happy Place: The beach. What I wouldn't give to be in a sunny, warm place where winter coats, hats, and gloves are unheard of. This would be my happy place...Aruba. If you have never been, put it on your list:

My Guilty Pleasure: My guilty pleasure has been trying to get to Pure Barre more often (doubling for two things I love -- pilates and ballet mix workout and New Year's Resolution - win-win!). 

And...I can't leave out Prince Farmer. 

Keep Calm and....drink Starbucks. When all else fails, there is a Starbucks at every corner to help get you through the day! My drink of choice? Chai tea latte! YuM!

Have a great week!

Lauren 

Let's Celebrate MLK Jr. Day Literacy && Craftivities Unit giveaway!!

Happy Saturday, friends! I hope you are staying warm...I am snuggled in blankets on blankets as we are only at 7 degrees right now in Cleveland....brrr. With that being said, it made me want to do something to feel warm and happy --- a giveaway for my newest unit: here!

I will pick 2 winners Monday, January 12th. :)

Have a great weekend!
Lauren 




  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Holidays Around the World Event...and giveaway!

Can you believe it...I am writing two days in a row!!! I almost don't believe it, either. I wanted to blog about a project my kiddos did before we left for winter break. During the month of December, we learned about Holidays Around the World and used What the Teacher Wants Holidays Around the World Packets to help us on our adventures! I can't tell you how much fun they had....they loved learning about Santa Claus and how other kids celebrated the holiday (and were a bit jealous that some people got presents for more than one day!). 

After we read and discussed the different countries, students got to choose one to do more research on with buddies. They then created their countries flag, props that went along with their country to hang (i.e. France made the Eiffel Tower, Australia made surfboards, etc.), a speech, and a TV commercial using their iPads. Students transformed from first graders into travel agents during our Holidays Around the World Event and shared their information, showed their TV commercials trying to persuade people to come to their country, and their props to their families and other students in the school. Each person that came to visit our event had a plane ticket telling them which country they would stop at first, second, etc. during their 7 stops around the world. After each person completed their travels, they used their iPads or iPhones to scan a QR code on an airplane that the students made during art class, and chose which country persuaded them most to visit for their holiday. The students had such an amazing time and I loved that it used such real-life applications! :)

Here are a few pictures.....(the students put their pictures inside "windows" on the plane....so cute!)

Stay tuned tomorrow...I will be having a give-away of my newest unit: Let's Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Stay Warm!!
Lauren

Let's Celebrate MLK Jr. Day and FREEBIE!!

Hello friends...Lauren here, after what seems to be forever!! Since I last wrote, I officially moved in to my new place (and the decorating is in full force -- so.much.fun) and have been teaching first grade. I can't tell you how much I enjoy it! I promise I will post before-and-after house pictures soon.

One of my New Year goals is to blog more....well here I am and not only that.....I made a product for TPT, just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day right here! Don't forget about this freebie I posted a while ago, too.....here!

What are some of your goals for this year? 

I know this a super quick check-in, but I am trying to stay snuggled under a blanket in this arctic Ohio weather!

Stay warm, friends!