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Wednesday, July 18, 2012

125 Followers, Freebies, and a Giveaway!

I cannot believe that just a few weeks ago I only had 25 followers and now I have 100 more! Thank you all for your support as I begin my teaching journey! To honor you all I am going to make my "flash freebies" from Monday permanent freebies!

Click here to grab my clip chart!




Also, (you didn't think that was it...did you?) I am going to be giving away a $10 gift card to Kohl's! I thought this would be perfect because of the new Kohl's Cares Collection or for a future one! Also, a $5 gift card to Starbucks! Who doesn't love to splurge on a nice drink every once and a while! Good luck to all and thank you again for your support! 

(Graphic by The 3am Teacher)

P.S. Please be honest! I will be checking that you did, what you said you did! Thank you!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


44 comments:

  1. I love to do a scavenger hunt throughout the school so that the schools can learn the important places and people in the school.

    Elizabeth L.
    liz_lovelace@yahoo.com
    The First Grade Jungle Room

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  2. I make a class puzzle and title it "We Fit Together". Each student decorates a piece with their name and interests.

    Denise
    Yearn to Learn Blog

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  3. I buy individual puzzles (Oriental Trading) sells them & then I buy an inkpad. I have each child use the ink to put their handprint on the puzzle. It goes along with The Kissing Hand. It's a memorable first day souvenir to send home. :)
    Lisa
    Learning Is Something to Treasure

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  4. I make homemade play-doh (no coloring, just the plain jane color) and inside each ball (one for each kid), I put a couple of drops of food coloring (but don't squeeze the play-doh to where it changes colors. The play-doh has to stay white.). On the 1st day, we talk about all the things we're doing to learn, do, play, create that year. And we also talk about what kind of year we think we're going to have. Anyway, on the play-doh bag is a poem about how this is magic play-doh and if yours changes colors it means you're going to have a great year. They love to play with the play-doh and are amazed that they change colors.

    Heather (heathernnance@yahoo.com)

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  5. One of the first day activites we do is a gingerbread hunt around the school after reading the gingerbread man book. Another teacher hides a gingerbread cake in our room and that is what the students have for morning snack. Thanks for a great giveaway and congrats on all your followers.

    Catherine
    Kinder Cuties

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  6. I plan to incorporate team building activities for the 1st week back to school! :)

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  7. I love to do a "Personality Sack." It is a get to know you activity where I give students a list of things they need to find an item for. Each one needs to represent themselves. They can get as creative as they want. For instance, my example was my favorite song to listen to: Instead of bringing in the cd of Skillet, I actually brought in a cooking skillet. It is so much fun and it is exciting to see what the kids come up with. :)

    Heidi
    My (Not So) Elementary Life

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  8. Within the first few days a self-portrait is a must. What a great reflection on the beginning of the year abilities at conferences or the end of the year.
    Barb
    msualum99@juno.com

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  9. I read the book Underwear & we decorate our zebra's underwear. It becomes our first class book.

    imgoingfirst@gmail.com

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  10. This will be my first year teaching so I haven't made any first week of school traditions yet. I have seen a neat idea to make a time capsule the first week of school. Students draw a self portrait, complete a fun writing sample and a few other activities. They then place everything in there time capsule and open them back up at the end of the school year!

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  11. I take pictures of all the s. on the first day of school. I then make 5 copies of it and print it off during block. I use it for:
    book boxes, busy binders, who's here attendance, notecards (with parents names on the back), centers etc.
    I also save them on my desktop and take a end of the year picture and send both home to show parents how much they have grown.
    heidihoang@live.com

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  12. We will be working on some class/team building activities throughout the first weeks of school

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  13. I honestly do the same thing as Heather above! I do playdough balls with food coloring in the middle that when the kids start mashing it up, it turns the playdough colors! They love it, and it really gets them to start talking to each other and get excited about school and friends. Also, I just bought Jack Hartmann's Transition Train CD, and there are a couple songs I'm looking forward to introducing on the first day!
    Lora
    Mrs. Webster’s Classroom Connections

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  14. In my classroom we always do an important book all about themselves. I laminate and bind them so they can read it all year. We also do lots of getting to know you activities like a classmate interview and classroom scavenger hunts :)

    Lauren
    Lauren.Kassner@smyrna.k12.de.us

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  15. We make first day self-portraits to compare with our end of the year self-portraits,
    Carolyn
    dopey0222@gmail.com

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  16. Introduction to our schedule and an all about me notebook.

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  17. I do the same thing as the person before me stated and I use them to see where they might be developmentally. I cannot stand bare walls in the hallway and the children love to use their brand new markers.
    lraines78@gmail.com

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  18. I am big on the decorating of their personal journals and really going over procedures.

    Jennifer
    jennkeys @ gmail . com

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  19. Hi!

    I just nominated you for an award. Please stop by to pick it up.

    Mona
    First Grade Schoolhouse

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  20. Lots or opportunities for students to work together and to enjoy being back at school. Thanks for the opportunity.

    yvonnee
    yvonneeyrg@gmail.com

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  21. I love to have students bring "me" bags to school filled with items that describe them.

    Erica
    Sprinkles to Kindergarten
    erica_crowder0612@yahoo.com

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  22. Thanks for hosting another giveaway so soon! My first week must-do is to take a picture of each child so I can quickly develop & setup my bulletin boards. I hang student work beneath each child's photo.

    Antonia @ forkin4th

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  23. First day of school pictures of each student, these are a MUST! I didn't do it last year, too much chaos got to me, and it saddened me at the end of the year. I couldn't make the end of year collage pics that I normally make each year.

    faithfulinfirst.blogspot.com

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  24. I now follow your blog! First week in kindergarten we make nameplates and faces for our back hall hooks! Pics somewhere on my blog! :)
    My Kindergarten Kids

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  25. I love doing "ME" bags where the kids each put items in a brown lunch bag that relate to them. Each student then gets a chance to introduce him/herself to the class.
    beth.shavelson@browardschools.com

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  26. My students read a letter that is left on their desk from a student from the year before.
    I am now a new follower too :)
    Laura
    TIPS: Teach, Inspire, and Prepare Students

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  27. Your blog is so cute!! I am a newbie and have been so inspired by blogging! On the first day, I always take individual pictures of students and use them with pictures I take throughout the year in the imovie I create for an end of the year gift for students. I also always show a power point all about me. The students love seeing pictures of my kids and pets at home and I think it helps us connect. Then, we do activities where they share facts about themselves like "human bingo" and "about me" posters.
    ~Holly
    Fourth Grade Flipper

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  28. Oh my favorite first day activity is to make the handprint puzzles to go along with The Kissing Hand. Sometimes it gets hairy on the first day to get them done, but I think they are just too cute and the poem makes them so special!

    kellybrown28021@gmail.com

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  29. I'm your newest follower! Super cute bloggy!! :) My fave first day activity is to take picture of each student holding the sign "I'm a second grader." I use these photos for EVERYTHING around the classroom, from jobs to literacy stations, to math stations, to rewards...they love it! :)

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  30. I take a picture of each student with his/her family as they are entering the room on the first day of school. I have a cute sign that I made that each child holds that says it's the first day of kindergarten. This goes into the memory book each child gets at the end of the school year.

    Elizabeth
    epolston at rowland dot k12 dot ca dot us
    Mrs. Polston's Kinergarten

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  31. An "About Me" page for a time capsule!

    Ashley
    arclark2012@gmail.com

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  32. I teach 4th grade, so I have them work on an "About Me" newspaper, and I like to give them a pop quiz about myself. Gets their jitters out of the way :)

    Fourth Grade Fanatics

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  33. This is the first year I'm trying this but it looks really cool. It's a pinterest idea so I'm going to share the link:
    Magic Playdough
    How to make the dough link

    Brenda
    You Might Be a First Grader...

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  34. On the first day we do a partner activity in which they complete a Venn Diagram on how they are alike, different and the same. I also have a packet of BTS activities just for 2nd graders that we work on the first week.
    Congrats!
    Patti
    pattib203@yahoo.com
    http://primarypizzazz.blogspot.com

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  35. On the first day, I am going to make a pie slice graph. All the students will get in order according to birth month and day and then I will stand in the middle with string. The first person from each month will go to the center to get the string and then the last person in each month will bring string back to me in the middle. Then the next month does the same thing, at the end we will tape the pie graph to the floor after we compare how our pie looks.

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  36. Our first day of school always involves a Scavenger Hunt! Usually it's Chester from The Kissing Hand that we try to track down, but I might do Pete the Cat this year instead!

    Jennifer @ Herding Kats In kindergarten

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  38. On the first day the kids draw pictures of themselves. We post them up as part of our class decor.

    http://fortheloveoftandc.blogspot.com/

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  39. One of the things I like to do is called the teamwork salad. Ingredients include various fruits (you might want to have them cut up ahead of time) and a brown banana. Have the students work together to pour the various fruits into a bowl (have some measure, pour, mix, etc.). Then you take out the "rotten banana" and tell the students you have one more thing to add. You will have at least one student shout out no. Then have a discussion on how it only takes one student to be the "rotten banana" but that the classroom is much better when everyone works together as a team. After the discussion you get to enjoy the "teamwork salad."

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  40. On the first day, we add up all the supplies we brought in. They are partnered up and assigned a supply or two and must figure out how much we have. It gives me a good idea of their number sense!

    Grade Three is the Place for Me!

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  42. We're doing the Save Fred team building activity...:) I have several team building activities I plan to do the first week since we will work in groups a lot for science...:) Thanks for the giveaway opportunity! I love Kohl's...:)

    Vicky
    Keep Calm & Imagine

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  43. I always take pictures and this year I am going to do a name glyph for a bulletin board display.
    Adventures in Room 5

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