Five for Friday: July 18, 2014

It's Friday! And thanks to DoodleBugs, that means I get to share 5 random things with you! So fun!

1} I am totally soaking up summer.  That used to mean margaritas and sushi dates, but since I'm sporting a serious baby bump these days, it now means reading in the hammock, walking the dog, and sleeping in.  It's been wonderful, but I would still kill for a margarita on the rocks with salt!

2} I've also been baking. A LOT. Is that a sign of nesting?  Because truth be told, my hubby doesn't have too much of a sweet tooth and I haven't had any special occasions to bake for, but I keep doing it anyways.  I made this delicious blueberry crostata.  In fact, I made two {see what I mean?}.  I used the recipe from this site.

Next on the list, homemade cinnamon rolls. You know, for the two of us :)

3} I'm on a creating frenzy. I spend about as much time at my computer as my rib cage will allow. Seriously, I love being pregnant and I consider myself to have had a pretty easy pregnancy for the last 20 weeks or so, but the pain in my rib cage is no joke!

I finished, and uploaded, Oodles and Noodles of Nouns!  This unit was a real labor of love!  You can read tons about it here!  If you're a fan on Facebook, you had a chance at winning this unit before I uploaded it.  Not a fan? Make sure you are! You never know when my next FB giveaway will be!

Oodles has spawned two "siblings" that are currently in the works...

4} In the "Baby World", we've painted the nursery, finally!  We also have our crib, mobile, rug, and random decorative elements.  Our overpriced glider should arrive sometime next month.  My mom is making the crib skirt and I am working on some bunting.  (Maybe I have a Monday Made-It in my future?!)

our mobile

our crib

Our nursery is Sherwin Williams "Lighter Mint". I tried to upload a picture, but the color keeps darkening once I save it to my computer.

Weird.

What I'm really struggling with is nursery art. I absolutely love a sign I found on Etsy, but I cannot justify spending over $150 on the specific piece I fell in love with. I think I'll have to keep searching!

5} This girl got her summer cut!  She was really furry before her cut, so she had to get a major buzz this time around. She looks like a completely different dog!

Not the best pictures, but you get the idea!

Those are "My 5"!!  Now go link up with Doodle Bugs and share yours!

~Halle

Oodles and Noodles of Nouns is Here and ON SALE!!

I am so happy I finally get to say, "Oodles and Noodles of Nouns is HERE!"

I thought I started working on this unit in December 2013, which was forever ago.  I was wrong. I started working on this unit in September 2013 which was FOREVERRRR ago!

I really did implement this unit as I went, and since it covers every single type of noun we cover in 2nd grade (and we cover A LOT of nouns), it really did take me a long time, but for good reason, and I am so happy with the end result.

"Oodles" covers common, proper, plural, possessive, collective nouns, and pronouns. Say that 5 times fast! Phew!

The bulk of the unit uses the "Noun Cards" which are found on the first 11 or so pages of the product.

The noun cards could be used in centers or small groups.  Or you could use them like I did, in a "Hallway Hunt" or "Read the Room" activity.

Can you spy the two noun cards in this picture?

The noun cards are very versatile.  You can use many of them for many different types of noun activities.

And there are posters.  There have to be posters!

Besides the noun card pages and posters, you'll also find what I refer to as extension sheets.  These sheets do not use the noun cards. I used them after introducing and reinforcing each type of noun with the noun cards.  They would make great assessments as well.

There are pages in the extension sheets that can be used in Interactive Notebooks or on construction paper.  Let's keep those kiddos engaged!

Each type of noun is grouped together to make it easy to locate whatever you need in the product.  At the end of the unit are printables that cover all the types of nouns covered in the product.

I can honestly say that this unit changed the way I taught nouns this year.  I was able to truly engage my students by getting them up and moving, and reinforcing skills through the extension sheets.  We used the noun cards so often that, before long, students were asking if we were going to use the noun cards every time I introduced a new type of noun!

This product was so successful for me, and I hope for you, that it's spawned two other products I'm currently working on...

They will have the same general idea of using cards and printables, but since they're a work in progress at this point, who knows what direction they'll head in!

My Oodles and Noodles of Nouns is on SALE for 25% off TODAY ONLY, so grab it at a discounted price while you can! If you do purchase it, please let me know what you think of it. I hope your students love it as much as mine did!

Grab it here!

Halle

Wish List Wednesday: Communities!!!

Communities are one of my favorite lessons to teach in 2nd Grade. I throw the teacher's guide out the window (okay, I really only put it on the shelf, shhhh) and I grab one of my favorite units ever:

I uploaded this unit to TpT a few years ago, but I used the concept of the unit long before I even knew TpT existed.  (yes, there was life pre-TpT... hard to believe, I know!)

This unit uses letters from (imaginary) pen pals to introduce the 3 types of communities students will be learning about.

Letters are provided in the unit, but I always write them on chart paper and put them in a manilla envelope and have the secretaries deliver the envelopes to our class.

It's much more exciting that way!

Here's an example of a letter included in the unit.  There is a version of this letter that contains blanks for students to fill in after learning a little bit about this particular community.

 Posters, graphic organizers, and community sorts are also included in the unit.

As are extension sheets, activities, writing paper (for students to write about their own communities) and even an assessment.

It really is one of my favorite units to teach. You can read more about it here!

You can grab it for 20% through Friday here.

And you can win it below TODAY ONLY!!!

-Halle

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