Birthday Fun & Follower Freebies!!

I am so excited! Why, you ask?! Well, in just 10 days, I will be celebrating my birthday! In honor of this occasion, I will be offering up some special freebies across multiple platforms, plus some store discounts! So make sure that you follow me here, on TpT, and on Instagram to be part of the fun!

Also, if, by some miracle, I hit 100 followers on here OR on TpT BEFORE my birthday, there will be a GIVEAWAY!! :)

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December Currently!

Once again, I am linking up with Farley for my December Currently!

Listening -- My husband came across the Jersey Boys Christmas album last year and we are absolutely OBSESSED! I love Christmas music as it is, but this is just such an upbeat album! It will get anyone in the spirit!

Loving  -- Christmastime is by FAVORITE time! My in-laws laugh every year at how excited I get... and how sad I am to see it go! My husband and I have already finished Christmas shopping and even put up our tree last night! Decorating will come later this week! Can't wait to post pictures! :)

Thinking -- lesson plans, sub plans for my upcoming absence, Christmas cookie baking, gift wrapping, student support referrals, copies galore, assessment packs... and that is only the tip of the iceberg! This time of year is never short on things to get done!!

Wanting -- This long weekend was lovely ... and oh, so relaxing! But I slacked BIG TIME! I hardly got ANYthing done for work! I have so much to do and I need to be productive on my prep. Also, I'm hoping for my kiddos to hold off on their December wackiness for a little bit. ...hey, a girl can dream, can't she?!

Needing -- This year has been NOTHING. BUT. ASSESSMENT. I have sight words, nonsense words, addition to 10, subtraction to 5, narrative elements, writing prompt... GAH! SO MUCH! It really saddens me how much we assess these kids.

Giving -- A Christmas writing freebie! Click HERE to download! It includes 3 different prompts on seasonal stationary. Pretty please leave feedback! :)

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Shipping Out!

My husband and I have just finished packing for our cruise and we leave for the boat in... 19 minutes! Talk about LAST MINUTE! I hope we haven't forgotten anything!!
I can't be too upset with myself, as per usual... I got stuck at work late last night. There is just something so incredibly satisfying about engaging in rich conversation with colleagues with the same drive and passion. I know that many of you can relate!
Yesterday, to celebrate the end of summer school, my Principal and a few of my co-workers had a chicken wing party! Living in Connecticut, you really haven't lived until you've tried the wings at the Dew Drop Inn in Derby. I wish they had a website that I could link up to, but... check them out on Facebook. They have something like 80 different varieties of wings -- ALL ARE DELICIOUS! My favorite are Parmesan-Bacon-Garlic, Peanut Butter & Jelly (with a fluff dipping sauce!), and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I know, I know... they sound ridiculous, but NOMNOMNOM they are just... oh, so good! I won't even begin to pretend like I know how to explain how a combination of chicken and candy work, but they just do. Trust me! :) REGARDLESS! While we were chowing down, we began to talk about the the school play for the coming year. During each of our 3 years under the PCAH Turnaround Arts Grant, we held a school production:
Year 1: The Wiz Year 2: The Jungle Book Year 3: Hairspray, Jr.
This year, we were planning to present The Little Mermaid, but made a switch to Annie, Jr. after learning about the new Jamie Foxx-Cameron Diaz movie. 
Through our discussion we began to brainstorm the many ways we are able to integrate the play into our instruction as aligned with the CCSS and district curriculum for grades Pre-K through 8. Our discussion lasted for nearly THREE HOURS! We were unexpectedly productive, building off of one another and now we have been set to task -- as soon as I return from the cruise, I will be putting together a packet for our staff complete with arts vocabulary and ideas for lessons, units, and PBAs (Project Based Activities). I am so optimistic for this school year and really cannot wait to delve into it and share all of our ideas with you!  But now I'm curious! At this point through all of my training, substituting, and now teaching, I have working in 6 different school districts (over 20 schools total!) and have seen arts integration at all different levels. I'd love to hear about your arts integration experience. Answer the question below and feel free to give more info in the comments! I apologize in advance for delayed responses since I will be out of the country until August 2nd!

surveys & polls

Also, don't forget to follow me here, on bloglovin, or on Instagram (Shoelaces_SweetFaces) before I get back on the 2nd. All followers by then will receive a FREEBIE of my completed Sight Word Assessment Pack!
Happy blogging, all and soak up all the sun you can! School will be back before we know it!! :)

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Let's Talk About Books and a FREEBIE!

And now for one of my favorite linky parties of the summer... Thanks to Mrs. Jump for hosting!!

This week, I am highlighting a book that I have JUST discovered by one of my favorite Children's Book authors, Chris Raschka! First, let's talk about Mr. Raschka for a moment! He is the author who brought some serious favorites including Yo! Yes?, A Blushful Hippopotamus, and many others. Chris' books are special because they do a spectacular job at conveying particular feelings using vivid illustrations and simple, kid-friendly text. This year, I was extraordinarily lucky to receive a $100 grant for a local library book sale. While purging their Children's Book section, I came across...

Charlie Parker Played be bop!

I had never heard of this book before, but I LOVED John Coltrane's Giant Steps so I snatched it up. As many of you know, our school is currently under a MAJOR arts grant and anything that we can do to more fully integrate the arts is a thumbs up! I tossed the book in the stack with all of the others and just this weekend got around to looking through it.

What I found exceeded my expectations!

Each page offered engaging illustrations. Full of color, line, and expression, they hit on many different points. I cannot wait to use this book as a mentor text with my firsties!

Throughout the year in Kindergarten, we worked diligently on developing stamina for writing and strategies for editing and revising. This year, we will be delving into Author's Craft! This book will be a great kick-off to onomatopoeia as it will allow the kiddos to put an image to each sound.  

I have created a small set of graphic organizers that the kids can use before or after reading the book. Before Reading: Use the pages to imagine what each word could mean and stand for. See if their representation in the book matches your own! After Reading: Create alternative meanings or representations for each sound word -- OR -- use the images given to There is also a space where students are able to create their own word to use in their writing. Feel free to let me know other ways you would use this book/activity! And check out the activity in my TPT Store HERE! (FREEBIE! FREEBIE! FREEBIE!) Also, check out my Sight Word Assessment Pack -- Currently one sale for... 100% OFF! This is a FLASH FREEBIE and will be free for 24 HOURS ONLY. PLEASE, I only ask that if you download the pack, you leave a quick review. Thank you so much!! You can read about the pack HERE!

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Summer School Overview and Highlights

As I have mentioned, in previous posts, I have been working summer school this year. It is such an interesting and truly different experience than teaching throughout the school year. In typical Tiffany fashion, I have stretched myself a little thin, taking on 3 different summer programs. Currently, I am working in 2 separate programs both set to end July 25th, the 3rd program will begin immediately following our return from our cruise. Program Overview and Highlights Program #1: District Summer School

• Required for all students considered "Substantially Deficient" as determined by the DRA2, alone. No other assessments considered.
• Lasts 18 instructional days, 4 hours each day (includes 30 minutes for breakfast and 30 minutes for lunch).
• No pre-test (May DRA2 administration considered to be Pre).
• All students must take the DRA2 the final week of the program.
• Participating students in grades K-3
• Students grouped by DRA level
• Curriculum provided, but not enforced.
• Class Breakdown:
• 13 students
• 5 girls, 8 boys
• 3 Kindergarteners
• 3 1st graders
• 3 2nd graders
• 4 3rd graders
• DRA2 Scores
• Not Tested: 1
• BA: 1
• A: 1 student
• 2: 1 student
• 3: 3 students
• 4: 7 students

Program #2: Principal-Funded Cusp Program

• 100% voluntary -- students referred by teachers at end of school year.
• Designed for students not qualified for summer school (scores above "substantially deficient" range), but also not yet on level.
• Lasts 18 instructional days, 2 hours each day (immediately following regular summer school).
• No curriculum provided.
• Minimal student data available.

Program #3: WELL (World & English Language Learners) -- Regional Program

• 100% voluntary -- all students in the region invited with emphasis on ELLs.
• Designed for students in grades 4-8 to gain instruction in Chinese and/or Spanish language/culture as well as support for regional ELLs.
• Began in April. Ran every other Saturday for a total of 5 classes, to be concluded in August with 10 classes running Monday-Friday from 9-2:30.
• Pilot program, all curriculum and materials created/designed/acquired by staff.
• Follows a co-teaching model
• No pre-requisites, no student data available.

There is a clear difference between the three programs. Two are voluntary, 1 is not. 

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Five for Friday

Time for FIVE FOR FRIDAY with Doodle Bugs Teaching!

On Sunday, the Hubster and I went to the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT. We are incredibly lucky to have such a lovely place so nearby. We had an incredible time, but my FAVORITE was when we met this little fella (Fred)! (He's actually not so little... 4 feet long!) Sadly, he was very much abused and had to be rescued. HOWEVER, he is now a teacher! He educates kids nationwide. Dave and I greatly enjoyed the presentation, even though Dave got squeamish when they brought out the boa constrictor!

At the end, we got to meet Fred and pet him! His skin felt so very different than I imagined! Loved every minute!

Did I mention that we are only 8 days away from our vacation?! Dave and I have only been away alone together once before in our entire relationship and that was the Honeymoon! I guess we just really love traveling with others! :) We are recreating our honeymoon by taking the same cruise we took last February. It will be nice to unplug for a little bit and decompress after my first 2 summer school experiences wrap up.

It's that time of year again! Time to get organized for the new school year! Many of you know how truly OBSESSED I am with plastics and storage containers! And from following all of you, I just KNOW that you are just as obsessed as me! :) I was beyond excited to find this incredible deal on Walmart Mobile! Sterilite File Crate 12-Packs for only $3.47!! They were unavailable in the warehouse and could only be ordered through your local store. I placed an order for 2 with big plans for all of the crate! I got my email yesterday confirming that my order was ready! So I headed down to my local Walmart, waiting 25 minutes for someone to find my order and BAM! Only 2 crates. NOT 2 DOZEN. 85 minutes later, after speaking with 3 supervisors, a store manager, and a representative from Walmart.com, it was explained to me that there was a glitch in their system and that the item was listed incorrectly. My husband encouraged me to return the bins, but I really need some more seating for my library, so even though my face in the picture below doesn't look too approving, I will be starting a new little DIY project! Lemons into lemonade, right?

During one of our summer school programs, students have the opportunity to work with Kenzie. Kenzie is an adorable pup that was rescued from New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. She is now used as a therapy dog and for educational purposes I will be posting more on the Paws to Read Program later, but this week was the first time I actually got to see it in action! The kiddos LOVED meeting Kenzie (obviously) and were so much more motivated to read! I can't wait to see just how this program develops!

I am so excited to be running my first-ever 5K! Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I have struggled with my weight for quite some time. As long as I can remember, I have dreamed of running in the Annual Disney Princess Half Marathon at Walt Disney World in Florida. Though, while this has always been my ultimate goal, I have never even run a measly 5K. I am so very blessed to have such amazing co-workers and friends that have rallied around me. We are a terrific support system for one another and all have similar goals. We will be running in the Run or Dye 5K in Hartford, CT tomorrow morning and I am PUMPED! I set it up so that my race packet would be sent to the house. I was SQUEALING as I unpacked it all! Can't wait to update and post pictures from the event!! :) I hope you're all enjoying your summer vacation! Anyone else teaching a summer program? I'd love to hear your thoughts as I prepare my blog post about my experience! XOXO

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Let's Talk About Books Linky!

It's Tuesday! Which means another linky! It's time to Talk About Books with Mrs. Jump! Click HERE to head over to her page and join in the fun! Now, let me preface this post by stating that TOMORROW IS OUR KINDERGARTEN GRADUATION!! I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off! I promise to do a more in-depth post later, but for now.... This week, instead of sharing just one book, I will be sharing one of my FAVORITE resources! We Give Books is an incredible resource for any classroom teacher! Through their website, anyone with internet has access to award-winning children's books including some of the classics such as Corduroy and Madeline! In addition to making these books available online, We Give Books links up with non-profit groups to physically put books in the hands of our neediest children! What could possibly be better than a website working to instill a love of learning in children?! This website is 100% free! 

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5 for Friday!

Time for a little LINKY PARTY! I just love Doodle Bugs Teaching! If you're stopping by as part of the linky, then THANKS! :) If you haven't heard of her, check out her blog! She has some pretty amazing ideas! A quick clip from the music video my colleagues and I are working on! This was from my grade partner and I goofing around in a dry-run. I can't say much right now as I have been sworn to secrecy, but I cannot wait to share the final product with you all! :)

I posted my first product on Teachers Pay Teachers and am throwing a sale this week! This Sight Word Assessment Pack has weekly assessment, complete word lists, and parent information letters. Refer to my post about this product HERE and click the photo to link to the product page. It's only $2.40 for a year's worth of assessment through Saturday! Please remember to leave me feedback or comment back here. I want to put out my best work and would love to hear any recommendations! I saw this little gem posted by a Facebook friend this week and literally LAUGHED OUT LOUD! Report card time has come once again! Our report cards are done entirely online which makes it less tedious, but there are definitely limitations! For example, we have to fill out components for all 4 marking periods, but then a SEPARATE section for the full year evaluation. Since I teach Kindergarten, a lot of the areas that I am asked to fill out don't really apply and aren't truly appropriate, developmentally speaking. This marking period, I tried to get a jump on report cards, so here's hoping that I can get them done nice and early! :) My kiddos are FINALLY embracing my crazy obsession with writing! One of my little girls shyly handed me this note. She found it in her mailbox the other day following our literacy workstations! At the end of the day, she asked for it back and told me that she wanted to write a "love note back to him". I am so lucky to be looping with this group of kiddos. They are just so unbelievably sweet to one another! And one of my favorite moments from the school year... During Family Fun Day (our school's version of Field Day), the kiddos had the opportunity to get their faces painted and my little one on the left said, "I want to be a grown up!" so they gave him this HILARIOUS goatee!! And of course his best friend followed right behind him! Many thanks to their families for letting me post! I hope you all had an exciting week and I am extremely jealous of those of you who are finished already! 9 more days! (8 if we don't count today!)

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Sight Word Studies & TpT Sale!

Good Morning, Everyone!
I am so excited to be sharing my first product on TpT with you all! As we wrap up the school year (I can't believe that we've still got 11 days!), I reflect back on our school year. Last year, my grade level team and I decided to test out a greater emphasis on sight word recognition as a method of boosting fluency and reading comprehension. We had no parameters set by our school or district and put it all together on our own. Initially, we created a list of 36 sight words and required students to successfully identify 17 words by the end of the year. Our students blew that out of the water!
This year, we decided to expand upon that idea. Last August, I sat and developed a list of 50 words. For this year, we have doubled the expectation -- students are expected to reach proficiency at 36 words. Well, this year... our students DESTROYED their goals! Through the year, I ended up creating TWO ADDITIONAL LISTS of 50 words apiece and check out these stats!!

• 23 out of 24 students in my class have COMPLETELY MASTERED at least the first 50 words taught!
• 5 students have mastered ALL 150 words!
• 12 students have mastered OVER 100 words!
• 24 out of 24 students have reached the benchmark of 36 words!
• Last year: 11/24 exceeded proficiency on the DRA2, this year? 22/24 exceeded proficiency!

I am extremely proud of my KinderSTARS for all of their hard work towards achieving mastery in sight word recognition this year! They were motivated and worked diligently on a daily basis. What amazes me most, though, is that we were so focused on the benchmark of 36 words -- just imagine what will happen when we raise the bar again next year!!

One tool that was particularly helpful was a series of weekly assessments. Every Monday, I sent a letter home to families indicating the 5 focus words of the week. I asked that parents work with their child on learning these sight words both in and out of context and help to prepare them for a Friday quiz. Students practiced these sight words during our morning meeting, through literacy workstations, during guided reading, etc... I plan to share more regarding our sight word strategies in the future! Each Friday, they took their quiz which included the current week's words as well as all past words in ensure they retained the previous words.

What was wonderful about these quizzes is that they were done QUICKLY. The goal was sight word recognition so each one-on-one quiz took 1-2 minutes per student and could be completed by myself, a paraprofessional, or our building intern!

The last step was that I would make a copy of the quizzes to keep for student records and data collection, then cut up and send home each weekly result to the parents. My families really enjoyed checking the back packs for these quizzes each week and the kiddos LOVED celebrating their successes!

For my first-ever TpT product, I have put together all of the parent letters and weekly quizzes into a master Sight Word Pack. Right now, they only cover the first 50 words, but I will add the next 2 lists soon.

Click here to grab it up while it's still on sale! :) Also, please leave feedback. Since this is my first product, I would love to hear what I can improve upon for next time!

And please comment below on how (or whether) you teach and use sight words in the classroom!

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Let's Talk About Books Linky!

As I mentioned in a post last week, I will be linking up with numerous blogs through the summer months! Today I will be linking up with Mrs. Jump's Class to for her We <3 Books linky!

I absolutely LOVE the idea for this linky party because I am OBSESSED with Children's Literature as I so many of you are! I studied Children's Literature almost exclusively throughout both my undergraduate and graduate careers! I love learning about new books and getting ideas about teaching with old favorites! I actually keep a binder with lists of books I enjoy and lesson/activity ideas to correspond with them! I suppose I should make a mental note to post about the binder setup in case anyone else is interested!! ANYWAY... ON WITH THE LINKY! :)
One of my all-time favorites is Big Al by Andrew Clements and Yoshi! I have read it so many times that my copy is BEAT UP!! I should probably invest in another copy or two ;) For those who have not read Big Al, it follows a fish named Big Al on his quest for friendship. He finds that his appearance frightens and offends others, making it a struggle to find and keep friends. This story hits home for a lot of our kiddos. Even my little ones in Kindergarten! One of the best parts of this book are the SPECTACULAR illustrations!


Check out some samples below:

I just love how vibrant the colors are! And each image has such detail... I could spend hours with this book, just pouring over the illustrations!
I like to use this book right alongside The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister. Reading the two books together provides with a wonderful, authentic opportunity to discuss vocabulary relating to friendship and character traits.  Since both characters make changes to themselves throughout their respective stories, the kiddos all take away something different! My favorite part of reading these stories together is the debate that takes place at the end! It is truly magical to hear my KinderSTARS try to prove their reasoning for each and every choice!
Enjoy!

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This Week in 221!

I have been a Pinterest addict for at least a year now... I find tons of spectacular ideas on there. I love that Pinterest is basically a Teacher's Treasure Trove!! Below are some ideas I have snatched up and will be using this week with my Kinderloves.

I've seen this If I Lived in a Snowglobe in many incarnations across Pinterest and numerous teaching blogs.
This particular photo comes from UNDER Paid and OVER Blessed.
I think that it will be a fantastic way to merge our our 5-senses learning
with our Winter Unit in addition to pulling in writing and art to satisfy our school-wide,
arts integration mission. I will definitely post the finished project!

We started working with combinations of numbers to 5 (with some of my upper level students,
we're working on combinations to 10). This afternoon, I will work to create a recording sheet,
but I think that this will be a center that can be easily reused and will lend itself nicely to my very active learners.

I actually started using this sheet much earlier in the year.
I pulled this free pack from Confessions of a Homeschooler and my kiddos absolutely love it!
I printed the pack, laminated and bound it with rings for certain students.
As students master letters, I remove them from their booklet and we graph their progress.
The kids love the bright colors, manipulating the blocks and get SO EXCITED when they
are able to share their newly mastered letters with their friends. 

If you have used any of these strategies and have additional suggestions for implementation, I would love to hear from you!

And feel free to follow my boards on Pinterest! Leave a note in the comments and I'll be sure to follow you back. I'm currently trying to reorganize all of my Teaching Pins... I have well over 2000!

xo Tiffany

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