Friday Freebie #7 - New Year Goals

Well would you look at that, I'm actually on time with my freebie this week!! :) And it's almost Christmas so I'd have the perfect excuse if I was late. This week's post is all about time aptly enough.

First up I want to share a Telling Time activity I've been working on. The pack includes activities and worksheets to teach telling time to the hour and half hour. The main activity is a wristwatch scavenger hunt.

            

Each child gets their own watch which they colour and cut out. You can choose only time to the hour or half hour or a mixture of both. I've also included blank watches so you can add in some tricky ones to challenge your more able students. 

               

Then they put their giant watches on and use some sticky tape to close them. If you plan on using the watches to complete all the checklists or for reviewing time later in the year it might be worth covering them with clear contact to protect them or print them on light card.

They are each given a scavenger hunt checklist and must walk quietly around the room reading the time on their friends watches and recording the answers. There are different checklists so you can decide how long the activity will last or how difficult or easy it will be for each child. Once they have completed the activity they sit down and use the included worksheets to put their time telling skills to work once again

. Click here to find out more! 

And still on the theme of time - - > this week's freebie!

The beginning of a new year is a great opportunity to teach reflection and goal setting skills. This little craft is a great follow up to discussion on what your class have achieved this year and what their hopes are for 2013.

      

I've included a few different versions with differing amounts of writing and drawing requirements so you can pick the ones that suit your students. But the basic idea is that they write about their memories of 2012 and goals for 2013 on these stars. Then cut them out, stick the two sides together and hang them in your classroom as a visual reminder of all they have achieved and their dreams for the new year.

Click here to download for free!

(If you find this useful I'd really appreciate some feedback!)

And if you'd like some more freebies - - > click here!

Things I've Learnt:

- Friday Freebie is much better when it's actually posted on a Friday! :)

Linked up to: Teaching Blog Addict

Friday Freebie #6 - Rice Krispie Coal

Umm so it appears I'm late for Friday Freebie again this week... Sorry!! I may have to make Friday Freebie a once a month thing, we'll see. I promise it won't vanish completely though! 

Firstly, there's still a few hours until my 100 Follower Giveaway ends!! You can win two cute sock monkeys and a whole bunch of awesome teaching resources so click here if you want in! :)

And secondly your Freebie! :) When I was small I remember being told that if I wasn't good that Santa would bring me nothing but coal on Christmas Eve! So when I saw these cute Lump of Coal Rice Krispie Treats on pinterest I knew I had to give them a try. I know a few people who've been a little bit naughty this year! :)

They're easy and fun to make and taste pretty delicious so I though they'd make cute little presents to give to your class! But seeing as little kids tend not to like being told they're naughty I came up with this cute little poem to let them know these lumps of coal are pretty special!

The coal is really easy to make:

- Just use your normal Rice Krispie Treat recipe (I use this one) and add black food colouring! I found some at a kitchen supply store but you can buy some on amazon too. I used liquid food colouring and had no problems so go for that over gel/paste if you can. Once you've melted your marshmallows and butter just add in enough drops to turn the mixture black.

- Then mix in your Rice Krispies until they're fully covered.

- The next part is the messy bit. Lay out some baking paper on your counter and spoon little odd shaped dollops of the mixture onto the paper. You could also put butter on your hands and use them but be warned it's very sticky!!

- Then once they've set a little you can put a few into a clear plastic bag and tie it with ribbon.

- Print out these little poems onto card and tie them to the ribbon or onto sticker paper and stick them to the bags.

- And that's it! :)

                                                      

Click here to download the poems.

Things I've Learnt:
- Don't worry about the size or shape of these little guys, the odder they are the better!
- Remember to take pictures of yours once they're all bagged up! I forgot! So all you get is the few crap pictures I took on my phone. :(

*Update: I made some more and tried using disposable plastic gloves spread with butter to make the - much easier!

      

 

Linked up to: Teaching Blog Addict, Classroom Freebies, Addicted to Recipes, DIY Dreamer, Earning my Cape, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Semi Homemade Mom, Diana Rambles, Foodie Friends Friday

Friday Freebie #5 - Classroom Posters

** Check out my 100 Follower Giveaway ** 

I know, I know it's Saturday, my bad! But I've still got a freebie for you! :) This poor little blog is feeling a bit neglected lately but Christmas is taking over a little here! I promise I will have some more crafty and sewing posts soon but a lot of my current projects are presents for people so you'll have to wait until after Christmas  to see them! And I'm working on something special for all you lovely people who read my blog! :)

My CVC Word Jigsaw center is by far my most popular product in my store so I thought a follow up pack would be a good idea. So I made a Jigsaw Sentences pack!

This is great for building reading skills and for teaching the basics of sentence structure. There are 9 sentences, each made of 6 words on jigsaw pieces. Each sentence is a different color so the child just has to focus on reading each word and putting it in the correct order. There's also 3 sheets of extra words so they can mix and match and create their own sentences!

And it comes with worksheets to reinforce what they have learnt. There are pages to practice writing the sentences, illustrating them and fill in the blanks worksheets. Each comes in color and b&w so you can print and laminate and use with a whiteboard marker in a literacy center or photocopy them to use for whole class work. There is also an answer sheet so you can quickly assess their progress or allow them to self assess and check their work. Click here if you'd like to find out more.

Now on to this week's freebie! I created a few posters with cute reminders for your classroom. I had the "listen has the same letters as silent" one up for free already so I just added in 3 new ones! :)

"Wrong is wrong even if everybody is doing it. Right is right even if nobody is doing it."

"It's okay to not know but it's not okay to not try!"

"Hands at your side. All Eyes Forward. Lips Zipped. Low Speed."

Click here to download your set for free! :)

Want some more freebies? Click here to see the past 4 Friday Freebies.

Oh and I'm getting very near to 100 followers on this little blog!! So watch this space for a special celebration giveaway in the next few days!! :)

Things I've Learned:

- Spammers seem to love my blog! Getting lots of random comments that link to equally random sites. I really don't want to turn on any verification tools but does anyone have any tips on cutting down on spam??

- I've found this little tip a while ago but keep forgetting to share in case you don't know it. You can check what's been pinned from your blog by typing in "http://pinterest.com/source/YOUR WEBSITE/". So for mine it's "http://pinterest.com/source/beinginspired-blog.blogspot.ie/". It's kinda fun to see what's being pinned!

- Oh and don't forget to check the other versions of your site (.com, .ie, .co.uk, .com.au etc.).

Linked up to: Teaching Blog Addict, No Time for Flashcards, 3 Boys and a Dog, Classroom Freebies

Friday Freebie #4 - Christmas Letter Mazes and Santa's Secret Codes

Friday Freebie time again!! :) This week I have some super cute Christmas themed letter mazes for you! But first here's a little update on some of the other new stuff I've been working on for my TPT store:

I spent way too long on this one but I think it was worth it! It's called "Santa's Secret Code" and it's a really cute little activity for excited kids this Christmas! They'll love trying to crack Santa's code and work on some problem solving skills as they do it. 

It includes a coded letter from Santa, 16 word puzzles, an A to Z pictoral code of Holiday pictures,  worksheets to create their own word puzzles and their own secret code and it comes with both colour and b&w copies. And you can also create little code cards to easily create new word puzzles for your class! Click here to find out more!

Remember the nativity hand puppets I made? Well I had a lot of people asking me for patterns to make them or it I sold them anywhere. Unfortunately I made them last year so I don't have the patterns anymore and I'm way to slow at sewing for it to be profitable to sell them. But I decided I could still do something with them - I turned them into nativity flashcards and a word wall! 

These are great to reinforce reading and spelling words associated with the nativity and can also be used to retell the story of the first Christmas. :) 

Click here if you'd like to find out more.

And now this week's freebie! Sticking with the Christmas theme, this one's for the little kids - Christmas letter mazes! They can practice letter identification skills while they trace a path through the maze and help Santa and the penguin to get to the end. 

It'll make a cute addition to your literacy centers this winter, just print and laminate and it's ready to go. :) There are 6 mazes, focusing on the letters S and P and using upper and lower case letters. And did I mention it's free? :) 

Click here to download your Friday Freebie now.

Want some more freebies? Check out the previous Friday Freebies - - > here.

Linked up to: Teaching Blog Addict, 2 Brainy Apples, 3 Boys and a Dog, Reading Confetti, One Artsy Mama, Cheerios and Lattes, Crafty Moms Share, Connect a Blog, Teaching my 3, Teaching in Blue Jeans, Classroom Freebies, 4th Grade Frolics, Learning and Teaching with Preschoolers, Thinking of Teaching

Friday Freebie #3 and a Huge Sale!!

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Freebie Friday!! I've just been working on finishing off this week's freebie to make sure it's absolutely perfect! :)

(Thanks to Michelle @ The 3amTeacher for the cute graphic) 

But before we get to that I've got some exciting news! I'm participating in my first TPT sale and it's a big one!! This Monday and Tuesday (26th and 27th) there will be 28% off everything in my store!! So have a look at some of the new things I've added, go put them on your wishlist and then head back over next Monday or Tuesday and grab a bargain! 

Here's a few of the things I've added this week:

If you like last week's freebie (Border Clipart) then do check out my Christmas clipart collection. There's cute penguins, snowmen, christmas trees, plum puddings and holly! Use them to add some fun to your worksheets, Christmas displays or TPT products. :)

Sticking with the Christmas theme I used those little penguins to make this cute literacy pack. It contains upper and lower case letters on penguins for a fun letter matching activity. As well as these flashcards there's also penguin themed worksheets to practice letter identification, formation, matching and order. And did I mention how cute they are? :)

Gingerbread man Positional Language Pack. This pack come in two versions so make sure you get the one that's right for you! This one is great for young children and ESL/EAL learners who need to practice positional language. It contains flashcards, worksheets and activities to learn and practice using words like "under", "beside", "behind" etc. Children will love working out where the gingerbread man is hiding!

This pack also come in a version as Gaeilge. It can be hard to find cute resources for teaching Irish online and the ones that do exist are either very expensive or aren't very attractive. But don't worry, I'm working on solving this problem! One pack at a time. :) So if you're planning on covering positional language like "ar an", "os comhair" etc. in the next few weeks then this Christmas themed pack is perfect for you!

And finally, this week's FREEBIE!! :) Fun with Tangrams - Click here to download! This pack contains tangram piece templates, ideas for use and a booklet with 12 puzzles and solutions. And it's free!! 

You can see in the picture that I used the template to create a fabric set of pieces. They are so much more fun to play with than paper or card ones. I made them as a gift but I'm already thinking I'll just have to make a second set and keep these for myself! Check back tomorrow and I'll show you how I made them.

Want more freebies? Check out Friday Freebie #1 and Friday Freebie #2!

Things I've Learnt:

- People love a good freebie. :) And hopefully they love a good sale too!

Linked up to: Teaching Blog Addict, Classroom Freebies, Primary Inspiration

Friday Freebie #2 - Borders and Jigsaw Puzzles

Friday Freebie time again! :) Here's a link to last week's post in case you missed it, but basically the idea is that once a week I'll give you a little update on the new things I've added to my TPT store and give you a little freebie. Publicity for me, free stuff for you! 

I got some great feedback on my CVC Word Jigsaw center pack from last week so I went with that theme again this week and made two more jigsaw packs! The first teaches colours:

Now as you may I noticed I spell it "colour" but don't worry, I made two packs! The US version uses the spellings "color" and "gray" and the Irish/UK version uses "colour" and "grey". And if there's any other spelling variants that I missed out on please let me know!!

The pack has two purposes. First it contains 12 large jigsaw pieces in different colours with the colour word written on them. These can be used to make a wall display to reinforce spelling, reading and colour identification. And secondly it contains smaller pieces and a set of worksheets. These can be used to explore colour mixing. Slot the pieces together like a jigsaw to show what happens when you mix the colours.

I also made a Jigsaw Piece Numbers pack. This one works great as a maths centre. It contains a set of green jigsaw pieces with the numbers 0 -20 and multiples of 10 up to 100 on them and a set of yellow pieces with maths symbols on them. They can be used for free play and exploration, allowing kids to create their own number sentences.

Or they can be used in a more structured way with the worksheets I've included. There's 6 worksheets for working on number bonds and simple arithmetic and a set of 7 worksheets for working on greater than/less than. 

And finally - this week's freebie. It's a pack of 13 free .png borders for you to use to dress up your worksheets and other teaching documents. Feel free to use them for whatever you like, just include a link to my blog or TPT store if it's for commercial use. I've actually had this up in my store for a few days but added more borders (including some Christmassy/wintery ones!) to it last night especially for you guys.

I'm working on a great freebie for next week. It's kinda related to jigsaw puzzles but begins with a T... cryptic eh? ha ha If you guess what it is I'll send you a copy first!

Oh and I only have 10 followers on TPT and much as I love and appreciate those 10 I'd love some more!! Pretty please follow along if you download my freebies. :) Or start your very own TPT store and join in the fun! 

Things I've Learnt:
- Hmm lots of things this week actually. I found the forums on the TPT website and learnt lots about marketing and pricing my products. And I joined my first collaborative pinterest boards! I'm pretty excited about these. There's so many great teaching ideas out there and collaborative boards just make it easier to share it!

Linked up to: Teaching Blog Addict, Pocket full of Kinders, Classroom Freebies

I'm super proud to say that my free borders were featured on Teaching Blog Addict's Freebie Friday!!! :) If you're looking for some more freebies check out Friday Freebie #1 and Friday Freebie #3.