Beach Bingo Freebie

There are 17 school days left here in my neck of the woods and my to-do list is getting longer by the second! We have our end of the year testing next week and our big grade level parent event to get ready for, so it's definitely still full steam ahead.

I don't know about you, but my kids love bingo games. So I made this one for them so we could have a little fun after testing. It originally started just as a summer bingo, but then I realized how many summer words were compounds and then things just snowballed from there and it became Compound Beach Bingo.

I made it with a 4x4 grid instead of the traditional 5x5 to save a little time when they make the board and also so that the games go a little faster. I like to have my kids choose the words for their board and illustrate one in each box and write the word. You can have them do either or both.

I also made the cards with two different ways to play. You can have the kids call out the actual word or you can use the cards that give a little clue to the word. The second choice obviously bumps it up a bit. Either way, keep an uncut copy of the word cards so a helper can put little markers on the words already called. Click here to download from tpt.

And just in case you haven't seen this in my newsletter or on Facebook, I've opened my own little shop right here on my blog. You can get to it by clicking way up at the top (under the flip flops) where it says Shop Right Here. Right now it's just got some of my best sellers listed, but I'll be adding to it for sure. As a little token of my appreciation and a celebration of my grand opening, here's a coupon that you can use through Monday 5/13.

{It's only valid here at my blog shop, not tpt <---which I totally love and have no plans of leaving anytime soon...}

Fabulous Feedback

I read each and every feedback that is left for me on tpt and I can't even tell you how happy, happy it makes me to hear that my stuff is making other teachers' lives easier. So when I heard about Christina's Fabulous Feedback Linky I had to join in.

And in case you haven't heard - there's a big sale going at one of my favorite places Tuesday and Wednesday! Every purchase will automatically be 10% off, then my store will be 20% off on top of that. My own wish list is packed!

When I first started creating my monthly printable packs, I did it mostly for myself. I wanted some printables that were more "meaty" than what I was seeing. If I'm going to use my precious printing ration at school, I want it to be worth it! I needed to have a stash of go-to resources for unexpected absences, homework or to have on hand for those times you just need the kids to be busy for a few minutes on their own. I started to make these packs back in October and they've really evolved over the year! I've been asked a few times if I'm making one for September. I definitely am! I'm working on a June/July pack right now, next up is an August/September. Then I want to go back and add some things here and there to the first few packs I made. Jenna and Krystal get it. Yay!

One of the products I get a lot of feedback on is my Common Core Math Assessment Pack for 2nd grade. I recently revamped the entire thing to include 3 assessments and kid-friendly objective posters for every standard. I learned so much while making these assessments and it was definitely a labor of love to create them, so to see that so many other teachers appreciate that is a feeling that's actually hard to describe. You might think the feedback I picked here is a little strange because it's not just a glowing endorsement. I love that strelitz took the time to offer some very insightful feedback. I really love it when buyers do this because it just helps me make things better for all of us! And the feedback at the bottom  - well I about passed out when omarkus wrote that a district consultant recommended my pack!

And the final feedback from my May Calendar Task Cards seems simple, but means the world to me! Lindalouhoo  says that her students look forward to seeing my name on their activities. That is exactly what happens in my room when I bust out something from the fabulous Amy Lemons. In fact, this week we're using her Mystery Genre pack and I totally heard the buzz "This is from Mrs. Lemons!". Cracks me up. To think that other classes are saying that about Sunny Days? Well, it just doesn't get better than that!

And P.S. Krystal, Jenna, strelitz, omarkus, and lindalouhoo please email me at ShopSunnyDays@me.com. I have a little thank you gift for ya!

EZ Prep Centers

{For effect, please read the following in your best infomercial announcer voice}

Are you tired of spending hours laminating and cutting materials for centers? Have you gone through endless reams of card stock and too many ink cartridges to count? (you're doing the voice, aren't you? good. Keep going. And imagine a very exasperated teacher blowing her hair out of her eyes)

Do your children run in the opposite direction when you enter the room with arm loads of lamination that needs to be cut? Are you constantly struggling to find the right organizational system to keep track of little cards, stamps, manipulatives, baskets, buckets and envelopes you need to keep your materials together? (Now imagine a very harried looking teacher surrounded by game pieces, various baskets, bags, envelopes, etc. who looks at you and says "There's got to be a better way!")

Ok, before you change the channel. I'll get to the point ;) After spending about 2 hours printing, cutting laminating and sorting things for the upcoming week, I honestly started to think there has got to be a better way! Now at the same time,  I've been mulling over the fact that we were recently told by a common core implementation team that we need to bump up the rigor of our independent centers. I honestly can't argue with them there.

So true story, later that night while in the shower, inspiration struck me like a thunderbolt! I think I figured out a way to make at least some of my centers easier to prep while providing both rigor and engaging activities for the kids. I'm calling them EZ Prep See-it Centers. EZ Prep for you, See-it for the kids. All you have to do is print out ONE page for the center and and answer sheet for the kids - and done! This is from the preview, it explains the whole idea. You can download the preview here.

I started off with 2 centers that are fun for this point in the year, beach and camping. Each one has a language arts and math activity page to go along with the picture. So, it's a total of 4 centers that you can have prepped in a matter of minutes! My plan is to make two more for each month/season. If you have any suggestions for themes, I'd love to hear them!

Hope you dig this idea as much as I do. I'd love to know what you think!

I {Heart} Instagram

As if I needed another social media obsession outlet, I have now discovered Instagram. I think I didn't really get it before today, but thanks to the great linky hosted by Rachelle and Michelle (see button below) I'm feeling the love! 

It's like a mishmash of Twitter, Facebook, and blogs. You can take a picture of what's going on, add a cute filter or frame, a quick caption and a hashtag and boom - it's out there! The hashtags are great for searching. For example, today I could go through and search #TeacherTalkTuesday and see all the fun stuff going on in my teacher friends' classrooms!

I just started a teacher account for Instagram so I have a total of FOUR pictures right now, but I have a feeling that number will expand pretty rapidly! This is what I've captured so far...

Trust me, my Instabuddies are doing a much better job, but I'm getting there. Scrolling through today was a lot of fun! Just a quickie little snapshot of some really cool stuff going on!

I'm SunnyInSecond on Instagram if you want to connect! Check out the linky to find some other friends to follow too!

Orange Ya' Glad it's a Blog Hop?

Welcome blog hoppers! How fun is this little trip to all your Florida friends?  I hope you were able to make a new friend or two.  I've got some links for the rest of the hop at the end of this post just in case you  happened to hop in here. I'm stop #11. We're each offering a freebie and a glimpse at a paid product you might like. My freebie is from my favorite book for the end of the year, Last Day Blues. It's the companion book to First Day Jitters, another one of my faves. Click here to download from tpt.

And to keep the theme going, my paid product is my complete unit for Last Day Blues. I made this one about 2 years ago and when I went to get it ready for myself this year, I realized it needed a major upgrade, which I got to work on immediately!  If you already own it, just go to "your purchases" on tpt and you can download the new version. If not, feel free to check it out by clicking here.

And just for fun, here are some of my favorite books for the end of the year. 

Next hop stop is my adorable friend and real-life co-worker Caitlin at Kindergarten Smiles!

 I'm stop #11, so if you want to hop backwards through the rest,  click on Lisa's super cute blog button. She's stop #10.  If your OCD is freaked out by that, you can find the actual beginning of the hop right here at Mrs. Russell's Room. It's ok. I know how it is...

Boho Birds Bulletin Boards!

When I was asked by Carson Dellosa if I was interested in using some of their newest decor items for a mini-makeover, it took me about a half a second to reply - YES PLEASE! I got to choose from the collections you see here. It didn't take long to settle on the Boho Birds. Adorable!

Click HERE to see them all in detail.

Frist, I changed my biggest bulletin board which I use to display student work. I've had that cloud paper for years (no lie) and almost got rid of it several times since I painted my boards. So glad I kept it. It makes the perfect background! The letters go with the set too and I love how big and bold they are so they pop up on the wall.

It was so darn cute, I almost couldn't bring myself to add the kids' work! When I did though, it was super easy thanks to the way I added the bird cutouts. I used glue dots to stick a bird to a clothespin. Then I put glue dots on the head of thumbtacks to pin the bird to the board. That way I just have to push on the bird a little to open the clothespin and slip their work in or out. Why didn't I do this years ago?! I hope the pix help explain that a bit more...

Next, I revamped my Brain Builders Board (click here for more explanation about that). It took me forever to think of a new title, but I LOVE it! I actually made that from a clipart alphabet, but it matches pretty good, I think.

Then I changed over my other mish-mash board where I display current vocabulary words and some other random stuff. It was actually a lot of wasted space. I had plans for that board that never came to fruition this year, so I was happy to finally use it a bit better. It used to have monkeys swinging around the tree, but the birds moved in and I haven't seen the monkeys in awhile.  Those small pocket charts were from the Dollar Spot at Target and the colored sentence strips were from Dollar Tree. I added some of the Boho Birds stickers and laminated them so I can write on/wipe off.

Here's a little tip for how I line up letters on posters. These stickers were part of the set. I use a ruler figure out where I want the title to start and end. Then I find the center of the title and start adding the stickers to the ruler, starting at the center and working out,  with just the bottom touching. Then I lay it down on the poster and smooth down the top and gently lift up the ruler. I hope that makes sense. Maybe the pix will help...

I used some more of the bigger stickers to label my center boxes. We call them lit labs. I have them all in these plastic boxes which I'm seriously obsessed with, but more on that later. I printed "Lit Lab 1" on plain paper, cut it and glued it to the label before I laminated it.

Finally, I had some fun adding cute birdie touches to some other spots around the room. Here's a leftover bulletin board bird clipped onto the can that now holds rulers. I had that can forever too. Love that I have a use for it now!

Believe it or not, there was still a LOT of stuff that I didn't even use! I have plans for it though, so you'll see these birdies again. I felt a little crazy giving my room a make over at the end of the year, but I just love the new bright and cheerful look. It turned out to be a great way to energize everyone for the final sprint. Hope you can use some of these ideas to brighten up your home away from home!

 I just linked up with Teach Junkie, come join us!

Random Acts of Kindness

With all the nasty, horrible things happening lately along with the stress of the end of the year to-do's piling up,  I've seen even some pretty unhappy teachers lately.  One of my friends in particular has just had the most horrendous year. On top of some heath problems, she just seems to be the one 'on the wheel' as we say. It's like every bad thing that can happen to her professionally has happened. I hate seeing what it's doing to her spirit and she so doesn't deserve it {I should add that I know she's not one to read blogs, so we're safe...} So, I wanted to do something nice for her but I didn't necessarily want her to know it was from me.

I hit upon the idea of a Random Act of Kindess, which I'm sure you've all heard of before. I bought a gift card to her favorite restaurant and looked for a cute tag to attach to it. I found a bunch online, but they all seemed to add a line about paying it forward. I was really afraid that she'd take it literally and feel obligated to spend money on something for someone else. So after searching high and low I decided to just make my own little tag that said exactly what I wanted it to, leaving off the line about paying it forward. This is what I left in her mailbox:

I started to think about other random acts that I could do for friends that would be of little or no cost, where I wouldn't mind leaving on that part about paying it forward - like taking their dismissal duty for the day or leaving them a favorite candy bar. So I created some extra tags that could be used for all sorts of things. I've actually had two different RAK's done to me. Once someone in front of me paid my tolls on the way to work and another time someone else paid for my coffee at a drive through. I felt such gratitude and joy both times, so for me it's high time to pay it forward.

If this sounds like something you might like to do, I made a whole set of little tags you can use. Download them for free right here.

With Teacher Appreciation right around the corner, this is perfect time to spread some happy! My husband had a great idea about leaving some tags in a basket in the front office to encourage other people to do it too. Is he awesome or what? I think I might do just that.