February Writing Fun: Great Products to Get You through February

Whether you have primary or intermediate students, I know the month of February is packed-each with it's own fun, problems, and issues to cover.  Writing shouldn't be one of them!  I've got you covered!  As you know, I've been talking a lot about writing in my classroom lately.  I've given up the boxed programs for a more "old school" approach-actually TEACHING in CONTEXT!  Imagine that!  Anyways, now that January is heading out the door, I want to cover some of the things I plan to do for February.  Here we go!


Today I am double posting!  I'm over at Conversations From The Classroom talking about how to have fun with STEM and writing through the use of one of my products called Love Bug in a Jar   This has always been one of my favorite prompts to write about and I'm sure this year's group won't disappoint!  Check out what I'm sharing if you love this idea-I think you will!

Check it out here!

If that doesn't fit your needs, I have two other great products for Valentines that just might.  Both focus on Valentines but are geared toward text dependent writing prompts.  These are designed to provide practice for your students in the area of reading prompts and, then, having to write with source materials in their pieces.  These are print and go ready too!  One of the things I've done in the past to help cut the copy costs is print the reading pieces on card stock and then laminate them.  This way I can use them over and over again!

            

Click on the pictures to view these products.  

How about Groundhog's Day!  I've got you covered! This great narrative piece will let kids think about how the groundhog would feel being awaken from a sound sleep to be jolted out into the cold world to see what the weather would be for the next six weeks! Is it me or have you ever really thought about the inaccuracy of that!  The sun has to be out for the groundhog to see his shadow!  Wouldn't that mean spring is on it's way and not more winter!  But, it's a fun tradition and that groundhog lives high on the hog-pun intended!

Check it out here! 

Right after Valentine's Day, we head into President's Day!  Students would just LOVE writing about a day with any President of their choice.  This can be simply a narrative piece, or, for added bonus, use this document to do some research about a President.  Then, students can use that research to create their day with a President!  How fun is that!

Check this one out here! 

As February winds up, intermediate students would love to explore the history of snow globes!  Students are provided with three pieces to read and examine.  Once they gather vocabulary, notes, and ideas about the history of the snow globe, students write about their new knowledge.  Then, they get to try their hand at creating their own snow globes!  This was is so, so much fun!

You can find this fun project here! 

Don't forget that the Winter Games are coming!  This product has a little of everything!  Students can do a quick research piece on one of the sports they are interested in.  Once the mini-research is completed, they craft an informative essay as to why that sport is their favorite!  Then, students create a topper to match their choice!  These would look great in anyone's hallway or classroom!  

Find this fun product here!

So, as you can see, I've got you covered for the month of February in writing!  Find them all at my store on TpT!

Pin for Later!

Happy, Big Time Happy, Big Happy Planner that Is!

      I'm not a planner type of person.  They drive me nuts!  I mean, who spends sixty plus dollars on a planner that they order online that they have fun writing in??  I mean, you can't even add pages of your own!  Then, I saw THIS PICTURE!  

How in the world did she get her own page in that planner??  Why do those rings look different then all the other personal planners?  What's that pink thing???  HOW DID SHE GET THOSE PAGES IN THERE!!  I just had to ask!  Luckily Stephanie from Teaching Little Leaders quickly replied-and I'm in LOVE!!  

The planner you see in the picture above is  the Happy Planner by Create 365!  The whole idea of this planner is to personalize it in a way that those other planners can't be personalized ! By simply removing the pages carefully a the edge closest to the rings, you can set it up in an y order that you like!  I happened to get mine in January, so I am going to against everything that screams SCHOOL to me and leave mine alone.  But if you wanted to start in July or August like most school planners do, it would be as simple as pulling out the monthly tabs and rearranging them to be in order from July to June.  That's it.  You wouldn't have to change any other pages, or at least not in this particular one.  

I'm sorry my picture came out a little pink! 

     I purchased the "kit" model of the Big Happy Planner.  It comes with everything you need to set up your planner!  This kit was a great price (plus on sale too!) so it was the easiest way to go.  It came with all the number stickers and decorative stickers right in the kit.  I did  buy some other stickers from another brand, because, by the looks of the isle at Michaels, this is becoming a big thing!  And it is easy to see why.  I could easily go back to Michaels and pick out a few more sticker sets to add some more fun to my planner!  Anyway, I also purchased the Big Paper Punch.  This is how you get the pages into your Happy Planner.  The Big Paper Punch has a bonus to it.  It can actually punch holes for any of the planners!  So, if I ever decide to go with one of the smaller planners, this tool will work for those also!  I'm telling you, I'm sold on this system!  It is brilliant!  

    One more important feature to discuss is the rings.  They are really cool, heavy plastic disks.  When I originally visited their website, I noticed that you can transition your planner onto even larger rings.  If needed, that will be something I do in the future. The clerk at Michaels explained that I can basically double the amount of pages that are currently in the planner before I need to change the rings!  

     So, I'd like to thank Stephanie from Teaching Little Leaders once more.  If you haven't noticed yet, the picture above is linked to the very freebie that lead me to the Happy Planner!  She now has a whole year packet available!  

Sorry they are a little blurry!  Darn Daylight Savings! 

Also, I have created some cute flower and owl note taking pages that are available in my store on TpT.  They will always be just a $1.00, because I figure that would make a lot of people happy, just like this planner!  So, check them out here!

    I'd love to hear what you do with your Happy Planner-tips, ideas, other uses for the planner!  Feel free to comment to share your ideas!  I hope this posts makes you happy too!  

     

My Favorite Vacation EVER! Over and Over Again to Recharge and Reenergize!

Florida-the land of Disney World, beaches, palm trees, sand, and UGH!  Yes, that’s right, UGH!  I live in Florida and this time of year is literally UGH!  You go outside and you instantly break a sweat.  If your palm tree isn’t trimmed high enough, then you get either covered in the water that is dripping from it because it has rained and made the 100% humidity become 200% or the spines in it stick you and it hurts!  Oh, and it’s only 8:00 a.m.  That’s right, 8 a.m. and it hits you like a ton of bricks!  So, you spend most of your time in the ac, avoiding the beach because it isn’t much better out there in the salt flavored bath water (no kidding-today it was 87 degrees in the water!!!).  No, I did not escape to Florida for my favorite vacation-I’m easier to please!   I escaped to my favorite vacation ever-over and over again-ever!!!  North Carolina!

You see, I’m easy to please.   I have lots of ideas for my favorite vacation ever-England, Ireland, Australia, Alaska-and notice, most are cooler places, but I haven’t been able to do those and may never be able to do those, so I go with easy, and cool, North Carolina.  Why, well, here’s why:

 1.  A cabin, a REAL cabin!  We are always blessed to find an economical location, but this one is my favorite-a REAL cabin!  No insulation, no luxury, no protection from bugs and other things-a REAL cabin!  Did I mention it is strikingly similar to the cabin I stayed in when I was in elementary school in Canada for two weeks every summer?  The only thing missing from this and my childhood memory would be the great big lake that we had in Canada, but there is a replacement.

2.  A WATERFALL-

In fact, many if we wanted to wander further out, where there would be lots of people!  Instead, we headed to Schoolhouse Falls (can’t ever escape that word!)  When we got there, only two people were there and they were sleeping in hammocks!  Cool water, beautiful sight, no one to bug us!  YES!  Exactly what I would call FAVORITE vacation detail! 

3.  History! 

I am slowly discovering the fun of Florida’s history-we camp a lot when Florida is friendly to its residence-but there really isn’t anything like this! Biltmore, home to one of the most financially influential families in America!  I could easily put my entire house in the library of this home!  And kids were FREE this visit!  YES!  And, my two teenaged boys like it! They LIKED IT!!  We even visited the flower garden and they liked it!  Did I mention that part of the reason why this is my favorite vacation EVER is because of the…

 

4.  Plants.  

I know that many people love the tropical “loveliness” of Florida’s tropical plants.  Well, not so  much here!  I’ve learned, over time, to find things I like, but, in North Carolina they have real trees, real grass, and really, really, really beautiful flowers!  I could spend all day looking, just looking at plants and flowers and loving them! 

5.  Walks!  

I have an adventurer and I am one too, so walks are so great for us!  We can find so many things on our walks-like REAL rocks that have mica in them and real trees, REAL TREES, and mountains!  In fact, we can go up so high on our mountain walks that we are looking at the mountain tops that were up above us before!  Long walks that make our legs hurt, but not enough to not get back to the cabin.  Walks that still allow you to run down the hills to the flats where you are out of breath with fun, even with your little dogs with short legs along, who have just as much fun as you, walks.  Did I mention how this is my FAVORITE over and over again!

6.  Mountain Air-

This is down at the Lake.  Take off about 5 degrees in the Mountains!  

Cool, cool mountain air, so cool that at night it makes your teeth chatter because it is in the 50’s and it is July cool.  So cool that you have to sleep in winter pajamas cool.  Enough cool air to soak in and make you think about it over and over as the wind blows and you stand with your arms stretched out, soaking every bit of it in , knowing you won’t feel it again until December, if you are luck, cool!  Feel it, remember it, cool! 

Trying to stay warm in the rain!

7.  MOUNTAINS-

Mountains that you can see sitting on a porch that was built just for that, just to look.  Reading on that porch is a distraction because you can’t help but look, rolling into one another, off in the distance, but wondering if anyone was looking at your mountain, thinking the same thing.  Watching the clouds roll over those same mountains and, then, watching them disappear as the rain rolls in and brings the cool mountain air that makes you put on a jacket. 

8.  Fireflies-

Waiting for dark to come, just so the bushes will light up. There are fireflies in Florida, if you know where to look.  Last time we went camping we saw one.  Here, they light up the yard.  With very few other bugs to bug you!  So great to walk out and watch.  Sadly, my boys are beyond the age of trying to catch them-but that didn’t stop my sad attempt one night, or my adventurers the last night.  No luck, but worth every second. 

Today, I have commented on 3 different photos of people visiting other mountains in North Carolina about how much I wish I was still there.  It helped to clear my head.  It helped to refocus my thinking.  It helped me to get mentally aware of where I need to be and where I need to go.  It helped me be me, to find me again.  It put me in a FAVORITE place-peace. 

If you are blogging, and you have time, take a few moments to share your favorite vacation on the linky found at I Heart 3^rd Grade!  I know it made me want to sit down and jot things out.  It was a great way to get me back into my blog and reflect on a great vacation all at once!