A long time ago...in a galaxy far, far away :)

Okay - We're coming clean...we are those weird teachers that you will find camped out in the kid movies over the summer.  There...I said it.  Sad, but true.  There is a method to our madness though :)  We are firm believers that, as a teacher, you have to stay current with your books, movies, tv shows, etc so that you can completely blow your kids' minds when you can carry on an in depth conversation about Merida's archery abilities, Peter Parker's amazing transformation into Spiderman, or whatever it may be.  While these discussions are not at all academic in nature, they do begin to build a connection between you and your students (especially those students that are sometimes difficult to make a connection with)...and when you can make an academic connection to these pop culture icons...you have struck teaching gold!

With this being said...sometimes you also find yourself doing a little "research" with slightly older movies...like Star Wars for instance.  Yes, I had seen the movies years ago...and, yes, I could discuss the basics on the playground with my boys that were just waiting for Yoda to summon them to become Jedi...but that was about it.  My class last year was OBSESSED with these movies (as only a class with 12 boys out of 18 can be).  I had a little discussion with my mom and Allison and our next little packet was born.

 

This preview doesn't do it justice.  I have NEVER been so excited about teaching sight words in my life.  This packet has everything from flash cards to reader's theaters to board games to literacy centers.  My kids this year are going to be beside themselves...and I can't wait to see it!  197 pages of pure Star Wars awesomeness.  We also have a few freebies that you can check out.

Just click on the pictures and you will be able to download the freebies from our TPT store.

Well we are off to continue our "research" by re-watching the Star Wars movies.  May the Force be with you. :)

SALE!!!!

We have sold 200 items on Teachers Pay Teachers!  As a thank you for all of your support, we are throwing a sale!

June 26th - 30th!

Also, one lucky person will receive any TWO items from our store for FREE!  All you have to do is leave us a comment telling us what fun and exciting thing you are doing this summer. The most interesting/unique/exciting comment will be selected and the writer will get two items of their choice from our store free of charge!  We will make our selection as a team on Saturday night (June 30th).  Please include your email address in your comment.

Thanks and happy summer!

We're Baaaack!

Well...we are home from vacation :(  Vacation always seems like it is going to last forever...but then it flies by so fast that you would swear that someone is playing an evil trick on you.  Anyway, we had a blast in Disney World.  We went mainly to golf (which was fun, but slightly embarrassing for us beginners), but we did manage to squeeze in a park or two.

Here is the new friend that we met at Animal Kingdom.  He came right up to my dad (who is 6 feet 4 inches tall and he just happened to be wearing a yellow shirt that day...we decided that the giraffe thought he was a new addition to the park...hehe).

The fun did not stop there..oh no...that night as we were all snuggled up watching The Real Housewives of New Jersey (my addiction), the fire alarm in the hotel went off.  Being the good teachers that we are, we all exited the building quickly and calmly (and looking like a hot mess).  We hung out in the rain for a while and when we finally got the go-ahead to re-enter our rooms I decided to ask the nice young man working what had happened.  He answered "fire alarm."  Thanks for clearing that up.

Later that week (between golf outings), we ate in Canada! Not the real Canada, unfortunately, but the one in EPCOT was quite delicious.

Here are some other pictures from the trip.  With three girls in the family, these are the only ones that got the approval for the blog :)

In the midst of all this fun we have even managed to get something new posted on Teachers Pay Teachers!  I don't know about you, but we always decide to change things up in our respective rooms year after year...and this usually means spending a small (or not so small) fortune at the teacher's store.  With this running through our minds, we decided to make our own back to school pack that includes some of those things that we buy every year at a fraction of the price.  Soooo...here is is:

Included in this pack you will find a classroom alphabet, a classroom number line (0-25 with a choice of tally marks or dots), meet the teacher goodies, "How am I going home?" book bag tags, "Ask me what I learned today!" tags, name plates, and much more!  Whew...111 pages of back to school goodness!

We have a few other things up our sleeves for the beginning of the school year and here is a little hint:

I am SOOO EXCITED about this one!!  I can't wait to get it finished!

I hope that you continue to have a restful summer.