Savvy Second Graders

Teacher Appreciation Sale

Teachers Pay Teachers is having a 3 day sale May 6-8!! You can get up to 28% off!! Be sure to stop by and get some great products at great prices!!!

Hey guys! There is a BIG Leap Year Sale at TeachersPayTeachers today!! I am offering 20% off on all of my products today. On top of that 20%, TPT is offering another 10% off items. You can check out my store HERE. There are also many other sellers throwing a sale today! Be sure to check it out and use the code L2P9Y to get your extra 10% off!!

Groundhog Day Writing

Groundhog day is always a fun holiday to talk about in your classroom. The kids always enjoy learning new facts about groundhogs, and they always get excited about watching Phil come out of his hole and giving us a weather report. Yesterday we did a writing activity to go with Groundhog Day. First, I read the students Wake Up, Groundhog! Then, we talked about what it means if he sees his shadow and if he doesn't see his shadow. After our discussion, I had them decide whether or not they wanted Phil to see his shadow and why. They filled out a graphic organizer listing 5 reasons why they did or did not want Phil to see his shadow. After they filled out the graphic organizer, they wrote their reasons in story form. We also made groundhogs out of our fingerprints.

This activity will be included in my February Writing Packet.

Valetine's Day Coupons

Every year, for every holiday, I struggle with what to get my students. I hate to get them something that will be thrown away as soon as they get home or that other students bring in for the gift bags. So, this year I decided to make my students Valentine's Day coupon books. In their coupon books, I will put a homework pass (every kid loves those), bean bag during reading time, and other fun FREE things that my kids love. I love this idea because the kids will enjoy it, it is different from their other gifts, and most importantly it is a free gift!! You can get a FREE copy HERE at my tpt store. Happy Valentine's Day!

Compare and Contrast

This is a really cute activity that I found in Mailbox magazine. Students are able to compare and contrast themselves with other students in the class. My kids had a blast with this activity. They actually asked me if they could do it again. That was music to my ears. They had fun while comprehending a skill!! This is also a really great "getting to know each other" activity for the beginning of the year.

All you do is make a Venn diagram on a white piece of paper. Then you pair your students up. I let my students pick their partners, but you could assign partners. Then they compare and contrast their looks and interests. After they are done, they make their circle look like them by adding eyes, a nose, ears, and hair. A few of my girls even got creative and added earrings.

January Writing Packet

What is the one thing on every teacher and kids' mind?! SNOW!!! We all hope and pray for that 1 snow day! Even when it doesn't happen, it is nice to still think about. I put together a writing packet to get my class into the snow mode. The packet includes friendly letters, descriptive writing, expository writing, and narrative writing. One of the activities we did right after Christmas break. I had the students do a snowman art. Then they did an expository writing on how they made the snowman. They did such a great job with this activity. You can also have the students write how to build a snowman. If you are interested in checking out my writing packet, you can get it at my TPT store.

Christmas Family Night

I know I am EXTREMELY late on this post. I was very lazy over my Christmas break. Better late than never. :)

Every year around Christmas I throw a Family Night. This is my Christmas present to my parents. I set a date the week before Christmas break for 2 hours after school. I set up different stations in the classroom. Some of the crafts are made from supplies I already have. Some crafts I will buy the year before on clearance. Some of the stations include

1. A station full of holiday books for parents to read with their children.
2. Make a Christmas card for a friend or family member.
3. An ornament for the tree.
4. A picture craft of some kind.
5. Painting station. This can be for figurines or any other item to paint.
6. Gingerbread house station. This year I did Santa's workshop from oriental trading. Usually I will buy gingerbread cookie dough and use a house cookie cutter to make gingerbread houses. Then I will have different candy and icing on the table for students to decorate a house.

I send home a letter to the parents explaining what the night is all about. I also explain that siblings are allowed to come, but I like to limit 1 craft (from each station) per family so that every student from my class gets a chance to do every craft. I also like to provide cookies, hot chocolate, and coffee as light refreshments.

My parents and students always enjoy family night. It is a great way to get parents involved and give them fun time with their children. There isn't a better gift than time with your child.

You can download some of the resources for free at my TPT store.

This is an example of the flier I give to each parent at Family Night. I explain what each craft is so there are no questions.

The pictures that I took at Family Night are of my students and their parents so I can't include those. I am going to show you a few Christmas crafts that I make with my kids each year.