Super Site Sábado #5

With all of our wedding craziness at the beginning of the summer, I haven't really had a chance yet, to begin thinking about next year. Now that we are settling back in to reality, I am quickly realizing the summer is flying by already! Thus, today I wanted to take a moment to share a few online resources with you all that are putting my mind at ease in terms of "getting ready" for the year, that you may have seen pop up on my Facebook page or the blogs/pages of some of your other favorite bilingual bloggers as well. 

If you haven't already visited the iTeach Bilinguals site or the Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse blog, I am insisting (seriously - I mean it's a must :)), that you do. Myself, along with a whole great big bunch of other incredibly talented educators in the bilingual realm have recently come together to collaborate to share our ideas, resources, questions, answers, thoughts, you name it! I cannot express enough how blessed I feel to be a part of it all and to work together with these individuals and the ideas and support they continue to express never ceases to amaze me.

On the iTeach Bilinguals site, one can find a library of documents, lesson and material ideas, tech ideas, you name it for your classroom. There are also links to other valuable resources for bilingual educators and information about all of us and how to find our blogs, stores, etc.

Here is a snapshot of the welcome page of the site with a bit more in depth look at its goals.

So what is the Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse blog then, you may ask? And how is it different?

 The blog is a place where each of us collaborators at iTeach Bilinguals will post monthly with different ideas, resources, and comings and goings in our classrooms. It will be in a style of most collaborative educational blogs - but all geared toward bilingual classrooms! 

I know what you are now thinking...who could ask for anything more, right?

Are these resources getting you jumping in your jeans as much as me?

We, as bilingual educators, are always looking for more resources, and I am just so filled with joy that we are working to create a place for all to be able to easily do just that. 

I cannot wait to see how both sites grow and develop as well as us, as educators, in turn in the process!

We'd love it if you'd follow along with each of the sites. You can also find the Facebook pages here:

iTeach Bilinguals Facebook

Bilingual Teacher Clubhouse Facebook

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

I'm Back as a Mrs.!

Hey all, I am back and now officially a Mrs. :)

Our wedding and honeymoon were incredible and I tried my best to stay away from technology for the most part so I could focus all of my energies on taking in every moment and relax and enjoy my time with the new hubs. I want to say a huge thank you again to the 6 fabulous bloggers who guest posted and shared their unique game ideas with you all while I was away! I know I definitely got some new ideas to try out this coming year, and I hope you did too!

Now that we are back, reality is certainly sinking in. We are trying to combine two households worth of stuff, organize and purge items, move, and get our new chapter started as a couple!

I am also trying to wrap my head around the fact that in just a few short months, a new school year will begin, and I will be in a new town, new school with 30 or so new little 3rd grade faces to greet on the first day. I am so thrilled - and nervous about how much there is still to get done!

But for now, I couldn't let you all go without revealing a few of my favorite photos from our big day!

We just got them from our photographer this week, and I must say I am not sure how I am going to choose. So here are just a few glimpses from beginning to end (more or less :)). 

Then I promise, I'll get back on track with my classroom prepping posts!

There was an old school house on the property. So of course, we had to utilize it. 

Yes, that is a serious rocker "do" the hubs is sportin. It was just too fun coupled with my sweet shades and a little Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher".

If you are a lover of weddings like I am, and/or just interested in seeing more of our photos, feel free to visit my personal blog - HAPPy as We Know It. Tried to keep it short and sweet for you all here - but had to share a bit since you are all of couse, my "blog" family!

 Enjoy your weekend!

Guest Blog Week- Day #7: Minion Sentences

It's Day #7 (the last one) of Guest Blog Week!

Please welcome Yara from Sea of Knowledge and check out her game idea below!

Hello teacher friends! I'm so excited to be a part of the blog hop for the awesome Krista Carlson from Second Grade Superkids, she is getting married and will be away the next couple of weeks - congratulations Krista it is such and exciting time!! :) 

Anyway, I'm here to share a great activity game board which can be played with any set of word cards! Any that you have you can play it with to revise vocabulary and words in context. This board game will be free on the blog for subscribers. :) A bigger set of board games will be coming to TPT soon!

Anyway, here is how you could set up this game:

Firstly, print the board on an A3 sized sheet of card stock (easily done at any local office shop - in Australia we have Officeworks). Laminate this for durability. You can print 2 more depending on how many groups you'd like to form in the class.

Have a set of dice ready!

Prepare figurines which would represent each player, you can buy these here on eBay for a great price: 

Minion Figurines Set

Or, you could print these out which I've made as an alternative. Click on the picture to get them for free:

 Next, have a set of words ready for the game, these could be ANY set of word lists that you are teaching or reinforcing for the week. As long as the card words cannot be seen when the cards are flipped over. Here are some flashcard sets I use with my ESL students if you'd like to take a look:

 You can have a look at all the sets in my store here: Flashcard Sets ESL World.

Lastly, you can have a set of cards ready for each group or split cards so that each group gets a different list and explain the rules of the game: 

Rules: Choose a card from the pile (face down), say the word and then create a sentence using the word. If the sentence is correct, you keep the card and move on. The first to finish and have the most cards wins.

 Click on the picture to download the game for free!

Finally, walk around and check to make sure no one is cheating! My class had a blast with this game! Hope yours enjoy it too, would love to hear some comments! :)

I would love for you to follow me on Bloglovin, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. :)

Guest Blog Post - Day #6: Addition with Clothespins

It's Day #6 of Guest Blog Week!

Please welcome Leah from Lectura para Niños and check out her game idea below!

My sister (who is also a kindergarten teacher) saw this on Pinterest and I went with it!  My students LOVE playing this game!  They will play it over and over again and moan when it is time to clean up.  

1.  I purchased 2 sets of clothespins and a shoebox tub from the Dollar Tree. 

2.  Each student is provided with a clipart to “record their answers.” 

3.  Write your addition facts on each clothespin; i.e., 0+0=    1+0=    0+1=    1+1=    2+0=  0+2=   etc.  Throw your clothespins mixed up into the shoebox tub. 

4.  Create some number cards from 0-12 (or higher for when students are ready)

5.  The students use cubes, bears, or any counter you have to assist with completing the equation.  Once they have the answer, clip your equation to the answer.  Watch in amazement when the students find out that there are multiple equations for the same answer.  No matter how many times my students played this, it was always exciting to see the higher numbers were winning with the most equations.  If a clothespin breaks, no worries, toss it and create another! 

6.  The students record their equations on a piece of paper using their clipboards.  The clipboards are a MUST!  The clipboards make the students feel just like a teacher!  They CHEER every time they get to play this game!  Change it up using different counters, or different colored clipboards!  You can use Fancy Tape from Home Depot to decorate your clipboards as well!!!

If you'd like more ideas from Leah, please feel free to follow along with her at:

Lectura para Niños

Facebook

Teachers Pay Teachers

Guest Blog Post - Day #5: Money Scoot

It's Day #5 of Guest Blog Week!

Please welcome Stephanie from The Learning Chambers and check out her game idea below!

Hi y'all!  I'm super excited to be guest blogging today for Krista's "While the teacher's away, the blogger's will play!" week.  My name is Stephanie, and I blog over at The Learning Chambers.  This year was my first year as a Second Grade Dual Language teacher, so Krista's blog has been a new favorite of mine.

Now to get started on the post, and to share my game that I created especially for this weekly party.  I hope you guys enjoy it!

This year we just started a new math curriculum, and it has been a little challenging for my kiddos.  The best way I've found to review concepts is to play games that help the students practice the skills on their own or with their partner.  Their absolute favorite game to help them review is scoot.  I know what you're probably thinking....scoot is nothing new!  But I promise if you stick with me, you'll find a few new ways to make this scoot game into an engaging end of year review.

This scoot game is all about the money!  My kiddos really struggled with counting groups of coins, so I created this scoot game to help them practice counting a mixed group of coins.

To get started, you'll need to print out the coin cards and cut them out.  Since it's the end of the school year, I decided to make the cards using black and white coin clipart to make it easier on your printer.  I printed my cards on colored cardstock, but you could also print it on white cardstock and have your students color the coins.  That would be a great way for them to review the different coins, and give them ownership of the game.

Next, you'll need to place one coin card on each student's desk and give each of your students a recording sheet.  The students will start out at their own desk, and they will count and record the amount of coins on their recording sheet.  If they have card #6, they will record the amount in box #6 on their recording sheet.

When you say "scoot," the students will move to the next desk over, and repeat the steps.  The students will continue to switch desks until they have filled in their whole recording sheet.

I also included an answer key for this game, to help your students check their work.  Sometimes I project the answer key onto my activboard to help them check their work, and other times I have them check their partner's work.  I even use it as a quick check to see who needs to be retaught a concept in small group.

My kids also love when I let them create their own scoot games.  I will give them each one index card, and ask them to write an amount on the card.  Then I number them, and we play the scoot game again with a new recording sheet.  This time the kids will look at the amount, and draw a group of coins that totals that amount on their recording sheet.  I taught my kids to just draw a circle with the coin amount written in the middle to represent each coin.  This is a little more challenging and differentiated, because different coins can equal that amount.  You could even have the kids color, cut out, and glue on a set of coins onto the index card to play another similar scoot game.  My kids have really enjoyed creating their own scoot games!  Talk about creating ownership!

So are you ready to play this game with your kiddos?  Just click on the cover below to grab this coin scoot game.  I hope you enjoy playing this game with your kiddos, and remember you can only get this freebie here on Krista's blog.

If you liked my post and game, I would love if you would follow me on my blog to get more freebies and ideas.  If you are looking for an engaging beginning of school game using QR codes, click here to go to my blog and read a post about it.  I hope you have an awesome end of the school year and summer. 

Guest Blog Week - Day #4: Wild

It's Day #4 of Guest Blog Week!

Please welcome Krista (love the name ;)), from Teaching Momster and check our her game idea below!

Hello!  My name is Krista (from Teaching Momster) and I am SOOOO excited to be guest blogging for Krista (from Second Grade Super Kids)!  

As you may already know, the other Krista is away, so the rest of us bloggers are playing!  One of my FAVORITE games is Uno.  The rules are simple, young kids can play and older kids can still have fun!  

Young kids can use it as a great review of colors as well as number identification.  It also teaches taking turns.  My son, who is autistic, has been working on playing games and learning to lose gracefully.  Playing the same game over and over started to get a bit boring.  It got me to thinking that maybe I could change up the game a little to allow my son (and other kids) to have fun, but also practice necessary skills.  So, I created my WILD card series.  

So, what are these WILD games?  They are played in a very similar fashion to the old classic, UNO.  In fact, we started with UNO since the directions were already known.  Many kids love the simplicity of the game and others love the "special" cards that allow them to skip a player or make their neighbor draw extra cards.  So, I kept those important pieces in my WILD games.  But, for the kids who are beyond just numbers and colors, I added some extra skills.  I have several versions available, from basic number skills all the way to fractions.  Although most of my versions are math based (my son's favorite subject!), I do have some versions for ELA and Science as well.  They are sold individually as well as in bundles.  You can grab this FREE sampler so you can see how it works for you and your kids!

 I am so excited to see what games everyone plays!  We are always looking for new games to play.  And, if you would like me to customize a WILD game for you and your kiddos, just let me know!  I would love for you to follow me at my blog, on FB, or on TPT!