Hello Mrs Sykes

Happy Weekend, y'all!  I wanted to take a sec and show you how I'm using the Mystery Word of the Week in my classroom this year.  Since I'm in a year round school, I have to track in and out of my classroom this year.  That means that my displays need to be easily removable so I can carry it to the next classroom.  Here is the weekly display in my classroom, under the board. Mystery Word of the Week under the board in my classroom...  I used sheet protectors to easily change the clues. Mystery Word of the Week on display in Denise's classroom at Sunny Days in Second Grade . Mystery Word of the Week above the board in my teammate's classroom.  I'm so impressed by the reaction the Mystery Word of the Week sets have gotten from teachers around the country.  I always found them effective to use with my own students, but I am blown away by the feedback on TpT.  Here are just a few of the comments: Rschu64: A great product! I'm looking forward to

Here's an inexpensive way to create chair pockets for your classroom with minimal sewing skills (4 straight lines per seat cover - promise!)  You'll need an iron, scissors, measuring tape, and some fabric.  Warning - lots of pictures ahead!!  :) Alright - in the interest of full disclosure - I am not very crafty.  I typically leave that to my teammates, including Casey and Cassina .  My mom was a Home Economics teacher for years, and taught many young ladies and gentlemen how to sew, cook, clean, etc.  Not me; I had no interest at all... until I moved out, got a job, and bought a house.  Since then, I've learned how to follow a recipe, clean the house enough to make sure I'm not attracting critters, and sew straight lines semi-straight lines.  I never appreciated how amazing she is until I moved out, and now I'm asking for her help all. the. time.  She's probably getting tired of it, but she really comes through for me, and I love my momma.  Dontcha' ju

Lazy day at the beach today, and the most exciting thing to happen is we had a tree cut down.  Oddly enough, when I saw the tree truck, I started taking pictures... Yep.  It's a ladder truck, now used to cut limbs off trees. Since the tree was so rotten, they couldn't use ladders or climb the tree to cut it, so they brought the ladder truck.  My kiddos, my mom, and I pulled up lawn chairs and watched the show. Best part?  After they finished they asked if anyone wanted to ride in the ladder box... There was a rush get on! Fun Times! I got to ride, too! That's all the excitement we had today, but it was plenty.  Other than that, it was just deciding where to eat.  :)  Also, I worked on my Context Clues task cards, available now on TpT .  (I'll add TN tomorrow...) Context Clues Task Cards on TpT Don't you love the graphics from The 3AM Teacher ? Enjoy!!

Found some more Amazing Resources for y'all!  Enjoy! Reading A-Z.com - I know this is nothing new for most of you, but trust me - you want to read this tip!  Did you know that you can print books in multiple languages from Reading A-Z?  This saved me last year...  I had a student who did not enjoy doing his nightly reading.  His uncle, who didn't read/speak English, would tell him to read and ask him questions about his reading.  My student would pretend to read and then make stuff up to tell his uncle.  Uncle was frustrated (rightfully so!), and I began sending home Reading A-Z books in both English and Spanish.  Problem solved!  I love when there's a simple solution.  {Subscription service} Free Common Core Posters for K-5 - Really.  There are printer-friendly *free* posters for ELA and Math for grades K-5 available for download from  Core Common Standards .  At the home page , select your grade, add the free posters to your cart, and check-out.  They don

Ahoy there, mateys!  I'm in a fine mood tonight, since I only have One. More. Day.  That's right!  One. More.  Day.  I had a difficult time adjusting to the new curriculum and expectations so far this year, and my upcoming track out makes me positively giddy with anticipation.  I'm going to visit here... This photo of Emerald Isle is courtesy of TripAdvisor And do a bit of TpT/TN work, and rest and recharge!  Most importantly, I'm going to be a mommy, wife, and friend.  I'm looking forward to taking a nap in the afternoons again!!!  :) Arrgh!!  I'm an East Carolina girl (we're the ECU Pirates!) so I have a soft spot for using pirates in the classroom.  I {finally!} finished my Mystery Word of the Week All Year Long - Pirate Theme!  I had so many requests for this, and I hope y'all enjoy them.  Here's some pics...  Click to learn more if you are so inclined!  I've included this set with my Superhero theme , so you can choose the theme that

It's the beginning of a new year for many of y'all, so I wanted to share my updated "What's Your Graduation Year?" poster. Enjoy!! Download free from TpT here! Doncha' just love the frame?  It's from The 3AM Teacher , naturally!  :)