How Is It Possible That It's Already November?

 Are you changing your clocks and turning over your calendar to a new month wondering what happened to October?  I feel like it was just September and then I blinked and it's November!  One positive is that gratitude is often a focus in November, and I'm sure we can find many things to be thankful for - even during a pandemic.

For me, I am extremely grateful for each day that my school district is in session face-to-face!  I love seeing my students' smiling faces each morning.  I love this chance to develop connections and sharing a big part of our days together.

I hope you will find something to be thankful for among our November resources!  If you missed our email with the link for our Election Freebie - here it is again!  Use it as a fun activity for the end of your government unit, or use it on election day.  Basic voting vocabulary is included and it would make a great review for these terms.

Last month we also added a persuasive writing and craft resource for the election - and you can find it here.  If your curriculum includes persuasive writing or voting as a right and as a responsibility, you'll love using this resource.  We've also included a fun voting badge craft for students, too.

If your students are working on multiplication, our November Color by Code multiplication puzzles will give them an opportunity to practice in a fun manner.

Finally, if you aren't yet making Good Calls Home, please check out our free resource.  These positive calls spotlight students' successes, celebrations, or growth - we promise, you will love them and won't regret spending a few minutes each month building these important connections with students and families.

That's it - short and sweet this month.  We hope you will find something here to use.  We are thankful for you - thanks for reading!

~ It All Started with Flubber

'Tis the Season for Epic Christmas and Winter Freebies

My last post included the mantra one. more. week.  Don't get me wrong, I truly love this time of year, especially in the classroom.  It's full of excitement, energy, activity, and wonder.  It can be so magical!

It's crazy to think that we're just about finished with the 2019 holiday season at school.  It's even crazier to realize January is right around the corner and will be here before you know it—well, hoping not, hoping you have a nice LONG break.  But one way or another, January will come sneaking in and you'll want to be ready!

Do you have your favorite resources that you love using each year, or are you a "let's see what's out there" teacher who enjoys mixing it up a bit?  I seem to do both—come back to a few favorites, but each year I add a new favorite, too.

I've joined with a few TpT teacher-author friends to share some Christmas and winter FREEBIES to help get you excited about.........

a) this last week before break 

or perhaps...

b) coming back after break!  

Either way, there's something here for everyone.  Click on the caption to see the resource, and be sure to check out the other resources each author has for your kids and classroom needs.  Authors also LOVE it when people leave feedback on anything, so please be sure to send some love their way after you download and use their resources.  Maybe you'll find a new favorite among these talented teacher-authors' resources!

It All Started with Flubber Snow Globe

Cindy Martin The Teacher's Brain

JD's Rockin' Readers

Busy Me Plus Three

Carrie Lutz

Debora Marines Teach Magically

The Owl Teacher

Mrs Balius

The Fun Factory

Lisa Taylor Teaching the Stars

Cassi Noack

Created by MrHughes

Have a VERY MERRY holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Lions and Shamrocks and Lambs - Oh, My!

 

Thanks for stopping by, and happy March to you!  Finally, March is here and that means spring can't be far off - we hope!!

If you've been here before, you know that we feel pretty strongly about {at least} two things:  regular writing for our students, and making resources to make life easier for our fellow teachers!   If one or both of those are also near-and-dear to your own heart, keep reading!


    ✅  Regular writing - 7 ready-to-print templates for March

    ✅  A FREE seasonal resource for your classroom

Our March Follower Free resource has four different shamrock writing options and three different in-like-a-and out-like-a lamb or lion templates.  Samples are shown here:

   

Your students can write about a lucky day, unusual or different lucky charms, and the March weather in your area - print the lamb and lion today and you have an easy writing prompt for this week.  Use the shamrocks now or in the coming weeks to make a cute bulletin board for St. Patrick's Day.

Different teachers use our monthly writing papers in different ways:

•   for a morning quick write,
•   or plan a lesson specifically around the themes for that month
•   use for early-finishers 
•   use as a writing station during literacy centers
•   differentiate by customizing your writing task specifically for your learners' needs

You can find writing papers for each month in our Teacher Pay Teachers store under the monthly custom categories.

If you download these and use them, be sure to tag us if you post a picture on social media!  We'd love for you to win a TpT gift card!

We'd also love to hear about other ways you build in opportunities for regular writing for your students.  Comment below and you might also win a TpT gift card!

DONUT STRESS, Just Do Your Best

Hey, friends - happy July!  We have a busy week ahead as we head out to a conference in Nashville.  Before we take off, though, we wanted to throw out this little freebie for you.  As we head into BTS season next month, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to get things perfect.  Just remember to take care of yourself and DONUT stress!  We hope the NOTES AND QUOTES freebie we're sending to our subscribers will help a bit!

Not an email subscriber or follower yet, DONUT worry - just click the link to the right to sign up!  You can also click this link to be an It All Started with Flubber follower to receive discounts on all new products.  You will find this DONUT Classroom Decor Notes and Quotes as a freebie in our store as a thank you for following us!  Post pictures on our blog or any social media platform to show us how you used these in your classroom!

Here are some easy classroom set up ideas and self-preservation tips to help:

• keep a list and check off what gets done
• start with a task that has you really excited, or one that gives you the biggest bang for your buck (time) - arranging desks is the one for me!
• tackle a task that's a bit daunting, then flip back to an easy one as you build momentum for completing your checklist
• don't stress if nothing gets checked off once in awhile - you are on summer break, you know!
• let your students do some of the classroom set up and decorating so they have ownership in it
• harness the help of former students if possible, they'll love helping with classroom set up
• take some time for yourself each day - read, watch a funny TV show, or just do what makes you happy
• labels, labels, labels - we print SO MANY classroom things on labels, from workbook or folder labels for each student to a strip of student names in fun fonts for each child, use those labels!
• take pictures as you go so you can see tangible evidence of progress, but remember that sometimes you have to make a mess to clean up a mess - case in point, my art supply cabinet
• try having students get supplies from stations on the first day or two - this way they aren't overwhelmed with a huge stack of things on their desks from the first moment they walk in, and it saves you loads of time
• don't strive for perfect - do your best and let it go

We hope you have MANY more days before you have to think about BTS, but if you are like us and already have begun to think about getting organized, take it small in little bites and it's not nearly such a monstrous task!  

Happy July - now go click that subscribe button so you DONUT miss out on our Notes and Quotes FREEBIE!  (And if DONUTS are really your thing, we are launching a classroom décor product line you might enjoy checking out!)

March Madness

We're not sure what it's like where you are, or when your spring break is, but if you were in the classroom this past week, chances are some of your students showed signs of March Madness!

No, we don't mean all of the fun college hoops happening now—this is more like the squirrelly behavior of students who have only had a handful of outdoor recesses this month!  We're talking about impulsive behavior that would have officials calling a foul.  These are behaviors that have us teachers checking the calendar to make sure it's NOT a full moon.

Why is this happening??  Is this caused by the time change?  Is it because we had our second round of state testing in three weeks?  Is it due to predictably unpredictable March weather (snow for many, storms for others, rain for many) that has us wearing short sleeves one day, rain gear the next, and snow gear the next?

How can we get back on track?  How do you deal with behavior issues when all you really want to do is teach?  You've worked hard to plan and prepare for engaging lessons, and you know the value of each minute of class time.  Here are three ideas for getting your class back on track.

It's easy to get frustrated; however, we have to remember that sometimes taking class time to talk it out is valuable, too.  This isn't learning as it pertains to your standards and curriculum, but it's definitely life-lesson-learning.

When you call a class meeting, keep these things in mind:

• keep your discussion focused on positive ways to improve behavior

• this is not the time for rehashing old behavior issues, finger-pointing, calling out specific kids or behaviors, or getting into he said/she said debates

• steer the conversation to what students CAN do as opposed to what they shouldn't do

• guide students to help brainstorm and list specific tools for curbing their impulsivity

• keep this list visible and refer to it when students DO make strong choices—accentuate the positive behaviors as often as you can

• role-play scenarios to give students practice disengaging from distractions

• give that "distracting voice" in their brains a name, and practice reminding it that it's not in charge

Another strategy to combat March Madness is to build in frequent brain breaks.

• GoNoodle is a great site to get them up, singing, and moving.  In our classroom, much hilarity ensues when their teacher joins in with her own (cue embarrassed blushing emoji) dance moves.

• Our friend Rachel Lynette has some super ideas to get kids up and moving over on Minds in Bloom!  We like Trading Places and Keep It Up.

• Bevin over on Teach. Train. Love has quite a fun list, too!  Our favorites are the Sid Shuffle, Dancing Pandas, and Cha Cha Slide.

Honestly, there has NEVER been a time when we've taken a brain or movement break and thought, "Gee, that was a waste of time.  I sure wish we had done _______ (insert learning activity) instead."

NEVER.

Every single time we've been bombarded with thoughts more along this line:  "Wow, why don't we do this more often!?"

Finally, consider building in a practice of mindfulness to help kids build the stamina to pay attention while also developing their ability to regulate their emotions and impulses.  Sounds like a WIN-WIN, doesn't it!? And you can do this in as little as 2-3 minutes a day.  Here are three places to start:

Left Brain Buddha

Families First Indiana—Mindfulness for Children and Parents

The Calm Classroom

Obviously, for serious behavior challenges, always document, document, document; and be sure to communicate with parents what is going on.  We've found it very effective to use a Behavior Reflection Form for the student to write what action they took that wasn't making a strong choice.  We also have them write why they made that choice (frustration, confusion over what to do, trying to be silly, etc.), and they write what they should do in the future in that situation.  Grab your free form if this is something you think would be useful for your classroom.


We hope this gives you some ideas for dealing with March Madness and Spring Fever in your classroom!  We'd love to hear some ways you handle periods of squirrelly behavior, too.  Please feel free to comment below!

Thank you!! Happy (almost) spring!

Predicting Freebies—Not Winter—In Your Future

Oh, that pesky groundhog and his predictions...

We have a prediction of our own—we predict savings in your future!  We've teamed up with some amazing teacher-authors to bring you quite an assortment of resources, and all are free!  Thanks to our friend at Teaching Second Grade for organizing this.

So, while we may have to wait a bit for spring, don't wait to grab some of these FREEBIES to get you though these next weeks of winter!

February Freebies

Monkeying Around

We have been SNOWED in and no school for 5 days!  Yes, this mom is going to lose her mind!  Snow days are great, at first!  I love the sled riding, snow gear, smiles, laughs, and cool air.  However, on day 5, I don't want to see any more wet clothes, make any more hot chocolate, or wipe up any more wet snow from the floors.  

So, today, this mom changed things up.  We did a service community project!  We colored these cute tags that said, "My parents said we are driving them BANANAS being inside, so we are now MONKEYING around visiting you!"  We then bought bananas and visited an assisted living unit to deliver them.  The kids loved it, but not as much as the residents!

You should have seen the residents' faces!  They lit up!  The residents wanted to talk about the weather, tell stories about their lunch, or just give the kids a hug.

The magic moment happened in the car when we were leaving.  My oldest son said, "Mom, that was great. We should really do a service community project every month!"  Yes, yes, yes!  This is what it is all about!

Today was a great SNOW day!  I don't know who got more out of it, the residents or my children.  Either way, it was a win-win situation!

Follow our store, leave a comment below, and you can grab this Monkeying Around Freebie here.  You can use the colored one or have your kids color the other option.  Both are there for you to use!  I hope you enjoy putting a smile on someone's face as much as we did today.

Good Calls Home

Grab your GOOD CALLS HOME freebie from It All Started with Flubber 

Hi, friends - happy fall to y'all! Today we are just updating a post we made earlier this month about the book Kids Deserve It by Todd Nesloney and Adam Welcome.  In that post we offered a free resource to log your Good Calls Home.  Now this resource is also available as a FREEBIE in our store on Teachers Pay Teachers.  If you missed it, head over there and grab yours.  Click on the link in the caption above.

If you've not tried Good Calls Home, please do!  It will absolutely make your day!  A word of warning, though - I've learned that I can't do these after 8:00 at night for a couple of reasons:

• First, I do want to talk to the child, if possible, so it's best to call before they go to bed.
• Secondly, I am without a doubt too pumped up to wind down my own night! It's true—these calls are such a boon to kids' confidence and self-esteem, but also a huge boost to me as a teacher!

I cannot state too strongly just what a positive impact these calls have on the kids, parents, our classroom climate, on building and maintaining a culture of open communication and parental partnerships—and to me!  If you build this into your monthly plans, I promise you won't be disappointed.  These few minutes will pay off in many ways beyond just the time you spend on the phone.

Please leave us a comment below and let us know what your own experience is like with Good Calls Home! We'd love to hear from you!!

BOO-tiful October Craft and Free Color-by-Code Resource

Two little teacher-authors sitting on the gate,

The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late!"

The second one said, "There're witches in the air."

The first one said, "Witches & Frankenstein make quite a pair!"

The second one said, "Bats + pumpkins + candy corn..."

The first one said, "And a new resource is born!"

Whoooo went the wind and clouds covered the sun,

And the two teacher-authors posted some 

COLOR BY CODE fun!!

Flubber October Freebie 

We hope your October has come in like a.....oh, wait, that's March. Well, regardless—we hope your October is off to a BOOming start!

We've made a fall Parts of Speech freebie for you - it's a fun way to practice identifying nouns, verbs, and adjectives.  Just click on the link in the picture caption and it's yours.

Color by Code: Multiplication

If you like this color-by-number activity, be sure to look for our newest math resource for multiplication!  This product offers four resources to give your students practice with multiplication facts and relating multiplication to division!


Here's a little cutie to share our wishes for a BOO-tiful October—isn't it precious? You can make your own, too!  If you Google "Floating Ghost" or "Cheesecloth Ghost," you'll get a bunch of different methods and even a few videos to help you see the steps, but it's not hard.  You need just a few special items; the rest of the supplies are probably items you have at home:

• cheesecloth (easy to find in grocery or hardware stores)
• Elmer's glue, liquid starch, cornstarch, or spray starch
• water
• mixing bowl or small bucket for glue/starch + water
• pipe cleaners, wire hanger, or florist/craft wire to make outstretched arms
• a tall glass, cups, paper towel tube, or even a water bottle to give your ghost some height
• styrofoam ball, a ball of foil, small pumpkin, or a balloon for the rounded head
• a trash bag, plastic tablecloth, or waxed paper to protect your table 
• googly eyes, black construction paper or felt for eyes and/or mouth

From what I've read, it looks like if you use glue, you'll need 2 parts glue to 1 part water.  If you use liquid starch, you need 3 parts liquid starch to one part water.  If you use cornstarch, you will need to 3 cups of water and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, which you boil to get a gravy-like consistency. (For us, it's just easier to use purchased glue or liquid starch, but I'm intrigued by the idea of creating my own binding material using something cheap like cornstarch!)

We've done this with students for a fun fall activity - and while it's a bit of a mess, we channeled our inner Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus and went with it - embracing the idea that learning is messy!  Plus, the squadron of ghosts drying around the room was just about the cutest Halloween decorating our classrooms have ever seen!

It would be fun to have students test out the glue method vs. starch method to see which actually works better!  If you try this, please be sure to leave us a comment below - or search for us on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook to tell us how it went!