Happy New Year! Our first day back...with a FREEBIE!

Happy new year!

I just love a fresh start to things...including going back to work in January!

Okay, I'm not going to lie...I could most definitely have used another week off!

But there is something so special about the children when they get back from Christmas break.  It's like they have matured a little and you can actually see how much they have grown academically!

 

We started by reading the book Squirrel's New Year's Resolutions.  I tried to get a copy of this book during the break, even ordering it online, but since that was near impossible and I needed it for today, I found it on You Tube and thanks to my new Bright Links board we watched the book being read that way.

The kids loved it!

 

 

You can click here to take you to that video on You Tube.

 

 We talked a lot about what a resolution is and brainstormed our own resolutions.

Don't you just love "kidwriting"?  I asked the students how to spell the words as I wrote them on the board and this is what we came up with.

 

  

I did this activity last year too, since they are so darn cute, thanks to Julie Lee for the idea.

This one says "This year I want to play soccer" - sorry for the flash!

 

 

 

We got started on our basket work too!

These were so easy to prep...just print and go!  Perfect for the first week back!

  

 Unscrambling the letters in the star to form a sight word.

 

Working on syllables.

Rolling the die and bingo dabbing the correct number.  What a fun game to learn about taking turns!

 

All of the above activities are from my new unit, Happy New Year Ready-to-Use Literacy and Math Activities. 

 

Listening for and writing beginning sounds.

 

This is from my Fun with Frosty Literacy and Math Activities (more to come from this unit next week!).

 

Pick a penguin from the basket, read the sight word and bingo dab it on your worksheet if you have it.

You can get this activity (and lots of others!) for FREE by clicking here.

 

This is our pocket chart activity for the week.  Good thing we had a lot of snow last night so the kids could totally relate!

 

You can find this in my All Year Long Pocket Chart Fun Activities.  There are lots of weekly pocket chart activities, all with follow-up worksheets, for the whole year long!

 

And here is the corresponding worksheet.

 

It's already been a busy week and it has just begun!

Not looking forward to tomorrow....the weather is supposed to be absolutely FREEZING!

(Not that today was much better!)

What's the weather where you are?  I know a lot of schools were shut down today.  Not here.  It was a cold and very snowy day today but no school closure!