August 22- August 26

What a great start to school we have had! Students will get their spelling words in their agendas on Friday's before they come home. This allows weekend practice if time permits. Students may also get onto spelling city at home to practice their words. This week's list is lesson 2~Words with Long A. If your child has a shorter list, he or she will always have the first 10 words.

awake
chase
paid
eight
mistake
plain
trade
weight
waste
afraid
neighbor
taste
trail
plane
wait
waist
space
break
state
shape

Please be checking the Independent Learning Logs nightly. This is your child's homework for the week. There will not be any homework on Fridays. On Friday we will collect their logs and check to see they have completed what is in their agendas. If there are ever any question please contact your child's teacher.

Have a great week!
~Mrs. Reinhart & Mrs. Patterson

Oceans of Steals, Deals, & Giveaways!

We are teaming up with some new friends this week to bring you Oceans of Steals, Deals, and Giveaways! Trust me, this is an event you don't want to miss out on! There will be new deals, steals, and giveaways every day next week so stop by our Facebook and Instagram pages to see all the goodies!

Monday we will be practically giving things away---$1.00 is super cheap, am I right?! We will have 2 products for sale on Monday for only $1.00~here they are below...You can also search on TPT using #MondyMadness to find all the Monday Madness Deals!!



Be sure to sign up for the Rafflecopter giveaway to win something awesome, like a gift card....who doesn't love to win things!?

Jumping into summer!

Today was the last day. As I am sure every teacher does, we had mixed feelings....sadness, happiness, over-it-ness, missing our kids already-ness! The last day always goes by fast. It's a mixture of "oh my gosh I have to get my room cleaned, I get to be outside all day, and I have to pass out report cards and give all my friends 5th grade pep talks". Really, teachers do it all, ya know.

After the sunscreen was added and lunches were gone, we were ready to go outside! For us big kids, field day was from 1:00-2:45. Teachers walk around to each station with their class~ it was too much fun for me not to join in. I would say my favorite station was the hula hoop station. Here, students hold hands and make the hula hoops go around their bodies. The kiddos loved the water station, duh, they were able to get wet and cool down!

 We have parent volunteer and classroom aides assist during field day..how does you school do it? 

The following pictures are pictures from our end of the year party. Only a select few get invited, depending on how many points they get throughout the year (it's like golf, lowest score wins!). We cooked out, we played life sized Jenga, bubbles, had a water balloon fight, and played ships and sailors. We had a great time!

One last thing~ as a teacher, do you do anything towards the end of the year? I love putting a small amount of glitter in my the report cards. This is my 3rd year doing it! I randomly use glitter throughout the year (BECAUSE I LOVE IT!) so I know my students will think of me when they open their report cards.

Be great this summer! 

Never too old to write!

Being a fourth grade teacher means a lot. It means your students are on the verge of being big kids. It means you are always on call for giant hugs--or mean glances, depending on the day, and the student. It means harder spelling, reading and math! It means Indiana history (if you live in Indiana, of course!). It means your students are young enough to still love you and old enough to understand your sense of humor! It also means B-O. Yes, you read that right. Body Odor. Trust me, on recess days towards 'the end', you do not want to be in a 4th grade classroom after recess. It can get stinky! (Disclaimer: the beginning of the year never smells as bad as the end of the year! Take our word for it, do not sniff!) 

Today, we did shaving cream spelling. It was just awesome. Not only did the room smell very nice and refreshing, but the kids had actual fun! Our little 9 and 10 year olds love this stuff! Just because 4th grade is getting up there in the age department does not mean they do not enjoy some good S&S (shaving and spelling instead of R&R....see what I did there?)

Some tips for shaving cream spelling.....
*Use the restroom and get a drink before it commences (even 4th graders can have a hard time holding it!)
*Give each desk, or work area, a large squirt of shaving cream so you do not have to return!
*Give students directions before they touch the shaving cream
        ~Use only one hand
        ~Take 3 or 4 fingers and spread out the shaving cream in the middle of you work area so that you are able to write a word.
       ~When the teacher says "Clear." that means wipe your area with yuor 3-4 fingers to start your new word.
*When done with the spelling list give students time to play in the cream! Remind them that is should stay in the center of their work area and it should only be on one hand! (this really makes clean-up much easier for the teacher! When the shaving cream in rubbed a lot it dries up and disappears. Allow the students to use paper towel if they are having trouble.)
*When all the desks are clear and everyone has washed their ,we clean our desktops with our amazing cleanup spray. You need to getcha some.
*Remember, if it gets on clothes, carpet, or a face.....its clean and washes out!


Have fun, friends!

Our new favorite things....

Ok. Can't lie. We have a lot of favorite things...Converse shoes, puppies, Tervis', Destin Florida, little babies, rain boots, food, getting pedicures, our planners, a new package of card stock...the list could go on! But-today, right this moment, we will talk about our love for Kahoot's.

 

Have you heard of Kahoot? If not, listen up. It's cool, it's fun, it's interactive technology and kids love it. You can create your own interactive Kahoot or use one of the many already made Kahoot's.

After creating an account and logging in, click on quiz to start creating your own!

In order to use in the classroom you need to have access to computers, iPads, iPods, or some sort of device that has access to the internet. In our classrooms, we pair students into groups of 2 or 3 and have them create a team name using their names combined. For example: Lizz and Lesley would be LizzLey. It is so fun to see how creative their new names are and it doesn't take up a lot of time. Here are some examples of how creative names can get. (aubby=Audrey and Gabby)



The first time we introduced kahoot to our rooms we created a quiz that was short and easy so our students could get the hang of it. It had 5 questions all relating to our classroom. These were questions only my students would know the answer to so I made it a private quiz.

 

Once you have played around with the sight some, you will be a pro! It is an easy to use site and doesn't take long to navigate. The picture below shows the Kahoots created by me, the ones other people have created that I like, and ones that other teachers have shared with me.








 Be sure to play our end of the year math quiz~this is perfect for 4th grade! It is called End of Year Fun-Math Style .

Happy Kahoot~ing!

It tastes like summer

School is nearing the end. The teachers know it, the parents know it, the students know it, heck, even our husbands know it! It is almost summer. We made it.

Today I gave away a 'summer tasting drink' to a deserving student who won our most recent game of sparkle. All of the kids were so jealous of her sweet cup (thanks Taking on Second!), the bendy straw, and the 'summer' drink inside.

To make this drink is easy. You only need 3 ingredients: water, Crystal Light Lemonade, and Tazo Tea Passion. Boil about 2-3 cups (depending on how strong you want it) of water and add 2 tea bags. Let the tea sit in the boiling water for about 5-10 minutes. While the tea is 'cooking' make the Crystal Light Lemonade according to the package. When the tea is done, pour the hot tea into the lemonade and stir. Allow to cool before serving.



This is the best summer time drink. So refreshing!

Anniversary Sale-A-Bration

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Guys. We have been in business for one whole year! What started as a snow day (really, quite a few snow days....in a row...) ended as two neighboring teachers creating things for their classrooms. The rest is history.

This past year we have both grown as teachers and creators. We are both so happy that we have had the chance to stay creative. Teaching 4th grade sometimes requires more practice for standardized tests, meaning as teachers, we cannot let our creative juices flow(the way we really want to!) Teachers Pay Teachers has definitely changed that!

For our Anniversary week (February 14th-20th), we are offering a 20% discount on our store through Thursday. Starting February 16th you can enter for a chance to win a $10 TPT giftcard! The 18th and 19th we will be offering a TOP SECRET SURPRISE....you will have to wait to hear that one.

Thank you for following/commenting/and supporting our snow days! You all rock! Be on the lookout for more great things to come!

To enter the giveaway go here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

WACky Party:) :)

Tonight we had our second WACky party of the year! The kids loooooooved it!

What is a WACky party you ask? Our 4th grade TEAM has been doing them forever to help push good behavior.  They rock! Essentially, a WACky party is like golf....you want the lower score!

W=Work
A=Agenda
C=Citizenship

If a student does not follow the work rules, agendas rules, or citizenship rules they will receive a point. (Remember points are bad!)

Each nine weeks we have a party for the students that make the point goal. Point goals can look different for each class. As a teacher, you know your students best, and it is important not to not start too low in the beginning or too high  You want an obtainable for your class. The second nine weeks the point goal lowers, and continues to lower each nine weeks as students become more and more familiar with your expectations. For the first nine weeks, our 4th graders could receive 12 or less points.....if they received more they did not get invited to our WACky party. Throughout the year the teachers really talk up the WACky parties.  They truly are a big deal!

The four parties are planned at the beginning of the year by all the 4th grade teachers...this is what they look like in our school this year (sometimes they change depending on our mood or what is popular):
First 9 weeks: Movie Party!! Students bring pillows and blankets and lay on the gym floor to watch a movie on the big screen projector! The teachers provide movie theater popcorn (seriously, it really is movie theater! Our local theater gave us a donation!) and drinks.
Second 9 weeks: A party that is 'snow much fun!'. We have relays in the gym and a milk and cookie snack after! This year's relays included: build your own snowman, winter clothes relay (students put on layer after layer and race!), snowball toss, P.E. skooter 'sledding', sock and wax paper ice skating in the halls.
Third 9 weeks: A bowling party at our local bowling alley! This is the only party where students need to pay a little. Our local lane, Kingspin Bowl, is really, really awesome and makes our shoe rental cheap for students....They also stock the snack bar so students can purchase goodies-the popcorn and Mountain Dew are always big sellers!
Fourth 9 weeks: Ice Cream Sunday Field Day! Teachers provide the ice cream and allllllllll the toppings a sweet, little (maybe not so little by the end of the year) 4th grader could ever need. We also play field games. There is a giant parachute involved, spray paint twister, the game ships and sailors (google it! your kids will love it!) and any other games we come up with. Don't forget the playground equipment!

 

How do you help students meet behavior and work expections?  How do you motivate students?? This has been working well for us for as long as I can remember.  It is such a big "fourth grade deal" that students in second and third grade start talking about it and asking us questions for when they are in fourth grade. It is a very big motivator for our students and oh, so much for us to see them look forward to it!

Teacher Valentine's!

When we were little, Valentine's Day seemed like a bigger deal than it is today. We remember making mailboxes out of construction paper, glitter, and cereal boxes. Today, it seems a little different in our classrooms (We blame testing!). Granted-we do teacher fourth grade, so I am sure that is part of it.
Do you celebrate this holiday in your classroom?

We decided to make a product to allow teachers to have fun on this cute little holiday. Trust us, these Teacher Valentines are fun! There are 12 different Valentines for you to choose from. These Valentine's are promised to be stress-free and require little prep time, unlike other Valentine's we have passed out before. Print~Cut~Sign~and Attach to a goody (if you do that kind of thing). 

Some of the ideas we have included are Pencils, Candy, Goldfish, Swedish Fish, Lucky Charms, Pretzels, anything with the word Pop in it (Soda Pop~Ring Pop~Pop Rocks~Popcorn), honestly, the possibilities are endless!

These Valentine's include something fun: the option of QR Codes. What student doesn't love QR Codes?! There are9 different 'goodies' to give with the QR Codes including....

Here are the 'goodies' you can give if you use the QR code Valentine's

 As a teacher, we know how expensive little holidays can be! Hopefully, these QR Code Valentines will help out your wallet.

Look at the other fun things we have included:

Each Valentine has a tip page so you can have an idea of what time of treat to attach. Like I said before, little holidays really add up fast! Don't feel obligated to give something out to your students. Sometimes, a small note on a cute tag can mean more! 

This product will be $1 (that means you save $1.50!!!!)  January 11, 12, and 13th to help you prepare for the day of love.  Don't miss out! 
Be sure to follow Teacher Deals and Dollar Steals blog to see what other fabulous things will be $1 this month! You can also follow them on Facebook!