Sunday Scoop

Wow- it has been a mega weekend for year2tastic and I am worn out! I'm taking some time before bed to link up with the lovely Teaching Trio for this weeks Sunday Scoop…

It is our last week in school before Easter Holiday and as always I'm thinking ahead! Our next Learning Challenge is based around the theme of Island Life and we look at both an Island in Scotland and The Galapagos- I love teaching it and the kids love learning about it! 

As I'm away for almost all of the Easter Hols then I HAVE to get my planning straight this week and I'm looking forward to sitting down with my teacher BFF to talk over our ideas and plan out the WOW moments we love- I"m more than HAPPY to have her round and I HOPE we get stuff done rather than just sitting and gossiping but I can't promise! 

It's been 3 weeks since I last had my nails done and I'm in need of a new design for my travels! I love getting my nails painted and I usually go with my aforementioned teacher BFF but not this week- I'll miss her! 

My final Role Play of the year will be a pirate ship to fit in with our theme of 'Ship Shape' but I'm struggling for something for this half term- usually I go for a Post Office to fit with the Katie Morag stories but any ideas would be very welcome! 

So… here is to a week of mini fluffy chicks, stressing over folding baskets correctly and coming home with random goggly eyes stuck to my trousers! 

Happy last week guys! 

Oh and just incase you missed them… I now have new Social Media buttons at the top of my blog- click to have a nose!

March Madness blogger match-up

Look familiar...

You must have seen it, it's all over IG!!!

 Myself along with 62 other fabulous bloggers have linked up with the lovely Ashlyn over at 

The Creative Classroom to cheer on a March Madness team.

 'What's the point?' I hear you ask well.... every blogger has a team- mine is Kansas (Go Jayhawks!) and just as our teams go head-to-head so will we, only rather than our pride being at stake if we loose, we must run a giveaway for a product of at least $5 value to all of our lovely blog readers!

Here is the product I'm giving away should my team loose-

Why not hop over to one if the other bloggers taking part to see what their give away will be-

Learning with Mrs. Langley cheering on Belmont

Second Grade Stories cheering on Indiana

The Neat and Tidy Classroom cheering on UC Irvine

Live, Laugh, I LOVE Kindergarten cheering on Coastal Car.

Miss Johnston's Journey cheering on Maryland

The Creative Classroom cheering on San Diego State

Fifth in the Middle cheering on Wichita State

Lessons with Coffee cheering on Arkansas

The Kinder Garden cheering on Notre Dame

Exploring Elementary cheering on NC State

Inspired Owl's Corner cheering on Oregon

Frampton's Fundamentals cheering on New Mexico State

Learning in the Little Apple cheering on Michigan State

NC Teacher Chick cheering on Utah State

A Tall Drink of Water cheering on Baylor

Sara J Creations cheering on Oklahoma

ELA Everyday cheering on Duke

The Blessed Teacher cheering on Lafayette

Mrs. 3rd Grade cheering on VCU

Rock & Teach cheering on Albany

Create Teach Share cheering on North Dakota State

One Happy Teacher cheering on Gonzaga

Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas! cheering on Iowa State

First Grade Roars! cheering on SF Austin

The Learning Chambers cheering on Hampton

Teaching is Sweet cheering on Eastern Washington

Sounds Like Fun cheering on Louisville

Confessions of a Teaching Junkie cheering on Cincinnati

Year2tastic cheering on Kansas

Sparkling in Second cheering on Wyoming

Making Meaning with Melissa cheering on Purdue

One Sassy Teacher cheering on Villanova

Brittany Kiser cheering on Texas

Coach and Teach 24/7 cheering on St. John's

Hardcore Teacher Resources cheering on LSU

The Whole Wheat Class cheering on Oklahoma

Mixing It Up In The Middle! cheering on Mississippi

Teaching Maddeness cheering on UAB

Its Elementary My Dear cheering on Ohio State

Live Love Serve Teach cheering on Providence

 Education Kingdom cheering on North Carolina

A Dab of Glue Will Do cheering on Dayton

Learning to be Awesome cheering on Kentucky

Technology Timeout cheering on Harvard

Kovescence on the Mind cheering on Butler

Blossoms of Blue in 2 cheering on North Eastern

Mrs. D's Corner cheering on Robert Morris

Where the Wild Things Learn cheering on Buffalo

Bright Concepts 4 Teachers cheering on North Iowa (UNI)

A Trendy Teacher cheering on Valparasio

Lucky to Be In First cheering on Wisconsin

O-H So Blessed! cheering on Virginia

Tales of Teaching with Tech cheering on Woffard

Very Perry Classroom cheering on Arizona

A Kindergarten Life for Me cheering on Georgia

First Grade Buddies cheering on Iowa

Miss Case's Classroom cheering on Georgetown

A Grace-Filled Classroom cheering on West Virginia

Third Grade Cupcakes cheering on SMU

The Class Couple cheering on Xavier

More Time 2 Teach cheering on Georgia State

Owl-ways Learning cheering on UCLA

Sunday Scoop

It has been a while but I'm back linking up with the Teaching Trio again!

I love the Sunday Scoop but this week was a challenge- I've got a lot on!!!

It's time for our next round of Performance Management observations and I am quite looking forward to this one- we're exploring synonyms through 'The Emperor's New Clothes'. There should be lots of talking, acting and up-levelling of language choices going on- fingers crossed! 

If you read my blog then you will know that I have recently moved house- I hate unpacking with a passion!!!! We have been trying our best to get on top of the boxes but my clothes are still (mostly) in cases- I'm going on holiday in 2 weeks and believe me, I wish I could just pick the case up and go but I'm not sure the jumbled contents will cut it in Vegas! 

This half term is sooooo short (5 weeks) and full of 'fun' activities such as World Book Day and Comic Relief…plus we had the chicks! I am looking forward to getting a week of full lessons in!

This Saturday I am off to the Education Fair in Birmingham and hope to attend a talk by the wonderful Pie Corbett (if you don't know who he is then click here) I'm hoping to meet up with the lovely Paper Obsessed Teacher and family while I'm down. 

What are your plans for the week ahead? 

Scavenger Hunt Blog Hop

I am so excited to celebrate reaching 500 Instagram followers with you all!

What you could win…

Here is how this blog-hop works…

1. Read this post and make a note of my letter

2. Click on a link at the bottom to 'hop' onto one of my fab blogger friends posts

3. Read their post and make a note of their letter

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3!

5. Head back here and use the 'Contact Me' section to submit your letter string- 

IT DOES NOT SPELL A WORD! 

There is no particular order to record the letters in- just ensure you have 6!

6. Once you have submitted your letters follow the steps on the Rafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can enter as many times as it allows you to over the course of the weekend.

Names with incorrect letter strings recorded will be deleted from the Rafflecopter 

and IT will then decide the winner!

DONE!!!

So, seeing as this is a celebration of my Instagram milestone and the fact that all 6 of us bloggers in this hop have met through IG, I thought it would only be right that I tell you a little about my love for the social network!

I began my teacher's IG journey last August (I have had a personal account for a few years now) and I can tell you now… 

man, has pushed me to up my game when it comes to resources and classroom decor! 

There are many things I love about it but here are a couple of my absolute favourites-

I love how supportive the place is! If I have a new idea, resource, blog post or TpT product and I want honest, constructive feedback then I know IG is the place to post my picture. I have been pushed to try things I've been hesitant about through IG such as attending next weekend's Education Show in Birmingham- I'm really looking forward to it despite how nervous I was when booking- thanks IG! 

I have made some awesome 'friends' all around the world! I know it is cyber space and people can appear to be whomever they wish to be (I'm up on my Internet Saftey!) but I truly believe I have made some real connections and mostly with people from miles and miles away from where I live. Take this blog hop for instance, I have never met any of the other 5 teachers and yet they have been kind enough to dedicate some of their precious time to helping me out!

Yes, I work with some amazing co-teachers and I'm luck enough to have a wonderful Teaching Assistant to work alongside day in, day out - real people, real conversations and real hugs when needed but what happens if you don't? I can tell you now… all of my 500+ followers and anyone else who needs it…I will always offer an IG hug if one is needed!

I have found Instagram to be a place where I feel inspired, important, included and invigorated so for this reason my letter is 'I'. 

Have fun on the rest of your hunt and 

don't forget to 'Contact Me' with your letter string! 

Why not keep up with further give-aways by clicking the social links at the top of the page? 

An InLinkz Link-up

Rolling with the Chaos! A week with chicks...

Does your day often differ to the one you had planned? 

Another class using the hall scuppers your plans for an amazingly outstanding Numeracy lesson? 

A child being sick all over your carpet mean you have to wave goodbye to your classroom for the best part of the morning? 

The photocopier breaking down means you can't use that scoot activity you had planned?

I don't know why I'm asking these questions because I know the answer is
'HELL YEAH!!!!' 

Let's face it… thinking on your feet is a crucial part of the job and no 2 days are the same. 

It's part of the stress charm of teaching and how we respond to these surprise events can often make a huge difference to a child's enjoyment of learning that day.

Thanks to Keep Calm-o-matic

Well this week we had one massive change to our plans occur…..10 eggs arrived! 

'Oooooo exciting!' I hear you squeal and indeed it has been but they were due to arrive in May!!! 

IN MAY! 

When I would deliver impeccably planned lessons with egg'tastic resources and cross- curricular learning the likes of such the world has never seen before! 

This was not to be….our lovely eggs arrived right in the middle of our theme on Fairytales… perfect! 

THIS WAS NOT ON THE PLAN!

The thing is… it has been perfect! 

I learnt a long time ago to roll with the punches and embrace the chaos! 

So whilst the children were in assembly I quickly printed an 'Egg Diary'

(lets face it, they were never going to concentrate on my planned activities with 

such an eggciting arrival in class!) 

We spent time discussing what was going to happen over the next few days.

 I carefully and sensitively explained that most likely not all of our 10 eggs would hatch… unplanned lesson numero uno- coping with loss. True enough not all of our eggs did hatch and one of our chicks was unwell and passed away. My 6 and 7 year olds amazed me- they took the news in such a mature manner because we had taken the time to discuss what could happen, the reasons for it and the   emotions they might experience. This was such a poignant lesson for my class as, even at such a young age, several of them have already had to deal with such experiences on a much larger scale. This was a subject we would probably only have discussed through a text (such as The King of Tiny Things) but here we were all living through the experience together thanks to the unplanned arrival of the eggs. 

As the week has gone on the children have eagerly taken responsibility for monitoring the living conditions of the chicks, cleaning their bowls and measuring out their food and they have learnt the importance of taking care of animals….unplanned lesson number 2!

For some of my children, especially those who are on the Autistic Spectrum, the change to our routine has been a challenge but they have risen to it. They have understood that at some points, the needs of the chicks outweigh the needs of the children and they have happily stood by and watched as new chicks have hatched or poorly chicks have been looked after. Lesson 3 has been a huge learning curve for my littlies- putting others needs before your own!!! 

One of the most magical parts of having the eggs in class has been getting to watch the chicks hatch first-hand! It has been such an amazing thing for the children to see and my heart has melted each and every time! 

The look of awe, pride and compassion on their little faces has blown me away- having the chicks in class has most certainly taught my children that life is an amazing thing and nature is truly magical… unplanned lesson number 4 in the bag!

Our observation skills have been on overload this week- sitting watching the chicks has not only been therapeutic (believe me… I've pulled up a chair several times!) but has also prompted our inquiry skills. Every day there is something new to take notice of and the children have enjoyed making up their own investigations to gather even more information on the chicks.

A favourite has been 'What is their favourite colour?' I have no idea if the chicks see in colour but my children can say with confidence that they like white!! How do they know? Well they tested them of course!! They cut pieces of different coloured paper and then moved them up and down in front of the Brooder window, the only piece of paper they followed was the white one!! I'm not sure about the scientific reliability of their results but heyho… they devised it, carried it out and made a conclusion… an unplanned science lesson in action! 

This week the chicks are finally big enough to be handled and it has amazed me to see just how brave some of my more hesitant little friends have become. I have watched with pride as a few of my 'lively' little ones have learnt to be quiet and calm around the chicks so as not to scare them and all of them have totally understood the importance of our 'kind hands' classroom rule! Now to see if they can apply unplanned lesson number 6 in their everyday lives…hum!

It has been amazing to have the chicks in class this past week- even if their arrival was unexpected and we will miss them so much when they make the move to a friend of the school's farm on Friday.

There are a million more lessons we have learnt over the past week too- all of them unplanned- such as how many days a chicks hatching cycle is, the importance of washing our hands after handling them, the fact that before they are even 7 days old they begin to grow feathers and (disgustingly) that their poo sticks to their bottom and that's just part of chick life! 

You Oughta Know about QR codes

I'm so excited to be linking up with the lovely Jasmine over at Buzzing With Mrs. McClain for this months blog hop.

This month….you oughta know about using and creating QR codes in the classroom!!!

At my school we have been lucky enough to get a set of iPads and one thing we are all desperate to use are QR codes! The problem is not many of my co-teachers understand how to use them or how to make them so I thought I would use this blog hop to share a few of my QR code secrets! I am by no means a techie so please feel free to correct or share a new way of doing things in the comments section. 

Using QR codes in the classroom- practicalities

Step 1- ensure your iPad or tablet has a QR reader on it- there are loads out there and they tend to be free to download just visit your app store.

Step 2- train the children how to use the scan feature by opening the app and holding it over the QR code until the scanner takes you to the desired website, word doc, picture etc. Sounds simple but hold it too close and parts of the code won't get scanned or too far away and it won't read the code properly.

Using QR codes in the classroom- resources

There are lots of resources available on TpT which use QR codes and below I have simply given you examples of some of my favourites which cover a variety of subjects and activity types. Click on the pictures to be taken straight to the relevant TpT stores.

This product boosted my Listening Area texts without me having to break the bank- plus the kiddies looooove using the iPads to read and listen. 

QR codes lend themselves perfectly to scavenger hunts- they are a perfect way to incorporate technology into an already stimulating activity. I love QR codes as a way for children to research topics because they either a) take children to a preprepared word doc containing all of the information YOU want them to have or b) to a specified web page YOU have deemed safe for them to have access to.

I love using QR codes within maths as a way to easily differentiate work OR as a way for children to self check their answers making their learning just that little bit more independent and saving paper!

All 3 of the products I've listed are created by talented fellow TpT authors who's stores are full of QR code products. I would suggest downloading one of their amazing freebies to try with your class first to see if QR codes work for you.

Using QR codes in the classroom- creating

If you are loving using QR codes but need something a little more specific to your class then don't panic- here are a few simple steps to creating your very own QR codes!

Step 1- visit a QR creator website, I like www.qrstuff.com but simply google 'QR creator' and find a site which suits you. 

Step 2- 

I usually choose 'plain text' which is where you input your own information into a word type document or 'website URL' and then paste in the website details from the search bar.

Step 3-

Most of the time QR codes are fine in black but if you want them to blend in or complement a document's colour scheme then here is the place to do it.

Step 4- 

Finally, choose the format you want your QR code in- usually I download it and then paste it into the document. As with most objects you can resize the QR code to fit the document.

So there you have it- your very own QR code!

Need another? No problem just go back to step 2 and repeat- you will see the configuration of the QR code change as you input the new information.

I hope you have found this post useful- I would love to see any QR products you make as result of this so please feel free to tag me on IG @year2tastic 

An InLinkz Link-up

5 for Friday

Well the Half Term break has finally come to an end and I have very little to show for it! 

Today I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to reflect positively on a week of slothenliness!

Since August the Mr and I have been waiting to move house. Moving dates have come and gone (you may have noticed this in previous posts of mine!) but finally a date is set!! Even though I haven't got much school work done this week, I have succeeded in packing up all of my clothes, shoes, bags and jewellery and filling about 5 bags for charity! 

The countdown is on…. fingers crossed! 

I managed to escape the packing for a few hours on Tuesday to spend a small fortune on school supplies in Home Bargains…

One of my favourite clip artists and fellow IG poster, Glitter Meets Glue, posted a pic of a mega cute phone case… I followed the link and discovered Zazzle!!! OMG….my bank balance is going to cry!!! You should sooooooo go and check it out but be careful…one click and you're hooked! 

This week my lazy-ass ways have led me to binge watch the entire first series of 'Revenge' in 3 days… that's 22 episodes people…22!!!! 

I lie… I haven't just been sat watching Revenge, I have also been blogging…a lot! Just FYI I am now on Facebook- check me out by clicking here.

I finally finished my Guided Reading post and I'm rather proud of it thank you very much!

To top it off….tomorrow my second 'You Oughta Know' blog hop with the lovely Jasmine goes live! WOOHOO! 

Check back tomorrow to find out how I use QR Codes in my classroom and a step-by-step guide to creating your own