Earth & Martian Words! {freebie}

The end of the school year is quickly coming, but I'm already thinking about back to school.

I can't help myself!!!

This was one of my favorite games to play with my first graders at the beginning of the year!

It's called Earth & Martian Words.

It's a SUPER fun way to build fluency with CVC words.

What six year old wouldn't want to read martian words! ;)

It's really easy to play too.

You need two game boards...one with Earth words, one with Martian words.

The first option for playing is to simply take turns reading a word and covering it with a counter/penny or anything you have!  

This is how I play at the very beginning of the year.  

The kids choose whether they want to read an Earth word or Martian word.

The second way to play is to roll a dice. 

If the number is even, the player reads an Earth word and covers it.

If the number is odd, the player reads a Martian words and covers it.

Easy peasy! ;)

Your kids will be fluent little CVC readers in no time at all!

And they'll have fun doing it. :)

You can grab this FREEBIE in my store! :)

Read Across America!

Hi friends!

It's Sarah from A Sunny Day in First Grade. :)

Read Across America Week is coming up!  

Last year (and this year!) we did a school-wide theme for each day of the week.

It was SO MUCH fun!!!

I thought I'd share some ideas with you!

Monday was Crazy Hair or Hat Day!

Each of the kids also got a little punch card this week.

For every book they read, they got a number punched!

20 means a PRIZE!

Guess how many read 20 books. ;)

Tuesday we wore red, black, and white.

We made Cat in the Hat hats.

We made Thing 1 & 2 (and 3 and 4 and 5!)

I had the kids do their classroom number as their Thing number. 

Wacky Wednesday.

BOY was it wacky!

We started the day by writing under our desks.

WHAT?!  The kids couldn't believe I was asking them to do that.

After that, they wanted to do everything under their desks.

Including eating their snacks.

I should have known! ;) 

 Our clip chart was upside down too.

So when the kids were good I had to say, "Move your clip down!" instead of up.

They thought it was the funniest thing ever!!!

Thursday was Crazy Sock Day.

We designed our own socks.

We also did a 10 Apples Up On Top activity.

They wrote facts of 10 on the apples.

Friday was Pajama Day.

And we made Oobleck!

whatwasithinking

Just kidding, HA!

It was messy, but LOTS of fun!!!

We also graphed colored fish. :)

It was so much fun!

I hope I gave you some new ideas! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Kindness Catcher {freebie!}

Hello sweet friends!

It's Sarah from A Sunny Day in First Grade!

I have a fun little freebie for you today!

If you live where it's cold, like me, you've probably been having LOTS of indoor recess.

Your favorite right?!?! ;)

I've noticed my kids have been getting antsy and have started tattling...a lot.

So I pulled out our Kindness Catcher to help them be more positive!

It's really easy and it works!!

All you need is a little basket/box/bin of your choice.

I leave out little pieces of paper.  

When the kids see someone doing or saying something nice, they write it down and stick it in the Kindness Catcher.

At the end of the day, we read them all.

They LOVE it and it's seriously the cutest thing ever!

They write the nicest things about their friends...and about their teacher...tehehe. :)

You can grab some labels for your Kindness Catcher {here!}

Enjoy the long weekend!!

Freestyle Santa Freebie!

Hi Friends!

It's Sarah from A Sunny Day in First Grade!

Are you counting down the days until winter break?!

I have a fun little freebie in case you're in need of something fun! :)

This is my all-time FAVORITE project!

I get so many compliments on it each year!

Check out these adorable little Santas!

They look a little complicated to make, but I promise it's not as hard as it looks!

I always start by modeling how to make Santa using basic shapes.

Then the kids go for it!

I just LOVE how they each come out so different and unique!

This year, we wrote letter to Santa to go with them.

Here are some step-by-step instructions so you're kids can make them too. :)

Freestyle Santa Freebie!

Have a fabulous holiday sweet friends!

Super Readers!

Happy Tuesday!

It's Sarah from A Sunny Day in First Grade!

In first grade we want our kids to be readers.

We want them to LOVE reading!

With our reading series, we learn 3-6 new high frequency words a week.

Some of these words are tricky!!!!

So to make it a little more fun, I put them up by our door.

The kids have to "high five" one word any time they leave the room.

That includes trips to the nurse and the bathroom. ;)

If you forget, you have to do all of them!  :)

The kids LOVE IT!!!

It makes it fun and it's a quick and easy way to review the words throughout the day.

I've also done them in different shapes.

Here are some snowflakes from last winter!

I change the words each week and put the old ones along the bottom of my eno board. 

At the end of each unit, the kids have to do the High Five Challenge!

They had to high five EVERY WORD from the unit.

EVERY WORD?!?! 

It's so quick and easy!!

Plus it's FUN! :)

My kids were begging me to be the next challenger!

After they read the words, I give them a little bookmark for being a SUPER reader!

You can grab this FREEBIE in my store! :)